Kerri Dudley
Intro to Film
December 10, 2011
                                                            Film 

                Nearly everybody loves movies, and we aren’t surprised that people rush to see the latest hit. People even rush to rent a cult favorite from the video store. The box office prices and gross salary are growing each year. People are going out of there way and paying high amounts just to see the latest hit or what they have heard is the latest hit. Film is a very popular source of entertainment. Everyone loves going to see a movie or even just watching it at home. There are a lot of different types of movies, but three major types of film are narrative, documentary, and experimental.

                Narrative film is described as a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. Basically it is a story being told, or a sequence of events described in a narration. An important part of narration is the narrative mode; which is, the set of methods used to communicate the narrative through a process narration. There is also the fiction-writing mode; which is, the narrator communicating directly to the reader. Narration to me is just story telling or narrating your story. A few new films that portray this type of narration are “In Aggression” produced in 2009 and “The Journey” produced in 2007. These were two exceptional narrative films that I would recommend seeing.

                A Documentary film is a category of nonfictional motion pictures that documents some aspects of reality. It has been described as film making practice, a tradition, and audience reception. Documentary films are continually evolving and becoming better. Documentary films consist of things that really happened. Documentaries usually present information to you. Documentaries are usually very short, and look like a video you recorded yourself. Some recent documentary films are “Bananas” produced in 2009 and “Duck and Cover” produced in 1951.

                Experimental films are a type of cinema. It is an artistic practice that shows both visual arts and cinema. The word avant-garde is also associated with experimental films. Avant-garde means artists with new ideas or methods, artists that are experimental, unconventional, or artistically innovated. Avant-garde is used for the film shots in the 20th century.  Today it is possible to make an experimental film without using avant-garde. Experimental films have a range of filmmaking styles. Experimental films are often opposed to commercial and documentary styles of filmmaking. Some experiential films done at the New York Film Festival are “It’s a Strawberry Marshmallow World” produced in 1964 and “Masters of Communication”, Charles and Ray Eames.           

                In conclusion three major types of film are narrative, documentary, and experimental. These types of film are similar, but they also have differences. A narrative film is contrasted to films that the present information such as documentary or experimental. A narrative film tells a story, a documentary film tells only the reality of a story which is usually very short, and experimental film is experimenting on short story telling films. In some ways they are all connected together but they all play a different part. After watching films that portray each one of these, you will have a different understanding. They way the film is produced is the way the audience perceives it. Film has many different aspects and I enjoy learning more and more.