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Artifacts from the Booth - Paramount's 35mm 3D Projection System

4/3/2017

"Single-strip film projection greatly simplified theatrical exhibition of stereoscopic motion pictures." -3D Revolution: The History of Modern Stereoscopic Cinema (2012)

The Depix Camera System was developed by inventors Alvin and Mortimer Marks, and captures left and right eye images on a single 35mm film frame. Alvin Marks had been experimenting with 3D technology 30 years previous, receiving a patent in 1951 for the "three-dimensional intercommunicating system".

For Friday the 13th Part III (1982), the first major 3D release to use the Depix system, Paramount Pictures shipped out full 3D kits to 700 theatres nationwide. The kits included: a 3D lens (1), mirror box attachment (2, 3, 4), aperture plates, 3D test strip (5), and instructions (6, 7). Inside the 3D lens attachment consisted of mirrors that would separate the left and right eye images (seen below in images #3 and #5 as top and bottom), and project them out on screen as a single image.

The mainstream 3D craze of the 80s lasted only a few short years. The novelty wore off after the release of Jaws and Amityville 3-D in 1983. Of course, years later, 3D would have another short burst of mainstream cinema success beginning in 2008 with Journey to the Center of the Earth, and more-or-less fading away after the release of Gravity in 2013.

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Digital Photos of 35mm Motion Picture Film

11/2/2016

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One of the highlights of my job at the Walker Art Center is inspecting and running film, both 16mm and 35mm. The following are images I've taken while inspecting prints for the Robert Redford: Independent/Visionary and Sundance Film Festival Series. The Walker Art Center's Social Media Specialist uses the photographs on Facebook and Instagram to promote the film screenings.

15 of the 25 films in the series were presented on 35mm. The others were projected digitally.

Sundance Film Festival #AtTheWalker

American Dream, 1990

Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012

The Blair Witch Project, 1999

El Norte, 1983

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001

Me And You And Everyone We Know, 2005

Parting Glances, 1986

Sin Nombre, 2009

Smoke Signals, 1998

Robert Redford #AtTheWalker

All is Lost, 2013

All the President's Men, 1976

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969

The Candidate, 1972

Jeremiah Johnson, 1972

Quiz Show, 1994

Studio Logos

Warner Bros. Logo, Circa 1972

Fine Line Features was the independent, specialty films division of New Line Cinema from 1990 - 2005. They produced and distributed such films as My Own Private Idaho, Short Cuts, Hoop Dreams, Gummo, Dancer in the Dark, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Classic (2nd or 3rd generation) Miramax logo.

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Sundance/Redford #AtTheWalker

9/30/2016

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This weekend kicks off "Robert Redford: Independent/Visionary" at the Walker Art Center. Six weeks and 25 films; a mixture of Sundance and Robert Redford films. Of the 25 films, 15 will be presented on 35mm motion picture film. Others will be presented on DCP (DIgital Cinema Pacage) including Joel and Ethan Coen's debut feature Blood Simple, which was recently restored in 4K under the supervision of the Coen's and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld.

Parting Glances 35mm. Saturday, October 1st 7:30pm

“Parting Glances, a seminal work of new queer cinema, richly textured depiction of New York during the 1980s, and one of the first films to address the AIDS crisis. Set over the course of 24 hours, the film follows a young writer as he negotiates his relationship with his current boyfriend, Robert, a preppy doctor bound for Africa; and Nick, his former lover, an HIV-positive musician (Steve Buscemi in his breakthrough role).“ - Alison Kozberg | Program Manager, Moving Image, Walker Art Center

http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2016/parting-glances

Smoke Signals 35mm. Sunday, October 2nd 2pm

“Smoke Signals explores the powerful relationship between Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor Joseph, two boys growing up on the Coeur d’Alene reservation. After the death of Victor’s father, the young men embark on a road trip. This beautiful and tragic journey becomes a platform for the pair to voice their conflicting views about what it means to be Native American.”

http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2016/smoke-signals

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20th Century Fox Logo

9/29/2016

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20th Century Fox Logo (1953 - 1987) Specifically from Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid (1969)

While the 20th Century Fox design has only changed 10 times from 1935 to 2016, there have been approximately 270 different alterations made to the logo throughout the years. The alterations consist of mostly hue changes; from the early black and white version, to a blue tint in 1976's "All This and World War II", to matte painting overlays, as seen with "Edward Scissorhands" and "Moulin Rouge".

270 is quite the number, but is second behind Warner Brothers, with approximately 340 logo variations since 1923. And since 1923, Warner Brothers has gone through 13 complete logo changes. The current logo has essentially gone unchanged since 1998.

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Knight of Cups

6/25/2016

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Say what you will about the direction Malick has been taking his films over the last few years, he's certainly captivated by a meandering search for something profound and human. This flavor of expression has been in Malick's DNA since Badlands, though taken a different shape, with a noticeably tighter structure, both in terms of story and technically speaking. Some could argue the tighter locked down structure is due to filmmaking constraints and limitations from decades ago. He's stated he would have liked to do far more handheld photography on Days of Heaven if he had the resources to do so. Essentially the spark was lit, but a full manifestation would take decades to achieve. Still, I can't imagine Days of Heaven taking on a different photographic form.

Knight of Cups is an ambitious and slight gem from Malick. It does not hit the outward grandiose emotional notes of The Thin Red Line or The Tree of Life -- however still muted in their presentation -- but he accomplishes what he set out to make -- both on location and in editing -- and achieves something inward and reflective. Malick is best enjoyed as an experience. If you're watching this film, you're invested, whether it's a little or a lot, whether it's technique or character, something is pulling you in, and it's now up to you to pull meaning out it. Christain Bale's character is drowning in chaos, lacking clear focus, no path forward. This is less of a movie about finding yourself through experiences of the past and present, and more of a eulogy for the resemblance of a normal life you thought you could conquer. You're on a path towards your ultimate demise. Unlike The Thin Red Line or The Tree of Life, this one probably won't have an incredibly deep philosophical impact with repeat viewings, but I don't want to make any concrete claims.

When contemplating Malick and his motives, trying to find connective tissue between Badlands to Knight of Cups, I recall Witt's line from The Thin Red Line. "Maybe all men got one big soul everybody's a part of, all faces are the same man." He's telling one story, weaving in and out of light and dark, hope and despair, chaos and harmony, which began with Kit and Holly's youthful naivety, then molded into Linda, then to Witt, and so on and so forth. As we move further away from where Malick began, the characters and structures are becoming more disjointed and lost in their worlds. With each new film, the weight of the characters increase, the personal journeys become denser, and answers become less attainable.

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Winter Sleep (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

12/16/2015

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I finally got around to watching Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep, a fantastic and destructive Chekhovian-inspired opus of a motion picture. It's the emotional equivalent of an old, troubled soul stuck in limbo, lounging in a creaky cabin, completely hypnotized by a roaring fire on a cold, starry night; the further and further you hone in on the dancing flames, the more your mind wanders, recalling past conversations, relationships, fears, quarrels, and once it all surfaces, you're suddenly made aware of your own mortality. I could watch this movie every single night.

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Persona (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1966)

11/27/2015

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When the creative spark has been stomped out and you need to quickly find the motivation to keep on going. It's been exactly 10 years since I watched Bergman's "Persona" for the first time, and like the mysterious, sometimes subliminal images that open the film, my subconscious keeps it at the forefront, not as a whole coherent film though, but as bits and pieces. One day the spider is on my mind, another it's the broken glass outside the cottage, and one day the revealing monologues will be rattling through my brain. "Persona" is an unforgettable experience, whether you're watching it for the first or 50th time.

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Written on the Wind (dir. Douglas Sirk, 1956)

11/27/2015

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"Written on the Wind" is an enjoyable piece of melodrama, though admittedly, for me, one of Sirk's weaker entries. Rock Hudson is billed as the lead, along side Lauren Bacall, and while they're the star power, the film rides on and belongs to Robert Stack (anxiety ridden, insecure, drunk-with-love best best friend of Hudson's character) and Dorothy Malone (sister of Stack's character).

Stack comes off strong, wearing his heart in his sleeve in some respects, but incredibly reserved in others; with repeated viewings and knowledge of the character given to you along the way, every decision the character makes is perfectly aligned with his past, considering his state of mind. Dorothy Malone is the single most exciting part of the film, flashy, promiscuous, speaks her mind, but holds out hope that Hudson's character will fall in love with her.

Hudson and Bacall, two terrific actors, weren't given great or even interesting roles, which ultimately weighs down on the film. Of course Sirk's films are all technicolor events, colors that pop, luscious music, so speaking negatively about well-rounded characters or performance is kind of a moot point (though still an important ingredient); it's all about heightened and physical emotion, taking an intimate or social issue, removing formality and exposing it for what it is.

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Gaspar Noe's LOVE in 3D

11/15/2015

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"Love (in 3D)" is a real tough, emotionally draining film. Often exciting, at times frustrating, but you get a real sense of the sort of harmonious and total destructive nature of love through the kinetic structure and the characters; exploding with truth and pain, adventure and straight up douchebaggery. It's the kind of movie that demands a second viewing, but maybe you just want to mull over the bits and pieces for a while, then revisit. It's some of the best looking and most justified 3D I've ever seen -- the camera so still and composed, the added dimension acts as intense voyeuristic goggles as we gaze over some truly fantastical sex scenes that only Gaspar Noe could imagine up to put on screen. The movie is incredibly self-indulgent, but 100% fascinating. [3 out of 4 stars]

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Todd Haynes: Regis Dialogue // 20 Years of Killer Films

11/8/2015

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The first filmmaker discussion I ever attended was the Jerome Hill Centennial at the Walker Art Center with Todd Haynes, which was ten years ago on the 19th of this month. I've always held onto that- Todd's insights and his overall friendly and cheerful demeanor. It's been incredibly special and meaningful to me as I've pushed through my own path to "become a filmmaker". To meet Todd Haynes ever so briefly on November 5th, and to talk with him on November 6th on a personal level was another moment that I will never forget. [Also, Todd's newest film Carol is astonishing, pure and simple. Be sure to check it out Christmas Day at Edina Landmark]