From: Steve Polta (email suppressed)
Date: Wed Aug 20 2008 - 13:03:21 PDT
The first class I ever took at FAF (in 1994 or so) was a one-hour Bolex orientation taught by Bill Daniel (who is now a friend of mine)--you had to take the class, which cost maybe ten bucks (for members), to be able to check out a Bolex. It blew my mind to see the diverse gang that showed up just cuz maybe they wanted to try maybe makin' a movie. I remember there was a middle-aged city bus driver (in uniform) in the class who was funny and super-enthusiastic ("You tellin' me that's a real film camera?!?"). It felt like a real by-the-people/for-the-people kind of place. Other classes were like this too--curious people off the streets, amateurs, at times getting turned on to completely new things.
To me it seems that the transition over the years was actually *away* from dilettante-ism, away from amateurism, away from for-the-love-of-it experimentation (all of which I happen to be in favor of). "boutique spots for the dilettantes" evokes to me community college-type classes in, say, watercolor painting (which I also happen to be in support of) which are taken by people looking to fill their time, as well as by people seriously interested in painting. Not sure if this is what was intended but this is not what FAF had become. To me they really were favoring a filmmaking model that can be described as professional, favoring PBS-style docs and topical or issue-related works, larger budgets, efficiency, goal-oriented filmmaking.
Steve Polta
--- On Wed, 8/20/08, Jim Carlile <email suppressed> wrote:
> From: Jim Carlile <email suppressed>
> Subject: Re: FAF/SFFS
> To: email suppressed
> Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008, 12:14 PM
> In a message dated 8/20/2008 6:58:10 A.M. Pacific Daylight
> Time,
> email suppressed writes:
>
> And no slag on secretaries, but archivists aren't
> secretaries. Like
> secretaries, though, we don't get much respect until
> someone needs footage.
>
> Rick
> Of course. I just don't understand the purpose of FAF
> if they're getting rid
> of the film equipment. These kind of re-organizations
> always end up turning
> into boutique spots for the dilettantes. I've seen it
> so many times.
>
>
>
>
>
> **************It's only a deal if it's where you
> want to go. Find your travel
> deal here.
> (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.