Bury the Yesteryears? - Director/Writer MarieAnna Dvorak

1. Bury the Yesteryears?
Director/Writer MarieAnna Dvorak

2. No. But move on, yes. Some memories stubbornly sit in
our subconscious minds all our lives and surface against
our will. But who wouldn't embrace a memory that brings
a smile to our face, even though the situation in reality
wasn't a bit funny.
It seems like yesterday when I finished shooting my last
film and returned from European woods and castles to
the dark room in Burbank, California, that looked like a
dungeon filled with strange machinery. It was the vintage
editing equipment already defeated by a digital
technology, and the dungeon was my future home,
together with a dear friend of mine--an editor for
Universal Studios. Viewing my creation on the same KEM
as did many great filmmakers before me gave me a
tremendous thrill. The last one was Sandra Bullock.
Operating Moviola used to be every editor's secret. But
not anymore. And so, I became the assistant of an editor
to whom I looked up as the most significant author of my
film as well as the greatest teacher I have ever had. His
eagle eyes caught every insignificant mistake I made in
the woods and wasn't aware of. He even recognized the
morning time when the camera started rolling. "What
were you doing all the morning," he would ask. I had to
admit that my crew saw the Castle Bouzov in the air after
rejoicing at night.

3. For three months the projection of immense length of film
footage and millions of frames in the miniature window of
Moviola ran silently back and force in front of our eyes, day
after day. In my case, also night after night. I forgot to ask my
friend back then how many frames he lost in his nightmares.
Well, it's too late now. For we both moved on as quickly as
did the editing technology.
But the wonderful memory of him losing footage in daytime
will stay with me forever. His Italian blood suddenly rose, and
like a lion in his kingdom, he roared in his editing jungle,
"Where's the piece of the moon footage!" Alas! the situation
was really tense before he discovered the piece hanging
around his neck and his strong laughter echoed throughout
Burbank followed by his favorite song: "When the moon hits
your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore."
Editing with Moviola was a crazy job. Unbearable sometimes.
Yet in the dark room, in the maze of film footage, the
filmmaker got a chance to learn the real art of motion
pictures. These were my uneasy yesteryears that I will always
remember with a smile.
Director/Writer MarieAnna Dvorak
Dvorak Productions
http://phillipsinternational.weebly.com/dvorak-productions.html