Visual art consisting of moving images
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to film:
Film refers to motion pictures as individual projects and to the field in general. The name came from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.
What type of thing is film?
Film can be described as all of the following:
- Art – aesthetic expression for presentation or performance, and the work produced from this activity.
- One of the arts – as an art form, film is an outlet of human expression, that is usually influenced by culture and which in turn helps to change culture. Film is a physical manifestation of the internal human creative impulse.
- One of the visual arts – visual arts is a class of art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and others, that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature.
- One of the performing arts – art forms in which artists use their body, voice, or objects to convey artistic expression. Performing arts include a variety of disciplines but all take the form of a performance in front of an audience.
- Fine art – in Western European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics, distinguishing it from applied art that also has to serve some practical function. The word "fine" here does not so much denote the quality of the artwork in question, but the purity of the discipline according to traditional Western European canons.
- Show business – a means of providing employment for actors, screenwriters, artisans and technicians, regardless of whether the finished film was produced as a for-profit enterprise or as a not-for-profit public service.
Other names for film
- Movie
- Motion picture
- Talking picture
- Picture
- Celluloid
- Flick (or flicker)
- Photoplay
- Picture show
- The cinema
- The silver screen (talkie era); the silver sheet (silent era)
- Videos
Professions related to films (Film crew)
Above the line
Above the line
- Actor – Person who portrays a character in a production
- Voice actor – Performing voice-overs to represent a character or provide information
- Leading actor – Type of role of an actor
- Supporting actor – Actor who performs a less-important role than that of the leading actor
- Ensemble cast – Principal actors and performers
- Character actor – Actor who predominantly plays distinctive or eccentric characters
- Bit actor – Acting role in which there is direct interaction with the main actors but little dialogue
- Cameo actor – Brief appearance in performing art
- Film director – Person who controls the artistic and dramatic aspects of a film production
- Screenwriter – Person who writes for films, TV shows, comics, and games
- Film producer – Person supervising the making of a film
Below the line
Below the line – Section of film budget
Pre-production
Pre-production – Phase of producing a film or television show
- Unit production manager – Responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production
- Production coordinator – coordinates the various groups and personnel in a filmmaking or video productionPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Production accountant – Opaque or creative accounting methodsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
- Assistant director – Film management and logistics role
- Script supervisor – Oversees the continuity of scenes during filmmaking
- Script coordinator – role in film and television productionPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Casting director – Pre-production process for selecting actors, dancers, singers, or extras for roles or parts
- Production assistant – Person responsible for various aspects of a film or TV production
- Location manager – person responsible for locations where a movie is shotPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Location scout – Filmmaking and commercial photography production process
- Storyboard artist – Person who creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions
Production design
Photography
Principal photography – Phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place
Sound design
Sound design – Sound track creation
Special effect
Special effect – Illusions or tricks to change appearances
- Special effects supervisor – individual who works on a commercial, theater, television or film set creating special effectsPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Visual effects supervisor – responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director and/or producers through the use of visual effectsPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
Animation
Animation – A team within a film studio that works on various aspects of Animation
Talent
- Acting coach – Teacher who trains performers
- Body double – Person who substitutes for another actor in a film scene such that their face is not shownPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
- Dialect coach – person who trains actors to speak with authentic accentsPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Movement director – Film crew member
- Choreographer – Art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies
- Extra – Nonspeaking or nonsinging acting role
- Talent agent – Person who represents the interests of entertainment, broadcast, and sports professionals
- Stand-in – Substitute for an actor for production purposes
- Acting instructor – person who teaches actingPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Intimacy coordinator – Staff member who supports actors in sex scenes
- Stage combat – Technique used in theatre to create the illusion of physical combat
- Stunt double – Person who substitutes for another actor in a film scene such that their face is not shownPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
- Stunt performer – Person who performs stunts
- Under-five – TV or film actor whose character has fewer than five lines of dialogue
Post-production
Post-production – Step in film, video, audio or photography process
- Film editor – Creative and technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking
- Sound editor – Creative professional that selects and assembles sound recordings before final audio mixing
- Colorist – Enhancing the color of an image or video
- Animator – Person who makes animation sequences out of still images
- Technical director – OccupationPages displaying short descriptions with no spaces
- VFX creative director – Visual effects person
- Visual effects editor – Various processes by which imagery is created
- Compositor – Combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images
Other
- Swing gang – People who make last-minute changes on a film set
- Unit still photographer – person who takes photographs to document activity on a film setPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
