NIGHT ONE

THE BIRTH OF PROJECTION

With a Screening of "Sherlock, Jr." (1924)

Thursday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

Focusing on early cinema, the first night of the series highlighted the work of such film pioneers as Thomas Armat, George Eastman, Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès, Eadweard Muybridge and the Lumière brothers. The evening included a live demonstration of hand-cranked films and a screening of Buster Keaton’s classic silent comedy "Sherlock, Jr.," which tells the story of a lonely projectionist who longs to be a detective.

SHERLOCK, JR. 

Directed by Buster Keaton. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck. Story Jean Havez, Joe Mitchell, Clyde Bruckman. Cinematography Elgin Lessley, Byron Houck. Metro Pictures Corp. 48 minutes. 35mm print courtesy of The Cohen Film Collection.

NIGHT TWO

THE GOLDEN AGE

Thursday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater 

An exploration of the rise of varied film and sound formats and the proliferation of movie palaces, illustrating how the craft of projection began to solidify into the art form it is today. Film clips and live demonstrations were used to explain concepts such as optical and digital multi-channel sound and long-play devices.  

NIGHT THREE

THE FINAL CURTAIN

Friday, May 4, 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

The series wrapped up with a look at the impact of television along with the evolution of wide-screen formats, 3D and multiplexes, and a discussion of the advances in digital cinema projection. Other technical developments in projection were explored, including the move into the higher resolution of 4K and beyond.