The Museum of the Moving Image is a place I'd definitely return to. There are just too many extraordinary displays to see in one hour. I really appreciate how the tour takes you through moving image chronologically. Looking at the oldest devices, like the zoetrope, was actually eye-opening. I knew how these inventions worked, using speed to create the illusion of movement, but I never really connected it with film. I realized even film is creating the illusion of movement, using really high speeds to make it seem like a real visual. I realized that's why films need such a high sample rate of 48 kHz.
One of my favorite exhibits was the room with the carousal of clay sculptures. In plain view, you can see each one is just slightly different from the other. But the cool thing was that with strobe lights on, it appears like a moving image of a hand catching a balloon and it splatting on the floor. I was fascinated by how the lighting affected the image so much.
I was most at home when we visited the props and puppets exhibit. I loved seeing the actual sculptures used in some of my favorite movies. I've always read about Regan's head spinning in The Exorcist being a fake sculpture of the character, but seeing the actual one in person was awesome. I appreciate tech and behind the scenes crew a lot more, they create some spectacularly realistic and well done props, like the legs used in Black Swan. Even sound editors do some really detailed and amazing work. The amount of tracking and editing needed to make one scene in Titanic sound realistic and in sync with the picture was just incredible. I definitely left the museum more interested in what work is done behind the screen.
