Musicians Saul and Ruby are pretty irresistible in this interview style New York Times Op-Doc piece, by filmmaker Joshua Weinstein. The piece opens with an establishing shot of two men seated side by side, facing the camera in what feels like an interview setup. Saul introduces himself and his instrument. The camera cuts to a close-up of his face, then pans down to a tight shot of the drum as he plays (0:16). The camera returns to both men, and the sequence repeats as Reuben introduces himself (0:20), the the camera cuts to close-ups of his accordion and his face. We return to the two seated in the interview, as they announce their band name, the Holocaust Survivor Band.
Through big grins, lots of motion and emotion, and rich detail shots as they play their instruments and tell their story, this quirky duo practically bursts off the screen in the first 30 seconds. They are vibrant, I feel like I am there with them, engrossed in their story already.
At 0:50 the camera moves back to a wide scene-setting shot where we see both men playing together on a pier, a small audience watching them perform, with the cityscape in the background. The video flows between interview and scenes of the men performing, employing lots of L-Cuts (picture leading sound & sound leading picture) as we hear them narrate their story. A few techniques noted:
- Graphic matched cut at 1:00 from drumsticks going down to water crashing up below the pier.
- Unmotivated move at 1:32, camera pans across couple sitting at table.
- Fantastic close up at 1:47.
- Great detail at 1:55, fingers on keyboard.
- So much emotion, movement, joy throughout.
- B Roll motif (pier, birds, streaming dreamy sunlight and soft focus).
- Lots of tight shots & shallow depth of field.
At 2:32 the upbeat Klezmer music stops, the pacing slows, and the introduction of a quiet haunting soundtrack shifts to a more somber mood. The location also changes and we see medium and tight shots of Saul in a dark room (though we don’t see his face directly) as we hear him recollect his days in a concentration camp and of how music enhanced their days there. Light streams into the dark room with a dreamlike effect. At 3:14 an L-Cut (picture leads sound) shifts to similar scene of Reuben reflecting on the camps.
The closing scene begins at 3:58, as the two (using positive motion) walk toward us, on the pier, with their instruments, singing. The video ends with a joyful scene of the two playing music together.
The relationship between the two men, their joy for life and music, as well as their dark past, are very effectively woven into this visual story.