Selected short films
Motion picture films are one of the more recent forms of art to develop. Technically they develop from both still photography and early attemots to cause pictures to move. Early attemos were the sootrope, flip books and machines into which people looked and cards were flipped all giving the illusion of movement. For motion pictures, there has been an rapid development based on advances in technology. Unlike the previously mentioned "moving picture" techniques, motion pictures responded to the development of projectors, so that watching films became a group event rather than a solitary one. The first developments technically had to do with the invention of both the motion picture cameras which allowed for the photographing of a number of still shots on a single piece of film (each shot called "a frame", and of projectors, The next development was the invention of ways to synchronize sound with the action so that people could be heard when the spoke. The Jazz Singer 1927 is generally cinsudered the first of these, although the entire film is not synchronized. A third major development was the development of wide screen which alters completely the way in which shots are composed (the first film released in wide screen was The Robe in 1953, and finally the development of the use of computers and computer graphivs in film making, The first of these is Andromeda Strain (1971). Early develpments were by the Lumiere Brothers, Louis and Auguste; George Melies, and Thomas Edison. Initially, the film was moved through the camera by "hand cranking" that is turning a handle that mechanically moved the film through the camera. Similarly, projects were hand cranked and it was necessary that the operators of both the camera and the projector crank at the same speed. Later film was moved through the camera by motors assuring a more even speed.
Initially. camera were simply placed facing the event to be filmed and the camera was cranked and a spool of film was run through the camera. In a sense the camera was used basically like a still camera. Shortly thereafter however, people discovered that the camera could be moved and that film could be edited which is to say different sections of film could be put together to make a longer reel and to have the camera chance position during a single film. Early films by the Lumiere Brothers and Edison tend to be documentary types films, in which events, like workers leaving the factory were recorded on film. Melies, on the other hand noted the potential of the film in that he created a kind of "special effect" film in which characters appear and diaappear in a way that would not be possible on stage. In a sense, this is the first "creative" use of the camera.
As time went by, terminology developed to describe various aspects of films making. A list of those includes:
Writing
Lenses (which are meansured by their focal length - the greater the length the more "telephoto" the ,lens. Each lens has its own characteristics
Shots ( a shot is an term meaning the point when the camera is to start to run to where it is to finish. A "take" is the actual filming of a shot. A set-up is the arrangement of the materials for the shot - lights etc.)
Focus How sharp the image is, and how much of the image is sharp
Camera Movement The camera can be moved on its own axis or on some other object
Sound
Editing. The manipulation of the shots in the film, Something unique to film.
Other
A more complete list of terms can be found at the film department's Film Glossary web site.
Film, like other art forms is often seen as a form of communication in which a "sender" (the film maker) sends or transmits a message ina code to a "receever". In speech, the code is language. Both speaker (sender) and hearer (receiver) must understand the code for the message to be understood. In each of the arts, there is a code which is used by the artist. Composers use a variety of sounds, harmonies, instruments; painters use composition, colors etc. Film makers use a number of techniques. Some of the technical aspects of their work comes from manipulating those areas of film making listed above. Each time the director films a shot, there are many choices to be made - what lens to use, what position the camera is in - will the camera remain steady or move - how will the shots be connected (edited) and so on. In each case the possible choices are known as variables. The audience (receivers) will interpret those choices and from that arrrive at a meaning.
It is important to remember that in film classes it is the film techniques specifically that we are looking at. This doesn't mean that the script is unimportant - quite the contrary, it is what the film maker is shooting. The question becomes, how does the film maker "translate" the story into a visual image. In your film papers, if you stay with the script, you might as well be analyzing a radio program!