Motion Pictures: Reflection Paper

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            “Life is a movie, and you’re the star. Give it a happy ending.” – Joan Rivers

            As the cinema unceasingly varying its concepts, genres, and approaches based on the trends, its functions remain the same to provide entertainment, facts, and instructions to audiences. History may have evolved and fluctuated over the years but the mere fact of the satisfaction people feel walking in and out of the film establishments has stayed unchanged.  Movies serve as venues for individuals to immerse themselves in an imaginary world for a certain span of time. As creating this art seems to require tremendous efforts and financial resources, a remarkable motion picture can be achieved through mindful planning and collaboration of the people behind it.

            Movies are characterized as a series of photographs projected on a screen to generate an illusion of motion. From its first discovery in 1878 until today, its components are still individual images played rapidly in succession to perceive continuous movement. With the utilization of specially designed cameras, pictures are captured on rolls of film. After the process of editing and enhancement, it can be readily shown for publicity. Thus, the film is considered an art and a business. It is a combined art in the sense that it necessitates the creativity of the director, acting prowess of the actors and actresses, the auditory skill of sound and music editors, and the visual talent of setting and costume designers. Likewise, cinemas are platforms for businesses that involve money transactions in exchange for a good show.

            Various genres of movies emerged depending on the content and purpose. Fictional stories or real events portrayed by actors are commonly publicized on feature films lasting for at least an hour. With the use of appropriate and convincing costumes and high technology effects, these motion pictures tend to be realistic. Another type is the animated film created by animators. Through a series of two or three-dimensional drawings, an illusion of movement is formed. Documentary movies provide facts and information while educational films are made intentionally to facilitate learning and provide instructions on different subject areas.

          A substantial and noteworthy film entails the collaboration of skillful individuals. From the storyline to the characters, costumes, setting, and effects, deliberate preparation and planning are done for the movie project. Foremost, the actors and actresses competently play the role of protagonists and antagonists in the story.  Hence, they are mentally and physically well – prepared. Meanwhile, the producer manages the financial aspect of the movie production whereas the screenwriter sensibly develops the storyline and concepts of the script. Lastly, the director is the person whose fingerprints are most distinctive in the movie. He has a vital role in visualizing and facilitating how the film should go and guiding the portrayers as well as crews for the better flow of movie production.        

            Regardless of the barriers and criticisms that plague the film industry, it continues to have a special place in the hearts of many today. No matter which forms it takes, movies hold the power to transport their audiences into different dimensions within a period of hours. Undoubtedly, it sparked a change in culture and society. Films help us learn and shape the way we make sense of the world we are living right now. Additionally, it can drive social change due to its capacity to teach the viewer regarding experiences outside one’s perspective, inspire empathy, and shed light on political and economic concerns. Furthermore, movies are made to entertain as they bring out different emotions in people. In instances, comedy films make us laugh, romantic ones warm our hearts, dramas let us cry and horror films scare us. On the other way around, cinemas are not just for relaxation but they teach voluminous valuable lessons that we can apply for the betterment of existence. Besides, films also help us to improve our foreign language skills.

            People live in a movie entitled reality. Life is a projection of fate and we are the actors portraying our character and the scriptwriter who writes our own destiny. Though conflicts and shortcomings come along our ways, the great Divine director above knows how to guide us to have a purpose-driven movie. To have a successful role, we must push ourselves to the limits, strive harder for progress, and persist all the time for growth. Laugh at humorous scenes, weep when dramatic chapters arrive, scream during scary portions but learn at all times. We must also establish great connections and relations with our co-actors, the people around us. Through the genuine and full portrayal of our existence, we will end up with a good, significant show that everybody will surely appreciate. As the cinema closes, we can tell ourselves, that we deserve an Academy Award in heaven.