Movie

Night of the Living Dead(1968) has been listed as one of the greatest and most influentialhorror moviesever made.^[1]

Amovieorfilmis a type ofvisual artthat usesimagesandsoundsto tell stories orteachpeople something. Most people watch movies toentertainthemselves or tohave fun.Movies can vary significantly in emotional tone both overall as a specific genre type but also within a single work. Some of the most typical approaches are tomake people laugh(comedy),make them cry(tragedy or drama), ormake them feel afraid(horror). However there are also movies which combine genres such as horror-comedy.

Overview[change|change source]

Most movies are made so they can bewatchedat home or on amovie screenatmovie theaters.Movies are shown in movie theaters a few weeks or months after or before the movie isreleased.Movies can bemarketedusingmedia.Movies are shown onpay televisionorcable television,or aresoldorrentedonDVDdisks orvideocassettetapes, so that people can watch the movies at home. Movies can also bedownloadedorstreamed.Some movies are shown on televisionbroadcastingstations.

Movies arefilmedwithmovie camerasorvideo cameras.Movie cameras takepicturesvery quickly, and they usually take 24 or 25 pictures, orframesevery second. When amovie projector,acomputer,or atelevisionshows the pictures at 24 frames a second, it looks like the things shown in the set of pictures are moving.Soundis usually recorded at the same time as the pictures are, but sometimes they are added later. The sounds in a movie are usuallypeople talking,thesoundtrack,andsound effects.In the20th centurythe camera usedphotographic film.

Making movies[change|change source]

Most movies start to be made when ascreenwriter writesascript,which is thestoryof the movie withdialogueandwordsand things that theactorswill say and do. Aproducer hirespeople to work on the movie and gets the money that will be used to pay for theactorsand theequipment.Producers usually get the money byborrowingit from a bank or by askinginvestorstogive moneyto them. Some producers work for a moviestudio,but other producerswork by themselves.

Actorsanddirectorsread scripts to learn what to say and what to do. The actors learn the words from the script that they will say in the movie, and learn the things that the script tells them to do. Then, the director tells the actors what to do and acameraman takes the filmof them saying the words with afilm camera.

When the filming is done, aneditormakes the film play after each other, which makes a story.Audio engineersand sound engineers recordmusicandsingingandcombineit with the film. When the movie is done, manycopiesof the movie are made by movie labs and put ontofilm reels.Then the reels are sent tomovie theaters.Aprojectorshines a very bright light through the film, and people sitting in a dark room see it on a big screen.

Types of movies[change|change source]

Agenremeans a type of movie. Movies can befictional,ornon-fictional.Even though hundreds of movies are made every year, there are not like another movie. Some movies can be two or more genres.

Action moviesare movies where themain characteris in a dangerous situation, and the movies usually have a lot of violent things, likeexplosions,blood,andfight scenes.InDie Hard,terroriststake control of askyscraperand ask for a bigransom.If they are given the ransom, they won't killing the people who work in the skyscraper, who are calledhostages.^[2]
Adventure moviesusually have aherowho go on longjourneysto fight big things, likedragons.
Animatedmovies usedrawnimages likecartoonsto tell a story. These movies used to be drawn by hand, oneframeat a time, but they are usually now made oncomputers.They can be2D animatedor3D animated.^[2]
Buddymovies involve twofriends.Buddy movies usually have comedy. Buddycopmovies are a common theme.
Comediesare movies aboutfunny scenariosthat characters might be in.
Comedy horrormovies blend horror andcomic motifsin its plots. Movies in this genre sometimes useblack comedyas the main form ofhumor.
Documentariesarenon-fictionmovies that are (or claim to be) about real people and real events. They are nearly always serious and may involve strongly emotional subjects, for example cruelty.
Dramasare serious, and often about people falling in love or needing to make a big decision in their life. They tell stories aboutrelationshipsbetween people. They usually follow a basicplotwhere one or two maincharacters(each actor plays a character) have to 'overcome' (get past) an obstacle (the thing stopping them) to get what they want.
Familymovies are made to be okay forchildrento watch.Disneyis famous for their family movies.
Fantasymovies include magical and impossible things that any real human being cannot do.
Film noirmovies are 1940s-era detective dramas about crime and violence.
Horror moviesuse fear to excite the audience. Music, lighting andsets(man-made places inmovie studioswhere the movie is made) are all designed to add to the feeling.
Romantic Comedies,also called "Rom-Com" s are usually stories about 2 people who fall in love, and do funny things or have funny things happen to them.
Science fictionmovies arefictionand also have a lot ofscience,and havemachinesthat can not be built in real life yet.
Sportsmovies tells stories that involve sports. They are often a form of drama whereathletesmust overcome some issue.
Suspensemovies makes the audiencestressed.They usually have multiple twists that confuse the people watching the movie
Thrillersare usually about a mystery, strange event, or crime that needs to be solved. The audience is kept guessing until the final minutes, when there are usually 'twists' in the plot (surprises).
Tragediesare a type of dramas. They are about people in trouble. For example, a husband and wife who aredivorcingmust each try to prove to acourtof law that they are the best person to take care of their child.Emotion(feelings) are a big part of the movie and theaudience(people watching the movie) may get upset and even cry.
Waris a movie genre concerned with warfare. They are normally aboutnaval,airorlandbattles. They have combat scenes central to the story. These stories are most commonlysetin the 20th century.
Westernmovies tell stories aboutcowboysin thewestern United Statesin the1870sand1880s.They are usually action movies, but with historical costumes. Some involveNative Americans.Not all movies that are set in the American West are made there. For example, Western films made in Italy are calledSpaghetti Westerns.Some films can also use Western plots even if they are set in other places.

Business of making movies[change|change source]

Most movies lose money but some make up to hundreds ofmillions.InIndiamovies have become an enormous part of the economy. The industry has always been led by a fewmajor movie studioslikeMGM/UA,Warner Bros.,Columbia,Paramount,or Disney. The oldest American movie studio is Universal.

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Elements[change|change source]

There are many large companies that provide all of the services needed to make movies, such asspecial effects,lighting,set building.Many of these employees belong totrade unionswho say how much their members must be paid. A large number of smaller companies also offer services, such as music studios (which record

Distribution[change|change source]

Finally there are movie distribution companies (Which send movies around the world or around a country), and advertising companies (Showing people who may watch the movie so they do it.)

Movies with famousstars(actors who are well known) and largebudgets(lots of money), are designed to have a large appeal (something a person would like about the, so that hopefullymillionsof people will pay to see them. These most expensivemoviesare calledblockbusters.

Special effectscan add a huge amount to the cost of a movie, especially the newestCGIeffects, but people have come to expect them and every blockbuster movie tries to outdo the last. Even in 2008, some movies cost up to $200 million to make.

Very successful movies can make many times that amount in profit, and that's why the studios keep producing them. This kind of movie will have a lot of promotion (getting the movie into the public.) throughtelevision advertising,billboardsandinternetsites.

Blockbuster[change|change source]

In blockbuster movies, there is usually a happy ending, in which all of the problems in the plot (story) are figured out or fixed and almost everyone (except the bad guys) live happily ever after. Some movies have been so successful that the studios keep releasing more and moresequels,or movies with the same characters and basic plots.

Indie films[change|change source]

At the opposite end of the scale to the blockbuster, there is the independent, art, or Indie movie. These are usually made by small movie companies, or even just a small group of people that do not have much money. An example isThe Blair Witch Project,which cost only about $60,000, but which has so far taken perhaps $200 million in ticket and DVD sales. Movies like this are very unusual and usually become popular 'underground' (word of mouthadvertising), so that they have acultfollowing, or popular but notmainstream.

Independent movies often tell more creative or unusual (strange) stories, or may have sad endings that do not appeal to the big studios, because they can not be sure how the public will react to them. They rarely make a lot of money, but if they are successful, the big studios will quickly try to get the people involved to sign acontractwith them, by offering them a lot of money to make another movie. Often the new movie, with its big budget and its stars will be less successful than the first.