Los Angeles, or at least the film industry, talks about its past more than any other place that I’ve been before. For example, the class went to a noir film festival the past two nights to see Blue Dahlia (1946) and L.A. Confidential (1997). This festival has been going on for 20 years now and many attend. However, this isn’t the only event that our class attended that honors film history. We’ve been to many screenings of old films that were nearly sold out.

It seems as though there’s a screening of an old film that has a panel discussion attached to it every weekend. Now, I know that we are taking a class that covers the history of LA and the film industry, but what about the other people? Each screening is well attended and some were even sold out. In most places, the history of something is only celebrated once a year at most or on major anniversaries.

I realized that movies are integral to the history of the 20^th century. They are a product of the collective American culture. Everyone has some movie that connects them or their memories. It’s a history that is greater than one single event.

On Tuesday we visited the set of a TV show on the Warner Brother’s lot thanks to CC grad Tim Marx. The show was in its final week of filming and everyone there was excited that the show was getting good ratings. It’s a one camera show, which means that the crew lights every shot individually without a studio audience. This allows for more artistic shots than a show that is shot in front of a live audience with flat lighting.

What struck me the most was how detailed everything on the set is. They had a few temporary sets that were setup for a shoot later in the week. These sets were so realistic that they actually felt like the real thing. Not just an imitation.

It was interesting to watch the different crews at work on set, especially the electrical and grip department. During the shot the members of the team would scatter among the set so as to be out of the way of shooting. However, once the scene wrapped, they all came out of their hiding places quickly to setup for the next shot.

I learned that the beauty of Hollywood is the industry that was created here. So much of film’s history has taken place here over the last 100 years and during that time, systems have been developed to make the act of filmmaking more efficient. There’s teams of people who can create any idea that has ever been thought of. The sheer scale of the film business here allows for the creation of living dreams.