MOMI Reflection

            The Museum of the Moving Image is as breathtaking as it is overwhelming. I was completely in awe of all they had on display in the “Behind the Screen” exhibition from props to screenplays to costumes. I also really enjoyed the miniature recreations of old movie theaters. The evolution of the theater from a picture palace to what it is today is quite remarkable.

One aspect of media production I learned quite a deal about was the motion picture camera. I already knew about the early Lumière camera from our class lectures but was not aware of all the changes the device has undergone over the past century. The museum had at least a dozen on display, and I found it really interesting to see how each one evolved from its predecessor, becoming less clunky and more practical with each upgrade. I was most fascinated by the Aeroscope, which was the first camera to not need a crank and therefore the first hand-held camera.

As cameras changed over the years, so did the overall experience of a motion picture. Film stock became smaller, shortening from 35 millimeters to 16 and later to Super8, and cameras were eventually able to record sound and color images. The biggest shift was probably the more recent change from analog to digital recording, where actual film is no longer needed. All these changes to the camera not only produced sharper images but more believable movies, convincing the human eye that what it sees on screen is real, regardless of whether it truly is or not.