Local film enthusiasts have a chance to expand their knowledge of the medium without leaving the area. Over the next month, a group of filmmakers will show and discuss their work at Cayuga Community College.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Cayuga Community College's Contemporary Film series examines many applications of the medium by modern artists.
Cayuga Community College's Contemporary Film series examines many applications of the medium by modern artists.
Sponsored by the Schweinfurth Art Center, “Making Movies: A Contemporary Film and Video Series” at Cayuga Community College begins tonight. Every Thursday, a new film or video artist from around the state will hold a free screening.
The idea behind the series is to bring new, interesting ideas about movies, film and electronic media to Auburn, said Terry Cuddy, curator for Making Movies.
“This is the kind of art form that I was introduced to when I went to college,” said Cuddy, who teaches new media at Cayuga/Onondaga BOCES. “It inspires a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to making movies. You don't need an expensive budget to make film.”
The films being shown are not your typical Hollywood film with traditional aspects of characters and story lines, Cuddy said. These producers and directors come from more experimental influences.
Skip Blumberg, an Emmy-winning producer and documentary filmmaker, kicks the series off tonight. Other guests include Owen Shapiro, professor and artistic director of the Syracuse International Film Festival; musician J.T. Rinker and media artist Carolyn Tennant; video and graphic artist Andrew Deutsch; and New York City filmmaker Mika Johnson.
“The artists are so varied,” Cuddy said. “We have artists who do narrative cinema, and there are those who do video with no words whatsoever. It ranges from the traditional to the non-traditional.”
Cuddy also said people who are interested in attending should not be fooled by the location at the college. Film enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to attend.
However, the series will have a similar feel to a college film class. By the end of the series, attendees will learn new terms, techniques and points of the art's history.
“It is intellectual, but there is also an entertainment factor,” Cuddy said. “It is for anyone who is willing to spend the time to take a look at something in a different way.”
Cuddy said that this is an especially interesting time to have a series like this. The Internet has democratized the medium, and allowed anyone with a digital camera to show his or her work to the world. And at the same time, the establishment in Hollywood is honoring more filmmakers who come from experimental backgrounds.
“I really think it is an exciting time,” Cuddy said. “You have Joel and Ethan Cohen (writers/directors of ‘No Country for Old Men') on the Academy Awards last night saying that they made movies at the airport with a Super 8 (camera) when they were teens. The more you see people doing that kind of stuff, the more it can breed that kind of activity.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
If you go
What: Making Movies: A Contemporary Film and Video Series
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through April 3
Where: Room T229, Cayuga Community College, Franklin Street, Auburn
How much: Free
Info: Visit www.myartcenter.org
The idea behind the series is to bring new, interesting ideas about movies, film and electronic media to Auburn, said Terry Cuddy, curator for Making Movies.
“This is the kind of art form that I was introduced to when I went to college,” said Cuddy, who teaches new media at Cayuga/Onondaga BOCES. “It inspires a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to making movies. You don't need an expensive budget to make film.”
The films being shown are not your typical Hollywood film with traditional aspects of characters and story lines, Cuddy said. These producers and directors come from more experimental influences.
Skip Blumberg, an Emmy-winning producer and documentary filmmaker, kicks the series off tonight. Other guests include Owen Shapiro, professor and artistic director of the Syracuse International Film Festival; musician J.T. Rinker and media artist Carolyn Tennant; video and graphic artist Andrew Deutsch; and New York City filmmaker Mika Johnson.
“The artists are so varied,” Cuddy said. “We have artists who do narrative cinema, and there are those who do video with no words whatsoever. It ranges from the traditional to the non-traditional.”
Cuddy also said people who are interested in attending should not be fooled by the location at the college. Film enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to attend.
However, the series will have a similar feel to a college film class. By the end of the series, attendees will learn new terms, techniques and points of the art's history.
“It is intellectual, but there is also an entertainment factor,” Cuddy said. “It is for anyone who is willing to spend the time to take a look at something in a different way.”
Cuddy said that this is an especially interesting time to have a series like this. The Internet has democratized the medium, and allowed anyone with a digital camera to show his or her work to the world. And at the same time, the establishment in Hollywood is honoring more filmmakers who come from experimental backgrounds.
“I really think it is an exciting time,” Cuddy said. “You have Joel and Ethan Cohen (writers/directors of ‘No Country for Old Men') on the Academy Awards last night saying that they made movies at the airport with a Super 8 (camera) when they were teens. The more you see people doing that kind of stuff, the more it can breed that kind of activity.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
If you go
What: Making Movies: A Contemporary Film and Video Series
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through April 3
Where: Room T229, Cayuga Community College, Franklin Street, Auburn
How much: Free
Info: Visit www.myartcenter.org
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