A movie, also known as a motion picture, short film, digital video, animated film, or video-based film, is an artistic work of visual art, usually intended to convey ideas, themes, emotions, beauty, or environment through the medium of moving pictures. It usually employs an array of filmed and digital images in order to bring to life a fictional world, a story, or an illustration. Most movies are produced for entertainment purposes and have no real plot, characters, or central message. But some are produced as a response to a current event or topic of public interest and are therefore categorized as educational videos or documentary films.
Movies are made by the major movie studios that are based in Hollywood, California. The term Hollywood came from a printing process called Hanes, which got its name from the yellow pages printed out by the studios. Movie production has been an expensive venture for decades, but in recent years it has become more affordable thanks to globalization and the Internet. A number of independent producers and movie studios have been established to take advantage of this new business trend. Most of these small production companies do not use traditional methods of movie production and instead rely on computer technology and viral marketing to become popular and remain in business. Some of the most notable names of this new breed of filmmaking include Voltage Pictures, Cartoon Properties, Fathom Events, and Focus Features.
Animation films are designed to tell stories using images and characters that are computer generated. The majority of these films have been produced for television, with the exception of the classic Shrek and Toy Story films. But they can also be found in feature films, animated films for children, and video games. The overwhelming majority of animated films are produced by Japanese companies such as Pixar, Disney, and Dreamworks.
Fantasy and science fiction films are designed to tell stories about characters traveling to foreign locations to perform various tasks or fight against other powerful creatures. Action movies are designed to thrill the audience with gripping and exciting plot lines and believable characters. For this reason, most action movies are made by Hollywood companies such as Warner Bros and Disney.
Photojournalism is a specialized type of film where the camera takes an objective photograph of natural events and then is edited with visual and audio elements to tell stories about those events. These types of motion pictures are commonly made for news reporting, as they provide graphic details of violent events. The most popular example of a photojournalistic film is the award-winning Oscar winning movie, Kundan, which tells the story of a war photographer covering the conflict in Kundan, India. Other award-winning photographs that fit this category include Memorial Day, National Geographic Adventure, and National Geographic Wild.
A documentary film is generally less than one hour long and is aimed at explaining a topical, current event, social issue, or other topic of interest. They are produced as short feature films that are intended for theatrical, cable, or satellite distribution. In addition to having a short running time, documentaries are also usually targeted at a younger audience and contain special effects and other technologically advanced elements that are not found in other types of motion pictures. Documentaries can range from documentary film stock videos to real life accounts about individuals, places, and events. There are many different types of documentaries available, including narrative, reality TV, sports, music, children’s movies, and documentary films that tell the story of natural disasters.