The Mount Holyoke Film Society

At large in the Pioneer Valley Pressed

[magictransistor]

Phenakistascope. England. 1833.

[magictransistor]

Étienne-Jules Marey, Movements in Pole Vaulting (Chronophotographic studies), 1886.

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

MoHome http://wp.me/s4N0ub-mohome We've returned on all fronts! The past couple weeks have been filled with packing, moving, unpacking, "convocating" and the rest.  

[stayforthecredits]

"The theaters of the future will be bigger and more beautiful than ever before. They will employ expensive presentation formats that cannot be accessed or reproduced in the home (such as, ironically, film prints). And they will still enjoy exclusivity, as studios relearn the tremendous economic value of the staggered release of their products. The projects that most obviously lend themselves to such distinctions are spectacles. But if history is any guide, all genres, all budgets will follow. Because the cinema of the future will depend not just on grander presentation, but on the emergence of filmmakers inventive enough to command the focused attention of a crowd for hours. These new voices will emerge just as we despair that there is nothing left to be discovered. As in the early ’90s, when years of bad multiplexing had soured the public on movies, and a young director named Quentin Tarantino ripped through theaters with a profound sense of cinema’s past and an instinct for reclaiming cinema’s rightful place at the head of popular culture. Never before has a system so willingly embraced the radical teardown of its own formal standards. But no standards means no rules. Whether photochemical or video-based, a film can now look or sound like anything. It’s unthinkable that extraordinary new work won’t emerge from such an open structure. That’s the part I can’t wait for.”

Christopher Nolan, “Films of the Future Will Still Draw People to Theaters”. (via fuckyeahdirectors)

[brandomarlons]

I don’t think that people generally realise what motion picture industry has done to the American Indian, as a matter of fact, all ethnic groups, all minorities, all non-whites. And people just simply don’t realise, just take it for granted that that’s the way people are going to be presented and these clichés are just, I mean on this network every night, well perhaps not every night, but you can see silly renditions of human behaviour, the leering Filipino houseboy, the wily Japanese, the kook or the gook, black man, stupid Indian. It just goes on and on and on. And people actually don’t realise how deeply people are injured by seeing themselves represented, not so much the adults, who are already inured to that kind of pain and pressure, but children. Indian children seeing Indians represented as savage, as ugly, as nasty, vicious, treacherous, drunken. They grow up only with a negative image of themselves and it lasts a lifetime. 

[brandomarlons]

Marlon Brando on why Sacheen Littlefeather presented a speech on his behalf during his Best Actor win for The Godfather at the 1973 Academy Awards

[gypsy-hip]

Years ago I learned a very cool thing about Robin Williams, and I couldn’t watch a movie of his afterward without thinking of it. I never actually booked Robin Williams for an event, but I came close enough that his office sent over his rider. For those outside of the entertainment industry, a rider lists out an artist’s specific personal and technical needs for hosting them for an event, anything from bottled water and their green room to sound and lighting requirements. You can learn a lot about a person from their rider. This is where rocks bands list their requirement for green M&Ms (which is actually a surprisingly smart thing to do). This is also where a famous environmentalist requires a large gas-guzzling private jet to fly to the event city, but then requires an electric or hybrid car to take said environmentalist to the event venue when in view of the public. When I got Robin Williams’ rider, I was very surprised by what I found. He actually had a requirement that for every single event or film he did, the company hiring him also had to hire a certain number of homeless people and put them to work. I never watched a Robin Williams movie the same way after that. I’m sure that on his own time and with his own money, he was working with these people in need, but he’d also decided to use his clout as an entertainer to make sure that production companies and event planners also learned the value of giving people a chance to work their way back. I wonder how many production companies continued the practice into their next non-Robin Williams project, as well as how many people got a chance at a job and the pride of earning an income, even temporarily, from his actions. He was a great multiplier of his impact. Let’s hope that impact lives on without him. Thanks, Robin Williams- not just for laughs, but also for a cool example.

Brian Lord.org (via wonderwoundedhearers)

[caitlain-mediablog-blog]

Establishing Shots:

A very wide angle shot that shows where the scene will be taking place, this allows for the audience to familiarise themselves with what is going on.

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

SSiMS & Karuna

For Five College Students, opportunities are always circulating, here are two of the latest.

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[mountholyokefilmsociety]

R.I.P. Robin Williams - Louie C.K. [extrait]

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

A couple days of silence in light of recent events.  For the vulnerability and innovation these people gave tirelessly we are all forever grateful, and mesmerized. Both Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall are, were, true icons of their respective eras and artistry.

Our public grief is markedly different than that of their loved ones.  And here is to hoping that no external drama is added to Williams' family especially.

Both were in touch with profound aspects of the human experience which showed clearly through their work.  As is evident, there is not enough praise to give regarding who they were personally, professionally, and culturally.  Their absence will always be stark.  May they rest in peace.

[thefinalimage]

[thefinalimage]

                                                         here.

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

HMD '14

Featured image of child dressed in Pilgrim costume courtesy Pro8mm‘s blog.

  Home Movie Day! What a fantastic idea — culture isn’t just the stuff that the studios make, it’s what we make of it. Content isn’t king, conversation is — and what better conversation-starters than the significant moments of your neighbours’ lives? — Cory Doctorow

Home Movie Daycomes but once a year.  The last time…

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[mountholyokefilmsociety]

Yet, it seems that the farther engines, motors, and rockets takes us, the more clear the image of our modern-post-modern world: a series of cycles layered and interconnected. There is no linear path and climax. There is only a circle. A globe we can more easily traverse but which will always return us to our origin.

mini-review of Chronos (1985, Ron Fricke)

[bohemian-pixel-pusher]

Brilliant! I love really unusual, creative ways of animating like this!

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

Aug(De)Mented Reality by Hombre_McSteez

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

Call For Work! Monthly series showcasing experimental film and video art Screening at Northwest…

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[theacademy]

HOME MOVIES OF BEVERLY HILLS, CIRCA 1935-1947 

The Academy Film Archive, home to over 160,000 items, houses thousands of reels of home movies. From documentation of daily life, birthdays, and holidays, to unique behind the scenes footage of Hollywood films, the Archive’s home movie collection provides a rare look into the lives of its subjects – from the ordinary to the unusual. In celebration of the centennial of Beverly Hills, the Academy presents some special moments from the home movie collection, featuring silent clips of Beverly Hills landmarks and Hollywood figures at play including Ginger Rogers, George and Ira Gershwin, and Errol Flynn.

“Star-Studded Stomping Ground,” a new Academy exhibition of photographs in celebration of the Beverly Hills Centennial taking place throughout the city this year, is now open at the Margaret Herrick Library. This exhibit of more than 40 photographs explores the growth of Beverly Hills and the connection between the city and the motion picture industry, which have been intertwined since the earliest days of the city’s incorporation in 1914.  

[mountholyokefilmsociety]

A little inspiration as the annual celebration that is Home Movie Day approaches.  Wonder what the Pioneer Valley may have planned?  We'll keep you updated. 

[lesbianforhorror]

Cat People, 1942.