From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.
Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating
— citizens. The visual elements of cinema gives motion pictures a
universal power of communication. Some films have become popular
worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.
Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images
called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a
viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see
the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision,
whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after
the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a
psychological effect called beta movement.
The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) had historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.
History
-
In the 1860s, mechanisms for producing artificially created,
two-dimensional images in motion were demonstrated with devices such as
the zoetrope and the praxinoscope. These machines were outgrowths of simple optical devices (such as magic lanterns)
and would display sequences of still pictures at sufficient speed for
the images on the pictures to appear to be moving, a phenomenon called persistence of vision.
Naturally the images needed to be carefully designed to achieve the
desired effect, and the underlying principle became the basis for the
development of film animation.
With the development of celluloid film for still photography,
it became possible to directly capture objects in motion in real time.
Early versions of the technology sometimes required a person to look
into a viewing machine to see the pictures which were separate paper
prints attached to a drum turned by a handcrank. The pictures were
shown at a variable speed of about 5 to 10 pictures per second,
depending on how rapidly the crank was turned. Some of these machines
were coin operated. By the 1880s the development of the motion picture camera allowed the individual component images to be captured and stored on a single reel, and led quickly to the development of a motion picture projector
to shine light through the processed and printed film and magnify these
"moving picture shows" onto a screen for an entire audience. These
reels, so exhibited, came to be known as "motion pictures". Early
motion pictures were static shots that showed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques.
Ignoring Dickson's early sound experiments (1894), commercial motion pictures were purely visual art through the late 19th century, but these innovative silent films
had gained a hold on the public imagination. Around the turn of the
twentieth century, films began developing a narrative structure by
stringing scenes together to tell narratives.
The scenes were later broken up into multiple shots of varying sizes
and angles. Other techniques such as camera movement were realized as
effective ways to portray a story on film. Rather than leave the
audience in silence, theater owners would hire a pianist or organist or a full orchestra
to play music fitting the mood of the film at any given moment. By the
early 1920s, most films came with a prepared list of sheet music for
this purpose, with complete film scores being composed for major productions.
The rise of European cinema was interrupted by the breakout of World War I while the film industry in United States flourished with the rise of Hollywood. However in the 1920s, European filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, F. W. Murnau, and Fritz Lang, along with American innovator D. W. Griffith and the contributions of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and others, continued to advance the medium. In the 1920s, new technology allowed filmmakers to attach to each film a soundtrack of speech, music and sound effects synchronized with the action on the screen. These sound films were initially distinguished by calling them "talking pictures", or talkies.
The next major step in the development of cinema was the introduction of so-called "natural" color. While the addition of sound
quickly eclipsed silent film and theater musicians, color was adopted
more gradually as methods evolved making it more practical and cost
effective to produce "natural color" films. The public was relatively
indifferent to color photography as opposed to black-and-white,[citation needed] but as color processes improved and became as affordable as black-and-white film, more and more movies were filmed in color after the end of World War II,
as the industry in America came to view color as essential to
attracting audiences in its competition with television, which remained
a black-and-white medium until the mid-1960s. By the end of the 1960s,
color had become the norm for film makers.
Since the decline of the studio system in the 1960s, the succeeding decades saw changes in the production and style of film. New Hollywood, French New Wave
and the rise of film school educated independent filmmakers were all
part of the changes the medium experienced in the latter half of the
20th century. Digital technology has been the driving force in change
throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.
Theory
-
Main article: Film theory
Film theory seeks to develop concise and systematic concepts that apply to the study of film as art. It was started by Ricciotto Canudo's The Birth of the Sixth Art. Formalist film theory, led by Rudolf Arnheim, Béla Balázs, and Siegfried Kracauer, emphasized how film differed from reality, and thus could be considered a valid fine art. André Bazin
reacted against this theory by arguing that film's artistic essence lay
in its ability to mechanically reproduce reality not in its differences
from reality, and this gave rise to realist theory. More recent
analysis spurred by Lacan's psychoanalysis and Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotics among other things has given rise to psychoanalytical film theory, structuralist film theory, feminist film theory and others.
Criticism
-
Main article: Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films. In general,
these works can be divided into two categories: academic criticism by
film scholars and journalistic film criticism that appears regularly in
newspapers and other media.
Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media
mainly review new releases. Normally they only see any given film once
and have only a day or two to formulate opinions. Despite this, critics
have an important impact on films, especially those of certain genres. Mass marketed action, horror, and comedy films
tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's overall judgment of a
film. The plot summary and description of a film that makes up the
majority of any film review can still have an important impact on
whether people decide to see a film. For prestige films such as most dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely important. Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss.
The impact of a reviewer on a given film's box office performance is a matter of debate. Some claim that movie marketing
is now so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make an
impact against it. However, the cataclysmic failure of some
heavily-promoted movies which were harshly reviewed, as well as the
unexpected success of critically praised independent movies indicates
that extreme critical reactions can have considerable influence. Others
note that positive film reviews have been shown to spark interest in
little-known films. Conversely, there have been several films in which
film companies have so little confidence that they refuse to give
reviewers an advanced viewing to avoid widespread panning of the film.
However, this usually backfires as reviewers are wise to the tactic and
warn the public that the film may not be worth seeing and the films
often do poorly as a result.
It is argued that journalist film critics should only be known as
film reviewers, and true film critics are those who take a more
academic approach to films. This line of work is more often known as film theory
or film studies. These film critics attempt to come to understand how
film and filming techniques work, and what effect they have on people.
Rather than having their works published in newspapers or appear on
television, their articles are published in scholarly journals, or
sometimes in up-market magazines. They also tend to be affiliated with
colleges or universities.
Industry
-
Main article: Film industry
The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit
almost as soon as the process was invented. Upon seeing how successful
their new invention, and its product, was in their native France, the Lumières
quickly set about touring the Continent to exhibit the first films
privately to royalty and publicly to the masses. In each country, they
would normally add new, local scenes to their catalogue and, quickly
enough, found local entrepreneurs in the various countries of Europe to
buy their equipment and photograph, export, import and screen
additional product commercially. The Oberammergau Passion Play of 1898[citation needed]
was the first commercial motion picture ever produced. Other pictures
soon followed, and motion pictures became a separate industry that
overshadowed the vaudeville world. Dedicated theaters and companies formed specifically to produce and distribute films, while motion picture actors became major celebrities and commanded huge fees for their performances. Already by 1917, Charlie Chaplin had a contract that called for an annual salary of one million dollars.
In the United States today, much of the film industry is centered around Hollywood. Other regional centers exist in many parts of the world, such as Mumbai-centered Bollywood, the Indian film industry's Hindi cinema which produces the largest number of films in the world.[1] Whether the ten thousand-plus feature length films a year produced by the Valley pornographic film industry should qualify for this title is the source of some debate.[citation needed] Though the expense involved in making movies has led cinema production to concentrate under the auspices of movie studios, recent advances in affordable film making equipment have allowed independent film productions to flourish.
Profit is a key force in the industry, due to the costly and risky nature of filmmaking; many films have large cost overruns, a notorious example being Kevin Costner's Waterworld. Yet many filmmakers strive to create works of lasting social significance. The Academy Awards (also known as "the Oscars") are the most prominent film awards in the United States, providing recognition each year to films, ostensibly based on their artistic merits.
There is also a large industry for educational and instructional films made in lieu of or in addition to lectures and texts.
Preview
A preview performance refers to a showing of a movie to a select
audience, usually for the purposes of corporate promotions, before the
public film premiere itself. Previews are sometimes used to judge
audience reaction, which if unexpectedly negative, may result in
recutting or even refilming certain sections. (cf Audience response.)
Trailer
-
Main article: Trailer (film)
Trailers or previews are film advertisements for films that will be
exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown.
The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the
end of a film programme. That practice did not last long, because
patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name
has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the A movie in a
double feature program) begins.
Production
-
The nature of the film determines the size and type of crew required during filmmaking. Many Hollywood adventure films need computer generated imagery (CGI), created by dozens of 3D modellers, animators, rotoscopers and compositors. However, a low-budget, independent film may be made with a skeleton crew, often paid very little. Also, an open source film
may be produced through open, collaborative processes. Filmmaking takes
place all over the world using different technologies, styles of acting
and genre, and is produced in a variety of economic contexts that range
from state-sponsored documentary in China to profit-oriented movie
making within the American studio system.
A typical Hollywood-style filmmaking Production cycle is comprised of five main stages:
- Development
- Pre-production
- Production
- Post-production
- Distribution
This production cycle typically takes three years. The first year is taken up with development. The second year comprises preproduction and production. The third year, post-production and distribution.
Crew
-
A film crew is a group of people hired by a film company, employed
during the "production" or "photography" phase, for the purpose of
producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. The crew interacts with but is also distinct from the production staff,
consisting of producers, managers, company representatives, their
assistants, and those whose primary responsibility falls in
pre-production or post-production phases, such as writers and editors.
Communication between production and crew generally
passes through the director and his/her staff of assistants.
Medium-to-large crews are generally divided into departments with well
defined hierarchies and standards for interaction and cooperation
between the departments. Other than acting, the crew handles everything
in the photography phase: props and costumes, shooting, sound,
electrics (i.e., lights), sets, and production special effects.
Caterers (known in the film industry as "craft services") are usually
not considered part of the crew.
Technology
Film stock consists of transparent celluloid, acetate, or polyester base
coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive chemicals. Cellulose
nitrate was the first type of film base used to record motion pictures,
but due to its flammability was eventually replaced by safer materials.
Stock widths and the film format
for images on the reel have had a rich history, though most large
commercial films are still shot on (and distributed to theaters) as 35 mm prints.
Originally moving picture film was shot and projected at various speeds using hand-cranked cameras and projectors;
though 1000 frames per minute (16⅔ frame/s) is generally cited as a
standard silent speed, research indicates most films were shot between
16 frame/s and 23 frame/s and projected from 18 frame/s on up (often
reels included instructions on how fast each scene should be shown)[2]. When sound film
was introduced in the late 1920s, a constant speed was required for the
sound head. 24 frames per second was chosen because it was the slowest
(and thus cheapest) speed which allowed for sufficient sound quality.
Improvements since the late 19th century include the mechanization of
cameras — allowing them to record at a consistent speed, quiet camera
design — allowing sound recorded on-set to be usable without requiring
large "blimps" to encase the camera, the invention of more
sophisticated filmstocks and lenses, allowing directors
to film in increasingly dim conditions, and the development of
synchronized sound, allowing sound to be recorded at exactly the same
speed as its corresponding action. The soundtrack can be recorded
separately from shooting the film, but for live-action pictures many
parts of the soundtrack are usually recorded simultaneously.
As a medium, film is not limited to motion pictures, since the technology developed as the basis for photography.
It can be used to present a progressive sequence of still images in the
form of a slideshow. Film has also been incorporated into multimedia
presentations, and often has importance as primary historical
documentation. However, historic films have problems in terms of
preservation and storage, and the motion picture industry is exploring
many alternatives. Most movies on cellulose nitrate base have been
copied onto modern safety films. Some studios save color films through
the use of separation masters — three B&W negatives each exposed through red, green, or blue filters (essentially a reverse of the Technicolor
process). Digital methods have also been used to restore films,
although their continued obsolescence cycle makes them (as of 2006) a
poor choice for long-term preservation. Film preservation
of decaying film stock is a matter of concern to both film historians
and archivists, and to companies interested in preserving their
existing products in order to make them available to future generations
(and thereby increase revenue). Preservation is generally a
higher-concern for nitrate and single-strip color films, due to their
high decay rates; black and white films on safety bases and color films
preserved on Technicolor imbibition prints tend to keep up much better,
assuming proper handling and storage.
Some films in recent decades have been recorded using analog video technology similar to that used in television production. Modern digital video cameras and digital projectors
are gaining ground as well. These approaches are extremely beneficial
to moviemakers, especially because footage can be evaluated and edited
without waiting for the film stock to be processed. Yet the migration
is gradual, and as of 2005 most major motion pictures are still
recorded on film.
Independent
-
Independent filmmaking often takes place outside of Hollywood, or other major studio systems. An independent film (or indie film) is a film initially produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio.
Creative, business, and technological reasons have all contributed to
the growth of the indie film scene in the late 20th and early 21st
century.
On the business side, the costs of big-budget studio films also
leads to conservative choices in cast and crew. There is a trend in
Hollywood towards co-financing (over two-thirds of the films put out by
Warner Bros. in 2000 were joint ventures, up from 10% in 1987).[3]
A hopeful director is almost never given the opportunity to get a job
on a big-budget studio film unless he or she has significant industry
experience in film or television. Also, the studios rarely produce
films with unknown actors, particularly in lead roles.
Before the advent of digital
alternatives, the cost of professional film equipment and stock was
also a hurdle to being able to produce, direct, or star in a
traditional studio film.
But the advent of consumer camcorders in 1985, and more importantly, the arrival of high-resolution digital video
in the early 1990s, have lowered the technology barrier to movie
production significantly. Both production and post-production costs
have been significantly lowered; today, the hardware and software for
post-production can be installed in a commodity-based personal computer. Technologies such as DVDs, FireWire connections and non-linear editing system pro-level software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas and Apple's Final Cut Pro, and consumer level software such as Apple's Final Cut Express and iMovie make movie-making relatively inexpensive.
Since the introduction of DV
technology, the means of production have become more democratized.
Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the
sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. However,
while the means of production may be democratized, financing,
distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the
traditional system. Most independent filmmakers rely on film festivals
to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. The arrival of
internet-based video outlets such as YouTube and Veoh has further changed the film making landscape in ways that are still to be determined.
Open content film
-
An open content film is much like an independent film, but it is
produced through open collaborations; its source material is available
under a license which is permissive enough to allow other parties to create fan fiction
or derivative works, than a traditional copyright. Like independent
filmmaking, open source filmmaking takes place outside of Hollywood, or
other major studio systems.
Fan film
-
A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs,
but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by
professional filmmakers as film school class projects or as
demonstration reels. Fan films vary tremendously in length, from short
faux-teaser trailers for non-existent motion pictures to rarer
full-length motion pictures.
Animation
-
Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film is produced
individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by
photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a
model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a special animation camera.
When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at
a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of
continuous movement (due to the persistence of vision). Generating such a film is very labour intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process.
File formats like GIF, QuickTime, Shockwave and Flash allow animation to be viewed on a computer or over the Internet.
Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and movies comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation
has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by
independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several
independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional
animation industry.
Limited animation
is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by
using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered
by UPA and popularized by Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television.[4]
Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies
in their productions, there is a specific style of animation that
depends on film. Cameraless animation, made famous by moviemakers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film, and then run through a projector.
Venues
When it is initially produced, a feature film is often shown to audiences in a movie theater or cinema. The first theater designed exclusively for cinema opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1905.[5] Thousands of such theaters were built or converted from existing facilities within a few years.[6] In the United States, these theaters came to be known as nickelodeons, because admission typically cost a nickel (five cents).
Typically, one film is the featured presentation (or feature film).
Before the 1970s, there were "double features"; typically, a high
quality "A picture" rented by an independent theater for a lump sum,
and a "B picture" of lower quality rented for a percentage of the gross
receipts. Today, the bulk of the material shown before the feature film
consists of previews for upcoming movies and paid advertisements (also
known as trailers or "The Twenty").
Historically, all mass marketed feature films were made to be shown in movie theaters. The development of television
has allowed films to be broadcast to larger audiences, usually after
the film is no longer being shown in theaters. Recording technology has
also enabled consumers to rent or buy copies of films on VHS or DVD (and the older formats of laserdisc, VCD and SelectaVision — see also videodisc), and Internet downloads
may be available and have started to become revenue sources for the
film companies. Some films are now made specifically for these other
venues, being released as made-for-TV movies or direct-to-video
movies. The production values on these films are often considered to be
of inferior quality compared to theatrical releases in similar genres,
and indeed, some films that are rejected by their own studios upon
completion are distributed through these markets.
The movie theater pays an average of about 50-55% of its ticket sales to the movie studio, as film rental fees.[7]
The actual percentage starts with a number higher than that, and
decreases as the duration of a film's showing continues, as an
incentive to theaters to keep movies in the theater longer. However,
today's barrage of highly marketed movies ensures that most movies are
shown in first-run theaters for less than 8 weeks. There are a few
movies every year that defy this rule, often limited-release movies
that start in only a few theaters and actually grow their theater count
through good word-of-mouth and reviews. According to a 2000 study by ABN AMRO, about 26% of Hollywood movie studios' worldwide income came from box office ticket sales; 46% came from VHS and DVD sales to consumers; and 28% came from television (broadcast, cable, and pay-per-view).[7]
Future state
While motion picture films have been around for more than a century, film is still a relative newcomer in the pantheon of fine arts.
In the 1950s, when television became widely available, industry
analysts predicted the demise of local movie theaters. Despite
competition from television's increasing technological sophistication
over the 1960s and 1970s, such as the development of color television
and large screens, motion picture cinemas continued. In fact with the
rise of television's predominance, film began to become more respected
as an artistic medium by contrast due the low general opinion of the
quality of average television content. In the 1980s, when the
widespread availability of inexpensive videocassette recorders enabled
people to select films for home viewing, industry analysts again
wrongly predicted the death of the local cinemas.
In the 1990s and 2000s the development of digital DVD
players, home theater amplification systems with surround sound and
subwoofers, and large LCD or plasma screens enabled people to select
and view films at home with greatly improved audio and visual
reproduction. These new technologies provided audio and visual that in
the past only local cinemas had been able to provide: a large, clear
widescreen presentation of a film with a full-range, high-quality
multi-speaker sound system. Once again industry analysts predicted the
demise of the local cinema. Local cinemas will be changing in the 2000s
and moving towards digital screens, a new approach which will allow for
easier and quicker distribution of films (via satellite or hard disks),
a development which may give local theaters a reprieve from their
predicted demise.
The cinema now faces a new challenge from home video by the likes of a new DVD format Blu-ray, which can provide full HD 1080p
video playback at near cinema quality. Video formats are gradually
catching up with the resolutions and quality that film offers, 1080p in
Blu-ray offers a pixel resolution of 1920×1080 a leap from the DVD
offering of 720×480 and the paltry 330×480 offered by the first home
video standard VHS. The maximum resolutions that film currently offers are 2485×2970 or 1420×3390, UHD,
a future digital video format, will offer a massive resolution of
7680×4320, surpassing all current film resolutions. The only viable
competitor to these new innovations is IMAX which can play film content at an extreme 10000×7000 resolution.
Despite the rise of all new technologies, the development of the
home video market and a surge of online copyright infringement, 2007
was a record year in film that showed the highest ever box-office
grosses. Many expected film to suffer as a result of the effects listed
above but it has flourished, strengthening film studio expectations for
the future.
See also
Notes
References
- Acker, Ally (1991). Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema, 1896 to the Present. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0826404995.
- Basten, Fred E. (1980). Glorious Technicolor: The Movies' Magic Rainbow. Cranbury, NJ: AS Barnes & Company. ISBN 0498023176.
- Basten, Fred E. (writer); Peter Jones (director and writer); Angela Lansbury (narrator). (1998). Glorious Technicolor [Documentary]. Turner Classic Movies.
- Casetti, Francesco (1999). Theories of Cinema, 1945-1995. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292712073.
- Faber, Liz, & Walters, Helen (2003). Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940. London: Laurence King, in association with Harper Design International. ISBN 1856693465.
- Hagener, Malte, & Töteberg, Michael (2002). Film: An International Bibliography. Stuttgart: Metzler. ISBN 3476015238.
- Hill, John, & Gibson, Pamela Church (1998). The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198711247.
- King, Geoff (2002). New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231127596.
- Ledoux, Trish, & Ranney, Doug, & Patten, Fred (1997). Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory and Resource Guide. Issaquah, WA: Tiger Mountain Press. ISBN 0964954257.
- Merritt, Greg (2000). Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Film. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1560252324.
- Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (1999). The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198742428.
- Rocchio, Vincent F. (2000). Reel Racism: Confronting Hollywood's Construction of Afro-American Culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0813367107.
- Schrader, Paul (Spring 1972). "Notes on Film Noir". Film Comment Vol. 8 (Issue 1): pp. 8–13. ISSN 0015-119X.
- Schultz, John (writer and director); James Earl Jones (narrator). (1995). The Making of 'Jurassic Park' [Documentary]. Amblin Entertainment.
- Thackway, Melissa (2003). Africa Shoots Back: Alternative Perspectives in Sub-Saharan Francophone African Film. Bloomington, IL: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0852555768.
- Vogel, Amos (1974). Film as a Subversive Art. New York: Random House. ISBN 0394490789.
External links
- All Movie Guide
- Information on films: actors, directors, biographies, reviews, cast
and production credits, box office sales, and other movie data.
- Film Site - Reviews of classic films
- The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) - Information on current and historical films and cast listings.
- Movies at the Open Directory Project
- Rottentomatoes.com - Movie reviews, previews, forums, photos, cast info, and more.
Classical
from 
