Astill image film, also called apicture movie, is afilm that consists primarily or entirely ofstill images rather than consecutive still images in succession, forgoing the illusion of motion either for aesthetic or practical reasons. These films usually include a standard soundtrack, similar to what is found in typicalsound films, complete with music, sound effects, dialogue or narration. They may also use various editing techniques found in traditional films, such as dissolves, zooms, and panning.[1]
This filmmaking technique is more common in historicaldocumentaries, where old photographs may provide the best documentation of certain events.Ken Burns is well known for having used it repeatedly in his films in the last decades.[2] But it was also common before as highlighted in a 1961 letter toThe New York Times, whereLouis Clyde Stoumen surveyed earlier uses of the technique by him and other documentary filmmakers. Stoumen mentions the German Curt Oertel and his ‘Michelangelo’(1938) (later re-edited intoRobert Flaherty’s ‘The Titan’ around 1949); the BelgiansHenri Storck and his lyric ‘World of Paul Delvaux’ (1947) andPaul Haesaerts and his ‘Rubens’(1948); the Americans Paul Falkenberg &Lewis Jacobs and their ‘Lincoln Speaks at Gettysburg’(1950) made entirely out of nineteenth-century engravings; the also Americans Berg & Block and their documentary ‘Goya’ (1954) made out of paintings and prints. Stoumen said to have been developing this form for more than a decade.
This still image film technique is less common innarrative films, but has been done occasionally. Such films are typically consideredexperimental orart films. Perhaps the best known narrative still image film isChris Marker's 1962 filmLa Jetée, which was the inspiration for the 1995 film12 Monkeys.[1]In narrative filmmaking, the vast majority of still image films areshort films. Many student films are still image films, and the making of these films is a requirement in somefilm school courses.George Lucas's first film, the shortLook at Life, was made up of only still images heavily influenced by films fromArthur Lipsett like his Oscar-nominatedVery Nice, Very Nice.[1]Robert Downey Sr.'s 1966 feature filmChafed Elbows is constructed primarily from still photographs, with a fewlive-action sequences. Additionally, the 2007 Mexican filmYear of the Nail is made up entirely of photographs taken by the director,Jonás Cuarón, over the course of one year. It is perhaps the onlyfeature-length narrative film consisting exclusively of still images.[3] However, many narrative films still employ this technique for individual scenes. Some notable examples areJohn Cassavetes'sHusbands (1970),[4]Gordon Parks Jr.'sSuper Fly (1972),[5]Alan J. Pakula'sThe Parallax View (1974),[6]Tom Tykwer'sRun Lola Run (1998),[7] andApichatpong Weerasethakul'sUncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010).[8]
Filmmakers working with still images may do so out of necessity, such as when resources are limited and they are only able to shoot still photographs, rather than moving pictures. However, it is also sometimes chosen for stylistic reasons, and can allow the filmmakers to do things that would be impossible with traditional moving pictures. InChafed Elbows, for example, the filmmakers had the freedom to improvise their lines during post-production. Additionally, the use of still images made possible a scene in which one character appears to throw another out of a high window, while the actors remained safe. Additionally, inYear of the Nail, the director pieced together unstaged photographs from his real life and was able to build a fictional story from these. Furthermore, still image films may decrease the filmmakers' limitations, as dialogue and sound effects need not be synchronized with moving images.
Ken Burns has credited documentary filmmakerJerome Liebling for teaching him how still photographs could be incorporated into documentary films.[9] He has also cited the 1957National Film Board of Canada documentaryCity of Gold,[10] co-directed byColin Low andWolf Koenig, as a prior example of the technique.[11][12][13] Winner of thePrix du Documentaire at theCannes Film Festival and nominated for anAcademy Award,[14][15]City of Gold usedanimation camera techniques to slowly pan and zoom across archival still pictures of Canada'sKlondike Gold Rush.[16]
As most audiences are unaccustomed to still image films, many viewers are initially turned off by them, butJonás Cuarón said that people adjust to the style after about seven minutes, as long as the story is engaging.[17] There is some debate about whether or not still image films should in fact be considered as genuine motion pictures, since they do not in fact employ the illusion of motion, with some considering them more akin to theslideshow.
The termsphotomontage andcollage have also been used to describe still image films, although those words actually refers to entirely different things.
In fact, spend any time watching the films of Ken Burns, or those of the legions of documentary makers he has inspired, and you will see Mr. Liebling's work, in a sense, even if you have never laid eyes on one of his photographs.