The most interesting periods of documentary history are the transition periods of adopting and adapting new technologies. The late 1800s saw the Lumiere brothers’ cinematograph capturing and projecting moving images from the backpack-size device. The 1930s saw the experiments with spoken words on the soundtracks. Sometimes they were recorded on location, but more likely they…
Tag: Joris Ivens
‘Rain’ Tells a Subtle Story, Shot by Shot
YouTube offers a treasure trove of older titles, though some offerings raise questions. Is the title part of the public domain? Is it made available through fair use? A handful of descriptions claim public domain, while most others claim nothing at all. The murkiness of copyright laws makes these claims questionable anyway. I would prefer…