From motion picture to video

The transition from film to video is about two decades long. It marks, among other things, the transition from film to video that will characterise personal and family audiovisual practices. As early as the beginning of the 1970s, analogue video appeared in Italy, which differed from film in three main characteristics: the length of recording time, the synchronous taking of audio and the reusability of magnetic tapes. While film imposed chemical and technical skills, to know how to edit, where to cut the frame and how to put the glue or tape, with video, a horizon of practices is opened up that has to do with the electronic image and requires new and different skills. Diego Cavallotti describes the era of the transition from film to video, highlighting the differences in technology and language, the practical outcomes and the social and cultural legacies.