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‘Weekly Inspiration’ Category

  1. You Win Or You Die

    January 13, 2014 by bjh@uoregon.edu

     

    This may come as a bit of a shock to some of you but yes I am a huge nerd and I have no apologies about it.  On Sunday HBO premiered the trailer for the new season of Game of Thrones later this year, needless to say I geeked out.

    But I am posting this because I wanted to talk about how even though this is a scripted show and they obviously control nearly all of the aspects to have perfect conditions, how damn near perfect and well shot everything in this trailer really is.  From the colors to the lighting everything looks great, and it is a show of what can truly be made when you have the experience and the talent to create something truly fantastic.

    What I love most about this trailer though, and this goes for all of the seasons that have come out so far, is how perfectly the music goes with the scenes they have chosen to show.  The dark and melancholy music perfectly captures the natures of teh show and the situations that we find the characters in this season.  Plus I am astounded at how the shots line up with the music so well.  Look at six seconds in with the beat on the king, cut to black, beat shot of the king from a new angle.

    To shoot as much footage as they must to make a show of this caliber, and pick out these specific scenes and find the perfect music to match to it is something that is really awesome.  I have always admired the cinematography on this show, seeing as I really want to focus on getting even better shots this term it seemed fitting to share this right off the bat.

    Category Week 1, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 1 Comment

  2. Week 1 Inspiration: Holy Grail

    January 12, 2014 by Makare

    Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner from Prospect Productions on Vimeo.

    During class last week we looked at the short film that the Barnicle brothers (Prospect Productions) did about the tifo that the Timbers Army does in support of the Portland Timbers. This week I want to use one of their other pieces, as it is a great example of cinematic journalism and storytelling.

    The film Holy Grail tells the story of the most well preserved version of the rarest baseball card the T206 Honus Wagner. That particular subject matter would initially seem to be as compelling as paint drying, the artful use of  cinematic journalism concepts are clearly evident throughout this piece, and as layer after layer is unfolded during the piece the viewer ends up leaving having learned something about a small facet of the world that might not have been considered, that has interesting ramifications to the art and auction industry.

    The piece uses thoughtfully composed shots, many of which are moving and drawing attention, as well as audio interviews that drive the story forward and act as the means to unfold additional layers to increase the richness of the subject matter. The filmmakers also utilize simple effects that are subtle, but effective at keeping the eyes interested, for example the “3D” moving stills (this is not the Ken Burns effect) where foreground and background elements are separated and moved independently to draw the viewer in.

    The Barnicle’s have been using cinematic journalism as their medium to great success, and I suggest you look at some of the work that they have been doing you can find them at Huff Post and on Vimeo.

    By the end of the video the viewer should have the realization that this short film is not about a baseball card, but more about the way that something as seemingly unimportant as a baseball card can be manipulated, traded, sold, and exploited in ways that can have a substantial impact on the people that come into contact with it, and on an industry that is built on the desires of collectors.

     

    Category Week 1, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. Weekly Inspiration–Escape From North Korea

    January 12, 2014 by Brian

    This week’s inspirational piece is from the New York Times, an 8-minute documentary called “Escape From North Korea.” It tells the story of “Dragon”, a “broker” who smuggles people out of North Korea and across China to safety.

    This is a compelling piece for its cinematic qualities: characters, evocative music, shaky handheld and out-of-focus camera work all combine to draw the viewer into this dangerous, tense business. It’s difficult to tell, but I believe Dragon’s voice may have been electronically distorted as well.

    The P.O.V. perspective makes the viewer feel as though he is one of the people being smuggled, particularly when the group is slashing its way single-file through a jungle. We can imagine–barely–what it might be like to fear for your life as you risk it all to escape a repressive government.

    The central character, Dragon, is both sympathetic and enigmatic. He himself was a defector, so he can empathize with his clients. Still, he is running a business and has certain cash flow requirements, so we watch his mood swing from convivial to threatening as he tries to exact payment from the people he helps. And yet we realize he is under enormous stress and pressure, as evidenced by the final moment of the piece, which has him push his head wearily back on his car’s headrest.

    Category Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 15 Comments

  4. WinterWeek1_SummerHatfield

    January 11, 2014 by summerh@uoregon.edu

    Drummer Wanted : Dean Zimmer from rossangeles on Vimeo.

    This video is great for several reasons. First and foremost is that it is about a really compelling, amazing character named Dean Zimmer. I love this guy! This video is not a story in the narrative sense, it is more of a profile piece. But it holds my attention regardless just because I want to know more about Dean. He is a true inspiration.

    I think the filmmakers did a good job of capturing Dean’s passion and intensity with the slow-mo jam out scene, where they matched action from many different angles of Dean as he played the drums.

    Usually I don’t like to be able to hear the interviewer’s voice, but in this video it didn’t really bother me. I think because the interview didn’t seem super formal, it felt like I was just listening to someone’s conversation.

    Category Weekly Inspiration, Winter Week 1 | Tags: | 3 Comments

  5. Creative Camera Angles

    December 13, 2013 by emcdona2@uoregon.edu

    http://www.wk.com/campaign/be_wonderful_and_wise

    I saw this commercial month ago for the first time, but it stuck with me enough that I want back and searched for it for this class. It was made by a local advertising firm Wieden and Kennedy, and is promoting Lurpak, which apparently is some sort of butter imitation.

    The key in this piece is the detail. Who thought peas in a pot could be interesting? Not me. But the opening shot with the slow motion pea falling and water splashing is fantastic. The whole piece is extremely well paced, utilizing timing to the fullest with productive application of time lapses, slow motion and cutting on the beat of the soundtrack.

    The other key is angles. Looking up from the water pot through Brussels sprouts at someone removing the lid, being connected to knife as it cuts onions, sliding down the potato following the peel, this all make the cooking process come alive. The creative shots make you feel like you’re in the food. There is a lot to learn here in terms of imaginative camera angles and how to make seemingly mundane daily duties jump of the screen!

    Category Week 6, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 2 Comments

  6. At Berkeley

    December 5, 2013 by jarrattt@uoregon.edu

    The chance to see a new Frederick Wiseman documentary is coming soon, so I wanted to post the trailer for the film. At 83, he is one of the masters of direct cinema who is still alive and producing new work. This is around the 80th film he has made as well so they guy has been busy. He is also probably one of the only filmmakers that can get 4 hour long documentary films released.

    The trailer appears fairly straightforward: What makes Berkeley an important and lasting institution and how can they continue it as public funds are divested from public institutions? Fredrick Wiseman being the filmmaker that he is will have captured many everyday situations that will reveal the answers to these questions. I look forward to seeing if they are less straightforward. It’s a film about an institution, and so far we only hear from the loftier figures. These people appear or come across as presidents and administrators. An institution is made up of many levels though. What will the interactions between students and between teachers reveal about the organization and how will their perspectives and interactions compliment or complicate the vision of the administrators?

    Wiseman has always said that he makes films about institutions. Its the interactions between people at different levels of a hierarchical organization that drive the drama in his films.

    Category Week 9, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  7. Microcosmos

    December 5, 2013 by awoodard@uoregon.edu

    I resisted watching this film for quite a while because I knew it was all footage of insects, and every time it popped up on Netflix I thought: I’m not in the mood to be bored by insects. Then I watched it…and sat enthralled for the entire length.

    I think there are lessons in Microcosmos that we can see even here in the trailer, and that remind me of our discussion of time-lapse. This is not gratuitous macro photography, but a narrative that uses (then new) technology to probe a question that was previously unavailable to filmmakers: how is the world different when you are very small? Raindrops unseat us as if we are on a trampoline, and they evaporate before our eyes. The macro technology is exciting, but what I appreciate is that it is a means to an end–it helps us understand that familiar spaces when viewed on a different scale can seem completely alien. How insects navigate that space suddenly becomes interesting, an unanswered question enabled by intelligent film technique.

    Category Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 3 Comments

  8. Undercity

    December 1, 2013 by awoodard@uoregon.edu

    This is a longer video than usual, but I think sampling even just the first five minutes is well worth our time. Something I find noteworthy is that Wonder pulled compelling footage (not to mention great audio) from extreme conditions where he needed to be able to both run with and hide his equipment. He used one of those camera mounts that you press into your shoulder, which he claims “was really great at being there when I needed it but also staying out of the way.” I’d agree: he manages to jog and scramble over obstacles with his camera running, and then transitions seamlessly to steady shots when he stops. Something to think about when we’re considering gear?

    I also appreciated the interview style of the film, in that Wonder is clearly present as a subject, yet leaves his own voice out. The choice puts Duncan in the position of tour guide, which helps lead the audience through the narrative while also ensuring that our focus stays with Duncan’s experience rather than that of the filmmaker.

    As a final note, I think the interview at 19:28 is composed beautifully, and is a good example of when the details of a setting are important enough to outweigh the benefits of a clean background.

    UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

    Category Week 8, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 1 Comment

  9. Venezuela’s Inflated Vision of Beauty

    November 29, 2013 by lpaters5@uoregon.edu

    This multimedia piece by the New York Times is a great example of the journalistic pieces we are currently producing. Many of the shots in this piece are done in a clever way that helps convey the idea of the title, since most of the subjects being interviewed are discussing the culture of women’s bodies in Venezuala while they are surrounded by the altered mannequins, are adjusting the shapes of the mannequins, or are getting work done to their own body.

    We have the two camera interview set up at the beginning that the producers cut to throughout the piece, as well as single camera and action interviews along the way, so it’s a great piece for reference when contemplating using a mix of interview styles. The surgery shots are grotesquely powerful, and the constant shots of mannequin bodies piled on one another or stacked in a shed remind us just how superficial and manufactured our idea of beauty can be.

    Category Week 6, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  10. A video album_Summer Hatfield

    November 27, 2013 by summerh@uoregon.edu

    A handful of Myanmar from Berta upe Tilmantaitė on Vimeo.

    This video has a lot of really beautiful shots, and I particularly like the overhead shots and the shots were the filmmaker used a boat as a dolly to follow the action. It has some great close-ups as well, and really chooses some good detail that tells us a bit about the characters. This video does not have a narrative arc and doesn’t seek to tell a story, but it still tells us a great deal about the culture of Myanmar. It feels like I am flipping through an album, but with videos instead of photos. The pacing of the video, with each shot being shown for about the same amount of time, makes it feel even more like an album. One thing I am curious about is that it seems like a lot of the shots are really well lit, and I wonder how the filmmakers achieved that as they were moving about so much.

    Category Week 8, Weekly Inspiration | Tags: | 2 Comments

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