notesonafilm

So, who am I, why did I start this blog and what should you expect from it?  Well, my name is Matthew Mandarano.  I grew in a small town named Mocksville in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.  My affinity for the cinema grew from a very young age from watching Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton silent comedies with my grandfather and my dad (who is currently in his nineties; yes, he had me at 65).  This introduction into the early era of cinema from an early age separated me from many of my contemporaries.  Though my childhood in the 1980s should have exposed me first to the likes of the Star Wars trilogy or The Little Mermaid, I had an introduction to motion pictures from very near the dawn of the medium.  Because of this, my palette and taste for films allowed me to progress and enjoy films without the inhibitions of not liking black and white or silent films being dreadful to me or not being able to stand a film in a foreign language.  Though many of my contemporaries progressed into liking a more tasteful cinema appetite as we grew older, I was able to appreciate “classic” cinema before I was barely out of diapers.  Following grade school and high school, I pursued a degree in Media Studies with a concentration in Film and Video Production from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts.  Since then, I have worked primarily as a cinematographer on short films, web promos, commercials, weddings, industrial films, music videos and practically everything in between and am currently the Director of Photography on a media team at my alma mater in their Office of Online Learning.

Outside of making films, I also love film history, theory, analysis and viewing; however, currently I have no outlet to express my feelings and opinions on these topics.  Thus, we arrive at the creation of this blog and its purpose: to be my personal outlet to express my opinions on recently watched movies, favorite films, theory in cinema, the process of making films, projects I’ve worked on, frustrations with media, etc. etc. etc.  So, in addition to being a cathartic, strongly opinionated outlet for myself personally, I hope you, the readers, will also (hopefully) be stimulated, outraged, encouraged, delighted or any other excess of emotions from my postings and always feel free to comment, criticize, lambast or express your opinions in the comments section.  Thanks for reading and I hope this will be a great journey through film!