Detecting the History of Sound-on-Film
posted August 24, 2010
Twenty-four frames of one of the earliest surviving recordings of sound-on-film, a test strip that Eugene Lauste made between 1910 and 1912, merely hints at the revolution that was to come. Only 24 frames long, it belongs to a Florida collector who bought it at an estate sale along with other items from Lauste’s obscure career. Alongside the frames, which show nondescript images of plants, lies a series of black squiggles that encode sound – perhaps the first sound ever simultaneously reproduced with images on film.
Going Dutch on a Moving Image Archiving Degree
posted August 17, 2010
If you’re contemplating completing a master’s degree in moving-image archiving, you could hardly find a more appealing place to do so than Amsterdam. Apart from everything else – bike-friendly, crisscrossed with scenic canals, liberal beyond American dreams – it is home to world-class film collections and institutions that excel in restoration, research, and educational programs, and several of those have been involved in the University of Amsterdam’s archiving program since its inception in 2003. The program, in its seventh year, boasts an impressive record of combining solid schooling in the skills of the trade with a firm grounding in film history and related subjects. In Amsterdam’s master’s-degree program in the preservation and presentation of the moving image...
NHPRC Project Archivist
posted August 6, 2010
The Autry and Braun Research Libraries at the Autry National Center of the American West, in Glendale, Los Angeles, California, are seeking an NHPRC Project Archivist starting October 4, 2010. The appointment is for two years, full time, with benefits. The institution, which holds one of the world’s most comprehensive research collections pertaining to Native
Some Tips on Using this Site
posted August 3, 2010
We’ve set up Moving Image Archive News so that it can update you every day or two on what is most recent the site. You can subscribe (lower left) via a “reader” (free of charge); then, you will receive updates via email as new items appear. All new items do go on the Blog, with
Searching East Asian Archives
posted July 28, 2010
East Asian cities have become showcases for some of the most lavish architecture of modern times. They may prompt Western visitors to exclaim: “Is this Asia?” But how are the cities portrayed in cinema? For the book they recently edited, Cinema at the City’s Edge: Film and Urban Networks in East Asia (University of Washington
Keeping an Eye on Surveillance
posted July 23, 2010
Torin Monahan explores what happens when social anxiety reigns, and surveillance seems to offer a remedy, in his latest book, Surveillance in the Time of Insecurity (Rutgers University Press). There, the associate professor of human & organizational development and associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University examines the interplay of insecurity, surveillance, and inequality in
Can that Laughter
posted July 22, 2010
In its online “Daily” feed, The Paris Review has reprinted an interview with Ben Glenn II, a TV historian and expert in the history of canned laughter. It’s from Mike Sacks’ book, from last year, And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft (Writers Digest Press).
The Surprising History of the Hindi Action Film
posted July 20, 2010
Ever wonder where the stylizations of Bollywood films come from? Turns out that song, dance, and all the fanfare were features of the very first Indian sound film, Alam Ara, from 1931. Just as compelling is to learn that its star, Master Vithal, was a descendant of a long line of Hindi action-film stars, dating
Searching East Asian Film Archives
posted July 19, 2010
Cinema at the City’s Edge: Film and Urban Networks in East Asia, edited by Yomi Braester and James Tweedie, appeared in April 2010 from the University of Washington Press, in cooperation with Hong Kong University Press’s TransAsia: Screen Cultures series. In the book, scholars of cinema, architecture, and urban studies from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia,
South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association Honors
posted July 19, 2010
The South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) has appointed its founding Fellows, to honor exceptional service and achievements in audiovisual archiving in the region. Named as fellows on July 19, 2010 – with conferral scheduled for August 3, 2010 during the 14th SEAPAVAA conference and general assembly at the Bangkok Arts and Culture