The Moving Image: A Complete Introduction to Film provides students with an accessible and complete introduction to the world of motion pictures. The text covers the basics of how films are constructed, why they matter, and how to analyze them. It highlights diverse filmmakers and approaches, through the study of feature films, music videos, short films, and new media.

The text begins by defining cinema, discussing its origins, and introducing students to pioneers of film, including Eadweard Muybridge, Alice Guy-Blaché, and Thomas Edison. Later chapters discuss the fundamentals of film analysis and the concepts of ideology, representation, and identity in film. Students learn about cinematography, narrative structure, sound, editing, acting styles and methodologies, and the various aspects that go into creating a scene. The book features chapters devoted to experimental and cult cinema, documentaries, and animation and CGI technology. It closes with chapters that address authorship and provide an overview of key genres in filmmaking.

Designed to provide students with a comprehensive primer on film and cinema, The Moving Image is well suited for film appreciation or introductory film courses.

Nicole Richter, Ph.D., is a professor of media studies at Wright State University, where she is the head of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures and teaches courses in philosophy and film, cinema and sexuality, animation, feminist film theory, and film history. Dr. Richter earned her doctoral degree in communications with an emphasis in film studies from the University of Miami. She is the founder of KinoFemme and KinoQueer, respectively women’s filmmaking and queer filmmaking collectives. She serves on the editorial board for Short Film Studies and formerly served as the president of FilmDayton.