A film, also known as a movie or motion picture,[a] is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise
communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are
generally, since the 1930s, synchronized with sound and (less commonly) other sensory stimulations.[1] The word
"cinema" is a shortening of the word "cinematography" and is used to refer to either filmmaking, the film industry,
the overall art form, or a movie theater.
Recording and transmission of the film
The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by
photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer
animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects.
Before the introduction of digital production, a series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically
sensitized celluloid (photographic film stock), usually at a rate of 24 frames per second. The images are transmitted
through a movie projector at the same rate as they were recorded, with a Geneva drive ensuring that each frame
remains still during its short projection time. A rotating shutter causes stroboscopic intervals of darkness, but the
viewer does not notice the interruptions due to flicker fusion. The apparent motion on the screen is the result of the
fact that the visual sense cannot discern the individual images at high speeds, so the impressions of the images blend
with the dark intervals and are thus linked together to produce the illusion of one moving image. An
analogous optical soundtrack (a graphic recording of the spoken words, music, and other sounds) runs along a
portion of the film exclusively reserved for it, and was not projected.
Contemporary films are usually fully digital through the entire process of production, distribution, and exhibition.
Etymology and alternative terms
The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion [2] on the celluloid strip that used to
be the actual medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.
Many other terms exist for an individual motion-picture, including "picture", "picture show", "moving picture",
"photoplay", and "flick". The most common term in the United States is "movie", while in Europe, "film" is
preferred. Archaic terms include "animated pictures" and "animated photography".
"Flick" is, in general a slang term, first recorded in 1926. It originates in the verb flicker, owing to the flickering
appearance of early films.[3]
Common terms for the field, in general, include "the big screen", "the movies", "the silver screen", and "cinema";
the last of these is commonly used, as an overarching term, in scholarly texts and critical essays. In the early years,
the word "sheet" was sometimes used instead of "screen".
History
Main articles: History of film technology, History of film, and Precursors of film
See also: History of animation
Precursors
The art of film has drawn on several earlier traditions in fields such as oral storytelling, literature, theatre and visual
arts. Forms of art and entertainment that had already featured moving or projected images include:
shadowgraphy, probably used since prehistoric times
camera obscura, a natural phenomenon that has possibly been used as an artistic aid since prehistoric times
shadow puppetry, possibly originated around 200 BCE in Central Asia, India, Indonesia or China
The magic lantern, developed in the 1650s. The multi-media phantasmagoria shows that magic lanterns were
popular from 1790 throughout the first half of the 19th century and could feature mechanical slides, rear
projection, mobile projectors, superimposition, dissolving views, live actors, smoke (sometimes to project
images upon), odors, sounds and even electric shocks.
