Film

A film, often called a movie or motion picture, is a powerful work of visual art. It simulates experiences to communicate stories, ideas, emotions, or specific atmospheres. Filmmakers create these works by recording real people and objects with cameras. They may also use animation techniques and special effects to build worlds. Since the 1930s, most films have been synchronized with sound to enhance the experience. Because visual elements do not require language, film possesses a universal power of communication. Any movie can become a worldwide attraction through the use of subtitles or dubbing.

Films function through a scientific illusion involving a series of individual still images called frames. When these frames are shown in rapid succession, the viewer perceives continuous motion. This occurs due to an effect known as persistence of vision. This is when the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source is removed. Additionally, a psychological effect called beta movement contributes to the perception of motion. This prevents the viewer from seeing the flickering between individual frames.

The history of film is built upon many earlier traditions and inventions. In the 1830s, the stroboscopic animation principle was introduced with the phénakisticope, or stroboscopic disc. This principle was later applied to the zoetrope, the flip book, and the praxinoscope. In the 1870s, Jules Duboscq introduced phénakisticope projection systems in France. By 1849, Joseph Plateau suggested combining the phénakisticope with the stereoscope to animate photographs. These early experiments laid the groundwork for the complex cinematography used today.

Significant progress occurred in the late 19th century through chronophotography studies. In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge used a battery of cameras to capture a running horse. This famous series was titled The Horse in Motion. Later, Ottomar Anschütz developed the Electrotachyscope in 1886. This device used a hand-cranked wheel to display 24 glass plate photographs at roughly 30 frames per second. In 1892, the Berlin Exhibition Park saw nearly 34,000 people pay to view an Electrotachyscope model.

Another pioneer was Émile Reynaud, who developed the Théâtre Optique. He patented this device in 1888 to project longer sequences using separate backgrounds. Reynaud painted images on hundreds of gelatin plates attached to a cloth band. Between 1892 and 1900, he gave over 12,800 shows to more than 500,000 visitors in Paris. By the end of the 1880s, the introduction of celluloid photographic film changed everything. This allowed cameras to capture a rapid sequence of images on a single, compact reel.

Early motion pictures were very simple and consisted of single, static shots. These films often showed mundane events, such as employees leaving a factory or a trolley traveling a street. Around the turn of the 20th century, filmmakers began stringing scenes together to create narratives. They discovered that placing one shot after another establishes a relationship in the viewer's mind. For example, if a character looks out a window, the next shot is perceived as their view. This discovery made cinematic storytelling possible.

Before the 1920s, films were silent, so theaters hired musicians to match the mood. Pianists, organists, or even full orchestras played live music during screenings. The 1920s brought a revolution with electronic sound recording technologies. This allowed for synchronized speech, music, and sound effects. These early "talking pictures" changed the industry almost immediately. By 1930, silent film was practically extinct in the United States. Films like The Jazz Singer (1927) helped make sound cinema a standard part of the medium.