Style Weekly
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Technology Reinvents "Boo"
by Brandon Reynolds
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Once there were storytellers sitting around campfires, telling the tribe tales of monsters hiding in the darkness, waiting for that moment when the crowd would lean forward so the poet could cry "Boo!" Years later, filmmakers have developed the science to give a form to that boo, like the swashbuckling skeletons of "Jason and the Argonauts" or the shivering Medusa in "Clash of the Titans." We have animating legend Ray Harryhausen, seen here with some of his nightmares in miniature, to thank for our night lights, and we can do so in person at this year's James River Film Festival, March 20-26 at the Firehouse Theatre Project, the Byrd and elsewhere. Animation ranks in this year's festival, with New York's experimental filmmaker Martha Colburn leading a workshop March 23, Harryhausen talking about his works March 25, and an animation competition kicking things off March 20 at the Firehouse Theatre Project at 7:30 p.m. The movie screen is a night light, too. Prices vary. Call 232-RMIC or visit www.rmicweb.org for the festival schedule.
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