History of film: History and Key Facts

The history of film chronicles the artistic and cultural development of a visual art form that uses film technologies that began in the late 19th century, influenced by the existing screen culture of magic lantern shows, and by traditions in photography, theater, and other popular media.

The advent of film as an artistic medium is not clearly defined. There were moving picture screenings long before the commercial, public screening of ten Lumière brothers' short films in Paris on 28 December 1895, which has generally been regarded as the breakthrough of projected cinematographic motion pictures. The earliest films were typically in black and white, under a minute long, without recorded sound, and consisted of a single shot from a steady camera. The first decades saw film move from a novelty, to an established mass entertainment industry, with film production companies and studios established throughout the world. Conventions toward a general cinematic language developed, with film editing, camera movements and other cinematic techniques contributing specific roles in the narrative of films.

Popular new media, including television (mainstream since the 1950s), home video (1980s), and the internet (1990s), influenced the distribution and consumption of films. Film production usually responded with content to fit the new media, technical innovations (including widescreen (1950s), 3D, and 4D film), and more spectacular films to keep theatrical screenings attractive. Systems that were cheaper and more easily handled (including 8mm film, video, and smartphone cameras) allowed for an increasing number of people to create films of varying qualities, for any purpose including home movies and video art, outside the conventions of the production systems of big studios. The technical quality tended to be lower than professional movies, but improved with digital video and affordable, high-quality digital cameras. Improving over time, digital production methods became more popular during the 1990s, resulting in increasingly realistic visual effects and popular feature-length computer animations.

Various film genres have emerged during the history of film, and enjoyed variable degrees of success.

Source and attribution

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