Important NOTE: I copied and paced the guidelines from the assignment below but I never went to the theater or saw a film, so you guys are going to have to make sure the film you’re using was shown at the theater. It’s due tomorrow morning New York time so the movie you choose has to of been shown last week on a wed. or Friday because I don’t have classes on those days. But check the sources at the Moma website.
You can find the descriptions and what not of the films and what the theater looks like.
Instructions: For this assignment, you are to visit one of the screening spaces listed below, and write a 3 page, double-spaced report on the venue. The Venue is MOMA (film series) in New York.
• light research as to the history of theater (it is recommended that you at least visit the venue’s website), including the type of films it shows and the audiences it serves
• observations regarding the physical and social arrangement of the screening space
• a brief discussion of the film you viewed and how it relates to the programming profile of the venue (Your essay need not incorporate formal analysis of the film you see, though it is always welcome.)
• a consideration of how your particular theatrical experience may relate to or depart from some of the historical accounts of film exhibition and spectatorship we have encountered in class
The aim of this report is to familiarize you with the diversity of New York City’s screening spaces. To that end, you are not to write a report on a multiplex or chain theater; the aim of this assignment is to consider more specialized types of movies (i.e. independent, arthouse, alternative, repertory, documentary, and experimental) and the unique spaces that cater to them. You should avoid any film that is playing in wide release.
Your task is to consider the ways in which the theatrical experience of “going to the movies” has changed, particularly as most audiences now watch film not in the theater, but in the home. Consider this a snapshot: you are writing to provide a general picture of your chosen venue and to situate it within a broader context of movie-going. It is not, however, a review—do not evaluate the space or the film you see (e.g. discuss either in positive or negative terms), but rather analyze and remain attentive to the way the film-viewing experience is organized. Nor should it be a dry and disjointed list of facts about the venue. Your task is to convey the experiential aspect of the theater in all its complexity.