From deep space to dripping blood: SFX at the Cinémathèque

In the early 1930s, special effects Oscars were awarded to inventors who came up with ways to silence the incessant buzzing and whirring on film sets.

“Filmmaking used to be a very noisy business,” says Professor Charles Acland, a Concordia University Research Chair in Communication Studies. “When they introduced sound they had all sorts of complications. The cameras were too loud for the microphones, and the lights were too loud. They would buzz like crazy.”

Acland is speaking about “The Oscars and Hollywood’s Culture of Scientific Achievement” on Sunday, November 10 at The Magic of Special Effects, an international conference hosted by the Cinémathèque québécoise. Acland’s public presentation will be one of 107 made by film scholars from around the world; there will also be round-table discussions and screenings (including Le Marais by Concordia fine arts grad Kim Nguyen). The conference marks the Cinémathèque’s 50th anniversary.

“It is one of the most important cultural institutions we have in Quebec,” says Concordia film professor Martin Lefebvre, a co-organizer of the event with André Gaudreault from the Université de Montréal and UQAM’s Viva Paci. “It’s a vibrant disseminator and conservator of our cinematic heritage and a key resource for all Quebec film scholars.”

Lefebvre is director of the Advanced Research Team on the History and Epistemology of Moving Image Studies (ARTHEMIS). He says the theme of special effects was chosen at the Cinémathèque because it has been central to film since its inception.

“Special effects have always been connected with the wonder of cinema and its make-believe capabilities. And now that movies have entered the digital era, special effects have ushered in a new golden age. They enthrall audience with new images, but also challenge film scholars to rethink what cinema is.”

The 83 years of Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievement track this progress. As Acland points out, many now go to software developers.

“So you go from the on-site mechanics of recording on sound stages — the details of what's required by the filmmaking process — to these more information and computer-data oriented forms of movie making,” he says.

Acland agrees the rise of digital filmmaking has resulted in a major upheaval in the world of film scholarship. “It has caused a lot of conventional film theorists to want to rethink what exactly this medium is that they're writing about.”

The Magic of Special Effects runs from November 5  to 10. Programming is free for students. For further details, visit the Cinémathèque québécoise website.

For more about mind-boggling special effects, read “10 horror films you’ll never forget.”