Arijon - Grammar of the film language

There are so many books on film making, that one is tempted to ask why there should be yet another. And why this one? The author feels, and this conviction stems from his own case histories, that for the last twenty years there has not been a book on the market that chronicles the developments in the narrative techniques of the cinema in a practical way.

A young person not lucky enough to be associated with good film makers, usually seeks the information he needs in books. He will find many books that discuss various theories about film, or contain criticism and interviews or essays. A highly complicated endeavour such as film making, requires the effort of many specialists, some of whom have written good technical books. But one sector of the subject has been neglected in recent yearswhich may be termed the organizing of images for their projection on a screen. Existing books on the subject are outdated or incomplete. And few of them have any tangible practical information that the budding film maker can assimilate and apply in his own work. The aim of this book is to fill the gap that has opened since those works were originally written.

The cinema has evolved at a wondrous pace, especially in its narrative forms. With new lightweight cameras, portable recorders and other technical developments on the one hand, and economic hire charges for good equipment, cheap raw stock and processing on the other, the possibility of making a professional full length low-budget film is almost within the reach o f everyone. I f the dream of the former generation was to write the great novel of their time, the aim of the younger generation seems to be the making of very good films. To them, and the many other persons who are increasingly turning to film as a medium of expression, this book is mainly dedicated. It is designed to shorten the years of apprenticeship and avoid the uncertain task of collecting scraps of information here and there and to assemble the basic rules of film narration. You will not find theories here, but facts, tested and proven over a long period by diverse film makers all over the world, which can be readily applied to any film project you might be considering.

Work on this book has taken up nearly twelve years alongside with my own career in film making. I hope that my humble effort will also help anyone who, like the author, began their career or is about to begin it in countries or areas where an industry that absorbs new blood does not exist.

Age, nationality or background does not matter. What is important is that you have something to say that can, and must, be expressed through the film medium in your own way and in your own terms. The greatest movies of our age are still unmade. Let us try to be the ones who will make them.

Daniel Arijon

Montevideo, Uruguay, 1975