Home Movie Day Newstag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//12012-02-05T00:46:17ZMovable Type 3.31HMD Report: East Baytag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1652012-02-05T00:23:02Z2012-02-05T00:46:17ZCity: Oakland Event Venue: Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) Event time (inspection): 11am-1pm Event time (open screening): 12:30-3pm (Beane screening): 3:30-5pm Total audience: 35 at the open screening, 78 at the Beane screening Number of people bringing film: 13 Films...Brian M.
AAMLO), courtesy of Beane's granddaughter and Rick Moss, AAMLO's Chief Curator, who led the discussion. Ernest Beane worked for the Pullman Palace Car Company and his films are rare views of African American middle class life in Berkeley and Oakland during World War II. Beane was committed to his hobby, investing in both 16mm and regular 8mm equipment, and he brought his camera everywhere, across the country, even to Mexico. Beane shot intimate portraits of his family, friends and fellow porters mostly at ease and at leisure -- walking along the block, drinking lemonade in the back yard, working in the garden, swinging, sliding, playing, dancing, kissing. The films are vibrant, full of life and, and as Moss mentioned, pride. Shelby confirmed this after the screening, "Most images of African American people before 1940 are depressing. People were told to keep their head down. But here you have a document that disrupts the narrative."
Press: Press releases went to OMCA's local/regional media and calendar lists. OMCA also produced a run of 1000 postcards to Oakland addresses, and sent out an eflyer. Shoutouts in the San Francisco Chronicle
and the Oakland North.
This year's East Bay Home Movie Day was very special thanks to the enthusiasm and support of the Oakland Standard staff. Seriously these people rule! We didn't have a lot of film for the open screening but we had just enough, we had a very good turnout, and we made some new friends.
We raffled free transfers from The Looking Glass/Recollections Media Transfer, Digital Pickle, Novato Video Transfer and Audio Video Workshop and free tickets to the OMCA.
Some highlights:
A look back at Home Movie Day East Bay 2008 at Pacific Film Archive; a 1940 Egyptian wedding (the family later immigrated to Berkeley); an outing of young ladies, accompanied by dapper rangers in Yosemite in 1938 -- with a glimpse of a Smokey the Bear lookalike and President Franklin Roosevelt; Natalia's mom's birthday party in Buenos Aires in 1952, complete with marionettes and a princess crown; a 1957 trick film made in Tennessee by a teenager and his friends eating imaginary food; a 1942 trick film of snow antics, people disappear and jump backwards, along with loving shots of newborn baby Deanne; Stephen Fisher's little girl dances in Isadora Duncan's footsteps at the Temple of the Wings (super 8 sound! The Fisher saga continues); a young Kaja Meredith, who will later become a classically trained ballerina and Burgess Meredith's wife, dances in the living room as her father plays piano; saxophones and sequins in Norcross, Georgia, New Year's Eve 1972; a repeat screening of the Oakland Rose Garden, shot flower by flower, frame by frame; and, gearing up for Halloween, cute kids in costume in Buffalo, New York, 1963.
HMD in the Oakland Standard (thanks to Stijn/ the Oakland Standard)
Photos on Flickr (thanks to Myleen Hollero)
Report submitted by Pamela Vadakan]]>
HMD Report: Washington, D.C.tag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1642012-01-30T19:23:02Z2012-01-30T19:24:54ZHMD Washington D.C. 2011 Organizer: Caitlin McGrath Projectionists/Film Checkers: Tim Wisniewski, Laura Major Volunteer and General Cheerleader: Brian Real Those who helped from afar: Skip Elsheimer; Karma Foley; Amy Gallick; Jimi Jones; Julia Nicoll; Marsha Orgeron; Elias Savada; Karan Sheldon;...Brian M.
HMD Washington D.C. 2011
Organizer: Caitlin McGrath
Projectionists/Film Checkers: Tim Wisniewski, Laura Major
Volunteer and General Cheerleader: Brian Real
Those who helped from afar: Skip Elsheimer; Karma Foley; Amy Gallick; Jimi Jones; Julia Nicoll; Marsha Orgeron; Elias Savada; Karan Sheldon; Jennifer Snyder; Deborah Sorensen; Dwight Swanson; Pam Wintle; Lindsay Zarwell
Last-minute 8mm projectors and viewer: Jenny Horne
Refreshments: Whole Foods (!)
Event Location: Letelier Theater, Georgetown
Event time: 12-4 p.m.
Attendees: Well, are we counting all those that were there, wandered through, and stayed to watch? That total would be 12. If counting those outside the organizer and volunteers who came to watch films? That would be 2. One of those brought films.
Films shown:
The Living Room Cinema DVD
Florida in the 1960s
Florida - Hilde and Silver Meteor
Hilde in the Ice Storm
Yost - Bee in Flower, 1954
Man in bathing suit - 1929
Baltimore walkathon 1973
Disneyland and a California pool, 1979 and 1976
Films from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Guitar at the Bottom of the Sea
Most of the films were 8mm, but we also had 16mm from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Our event was small mainly because it was organized in just a few weeks. We missed deadlines for most publicity, and we suffered from having a somewhat obscure location. All of these can be remedied this upcoming year, since we'll have plenty of time to rally our forces. The saving grace was the generosity of Whole Foods, who provided us with enough food for 50 people (I was being optimistic!). So while we waited for folks to turn up, we ate well and often from the buffet.
We started by watching the Living Room Cinema DVD to get things rolling, and give us time to set things up while something was running, in case we got flooded with participants. Then we started showing our own films. I brought one of my parents before they were parents, and then one of me about 2 years old in Disneyland. Tim brought a great one of the Walkathon in Baltimore, and Laura had family reels from her mother's childhood in Florida.
Then we started going through some of the films I had brought that came from the Wagner Institute in Philadelphia. They included a great one from 1929, and some beautiful images of flowers, snow and ice.
We also were very fortunate (thanks to Lindsay Zarwell) to have some amazing films from the USHMM. We saw travel films that traversed Europe, visiting the Alps, Jewish settlement farms, and various points in Eastern Europe.
The one participant who brought a film showed a film he'd made as a teen with his friends meant to be a horror film. It was interesting, and because incomplete, fairly experimental! He was very lively and happily narrated the bits that were missing. He arrived five minutes before the end, so it was a great way to bring things to a close.
Despite having such a small showing, we all had a great time and ate well for the rest of the week! Many, many thanks for all those who helped on the day, helped from afar, and those who gave support and encouragement along the way. HMD DC 2012, here we come!
HMD Report: Mexico Citytag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1632012-01-27T19:58:52Z2012-01-27T19:59:49ZEvent Venue: Cineteca Nacional México Event time (screening): 29 October 2011 from 2-9pm Event time (inspection): accepted films until noon on the 29th Total Audience: Over the course of the day, perhaps 85 people? Unfortunately, we didn’t have the manpower...Brian M.
Event Venue: Cineteca Nacional México
Event time (screening): 29 October 2011 from 2-9pm
Event time (inspection): accepted films until noon on the 29th
Total Audience: Over the course of the day, perhaps 85 people? Unfortunately, we didn’t have the manpower to take an accurate count.
Number of people bringing films: 3 people brought films that day for the event. In total, we screened films from 20 people.
Films screened by Gauge: (all numbers are approximate)
8mm: 15
Super 8: 31
16mm: 6
9.5mm: 0
Video: 0
Volunteers: Audrey Young, Kyzza Terrazas, Issa García Ascot
Press (pre-event and post-event): Radio interview
Report submitted by: Audrey Young
This was only the second Home Movie Day in Mexico City, and the first event since 2003. There is not a strong sense of home movies as being meaningful yet in Mexico, and we saw that in the promotion for the event. Despite sending out a press release and advertising the event with a PSA on the public bus system, only two people showed up to bring films to show. The rest of the event we programmed with films the Cineteca has been collecting through the Archivo Memoria program. As the event approached and we realized that the response was not as anticipated, we began to call everyone who had brought in their films to ask them if they wanted to come watch them during Home Movie Day. We ended up getting a fairly strong response and projected films nonstop from 2pm until after 9pm.
There were a few interesting films that we discovered at the event: a trip to Yucatán on 8mm from 1956, a set of stop-motion animations from the 60s and 70s by a man whose granddaughter described him as a “mad inventor”, a short film documenting the marches for sexual freedom in the 1970s and scenes in the life of a traditional Jewish family in 1960s Mexico.
But perhaps more important than the films themselves was the reaction to the event. Those families that we invited to attend were thrilled. One family showed up with fifteen or twenty people, including the matriarch who had filmed everything. Others came merely out of curiosity to see their films for the first time in twenty years and ended up staying all afternoon, captivated by the families of strangers.
HMD Report: Londontag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1622012-01-27T19:54:18Z2012-01-27T19:55:52ZHMD London 2011 Organisers: Lucy Smee and Lisa Kerrigan General volunteers: Andrew Smee, Rebecca Hobbs, Martin Robinson, Rachel Keene, Michael Coffey, Chris Jones Cinema Museum volunteers: Ronald Grant, Martin Humphries, Anna Odrich, George Parnell, Mark Egerton, Alex Craven, Ruth Cox,...Brian M.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eartle/sets/72157627784414305/]]>
HMD Report: Philadelphiatag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1612012-01-27T19:53:09Z2012-01-27T19:53:54ZEvent Venue: PhillyCAM - Philadelphia’s public access television station Event time (screening): 2-5 PM Event time (inspection): 2-5 PM Total Audience: approx. 30 Number of people bringing films: approx 7 Films screened by Gauge: 8mm: approx 10 Super 8: 1...Brian M.
Event Venue: PhillyCAM - Philadelphia's public access television station
Event time (screening): 2-5 PM
Event time (inspection): 2-5 PM
Total Audience: approx. 30
Number of people bringing films: approx 7
Films screened by Gauge:
8mm: approx 10
Super 8: 1
16mm: 3
9.5mm: none
Video:none
Volunteers Jay Schwartz, John Pettit, Alexis Mayer, Germaine Fodor, Janine Lieberman, Debbie Rudman, Herbie Shellenberger, Silvia Hortelano Peláez, Jenifer Baldwin
Special Contributors/Thanks: Gretjen Clausing, Caroline Savage, Dwight Swanson, Kate Pourshariati, Joanna Poses
Film Inspectors: Alexis Mayer, Janine Lieberman, Herbie Shellenberger
Projectionists: Jay Schwartz
Inspectors: Alexis Mayer, Janine Lieberman
MC: John Pettit
Press (pre-event and post-event): PhillyCAM ran a spot on their station, created by the wonderful and amazing Debbie Rudman! Press release was featured on uwishunu.com, Philly Inquirer blog. Were also sponsored by Bryn Mawr Film Institute who ran an ad in their slideshow.
Report submitted by: Alexis Mayer
HMD Report: Cambridgetag:www.homemovieday.com,2012:/news//1.1602012-01-26T04:58:20Z2012-01-26T05:00:02ZReport submitted by: Liz Coffey Report by Brittany Gravely, our annual note-taker and writer extraordinaire. HOME MOVIE DAY 2011 October 15 – Cambridge, MA As watching celluloid – particularly small gauge formats – and even VHS becomes more and more...Brian M.
http://minneapolis.pointslocal.com/story/minneapolis/566519/home-movie-day-in-cambridge
]]>
HMD Report: Hendersonville, NCtag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1592011-11-13T20:45:20Z2011-11-13T20:45:45Z2011 Event Report City: Hendersonville, NC Event Venue: Mike’s On Main Event time (screening): 4-7pm Event time (inspection): same Total Audience: 14 Number of people bringing films: 6 # Films screened by Gauge: 13 total 8mm: 6 Super 8: 7...Brian M.
2011 Event Report
City: Hendersonville, NC
Event Venue: Mike's On Main
Event time (screening): 4-7pm
Event time (inspection): same
Total Audience: 14
Number of people bringing films: 6 # Films screened by Gauge: 13 total
8mm: 6 Super 8: 7 16mm: 9.5mm: Video: 5
Volunteers: Charlotte Taylor David Vaughn Matt Dodson Edward Bakinowski
Press (pre-event and post-event):Mentioned on WTZQ radio station.
Flyers in 3 counties (Henderson, Transylvania, Buncome). Notifications sent to area papers.
This was our first Home Movie Day, and we were really excited to participate. Unfortunately, we joined in without much time to promote our event, and so had less of a turnout than I would have liked. However, the films we screened were a lot of fun, and I hope we get a better turnout and more films next year.
One of our participants brought in a stack of films he and his wife had never seen, and which weren't labeled. These turned out to be a series of mostly a single Christmas event, although there were some really beautiful shots of his children in a go-cart pulling a wagon. Their films were all from the early 70s.
We also screened a DVD featuring a performance by high schoolers at West Henderson High's talent show in 2002. They danced the “Time Warp” (how appropriate)! Additionally, one of the Blue Ridge Community College students brought a VHS of a film she and her friends had made in middle school – complete with a violent murder and really great dialog!
Additionally, we watched a home movie from the late 90s featuring all the wonderful special effects 90s video had to offer – negative, solarize, and some really fantastic iris wipes!
We saw super8 transferred to VHS from the late 50s of Berlin, Paris, Sweden, as well as some NY Public School graduations. The family who brought this film was great about narrating their films, quite hilarious.
I brought some of my family's films to fill in gaps, and even got the opportunity to watch 8mm that my Great Grandmother shot of my mom when she was in elementary school!
The younger kids in the audience really got into HMD Bingo – one asked us to define “Beehive Hairdo,” which sparked a really fun conversation!
I am really pleased with the success of our first event! Thanks to all our volunteers, as well as all the HMD folks who helped us get this started! We can't wait for next year!
Report submitted by: Charlotte Taylor
HMD Report: Chicagotag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1582011-11-13T20:39:12Z2011-11-13T20:39:32ZCity: Chicago, IL Event Venue: lobby of the Portage Theater, Chicago, IL Event time (screening): continuously from 2-6 Event time (inspection): continuously from 1-5 Total Audience: 15 or so Number of people bringing films: 6.5. (three people/groups who weren’t us...Brian M.
lengthy blog post about Home Movie Day, but we doubt that it did much to attract people; it doesn't get much traffic:
We mostly advertised the event through the program for our weekly "classic film series", through pre-show announcements at the shows in the film
series, and with posters arond the neighborhood.
On this page please describe films screened, making note of any exceptional films or films for future DVD compilations, as well as any films with unusual stories or strong audience reactions.
Films from Julian Antos:
- Sadly underlit reel of 8mm found in Julian's grandfather's basement. Reel labeled -Girls Wrestling-. Too dark to really see anything, but some of the flashes of movement are very suggestive.
- Hilarious 16mm reel of Grandpa Antos eating watermelon forward, then in reverse. Shot by a friend of his who was a successful amateur/industrial filmmaker (Julian Gromer).
- 16mm footage of Gene Autry rodeo at Soldier Field in Chicago. Then lots of flowers. Then a boat trip. Then shots around Aurora, IL. Waterfalls. Tractors.
Film from the Northwest Chicago Film Society:
8mm reel titled -Talman Girls Funny Formal 1956- - beautiful color. Big party full of people in costume - presumably Talman Bank staff (film was found in the booth at a little screening room that used to be in one of their bank branches, where NCFS used to screen things). Film gets weirder and weirder. There's a talent show. There are some strange masks. By the end, people are smooching on the floor and the camera work is pretty disjointed.
Films from the mystery couple (wish we had gotten their names!):
Shots of Grandpa Mystery scraping ice off of the water system intakes in the middle of Lake Michigan. He actually lived out there for periods of time, back when the stations were manned at all times. (These little towers waaaay out in the middle of the Lake are pretty iconic. Anyone whose every spent any time on the lake front looking at things in the distance has wondered what they're like up close).
Films from Mike:
Tons of Super 8 sound from the 1980s! Many shots of Mike blowing out birthday candles that aren't his (they're his little sister's - she's an opera singer now!) Cute. Also: a trip to Disney World.
Films from Neil:
Many reels of color 8mm. All family footage from the 1940s-1960s.
Lots of small-town parades in Iola, WI. Many children. Some wonderful shots of Neil's grandparents, who were born in the 1870s! Neil remembers an incredible amount of detail about everyone and everything in the films - his narration was wonderful! His footage also included a very early trip to Disney Land.]]>
HMD Report: Los Angelestag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1572011-11-13T20:33:29Z2011-11-13T20:34:57ZEvent Venue: Linwood Dunn Theater Event time (screening): Noon-4:00 Event time (inspection): 11:00-4:00 Total Audience: 55 Number of people bringing films: 11 Films screened by Gauge: 8mm: 4 Super 8: 6 16mm: 5 9.5mm: 1 28mm: 1 Video: 2 Emcees:...Brian M.
Event Venue: Linwood Dunn Theater
Event time (screening): Noon-4:00
Event time (inspection): 11:00-4:00
Total Audience: 55
Number of people bringing films: 11
Films screened by Gauge:
8mm: 4
Super 8: 6
16mm: 5
9.5mm: 1
28mm: 1
Video: 2
Emcees: Charles Phoenix, Snowden Becker
Volunteers (19): Cassie Blake, Ed Carter, Yasmin Damshenas, Jovita Dominguez, Brian Drischell, Dino Everett, Joe Gallucci, Jere Guldin, Fritz Herzog, Trisha Lendo, Brian Meacham, Esther Nam, Charles Rogers, Sean Savage, Amanda Smith, Jessica Storm, Leah Wagner, Lance Watsky, Tim Wilson + 2 paid projectionists and a half dozen regular theater staff
Special events/screenings:
Hollywood Home Movies III (third biennial Academy Film Archive screening)
Amateur Night (with special guest Dwight Swanson)
Press (pre-event and post-event): Not much better coverage last year, which may explain why it wasn't news for many media producers. HMD-specific press release sent out by event organizers, "Home Movie Weekend" release sent by Academy press office. The usual flyers and postcards, though still not as widely disseminated as they should have been.
"That was fun, and very emotional for me. It will be so gratifying that when I donate these films, my family will live on and not just in my heart. Thank you again for giving them back to me for a while on a big screen."
-- HMD-LA attendee Jeff Heise
This year we recruited a local celebrity host, author and mid-century/retro enthusiast Charles Phoenix, who is known for his found-image slideshows. He's also an expert on southern California, and particularly knows his automobiles and amusement parks. He's got a bit of a following, and we know his star-power brought in at least one person with films, and in fact started the day with.
8mm of Disneyland a month after it opened, when our first participant was 7 years old. All rides brand-spanking new, including the dodgy and short-lived Phantom Boats (replaced by the Submarine Voyage, now also a defunct feature of the park) and quaint-even-back-then Tomorrowland. Next, Long Beach: an amazing shot of Nash cars being lowered by crane onto a cargo ship. Mr. Phoenix demonstrated his value as emcee right out of the gate by rattling off an astonishing quantity of trivia about all of the ships, as well as their ports of registry, tonnage, and sundry other identifying features.
Later in the reel, the enterprising dad solves the problem of low-light conditions on Xmas morning by insisting that all the unwrapped gifts be arrayed in the driveway for the camera. Our participant was resplendent in her new Red Cross nurse costume, complete with navy-blue cape and little white hat, and noted that her blonde curls were the result of a recent perm she had been forced to undergo. A lineup of rather creepy dolls and a gender-stereotyping 'little housewife' cooking set comprised the bulk of her holiday gift haul. Her brother, who was a few years older, showed off an array of model planes, trains, and automobiles while wearing a new bomber jacket and captain's hat; then, after a quick costume change into a velour bathrobe and a very jaunty red tasseled fez, demonstrated some new magic acts. A little trick-shot help from Dad's camera was involved in the 'disappearance' of some small props, the little sister, and finally the magician himself, leaving only the robe and fez behind. A Disneyland toy monorail set in action got some oohs and aahs from our audience, especially co-host Charles Pheonix, who declared 'Look at all those gifts! You kids were spoiled rotten!
Film collector and returning HMD-er Bill Jenkins brought more 16mm from anonymous families, starting with rare views of Busch Gardens in Pasadena, c. 1928.
Jeff Heise brought a 1600‚ reel of 16mm that began with shots of his family's home in Cleveland, in the neighborhood and era where 'A Christmas Story' takes place. (Viewers were alert for evidence of triple-dog-daring in the background, but all visible telephone poles appeared to be unoccupied.) In a continuation of the Disneyania theme from earlier in the day, there is an amazing shot of a Donald Duck children's bicycle and little girls wearing Donald Duck and Thumper Rabbit slippers. Later films show footage of Southern California including Long Beach, the Rose Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Los Feliz neighborhood, the Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park Zoo and Knott's Berry Farm.
Academy staffer Ed Carter showed some Super 8 featuring the construction of LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Ed also introduced a home movie of sketchy provenance recently preserved by the Academy. The family's name was Stanfield, and the 16mm reel includes material shot from the back of a car driving down Hollywood Boulevard c. 1930, where the street is excessively adorned with ads hyping the premiere of Hell's Angels. The reel finishes with some amazing panaromic views of downtown taken from high up in the City Hall building tower. The bird's-eye perspective drew more oohs and aahs, both for the city's stunning density over 80 years ago, and for the many alterations in the urban landscape since then.
Fellow staffer and HMD-projectionist Fritz Herzog wowed us with yet another of his amateur epics, 'Planet of the Monsters!' (Super 8, c. 1968-9). The collaboration of multiple young Herzog family cousins on this project made for somewhat varied image quality, but all those hands behind the camera also meant that everyone got their own impressive death scene as the monsters achieved their inevitable victory over the invading humans. The production design was particularly lavish when it came to the spaceship technology, where construction-paper and magic-marker dials and displays abounded, and cardboard boxes with dials and knobs were clearly, if somewhat crookedly, labeled 'COMPUTER.'
Academy oral historian Mae Woods brought a Super 8 reel she shot while working as Peter Bogdanovich's assistant on What's Up, Doc? (two years ago she shared her candid footage from the set of The Last Picture Show). We get a glimpse of Barbra Streisand's (male) stunt double and a car crashing from the pier into the ocean.
Finally, HMD projectionist and collector of odd-gauges Dino Everett showed some South American 'shipping scenes' on 9.5mm, and Tarrytown, NY's 1920 Independence Day parade on glorious 28mm. The final piece of the day was some rather odd VHS material - raw footage from an unfinished documentary project on wheelchair marathoners in Long Beach. While not strictly a home movie, the few minutes of this that we watched were quite useful as examples of visual and image-quality differences between film and video formats, and it also offered some glimpses of a truly extraordinary mullet hairdo - the best one to be seen all day.
Several attendees scored Home Movie Day Bingo prizes including movie passes, DVDs, and 8mm-to-video transfer gift certificates generously provided by Film Technology. The prize handouts were an opportune moment for us to observe the recent passing of FT staffer Alan Stark, who had attended every prior Los Angeles Home Movie Day, and was a staunch supporter of our small-gauge film preservation and educational outreach efforts. We feel sure he was there in spirit for yet another all-around satisfactory Home Movie Day.
Report submitted by Snowden Becker, Brian Drischell, Sean Savage
HMD Report: Lincoln, Nebraskatag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1562011-11-13T20:22:13Z2011-11-13T20:27:05ZNebraska’s Home Movie Day event took place in the Nebraska History Museum’s auditorium, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Our plan was that we would solicit reels in advance so we could examine them, add leader, etc., prior to the event; this...Brian M.
Nebraska’s Home Movie Day event took place in the Nebraska History Museum’s auditorium, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Our plan was that we would solicit reels in advance so we could examine them, add leader, etc., prior to the event; this was pretty much due to the number of people (1) that would be available to examine and prepare film at the event itself. Although we made requests for these submissions, we got only a few, due to lackluster press and short timing.
That turned us to Plan B: Showing clips from our own large collection of home movies. This worked very well, as I could select an appropriate variety to represent time periods, film types, geography, and topic. The bulk of my time was spent selecting and editing a collection of 43 clips into an hour and 20 minute presentation on DVD.
In addition to the screening (if it could be called that!) I gave a 20-minute talk on the “care and feeding” of home movies, including history and significance, what threatens them, what one can do to deal with the threats, and some suggestions on how to determine content. We also mounted a small exhibit on home movie technology in the Museum, using artifacts from the museum’s collections and some from my own stash.
There were 30 people in attendance for the entire program. We served popcorn!
HMD Report: Torontotag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1552011-11-02T04:35:25Z2011-11-02T04:39:44ZCity: Toronto (Host: TIFF‚’s Film Reference Library) Event Venue: TIFF Bell Lightbox Event time (screening): 12pm ˆ 4:30pm (12 to 3 - local; 3 to 4:30 - celebrity) Event time (inspection): 12pm ˆ 3pm (concurrent with local screening program) Total...Brian M.HMD Report: Torontotag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1542011-10-28T03:36:29Z2011-10-28T03:36:50ZToronto Home Movie Day, hosted by the Home Movie History Project This year we held our b.y.o.h.m. event for Home Movie Day at the Monkey’s Paw antiquarian bookshop. (The Home Movie History Project regularly hosts “Bring Your Own Home Movies”...Brian M.
Toronto Home Movie Day, hosted by the Home Movie History Project
This year we held our b.y.o.h.m. event for Home Movie Day at the Monkey's Paw antiquarian bookshop. (The Home Movie History Project regularly hosts "Bring Your Own Home Movies" nights, such as this event for Home Movie Day.) We have presented two previous b.y.o.h.m.s at the Monkey's Paw and were excited to be able to return there on Home Movie Day.
The Monkey's Paw is in a beautiful old shop and a perfect setting for screening vintage films. The bookshop preserves curiosities from the print world in much the same spirit as Home Movie Day advocates for the preservation of home movies.
Our event had both a 'home movie repair clinic' ˆ where people were able to look through their collections, get help repairing films and select a reel to show ˆ and a screening.
Some highlights of the films that were brought included: playful antics at a palatial summer home on Lake Huron in the 1920's, life in Tanzania shot by a local family, a backyard celebration for a baptism in high 70's fashions, and a large gathering of native tribes in small-town Oklahoma of the 30's.
This year we would like to thank J Porter, K Raudoja, Images festival, the 8 fest and S Fowler of the Monkey's Paw for all their help.
HMD Report: Bouldertag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1532011-10-25T19:38:19Z2011-10-25T19:45:15ZEvent Venue: BOULDER PUBLIC LIBRARY Event time (screening): 2-6 PM Event time (inspection): 2-6 PM Total Audience: approx. 35 Number of people bringing films: 14 Films screened by Gauge: 8mm: six Super 8: seven 16mm: eight 9.5mm: none Video:none Volunteers:...Brian M.
Event Venue: BOULDER PUBLIC LIBRARY
Event time (screening): 2-6 PM
Event time (inspection): 2-6 PM
Total Audience: approx. 35
Number of people bringing films: 14
Films screened by Gauge:
8mm: six
Super 8: seven
16mm: eight
9.5mm: none
Video:none
Volunteers: All associated with CU Boulder Film Studies
in in one capacity or another
projectionists: Grant Speich ,Tony Hernandez
inspectors: Sarah Biagini, Taylor Dunne, Seth Mitter, Grant Reynolds,
assistants and scribes: Shea Johnson, Modestina her friend
Press (pre-event and post-event): Boulder Daily Camera Friday magazine spread and full story, interview with Joel Haertling librarian, and Jeanne Liotta
Report submitted by: Jeanne Liotta
On this page please describe films screened, making note of any exceptional films or films for future DVD compilations, as well as any films with unusual stories or strong audience reactions.
I am attaching the complete list of notes we took via various student volunteers. I was quite surprised to see so many 16mm films among the home movies. People arrived with their entire collections in some cases, due to the Daily Camera article which really brought people out of the woodwork. I wasn't really prepared for such high attendance and such unique and wonderful films!
We had a local business woman Gwen Scherer who runs Memories-to-Digital and helped to educate people on ways of transferring their films. I feel that many of the films we saw were worthy of archival preservation, particularly the Colorado ranching film and the Vietnam films, and I would like to put people in touch with places that can help. People were also interested in knowing where they can rent projectors and editors (!) and one couple brought their 1974 super
8 projector with tags still on, so someone could show them how to use it.
It was a very lively and chaotic event, Halloween candy was passed around, Bingo was played and won by TWO people, one who received a roll of Super 8 film from my own supplies and one who received a DVD of award winning films at Rotterdam also from my own supplies. We were working with a ZERO cash budget - except for in-kind donations of equipment and labor from Univ CO Boulder Film Studies and from my own studio, as well as the Public Library location which was free for use.
All the participants were patient and engaged in discussing the films, sharing details and asking questions. One octogenarian participant brought a baggie full of souvenir photo keychains taken at a resort with his family in the 60's and we passed them out to the audience while he told us where his wife and child were now. This kind of camaraderie was evident throughout. I was basically the mistress of ceremonies and interrupted the proceedings regularly with various educational tidbits, while all the amazing student volunteers were busy the entire time answering questions, inspecting film in 3 formats, and keeping it organized for projection. Whew!
2011 Boulder
Home Movie Day: Review of films
* Salmon Fishing : Mid 60's, color Kodachrome
A Regular 8mm film shot on a lake in Massachusetts in the 1960's. This film shows a family enjoying boating and fishing together. The film also includes shots of speedboats and other water activities.
* Playing in Surburbia: 1941
A black n white 16mm film shot in 1941 suburbia that documents a married couple playing their infant child outside. The film then suddenly switches to a woman cooking in the kitchen and showing off her brand new refrigerator. This film felt professional - it seemed to be a print, and it was edited, esp noticeable in the cooking scene which seemed like a perfectly timed demonstration or how-to.
* Space Shuttle (NASA)
This Super 8mm film shows a space shuttle taking off into the sky. Magenta.
* Chick as a baby: Early 40's,
16mm Color: Chick brought in this film and watched himself as a baby in St Louis Missouri. Film was either shot in 1941/1943. Shows his grandfather pulling him in a wagon and playing with him. Beautiful photography.
* Missionary in the Congo: 1940
16mm film shot in the Congo. Shots of local culture and missionaries--family of participant who was a baby in the film playing with local african children, living in the jungles of the Congo. Black and white.
* Family on their way to church: 1966
This home movie documents a family on their way to church. Shows some 60's fashion with polka dots. Super 8, color, Easter?
* Hunter Home Movie.
16mm B &W, 1930's? a hunting vacation for numerous families. log cabin that was fully equipped with hunting tools and weapons. Men horsing around, go into the boat with their guns. They exhibit the wins of the hunt, 12 dead deer and shows some rough housing with women and children who are otherwise only seen on the porch in aprons. somewhat disturbing.
* New Guinea Army Base- 1947
Regular 8mm Color: The film documents life on the army base in post-World War 2 in New Guinea, documents his surroundings of the beautiful beaches, palm trees and of the majestic sea. We also are shown shots of people with whom he shared his time with, army personnel and locals. After being shown the landscape on land, we are shown the aerial view of the filmmaker's living space including a coral reef. Back on land we see kangaroos, we are now in Australia, and monkeys frolicking, he plays with monkey, surrounded by a graveyard of crashed airplanes. Nature has seemed to adapt to its new post-war environment. The last shot we see is another left over from the war, as a dud explosive lies upon the land. This participant had many films but most were not projectable. This was shrunken but the best of the bunch.
* Honeymoon in the Big Easy: 1930's
16mm Color: This film shows a couple on their honeymoon in New Orleans in the 1930's, the participants parents. Seemed like they may have hired a photographer to shoot the movies since they were both in them.
* Two Films from Venezuela: 1950's
Super 8mm Color: The first film shows a family in a rural area of Venezuela. There seems to be a family gathering going on. We see children, adults and animals surrounded by a rural landscape. We see members of the family pump water from a well.
Super 8mm Color: This film shows the grandfather of a home movie day participant who was the Lieutenant Governor of Venezuela. We see him on army bases being interviewed, cutting ribbons and mingling. It appears as if they are opening a communication station, a generator is shown off and we are in a room surrounded by wires. Very "Che."
* Day at the Races: HOT RODS,1960's
16mm Color Kodachrome: This film documents a day at the races at the famous Road America racetrack in Wisconsin. We are shown shots of different cars, the color is absolutely breath-taking in this film. Men display their cars, all with numbers on them. It appears as many people came to this event all dressed up in 60's fashion including a red polka dot matching skirt and top. We are also shown men working diligently on their cars, women being looked up and down by the camera and some high speed racing on what looks like a beautiful summer day. There is a car crash but the day goes on, and the driver who is uninjured gets out and walks along the course. Next we see shots of the cars at different points in the race track, we can see that the film-maker was quite an avid race fan. As it looks like he sneaks into areas to catch glimpse of different areas of the race, but eventually he is drawn back to the highly populated finish line, where we see the final of the race and of what looks like an fun a day..
* Little Jimmy grows up: Jimmy 9 months and On: 60's
Super 8mm Color: This film chronicles the first years of a families first born child. We witness him play, take his first steps in a car wash, have his first haircut by a man with fantastic pompadour, swim and squirm in the bath and giggle a lot. The film documents the development
from him being an infant to a competitive young boy of five. We see him compete with his younger sister to see who is in fact the better cleaner. We are also shown him attempting to cook as he puts on the electronic whisk and breaks eggs into a bowl. This family documented
most of this boy's early childhood, and they were determined to have it look good, including having movie lighting in a few of the shots and titles made on a titling board. Film is shot in their house, on vacation, out in the streets, and in their backyard. Chronological except for one reel. This participant also brought the keychain souvenir
photos
* Playing with Puppies: Late 60's Early 70's
Regular 8mm Color: This film shows four ,3 girls and 1 boy, children
playing with two puppies, on a fall day in Boulder.
* A trip to Fort Lewis, Vietnam and The Philippines: 1967 and onwards
16mm Color : This film opens with shots of fort Lewis airbase. We see planes, the airfield, and then are taken up to skies in a plane where the shadows of the pilot's helmets decorate the screen. Then we are transported to Vietnam, where the filmmaker in a cinema-verite style documents a Vietnam that is not discussed in history books. The every-day activities of the soldiers are shown, smoking cigarettes, building the base, and just joking around with each other. We are then shown Vietnamese women and children who fill sandbags that were put all
along the perimeter of the base. The perimeter surrounded by mystic green mountains and roads of mud. The base is filled with barracks, rockets, and helicopters. The filmmaker tells us that this location is in the central highlands of Vietnam. We are then taken to the Philippines by helicopter, where an officers club is being built; apparently Nancy Sinatra visited this base. It is evident that the US army preparing for battle, as shots of the landscape are followed by
rows of tanks, helicopters and rockets. We see the US Army give the soldiers a taste of home with locations of bases named by us cities, Miami Bar, New York Laundry. A PR activity of soldiers playing baseball with Vietnamese children is also shown, followed by a Red Cross van
surrounded by children getting medical attention. This film showed all those present a day in the life of a us solider in Vietnam before the fighting a rare view into our history. Made by the same filmmaker who did HOT RODS. He brought his 16mm camera and square format still camera to Vietnam during his tour. AMAZING, gorgeous photography.
* California Ocean, Pool Party and National Park:
Super 8mm Color: A film of a family day at the beach. The ocean crashing, surfing on a boogie board, children swimming in the ocean. We next are brought to a pool party where children are swimming and the bell-bottomed wearing adults are playing badminton. Next we are brought to a California national park to look upon some deer. The deer look back at us. Following this there are numerous closing shots of the Pacific Ocean crashing upon the beach. Lovely.
* Mystery of the bunkgard noogie goldhill inn: 1972/1974
Super 8mm Color: Final scene of a play featuring a light saber goddess of geothermal energy and many visionary miners. Musical number appears to be going on, followed by a lightning burst and a pleased audience. Participant also owns slides and audio of this event and would like to recreate it. Hoping a student can help.
* 2 Headed Calf: 1951/1953
16mm Color: Parade in Walden Colorado a ranching community near Wyoming border. Featuring children cowboys, donkeys, ambulances, fire department truck with a ½ naked girl on the side, prairie girls, trucks, cars and talents. It seems as if the whole town came out to show their skills. The beds of trucks become stages as girls twirl, ladies play the piano and sing, children dance in hula skirts, and costume-wearing adults seem to put on plays. After the parade we are shown a deceased 2 headed calf, this shot is long and the audience cannot look away, its absolutely fascinating. The surrounding area of mountains is shown followed by some cattle branding. Then we are shown a family sequence of a mother in 19th century costume with her children surrounding her. The film moves unto a large family dinner that looks like it could be Christmas, there were snowmen on the table, the children seem to be in fancy pajamas and shots of the children playing and adults conversing. The film ends on a windy day, where the trees are blowing all over the place, we then see a house and a car that looks new. AMAZING photography, wonderful historical film..
HMD Report: Raleightag:www.homemovieday.com,2011:/news//1.1522011-10-24T05:18:34Z2011-10-24T05:25:01ZThis was compiled by Gypsye Legge and Marsha Orgeron… City: Raleigh, NC Event Venue: The fabulous auditorium at the North Carolina State Archives, downtown Raleigh. Event time (screening): 1-4 Event time (inspection): same Total Audience: around 100 Number of people...Brian M.
This was compiled by Gypsye Legge and Marsha Orgeron...
City: Raleigh, NC
Event Venue: The fabulous auditorium at the North Carolina State Archives,
downtown Raleigh.
Event time (screening): 1-4
Event time (inspection): same
Total Audience: around 100
Number of people bringing films: 27
Films screened by Gauge: 25 total
8mm: 14
Super 8: 8
16mm: 3
9.5mm:
Video:
Volunteers (# and names - will be acknowledged in CHM annual report unless
otherwise indicated):
Skip Elsheimer - A/V Geeks
Marsha Orgeron - NCSU
Devin Orgeron - NCSU
Kim Cumber - NC State Archives
Kirston Johnson - Duke U
K. Sean Finch - NCSU/A/V Geeks
Grant Samuelson - Duke U
Charlotte Walton
Mark Koyangi
Martin Johnson - NYU
Amy Rudersdorff
Mark Millhone - NCSU
Gypsy Legge
Special events/screenings:
Press (pre-event and post-event):
Full page article in Independent Weekly (free weekly) by Chris Vitiello.
Small mentions the previous week in daily newspaper, Raleigh N&O.
Skip Elsheimer did one radio interview.
Hit the blogs, Facebook, and email lists.
Report submitted by:
Marsha Orgeron
We had a very successful Home Movie Day this year with an important
technological set-up involving regular 8, super8, and 16mm telecines wired
to a single laptop, which was wired to a single projector that allowed us to
project all of our gauges with consistent brightness and in a larger size
than the smallest gauges would normally permit. Everyone who screened a film
at Triangle HMD will be receiving a free DVD of the film we projected,
courtesy of the A/V Geeks archive, which was a nice marketing boost for us.
We had a proliferation of holiday and wedding footage this year (one
telecine operator, whose name will not be mentioned, but to whom I am
married, in fact stopped showing wedding films when we had two reels to
choose from after a while!). The best wedding footage - of a 1972 wedding in
Belhaven, NC - was accompanied by the narration of a very funny man in the
audience, who cracked jokes throughout - "That wasn't my wedding, it was my
wife's wedding!" (rimshot).
Highlights included a collection of 16mm films shot by Frederick Crawford
(whose nephew brought the reels), a major Cleveland Industrialist (see the
Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum, history of TRW) who shot footage (we only
had time to show one reel) of TWA's board flying around the world to decide
where to fly (you know that was a fun trip); safari adventures while helping
collect animals for the Cleveland zoo; trips to the family farm in Vermont,
where he had corporate retreats (this is the one we watched); and so on. Not
to worry: these films will be deposited at an archive soon as they are
really interesting and also well documented, with family members still
available for oral histories.
We had our first footage appear of NCSU's campus (after 7 years of doing
this event!) on a snow-covered day in 1966, shot by an alumni couple present
at HMD. Also some footage of Duke Gardens and of a 1973 Duke Folklife
festival from another HMD attendee. A woman brought in the 16mm footage she
shot of her art happening - involving flashing lights and hundreds of
balloons - at Evergreen College in 1978. There was nice footage from 1975 of a
high school performance of Guys & Dolls. An 8mm film purchased by someone
off of eBay depicting a parody of Duel in the Sun as "Drool in the Sand."
Audiences favorite were:
1) a holiday celebration that ended up with a baby drinking beer out of a
very large glass...more than once!
2) a very funny trick film shot in the 1970s in Charlotte, NC, with great
stop action gags (chairs disappearing under sitters, kids skating around a
yard on their backsides).
Our oldest footage was 16mm shot in the 1940s and the most recent footage
was super 8mm shot in 2010 in Wilmington by a filmmaker who came to the
event. A great spread!
Lots of folks won HMD Bingo, with prizes courtesy of volunteer Charlotte
Walton and Cameron's gift shop in Chapel Hill. Considering that we were
competing with Occupy Raleigh (taking place a few blocks away) and a major
neighborhood street festival, we were thrilled with attendance, the huge
number of films brought (we got to show at least one film from everyone
except for the last two people who came through the door), and the way our
operation went. Thanks to all of our amazing volunteers!
HMD Report: Bostontag:www.homemovieday.com,2010:/news//1.1512010-08-05T15:38:54Z2010-09-08T19:59:49ZBrian M.
Once again the Greater Boston Area celebrated this international enterprise at the Harvard Film Archive with hostess-archivists Liz Coffey, Amy Sloper & Melissa Dollman attending to the needs of films and their nervous owners. Jason Sanford provided the soundtrack option via records and Amy provided the cookies via Tupperware technology. Kevin McCarthy helped familiarize people with the bureaucratic red tape required in order to assure a smooth run through on one of many fine projectors present. There may or may not have been a few other note-takers present, but you can’t really rely on good transcription these days and these gals were no different. Take me, for instance, I missed HMD last year and had the nerve to show up an hour before showtime to sit and chat it up with the crew as if I were one-sixteenth as dedicated as these archival automatons.
>Anyway, I was delighted with the peanut butter cookies and the films of Sid Laverents (shown on video) which overly-engaged the audience while the final films were inspected. Liz had to disconnect the preshow entertainment and steel herself from the boos, hisses, and rotten vegetation tossed as she made her psuedo-cordial opening remarks. Soon, however, the rambunctious audience sobered up when they heard Liz’s eerie warnings of Death By Deterioration and, even more tragic in some ways: The Forgotten Film. I had heard it all before, but it still manages to churn up old emotions in me and I choked back a few sobs. With her audience now in check, she looped up a regular 8 picture from “Betsy”: Kodachrome, 1962, featuring her and her brother as youngsters at play. A lot of pool shots: swimming and diving, and much leisureliness in general. At one point, things get pretty tropical & flamingos enter the scene. A little heavy-handed, but…
>Betsy’s second reel stayed with the water theme: this time at the beach with Mom feeding the gulls. By the time we’re back to the pool, the jaunty music (provided by Jason) has become downright triumphant as Dad gracefully dives again & again off of the diving board. With one simple cut, we’re transported to Franklin Park Zoo for a moment with the kids enjoying the playground. But the real treat comes when we’re back at home with the children and babies who, once again, are water-focused; one serious little boy who surely grew up to be a successful maintenance person of some sort, fills his bucket and empties it in such a way that makes those on the slide and fooling around with the hose seem absolutely lackadaisical. His only cinematic competition was a glamorous little girl in pink with hat & sunglasses to match. Her ease with home movie fame & fortune was enviable.
>Next up was a color Super 8 film provided by Yours Truly: The opening shots featured a trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa in the bicentennial year of ’76 and some good shots of tigers at play in and out of the water. One got annoyed with another and acted like my tough-guy cat Toby, showing the other one with a giant paw what’s what. The tribal tunes Jason put on for this first part carried over into my little sister’s first birthday party, so the Gravely women were suddenly conducting an ancient, sacred rite of passage in a 70s kitchen with a big white cake. My mom made a slice with the shining knife and we looked on bathed in mystical candlelight. The more widely-known ancient ritual of Japanese Imperial Court Dance took over the screen in the next black and white 16mm film. We were surprised to learn from Gwen that this was not unearthed from an old tomb, but was actually shot during Boston’s First Night back in 1994 or ’95 AD in a storefront on Newbury Street. And it was a “modern” interpretation, but entrancing and well-exposed nonetheless.
>We switched formats for the next one and watched a VHS tape that was originally shot on a VHS camcorder in 1986. It was a Mother’s Day present for Kelly’s mom that her dad choreographed and staged in their 80s living room. The sweatpants-wearing leader was flanked on both sides by his children as they performed to that Mother’s Day standard “When the Going Gets Tough (the Tough Get Going)” by Billy Ocean. None of them seemed overly passionate or determined, but I think maybe it was a more post-modern take. Her little brother at times just stood there awkwardly stretching his shirt or looking down, and I wondered how many times those intricate expressions were practiced late into the night. The surprising highlight was Kelly’s sax solo using – get this – a recorder as the saxophone and donning sunglasses for true 80s style. Her mother must have been proud and maybe a little confused. Kevin had the audacity to show b/w 16mm footage of 1930s East Boston on DVD. I overcame my embarrassment for him once his lovely grandmother lavishly posed for us at Revere Beach. (This was shot by his great uncle who worked for local amateur filmmaking equipment company Keystone, giving him access to contraptions like a 16mm camera.) There was much beach play, dancing and acrobatics among the adorable kids on this summer day.
>Next, we were on their porch watching the little girls frocked & hamming it up for the camera. Finally, it was already wintertime and the long, dark coats of women formed moving silhouettes against the snow-covered streets. Amy Sloper presented a color super 8 Ektachrome film of a trip to Germany shot way back in 2008. Most don’t even remember that distant time when people still did weird, morally-questionable things like visit the spot where Leni Riefenstahl shot Triumph of the Will. In her defense, Amy was obviously wracked with emotion because she could barely focus this simple, consumer-friendly camera. Nevertheless, I could make out the many daunting steps of the stadium’s ruins and some fuzzy kid with the nerve to perform bike tricks in this charged space. A girl walking at a disconcertingly slow pace across the screen brought a wave of nervous laughter to an audience already on the edge.
>Someone (Amy) tried to patch up the psychological damage done by abruptly throwing on a “mystery reel” of regular 8mm found in a Seattle camera shop. Late 70s/early 80s folk graced the screen in an outdoor, rural bbq scene of baseball caps and plaid. The camera focused intently on a squirrel delighting in birdhouse provisions, and then took us inside to Christmastime and a heavily tinseled, cone-shaped tree. All-in-all, it looked like a good time: turkey carving, Santa, and lots of laughter.
>Reed, one of HMD’s heavy hitters, was up next with a color, regular 8 movie entitled The Fantasies of Professor Brainstorm made in the 1970s with a high school friend. Apparently, they used to show this to neighborhood kids as a way to make money. In short, this movie was amazing: a solid narrative with action, a soundtrack (presented here on CD), comedy, creative costumes, stunning special effects, and even a vaguely moral lesson. There’s too much to go into here, but Reed as the lithe, long-haired scientist dreams of creating a formula to bring him great powers to aid him in defeating the archetypal demons that haunt us all: the Karate Master, the Sword & Bow-and-Arrow Guy, and of course, the Shaving Cream Monster. In his yellow towel cape, the humble scientist is transformed into the ultimate superhero magically making himself and objects move or disappear, zapping enemies with film-scratched lasers, and easily subduing any nemesis no matter how scary or powerful. He wakes up from the dream and learns a lesson in hubris, but I won’t give the ending away since I believe it’s due out in theaters later this winter.
>Liz tried to compete with this instant classic by impressing and confusing our senses with her more “experimental” product: unslit, color regular 8 projected as 16mm, featuring four squares of action. Resembling a rougher, artier Thomas Crowne Affair, it was bikes and bike people rather than Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Though the ending was the same – I looked up in the sky and cried.
>Melissa uncovered another one of these “found at a yard sale” type flicks - this time in faded colors of a lesser 16mm stock of the late 60s or early 70s. It actually turned out to be an educational film called Words That Describe Sounds featuring a girl and a boy disputing how to properly illustrate certain sounds through made-up words. They would write down their interpretations and silently enter a lip-reading battle that was translated via subtitles, featuring words like “glub” and the ever-popular “skeez.” Despite its inordinately high entertainment value, it was immediately confiscated by the HMD Security Team, and Melissa was quietly escorted out.
>Another Gravely Super 8 Production was up next, cryptically titled “1971 Easter.” It starred my older sister in her larval form on my parents’ bed. Like a strange wind-up baby in lacey white, she appeared to wriggle in place to Jason’s telepathic selection of delicate music box sounds. This was one of my dad’s minimal, single-themed pieces he has become famous for here at Home Movie Day. Peter Mork, another HMD SuperStar ®, allowed us the privilege of viewing his Ideal Domestic Scenes from 1950s America in the brilliant saturation of 16mm Kodachrome. His cinematographic father once again wowed audiences with this dreamy footage that was surely sought after as highly-effective anti-communist propaganda. Everyone fell under the dreamy spell of this perfect family gorgeously lit at Christmas. His father let the camera dance around the tree for a bit – showing up-close shots of each ornament. Christmas morning brought an array of delights: a baby good-naturedly hiding disappointment in unwrapping a box of clothes, the family dog decorated with a bow, a boy demonstrating his new mini-drill kit with a wholesomely demonic expression, and for the girl – a 1950s homemaker mini-cleaning set, brother & sister dressed as cowboy & girl parading for the camera… it goes on and on. At one point, the little girl shows off her record player with a zoetrope-type situation on the spindle – causing ooohs and ahhhs and much light-headedness in the audience. And then laughter during the scene when a gleeful Grandpa unwraps the thinly-disguised gift of a cane and proceeds to unwrap yet another! One of my personal favorite moments was the bohemian (maybe I’m projecting here) [quit projecting, Brittany, that’s my job! ~Liz] aunt and uncle solemnly entering the living room with presents on a stretcher. After Christmas, one of these perfect children presented their perfect science project to us – a board with multiple switches and circuits. And then we are transported outdoors to Ashfield, MA for the purple heart ceremony. Peter broke his arm and his parents conducted an elaborate parade of flags and people and even the family cat to honor him. (At around this point in my notes I have written “UNREAL” and underlined it twice.) This is all topped off with a bbq and juicy watermelon-eating around the picnic table. Finally, the adults play some more by enjoying winter cocktails outside in the snow and fun times in & out of a spacious igloo.
>By the time we reach the fishing scene, several audience members have passed out. Liz wakes them up with some film cleaner fumes and I take a bathroom break… … Only to miss a greater part of the b/w Super 8 documentation of the wedding of John & Eve in Jamaica Plain, MA, 2008. Jason smartly accompanied this joyous occasion with the symphonic version of Bowie’s Life On Mars? and I made it back in time to see some tossing of the bride and groom in the air.
>As if he hasn’t shown off enough for one day, Reed now presented another product of his precocious teen years – The Game – which was an Honorable Mention in the 1970 Kodak Teenage Movie Awards. This was a darker, apocalyptic tale set in 1992 of the ultimate chess match between the US and Russia televised worldwide. By the time we see a TV set with “Los Angeles” or “New York” on it followed by fiery footage, we understand who the unfortunate loser is. And my last film of the day (on Super 8 Kodachrome) was of a recent trip to Chicago in 2007, followed by an abrupt shift to visit my parents in the mountains of Georgia. The best part was footage of Cloud Gate in Millennium Park – a silver bean-shaped sculpture that makes the world look rounded and people distorted. Unfortunately, the reflections distorted my cinematographic skills so the rest devolved into urban mural footage, city signs of skulls and happy french fries, and finally really boring panoramic shots of mountains which always look much better in reality.
>After the Snoozefest Alert sounded, Amy woke people up with some more modern footage shot around the same time of local people, cats and sheep frolicking indoors and out. Well, the sheep were never indoors… that would have been something. Kevin presented our other VHS footage of the day – this time, it was the 80th birthday party of his grandmother – seen only moments before in her youth as a bathing beauty. This time, she was brought to tears, reunited with billions of friends and family gathered as a surprise in her yard. Touching, but in need of an editor with an iron splicer, so Kevin delicately pressed “stop” and saved us all from having to witness the weepy intricacies of every hug of the day.
>The illustrious John Quackenbush disclosed the most controversial found film of the day – this one was color, regular 8 from the fifties and appeared to belong to a wild bunch of older folks on their golden journeys. John rescued this reel from a dumpster and had never seen it. After the show, he donated it to the HFA. We begin in Arkansas, according to the box, and it’s cold and wintery. Which might be why they decide to take a trip to the Deep South. First stop: Mardi Gras! Some truly incredible footage of the parades and shenanigans that go on during this famous celebration: strange monkey-men, an array of bewildering floats, old men in gold body paint, people in blackface and weird masks. Then they leave this hedonism to go to Florida where they are greeted by stucco, palm trees, and giant oranges. They spend much leisurely time out in pristine Floridian yards, cafes, and orange groves. All this was semi-standard stuff, but to my amazement, they venture out to the shanty towns and stop in on an African American family as if they are a tourist attraction. One shot features the old, portly white man petting a little African American girl on the head. And there is much footage of the families on their porches, in the yard, … a sight I have never seen at home movie day.
>Rarely do folks of color emerge on the screen at HMDs in the Boston area, and certainly not the rural poor! Someone films out of the car as they drive by house after house with women in rocking chairs on porches. Beautiful, mysterious roll. By the end of it, they are back in winter country – looks kind of like a main street in a New Englandy town – and the man grabs his lady’s head in some kind of jokey fashion, but it’s a little unsettling. The snow stays with us for Liz’s next submission on b/w Super 8. She filmed her neighbor Dave shoveling the snow outside their Roxbury apartment building last winter while he chatted on and on, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was doing none of the work. We witness the natural decorations of wintertime upon fence and tree.
>Adam Scotto arrived late but the beguiling goddesses of home movies let him present his films anyway. He showed us a glimpse of his childhood in Nantucket in 1973 on Kodachrome Super 8. He demonstrated an array of fun things to do on the beach: play with a bucket and sand, fun with a coke can, and finally, getting tossed up high into the air by his dad (who died in 2005). His mother and young sister were also present. At the end, we also see that he enjoyed the pleasures of swings and slides. His next detour took place in 1974, May to be exact, and the setting this time is Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Jason added another dimension to their adventures by playing some music of the Moog, and the electronic sounds followed the great bubbling water falling as well as the kids skipping along, playing at a playground, and suddenly it managed to alter the course of time and space as we suddenly witness the changing of the guard in London.
>Adam’s third Super 8 was tellingly titled “Baby 1974 – Jumps 1977.” And we see happy, young Adam crawling, then hopping on one leg – obviously, taking his time to evolve to actual walking. The toddler-aged daughter in this experimental family is already wearing glasses and we see her looking young & intellectual one moment, and then the kids are put to work using an old-fashioned ricer the next. To build strength to survive in such an environment, they also provided the children with a punching bag and let them jump off of the stove repeatedly. Just as I was about to call social services, there was some weird but benign circling-with-a-toy-phone routine and strange dancing that hypnotized me just long enough. I have neglected to mention that throughout the day, there was all this talk of the mysterious man by the name of Merritt and his ancient films from the 1940s. He dropped his footage off then disappeared into the fall foliage with his family. They came back just in time to witness reels that his (great?) grandfather shot back in Hartford, CT – footage he had never seen. The filmmaker was a member of the Amateur Cinema League and we were treated to the opening intro graphics that members spliced onto the heads of their films: nice! Then to the action: couples boating in Long Island Sound and looking good. We then see all kinds of boats – large and small. A virtual boat extravaganza, I dare say, before we are back on land with a funny dog getting food at a picnic and Grandma on a scooter in a Farmington neighborhood. We see lovely autumn colors, the aforementioned dog looking cute at the door, a farm with pigs, a girl on a horse, and back to what appears to be an underlying theme of the day… the water. I soberly gathered my belongings and headed off to a post-home-movie-day celebration of watching more movies, and this important day came to an end. ]]>