Description
Book SynopsisFrom the very beginning of cinema, there have been amateur filmmakers at work. It wasn't until Kodak introduced 16mm film in 1923, however, that amateur moviemaking became a reality, and by the 1950s, over a million Americans had amateur movie cameras. This book explores the meaning of the amateur in film history and modern visual culture.
Trade Review"Thoughtful, thoroughly researched ... clear and accessible ... This book contributes significantly to the growing literature on non-theatrical cinema and enriches understanding of film history more generally." -- D. Herbert CHOICE "A very welcome, and much needed, addition to this literature.' The Moving Image
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Contexts of Amateur Cinema 1. Cine-Prophecy: The Emergence of Amateur Cinema (1892--1927) 2. Cine-Community: The First Wave of Amateur Film Culture (1928--1945) 3. Cine-Engagement: Amateurs and Current Events 4. Cine-Technology: Machine Art for a Machine Age 5. Cine-Sincerity: Postwar Amateur Film Culture (1945--1960) Part II. Modes of Amateur Cinema 6. "Communicating a New Form of Knowledge": Amateur Chronicles of Family, Community, and Travel 7. "The Amateur Takes Leadership": Amateur Film, Experimentation, and the Aesthetic Vanguard 8. Mechanical Craftsmanship: Amateurs Making Practical Films 9. Photoplaying Themselves: Amateur Fiction Films Conclusion Appendix 1. Amateur Filmography Appendix 2. A Preliminary Directory of Movie Clubs Notes Selected Bibliography Index
