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Man working with a movie projector in a movie theater, 1958
Man working with a movie projector in a movie theater, 1958

A film, movie, or motion picture is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since the 1930s, synchronized with sound and sometimes feature other sensory stimuli.

Films are produced by recording people and objects with cameras or by creating them using animation techniques and special effects. They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is seen by the viewer. Flickering between frames is not noticeable due to an effect traditionally known as persistence of vision, and now more specifically known as flicker fusion, whereby the visual system processes a sufficiently fast succession of pictures and interruptions into a steady image of averaged brightness. (Full article...)

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Advertisement in Billboard magazine in 1907

How Brown Saw the Baseball Game is an American short silent comedy film produced in 1907 and distributed by the Lubin Manufacturing Company. The film follows a baseball fan named Mr. Brown who overdrinks before a game and becomes so intoxicated that the game appears to him in reverse motion. During production, trick photography was used to achieve this effect. The film was released in November 1907. It received a positive review in a 1908 issue of The Courier-Journal that reported the film was successful and "truly funny". As of 2021, it is unclear whether a print of the film has survived. The identities of the film's cast and production crew are unknown. Film historians have noted similarities between the plot of How Brown Saw the Baseball Game and How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game, a comedy film directed by Edwin S. Porter that was released a year earlier. (Portal:Film/Featured content)

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Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
Credit: Bdorfman

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S.

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Chaplin in 1921

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, singer, film editor and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977.

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially – he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. In 1914, Chaplin gained widespread popularity through his appearances in Keystone Studios films. He soon introduced and adopted the Tramp as his screen persona. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to Essanay Studios, where the Tramp persona was developed emotionally in The Tramp (1915). He then attracted a large fanbase and demanded more money as he moved to Mutual and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the world's best-paid and best-known figures. (Full article...)

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Woody Allen
I think that the tendency for most people is to fall back on a comic interpretation of things -- because things are so sad, so terrible. If you didn't laugh you'd kill yourself. But the truth of the matter is that existence in general is very very tragic, very very sad, very brutal and very unhappy.

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Terms - Animation • Beta movement • Camera • Cult film • Digital cinema • Documentary film • Dubbing • Experimental film • Fan film • Film crew • Film criticism • Film festival • Film frame • Film genre • Film journals and magazines • Film industry • Film manifesto • Film stock • Film theory • Filmmaking • History of film • Independent film • Lost film • Movie star • Narrative film • Open content film • Persistence of vision • Photographic film • Propaganda • Recording medium • Special effect • Subtitles • Sound stage • Web film • World cinema
Lists - List of basic film topics • List of film topics • List of films • List of film festivals • List of film formats • List of film series • List of film techniques • List of highest-grossing films • List of longest films by running time • List of songs based on a film or book • Lists of film source material • List of open content films

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