Types of Films & their Characteristics — A Guide on Visual Arts

List of Types of Films & their Special Features

TYPES OF FILMS – Here are the different kinds of film and the characteristics of each visual art masterpiece.

Music and Arts is one of the subjects taught from elementary to high school. Also, most often, it is also part of the college curriculum in most courses. It is one of the subjects that is a favorite of many people who love music, visual arts, and dances.

As mentioned, Visual Arts is one of the topics covered by Music and Arts. It lies on the other side of the spectrum with the Performing Arts on the other side. There are two (2) main categories of Visual Arts such as the following:

Visual Art

Music
- Popular Music
  - Vocal Music
  - Instrumental Music
Theater Arts
Dance

Film

Visual Art
- Comics
- Animation
- Architecture
- Weaving
Film
- Feature Film
- Short Film
- Historical Film
- Biographical Film
- Documentary
- Animation

Let us discussed about the different types of films as visual arts. Here are the characteristics of each film and their examples:

Feature Film

Also called a theatrical film, this is a narrative film with a running time that is sufficient to be considered a sole presentation usually shown in cinemas. It can include a short film or a newsreel. The Story of the Kelly Gang was the very first feature film with a 60-minute running time. Other films of this type includes the following:

Les Miserables
Defence of Sevastopol
Oliver Twist
Cabiria
The Birth of a Nation
Richard III
From the Manger to the Cross
Cleopatra

Short Film

One of the most popular types of films is the Short Film. It is mainly characterized by having a low running time. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences described it as a film type with a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all the credits.

Historical Film

A historical film usually features an event in the past or an imagined event. It can be mythic, legendary, or a heroic movie with the pursuit to inspire, inform, or provide entertainment to the audience.

Biographical Film

Also one of the most popular types of films is the Biographical Film which shows the life of a person being featured in the film. Most often, the real name of the person being featured in the film is used as the name of the main character. What sets this type of film different is that they focus on the life of one person unlike a Documentary Film which may tackle different sides.

Documentary Film

A Documentary Film‘s main characteristic is that is usually features a realistic event as it is a non-fictional motion picture that documents a reality. It tells the story of what happened and it may include the testimonies of many people. It can be for the purpose of education, entertainment, or instruction.