John Tariot sends in the event report for HMD Hanover, with bonus lyrics:
My apologies for not getting this in sooner - life is somewhat complicated by the fact that I am bouncing back and forth between Aspen, CO and New Hampshire for the next several months- but, here it is, our first report in probably a couple years! A brief aside: I plan on attempting an HMD-style event in Aspen in early 2009, as there seems to be both some colorful history, and some people/groups that would be “into it,” including a local filmmaker that produces Super8 wedding movies, the Aspen Historical Society, and the Aspen State Teachers’ College, the latter recently put on an interesting event that merged history and amateur film: “Civics 101: Freak Power Film Night - A film/video exploration of the 70’s Revolution in Aspen.” More Aspen to follow in a few months, hopefully.
Without further ado:
Event Venue: The Howe Library
Event time: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM (combined check-in, inspection, screening)
Total Audience: 15
Number of people bringing films: 8
Films screened by Gauge:
8mm: 6
Super 8: 6
16mm: 5
9.5mm: 0
Video: 1 DVD
Volunteers: Bruce Posner, Sukdith Punjasthitkul, John Tariot, April Andrews
Sponsors: The Howe Library, Cine Salon, Film Video Digital
Special events/screenings: For our 5’th HMD, we featured “Hanover 1947” on DVD; produced by Dartmouth College, and presented by Barbara Sagraves, Head, Preservation Services, Dartmouth College Library. Dartmouth maintains the film original, recently made an acetate-to- polyester preservation copy , and generated a 10-bit uncompressed digital video file to archive as well. We watched an access copy on DVD, and saw downtown Hanover little changed in some ways, and life on campus changed a great deal. While not a “home movie,” in the truest sense, and not even on film (usually forbidden!) it nonetheless gave us a view of downtown’s past, and interesting discussion of film preservation.
Throughout the day, John Tariot projected several orphaned films of local interest: amateur footage of Dartmouth College’s “Woodsmens’ Weekend,” the Lake Morey Inn, a White Mountains vacation, and a Vermont lake vacation in the early 1930’s, featuring a well-to-do family’s lake outing with the chauffeur rowing their rowboat.
Press (pre-event and post-event): articles in the 2 local papers, the Valley News and the Connecticut Valley Spectator prior to the event. The Spectator did a story the following week as well.
Some film highlights: Richard Fedorchak brought Super8 films and a projector, and showed 3 films he made in the 1970’s, with accompanying soundtrack being played back on boombox. Made with a unique directorial and editorial style, these went well beyond the Christmas/ Birthday/BBQ/Parade fare common to many home movies. The films featured a quite elderly patient who loved ice cream (Rich is a nurse), a meditation on tabletop hockey and winter on the ocean, and a big dance number featuring a couple who may or may not be from a mental institution- dancing to the band 10cc’s “The Film of My Love” (Lyrics below. With a line like “With a love that is true In cinemascope forever” I simply had to include them). Betsy Eaton brought in 16mm films of her grandfather’s which featured some cute, 1930’s-era boys and girls playing at a summer camp.
The “surprise” of the day was 1 Super 8 film that attendee Inger McEwen believed to be of her wedding, but instead turned out to be a Super8 copy of family film made in Sweden dating back to 1927. We believe the copy was made by shooting the projected image of the original, format unknown. The originals are apparently being held in the archives of a newspaper in Sweden, and featured, among many scenes, King Gustav of Sweden playing tennis.
Lyrics to “The Film of My Love” by 10cc
Co-starring you And co-starring me Starring us both together The film of my love Will travel the world Forever and ever and ever A back lot romance A scripted affair The screenplay a blessing from heaven We’re gone with the wind On the Orient Express To join the Magnificent Seven
The film of my love Will travel the world And travel the whole world over The film of my love Will travel the world Over and over and over The film of my love Will travel the world Over and over and over Over and over and over again Over and over and over
A close-up of yours A long shot of mine Superimposed together I’ll zoom in on you With a love that is true In cinemascope forever
A clapper board kiss There’s an Oscar in this A hit or a miss whatever A box office wedding A premier for two We’ll be on location forever
When Pathe recall The thrill of it all They’ll edit us both together A legend a classic An epic of love Captured on film forever A lasting embrace That time can’t erase Let them censor the wind Or the weather The film of my love Will conquer the world Forever and ever and ever
The film of my love Will travel the world And travel the whole world over The film of my love Will travel the world Over and over and over The film of my love Will travel the world Over and over and over Over and over and over again Over and over and over Over and over and over