I often find the nature of viewing films extremely interesting. With the ability to instantly stream a film online through Netflix, I can easily catch up on an entire season of a show in only a few days. The sheer factor accessibility makes it so much easier for me to stay caught up on many independent films I didn’t have time to see. Additionally many of these independent films are not often shown in local theaters. The closest theater to view many independent films is Ann Arbor, MI which makes it difficult for me to find the time to make that kind of trip. However, though convenience is a factor, I still find the element of the cinematic experience extremely important. For example, I grew up with the film To Kill a Mockingbird (Mulligan, 1962), and had seen many times throughout the course of my childhood. Last year I found out the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor was playing classic films, and one of those was To Kill a Mockingbird. Coincidentally, the film was being shown on my father’s birthday, it was also my father who had introduced me to the film so many years ago. The experience was incredible, the perfect example of how seeing something on the big screen can take a childhood classic and turn it into an unforgettable experience. The sound seemed even richer coming through large speakers, even more remarkable, the ability to view a film in such a way that every facial expression becomes visible, simple nuances which had been previously missed are finally seen. I am also very thankful to have seen North By Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959), another childhood classic, on the big screen. I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to see the film and meet Eva Marie Saint and Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies. I also take great pride in owning my favorite films on DVD. I also have to purchase those films at midnight of the day they come out to DVD. I waited until midnight to purchase Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010), Social Network (Fincher, 2010), and Super 8 (Abrams, 2011).
I found the book itself to be historically interesting. Although, I didn’t like how much it only focused on the science fiction genre, although, I do understand from reading the book how pivotal that genre was to sound design. I would have rather read something that was more geared toward the production aspect as opposed to the film studies aspect. I would like to read guides on how to comprise sounds and different technologies I can use. I did find the material interesting, I just wish I could have obtained more information on how to go about creating sounds as opposed to the history of sound design.