City Club Cinema
presents
Films About Filmmaking
Monday July 17th, 2000, 8:30 pm
Grumpy's
1111 Washington Ave. S. Downtown Minneapolis
Curated by Phil Harder
Featured screenings:
Masquerader
(1914) 30 min., Super 8
Charlie Chaplin
This silent film about filmmaking features Chaplin in a cross-dressing
role. Chaplin is an actor in a film studio who gets tossed out of the film
for messing up his scenes. Returning dressed as a lady, he/she wins the
heart of the director. Eventually all hell breaks loose, the camera gets
trashed, and the sets are destroyed in classic slap stick style.
A Tour of the Thomas H. Ince Studio
(silent era), Super 8
Thomas Ince productions were based on extremely well-planned and prepared
scripts and budgets, which were laid out for his directors before their
cameras exposed a foot of film. It could be said that Ince laid the
foundation for the modern studio system, with all its controls.
Because of meticulous planning, Ince's productions seemed to have a
polished look much different from the films of his rivals. While Ince was
best known for his westerns by director William S. Hart, his studio also
turned out a great variety of subjects, including bucolic comedy features
with Charels Ray, and such anti-war films as "Civilization".
Movie Makers Make Movies
(1999) 2 min., 16mm.
Mike Dust
An animated film that celebrates the joys of amateur home movie making.
Archaeology of the Cinema
(1965) 25 min, 16mm.
Archaeology of the Cinema details the development of Motion Picture from
primitive filmmaking "toys" like Zooetrope or Phenakistascope, to the
present day with illustrative film clips.
Life and Death of a Hollywood Extra
(1928) 15 min., 16mm.
Robert Florey
Robert Florey, an american avant-garde director, brilliantly tells the
story of a nonentity trying to break into Hollywood, in the form of a
satiric expressionist film. The film was shot by cameraman Slavko Vorkapich
on a shoestring budget in his kitchen, using erector sets and similar
money-saving devices.
Sixty Second Spot
(1969) 25 min., 16mm.
Sixty Second Spot is a behind the scenes look at the making of a 7-Up
commercial. The film details story boards, casting, auditions, location
scouting, shooting and final edit. Sixty Second Spot is a groovy and
true-to-life film about the excitement of filmmaking in the late 1960's.
Film Editing
(1960) 28 min., 16mm.
Three editors assemble variouse takes of "raw footage" from TV's GUNSMOKE,
with James Arness, Dennis Weaver, and then bit player Jack Klugman. The
film, made by the Film Editors Society, illustrates different avenues which
may be pursued by various editors which will throw emphasis on scenes,
persons, or actions which the editor deems to be of greater importance.
Ida Makes A Movie (And Learns To Tell The Truth)
(1970's) 22 min., 16mm.
Ida Makes A Movie is a film within a film. Ida, age 8, enters a filmmaking
contest with an old regular-8 camera. When her initial idea "Garbage" goes
awry, she opts to change the title to please the judges. Ida now faces a
dilemma that weighs heavy on her conscience as she learns to tell the
truth.
Track Stars
(1970's) 10 min., 16mm.
This hilarious film reveals the hidden heroes who create sound effects for
film. With the clever use of split screen, an action sequence shares the
screen with a sound effects studio. As the suspense builds on screen so
does the energy in the studio. Garbage cans go flying. Breaking boards are
timed with the visual of a broken chair. A punch thrown is synced with the
sound guys smacking a side of beef. Track Stars shows the tools and
techniques of sound effects that bring the action to life.
Camera Magic
10 min.
This magical, behind-the-scenes film, reveals how trick motion picture
effects like split screens, double exposures, and timelapse photography are
done.
special thanks for providing film prints:
Kevin Karpinski, Mark Harr, Mike Dust, John from Imaging Equipment, Mike Suade.
