Fall is such an interesting time to be in Los Angeles. We don't get the autumnal changing of leaves, different varieties of corn andapples don't blossom into our supermarkets like they do in the midwest, and flannel shirts don't run rampant due to the lack of weather changing. We do however, take our Halloween season very seriously. The repertory film circuit is the perfect example. Screenings of horror classics run regularly throughout the month of October, and two theaters, the New Beverly Cinema and the Aero Theater (part of the American Cinematheque) do their own all night horror film marathons! The Aero's Dusk Til Dawn Horrorthon, now celebrating its 12th year, has become a staple in the rep film circuit, and how could anyone resist?
Seven films are run, this year's lineup being An American Werewolf in London, Popcorn, The Tingler, Hack-O-Lantern, Shocker, Brainscan, and Death Bed: The Bed that Eats. All films were presented on beautiful 35mm prints, with the exception of Death Bed, where only a DCP was available. When I say beautiful, I mean every print had minor scratches, rich color, and rich sound to ensure audience members would be popping out of their seat at just the right moments as the filmmakers had intended. American Werewolf in London, the print that showed the most wear, was a Polydor print from its European release and there are better prints available from Universal Studios (such as the one shown at UCLA in 2013 as a double feature with the 30th anniversary of Thriller) but it would still fall in the Good condition as the scratches were limited to the first few minutes of the reels. The Tingler had some splices during dialogue in it, but it was still as enjoyable as the others with very few vertical lines and a sharp black and white contrast from when it was printed. The print of Shocker was so great that it could have been used as a DVD transfer-- not a single scratch on it and comparable to what one would see on a DCP of a new film.
This year, to avoid tickets selling out in less than 10 minutes as they have in the past, the theater did NOT announce when tickets were going on sale, giving more people time to purchase. As the theater filled around 7:15 (festivities begin promptly at 7:30 to ensure people are let out at a reasonable hour), people pulled out their blankets, pillows, libations, and candy, getting ready to snuggle with some horror classics. Each film began with Grant, the master of ceremonies, energizing his audience, throwing candy and DVDs into the crowds, and bringing out classic characters that were created especially for the event. Candy Randy runs throughout the audience throwing fun size packs of candy, and Corn Gorn is a man in a Gorn Star Trek costume who runs around with a giant corn on the cobb.
Then begins the filler entertainment, which can be silly and a bit repetitive but was well reigned in this year. Silly commercials, videos of Star Trek and TJ Hooker, and a bizarre music video by porn star turned disco star Dennis Parker, for example, will run for about 20 minutes to get the viewer engaged with the screen for the next horror film. As the films run, the audience might scream, cheer, boo, or even heckle the screen during silly parts of films, such as Hack-O-Lantern, which was so terrible it was entertainingly humorous, or Popcorn, an over-the-top film that was about a horror-thon that goes awry when people start getting murdered. In this film, for example, when an ugly college kid tries to disgustingly flirt with the protagonist, a guy near the front of the theater yelled "Swipe Left!", a reference to the dating app Tinder, which sent the audience into hysterics. Instead of chiding the audience for this when it could potentially get out of hand, by the time Shocker started, a head volunteer yelled "No heckling this one guys, this is Wes Craven," which was prompted by applause by the same audience as they agreed the mood was about to change.
The staff at the Aero were so generous to open their home to audience members at a price that they could afford but by no means gave the theater a profit: a mere $25 not only paid for my admission for seven films in a row, but also ample amounts of pizza, candy, coffee, and other snacks. During slower parts of the films, volunteers came through the aisles offering "Soylent Pizza", which was really just Little Caeser's pizza, to patrons. When an unfortunate flood hit the concession stand a few hours into the marathon, the staff managed to call a company to fix the problem, and reopened concessions within a reasonable time. Leaving the theater it looked like a war zone, with wrappers, popcorn, cups, and lids tossed all along the seats and aisles, but everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Thank you again to the American Cinematheque for giving its community of Angelenos an evening that they will always remember.
You can check out more events by the Aero and its sister theater the Egyptian at www.americancinematheque.com.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sunday, October 15, 2017
The Magic of Home Movie Day
There are many things I love about being a media archivist, but one of my absolute favorite annual events is Home Movie Day. What is Home Movie Day might you ask? Well, it is just that-- an event where people all around the world can bring their home movies on an array of formats (depending on what type the venue supports) and have them run before an audience, almost like a show-and-tell. Local archivists generally host it and can give patrons information on how to store their films properly, have them digitized affordably to a format they support, and also help them with repairing the movies depending on the kind of format they come on.
Historically, Home Movie Day was annually hosted on 8/16 because before VHS, home movies were generally shot on 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm film. As time has gone on, VHS has become more and more rare in people's homes and harder to play back, so institutions have started to include this and other supporting formats such as VHS-C (a VHS cartridge that held a mini VHS inside of it and fit into a standard VCR) and Hi-8. The date has also become flexible so that cities that want to participate don't feel restrained to participating on a specific day and can allow people all over their communities to join in on the fun.
Los Angeles Home Movie Day is hosted in different locations every year. This year (2017) it will be held twice. Once was last Saturday (10/7/17) at the Linwood Dunn Theater inside of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Vine Street location. The other will be this coming Saturday (10/21/17) at the University of Southern California Archives Bazaar. While the event last week was limited to film formats due to the venue, the Archives Bazaar will include video formats.
Still not convinced that this upcoming event is for you? Let me give you a rundown of how Home Movie Day worked last week and has historically in Los Angeles. When a patron enters the venue, he or she is given a piece of paper to fill out with general information, including their name, what their home movie contains, and what format it is. Their home movie is placed in a queue based on when they arrived and taken to a team of volunteer archivists. If the home movie is a film, the team winds through it, checking for any rips, tears, deterioration, etc., that may prevent the film from being run, and then has it passed off to projectionists inside the theater who are then in charge of running it.
When it becomes the patron's turn to have their film or video run, they are given a microphone to narrate over the film and share what is being seen. This can be an array from Christmases to weddings, to trips to Vegas, to barbecues in the backyard. Some people remember what they are seeing, some people found the film in their Nana's attic. Some even bring films that they've gotten on Ebay or at thrift stores! As long as it's someone's home movie, it is welcome. There are tears from time to time, some in sorrow at seeing a loved one that has passed, others laughing when there is footage of Grandpa Weissberger doing the chicken dance at a party. Historically, this event provides something for the community as well, however.
The images captured in a home movie capture a natural moment in time. There are no sets, no props, no staged performers (unless you count the amateur ballet recitals of your mother when she was 5). The moments are a historic portrayal of life at a certain time in our history, whenever it may be. And while people get a kick out of seeing footage of the 1964 World's Fair or Knott's Berry Farm before it was a big tourist trap and beehive haircuts next to jello mold salads loaded with carrot, the main thing people seem to love is watching the interactions of family members and realizing that while the moving image has been around for over a century, the love of family remains universal in all the images shared.
Please check out your local home movie day. You can find your local one here: http://www.centerforhomemovies.org/hmd/ and it goes without saying that even if you don't have a home movie to bring, you are in for a treat of an afternoon.
Historically, Home Movie Day was annually hosted on 8/16 because before VHS, home movies were generally shot on 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm film. As time has gone on, VHS has become more and more rare in people's homes and harder to play back, so institutions have started to include this and other supporting formats such as VHS-C (a VHS cartridge that held a mini VHS inside of it and fit into a standard VCR) and Hi-8. The date has also become flexible so that cities that want to participate don't feel restrained to participating on a specific day and can allow people all over their communities to join in on the fun.
Los Angeles Home Movie Day is hosted in different locations every year. This year (2017) it will be held twice. Once was last Saturday (10/7/17) at the Linwood Dunn Theater inside of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Vine Street location. The other will be this coming Saturday (10/21/17) at the University of Southern California Archives Bazaar. While the event last week was limited to film formats due to the venue, the Archives Bazaar will include video formats.
Still not convinced that this upcoming event is for you? Let me give you a rundown of how Home Movie Day worked last week and has historically in Los Angeles. When a patron enters the venue, he or she is given a piece of paper to fill out with general information, including their name, what their home movie contains, and what format it is. Their home movie is placed in a queue based on when they arrived and taken to a team of volunteer archivists. If the home movie is a film, the team winds through it, checking for any rips, tears, deterioration, etc., that may prevent the film from being run, and then has it passed off to projectionists inside the theater who are then in charge of running it.
When it becomes the patron's turn to have their film or video run, they are given a microphone to narrate over the film and share what is being seen. This can be an array from Christmases to weddings, to trips to Vegas, to barbecues in the backyard. Some people remember what they are seeing, some people found the film in their Nana's attic. Some even bring films that they've gotten on Ebay or at thrift stores! As long as it's someone's home movie, it is welcome. There are tears from time to time, some in sorrow at seeing a loved one that has passed, others laughing when there is footage of Grandpa Weissberger doing the chicken dance at a party. Historically, this event provides something for the community as well, however.
The images captured in a home movie capture a natural moment in time. There are no sets, no props, no staged performers (unless you count the amateur ballet recitals of your mother when she was 5). The moments are a historic portrayal of life at a certain time in our history, whenever it may be. And while people get a kick out of seeing footage of the 1964 World's Fair or Knott's Berry Farm before it was a big tourist trap and beehive haircuts next to jello mold salads loaded with carrot, the main thing people seem to love is watching the interactions of family members and realizing that while the moving image has been around for over a century, the love of family remains universal in all the images shared.
Please check out your local home movie day. You can find your local one here: http://www.centerforhomemovies.org/hmd/ and it goes without saying that even if you don't have a home movie to bring, you are in for a treat of an afternoon.
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