Curated category
Film and video terminology
- StoryboardIn the early 1930s, Walt Disney Productions developed the storyboard process as it is known today. Before this moment, most filmmakers shot their films like…
- B movieIn 1927, a feature film from a major Hollywood studio cost between $190,000 at Fox and $275,000 at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These numbers defined the A movie…
- Box-office bombThe phrase box-office bomb once meant a massive hit. In the early days of cinema, a film that exploded at the box office earned this label.
- Independent filmIn 1908, the Motion Picture Patents Company formed a cartel known as the Edison Trust. This organization held a monopoly on film production and distribution…
- CartoonA full-size drawing made on sturdy paper once served as the blueprint for a grand fresco. This preparatory work, known as a cartoon, originated in the Middle…
- Key frameA single drawing on a strip of film marks the beginning and end of any smooth transition. This image is called a key frame because its position in time is…
- Short filmA film with a 30-minute running time titled Nefertiti y Aquenatos appeared in 1973. This work features Salah Zulfikar and Geraldine Chaplin standing together…
- Live actionClint Eastwood and Marianne Koch stand in a real-world location for the film A Fistful of Dollars. This image captures the core definition of live action as…
- Blockbuster (entertainment)In May 1943, advertisements in Variety and Motion Picture Herald described the RKO film Bombardier as "The block-buster of all action-thrill-service shows!"…
- Direct-to-videoThe first direct-to-video release to go into production was E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind in 1984 produced by CineTel Films and Robert Hegyes.
- Film frameA single frame of 35 mm movie film stock sits as a physical object in history. The earliest motion pictures relied on sequential images to create movement.