Today was another banner day for the world financial markets, as reports about AIG and CitiGroup are the latest bad news to batter the markets. The Dow closed below 7000 today, but I saw a clip on the news tonight about one industry that is making a comeback during these troubled times. Craving a few hours of escape, people are flocking to the movies, and film attendance is up a whopping 17 percent. Thank goodness that Brad and Angelina will remain unfazed by the latest economic meltdown. Speaking of movies…
I was down in Buffalo last week, and while I was there, I set up a VCR in Dad’s bedroom so he could watch some videos. He watched all 3 ½ hours of “Gettysburg”, one of his favorites, because he is a Civil War buff. He generally likes movies which deal with historical events, and over the years, he has amassed a rather formidable video library. We also watched some old Oppenheimer home movies. Years ago, I’d had many of our old home movies transferred to video cassette, because they’re easier to watch on video tape. Also, I was able to put almost all of our movies on one two hour videotape, so that I didn’t need to change ten 20 minute reels of 8MM film on a movie projector. Our movie projector is about the same vintage as our home movies – circa 1955 – and it’s about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Another reason for the video conversion is that I knew those old celluloid films would eventually deteriorate, and I didn’t want all of those old family memories to be lost. There was video of me shortly after my birth, of my now deceased sister Joanne, and of horseback riding vacations in Palm Springs, back when Palm Springs was a sleepy hideaway for Hollywood movie stars. There were movies of a family visit to Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks, where I’m told I climbed over a guard rail and almost fell off a steep cliff. There were panoramic views from atop Whiteface Mountain, and film of our visit to Santa’s Wonderland. What little Jewish boy should be deprived of this treat? I believe my sister was bitten on the butt by a goat at Santa’s Wonderland. Ho, Ho, Ho! There were movies of my Mom and Dad riding horseback at a farm near our summer home in Canada. They looked so healthy and energetic back then. Looking at those videos, I was transfixed, watching my distant past unfold in living color.
I’ve done some videotaping over the years, but I’ve never been very good at it. Camera technology has certainly improved over the years, and the smaller cameras, with their side-mount video screens, have certainly made their operation a lot easier. Those first video cameras were so big and cumbersome I found them difficult to use. Regardless, Shauna is a much steadier, more patient, and generally more effective camera person than I am. On top of this, I always felt uncomfortable filming subjects who almost unanimously did not wish to be videotaped. But here’s the thing. While most people don’t want to be filmed, and video recording is a somewhat invasive process, most of us enjoy watching those videos as time passes. “Oh my, there’s Aunt Josephine, boy did I get a kick out of her.” … “See how young Tommy looks in that video.” I remember back about fifteen years ago, when some of my father’s family gathered for some family affair, people were not very co-operative about being filmed, and in fact we didn’t take much video, because it was obviously making some people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, fifteen years later, I copied a bit of that video and gave it to a cousin, who thanked me and told me that there was very little record of such a large gathering of his family. In many of the above-mentioned old home movies my Dad made, there was inevitably a shy subject, grinning with embarrassment, waving away the obnoxious camera man. I’m glad he kept the camera rolling. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video speaks volumes.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
I was down in Buffalo last week, and while I was there, I set up a VCR in Dad’s bedroom so he could watch some videos. He watched all 3 ½ hours of “Gettysburg”, one of his favorites, because he is a Civil War buff. He generally likes movies which deal with historical events, and over the years, he has amassed a rather formidable video library. We also watched some old Oppenheimer home movies. Years ago, I’d had many of our old home movies transferred to video cassette, because they’re easier to watch on video tape. Also, I was able to put almost all of our movies on one two hour videotape, so that I didn’t need to change ten 20 minute reels of 8MM film on a movie projector. Our movie projector is about the same vintage as our home movies – circa 1955 – and it’s about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Another reason for the video conversion is that I knew those old celluloid films would eventually deteriorate, and I didn’t want all of those old family memories to be lost. There was video of me shortly after my birth, of my now deceased sister Joanne, and of horseback riding vacations in Palm Springs, back when Palm Springs was a sleepy hideaway for Hollywood movie stars. There were movies of a family visit to Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks, where I’m told I climbed over a guard rail and almost fell off a steep cliff. There were panoramic views from atop Whiteface Mountain, and film of our visit to Santa’s Wonderland. What little Jewish boy should be deprived of this treat? I believe my sister was bitten on the butt by a goat at Santa’s Wonderland. Ho, Ho, Ho! There were movies of my Mom and Dad riding horseback at a farm near our summer home in Canada. They looked so healthy and energetic back then. Looking at those videos, I was transfixed, watching my distant past unfold in living color.
I’ve done some videotaping over the years, but I’ve never been very good at it. Camera technology has certainly improved over the years, and the smaller cameras, with their side-mount video screens, have certainly made their operation a lot easier. Those first video cameras were so big and cumbersome I found them difficult to use. Regardless, Shauna is a much steadier, more patient, and generally more effective camera person than I am. On top of this, I always felt uncomfortable filming subjects who almost unanimously did not wish to be videotaped. But here’s the thing. While most people don’t want to be filmed, and video recording is a somewhat invasive process, most of us enjoy watching those videos as time passes. “Oh my, there’s Aunt Josephine, boy did I get a kick out of her.” … “See how young Tommy looks in that video.” I remember back about fifteen years ago, when some of my father’s family gathered for some family affair, people were not very co-operative about being filmed, and in fact we didn’t take much video, because it was obviously making some people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, fifteen years later, I copied a bit of that video and gave it to a cousin, who thanked me and told me that there was very little record of such a large gathering of his family. In many of the above-mentioned old home movies my Dad made, there was inevitably a shy subject, grinning with embarrassment, waving away the obnoxious camera man. I’m glad he kept the camera rolling. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video speaks volumes.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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