Film

Film is a traditional media sector usually associated with cinema. It covers the making and showing of films, from short dramas to full-length features.

Film includes small independent productions and large commercial productions. An independent production is often made by a small team outside the biggest studios, such as a three-person crew filming a documentary about a local market. A commercial production is made by a larger company with more money and staff, aiming to sell tickets to a wide audience, such as a big animated adventure.

How film has evolved

Early films were captured on long strips of light-sensitive plastic. The reels were cut and joined by hand, then physically taken to cinemas before audiences saw them. A modern film-maker can edit footage on a laptop and then send the finished film to a cinema as a computer file or deliver it online. Production and delivery have become digital, but the sector still makes films for audiences.

Why film is still traditional

Film is a traditional media sector because it began before computers and the internet. It now depends on digital technology, but editing footage on a laptop or adding computer-generated effects does not make it new media. The sector existed long before those tools, so it stays traditional.