FORT BRAGG, CA — The Larry Spring Museum is offering a unique opportunity to explore analog filmmaking and help create a unique movie about the essence of Fort Bragg. The free, three-week project using Super-8 millimeter film cameras begins the weekend of August 26-27, and sign-up slots via email are still available.
Funded by the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, The Larry Spring Museum is sponsoring Echo Park Film Center Collective (EPFC2), a nonprofit media organization that provides equal and affordable access to film education. Based in Los Angeles, the nonprofit, according to instructor Lisa Marr, “uses cinematic tools, especially analog tools, to basically invite people to tell their stories on film.”
Marr stressed that “everyone is welcome.” There is no age restriction nor limit on the number of people who sign up. No one needs to have a film background. “It’s all about the storytelling. We all have a way in; it’s so magical,” she said.
“The Sound We See” began in 2010 as a free project for youth and has expanded into an international collection of twenty-eight “City Symphony” films. The technology is the same used in the beginning days of cinematography in the 1890s.
What’s new will be the use of plant-based eco-processing of the film rather than the routine heavy metal developer. Marr said the nonprofit has taught the process to Kodak “so they understand there is a value to the analog film still.” In other words, digital media need not bring an end to Super-8 film.
“City Symphony” was a film genre popular in the first two decades of the 1900s. Since movie cameras could not record sound, the final products and live music were shown to the public. For viewers today, silent films allow for universal interpretation and enjoyment without regard to cultural or language differences.
Marr explained, “We’ve engaged with tens of thousands of people all over the globe.” She continued, “It comes down to the magic of the moving image to inspire, to activate, and bring us all together just to enjoy films out under the stars and in communities.”
The project’s participants will be directly involved in the creation of “The Sound We See: A Fort Bragg City Symphony.” After workshop training and conversations about the project, participants will choose a specific hour from midnight to the following midnight to go out into the community and record whatever valued aspect of their hometown they wish to share with viewers.
Each of the twenty-four hours will comprise the filming of life in Fort Bragg. Lisa Marr will accompany every group acting as buddy support and assisting only when necessary. Filmmakers will later edit their own hour down to one minute. Then each piece will be stitched into a continuous twenty-four-minute film revealing a day in Fort Bragg.
Anne Maureen McKeating, the Director of Larry Spring Museum, has previously sponsored two short educational sessions with Lisa Marr to measure community members’ interest in experiencing analog filming. McKeating said she has a specific purpose that fits the nonprofit museum’s mission.
“We’re a tourist economy now,” she noted. “A lot of our activities face outward. Much effort is put into creating an image to attract tourists and generate income.” She sees this as a good thing for the city to do.
She added, ” It’s nice to offer an activity that’s more inward-looking. It’s the community collaborating to create a film for the community made by the community.”
It’s also about what the participants will take away from the experience. McKeating stressed, “Lisa is a great and patient teacher. She injects enthusiasm and joy into everything.” Marr added, “The project provides people a way to connect with their community, discover their creative ability, and learn something about themselves.”
Participants will learn to operate a Super-8 film camera, experience the filming process, learn to edit, and then learn an eco-processing, plant-based method to develop their film. They will see the twenty-four-minute final product with a commissioned musical score when the film publicly premieres on September 9.
Participants will ultimately gain the experience of a creative collaboration that happens among people who may not know one another. The actual project is the catalyst that will create connections between these people and their hometowns.
Lastly, the viewers will develop their relationship with the experimental film that brings a new perspective to the place where they live.
The current activity schedule is August 26 – 27 for Pre-Production; August 28 -September 4 for Production; September 5 – 7 for Editing; and the film premiere on September 9. The instructor is open to flexibility regarding any conflicts between the session dates and your work or personal commitments.
To sign up for the free sessions of “The Sound We See: A Fort Bragg City Symphony,” contact Anne Maureen McKeating at director@larryspringmuseum.org.
