Cinema

We explain what cinema is, its origin, history and what the film genres are. Also, what elements make it up.

What is cinema?

When we talk about cinema we refer, at the same time, to a technique, an industry and an art form, whose central feature is the ability to recreate the illusion of movement from the capture and display of continuous photographs (frames) at a speed greater than the eye can detect.

The word “cinema” is the abbreviated form of cinematography, a word formed from the Greek words kiné (“movement”) and graphos (“writing” or “inscription”), and that is how this particular technique, invented in the 19th century, is known.

Initially, it was a step forward in the evolution of photography, but after 1895 it began to occupy a formal place among the forms of spectacle common at the time. When applied to the purpose of telling stories, the cinematographic technique also became an artistic genre: the so-called “seventh art.”

Today, cinema It is one of the most popular and consumed entertainment industries in the entire world either in theaters specially adapted for this purpose (the “movie theaters”), or through digital content services or television.

The evolution and sophistication of cinematography meant that film recording, especially within Hollywood and other large film production consortiums, employed gigantic teams of specialized professionals and typically raised millions of dollars in box office, marketing and advertising.

At the same time, different artistic schools have emerged around this narrative technique throughout its less than two centuries of life. Awards have been created to celebrate cinematographic masterpieces and cinema is considered one of the main cultural manifestations of contemporary humanity.

See also: Audiovisual media

Origin of cinema

The origin of cinema dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the cinematograph was created, that is, the machine capable of recording and reproducing images to create the sensation of movement. There were many antecedents to this invention, which went hand in hand with the first formal steps in the technique of photography.

Perhaps the most important of them has been the “kinetoscope” of the Americans William Dickinson (1860-1935) and Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), whose functions were still very limited, compared to the cinematograph patented in 1895 by the famous Lumière brothers Auguste Marie (1862-1954) and Louis Jean (1864-1948), sons of the photographer Antoine Lumière.

It was they who, On December 28, 1895 in Paris, they held the first public film screening. It consisted of a series of, so to speak, documentaries: shots of workers at work or of a train approaching the La Ciotat station.

Precisely the filming of the train caused such a great impact on the spectators that many fled the room in terror. Some time later, the Lumières were also the first to make cinematographic fiction, adapting a comic strip by Hermann Vogel into two humorous short films, known today as “The Watered Irrigator” (L'arroseur arrosé).

Initially, these exhibitions were held in basements, nightclubs and cafes, with massive attendance and lasting no more than a few minutes. It was still a rudimentary cinema, silent and in black and white, accompanied by readings, music and a lot of audience participation.

However, these humble beginnings proved to be extremely profitable, and a new industry emerged over the next 30 years ready to invest in film production, but also in the innovation of its devices and materials. This is how the film industry was born.

Thanks to this, Since the beginning of the 20th century, the first attempts at color cinema took place the first formal results of which appeared around 1915. But this would not become popular until mid-century.

As for sound, the first films were accompanied at each screening by live musicians, or at most with musical recordings that accompanied the atmosphere of the story. AND In 1927, the first feature film with synchronized dialogue appeared in the United States recorded on a separate disc with each reel of film, and which had to be played in unison. It was “The Jazz Singer” (The Jazz Singer).

Once color and sound were conquered, in 1930 the “Golden Age” of cinema took place. The seventh art was here to stay.

Film genres

Cinema is a narrative artistic genre, that is, it tells stories. In that sense, their productions respond to the traditional classifications of theater and performing arts, or often literature, thus distinguishing between comedies, dramas, tragicomedies, etc.

However, cinema also presents its own classification, which takes into account the forms of production of the film and the degree of artistic intention behind them. This is commonly known as film genres.

• Commercial cinema. Equivalent to best-sellers in the book industry, these film productions always have economic benefit as their fundamental objective, that is, they seek to reach the widest audiences and raise the greatest possible amount of money at the box office. They are usually accompanied by great advertising displays and, in artistic terms, they commonly respond to very traditional or not very innovative standards.
• Author cinema. This title was coined by the critics of the French film magazine Cahiers du Cinémato differentiate film productions in which the director leaves an evident authorial mark, that is, they constitute part of a recognizable and personal artistic project, and therefore also of a notion of cinema, aesthetics and a unique style of narrate. They are, let's say, the artistic films par excellence.
• Independent cinema. It generally refers to modest, low-budget productions, carried out by small production houses, outside of traditional film consortia. They do not usually feature big acting stars and in many cases they serve as a debut for creators and performers.
• animated cinema. These are productions devoid of actors, and based on cartoons using cinematographic technique. Nowadays they are more or less computerized, and actors usually intervene only to contribute their voices to the animated story. Many of them are dedicated to children and young people, although this is not an exclusive feature.
• documentary film. “Documentaries” are called film productions that seek, precisely, to record reality: document it, capture it as it is, and therefore do not resort to fiction, but instead pursue a more or less objective view, one would almost say journalistic. However, it should not be confused with journalistic reporting, since documentaries also have their own position regarding what is told.
• docu-fiction cinema. Productions that operate on a thin and ambiguous boundary between documentary and fiction, often for humorous or satirical purposes. Part of this genre are fake documentaries and the so-called “mockumentaries” or satirical documentaries.
• Experimental cinema. This category includes productions that try to push the limits of what is possible in the film genre, that is, that try to find new forms of expression with the camera. They can be considered the equivalent of abstract art.
• Environmental cinema. Productions dedicated to the recording of nature and wildlife, often for ecological or environmental purposes, which is why they can constitute true pieces of social or political denunciation. They can be understood as very specific forms of documentary film.

Elements of cinema

The cinematographic process is complex, and different instances and elements intervene in it, which we can address according to their role in the normal film production process.

The script. The first stage of the entire production process of cinema consists of creating the first element of cinema: the script or storyboard, that is, the more or less complete outline of the story, detailing the way in which it will be told and even the types of photographs that will be taken for it. From these preliminary texts, a literary script is obtained (which tells the story) and a technical script (which details how they are going to film it).

The casting. This is the name of the process of selecting the personnel who will work on the film, and it is the responsibility of the production and the director, who will choose among the interested actors who are most suitable for the role, either for reasons of talent or for reasons of appearance or of another nature.

The filming. The actual filming of the film, according to what is stipulated in the script, is known as “shooting.” For this to happen, different actors intervene in the process:

• The address. The director of the film is in charge of leading the team so that their particular vision of the story can be brought to reality. He is, if you will, the “author” of the film, and is responsible for coordinating the technical and artistic aspects of it, together with his team of professionals.
• The performance. Actors are essential to make a film. They are expected to know the script very well and to embody their characters as realistically as possible, lending their image and voices to it.
• The lighting. Since there are not always the necessary weather conditions to film properly, there is intense lighting work that guarantees the camera the appropriate lights to capture the image. We must not forget that cinema is a form of photography.
• The photography. Precisely, cameramen and art directors ensure that the captured image meets the aesthetic, narrative and quality requirements necessary so that, once the frames are projected, everything turns out just as the director wants it to.

Assembly and editing. Once filming is completed, which can last days or weeks of intense field work, the result is usually a messy and voluminous set of film material, which must then be organized and selected.

• The assembly It is the assembly of the tape, literally: the ordering of the scenes according to narrative logic, adding sound and other necessary elements.
• The edition It is the intervention by the director in said narrative order, to choose which shots to keep, which to eliminate and how to transition from one to another. At this stage, critical decisions are made for the structure of the story.

Post-production. Also called “finalization”, it is the last stage of intervention of the film, in which changes are added and modifications are carried out, generally through computer programs. At this stage, special effects are incorporated, missing sound is re-recorded, etc.

The distribution. Once the production of the film is completed, it is distributed in exhibition halls and other formats that bring it closer to its audience, and that complete the circuit through its commercialization. The advertising and promotion of the film also plays a role in this.

Continue with: Work of art

References

• “Cinema” on Wikipedia.
• “History of cinema” on Wikipedia.
• “What is cinema?” (video) on Channel 22.
• “Cinematography 101: what is cinematography?” (video) at RocketJump Film School.
• “A very short history of cinema” at Science + Media Museum (United Kingdom).
• “Cinematography (photography)” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.