Film

Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The source of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the main medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures, the silver screen, photoplays, picture shows, flicks — and most commonly movies. Academics and the English-speaking international society prefer to use film or "cinema", due to the colloquial nature of these other terms.
Films are created by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They include a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown quickly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision — whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Perhaps of more relevance is what causes the perception of motion — a psychological effect known as beta movement.