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Birds without words (Allyson)

October 14, 2013 by awoodard@uoregon.edu   

So, I’ve been thinking about how to tell a story without words, and I keep coming back to this movie. In my disgustingly oversimplified view, there are three types of nature documentaries: 1) a narrator tells you things about plants and animals, with video of them; 2) intrepid adventurers show you rare creatures you will never have a chance of seeing in real life; 3) filmmakers exploit their medium to highlight aspects of nature we would never pay attention to otherwise. Personally I like when my nature flicks lean towards option 3: I like documentaries that trust the power of their shots, and don’t necessarily depend on narration or how exotic their subjects are.

Which is probably why I differ from everyone I know and prefer Winged Migration to Planet Earth. It went to just as absurd lengths to get the raw footage, but instead of filming creatures bound to get a “wow!” it took boring ole’ geese, went on this crazy mission TO FLY IN THE AIR WITH THEM, and through skillful cinematography, editing, and a perfectly-matched score, turned them into protagonists that are just achingly beautiful.

I wish I could find a higher-definition clip to do this film justice (for those who haven’t seen it). But I think these 3.5 minutes do tell a great story without words, and it could exist in no other medium.

 


2 Comments »

  1. kblack7@uoregon.edu says:

    There is something very holistic and pure about the shooting techniques they employed to create this. I also think that the score does a great job in helping to cary the magnanimity of the piece.

  2. amandae@uoregon.edu says:

    My favorite part is how they seamlessly merge what looks like computer animation of the earth with the real footage. I particularly like how they take us into the clouds of their animation to “real” like earth flying around second 25-35. To be honest, I’m not even sure if it’s animation of just extreme HD, but the point is the merging of perspectives by taking us through the clouds which is a nice vehicle.

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