Food, Glorious Food

"Today, agriculture is going far beyond nature, to produce new miracles, for an even better, more abundant life."

In this video, made in 1960 by the US Department of Agriculture, a voiceover describes the boom of supermarkets, the use of machinery in food production, and the ease, convenience, and abundance of food resulting from these changes. The utopian feeling of the society it describes fits our dystopian trailer perfectly: in our premise, the government has created federal aid programs wherein anyone whose quality of living is subpar to the national standard receives food handouts. In order for that sort of system to work--and in our society, with the bureaucratic control, it works--there presumably must be a highly efficient food production system. We have written in a short speech and voiceover sequence for our government official discussing the food aid program, and so could hopefully add clips from the video above discussing the intricacies (and miracles!) of the system. The quote above starts at 1:00, and preludes a discussion of everything awesome happening in the society. This video will be great for setting up the illusion of a utopian society in our trailer.

We are very wary of writing too many ideas into our trailer, for fear of it becoming too long, too wordy, or too complicated, but if we are able to, we plan on using archival footage to demonstrate other key features of our society. The disappearance of disease, poverty, and hunger; the yearly census to monitor the quality of living of citizens; the food preparation; even the ubiquitous Nurse Nancy (our chief distributor of food, who goes door-to-door with meals, announcing her presence with a little bell)--all can be introduced through stock footage of hospitals, ghettos, kitchens, government officials, paperwork, and nurses. Archival footage will be critical to the trailer's ability to immerse the audience in its world.

Children of Men

Children of Men. Alfonso Cuarón. R. 2006.
In 2027, after two decades of mass infertility have left society on the brink of devastation, Theo Faron (Clive Owen) must help get a miraculously pregnant woman to a safe place where scientists can use her child to save humankind from extinction.

The trailer for 'Children of Men' is exemplary because it clearly relates the dystopian premise through the use of voiceovers, clips from the movie with relevant information, text and images, all of which convey the terror associated with the society and the urgency in the hero's mission. The trailer begins with Theo, in a voiceover, stating the premise: "Since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?" Shots of the world-at-large are mostly gray and black, reflecting the despair and numbness felt throughout civilization. Light and color enter when a catalytic character does: Theo's ex-wife, who introduces him to the girl and the mission that are at the center of the plot. A key shot of the girl's pregnancy, combined with a change in music and pacing (not to mention a character saying, "Now you know what's at stake"), helps the audience understand the focus of the movie. The given information, combined with the chaotic mob scenes, police brutality, and random explosions, makes it clear that the dystopian control is post-apocalyptic, with the infertility of women crippling the development of society. Theo, as the protagonist, feels hopeless and depressed; when he is given the chance to (as the text displayed throughout the trailer states) "fight for our future", it is clear he will do anything it takes to complete the mission, get the pregnant girl to safety, and save humankind. Though the premise my group is using is very different from 'Children of Men', I am hoping that we can relate information in a similarly straightforward but creative way: 'Children of Men' is shot with largely documentary-style technique, making it more realistic and therefore more comparable to modern-day concerns. Also, we will likely also use grim street corners and alleys to convey the corresponding despair of the people. The simple text appearing onscreen will be a good way of getting the meaning across, and hopefully our music, lighting, and cinematographic effects will lend the appropriate emotions to the trailer.

The World, As It Is, A Stage

1. 'Mama Who Bore Me'
2. Soccer player running
3. Fencing with a stick
4. 'It's Raining Men'
4. Flame blown out

My 5x5 is based on the notion of performance. Webster's Dictionary defines performance as 'execution, accomplishment, fulfillment; operation or functioning; something done; deed or feat; a formal exhibition or presentation'. A performance is an action with intention--of entertaining, satisfying, enlightening, or bringing joy. Of the clips presented above, one was staged, one was impromptu, and the three between were reckonings, endeavors--moments, merely, but quests nonetheless. I leave it to you to decide the motive of each, the thoughts in each person's head as they sought--what? Why were they performing? Would it even have been a performance if it wasn't caught on tape? What is performance? I don't know. I just made the video.

All but one of the clips were made with a Sony Handycam. The second clip was made with a Canon Powershot S5IS. I edited my clips in Windows Live Movie Maker. I attempted to use WeVideo, but it was not in the mood to function.

I am not particularly pleased with my 5x5; that is to say, it's okay, and I'm not sure I could've made it better in the time I had, but I don't think it lived up to the possibilities offered by the 5x5 Challenge. 5x5s to me seem a terrific opportunity to let meaning and simplicity to weld together, but welding them is harder than it looks, and I don't think my 5x5 is as interesting as I was hoping, much less meaningful. For our next independent video challenge, I think it would be interesting if everyone picked a word out of a hat and made a 5x5 or short film about it. It could be what that word means to them (for example, what 'beauty' or 'normal' means), a direct demonstration ('dog', 'street'), or an adjective ('scary', 'funny'). Personally, I am very interested in and love filming people, so I'd be interested in learning more about street filming and getting good shots and angles on people and actions.

Of Soul-Searching and Pirate Maps

In the article "Preparing Students to Learn Without Us," Will Richardson discusses the shift in educational ideology towards personalized learning, or learning that allows students to guide their own education based on their interests. In this modern, technological age, students have access to basically every resource imaginable: schools no longer have to use the same old materials and methods of learning, because there is so much more available. More importantly, schools can use this treasure-trove of knowledge to teach students how to teach themselves. But that will not necessarily be the solution: as Mr. Richardson points out,

"Although it might be an important first step in putting students on a path to a more self-directed, passionate, relevant learning life, it may not bring about the true transformation that many see as the potential of this moment."
 

The true potential of the moment is the concept of students learning not to teach themselves, but to learn for themselves: that they may use their curiosity and interests to educate themselves whenever and however they want. Rearranging resources is not enough: students should be able to exercise their ability to utilize the resources in a informative and interesting way. I find this quote interesting because I think that the true transformation involved in the 'potential of the moment' is one that has to happen for every person on their own. You cannot force a person to change the way they think. For example, I am lucky that I love to read: you can make someone read as much as they want, but you can't make them love it. It has to be a spontaneous, self-transformative moment, or thought. Perhaps we should teach students to be self-aware, as well as teaching them how to teach themselves: the combination of the two might spark something.

However, I do think this concept of learning on one's own will be a great experience for this class. I presume all students well know the remarkable things one can find on the Internet, but I imagine few of us have explored learning from one or more people who have, through the Internet, found a way to teach. I personally am very interested in exploring both photography and documentary-making, as well as non-cinematographical topics, such as linguistics, physiology, and neuroscience. The Internet is a pirate map: let us begin the search for treasure.

http://diigo.com/0sz7r

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

A. O. Scott, of the New York Times, agrees with me: 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' is a great movie. In his review, titled "This Girl Has a Lot of Baggage, and He Must Shoulder the Load", Scott introduces us in the world of the movie enthusiastically and easily, describing the many extraordinary cinematic features of the film before explaining the quick, entertaining motions of the plot. He praises the handling of the line between reality and fantasy, which is "not so much blurred as erased", and the fast-paced humor, action, and visual delights, which serve as only the top layer, with the promise of a good old coming of age story underneath--the likes of which have never been seen before. The review flows nicely, with the three aspects of film interwined throughout--plot, cinematographical discussion, acting, special effects, theme, and puns are all given equal weight, with commentary and opinion sprinkled on top, just to make sure you understand: you really need to see this movie.

(If you need more persuasion, here are some quotes. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/quotes)

For our quarterly movie reviews, there should be limited structure and much freedom, but with the requirement of discussion of the three aspects. Not all movies are across-the-board interesting, not all movies stand out in the same ways, and not all reviewers will perceive movies in the same way: therefore, we must be free to discover and explain the elements that strike us as being the most noteworthy. However, the reader deserves to know what's going on in the film, so reviewers should be required to mention certain key things involved in the three aspects.

My annotated movie review: http://diigo.com/0su9k

The Abyss Stares Back

It makes me uncomfortable to greet unknown persons on the Internet. But I love it when people talk to me on the streets. If you're not ready to interact, don't leave your bed. And never go out into the universe unprepared for a metaphysical discussion. For that matter, never go out into the universe without your towel. Or umbrella, if you don't feel like getting wet. Or balloon, if you don't feel like staying grounded. Sometimes the background of every story looks like a brick wall, faded and peeling, but still as hard as people's eyes can look, as their hearts can seem. When nothing fits, there are so many opportunities. I painted a shirt today. Yesterday, I made cookies. The day before that, at 11:11, I didn't know what to wish for. It was odd, a little frightening, and very Zen. But I have my answer: I want some rain, a basket for my bike, and a really good friend to go for walks with.

My name is Zoe. Some days it is hard to hold a conversation with me, because I talk like ^ that.

Filmmaking interests me because I love stories, and storytelling. I like writing, watching, filming, directing, editing, and critiquing films, but particularly filming and editing. I love the concept of putting together a story, and using bits and pieces of life--real, breathing, beating-heart life--to let that story come together. I have never put together a fictional film story, and I don't particularly like the idea of doing it--the main aspect of film that interests me is the immediate depiction of reality, of moments that were not expected and that will never happen again. However, I recognize the opportunities provided by fiction. In the past, I've worked on a documentary and a retrospective video, and I did a lot of filming for a personal project that was never finished. I really enjoyed putting together the documentary, which was a project for media class in 8th grade. Our documentary was about the New Yorker magazine (which I read obsessively), and we interviewed David Remnick (editor of the New Yorker) and took a lot of footage at the office. It was frankly exciting to put together pieces of reality in an informative way, that showed the history and influence of the New Yorker. Truth-telling is also something I am interested in, and telling the world (or at least our media class) about the New Yorker was powerful to me.

Over the year, I'd like to use this blog to explore cinematography. I am a wordy person (as you have undoubtedly realized; my English teachers despair of me) and I use writing to explain and understand what's going on inside my head. I want this blog to be a creative and reflective outlet. I would also like to use this blog as a way of developing my Change Project. My Change Project has to do with the global issue of deforestation, and it is therefore critical to get out news and statistics about deforestation. I can also use the blog to spread the word about my Project, and how it will strive to combat deforestation. Lastly, I'd like to use this blog as a way of letting my teachers know how I'm doing (academically. There will be no jars of hearts spilled on these very visible, very eternal pages).

It makes me equally uncomfortable to say goodbye to unknown persons on the Internet.
Therefore, I will not be saying goodbye or concluding this post in any way.

So there.