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Outline of film

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See also: Index of motion picture–related articles

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 (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.

What type of thing is film?

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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

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  • Movie
  • Motion picture
  • Talking picture
  • Picture
  • Celluloid
  • Flick (or flicker)
  • Photoplay
  • Picture show
  • The cinema
  • The silver screen (talkie era); the silver sheet (silent era)
  • Videos

Essence of film

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  • 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.[1] After the late 1950s, polyester film was used which was shown through a movie projector onto a large screen (in other words, an analog recording process). 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 genres

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Film genre

By setting

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By mood

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  • 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
  • Romance - dwelling on the elements of romantic love
  • Thrillers - intended to provoke excitement and/or nervous tension into audience

By format

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  • 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 (avant-garde) - 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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Cinema by region

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History of film

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History of film

General film concepts

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Film theory

Film formats

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Films

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Films by genre

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Films by origin

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Films by setting location

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Films by cost

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Films by success

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Films by movement

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Film companies

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Film studios

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Major film studios

Majors (Big Five)

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Others

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Awards and festivals

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Above the line

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Above the line

  • Actor – Person who portrays a character in a production
    • Voice actor – Performing voice-overs to represent a character or provide information
    • Leading actor – Type of role of an actor
    • Supporting actor – Actor who performs a less-important role than that of the leading actor
    • Ensemble cast – Cast with many actors given similar standing
    • Character actor – Actor who predominantly plays distinctive or eccentric characters
    • Bit actor – Acting role in which there is direct interaction with the main actors but little dialogue
    • Cameo actor – Brief appearance in performing art
  • Film director – Person who controls the artistic and dramatic aspects of a film production
  • Screenwriter – Person who writes for films, TV shows, comics, and games
  • Film producer – Person supervising the making of a film

Below the line

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Below the line – Section of film budget

Pre-production

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Pre-production – Phase of producing a film or television show

  • Unit production manager – Responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production
  • Production coordinator – coordinates the various groups and personnel in a filmmaking or video production
  • Production accountant – Opaque or creative accounting methods
  • Assistant director – Film management and logistics role
  • Script supervisor – Oversees the continuity of scenes during filmmaking
  • Script coordinator – role in film and television production
  • Casting director – Pre-production process for selecting actors, dancers, singers, or extras for roles or parts
  • Production assistant – Person responsible for various aspects of a film or TV production
  • Location manager – person responsible for locations where a movie is shot
  • Location scout – Filmmaking and commercial photography production process
  • Storyboard artist – Person who creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions

Production design

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  • Production designer – Person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event
  • Costume designer – Person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show
  • Greensman
  • Hairdresser – Person whose occupation is to cut or style hair
  • Make-up artist – Artist who applies makeup and prosthetics
  • Set decorator – Person in charge of the set dressing on a film
  • Set dresser – someone who prepares a creative production set with props and furniture
  • Property master – Person overseeing props for a production
  • Weapons master – Person responsible for weapon care and safety on a film set
  • Matte painter – Film making technique
  • Illustrator – Artist enhancing writing with images
  • Scenic design – Creation of theatrical or film scenery

Photography

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Principal photography – Phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place

Sound design

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Sound design – Sound track creation

Special effect

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Special effect – Illusions or tricks to change appearances

  • Special effects supervisor – individual who works on a commercial, theater, television or film set creating special effects
  • Visual effects supervisor – responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director and/or producers through the use of visual effects

Animation

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Animation – A team within a film studio that works on various aspects of Animation

Talent

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  • Acting coach – Teacher who trains performers
  • Body double – Person who substitutes for another actor in a film scene such that their face is not shown
  • Dialect coach – person who trains actors to speak with authentic accents
  • Movement director – Film crew member
  • Choreographer – Art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies
  • Extra – Nonspeaking or nonsinging acting role
  • Talent agent – Person who represents the interests of entertainment, broadcast, and sports professionals
  • Stand-in – Substitute for an actor for production purposes
  • Acting instructor – person who teaches acting
  • Intimacy coordinator – Staff member who supports actors in sex scenes
  • Stage combat – Technique used in theatre to create the illusion of physical combat
  • Stunt double – Person who substitutes for another actor in a film scene such that their face is not shown
  • Stunt performer – Person who performs stunts
  • Under-five – TV or film actor whose character has fewer than five lines of dialogue

Post-production

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Post-production – Step in film, video, audio or photography process

  • Film editor – Creative and technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking
  • Sound editor – Creative professional that selects and assembles sound recordings before final audio mixing
  • Colorist – Enhancing the color of an image or video
  • Animator – Person who makes animation sequences out of still images
  • Technical director – Occupation
  • VFX creative director – Visual effects person
  • Visual effects editor – Various processes by which imagery is created
  • Compositor – Combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images

Other

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  • Swing gang – People who make last-minute changes on a film set
  • Unit still photographer – person who takes photographs to document activity on a film set

Notable people from the film industry

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Film theorists and critics

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Famous film producers

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Notable film producers

Notable directors

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Famous actors

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Notable actors

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Accomando, Beth. "What's The Issue With Nitrate Film Stock? It's Combustible". NPR. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
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