P3D Re: Drizzling on Montreal's 3D Parade

[Dan Vint <dvint@xxxxxxxx>]

You may want to look into the 12th Annual Virginia Film Festival Oct 21-24, 1999
in Charlottesville. 3D seems to be a part of what they are going to be showing this year, but they also mention "the quest for an immersive 'total cinema'"

Anyway, films haven't been listed yet and the website is: www.vafilm.com

..dan

> 
> Drizzling on Montreal's 3D Parade:
> 
> When an illustrious city like Monreal hosts a '3D99' festival, and the 
> film-list is predominantly retro-spective classics culled from history and 
> major-release titles, and the event is celebrated with such glee (Gabriel's 
> post), a few additional comments may be useful.
> 
> Gabriel wrote:
> 
> >Sandros the organizer for the 3-D festival had scoured the Earth to find 
> >the movies and also to get the rights to screen them.
> 
> While this is perhaps true in the 'Old Testament' sense, it doesn't  address 
> the issue of why there was so little contemporary (present) works, including 
> 3D video, including experimental work by present-day creators.  My 
> observations are from first-hand experience, and limited to such.
> 
> Sandros solicited works from me (perhaps others), and upon evaluation by the 
> organizing committtee (which overulled his preferences), returned them 
> confiding disappointment that the committee was staunchly conservative in 
> its selections, mainstream oriented, and unresposive to experimental works 
> in stereoscopic 3D motion-picture (including video) formats.
> 
> This problem (the difficulties of the 'new' emerging from the 'old') is 
> chronic in Canada.  This, I mentioned in a previous post (on C3D).  I would 
> simply argue that on the eve of the new Millenium, what is more relevant to 
> those of us creating (low-budget) leading-edge works is 'what is to come', 
> not simply 'what is past'.  This assertion by no means trivializes past 
> accomplishments - it is meant to contextualize them.  (Learn and 'move on'!) 
>   Do we believe in a future, do we support new ideas, aesthetics, 
> technologies?  Or shall we revell in talking about 'print quality' of old 
> classics, mounting - projection techniques, and a 'favorite list' based on 
> the old?
> 
> While I appreciate Gabriel's extensive review of the event, the issues (of 
> 'the new')  concerning such an event or future events remain relevant to 
> those participating (as film-makers, video-makers, DVD-makers) in the future 
> tense of 3D motion-picture arts.
> 
> To my knowlege, there was only one 3D film-video event (at the Louvre, 
> Paris, in 1997) that attempted to encompass the past and the present (and 
> into the future), and its range was also incomplete.  (But multiple 
> experimental programs were presented!)  Hopefully there are more such events 
> (including those that celebrate the new VR-experimental forms of 3D!).
> 
> Hopefully, there are also practitioners/creators of motion-picture 3D works 
> that contribute analysis and understanding as to what constitutes their 
> 'list of best' of the Fest.
> 
> I am reminded of a 1945 statement made by James Wong Howe, a celebrated 
> motion-picture cinematographer (reprinted in March 1999, American 
> Cinematography, pg. 126):
> 
> "The trouble with many critics and ex-critics is that for all their skillful 
> talk, they don't understand the techniques of motion pictures.  They still 
> criticize movies from the viewpoint of the stage."
> 
> One could therefore say that for all the understanding that 3D 
> still-photography creators have of their medium, unless they produce 
> motion-pictures and video (which are most certainly subject to differing 
> conditions than stereo slide shows!)  they will view and criticize movies 
> from the 'viewpoint' of their static stage.
> 
> Hopefully (and this has to be repeated again), this is not interpreted as an 
> "insult' to anyone, nor giving P3D 'a bad image'.  If so, then that 
> particular reader has missed the point and the weather forecast: 'drizzling 
> in Montreal'.
> 
> Al Razutis
> 
> 
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