make larger reels. Then one or two projectors
play the reels to show the movie
on the screen.
People Who Make Movies
Making a movie takes many people. The
producer handles the business matters.
The producer raises money for making
the movie and hires people, including
the screenwriter and the director. The
screenwriter puts the story together and
writes what the actors will say.
The director turns the written story into
a movie. The director works with almost
everyone involved in making the movie.
The director helps the producer choose
the actors and actresses who appear in
the movie. During filming, the director
decides how scenes are filmed and tells
others what to do. The director oversees
the people who handle costumes,
makeup, lighting, sound, and cameras.
Some members of a film crew create
special effects. Special effects are tricks
used to film things that would otherwise
be too difficult or expensive to film. For
example, miniature models of buildings
or vehicles can be used to film such
events as earthquakes, floods, fires, and
explosions.
The United
States has a
rating system
that prevents
children from
seeing certain
movies. No
child can see
a movie rated
NC-17.
Chinese director Chen Kaige works on editing
his movie Temptress Moon.
A model maker creates a make-believe
creature for the movie The Return of the
Jedi. With the help of special effects, the
creature will appear to move in the finished
film.
198 Movie BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
After the filming is done, editors put the
pictures and sound together. Usually the
director films a lot of material that will
not fit in the final movie. Film editors
work with the director to cut scenes and
move others around. Sound editors
make sure that the sound track fits well
with the pictures.
History
People began experimenting with ways
of making and viewing moving pictures
in the 1800s. By 1890 the U.S. inventor
Thomas Edison had developed a movie
camera. In France, Louis and Auguste
Lumiere invented a combined movie
camera and projector in 1895. The
Lumiere brothers opened the world’s
first movie theater in Paris, France.
In the early 1900s France was the center
of the movie industry. But by 1920 most
movies were made in the United States.
Big movie studios were set up in Hollywood,
a part of Los Angeles, California.
Early movies did not have color or
sound. The Jazz Singer, released in 1927,
was the first popular movie with sound.
The first high-quality color movies were
made in the 1930s.
Television became popular in the 1950s.
As a result, people saw fewer movies. In
the 1970s, big movies such as StarWars
brought some people back into theaters.
Film technology changed in the late
20th century. New cameras recorded
pictures as digital data instead of using
film. Digital recording was also used for
sound. Computers were used to produce
amazing visual effects. Some animated
movies, such as Toy Story (1995), were
made entirely with computers.
#More to explore
Animation • Camera • Cartoon
• Disney,Walt • Edison, Thomas Alva
• Photography • Television
A film crew works on a model of a ship
used in the movie Titanic.
Computers were used to add
many special effects to the
Spider-Man movies of the early
21st century.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Movie 199
Mozambique
The country of Mozambique sits on
Africa’s southeastern coast. Mozambique’s
capital is Maputo.
Geography
Mozambique shares borders with Tanzania,
Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South
Africa, and Swaziland. The Indian
Ocean lies to the east.
The Zambezi River divides Mozambique
into northern and southern
regions. The south has mostly lowlands
and some highlands. The north has high
plains and mountains. Mozambique has
warm weather all year.
Plants and Animals
Ironwood, palm, and ebony trees grow
in the northwest. Grasses and shrubs
grow in the drier south. Mozambique’s
rich wildlife includes zebras, hippopotamuses,
lions, elephants, crocodiles, and
giraffes.
People
The largest of Mozambique’s many ethnic
groups include the Makua, the
Tsonga, the Sena, and the Lomwe. Portuguese
is the national language, but
most people speak African languages.
About half of the people follow traditional
religions. There are also many
Christians and Muslims.
Economy
Most of Mozambique’s people make
their living by farming. Corn and cassava
are the main crops. Mozambique
also produces shrimp, coconuts, cotton,
sugarcane, cashew nuts, and wood. Factories
make aluminum, food products,
beverages, cloth, and chemicals.
History
Bantu-speaking peoples moved to the
region in about the AD 200s. Arabs later
set up trading cities along the coast. The
Portuguese settled in the region in the
1500s. They sold many Mozambicans as
slaves.
In 1964 a rebel group called Frelimo
began to fight Portuguese rule. Mozambique
won independence in 1975. Frelimo
took over the government. Rebels
soon began fighting Frelimo’s government.
That deadly civil war lasted until
1992. Mozambique held democratic
elections in 1994.
..More to explore
Maputo
Facts About
MOZAMBIQUE
Population
(2008 estimate)
21,285,000
Area
313,661 sq mi
(812,379 sq km)
Capital
Maputo
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
