Digital technology and Nollywood film industry

Abstract

Film also known as the 7th Art is a medium for education, information and entertainment which has over the years undergone a series of  technological innovations. This paper examines the evolution of cinema from the ‘silent era’ to the ‘new age era’ characterized by a  trajectory of innovations and improvements due to technological developments. The paper adapts the Diffusion of Innovations Theory  (DIT) propounded by Everett Rogers in 1962 to assess the extent to which innovations in digital technology have altered the old traditional film production landscape. The paper seeks, among others, to determine and highlight the significant areas technology has  impacted on the development of motion pictures globally with particular emphasis on the Nigerian film industry popularly known as  Nollywood. Our major point of interest is on the roles, impacts, challenges and prospects of digital technology in the areas of production,  distribution, marketing and exhibition of films. By using the assumptions of DIT which seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new  ideas and technology spread. The paper further reviews relevant literature and some empirical results from scholars to justify its claims.  We are able to establish in our findings that digital technology is the driving force of film development which has contributed enormously  to world cinema. Furthermore, the rapid development and emergence of Nollywood film industry as the second largest  producer of films in the world next to Bollywood of India is attributable to the emergence of digital technology.