What Is_ Film _ How Film Works and Its Place in Modern Filmmaking

Chapter 1: Move The Film

  • Film Appreciation

    • Movies are popular and generate significant revenue.

    • Common knowledge encompasses actors and directors, but the medium of film itself is often overlooked.

  • Understanding Film

    • Defined as a medium over a century old.

    • Key components include:

      • Perforations

        • Little cutouts along film edges that enable the camera to move the film accurately.

        • Help maintain even spacing between images.

      • Audio Recording

        • Some films have a strip for audio; audio often recorded separately.

        • Types include magnetic strips or optical waveforms.

      • Frames

        • Rectangles containing the image, size impacts projection quality.

        • Similar to megapixels in digital images, larger frames yield better quality.

        • Super eight film decreases perforation size to enlarge the image width.

Chapter 2: Largest Available Film Stock

  • Film Sizes

    • Different sizes impact uses in film production.

      • 16 mm

        • Includes standard 16 and super 16 formats, shot on single perf film.

      • 35 mm

        • The standard format for Hollywood films and still photography.

      • 70 mm

        • Largest film stock available for IMAX, runs horizontally to maximize frame size.

  • Film Composition

    • Modern film stock made of several layers, simplified to:

      • Light Sensitive Coating

        • Composed of silver halide grains that change state when exposed to light.

        • Developing involves removing changed grains, determining image darkness/whiteness based on grain retention.

Chapter 3: Based Film Stocks

  • Recording Color

    • Requires three layers of light-sensitive material sensitive to different colors:

      • Blue, green, red layers stacked in that order.

      • Creates full color image through combining separate recordings.

  • Film Construction

    • Layers sandwiched in transparent material:

      • Early films used nitrocelluloid, later switched to safer acetate celluloid due to flammability.

      • Current preference for polyester plastic film bases began in the 1990s.

  • Technological Legacy

    • Film remains representative of image capturing technology despite competition from digital advancements.

Chapter 4: A Viable Alternative

  • Film vs. Digital

    • Despite the rise in digital filmmaking, film remains a viable alternative presently.

    • Transitioning to digital does not erase the value of the film medium.

    • The legacy of filmmaking continues through the artistry of filmmakers, regardless of technology used.