Author: apowers2

Here’s a fun music video that doubles as a mini Bollywood movie. I was inspired by some of the some slick camera moves and eye-catching editing techniques I hope to use to enhance my Winter Project about a Bollywood DJ. There are several videos included in the link below. The one I’d like to highlight starts at 2:23.

The short video is a compressed storyline of  boy meets girl, does boy get girl? With a Cinéma Vérité approach the plot starts with a taxi driver passing a supermodel photo shoot – and he is struck with love at first sight. There’s a cool frame through the cabbie’s window at 2:37 providing the audience with POV showing (not telling) us what’s going on.

Next we see some matched action shots (starting around 2:40) with medium and tight shots of the taxi driver on his phone renting a luxury car thinking he might stand a better chance of getting the model’s attention if he has a cool ride. The guy goes on to totally reinvent himself to come across as some kind of jet-set super rich dude to score points with his love interest.

Slow motion is used throughout the video congruent with the pace of the music, as well as the storyline. The video editor slows down the pace with slow motion to emphasize the dreamy pursuit. An example starts around 3:08.

To convey passage of time, the editors use a series of crossfades, like these starting at 3:52. It also lends a another dreamy, romantic feeling as we watch their budding romance blossom.

Drastic and artsy angles are used throughout the video providing an edgy feel and interesting aesthetics. Here’s an example at 3:35.

Smooth and gliding gimbal and pans are used in much of the video conveying motion and congruent with the flow of the music.  Here’s an example at 3:35:

The mini Bollywood movie approach here is fun, energetic and entertaining just like the music video’s song. The gimbal shots and crossfades lend well to the dreaminess of a love story in the works and convey passage of time. Drastic angles edited to beats also emphasize the song’s style and feel. The deliberate use of slow motion sets the pace in accordance with the music and storyline. The matched action and framing gives us context and moves the story along with a ‘show don’t tell’ technique.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend faking someone out with a false persona to get a date.  But, it seemed to work for this guy and the answer to the Unanswered Question appears to be yes – he got the girl! 🙂

I’m a huge fan of Vox’s ambitious, explanatory video journalism utilizing a variety of camera, editing, motion graphics and storytelling approaches in producing compelling stories. Vox crew members are master tour guides in leading audience members through the journey of a person, place or thing.

A great example of this is The mass graves of Tulsa. It’s a gripping, horrific and necessary story about the 1921 massacre that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s “Black Wall Street” – a once thriving community of black-owned businesses in a neighborhood called the Greenwood District. White supremacists burned more than 1,200 Greenwood buildings and killed approximately 300 people there following accusations of an African-American teenager assaulting a white teenager. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum recently launched a search to find the mass graves where the murdered victims were buried and bring closure to their families.

In the opening starts with a voiceover from the video producer and drone footage with three different bird’s-eye view shots, coupled with some creepy music and the narrator/reporter saying, “Something terrible happened here…” – which gave me a sense of morbid curiosity, foreboding and definitely wanting to know What Happens Next? The drone shots make effective use of contrast by going from what looks like Small Town USA to a cemetery – bolstering the What Happens Next? tension and drawing the viewer in even more.

Introducing the Interview Style, there’s a J Cut at :09 where we here audio of an interviewee as a lead-in to the visual cut of her. It’s a seamless transition as the video producer guides us from the drone shots into the room where we meet the first interview subject and gain context.

At :14 Vox gives us an effectively abrupt and eye-catching Symmetrical Composition with the next interviewee. The composition creates a demanding, in-your-face and straight effect for a story and resolution that demands the same.

At :18 and then :21 we see a medium cut, then close up, of an MOS interviewee that makes use of Shallow Depth of Field to tone down a background that may have been distracting. However, we can see the blurred image of a police car with flashing lights in that background. It’s appropriate for the criminal nature of the subject matter at hand providing continuity. In addition, we see a cut form medium shot to a tight shot to emphasize the importance of what the interviewee is saying, “It was an absolute massacre.”

Vox also uses the Re-enactment Style in telling us what happened nearly 100 years ago with old footage, photos, newspaper articles and records documenting the racial violence. These powerful elements are peppered throughout giving us historical prospective and authenticity.

In addition, Vox employs motion graphics layered over and alongside old photos and newspaper stories to enhance the explanatory portions of the piece. It adds an interesting aesthetic element to static b-roll (still photos, records, newspaper stories, rock shots) and guides the viewer to a deeper understanding by visually connecting the dots for us as to what went down. It draws our attention to what we need to see and says LOOK AT THIS now. Below are just a couple of examples.

Sound effects conveying an antiquated/historical feel are used as well. When showing the viewer images of archived newspaper stories, we often hear the tap of an old -fashioned typewriter – bringing us back to a time when the stories were published. These segments are also edited to the beat of that sound effect creating greater impact – like audio exclamation points.

Overall, Vox’s polished, professional and highly-produced Mass graves of Tulsa leaves us with an urgent sense of call to action to provide closure to the families of the massacre’s innocent victims.

This American Life’s (TAL) “Escape” episode, Act 1, is about Mike Phillips, a 27-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) that has left him bedridden and unable to speak on his own much of the time.

TAL’s  use of the reenactment style with dramatically angled Point of View (POV) shots transports the viewer into seeing and experiencing the world through Mike’s eyes as he lives his life – horizontally.  In addition, the documentary maker adds strategic Extreme Close Ups (XCU), Extreme Long Shots (XLS), Rule of Thirds composition, filmmaker problem solving (using a voiceover from Johnny Depp for a protagonist that can’t speak), cinematic shots, Cinéma Vérité, interview and journalistic styles to aid and complement the primary reenactment and POV approach, all meant to take the viewer on journey through Mike’s experiences, emotions, setbacks and achievements as he struggles to gain independence and maintain his relationship with his able-bodied girlfriend.

Ira Glass opens first on camera, and then with narration (in somewhat of a journalistic style minus the corny sing-sing cadence) following natsound as Mike’s quest for freedom to live his life as fully and independently as he can.  But his health condition makes him reliant on his mother’s care, which causes tension and conflict with Mike, his mom and Mike’s girlfriend.  The unanswered is ‘Will Mike gain his independence?’  There’s also a subplot that takes us through a break-up with his girlfriend and Mike’s desire to reunite.  Hence, a second unanswered question, ‘Will Mike get back together with Sara?’ – which coincides with the quest for independence.

The first five shots are an abrupt yet intimate introduction into Mike’s life using POV, Cinéma Vérité, artistic and bold Rule of Thirds composition, ambient sound, hard edits and XCUs to introduce the viewer to the story as the filmmaker tells us to “look at this.”  

The first shot at :45 screams POV and sets the stage for the entire piece.  We are looking up at a ceiling fan and hearing its monotonous whooshing ambient sound.  It’s Mike’s POV lying on his bed.  The film shooting and editing techniques made me feel the glacier pace of time that accompanies the boredom and tedium of being bedridden and struggling with a physically debilitating disease.  I experienced the seconds ticking away like years.

A hard cut immediately follows to show an XCU of Mike’s his left eye with a reflection of his computer screen on his eyeglass lens.  In a not-so-corny journalistic voiceover,  Glass narrates how Mike communicates by blinking his eyes and tapping his finger on a device to spell out sentences on a computer screen.  A medium shot follows connecting the first two shots like a puzzle, giving the viewer a witness POV, which his further enhanced with Cinéma Vérité/wide shot and then an XCU of Mike’s finger.  TAL is deliberately telling the viewer to “look at this” with these filming and editing techniques.

Also, the staccato music used in the above shot, accompanied by the ambient sound of Mike’s finger lightly tapping out his words, convey both the fragility and tedium tied to Mike’s modes of communication and delicate connection to survival.

I found the POVs in this piece are some of the most effective techniques used by TAL in telling Mike’s story so well.  I felt nearly physically transported into Mike’s POV by seeing the world at his dramatic angles – like this one showing Mike’s mom coming into his room at 16:22:

Or this one (below) at 16:37 as Mike’s mom pushes him through a grocery store.  This scene is also  accompanied by heavy, pounding music to signify a particularly depressing time of Mike’s life when he and his girlfriend broke up – which Johnny Depp narrates/voices over reading from Mike’s emails .

There’s also a dreamy cinematic POV shot of a stroll through the park as Mike’s girlfriend pushes him.  We see what Mike sees – the sky.  The filmmakers use pleasant/romantic music to complement the mood and footage filled with natural and pleasing light – conveying a sense of harmony when the relationship was going well.  We also see smooth tight, medium and wide shots of the park stroll.  The overall feel is gliding and carefree, also depicted by the choice of camera motion, (either a gimbal or dolly) and the feeling expressed is effortless and gliding – much like that of a happy couple enjoying each other’s company. 

In addition, TAL gives the classic interview style a unique twist, while practicing some genius filmmaking problem solving, by employing a surrogate-voice of Johnny Depp.  As described earlier, Mike can’t talk most of the time and he communicates typing out words on a laptop suspended above his bed. He does this letter-by-letter using a software program that transmits completed sentences in a robotic voice simulator.  He also uses emails and blogs to write about his personal experiences. 

As Glass points out, this is “painstakingly slow” and poses a problem for editing and airing the piece. One sentence takes about three minutes to type out.  In addition, the artificial voice is also dehumanizing and doesn’t do Mike justice.  To solve the problem, Glass asks Mike if he would like a surrogate voice.

At 2:08 Glass syas, “So, if we were to replace your voice with somebody’s, like, what would you want it to be?”

“I totally want either Johnny Depp, or Edward Norton, whoever is available, because either way, they are both badasses,” Mike replies (at 2:24).

Apparently, Norton wasn’t available.

“Ladies and gentlemen, reading from Mike’s emails, Mr. Johnny Depp,” Glass announces.  

Hence, TAL gives Mike a human voice, employs an imaginative spin on the interview approach, problem solves the audio dilemma and empowers him all at the same time with the voice of a fellow bad asses (Depp) – as we quickly realize Mike’s well-earned place in that exclusive ‘bad ass’ club.  To me this can be best summed up as nothing short of brilliant on the filmmakers’ behalf.  I felt that sense of joy that comes with well-deserved empowerment watching and hearing this problem-solving technique unfold in this part of the episode.

Elsewhere in the piece, TAL uses old home movies and photos as a reenactment technique depicting Mike’s childhood growing up with SMA.  Seeing the footage (with time stamp) lends both authenticity and bittersweetness as we watch the little boy release a balloon go into the sky (3:35), while the voiceover describes his loss of physical abilities as the years go by.  

Moreover, the ‘show don’t tell’ images and footage the documentary makers use throughout the piece are dynamic – adding further connection to the protagonist.  For example, sometimes Mike uses his eyebrows to signal the words yes and no. Between 19:18 and 19:23 we see an extremely distinctive matched action sequence to show (not tell) this when Mike is outside having a conversation with his girlfriend.  The matched action XCU, tight and medium shots show his eyeglass lenses going up and down as propelled by the motion of his eyes moving.

This same sequence also evokes a sense of tenderness as we steal a glimpse into a moment between the couple, concluded with Cinéma Vérité shots, such as the one below at 19:49.  This entire sequence is edited so well, I almost felt like an intruder.  Like, if I made a noise, Mike and Sara would turn around and wonder what the hell I was doing there.  When a piece draws me in so close to the characters that I forget which side of the screen I’m on, it’s hard to forget.  You can absolutely feel the closeness between the two.  The scene’s striking primary colors also draw the eye in and are naturally appealing.

In a darker part of Mike’s journey, TAL uses Extreme Long Shots (ELS) engulfed in darkness with a single spot light on Mike as a form of reenactment to reveal Mike’s near-death experiences.  The ELS, coupled with the lighting evokes a sense of isolation, stillness, morbidity and death (13:05).

In another part, TAL speeds up footage and use XCU shots to reenact and create a sense of anxiety, jitteriness and confusion when Mike became too reliant on pain medication.  The music in this sequence is also forbidding with heavy base tones to amplify the mood.  This starts at about 13:38.

The interview style is also used throughout the piece with Mike’s mom, girlfriend, brother and former assistant.  This aids reenactment with witness POVs in sharing Mike’s story.

Overall, I feels TAL’s Escape, Act 1 episode is primarily a form of reenactment style and strong POV, reinforced with a variety of the other styles, filming and editing techniques found within the Visual Language to to tell Mike’s story.  As usual, TAL leaves us with the big takeaway on an important message, or lesson learned.  This one comes straight from Mike (via Depp voiceover)  concluding he “only recently became aware of how tenuous my life is.  So, I don’t really have time to waste on fear.”  TAL uses a uniquely framed shot showing the tension and conflict in Mike’s relationship with his mother as he contemplates what he hopes his life to be in the future.  The framing is a deliberate ‘show, don’t tell’ at 23:28. 

As far as the unanswered questions… Does Mike gain his independence from his mom?  Does he get back with Sara?  This is a piece well worth watching to find out.

-Ann Powers