This comprehensive introduction to film focuses on three topics: how movies express meanings, how viewers understand those meanings, and how cinema focuses globally as both an art and a business. Using clear, accessible, and jargon-free writing, this is the only introduction to film to examine the elements of film style and the viewer's contribution to the cinema experience. How do viewers interpret the effects filmmakers create? How do filmmakers anticipate, and build on, the likely ways viewers will react to certain kinds of stories and audio-visual designs? Accordingly, the text examines how filmmakers create images and sounds and also closely examines the mechanisms and processes by which viewers make sense of images and stories on screen. This approach helps readers understand not only the basic concepts but also how their own reactions and opinions impact the overall film experience, making the course even more meaningful. For anyone interested in film and film appreciation. Read Less