Pop a Pasty

SF State’s Camera Picks

By Justine Brady

As digital photography continues to be the dominant tool used within the media, a few SF State students still prefer that timeless appeal of film. Xpress Magazine asked our editors and students about their favorite film cameras they use to encapsulate those passing life moments.

Nawal Nazar:

Favorite film camera: Nikon Lite-Touch Zoom AF 35 Film Camera. Cost for you to buy and develop film: “It costs me around $19 per film to scan, develop and print.” Type of photos you like to shoot on film: My friends, myself, everyday scenery and wall art Experience shooting with film: 2-3 years The appeal of film over digital: “The grainy effect and the excitement of developing film. My pictures are always high quality and [it] gives off an early ‘90s/2000s vibe that I love.” SYDNEY WILLIAMS:

Favorite film camera: Canon AE-1

Cost for you to buy and develop film: $7 for film and $20 to develop a roll Type of photos you like to shoot on film: Friends, landscape photos, skyline Experience with shooting: Three years The appeal of film over digital: “I like that you don’t know what your pictures are gonna look like until you get them back. When I get them back and I see memories from the past year. And I’m like, ‘Oh, that was so fun. Remember when that happened?’ It’s fun. It’s kind of like a time capsule.” Xpress Magazine and Golden Gate Xpress’s Editors picks:

RENE RAMIREZ: Multimedia Editor for Golden Gate Xpress

Favorite film camera: Canon AE-1 Program

Cost for you to buy and develop film: $13 for film and $17 to develop Type of photos you like to shoot on film: Well-known Bay Area artists/rappers and concerts Experience with shooting: Six years The appeal of film over digital: “You have to be really picky choosing when to press the shutter. But also the feeling of the unknown. Not knowing until you get the scans back to see if your photos are fire adds so much for me. It never gets old.” Abraham Fuentes: Photo Editor for Xpress Magazine

Favorite film camera: Bronica ETRS, Canon F1N, Olympus AF-1

Cost for you to buy and develop film: Costs $10 to $12 and $20 to develop Type of photos you like to shoot on film: Portraits, landscape, experimental Experience with shooting: 5-6 years The appeal of film over digital: “I do like the idea of film being more organic. And it’s just a lot of fun to see how much [I] have grown from the beginning and also see that those were really good photos and really good memories.”

Photo by Abraham Fuentes

Photo by Abraham Fuentes

Photo by Nawal Nazar

Photo by Nawal Nazar

Photo by Rene Ramirez

TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK TK

Savor the scream

Why do we enjoy being scared? The elements behind successful horror movies and why we react to them.

By Destiny Walker

Aaron Kerner, a professor from SF State’s Cinema department poses for a photo inside of his office on Nov. 8, 2022. (Miguel Francesco Carrion / Xpress Magazine)

Cindy Campbell screams as the phone rings in her quaint suburban home. Her screech amplifies as the camera quickly zooms into her face — then, dead silence. She picks up the phone and Ghostface, a white-masked murderer, responds with a whisper. Ominous music plays, growing louder and louder until the camera cuts to where she spots him. He pops out from the curtain with a hook, and the chase begins.

This sort of damsel-in-distress chase scene from the comedic horror movie Scary Movie, can be found in thousands of horror movies.

Horror movies originate from the works of George Mellies, a French illusionist, actor and film director. He directed what is believed to be one of the first horror movies in 1898, named “Le Manoir du Diable,” which translates to “The Haunted Castle.” Horror films today have expanded from black and white to many sub-genres like comedic, supernatural, psychological or slasher.

But why would someone want to be frightened? What is so appealing about watching a movie meant to make people uncomfortable?

David Matsumoto, a psychology Professor at SF State, explained that for those who watch horror movies, the fear they experience when watching may morph into happiness or relief.

Emotions are triggered in our mind as it evaluates the stimuli it perceives. These stimuli can be external — like losing a game, or feeling offended — or generated internally by memories of the past or thoughts about the future.

Alan Gomez, a senior at SF State and president of the first Latinx Film Club at SF State, loves horror films, particularly paranormal or psychedelic horror.

“I like when my adrenaline is pumping throughout the film,” said Gomez.

Matsumoto believes that the pleasure horror movie enthusiasts get is from the rollercoaster of emotions.

“On some level, it’s all about achieving the anticipated emotion,” said Matsumoto.

One of the main emotions horror movies activate is fear.

The response starts in the amygdala — a set of nuclei in the brain’s temporal lobe that activates a fight-or-flight response, triggering the release of stress hormones.

The amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex all work to help the brain determine threats.

“All those horrible things that elicit fear —, they have some kind of image that our brains perceive to be threatening in some way, shape or form, either physically or to yourself,” said Matsumoto. “It could be Freddy Krueger coming at us with a knife, or falling off a cliff or something like that. But you notice they’re all about threats to ourself and our survival.” Horror movies can make people confront their biggest fears, such as death, dismemberment, disfigurement or “creepy

Ccrawlies” like spiders or snakes. For Gomez, any horror film that features sounds or visuals of “creepy crawlies” freaks him out. “I just don’t mess with them,” said Gomez. “If something’s coming up, like cockroaches or stuff in the scene, I don’t mess with that.” Darkness plays a big role in triggering fear. The darkness of the room, and not being able to see what is lurking around the corner makes the scares in the movie even more bone chilling. Likewise, sound can elicit emotions and create moods to make these feelings more intense. Creepy or unnecessarily loud noises accompanied by flashes of lights can induce a startled response. “Sound is so critically important to hear, and is one of the things that we maybe take for granted or don’t really think about,” said Aaron Kerner, a cinema Professor at SF State. “Sound is actually waves, and they actually touch us. There’s already a physical connection between what was in the movie that we’re watching and in our own bodies.” Individuals find excitement in certain sounds because it gives them an adrenaline rush. The fear and anticipation that these sounds produce makes their hearts beat faster and forces them to the edge of their seat. “Sounds would be critical in terms of stingers or jumpscares,” said Kerner. “Those are often accompanied with or just are simply the product of a particular sound element.” According to Kerner, when Eli Roth, a famous American horror director, sends his movies to the ratings board, he also submits a cut without the full suite of sounds in it. “That’s where the scary stuff is – in those sounds,” said Kerner. According to Matsumoto, one’s emotional reaction creates physiological responses, like heart palpitations and sweaty or cold hands. Those who like watching horror movies still feel the same anxiety, shock and tension like non-fans. But according to Matsumoto, they’re just wired differently. “It’s not that they don’t get afraid,” said Matsumoto. “They get afraid, but they like the fact that they are afraid, or they like the relief from being afraid.” Filmmakers use different techniques like the classic jump scare, mounting suspense or over-extending scenes to evoke fear. These technical elements are just as important as the actual content of the horror movie when trying to elicit a certain response from the audience. . Imagine watching a film without technical details like unsettling music or shadowy lighting — wouldn’t that be a lot less scary? “It’s the whole package in terms of it’s not just the narrative that is critical. It’s just how that narrative is presented to us,” said Kerner. “The sound, the editing, the cinematography, the lighting, all that stuff that can definitely make for a scarier horror film.”

Destiny Walker and Daniela Perez look at a projection of horror movies inside SF State’s newsroom on Nov. 7, 2022. (Miguel Francesco Carrion / Xpress Magazine) Destiny Walker and Daniela Perez look at a projection of horror movies inside SF State’s newsroom on Nov. 7, 2022. (Miguel Francesco Carrion / Xpress Magazine)

Students at SF State decorate their dorm room windows with an unlikely medium

By Caroline Van Zandt Photos by Joshua Carter

Locals recognize SF State for its diverse student population, gorgeous campus and history of activism, but any student can tell you that even its buildings are packed with personality. If you’re ever walking through the student-housing sections of campus, look up, and you’ll be met by dorm windows decorated with colorful designs made entirely of sticky-notes, ranging anywhere from friendly greetings like “hi,” to more blunt messages like “SHUT TF UP” or “Bush did 9/11”. There isn’t a dorm building on campus that doesn’t have at least one window covered with sticky-notes from the inside. Some students make elaborate artworks out of sticky-notes instead of just words. Depictions of smiley faces, hearts, naked women and even more explicit images are proudly displayed for passers-by to interpret.

Grace Harpster, who works at the housing office on campus, is currently in her third semester at SF State. She has been seeing these sticky-note windows since she first started here.

“I feel like definitely in fall, like when people get settled in, there’s a lot more,” Harpster recalled. “Just because they’re probably excited.”

Despite the raunchy nature of some designs in the dorms, the art that students create and display from their windows is almost always protected under the university’s time, place and manner policy. According to Harpster, students take full advantage of their free speech rights.

“I’ve seen weird ones that are still there,” Harpster said with a laugh. “I remember last year there were boobs, or something like that.”

There are even school-sanctioned window decorating contests, according to Alvin Navarro, a SF State RA.

“People do the themes, like pumpkin-themed– stuff like that,” she said.

However, SF State students are not unique in their office-supply art medium. Georgia Tech, University of Maryland and Penn State all participate in these types of shenanigans. It seems to be a part of college culture.

By Oliver Michelson

With fall coming to an end, a brisk winter breeze has filled the San Francisco air… depending on what neighborhood you’re in. With final projects and test prep piling up, take a load off for a couple minutes to give yourself a lower-stakes challenge with our winter crossword. Our latest issue tackles a litany of issues, with stories on everything from unrestricted internet access to the months of protest surrounding recent events in Iran. As always, if you’re struggling check out some of our online exclusives for more hints.

Hints: Down 1) Photography that uses chemical processes to capture light on film. 4) A popular chat site that pairs you with strangers to speak with. 6) This style of horror relies heavily on the use of prosthetics. Popularized by directors like David Cronenberg. 7) Social media sites centered around profiles called “blogs,” popularized as a forum for fan fiction and other, raunchier, material. 8) ________ effects are visual effects produced physically, as opposed to digitally. 9) A boat or ship that largely transports passengers, usually over short distances. 10) Housing primarily used by college students living on campus.

Across 2) The state of being free from outside control. 3) Political statements or actions expressing disapproval of something. 5) _____ dancers are hired to dance at nightclubs or other entertainment venues. 6) A raunchy, slapstick style of variety show derived from the Italian word for “mockery.” 8) Don’t break a leg, pop a ______! 11) Type of plant that’s leaves stay green throughout the year. 12) Gliding, either on wheels or ice, as a pastime. 13) Film photography relies heavily on this scientific field to pull images out of sun exposure on film.