ABSTRACT
Film, in the way in which it presents images to the viewer as moving, seemingly living entities, is a distinct medium with a particular terminology and specific analytical approach all of its own. Film is principally defined by the dynamism of its moving images but does, however, share some qualities with the picture book and the comic book. When these three seemingly disparate media forms are reduced to their most basic compositional units, they are surprisingly similar to one another: the picture book page, the comic book panel, the television screen and the individual film cell are all, in their simplest forms, an image presented within a rectangular or square frame. The difference lies in how they are presented to their audiences: on a technological level, film is simply hundreds of thousands of these individual pictures shown to the viewer in rapid succession to create the illusion of a single moving image. When extra elements are added to the process, the differences become even more pronounced and film moves further away from comics and picture books to become a unique and powerful medium in its own right. These elements include music, dialogue, sound effects, editing, lighting and acting and, when a skilled director assimilates these elements effectively into one film, it is inevitably true to say that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Film can connect with its audience in a way which no other medium can. Paintings, photographs or music alone can undoubtedly evoke strong emotions in us, but the combination of watching a film with a soundtrack, be it music or dialogue, has the capability to move us profoundly. Consider the memorable opening sequence of Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient, where panoramic shots of the desert are combined with haunting vocal chants, or the scene in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands where Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder) dances in the flakes from Edward ( Johnny Depp)’s ice sculpture to the accompaniment of Danny Elfman’s beautiful music. Yet film does not just move us to appreciate beauty – it can also both terrify and thrill on a primal level. The visceral shock of our first glimpse of the killer’s mask in Wes Craven’s Scream is heightened by Marco Beltrami’s tense score and the deafening roar of the Tyrannosaurus Rex as it menaces the visitors to Jurassic Park creates an unforgettably exciting viewing experience. The vast majority of children also seem to derive great pleasure from cinema and television, often returning to their favourite films and programmes repeatedly. The advent of home-cinema technology, replete with surround sound, vast screens and the eminently collectible format of the DVD, with its accessible viewerfriendly navigation and ‘making of’ documentaries, means that children are now more than
ever immersed in the moving image in their own homes. By giving them the tools to analyse what they see, we can ensure that not only will they enjoy what they watch but that they will also learn from it.
