There
have been many camera
designs and different
formats introduced
over the years. Many
have gone with the
wind but they all
have one thing in
common, they all take
pictures one frame
at a time - just like
a still camera with
a motor wind but taking
a lot more than one
picture per second.
Each frame of film
is a complete photograph.
Each properly exposed
but successively and
incrementally different
from the last frame
(assuming that you
are filming a moving
subject). The basic
parallels between
a motion picture camera
and a still camera
are in that they both
provide a lens capable
of being focused,
a lens aperture (F/stops)
to adjust exposure
and a means of transporting
film to the film gate.
Motion picture and
still cameras share
the same viewing systems
such as range finders
(complete with parallax
and other drawbacks),
and the through-the-lens
reflex (SLR). Well
developed photographic
skills are a prerequisite
for a cinematographer
that must also develop
an understanding of
the dynamic of changing
perspectives and shifting
shadows presented
by motion pictures.
That's where cinematography
gets a little more
complicated than its
single-shot counterpart.
