The Language of Cinema

Usually, a movie is first written on paper (the script or screenplay) and then filmed. Below are the script and the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark (I predatori dell'arca perduta) by Steven Spielberg (1981). Notice the similarities and differences between the first 4-5 pages of the script and the actual film.

The following videos show different types of editing. The first two examples (both opening shots) are "one shots" (in Italian: "piani sequenza"), i.e. one takes by a single camera, without cuts.

The first example is the opening shot of Touch of Evil (L'infernale Quinlan), a masterpiece by Orson Wells (1958). Notice how the camera moves without a single cut for nearly 4 minutes.

The second one is from Point Break by Kathryn Bigelow (1991). It is the first shot after the opening credits, done in one take with a steadicam. Notice the "dance" between the actor and the camera operator.

The third scene is from Sleepy Hollow by Tim Burton (1991). Have fun and count the number of cuts in this very fast paced scene.

Cinema is magic and, as such, film-makers use a lot of tricks to create the illusion of reality. Have a look at this documentary about all the strategies used to represent the correct sizes of hobbits, dwarves and humans in The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson (2001, 2002, 2003). This doc is taken from the "Appendices" (Part 2) of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).