Month: December 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO4k2lLXiT8

I thought this piece of journalism was really interesting coverage of how corporations are taking advantage of poor countries. I’ve always wondered what the incentive is for poor government to allow businesses that harm their people, economy and environment, and this perfectly addresses that.

The video begins with vague images with text flashing over them, while a woman’s voice narrates some of the story. At first it seems like one of those videos where the images have nothing to do with the story, they’re just representations of what’s being said, but if you watch a little long, it begins to look like the people in the images are the real people in the story. I wouldn’t personally start a story this way, but it hooked me, and I enjoyed it. So, I think it worked.

The video then starts transitioning to video that looks older, maybe from another source, but it’s all relevant to the story, and actually does a good job of showing how long this issue has been going on.

Beyond the multimedia components of this piece, the investigative journalism, by Buzzfeed, was really good. I never knew about this secret court before watching this.

So, I came across an awesome list of short films on Youtube featuring famous actors, which lead to Michael Cera’s Youtube page, which is littered with awesome short films his made or been featured in.

“Failure” begins with Cera sitting in a chair and eating something out of a bowl, then a jump shot shows us Cera getting up and leaving the room. I’ve been trying to use the jump cut, most because I like breaking rules, but my attempts aren’t working out.

I thought this film make good use of the jump cut for a few reasons, mostly because watching someone eat isn’t very interesting, and moving past it as soon as possible is nice.

I also really appreciated the minimal use of lighting. It was produced by Daniel Kellison, who also produces Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman, which probably means some really cool gear was involved. I’d be surprised if they didn’t alter the light at all, but the esthetic of the lighting gives an impression that the film is low budget, which I think works for this piece.

Most of the shots are also pretty shaky, which seems to be intentional, because it looks like it’s on a tripod in some shots, but it definitely added to the indie-film esthetic.

Once Cera leaves the room where he’s confronted with a strange woman (Aubrey Plaza), at the bottom of his stairs. There’s a cool shot from beside Plaza, looking up at Cera.

There’s a really cool sequence when Cera clumsily drops a glass bowl and breaks it down the stairs, with piece of glass tumbling down towards Plaza. The camera goes from a medium shot on Cera, to a closeup of the bowl breaking, to a panning shot of pieces of glass rolling down the stairs, until Plaza’s in the bottom right third of a really cool horizontal shot of stairs.

Overall, I thought this was a really cool short film. It’s interesting, considering the ending, but some of the comments said it’s in reference to the two actor’s personal rivalry. (Google: Aubrey Plaza Red Carpet Rage)

Johanna Under The Ice – NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

Sounds of wind lead the opening image in the Ian Derry’s video about Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad, in a beautifully shot film under four minutes.

I had only skimmed the summary on Vimeo before clicking play, so I had no idea what to expect: something about cold-water treatment after a bicycle accident. But as I watch, I kind of felt like gasping for air as I watched the protagonist hold her breath in ice cold water, literally.

What struck me the most about the short film, however, was the use of color or lack there of.

At the start, the viewer sees mostly wide shots with Nordblad walking on snow from a considerable distance to the camera. Everything looks black and white: dark trees contrasting bright snow.

A medium shot of her head and shoulders and a super-tight shot of her eyes briefly reveal other colors, but I feel the simple color choices accentuate the coldness the viewer will soon feel from the images.

The viewer hears Nordblad explain she almost lost her leg after an accident before starting cold-water treatment. That’s while you see her a few shots of her using a metal saw to cut into ice below her feet.

Just after 1:10 in the film, she dives into a lake, without any oxygen tanks and wearing a single large flipper that fits here two feet — sort of like a mermaid.

The underwater scenes add the blue to the film. It appears that the bright snow above the ice serves is the only source of light for the underwater camera as the viewer watches her swim while holding a single breath.

Several underwater shots are again taken at significant length away from Nordblad as the light reflect from her goggles. It makes it look like her eyes have lit up in the dark cold water.

However, my favorite moment comes when she exhales a bit releasing several bubbles that get trapped under ice.

When she returns to the surface, you again see the tan color of her face, and bits of blue appear in the sky. Among the final sounds you’ll hear are her breaths, a symbolic contrast to the wind at the start of the film.

Valsa das Máquinas, Paramount Têxteis from grafikonstruct on Vimeo.

Music and detail shots are the name of the game in Valsa das Maquinas, a 1.5 minute video that flies by the first time you watch it.

Made by Grafikonstruct, a multiplatform studio in Brazilian, the video syncs an original waltz composed by Lucas Lima as the viewers sees really cool images of a textile plant. Musical notes are precisely edited to the movement of machine parts that you can’t help but notice the intentionality of the musical composition.

Within the first three seconds, you’ll hear the quick strikes of piano keys match the percussion-like movements of a machine. As you hear the introduction of the full compliment of string instruments at 15 seconds, you’ll see a the textile plant’s variety of threads and strings dance back and forth.

I counted 25 shots for the 1:31 second video. All the cuts between shots are fast without any transitions.

Most of the details in each shot have shallow depths of field that are subtle, and you have to really pay attention to see what’s out of focus in each shot. That’s because the producers do a good job of making the eye focus on what’s important in each image. The machines appear to be under soft lighting. However, there are some shots with shallow depths of field, such as in the 53^rd second.

The camera stays motionless in all but one of the shots as the producers let the parts do the movement. It’s only until the 23rd second, where you’ll notice a huge roll of thread unwinds, can one pick up slow camera movement to the left that must have been shot from a mounted position or the movement created in post production.

The only natural sound you’ll hear comes at the end of the video. That’s when the waltz ends and the viewers hear the sound of the last machine and see final textile product made by Collezione Paramount.

All in all, it’s simplicity and synchronization makes the experience fun to watch.

And by the way, if you’re Portuguese is not up to date, the video’s translation means “Machine’s Waltz.” My headline’s translation: Who knew machines can waltz?