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  1. Dictionary

    film
    [film]
    noun
    film (noun) · films (plural noun)
    1. a thin flexible strip of plastic or other material coated with light-sensitive emulsion for exposure in a camera, used to produce photographs or motion pictures:
      "he had already shot a whole roll of film" · "a new range of films and cameras"
      • movies considered as an art or industry:
        "a critical overview of feminist writing on film"
    verb
    film (verb) · films (third person present) · filmed (past tense) · filmed (past participle) · filming (present participle)
    1. capture on film as part of a series of moving images; make a movie of (a story or event):
      "she glowered at the television crew who were filming them"
      Similar:
      record on film
      take pictures of
      make a film of
      capture on film
      adapt for film
      make into a film
      • (film well/badly)
        be well or badly suited to portrayal in a film:
        "an adventure story that would film well"
    2. become or appear to become covered with a thin layer of something:
      "his eyes had filmed over"
      Similar:
      become blurred
    Origin
    Old English filmen ‘membrane’, of West Germanic origin; related to fell.
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    It's also a verb, meaning to use such a camera: "Let's film a scene where you play with my cat!" The Old English root word is filmen, "membrane or thin skin." "Film."
    A film, also known as a "movie" or a "motion picture," is a series of moving images shown on a screen, usually with sound, that make up a story. Some people like to see new films at the theater as soon as they're released. You might pretend to be a fan of French films while secretly preferring animated films.
    A film – also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick – is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images.
    en.wikipedia.org
    As a medium, film is not limited to motion pictures, since the technology developed as the basis for photography. It can be used to present a progressive sequence of still images in the form of a slideshow. Film has also been incorporated into multimedia presentations and often has importance as primary historical documentation.
    en.wikipedia.org
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    A film – also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick – is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally … See more

    The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or … See more

    Industry image

    "Film theory" seeks to develop concise and systematic concepts that apply to the study of film as art. The concept of film as an art-form began … See more

    Derivative academic fields of study may both interact with and develop independently of filmmaking, as in film theory and analysis. Fields of academic study have been … See more

    History image
    Film theory image

    The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion on the celluloid strip that used to be the actual medium See more

    Precursors
    The art of film has drawn on several earlier traditions in fields such as oral storytelling, literature, theatre and visual arts. Forms of art and See more

    The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost as soon as the process was invented. Upon seeing how successful their new invention, and its product, was in their native France, the Lumières quickly set about touring the … See more

    The terminology used for describing motion pictures varies considerably between British and American English. In British usage, the name of the medium is film. The word movie … See more

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  4. WebFilm is a series of still photographs on film, projected in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement. Learn about the history, characteristics, and types of film as a popular and artistic medium from Britannica's experts.