Movie Night

I geeked out this evening. Sorry l.a.h.!

Tonight the Toronto Final Cut Pro Users Group held a meeting at The Regent, which happens to be my local neighbourhood cinema. Video editing on Mac, in case you don't know... I get out to some of the meetings because I need to stay on top of the technology for my agency's little editing suite. The Regent is also home to Theatre D, which has taken over the balcony and connected several high-end digital film editing suites to the main projector. Ever wanted to edit your film or TV show on a 50 ft. high screen? Go to these guys!

The main event was watching an interview of Walter Murch talking about editing Cold Mountain using Final Cut Pro. This guy is the bomb... He also edited such films as The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Oh, and The Godfather: Part III...

Because The Regent is still a functioning public cinema the first show was cancelled to allow our meeting. We got to join the audience for the second film, Closer, though. Interesting film about destructing relationships, with Natalie Portman showing a very grown-up side as a stripper... I think it falls into the love it/hate it category. We got an accidental peek at the theatre's backstage too. Many screens in converted stage theatres, such as The Regent, are actual screens: a tight reflective mesh that blocks off the front of the old stage. When back-lit you can see through them. In our case as the film started we got a faint ten minute look at the elaborate backstage scaffolding until the staff turned off the backstage lighting. Heh.