Over the weekend I went to the Museum of the Moving Image in Long Island City. The museum is in Queens, which is a little off the beaten path of museum-goers, but especially for movie lovers, very much worth the trip. Above some fun stuff- costumes that are relevant and necessary (Mrs. Doubtfire, Mork and Mindy and Star Wars). Also me and my girls hanging at the entrance.
One of the main and ongoing exhibits is called Behind the Screen, which takes the visitor on a tour of movie production. Very cool. They had all sorts of old movie cameras, lights, posters, set design prints and costumes. I could’ve spent hours there.
One essential thing that I must share is one of the interactive media stories I encountered. The game/story is called Pry by Tender Claws. This is a really cool design for a novella: chapter one starts with the main character lying in bed, unable to move. He is suffering from PTSD after coming back from the Gulf War. Using a touch screen, the reader pinches his or her fingers together to see/read his subconscious and pulls his or her fingers apart to see what is going on at the present moment. The first chapter was thrilling and a little scary, and I actually threw the headset away from me because I was so far into the character and the emotion. it was so cool. What also really neat is that you can download the novella and experience it yourself from your smart phone. It was totally worth it (although I will warn that the first chapter is by far the best thus far).
So. Go to the Museum of the Moving Image. Yeah.
