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Film

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Films

           World cinema
     * African cinema
     * Asian cinema

          East Asian cinema
          South Asian cinema
          Southeast Asian cinema
          Middle Eastern cinema

     * Australasian cinema
     * European cinema
     * North American cinema
     * South American cinema

   Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects,
   as well as the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the
   fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically
   been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.
   Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including
   picture, picture show, photoplay, flick, and most commonly, movie.
   Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the
   silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.

   Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras,
   or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects.
   They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are
   shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the
   viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen 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. Also of
   relevance is what causes the perception of motion; a psychological
   effect identified as beta movement.

   Film is considered by many to be an important art form; films
   entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. The visual
   elements of cinema need no translation, giving the motion picture a
   universal power of communication. Any film can become a worldwide
   attraction, especially with the addition of dubbing or subtitles that
   translate the dialogue. Films are also artifacts created by specific
   cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.

History of film

   "Film" refers to the celluloid medium on which motion pictures are
   printed. Shown above is a reel of 8 mm film.
   Enlarge
   "Film" refers to the celluloid medium on which motion pictures are
   printed. Shown above is a reel of 8 mm film.

   Mechanisms for producing artificially created, two-dimensional images
   in motion were demonstrated as early as the 1860s, 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.
   A frame from Roundhay Garden Scene, the world's first motion picture by
   Louis Le Prince, 1888
   Enlarge
   A frame from Roundhay Garden Scene, the world's first motion picture by
   Louis Le Prince, 1888

   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 the viewer to look into a
   special device to see the pictures. 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.
   A shot from Georges Méliès' Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon)
   (1902), an early narrative film.
   Enlarge
   A shot from Georges Méliès' Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon)
   (1902), an early narrative film.

   Motion pictures were purely visual art up to 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, theatre 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 and F. W. Murnau, 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 colour. While the addition of sound quickly eclipsed silent film and
   theater musicians, color was adopted more gradually. The public was
   relatively indifferent to color photography as opposed to
   black-and-white. But as colour 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 an 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, colour 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.

Film theory

   Film theory seeks to develop concise, systematic concepts that apply to
   the study of film/cinema as art. Classical film theory provides a
   structural framework to address classical issues of techniques,
   narrativity, diegesis, cinematic codes, "the image", genre,
   subjectivity, and authorship. More recent analysis has given rise to
   psychoanalytical film theory, structuralist film theory, feminist film
   theory and others.

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.

Motion picture 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
   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, and the Indian film industry (primarily centered around "
   Bollywood") annually produces the largest number of films in the world.
   Whether the ten thousand-plus features a year produced by the Valley
   porn industry should qualify for this title is the source of some
   debate. 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. Also, film quickly came to be used in education,
   in lieu of or in addition to lectures and texts.

Stages of filmmaking

   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. 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 comprises five
   main stages:
    1. Development
    2. Pre-production
    3. Production
    4. Post-production
    5. 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.

Film crew

   A film crew is a group of people hired by a film company 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.

Independent filmmaking

   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.

   Creatively, it was becoming increasingly difficult to get studio
   backing for experimental films. Experimental elements in theme and
   style are inhibitors for the big studios.

   On the business side, the costs of big-budget studio films also leads
   to conservative choices in cast and crew. The problem is exacerbated by
   the trend towards co-financing (over two-thirds of the films put out by
   Warner Bros. in 2000 were joint ventures, up from 10% in 1987). An
   unproven director is almost never given the opportunity to get his or
   her big break with the studios unless he or she has significant
   industry experience in film or television. They also rarely produce
   films with unknown actors, particularly in lead roles.

   Until 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. The cost of 35 mm film is
   outpacing inflation: in 2002 alone, film negative costs were up 23%,
   according to Variety. Film requires expensive lighting and
   post-production facilities.

   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 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.

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 (some say exploited) by
   Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from
   movie theaters to television.

   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.

Film venues

   When it is initially produced, a film is normally shown to audiences in
   a movie theatre or cinema. The first theatre designed exclusively for
   cinema opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1905. Thousands of such
   theaters were built or converted from existing facilities within a few
   years. 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).
   There were "double features"; typically, a high quality "A picture"
   rented by an independent theatre 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 (those in theaters)
   consists of previews for upcoming movies and paid advertisements (also
   known as trailers or " The Twenty").

   Originally, all 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. These
   are often considered to be of inferior quality compared to theatrical
   releases. And indeed, some films that are rejected by their own studios
   upon completion are dumped into these markets.

   The movie theatre pays an average of about 55% of its ticket sales to
   the movie studio, as film rental fees. 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 theatre 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).

Development of film technology

   Film stock consists of transparent celluloid, polyester, or acetate
   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 16 frames per second
   is generally cited as a standard silent speed, research indicates most
   films were shot between 16-23 fps and projected from 18 fps on up
   (often reels included instructions on how fast each scene should be
   shown) . 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 colour 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 colour 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.

Endurance of films

   Films have been around for more than a century; however this is not
   long when one considers it in relation to other arts like painting and
   sculpture. There was a perceived "threat" by television during the
   early 1950's, especially when the FCC expanded television during its
   1952 TV license expansion. Trade magazines were publishing articles on
   the "death' of local theatres. Nonetheless, many at present believe
   that film will be a long enduring art form because motion pictures
   appeal to diverse human emotions.

   Apart from societal norms and cultural changes, there are still close
   resemblances between theatrical plays throughout the ages and films of
   today. Romantic motion pictures about a girl loving a guy but not being
   able to be together for some reason, movies about a hero who fights
   against all odds a more powerful fiendish enemy, comedies about
   everyday life, etc. all involve plots with common threads that existed
   in books, plays and other venues.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film"
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