[Frameworks] canyon in the news (bad news dept)

[fc at fredcamper.com]

While I don't have any solutions, Canyon's becoming a not for profit seems
like a good start. Perhaps then some in "the industry" who claim early
inspiration from experimental films will get out their checkbooks. Keeping
Canyon going wouldn't take that much. Perhaps some in the Bay Area could
form a fund raising committee.

At the risk of bringing up an old issue here, I am disturbed that nowhere
in the debate is it mentioned that there is a unique aesthetic value, for
many films, to presenting them as originally intended, on film. Yes,
projectors are harder to find; yes, some schools won't pay for rentals. I
don't have any solutions to all that. But if the members of this list
won't even acknowledge the particular qualities of film projection, and
that so many of the greatest works of the avant-garde were made with those
particular qualities in mind, and that such works often lose hugely on
video, then the "battle" is over before it has even begun. You can hardly
try to find projectors and rental funds if you don't even care. Similarly,
 instructors who don't care about this difference can hardly explain it
with any passion to their students. I have found that many students can
indeed appreciate the unique qualities of film with only a little
explanation and encouragement.

David Tetzlaff:

"...everything needs to gets digitized, and made available in a medium rez
form along with prints. So, when you rent a print of 'Cosmic Ray' from
Canyon, you get an SD DVD of 'Cosmic Ray' to put on reserve in the library
for the length of the term...."

This does not even acknowledge that there are still filmmakers, still
living filmmakers, perhaps even in my view some of the very greatest of
filmmakers, who refuse to "digitize" their work because they feel too much
is lost. Is there no respect at all for the artist's intentions with
regard to her or his work?

Fred Camper
Chicago