Friday 10 September 2010

History of Film

So the class I'm taking is amazing! It is so completely up my alley that I almost can't stand it. Basically, I will be learning about the history of film and every week we will watch a movie and talk about it. My only assignment is to write about movies.

My first class was on Tuesday and at one point I actually felt teary I was so excited to be there. It was only mildly ridiculous that the girl sitting next to me was 19 years younger than me. Seriously, she was 17 and at one point even gave me an "oh honey" dripping with empathy at how ancient I am. Sure, it was based on the fact that in talking about music, I referenced 'mixed tapes'. But I don't think I'm the one to be felt sorry for. Mixed tapes were f*cking awesome! Kids today have no idea.

So here's what I think I am going to do, blog wise... I am going to write about all the cool things that I learn in my class. I figure anyone who is probably reading this might also have an interest in cool things and I think movies and the 'history of' is a cool topic.

First things first - here's what I learned this week.

One of the very early filmmakers was a french stage magician, Georges Milies. He was one of the first to use editing and special effects. Before him, films were 30 seconds to a minute long. Filmmakers would set up a camera and film one thing for up to a minute - feeding a baby, knocking down a wall, a dancer spinning, someone jumping into a lake. People were fascinated to see these 'moving pictures'.

Georges Milies wanted to bring spectacle to the people and so used editing to create a false reality. He has been called the 'Father of Special Effects' or the "Father of Science Fiction'. He made movies with story lines and plots and changes of location. He wasn't a savvy businessman though and didn't copyright any of his films until 1912. By then his films had been so bootlegged, copied and shown all over the world that people just stopped showing his films rather than pay him for the rights to show them.

By 1913 he had made over 500 films and was completely bankrupt. In the end, he sold his films to the French army to be melted down and made into boot heels for the soldiers.

One of his most famous films "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", made in 1902, can be viewed online. Click the title for the link. We watched it in class and it is fairly fascinating that it was made in 1902.

Saturday 4 September 2010

School

I am not registered for any classes this fall and I am a little regretful. I suppose in a way it's actually not too late for me to still register, but I'm pushing it. As far as I know most classes are full. Fully full.

Ok, so I just took a time out from writing this post to do a course search and see if there was even a class that appealed to me. As I scrolled through the list of courses so many of them appealed to me. It's amazing how many courses I would love to take! I just want to keep learning.

One course stood out more than all the others and I started to really feel something; A stirring in my heart, behind my eyes, a flutter in my tummy. I decided to see when it was being offered because my work schedule this semester kind of cuts through all the days and the likelihood of it being at a time when I am also available seemed slim. I clicked on the schedule and I am completely free and clear for that time. My eyes flicked over to see how far down the wait list I would be (I've been 11th and still gotten in) and there is no wait list. The class has 14 seats available.

I believe I might be a student after all this semester!

Goodbye girl

September! Not only is it September but it's September 2010. I remember thinking in March 2009 that I couldn't wait for 2009 to be over. And now 2010 is now rounding the bend to 2011. 2009 was a tough year and I am very happy to report that 2010 has been much, much better.

I feel happy today which is always a nice way to feel. The sun is shining, I am at a cool coffee shop drinking a delicious latte, I am writing, I am listening to good music (a playlist made by my favourite online dj), I am having dinner with friends tonight and I have no complaints.

*The title of this post is the name of the song I was listening to when it came time to write a title and I liked it.