Angelo J. Pompano
When used in this paper the term "art form" in reference to film means a planned effort on the part of the director to produce a motion picture that not only conveys information but also provokes emotions in the viewer. He or she accomplishes this in several ways. The subject matter itself can be quite emotional. Thus, what is
not
filmed (that is to say left out) can be as important to the experience as what is filmed. For example, if the director decides that food is an important part city life, he or she must decide how to represented food in the film. Should there be footage of vast quantities of food in transit to the city? Should there be scenes of people buying food in a grocery store or eating in a fancy restaurant? After this is decided, to simply film these scenes would be the stuff of a documentary. The director may even show a starving child. However
,
when the director shows a starving child filmed in dark foreboding shadows and follows that scene with people eating in a bright cheerful restaurant, he/she has made a statement and touched the viewer's emotions and hopefully their social conscience as well. The editing of the scenes and the final placement of those scenes, as well as the use of lighting and shadows to give the film depth and texture all provoke emotions. In other words, through skillful filming of subject matter, as well as lighting and editing, the director has become an artist.
