Outline of film


The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to film:
Film refers to motion pictures as individual projects and to the field in general. The name came from the fact that photographic film has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.

What type of thing is film?

Film can be described as all of the following:
  • Art - aesthetic expression for presentation or performance, and the work produced from this activity.
  • * One of the arts - as an art form, film is an outlet of human expression, that is usually influenced by culture and which in turn helps to change culture. Film is a physical manifestation of the internal human creative impulse.
  • ** One of the visual arts - visual arts is a class of art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and others, that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature.
  • ** One of the performing arts - art forms in which artists use their body, voice, or objects to convey artistic expression. Performing arts include a variety of disciplines but all take the form of a performance in front of an audience.
  • ** Fine art - in Western European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics, distinguishing it from applied art that also has to serve some practical function. The word "fine" here does not so much denote the quality of the artwork in question, but the purity of the discipline according to traditional Western European canons.
  • Show business - a means of providing employment for actors, screenwriters, artisans and technicians, regardless of whether the finished film was produced as a for-profit enterprise or as a not-for-profit public service.

Other names for film

  • Movie
  • Motion picture
  • Talking picture
  • Picture
  • Celluloid
  • Flick
  • Photoplay
  • Picture show
  • The cinema
  • The silver screen ; the silver sheet
  • Videos

Essence of film

  • Filmmaking - process of making a film. Filmmaking involves a number of discrete stages including an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a film release and exhibition. 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, polyester film was used which was shown through a movie projector onto a large screen. 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.

Cinematic and television genres

By setting

By mood

  • Action - generally involves a moral interplay between "good" and "bad" played out through violence or physical force
  • Adventure - involving danger, risk, and/or chance, often with a high degree of fantasy
  • Comedy - intended to provoke laughter
  • Drama - mainly focuses on character development
  • Erotic - sexuality or eroticism and sex acts, including love scenes
  • Horror - intended to provoke fear in audience
  • Mystery - the progression from the unknown to the known by discovering and solving a series of clues
  • Pornographic - includes sexually explicit content subject matter in order to arouse, fascinate, or satisfy the viewer
  • Romance - dwelling on the elements of romantic love
  • Thriller - intended to provoke excitement and/or nervous tension into audience

By format

  • Biographical - a biopic is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person, with varying degrees of basis in fact
  • Documentary - a factual following of an event or person to gain an understanding of a particular point or issue
  • Experimental - created to test audience reaction or to expand the boundaries of film production/story exposition then generally at play
  • Musical - a film interspersed with singing by all or some of the characters
  • Silent - a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue

By production type

  • Live action - film using actors
  • Animation - illusion of motion by consecutive display of static images which have been created by hand or on a computer
  • Television - a film that is produced for and originally distributed by a television network

By length

  • Short - may strive to contain many of the elements of a "full-length" feature, in a shorter time-frame
  • Serial - similar to shorts, but forms a constant story arc
  • Feature film - film that is "full-length"

By age

  • Children's film - films for young children; as opposed to a family film, no special effort is made to make the film attractive for other audiences
  • Family - intended to be attractive for people of all ages and suitable for viewing by a young audience; examples of these are Disney films
  • Teen film - intended for and aimed towards teens although some teen films, such as the High School Musical series; may also be a family film; not all of these films are suitable for all teens, as some are rated R
  • Adult film - intended to be viewed only by an adult audience, content may include violence, disturbing themes, obscene language, or explicit sexual behaviour. This includes various forms of exploitation films. Adult film may also be used as a synonym for pornographic film.

By audience reception

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Other genres



History of film and television

General film concepts

Film theory

Film formats

Films and TV series

Films by setting location

Films by cost

Films by success

Films by movement

Media companies

Film Studios

Major film studios

Majors (Big 5) Film Studios

Others

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Awards and festivals

Professions related to films (Film crew)

Above the line


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Below the line

Pre-production



Production design


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Photography


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Sound design



Special effect

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Animation



Talent



Post-production



Other

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Notable people from the film industry

Film theorists and critics



Famous film producers

Notable film producers
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Notable directors



Famous actors