| This thesis contends with definitions of digital media which have been constructed in opposition to film. These definitions extend from the assumption that film as a technology and practice can be simply and clearly defined. My main contention is that there are specific ontological functions which we ascribe to film that continue in the cinema even as photochemical technology becomes supplanted by digital technology. To argue this, I use the example of Computational Fluid Dynamics, a procedural technique in digital animation that can be found in many films made over the past decade. Through its scientifically based relationship to natural movement and stochastic emergence, Computational Fluid Dynamics demonstrates ontological possibilities for digital cinema consonant with the filmic precedent. |
