{"id":36743,"date":"2017-06-15T13:54:58","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T20:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=36743"},"modified":"2017-06-15T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T20:54:58","slug":"introducing-the-chrono-watch-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/introducing-the-chrono-watch-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Chrono Watch Project!"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the Movie Recommendation Challenge I did last year, surprisingly, was not having to think about what movie to watch next. Apparently indecision is a bigger damper on my spirits than lack of agency. Weird. Anyway, because I enjoyed having such a solid schedule of what to watch, I decided to give myself the longest, most focused project I’ve ever attempted – a full chronological watch through film history starting with its very origins.<\/p>\n

I was inspired to do this by a friend of mine, Dan, who I met in the Flickcharters Facebook group (BTW, if you use Flickchart and you’re on Facebook, let me know so I can add you to the group, because it’s the best ever film group I’ve ever been in, and I am not even joking about that). He started doing a chronological viewing project several years ago, and he’s up to 1975 now. His experiences and the insights he’s had based on seeing movies in context with each other, seeing them innovate and borrow and build on each other, has been illuminating and I decided I would give it a try as well.<\/p>\n

I thought long and hard (in some ways am still thinking!) about how strict a schedule to keep, and how deep into each year to go. Should I just do a limited number from a year then move on, both to keep the pace brisk and to save some films for a second pass through later on? But no, I decided if the thing was worth doing, it was worth doing completely. So I’ve created a watchlist for each year (on Letterboxd<\/a>), based on various critics lists, directors filmographies I want to complete, and just stuff I’m interested in. I’ve tried to include a lot of variety, documentaries, experimental films, short films, etc. I’ll include rewatches when I think I should reevaluate something, but for the most part, these are new watches for me. These lists are still in progress, by the way – I’ve only worked extra-hard to complete through 1925 or so. I will still be watching other films as they come up, so my watching is not exclusively chrono project, but whenever I don’t have anything else to watch, I’ll just be watching the next film in the chrono list. No indecision to be had.<\/p>\n

For this series, I plan to update the blog periodically, not with every film. Certainly at the end of each “year” that I complete, highlighting my favorite films and thoughts about the year as a whole, and how the chrono project has added to my understanding of that year. I may write about individual films if I feel like it, or directors as I progress. I would love feedback on your favorites each year as well!<\/p>\n

If you’d like to follow along more closely than that, I have created a Facebook group and will be posting more regularly in that, and including some polls and fun things like that about my watchlists, films I’ve watched, related books I’ve been reading, etc. The group is private, but just drop a comment here and I’ll add you to it on Facebook.<\/p>\n

I actually started this in January, and I’ve spent the last five months on a journey through early cinema – more on that in an upcoming post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the Movie Recommendation Challenge I did last year, surprisingly, was not having to think about what movie to watch next. Apparently indecision is a bigger damper on my spirits than lack of agency. Weird. Anyway, because I enjoyed having such a solid schedule of what to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3307,2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36760,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/wow-its-dusty-in-here\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":0},"title":"Wow, it’s dusty in here!","author":"Jandy","date":"May 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"So...it's been a VERY LONG TIME since I updated things around here, and what a time it's been! Last time I posted, I was just starting a Chronological watchlist project (known to me as Chrono project or sometimes just Chrono), and planned to post an update on that at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2279-2-crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2279-2-crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2279-2-crop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2279-2-crop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_2279-2-crop.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36770,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/chrono-project-catching-up-1900-1908\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":1},"title":"Chrono Project: Catching Up (1900-1908)","author":"Jandy","date":"July 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"1900-1908: Imitators and Innovation Moving into the 20th century saw a lot of filmmakers try to imitate M\u00c3\u00a9li\u00c3\u00a8s' camera trickery, and soon begin outpacing him. Unfortunately, as innovative as M\u00c3\u00a9li\u00c3\u00a8s was in creating the trick film, he never really went past that, never able to break free from his conception\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chrono Project"","block_context":{"text":"Chrono Project","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/chrono-project\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Great-Train-Robbery.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36765,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/chrono-watch-catching-up-1888-1899\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":2},"title":"Chrono Watch: Catching Up (1888-1899)","author":"Jandy","date":"June 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Just to get back up to speed, here's a quick rundown of the first couple of decades of cinema, with a few thoughts about some highlights. 1888-1893: Experiments Cameras that could take multiple shots in quick succession were just being developed, and the earliest films are more snippets of experiments\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chrono Project"","block_context":{"text":"Chrono Project","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/chrono-project\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lumiere-Factory.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lumiere-Factory.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lumiere-Factory.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lumiere-Factory.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Lumiere-Factory.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36076,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/challenge-week-26-april-in-paris\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":3},"title":"Challenge Week 26: April in Paris","author":"Jandy","date":"July 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Naomi and I share a lot of the same taste, particularly when it comes to classic Hollywood - and musicals! I figured she'd try to give me something in that area, and I was right, but she had to dig through my seen and unseen lists for a while to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tf-feat2-aprilinparis.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36383,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/challenge-week-38-ive-loved-you-so-long\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":4},"title":"Challenge Week 38: I’ve Loved You So Long","author":"Jandy","date":"October 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This is in a way a mystery, but a very quiet and unassuming one. Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) goes to live with her estranged sister Lea and her family, but there's obviously a lot of baggage that we can't figure out immediately. Over the course of the film it's revealed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016 Movie Challenge"","block_context":{"text":"2016 Movie Challenge","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/2016-movie-challenge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/tf-feat-Ive-Loved-You.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23659,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/la-film-fest-day-three-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":36743,"position":5},"title":"LA Film Fest: Day Three (Sunday)","author":"Jandy","date":"June 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunday was mostly a day off from festivalling, due to other plans during the day. 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