In 1911, after watching The Life of Christ in a theater in Bombay, DP decided to make a film of his own. After importing the required hardware, he made a short feature film titled Ankurachi Wadh (Growth of a Pea Plant) to attract investors. As no women came forward to act in the film – even the female characters were also played by men!
6 months, 27 days and 1,127 meters of film reel later the film – Raja Harishchandra was released in April 1913, making DP (better known as Dadasaheb Phalke) the first film director in India.
Inset: A still from the movie Raja Harishchandra (Source)
The film was not something new however – motion pictures had been around for decades with Louis Le Prince’s Rhounday Garden Scene (1888) believed to be the first ever motion picture. Even in India films such as HS Bhatavdekar’s The Wrestlers (1899) and Dadasaheb Torne’s silent film Shree Pundalik (1912), were considered predecessors to Raja Harishchandra, however the former is continued to be recognised as the first Indian feature film.
From Still to Motion Picture
In the previous blogs we covered the evolution of writing and illustration – two forms of communication that have been existing for millennia prior to videography. Unlike these two, the medium of video relied on the persistence of vision phenomenon (wherein if an object is removed from a person’s field of view, its impression is still visible for 1/16th of a second on the retina) i.e. the brain can process roughly 12 images/frames per second before the object in the image appears to be ‘in continuous motion’.
Watch this video on Persistence of Vision
inventors like Eadweard Muybridge experimented with capturing motion based on this phenomenon through his series Horse in Motion (1878). Shortly thereafter, the Lumière brothers created the Cinématographe (single camera for photography + projecting system) in 1895 which operated at 16 frames per second. Later projection systems operated at 24 frames per second, much higher than the previous limit of 12 frames per second, thereby introducing the ‘motion picture’ as a medium of mass entertainment and information.
Inset: Lumière Cinématographe (1895)
Timeline: Over the Years
Much like how technological advancements brought exponential growth and increased consumer adoption in fields such as finance and agriculture, The 20th century saw the field of videography continue to evolve over the years:
- Black-and-white silent films gave way to synchronized sound (“talkies”).
- Color television and widescreen cinemas provided a new medium of consumption.
- Videotape recording and camcorders democratized filmmaking.
- Digital cameras and non-linear editing software like Adobe Premiere, allowed post-production changes for the first time.
The rise of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) has also been a game-changer, enabling filmmakers to visualize the unimaginable, creating immersive worlds with unmatched realism.
Notable Examples of movies that were early CGI adopters
With each innovation, videography continues to become more accessible, enabling creators to tell richer stories on a larger scale, at a fraction of cost that was required decades ago.
AI Precision: Razor’s Edge
As mentioned previously, the advent of CGI and other digital technologies have expanded the realm of creativity, with Artificial Intelligence powered tools introducing newer use cases, some of which have been outlined below:
In an earlier episode of The Barbershop with Shantanu, Varun Mayya co-founder of Avalon and Aeos Labs (AI Product Research), mentioned that fine tuning existing models with manual input (such as audio recordings for improved pronunciation in video avatars) can produce output that despite being AI generated, can still pass for a normal video without a closer inspection. This is especially true for the rise of deepfakes, with a Channel 4 news article suggesting over 4000 celebrities have been deepfaked in questionable content, raising concerns over the different forms of media that we consume everyday.
Notable Celebs Who Have Been Deepfaked
Another point to remember is that unlike writing or image editing, video editing cannot be done through simple prompts (Adobe and other providers only streamline existing processes, automating repetitive tasks such as cutting silent clips without context awareness). A good analogy for this is the difference between a razor blade and an electric shaver –
- A razor gives the closest shave possible but requires a high degree of precision and control
- An electric shaver uses a motor instead which makes the shaving process easier and less time consuming but does not give the closest shave.
To put it simply – manual video editing is like shaving with a razor blade, giving the closest ‘precision’ and control possible whereas AI video editing can make the process efficient but will not (at least for the foreseeable future) produce output at the same level as manual output.
Shaving: Regular vs Precision Cut
Video Camera VC Lens
Unlike text and pictures, video as a medium provides additional sensory inputs (sound + motion) enabling higher information retention (up to 50%) than reading or seeing.
Edgar Dales’ Cone of Experience
Just like the multi-purpose razor blade, at Auxano, we leverage Canva for most of our video needs whether it is
- simple animations,
- soundbytes or
- video snippets
allowing us to create a range of content, from social media reels to long-form speaker sessions for different platforms and audiences. Here’s a sneak peek into our videography process
With the ever-growing preference for video content across industries, incorporating video into a content strategy is no longer optional; it’s essential for leaving a lasting impression in the sea of content people see everyday.
Way Forward: Human + AI
From the first motion picture to today’s AI-powered video tools, the evolution of videography mirrors humanity’s constant drive to tell more stories through different media.
Just as a precision razor offers unmatched control compared to an electric shaver, human creativity and judgment continue to be irreplaceable in creating video content that resonates with people.
As we move forward, success in video storytelling will likely depend on finding balance between leveraging new technologies and maintaining the human touch that makes these stories memorable.
Author:
Aditya Golani
