文档介绍：7/19/06 8:10 AM Page 1
PART ONE
FILM ART AND
FILMMAKING
Film is a young medium, at pared to most other media. Painting, literature, dance,
and theater have existed for thousands of years, but film came into existence only a little
more than a century ago. Yet in this fairly short span, the er has established itself as
an energetic and powerful art form.
It’s this aspect of film that we explore in this book. The chapters that follow show how
creative people have used film to give us experiences that we value. We’ll examine the princi-
ples and techniques that give film its power to tell stories, express emotions, and trigger
ideas.
But this art has some unusual features we should admit up front. More than most arts,
film depends plex technology. Without machines, movies wouldn’t move, and film-
makers would have no tools. In addition, film art usually requires collaboration among many
participants, people who follow well-proven work routines. Films are not only created but
produced. Just as important, they are firmly tied to their social and economic context. Films
are distributed and exhibited for audiences, and money matters at every step.
Chapter 1 surveys all these aspects of the filmmaking process. We start by considering film
art in general, and we look at one film that illustrates how skillful and effective that art can
be. The chapter goes on to examine the technology, the work practices, and the business side
of cinema. All ponents shape and sustain film as an art.
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1
Film as Art: Creativity,
Technology, and Business
otion pictures are so much a part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a
world without them. We enjoy them in theaters, at home, in offices, in cars
Mand buses, and on airplanes. We carry films with us in our laptops and
iPods. We press the button, and our machines conjures up movies for our pleasure.
For about a hundred years, pe