Cinematography is the illusion of movement by the recording and subsequent rapid projection of many still photographic pictures on a screen.

Modern movies are scanned or directly recorded in the so-called 2K and 4K Digital Cinema format of 2048 x 1556 or 4096 x 3112 pixels. Many new movies are being shot directly with 4K digital cameras. As experts in the field of photography have determined the maximum usable resolution of a quality 35mm classic movie bar is 5380 x 3620 pixels, or 19.5 megapixels, and archives worldwide are opting for 4K or 6K scans. The exception to this rule is 8K scans, which are made during movie production to add special digital effects. The giant IMAX format is a special case is  with 10,000 x 7000 pixel tape, whose scans currently use the strongest single 80-megapixel CCD sensors. The reason for scanning at a resolution larger than the current HD or 2K DC format is to record all the data from the analog tape into digital format.