Grands Écrans, l'étape américaine

SILVER SCREENS IN THE U.S. Since 2003, I've been taking pictures of cinemas in city centres throughout the world. With the emergence of video and television, these cinemas are experiencing considerable changes. Some of them will have the financial capacity to invest in new formats, others will not. My work intends to appraise the world's cinemas at the very moment of these technological developments. America needs to be a part of the project, and California, Hollywood being considered the cradle of cinema, is our next stop!

Project visual Grands Écrans, l'étape américaine
Successful
91
Contributions
09/12/2012
End date
€9,600
Out of €9,500
101 %

Supported by

MK2 supports the project Grands Écrans, l'étape américaine

Grands Écrans, l'étape américaine

<p> <em>"Whenever I hear the word "cinema", I can't help thinking "hall" rather than "film".</em>" Roland Barthes</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/2fbd985b2d47fe50eb6e5d7245c3a546/480/ZAS0117048.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/2fbd985b2d47fe50eb6e5d7245c3a546/480/ZAS0117048.jpg"></a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> Since 2003, I've been taking pictures of cinemas in city centres throughout the world. With the emergence of video and television, these cinemas are experiencing considerable changes. Some of them will have the financial capacity to invest in new formats, others will not.<strong> My work intends to appraise the world's cinemas at the very moment of these technological developments.</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> More than a dozen countries have already been documented : Marocco, Madagascar, Romania, Texas, London, India, Egypt, Dominican Republic, Cuba... Now it is about financing the last stage of the project : America needs to be a part of the project, and California, Hollywood being considered the cradle of cinema, is our next stop!</p> <p>  </p> <p> Please discover my last works <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/series/635d0dba3b4ec0cbba80619524692c8e/fr/a/0/ZAS_Architectures_et_Cin%C3%A9mas_%2830854%29.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/series/ef35bce7869ae56fc45a41e973f71cdd/fr/a/0/ZAS_Grands_Ecrans_%2834491%29.html" target="_blank">here</a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/eb0272f06d1291c3e3544e115437997f/480/ZAS0099396.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/eb0272f06d1291c3e3544e115437997f/480/ZAS0099396.jpg"></a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Camera...</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> I use a <strong>large format view camera</strong>, which is very heavy and not easy to handle. It involves several stages that become rituals of a very specific ceremony : to install the camera, to choose meticulously the frame, to disappear under the black fabric, to adjust the focus, to place the film holders with the 4x5 inches negatives in the back of the Linhof. This ceremonial reinforces the dimension of legacy of the project and the tribute paid to the cinemas around the world.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/ab958971783b525b4c7d19f934183b13/480/ZAS0347304.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/ab958971783b525b4c7d19f934183b13/480/ZAS0347304.jpg"></a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>California</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> There are over two thousand two hundred cinemas in the State of California. Each town, even the smallest, used to have a collective projection room. California, with its different landscapes and towns, provides a wide range of dark rooms: temples of the seventh art, drive-ins, Art-deco cinemas from the 1930s. Around 50 cinemas, out of 590 still in use in this state, will be photographed.</p> <p>  </p> <p> A cinema is a screen, a projection room and building governed by the laws of optics. The buildings also needed to stand out, to be visible from a far distance and attractive thanks to neon lights and appealing posters. I will not be photographing multiplex cinemas in shopping centres, but will be focus exclusively on buildings that date back to the golden age of cinema.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/7c34121c4c3f262b672fb1ecfd73fd70/480/ZAS0347227.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/7c34121c4c3f262b672fb1ecfd73fd70/480/ZAS0347227.jpg"></a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> The journey will start in Los Angeles and will end in San Francisco, where you can find the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_Theatre" target="_blank"><em>Castro Theatre</em></a>, a 1922 baroque cinema with more than 1400 seats, a centre of the homosexual community renovated for the Gus Van Sant film <em>Milk. </em>I will travel along the Pacific coast one way and will travel back to Los Angeles through the inland regions of Sacramento. Over 1600 miles have been traversed in search of historical Art Deco movie houses and drive-ins that are still in operation. These include the <a href="http://www.missiontiki.com/" target="_blank">Mission Tiki</a> of Montclair, in which Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa5B22KAkEk" target="_blank">music video</a> was set.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Hollywood, the cradle of cinema</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> In Los Angeles I will photograph the temples of the seventh art. The <a href="http://www.americancinematheque.com/egyptian/egypt.htm" target="_blank"><em>Egyptian Theatre</em></a>, the <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grauman%27s_Chinese_Theatre" target="_blank"><em>Chinese Theatre</em></a>, the <a href="http://www.kodaktheatre.com/" target="_blank"><em>Kodak Theatre</em></a> in Hollywood, all the luxury cinemas that host the big ceremonies such as the Oscars. Some cinemas reconverted towards more lucrative purposes or disused cinemas with a remarkable architecture will also be part of the project, such as the <a href="http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss340/kennymcintyre/_MediaCard_BlackBerry_pictures_I-38.jpg" target="_blank"><em>Loyala</em></a> in Los Angeles that has today become a medical complex although the frontage is intact.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/75053fc90dbb75c837126a888ec166f2/480/ZAS0347338.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://dashboard.picturetank.com/___/jpeg/75053fc90dbb75c837126a888ec166f2/480/ZAS0347338.jpg"></a></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>...Action !</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Silver Screens is a major long-term project. The final objective is to produce a book, released by a renowned publisher, that will gather the images taken throughout the years. A big exhibition will be produced on that occasion to be shown in photography or cinema festivals.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>In the words of curator Gabriel Bauret</strong></p> <p> I had the opportunity and good fortune to show Stephan Zaubitzer's work on these movie houses during the 2007 Trans-Photographiques Festival at the Tri Postal in Lille, whose theme was precisely the 7th Art (cinema). We have been working together ever since. At the time, Stephan’s project was already strongly cinema-oriented and his images embodied a magnificent voyage through the theaters’ most diverse architectural styles. Through it we discover often empty but never dehumanized locales, which recount cultures and milieus, and for which the cinema becomes simply a pretext.  Initially the documentary aspects of these peculiar spaces, both architectural and non-architectural, were the driving force. Yet, the subject has gradually broadened to say much more. Stephan Zaubitzer must be permitted to continue this journey for which his passion has never faded and to go further still.</p>

Allocation of funds

<p> My fund-raising goal is designed cover the expenses for this road trip, and expenses related to the fund-raising effort. Some will go for film and processing, but mostly it's about travel costs. The trip will take at least six weeks.I won’t be racing from one venue to the next. Each theater has to be photographed at the perfect time of day in the right weather, which often means waiting for those conditions. To work with this kind of camera means you need to wait for the perfect light !</p> <p>  </p> <p> I know how to travel on the cheap, but six weeks on the road still adds up.</p> <p> Please check out the great rewards you’ll get for your support. Most are pictures from the project, exhibition-quality prints I'll make from the project pictures, along with fun souvenirs that I’ll pick up at the theaters and some other cool ideas.</p> <p> Here are the details of the costs :</p> <p> 3500 € are necessary to cover the technical costs. Working with film-based photography is more expensive, but i really need to keep this format for the very coherence of my work !</p> <p> 1000 € : Return ticket Paris / Los Angeles. With y large format view camera, i need more luggages !</p> <p> 5000 € to cover the local expenses : renting a car, restauration, motels, etc. </p> <p> If the funding exceeds the expected amount, the rest of the money will be used to explore other cities, such as San Diego, which also has many historic cinemas !</p>

Rewards

€1

  • 7 contributions
An invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012 send at your home.

€10

  • 21 contributions
A handwritten thank-you note mailed from the road, on a picture from one of the project theaters. + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€25

  • 23 contributions
A handwritten thank you note postcard + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€50

  • 8 contributions
A handwritten thank you note postcard + A fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there) + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€80

  • 9 contributions
One archival exhibition quality print 13 x 18 cm from the project + A fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there) + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€100

  • 1 contribution
A guided visit of the exhibition in Paris with the photographer + A handwritten thank you note postcard + A fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there) + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€120

  • 5 contributions
One archival exhibition quality print 30 x 40 cm numeroted in 15 copies from the project +an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€150

  • 3 contributions
A unic polaroid signed by the author & sent by post + A fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there) + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€200

Three archival exhibition quality print 13 x 18 cm from the project + A handwritten thank you note postcard + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€350

  • 1 contribution
A handwritten thank you note postcard, and a portfolio of six 13 x 18 cm archival exhibition quality prints from the road trip + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€450

Special Reward: Are you a theater owner ? You'll get an 13 x 18 cm print (color or monochrome) of your theater, plus I'll do documentation of your theater and provide you with files you can use to update and enhance your theater’s web site.

€500

Special reward: are you a photography enthusiast and live in the region I’ll be traveling or in Paris? You’ll get the portfolio of six images from theaters on the trip, plus meet me and take a private photography workshop on view camera technique !

€700

  • 1 contribution
One archival exhibition quality print from the project 50 x 60 cm, framed, signed and numeroted in 9 copies (COA) + A fun souvenir from one of the theaters. (popcorn fork, refrigerator magnet? Won't know till I get there) + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€1,000

One archival exhibition quality print from the project 50 x 60 cm, framed, signed and numeroted in 9 copies (COA) + a polaroid from the road + meet me and take a private photography workshop on view camera technique + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

€1,500

  • 1 contribution
One archival exhibition quality print from the project 100 x 120 cm framed, signed and numeroted in 9 copies (COA) + a polaroid from the road + an invitation to the exhibition in Paris at the end of 2012.

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