Author: malkhadh@uoregon.edu

I found another Nat Geo gem. This video does a really great job of documenting how the Middle East has changed in good and bad ways over the past 60-years.

The best part is the video starts from the perspective of a doctor, talking about going to the Middle East and his mission to take as many pictures as possible. This is a noble mission that I’m sure most of us have attempted, but Dr. Colbert Held took over 20,000 photos of the middle east over the span of those six decades.

After an awesome set-up, the video then goes on to profiles about people from all over the Middle East talking about how their countries have changed for better or worse. Confession: I really like the part about Kuwait. It’s pretty spot-on.

This video is nothing like the last Nat Geo pick, though. It’s heavy is stock footage, info graphs, maps and graphics. I think it was done in a tasteful way and set a good example of how to tell stories when your only footage is the interview. Still, the segments didn’t rely heavily on the interview footage, but made good use of effects and drawings.

It also does a really good job of staying on topic while provide so many different perspectives. It was cut in an engaging way because the stories were so diverse.

 

 

I’m not sure why I didn’t start watching National Geographic’s Youtube channel sooner, or why it didn’t come up in my searches when I was looking for stories like this. Somehow Google and the Internet figured out what I was up to and suggested this video to me, but that’s a talk for another day.

This 109-year-old World War II Veteran’s story was shot beautifully and the music was placed really well within the piece. As a study, I think this piece does a great job of pacing. The music, the transitions, the gaps between quotes and the scenes are all calm and slow. You don’t have to watch the whole 12 minute video to get the idea, but the story progresses slowly, but he moves slowly. So, I think that’s why it works so well.

I mean, 109 years doesn’t pass quickly. The first time you get a sense of this feeling is when he gets in his pick-up truck (yes, he just got his license renewed the year the video was shot), and he puts the key in the ignitions. I never thought about this, but putting your keys in the ignition is a fairly quick task. The vet didn’t take forever, but it definitely took an extra second or two, and it’s impossible to not feel.

Another time I really get a sense of it is when he’s depicted in what looks like the hallway leading to the exit of a generic mall. They stand there for about 10 seconds, he takes her purse so she can put her cane int he other hand. The entire exchange took about 10 seconds before they took another step.

The pacing, living slow, really brings the emotional element of understanding this person to the forefront. The guy basically eats, drinks and smokes what he wants and he’s happy.

 

 

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)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHAuGA7gqFU 

“2+2=5” is an Iranian fictional short film set in a classroom where a teacher insists that 2+2=5. The first shot of the video starts with the title on a blackboard and dollies to behind the students.

I really like this project for two main reasons: It’s shot completely in one small room, and the angles used in the close-ups really help juxtapose the power imbalance between the teacher and student.

The first thing you notice when the teacher enters the room is that he’s presented from the student’s perspectives, and that seems to carry throughout the piece. It makes him seem superior, and lends the character power by being looked up at.

After the teacher enters, he stands quietly and the broadcast system squeals on and the Head Master informs the students that there have been changes in the school. When the radio turned on the camera dolly’ed forward and refocused on the speaker, but still from the student’s perspective.

In contrast, whenever the student’s faces were shown, they were being looked down on, simulating the teachers perspective. Aside from the first establishing shot, the rest of the video goes back and fourth between the teachers and students. Even when a student stood up to the teacher’s lesson in defiance, he was never shown looking up.

It could also be argued that the angles are due to the age and size of the subjects, but this piece makes a fairly poignant statement about monolithic power.