ABSTRACT
In this introductory section I shall consider how film developed by borrowing from existing forms of popular entertainment to become a distinctive but hybrid art. The confusion of ‘realism’ with reality is examined with reference to ‘live’ television and the technique of multiple-camera shooting, and the essentially filmic methods of reconstructing reality are revealed. These provide the basis for the seven succeeding sections of the chapter: Continuity Editing, Script, Dialogue Styles, Use of Sound, Lighting, Deep Focus and The Long Take.
