1 Conti, Luigi C. March 23, 2012 2008 18583 Film 171: Overview of Theories I. Major Theories A. Film as Art Film as a medium possesses basic elements that make it art. Such elements include, but are not limited to, lighting and color, delimitation of the image, the distance of the camera from the object, absence of the space time continuum, editing, etc. It is not a mere reproduction of reality because there is a human agent that operates in between. We understand film as an art form most obviously by acknowledging that its production is a creative process which involves human agency through the director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, etc. Through such an understanding, film achieves a higher level of societal and personal significance in terms of human expression. More importantly, though, a greater understanding of film as art would destroy the long entrenched Filipino notion of the medium as merely a commercial tool, thus elevating its aesthetic and cultural significance. B. Film as Reality Film should be a reproduction of objective reality. By this realism, film is capable of bringing together real time, in which things exist, along with the duration of the action, for which editing had insidiously substituted mental and abstract time. Mastering realistic techniques such as the depth of field introduces ambiguity into the image, bringing the spectator to in closer relation with the image, challenging him to play a more mental attitude. We understand film first and foremost as a reproduction of reality. The camera is an extension of the eye, and by utilizing techniques that emulate this function, the spectator is given a freedom of interpretation. This lets film achieve a more democratic leaning.Moreover, film as reality brings the spectator closer to the film, in a way, he identifies with the settings, characters, events, plotlines, (etc.) that he sees – verisimilitude. By subjecting film within these laws, the medium obtains the capability of bringing to the screen individuals and situations often marginalized by mainstream cinema and society.