The term cinema is an abbreviation for cinematograph, an invention of the Lumiere brothers at the end of the 19th century that allowed storytelling through images. Since then, after more than a hundred years, cinema has continued to be considered an art (known as the seventh art) as well as a social phenomenon and a potent industry.
The projection of cinematographic images has several historical precedents: the Chinese shadows, the darkroom for projecting images or photographs. However, cinema had an amazing and qualifying leap with the visualization of moving images.
A historical brushstroke
The first films had a very limited duration, just a few minutes. The pioneers of cinema went out with their cameras on the streets to record people’s everyday lives, for example, workers leaving the factory, people on the beach, etc. The Lumiere brothers thought their footage was of scientific interest only.and simply descriptive, since they did not foresee a greater future for their invention. The films were initially screened in local theaters, cafes and fairs; at the beginning of the 20th century, the first movie theaters appeared. From that moment on, cinema began to take a new approach: telling fiction stories to amuse viewers. In this context, the first special effects emerged, for example, in the 1902 film “Viagem à Lua”, as well as with the decoration and with all the elements typical of the film industry ( production , script, editing, among others).
In a few years, the cinematographic language was formed and film cameras were gradually improving
In the 20s, movie clubs already existed and the Hollywood industry started to take its first steps. In 1927 there was a revolutionary transformation, the sound films (the first film was The Jazz Singer). Technological advances did not stop happening, in the late 40s, color cinema was already a reality . The big super productions were possible thanks to the incorporation of the Technicolor system , which slowly turned black and white cinema into a relic of the past.
Cinema has transformed in all aspects and in recent decades the digital age and computers have revolutionized the global concept of cinematography .
There are many ways to understand cinema. As art it is a unique synthesis with other forms of artistic creation (it combines literature , interpretation and various creative elements). As a spectacle, it can be said that it has been a great mass spectacle of the 20th century. And from an individual point of view, a person’s background and culture could not be understood without enjoying the films throughout his life.
