Man with a Movie Camera

The 1929 short film Man with a Movie Camera changed the viewing experience for me because it made me consider many factors outside of the film.  It calls to attention the amount of work that goes into every production, showing the man in the theater who puts the film reels on the projector and synchs them at the right time.  We see close-up shots on the still, but tense hands of the band who will perform the score.  They wait eagerly for the cue of the person running the projector.  All the while, people rush in and begin to take their seats. Using cut techniques, the seats unfold for the audience as if by magic.  I think this film calls to attention how much we take for granted in film.  Production is an arduous process, and so much effort goes into every step.    However, today we go to a movie, sit down for two hours, watch it, and leave.  Most people never stay for credits, and I think many will never truly appreciate the amount work that goes into films.  Man with a Movie Camera is almost a call out of the audience, in my opinion.  The only thing that would make viewing films more convenient is if the seats unfolded themselves, and many people who watch movies have the nerve to make uneducated remarks about production value without ever understanding what it means to put in the work.

Being able to see these types of Avant-Garde films on the internet and in setting other than the traditional museum has really changed the way we view experimental cinema.  Although I feel like a movie must always be viewed in an appropriate atmosphere, I really like the growing experimental Youtube culture with short films.  Instead of going to a museum and watching a short film, kids are seeing them on the internet and thinking to themselves “Hey, I could do that!”  Having these films on Youtube also seems to make Avant-Garde films less insistent of themselves when it comes to content.  A lot of people may feel like experimental films are challenging to their intellect.  However, when you can see them on the same website as you see cartoons and viral videos the general public may be more open to them.  With all of the knowledge available to people today online, it will be interesting to see how film culture will change within the next 10 years.