The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is hosting the annual Home Movie Day on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Seuss Room of the UCSD Geisel Library.
The event, which is open to the public, encourages people to bring in their home movies to get advice on cleaning, conserving and watching them.
This is the fourth year that the worldwide event has taken place, but the first year that UCSD has hosted a Home Movie Day event. The university looks forward to making it an annual event, said Lia Friedman, instruction and outreach librarian of the Arts Library at UCSD, in an e-mail interview.
“The UCSD Arts Libraries believe that art comes in many forms,” Friedman said. “In this case, Home Movie Day gives me an opportunity to combine my love for film with my love for the San Diego community. This is a great way for families to talk about people who aren’t with us anymore, a chance to laugh at dad’s ties and mom’s miniskirts and horn-rims, and a dynamic way to think about history and place.”
Home Movie Day began in 2002 by a group of film archivists who were concerned about what would happen to all the home movies shot on film during the 20th century. They knew that many people have boxes full of family memories that they have never seen due to the lack of projector, or from fear of damaging the film. They were aware that many people were having their amateur films transferred to VHS tape or DVD, with the mistaken idea that these new versions would last forever and that their old films could then be discarded.
What people do not realize is that original film, and the equipment required to view it, can outlast any version on VHS tape, DVD or other digital media, Friedman said.
Also, contrary to the stereotype of the faded, scratched and shaky home-movie image, the original films are often shot in vibrant color, which may not come across in a low-quality video transfer.
Home Movie Day events will occur all across the country, from San Diego to New York, on Aug. 12, but there will also be many events taking place around the world in such cities as Vienna, Toronto, Tuscany, Kyoto, London and more, Friedman said.
“Home Movie Day is a worldwide celebration of amateur film during which people get to meet local film archivists, find out about the long-term benefits of film versus video and digital media and, most importantly, get to watch those old family films!” she said.
The event will feature 8-millimeter and 16-millimeter projectors running all day, showing home movies that the public brings in as well as home movies from the library’s collection. This is an educational opportunity for local archivists and film lovers to share their information about proper storage and care for personal films, and how to make plans for their future, Friedman said.
“These nostalgic little time capsules give us a peek at a different world, with an opportunity to laugh, cry and cheer for our parents and grandparents, neighbors, friends and complete strangers,” she said.
For more information on Home Movie Day, please visit www.homemovieday.com. For more information about UCSD’s Home Movie Day, please contact Lia Friedman, (858) 822-2784, or visit the Library Web site, http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/music/news.htm.