Hello from the Blogmaster

Some of you faithful readers may have noticed that after a long hiatus, there have been some new posts on this blog. Yes, while only slightly informational, they are mostly commercial in nature. The fact remains that few are able to or believe they should financially support archival film efforts so I have had to take steps in monetizing this blog which happens to have very good page ranking thanks to all of the links I've received. That said, I wanted to let everyone know that I have in no way abandoned my efforts: quite the opposite, in fact.

For the past couple months I've been working on a VERY special project that all you animation and film history enthusiasts will just love. It's a website devoted to my favorite early animation studio and it will be packed with lots of goodies, info and images you'll find nowhere else. The new site will even have a discussion board for all who want to talk about any aspect of the studio or early animation archiving in general. I will of course keep everyone posted.

Now- for those of you who have not seen this groundbreaking film, I would like to sign off this post with a lovely YouTube video I uploaded recently. Please excuse the poor video quality...my source on this film is not so good at all and a better copy is forthcoming.

New York Video Production

Those of us who know a thing or two about film history are aware that the industry flourished in the New York area. With its roots in the very late 19th century, most aspects of commercial production were born in or were perfected and monetized in New York and New Jersey. However, the Motion Picture Patents Company, of which Thomas A. Edison was part, drove then 'independent' film producers out of New York City. The MPPC's film camera patents only extended into the midwest, and the lush "free zone" of California proved to be the future hot bed for building a place where cinematic dreams could come true.

Clearly, most people think of Hollywood when discussing media production. California has historically been the center for film production but thankfully New York video production companies are still in full force and can be found with ease. After all, the medium was born here in New York and we in the film studies field are certain that will continue to be the case.

Annapolis Photography

Our friends at Roman Grinev Photography want to tell you a bit about their work in the photography industry. Roman Photography is a leader in the Maryland area and are especially renowned Annapolis Wedding Photographers.

The esteemed Annapolis wedding photographer Roman Grinev has captured occasional humorous subjects, as can be seen in the sample at the bottom of this post. The 'macabre' wedding cake reminds me of some of the darkly cute stop-motion animated subjects that have come out in recent years, wouldn't you agree?

That said, if you are in the Baltimore, Maryland area-- particularly Annapolis and are contemplating marriage, do contact the studio for specialized Annapolis Wedding Photography.


(Photo courtesy Roman Grinev Photography)

Today's compact Audio/Video Interface

In the years before I was a film collector, my main medium of operation was VHS tapes and their duplication. Thankfully, the VHS technology was simple and even kid-friendly, as I was dubbing tapes as an early grade school student. Film enthusiasts had great fun with VHS which relied primarily on the standard three-color RCA cables. Video dubbing in the home in the home is still relatively easy and accessible through a new and wide array of other electronics.

Today, we've moved on to other technologies. I can't say I've used all of them, but there are two new common types of video interfaces, both of which readers are probably familiar with. First there is the High Definition Multimedia Interface, which obviously makes use of HDMI cables. Second there is the Digital Visual Interface which utilizes DVI cables. It would be interesting to know who among us in the archival field use these technologies in their home setups.