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| Hollywood Sign. |
Film
Movies, also known as films, are a type of visual
communication which use moving pictures and sound to
tell stories or inform (help people to learn). People in
every part of the world watch movies as a type of
entertainment, a way to have fun. For some people, fun
movies can mean movies that make them laugh, while for
others it can mean movies that make them cry, or feel
afraid. Most movies are made so that they can be shown
on big screens at movie theatres. After movies are shown
on movie screens for a period of time (ranging from a
few weeks to several months), movies are shown on pay
television or cable television, and sold or rented on
DVD disks or videocassette tapes, so that people can
watch the movies at home. You can also download or
stream movies. Later movies are shown on television
stations.
A movie camera or video camera takes pictures very
quickly, usually at 24 or 25 pictures (frames) every
second. When a movie projector, a computer, or a
television shows the pictures at that rate, it looks
like the things shown in the set of pictures are really
moving. Sound is either recorded at the same time, or
added later. The sounds in a movie usually include the
sounds of people talking (which is called dialogue),
music (which is called the "soundtrack"), and sound
effects, the sounds of activities that are happening in
the movie (such as doors opening or guns being fired).
In the 20th century the camera used photographic film.
The product is still often called a "film" even though
there usually is no film. |
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How movies are made
A screenwriter writes a script, which is the story of
the movie with words and things that the actors will say
and do. Then a producer hires people to work on the
movie and gets all of the money that will be needed to
pay for the actors and the equipment. Producers usually
get the money by borrowing it from a bank or by getting
investors to lend money to the movie production. Some
producers work for a movie studio; other producers are
independent (they do not work for a movie studio).
Actors and directors read scripts to find out what to
say and what to do. The actors memorize the words from
the script that they will say in the movie, and learn
the actions that the script tells them to do. Then the
director tells the actors what to do and a cameraman
takes motion pictures of them with a motion picture
camera.
When filming has finished, an editor puts the moving
pictures together in a way that tells the whole story
within a set amount of time. Audio engineers and sound
engineers record music and singing and join it with the
moving pictures. When the movie is done, many copies of
the movie are made by movie labs and put onto movie
reels. Then the movie reels are sent to cinemas. The
movie is projected with a movie projector onto a large
projection screen at the front of the auditorium (the
room where the audience watches the movie) while the
dialogue, sounds and music are played through a number
of loudspeakers. |
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Genres
A genre is a word for a type of movie or a style of
movie. Movies can be fictional (made up), or true, or a
mix of the two. Although hundreds of movies are made
every year, there are very few that do not follow a
small number of set plots, or stories. Some movies mix
together two or more genres. |
- Action movies have a lot of exciting
effects like car chases and gun fights, involving
stuntmen. They usually involve 'goodies' and 'baddies',
so war and crime are common subjects. Action movies
usually need very little effort to watch, since the plot
is normally simple. For example, in Die Hard, terrorists
take control of a skyscraper and ask for a big ransom in
exchange for not killing the hostage workers. One hero
somehow manages to save everyone. Action movies do not
usually make people cry, but if the action movie is also
a drama, emotion will be involved.
- Adventure Movies usually involve a
hero who sets out on a quest to save the world or loved
ones.
- Animated movies use artificial
images like talking pigs to tell a story. These movies
used to be drawn by hand, one frame at a time, but are
now made on computers.
- Buddy movies involve 2 heroes, one
must save the other, both must overcome obstacles. Buddy
movies often involve comedy, but there is also some
emotion, because of the close friendship between the
'buddies'.
- Comedies are funny movies about
people being silly or doing unusual things or being in
silly or unusual situations that make the audience
laugh.
- Documentaries are movies that are
(or claim to be) about real people and real events. They
are nearly always serious and may involve strongly
emotional subjects, for example cruelty.
- Dramas are serious, and often about
people falling in love or needing to make a big decision
in their life. They tell stories about relationships
between people. They usually follow a basic plot where
one or two main characters (each actor plays a
character) have to 'overcome' (get past) an obstacle
(the thing stopping them) to get what they want.
- Tragedies are always dramas, and are
about people in trouble. For example, a husband and wife
who are divorcing must each try to prove to a court of
law that they are the best person to take care of their
child. Emotion (feelings) are a big part of the movie
and the audience (people watching the movie) may get
upset and even cry.
- Film noir movies are 1940s-era
detective dramas about crime and violence.
- Family movies are made to be good
for the entire family. They are mainly made for children
but often entertaining for adults as well. Disney is
famous for their family movies.
- Horror movies use fear to excite the
audience. Music, lighting and sets (man-made places in
movie studios where the movie is made) are all designed
to add to the feeling.
- Romantic Comedies (Rom-Coms) are
usually love stories about 2 people from different
worlds, who must overcome obstacles to be together. Rom-Coms
are always light-hearted, but may include some emotion.
- Science fiction movies are set in
the future or in outer space. Some use their future or
alien settings to ask questions about the meaning of
life or how we should think about life. Science fiction
movies often use special effects to create images of
alien worlds, outer space, alien creatures, and
spaceships.
- Thrillers are usually about a
mystery, strange event, or crime that needs to be
solved. The audience is kept guessing until the final
minutes, when there are usually 'twists' in the plot
(surprises).
- Western movies tell stories about
cowboys in the western United States in the 1800s. They
are usually really Action movies, but with historical
costume. They may or may not involve Indians (Native
Americans).
- Suspense These are movies that keep
you on the edge of your seat. They usually have multiple
twists that confuse the watcher.
- Fantasy movies include magical and
impossible things that any real human being cannot do.
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The business of making
movies
Most movies lose money but some make profits in the
hundreds of millions, be they dollars, euro or pounds.
In India movies have become an enormous part of the
economy. The industry has always been dominated by quite
a small number of major studios, like MGM/UA, Warner,
Columbia or Paramount. There are many large companies
that provide all of the services needed to make movies,
such as special effects, lighting, set building. Many of
these employees belong to trade unions who say how much
their members must be paid. A huge number of smaller
companies also offer services, such as music studios
(which record the music for original movie sound tracks)
and CGI computer animation. Finally there are movie
distribution companies (which send movies around the
world or around a country), and advertising companies
who let people know about the movie and promote it (try
to make people want to see the movie).
Movies with famous stars and large budgets (lots of
money), are designed to have a wide appeal, so that
hopefully millions of people will pay to see them. These
most expensive movies are called blockbusters. Special
effects can add a huge amount to the cost of a movie,
especially the newest CGI effects, but people have come
to expect them and every blockbuster movie tries to
out-do the last. Even in 2008, some movies cost up to
$200 million to make. Very successful movies can make
many times that amount in profit, and that's why the
studios keep producing them. This kind of movie will
have a lot of promotion through television advertising,
billboards and internet sites. In blockbuster movies,
there is usually a happy ending, in which all of the
problems in the plot (story) are figured out or fixed
and almost everyone (except the baddie) live happily
ever after. Some movies have been so successful that the
studios keep releasing more and more sequels, or movies
with the same characters and basic plots.
At the opposite end of the scale to the blockbuster,
there is the independent, art, or Indie movie. These are
usually made by small movie companies, or even just a
small group of people that do not have much money. An
example is The Blair Witch Project, which cost only
about $60,000, but which has so far taken perhaps $200
million in ticket and DVD sales. Movies like this are
very unusual and usually become popular 'underground'
(word of mouth advertising), so that they become cult,
or popular but not mainstream. Independent movies often
tell more creative or unusual (strange) stories, or may
have sad endings that do not appeal to the big studios,
because they can not be sure how the public will react
to them. They rarely make a lot of money, but if they
are successful, the big studios will quickly try to get
the people involved to sign a contract with them, by
offering them a lot of money to make another movie.
Often the new movie, with its big budget and its stars
will be less successful than the first. |
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 Kiddle: Film
Wikipedia: Film |
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