GREAT SCOTT!!!
Marty McFly is here in the present day. Today October 21st 2015 is the day that Marty McFly as played by Michael J. Fox in the 80’s classic Back to the Future II. There have been many people stating what future predictions the movie made and what ones came true. Many of them have, many have not, the jury is still out on if the Cubs will win the world series.
As awesome as they are, and no matter how much I want one despite my lack of skateboarding skills, I will not talk about hoverboards, Lexus has already created a working prototype of one, but it will be years before they hit market if they ever do. Also I will not discuss the awesome Nike self lacing shoes as those are in the works as well.
On to bigger and better, the technology from back to the future that has impacted the video and film industries. Many of these you may have guessed and remember from the movie, but one of them is often overlooked, even in the plethora of articles and posts that are out on the subject.
Giant Flat Screen TV’s
We saw these for the first time in this movie, and thought whoa that thing is huge! I want one of those. Well, now you probably have one. 55+ inch TV’s are the new normal. You can even get them up to around 90 inches before you start needing a projector. When this movie came out TV’s looked like this:
Giant TV’s have changed the industry of film and TV for the better, from the onset of 1080HD to the new UHD 4k we get more detail and more resolution. In 1985 TV was 720×576. TV’s like they showed in the movie and ones we have now are 4096×2160 that’s an impressive jump in size and resolution. That increase in resolution has changed cameras and lenses and almost every other facet of this industry. It changes how things are created because we have more screen to work with and it changes how its watched.
Small cameras
Here is Doc taking a photo with his camera from the future. Its small and thin and sleek. the only thing is it doesn’t have is an Apple or Samsung logo on it. They predicted small cameras, ones that fit in your pocket. Well camera tech like that is here and it’s getting even better. We have such amazing cameras these days, even ones that come with your phone are very capable. But think towards the film and tv industry, how about the biggest advancement in small and capable cameras the GoPro. That thing is tiny, and it packs in a lot of technology, wi-fi, high-resolution photos, and even 4k video. But camera tech didn’t stop at that. How about the Sony A7s or newer and better A7s II a small-sized mirrorless camera that many say can virtually see in the dark. Its small, has 4k video capabilities and has unsurpassed low light capabilities. Or how about we move into the beefier film technology and look at the coming to you soon Ursa Mini from Blackmagic Design. That camera comes in at 5 pounds and 8x7x6 inches it’s not the enormous ENG cameras you saw in the 80’s. And did I mention it does 4.6k resolution and has so many specs and features it will make you head spin. You can’t tell me that video tech like that doesn’t feel futuristic.
Drones
We didn’t think we would ever see the day of a drone walking a dog, we still haven’t but that day could soon be upon us. In 1985 drones were barely a thing, the United States Navy new they had a need for UAV recon but it didn’t become usable until 1985 and then it wasn’t procured by the Navy until 1986, after Back to the Future came out. But even those UAV’s didn’t look like the drones walking dogs in the movie. Today’s drones, such as the DJI Phantom or beautiful Inspire 1 look more like what was seen in the movie. DJI is busy with much cooler things like the Zenmuse X5 series of 4k cameras on the Inspire 1 platform or the handheld Osmo that it would be safe to assume they wont be making a drone to walk your dog. But I am certain that some enterprising DJI owner could create such a device rather simply.
Conclusion
So giant TV’s, Amazingly small cameras that shoot 4k and can be put on a drone. I know your probably thinking this is heavy, but I couldn’t agree with you more. these things that many of us use on a daily basis were all predicted in one of the best time traveling films of all time. So the next time you binge watch some Netflix on your huge TV, or fire up your GoPro or Blackmagic camera, or take your drone to the sky, thank Doc and Marty for making that possible.
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