Some technologies have been lost, even though they were superior to what is available today. Take, for example, the old “green/blue screen” technique using sodium vapor lamps, used by Walt Disney in film production in the pre-digital era: https://youtu.be/UQuIVsNzqDk (12 minutes long, but totally worth it).
The video also highlights how finicky that technique is to work with. Especially when working on film, where you have to wait for the developed dailies to check the quality of the work, any reliability issues with the effects processes compound enormously. Re-shooting scenes days later because the camera or lighting was subtly inadequate is expensive.
