The Evolution of VFX-Intensive Filmmaking in 20th Century Hollywood Cinema: An Historical Overview

The 20th century evolution of VFX-intensive filmmaking in Hollywood cinema is irremediably linked to the industry’s overall growth since the establishment of its principal movie production studios. Originally of more relevance to B-movies, double-bill ‘fillers’ and exploitation serials during the studio system era, VFX-intensive filmmaking progressively became a normalised, standard aspect of A-movie production practices in the Hollywood cinema industry. Chronicling the evolution of VFX-intensive Hollywood filmmaking constitutes a narrative that is intertwined with a number of other complex narratives in the growth of Hollywood cinema as an industry: the constant updating of movie business practices and concepts (vertical integration, conglomeration, mergers and synergy); the influential practices of certain studios, producers and filmmakers; and the convergence of corporate media, information technology and entertainment, with digital becoming the standard technological platform across the entire Hollywood cinema industry by the end of the 1990s.