Movie Industry

As documentary films increase in popularity and docudramas pop up on the small screen, it’s a good time to question the difference between the two. Intention, historical context and editing choices play major roles in defining a work as fact or fiction.

By Julia Layton

Many of the independent films that eventually make it big first debut at film festivals, where open submission policies make it easy to gain exposure. Read more about film festivals and how they're evolving.

By Stephanie Watson

It's 1993. One morning your co-worker asks if you like Quentin Tarantino. You respond "Is he the new guy in accounting?" -- because "Pulp Fiction" didn't win at the Cannes Film Festival until 1994.

By Stephanie Watson

Some of the arguably greatest movie scenes of all time were filmed using Steadicams. These ingenious camera stabilizer systems allow filmmakers to produce moving, hand-held shots with no shakes at all. Can amateurs also take advantage of these super smooth stabilizers?

By Tom Harris & John Perritano

When you watch a movie on your TV you're not always seeing the same movie that played in the theater. A lot of formatting goes into fitting a movie onto a TV screen. Learn about the changes a movie goes through so you can watch it at home.

By Tom Harris

You have probably seen advertisements in your local paper for movies playing at a theater near you. Sometimes the ad will say "Held over" or "Special engagement." What exactly does that mean? And why is popcorn so expensive?

By Jeff Tyson

On every movie package and shown on every screen are the ratings: G, PG, PG-13, R, and so on. What do these ratings mean for the viewer and how are they decided? Learn about the MPAA and the movie ratings system.

When filming a movie, the sound and the images are recorded and stored separately with different devices. After filming the challenge is to synchronize those two recordings. Learn how a clapperboard is used in movie production.

The phrase "optical soundtrack" sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it's the secret to how sound is recorded on motion picture film.