Filmmaking is both an art and an industry. That is why they call it "show business". It's a show and a business. Films were originally recorded onto nitrate film stock which was highly flammable. After the late 1950s, plastic film was used which was shown through a movie projector onto a large screen (in other words, an analog recording process). The adoption of CGI-based special effects led to the use of digital intermediates. Most contemporary films are now fully digital through the entire process of production, distribution, and exhibition from start to finish.