Happy Halloween From Champagne

Hey guys,

I ran into Champagne the other night and she decided to make a few videos for your enjoyment and inspiration. She is a big supporter of the arts being an aspiring actress and all. Of course, she is also a street ho but the girl has got to make her money some how. I mean who are we to judge? Champagne has had a ruff life but she never fails to be glamorous, always classy and only sometimes trashy. These videos were done before and after she did a little partying and money makin'. Anyway, she sends her love and wants everyone to have a safe and fun Halloween. Remember: If Champagne would do it then you probably shouldn't!

Later,
David

Production Report from yours truly - Waldo.

Hey guys here's a short production report/happy Halloween wishes from the flip cam. Sorry for the crappy quality. See ya next week!

-Waldo.

Barber Shop Ballad

Yes, finally...
This is it people, the long awaited and anticipated Barber Shop 1 min. documentary in complete form.

I sent it back home to my brother in San Fran. He's 15, but a talented little guy...3rd time's a charm baby (I'm the middle). He likes to freestyle on his keyboard and sounds a bit like Philip Glass (The Hours, Fog of War) so I told him to slap me together something. He did well. Enjoy.

1st Production Report

So I'm finally getting things to pan out with my documentary. After permission issues shattered the hope of producing a documentary about a boxer, I quickly changed gears and went head first into the Speech and Debate team here at UT. The team has a big event this weekend in Houston, so tonight I went and shot my subject, Joe, and some other debaters as they practiced together. It turned out to be surprisingly interesting and I am beginning to foresee how this could come together as a documentary. I will post a clip once I get the chance.
As of now my plan is to document Joe's life as he prepares for another big speech event 3 weeks from now at A&M. The documentary will be a buildup to the climatic event, reveal, and resolution. Typical, yes, but I hope to incorporate my own spin.

Update 11/6:

Here is a clip from the shoot. Nothing too special. It is Joe and some of his team members as they practice for a match. The part where they are all speaking at the same time is a way of practicing to avoid distractions and get their presentations under 10 min.

new trailer for my first feature.

does it spark interest at least?

Production Report

So I finally was able to get some footage from the IMC...but because of their limited library, I'll have to find the rest online. The clip above shows the anger and frustration that followed the response to Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. I think these images express what happens when people are deprived of what they need to survive. As a result, they might shed light on the turmoil in other conflict regions in the world. And if nothing else, they remind us to empathize with those who were affected by this disaster.

Update on Production

So I got to shoot about 50 mintues worth of interview footage this weekend at the Texas Cowboys' Pavilion. The footage below is a tiny section of one location I shot. I apologize for its plain-quality, but I had some technical difficulties at the CMA and was in a rush to make it to my Cowboys meeting on time. The short clip is of Harley Clark, who was a newman(new member) in Cowboys in 1955. He was the University of Texas Yell Leader in his college years and is known for making the Longhorn Hook' em hand symbol what it is today. In this interview he is discussing the chaps that the Texas Cowboys wear. This interview is kind of a historical background on the Vaqueros influencing the cowboys to wear their Chaps. The clip is followed by a couple of archival photos I have chosen out of about 500. I plan to use them throught the documentary with motion effects to keep you guys from yawning so much. Please by kind...I know the camera work is moving around a lot, but I plan to have B-roll and photos in the sections where it is zooming, moving, etc...

Here is the youtube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7iL4aHyB-Y

Production report 2: interview w/ Grandmother

finally uploaded to Youtube, these unedited clips are amazingly large...anyway, here is a clip from an interview with my grandmother about my father, who was a large inspiration in my life to be the way I am. There is some random stuff at the end, but I can't edit it so its all in there :)

Inside Tatsu's home studio

This is a very small amount of footage that I have for Tatsu's home studio. I cut a few shots to show a little bit of what I have so far. This is pretty much just him what he does daily after work, before work, instead of sleeping etc...Next up is A live gig at Plush Saturday night.




Its still uploading says youtube. Is there an easier way for me to be uploading? its taking centuries for me to get video up on this thing.

something by pruitt

here is a video segment hooray

Changeling Press Screening

          So, last night, instead of going to lab like a good RTF 366K student, I was invited to attend a press screening of Clint Eastwood's new film, Changeling. It's not a documentary, as you can probably tell by the picture of Angeline Jolie, but I thought I should blog about it anyway, as I might get to interview someone involved with the film. Eastwood? Jolie? The douchebag cop?

          Anyway, the film is based on the true story of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, which you can read about on Wikipedia if you'd like - I don't want to spoil too much of the film. After Christine Collins' son, Walter, goes missing in 1928, she files a missing child report with the LAPD, which was, at the time, facing much ridicule from LA citizens for its corruption and abuse of power. After a five month investigation into Walter Collins' disappearance, the LAPD miraculously brings a child back - the wrong child. They coerce Christine into telling the press that the investigation was a success, but, of course, she won't stay quiet for long. Along with the help of a local pastor, played by the ever-yelling John Malkovich, Christine begins to unveil the LAPD's fraud and corruption. In a landmark case which is depicted at the end of the film...well, you guys will have to read about it or go see the movie to find out.

          The acting in the film is pretty solid, though Jolie does little more than cry the entire film. John Malkovich is ridiculous as always, delivering each line, as my girlfriend puts it, as if he's above all the dialogue that's ever been written for him. Jeffrey Donovan is wonderful as the bad guy Captain Jones, and Jason Butler Harner is creepy beyond belief as the kid-killer Gordon Northcott. Eastwood's style remains intact, even after all of his fantastic films - Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven - although he seem to have overlooked some minor details in his film. Like, for example, the fact that you can totally see Angelina Jolie's tattoos several times in the film under layers of makeup. Come on, Clint...we're not stupid. But seriously, the lighting design and editing style is pretty interesting throughout the film, and Eastwood's color scheme is wonderful. There's something about a really drab grayscale that just makes a 1930s period piece pop. Am I right, or am I right?

Clowning Around

Here's some footage I shot of Sutton this last Saturday, as he gets into his clown getup. I might overlay some interview dialogue of him talking about his clown-like personality. I composed the music using an instrument called a melodica. I'm using said instrument to compose the entire score.

Production Report (kinda) #1

Since all of my production reports from more recent times are still uploading (that'll take a while) here is one I posted up a little while back of me driving. Pretty crappy video quality, but it'll stand in the place of some of the shorter ones I've gotten recently which are still upside down from the mount kit I had to use. Think of it as an infant version of what might be in my main doc. I couldn't edit it at the time so its pretty long. Anyway, nuff talking, here is this stand in video for my more recent ones still uploading. Some content info: me driving my car before the beastly engine swap trying to burn the tires on skidpad. Enjoy :)

Production report

Restrictions suck! I waited all weekend long to have an opportunity to shoot my character, I schedule a day and always something comes up. When I finally get ahold of my person I'm doing the doc on its already time to turn in the damn equipment. I'm giving up on HD and making due with what I have in order to get some sort of footage on this crazy busy guy. I'm going to have to resort to a 1995 crappy cam in order to get live footage of stuff happening in the moment. I'm frustrated with the idea of having to plan and schedule reality around availability of the camera.  I'm throwing HD out the window and hoping I'm not kicking myself in the ass about it later.  I'm blogging from Tatsu's house waiting for my prehistoric camera to charge...

Hope everyone else is having better luck than I am.

The Order of Myths with Margaret Brown

          So, last week, Ellen invited us to the Drafthouse premiere of The Order of Myths, the new documentary from Margaret Brown, the director of Be Here to Love Me: A Film about Townes Van Zandt and 99 Threadwaxing. Margaret conducted a Q&A after the film, and her presence in the crowd really made it a very interesting screening.

          The film follows the 2007 Mardi Gras process in Mobile, Alabama, which had the first Mardi Gras in the United States (suck it, New Orleans). Despite many generations of cohabitation of the small town, there is still immense segregation and racial division in the town of Mobile. Built partially on the remains of Africa Town, a community built by the passengers of the last recorded slave boat brought into the country, Mobile celebrates its Mardi Gras every year twice: once for the blacks, and once for the whites. Following the King and Queen of both communities, Margaret's muckraking film reveals some of the hidden (and often visible) racism and classism in the town. The film is often very funny, and at other times disturbing and heartbreaking. Some who see this film may be quick to point out that the editing style, which focuses on the richest of rich in the white community and the poor, downtrodden members of the black community could be forcing the race material too much. I think that any documentary, especially a social commentary doc, will have some amount of necessary manipulation to it, but one needs only looks as far the gilded mansions, centuries-old secret societies, and creepy ceremonies of the white elders to realize that there is some definite class disparity in Mobile, Alabama.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE !

CURRENT TV

Hey All,

Here is the link for Current TV and how you can get involved:

http://current.com/producerResources.htm

Sound and Fury - The Debate Over Cochlear Implants

Recently, in my class on deafness we watched the documentary called Sound and Fury. It follows two related Deaf families as they decide whether or not cochlear implants is a good idea for their children. Peter and Nita Artinian are a married Deaf couple who happily gave birth to deaf children. At some point, their oldest child, Heather, comes to them and says (at only 4 years of age) that she would like to have a cochlear implant. The film follows the Artinian family as they look into the operation and visit several families of children with cochlear implants. Deaf individuals are very proud to have Deaf children so this is not an easy decision for Peter and Nita. In fact, they are afraid that Heather will become capable of speech through the implants and lose out on her Deaf culture. There is a scene where Nita takes Heather to a Deaf school based on the oral method with nearly all the children having had cochlear implant surgery. Heather feels very left out and hearing individuals feel a sense of sorrow at her isolation from the other school children. However, Nita later explains that she felt bad for the children because they didn't know how to sign. One can see how there are two very different ways of thinking between the hearing and Deaf worlds. A hearing person might ask the question what does it matter if Heather loses her deaf idenity, wouldn't it be better if she could hear and speak. A Deaf person would say that cochlear implants turn Deaf children into robots and disguises them from who they really are - to not know one's deafness is almost shameful.

The documentary also follows Chris and Mari Artinian as they choose cochlear implant surgery for their baby. Chris is Peter's brother and both Chris and Mari were born hearing although Mari had two deaf parents. Hearing children born to Deaf parents sometimes rebel later on in life, as did Mari. It is difficult for them as children because they must constantly be their parents' gateway between the hearing and Deaf world. They have two identities in a sense and having Deaf parents can often make them feel different from other children who have hearing parents. Much the same, Deaf children of hearing parents often feel isolated because they are part of a different culture which is unknown to the hearing parents. This is one of the reasons why hearing parents often do not accept their children's deafness and immediately desire options such as cochlear implants. For the hearing world, deafness is a handicap and needs a "cure." Deaf individuals are often very proud of their deafness and truthfully might prefer having Deaf children over hearing children. In class, we read about a Deaf couple who opted to have an abortion when they found out that their child would be born hearing. Of course, this is an extreme case but just the same I think many people do not realize how strong Deaf culture is for deaf individuals.

Although, I do not think that cochlear implants are always the answer to the birth of a Deaf child. It should be noted that some children will not react well to the implants and may never develop strong oral skills. It is actually discouraging to me that parents often opt for oralism over American Sign Languare (ASL) for the education of their children. But there lies the biggest problem with choosing cochlear implants for a child at such a young age because when children are given cochlear implants the course that follows is generally the oral method which means that children are not allowed to sign. That is not to say that a family couldn't initially opt for cochlear implants and then later decide that ASL would be a better option but there is a fear that once children begin signing they will never want to speak. The reason for this: ASL is the natural language of the Deaf. Many public school systems fail to recognize this, in all honesty they will not accept that a Deaf child is deaf. Which is why oralism has been put above ASL for so long. The problem with this is that some Deaf children never take to oralism and by being denied ASL they suffer both mentally and psychologically. Hearing parents often stifle their child's mental growth by pushing the oral method and disallowing the use of sign because if a child does not take well to oralism then they simply have no other means of communicating or expressing their thoughts.

In Heather's case, she is an incredibly intelligent 4 year old and shows promise of oral skills without any hearing assistant. Therefore, Heather's grandmother was extremely persistant in trying to push Peter to opt for the cochlear implant surgery for Heather. The documentary made me really think differently about cochlear implants because I definitely agree that Heather has the chance to really flourish with their use and could probably became a very oral individual. I think the fact that Heather has deaf parents and was surrounded by ASL was incredibly beneficial to her learning abilities and with cochlear implants at the age of 4 there is a good chance she could function keenly in the hearing world. I could almost feel angry at the fact that her parents chose to keep her exclusively to the Deaf world. By the end, they had not only chosen not to give Heather cochlear implant (therefore perhaps denying her ability to ever really hear or learn speech) but decided to move to an almost all Deaf community in Maine where Heather would be isolated from the hearing world. It seem that she could have easily been bicultural and bilingual in both the hearing and Deaf world. Why would the Artinian's limit her to only the one side when deafness can be limited in it's own right.

This documentary really made me see things in a different light because before I would have been very much against the idea of cochlear implants on children because I feared for how it might deprive them of learning since as I mentioned children are often restricted to oralism when implants are decided by hearing parents. Deaf parents on the other hand may never look into the idea of implant to begins with. But after seeing this I understood that cochlear implants should be based more on the situation and the particular child. Chris and Mari decided to implant their 11 month old baby son and it is difficult at that age to really say what is best for a Deaf child. In the end, there is never a clear line and each parent must make their own decision on what they think is best regardless of what their family members and friends might think. Issues like oralism v. ASL and whether or not to have a child implanted with cochlear implants are left for continued debate but there is no doubt that parents with Deaf children have the best intentions but whether or not they do in fact make the most fruitful decision can only remain to be seen in the future as the child grows into adulthood. Interestingly enough, the director of this documentary made a follow-up called Sound and Fury: 6 Years Later but for some reason it is a bit obscure and hasn't really been made readily available to the general market.

Sound and Fury Trailer



Sound and Fury Clip. Really amazing scene where Peter and his mother argue over the decision not to get cochlear implants for Heather.

Production report Yvonne

I invaded Tatsu's house this weekend, his house was the set of our narrative 2 project. In between shots, I talked to him and his mom who was visiting from LA. During this time she told me that TaTatsu immigrated from Japan when he was 12. She says it was very hard for him to fit in, his english was bad. I have a feeling that his inability to communicate turned him to music. I'll be contacting her via email in the next two days. She was telling me about her life as a model and actress in Tokyo when she was young. I gathered a few stills of mine and a few borrowed ones that I want to borrow for the doc. This week is a busy week, I should be shooting live footage at Whiskey bar (one of tatsus main gigs on fridays) and hopefully some studio and sushi bar footage the rest of the weekend. I compiled a few stills with a couple of Tatsu's original beats. Enjoy.

a snippet of the first interview

Production Report for pruitt

Production, as of now, is lagging. i have a lot of b-roll of the setting and whatnot. The cats, although, are slightly retarded and difficult to track down. They like to chase squirrels and have a lot of sex with each other, so im going to probably include some of that - making this a mockumentary. this is kind of an epiphany. i love it. I've been having problems with capturing footage with the HDV cams but i think ive figured out the problem. things should pick up soon.

the light grey people

a trailerish glimpse, our most recent work

the song is in the Lipan language and it is by Roberto Soto, the man in blue who you see first. this was on the opening day of the Lipan Apache Museum in the Sunrise Mall in Chorpus Christi. the other footage is from archive.org. wednesday we go to interview Bernard, the big man with a mustache, who is in black and one of the four playing the drum, in San Antonio. this weekend we go to McAllen, TX to film a Pow Wow and Roberto's buffalo farm. Tom Castillo is another central character and he can be seen standing behind the four playing the drum. i don't know the name of the man in turquoise or the man in white.

the light grey people

a documentary by sarah garrahan and daniel hill

Reporting From AFF

AFF was my first film festival so I thought I would give a full report of all that happened so far. I was going to wait until I actually finished the festival but it is getting harder and harder to remember and make insightful comment about some of the early films I saw. I'll comment now and if I see anything of interest in the next couple days I'll make another post.

So, I started off the film festival on Thursday by heading off to the IMAX for a family film called All Roads Lead Home. I felt bad for the director as only about 10 people showed up to his film (and this is the freakin' IMAX). However, after about 20 minutes of watching this film I understood that word must have gotten out about how awful it was. The acting was pretty generic although I don't know if I should blame the actors since the script was so poorly written and unimaginative with lines like, "Oh, my Belle (that is the name of the protagonist's daughter). Sometimes, I'd like to ring her." Trust me, nobody was laughing. The editing was pretty splicy and jumped quickly from one short pathetic scene to another. This was actually Peter Boyle's last role in a film and the cinematography was pretty decent but overall this film wasn't worthy of the PAX channel. Now, that is saying something. I felt really guilty because I had skipped the Visual Acoustics documentary to see this. So, to redeem myself I left early (as did other people and remember there were only 10 to begin with) and headed over to the Hideout for the doc Atom Smashers.

Atom Smashers was an interesting and sometimes very funny documentary about a group of scientists looking for the Higgs boson which is some particle which endows other particles with mass or something like that. Honestly, I was just really confused as to what these people were doing and why the government funds millions for scientists to search for this elusive particle which may in fact be non-existant. Nobody has ever actually found it. In fact there is this funny moment in the doc where there is a scientific conference for the Higgs boson and the head lecturer says if your looking for the Higgs boson particle that you're in the wrong place and asks the question, "How do you search for a black cat in a dark room when there is no cat." My thoughts exactly. Even the scientists are making jokes about this but in truth they dedicate themselves night and day to finding the Higgs. The scientists themselves were very interesting, one played in a rock band, one collected Simpsons figurines (go figure!), and another was a married couple. There was an interesting interview with the two of them which was done using a web cam (the wife sat next to the computer while the director filmed her talking to her husband on the computer). I thought of Rhea when I saw this and I think it worked really well for anyone who is considering doing an interview with a long distance subject. The documentary has many engaging interviews and footage from the Phil Donahue Show is spread throughout. He had done a very extensive show on the subject at some point. Overall, it was really entertaining I just wish I had a better concept of what this was all about but then again maybe the common folks are supposed to watch this and find themselves as amused as I did with the whole concept.

Next, I preceded to Rollins Theatre (this is actually part of the Long Center) where I saw Les Ninjas du Japon. I really recommend this to anyone who desires to see excellent cinematography in a documentary (well, I mean honestly, who doesn't). The lighting was incredible especially during the indoor scenes so I'm not sure If lighting was set-up or if the cinematographer was just really keen with using natural sources. Many times, the lighting did seem to be coming from windows and other open spaces which is how good lighting should. This documentary had a very cinematic feel to it not only because of the lighting but also the variety of shots and the quality. The director used many interesting rack focus shots (something I have yet to experiment with in my own work) that really benefited certain screen compositions. The documentary itself follows a group of Japanese bicyclists who are competing in the Tour de Faso in Africa. The director follows several bicyclists as they talk about their hopes, dreams, and experiences as athletes. There are also several interviews with their families. There is actually two main threads here, the bicyclists and the African men who follow the bicyclists in cars to keep track and make sure everything goes smoothly. The two view points are interesting because you have the natives and the foreigners to Burkina Faso. The most moving theme is how important and how much it touches the community of Burkina Faso, it is more than just a race it is an opportunity to connect and to enjoy life.

Les Ninjas du Japon Trailer



On Friday, I didn't get to watch any docs but instead I watched two horror films, the world premiere of 100 Feet and the U.S. premiere of Nightmare Detective 2 at IMAX. 100 Feet was about a woman who killed her husband and is sentenced to house arrest but unfortunately her dead husband's ghost is inhabiting the house. Someone asked the director why the ghost didn't just kill her if he was so powerful and he gave the typical director's answer of how much the ghost really loved her and he wanted to toy with her. I think the true answer was because the film would have been over in the first 15 minutes. Isn't this the problem with most of these horror films. It's no wonder Janet Leigh's death in the first 30 minutes of Psycho is still talked about. Anyway, it was better than most of the crappy Hollywood horror films that are put out today and honestly there were some scary moments. I actually jumped a little at one part which I usually never do. The plot was lacking in parts but the atmosphere and Famke Janssen's acting was incredible. Nightmare Detective 2 was brilliant!!! I almost never enjoy Japanese horror films but this hit me on not only a horror film level but in the level of a emotionally fulfilling psychological drama. The story is about a man a young girl who begs an anguished young man to enter her dreams using his special gifts. As a boy his mother tried to kill him by strangulation and by drowning him in the bathtub. By entering the young girls dreams he is able to come to terms with his mother's mental disorder and the realization that his few happy moments with her are only memories of a relationship that could never really be understood. Towards the end, he must take the place of his child-self but as an adult to relive the incident when she tried to drown him. I never thought I would feel like crying during a Japanese horror film but I was really moved. Anyone interested in working with digital video should check out some of the hand-held dream sequences which were out of this world fantastic. And yes there is a Nightmare Detective but no I have not seen it. I want to rent it soon though.

Nightmare Detective 2 Trailer



On Saturday, I saw another non-doc, A Quiet Little Marriage, which was a brilliant little Indie film with incredible acting. It is about a marriage that begins to disintegrate when the wife wants to have a baby and the husband does not. She begins to poke holes in her diaphragm and he figures this out and begins slipping birth control pills into her coffee. It was by a first time director named Mo Perkins. I actually ran into her and the main actor on Sunday during a screening of a different film so that was really awesome because I got a chance to tell her how great her film was outside of the Q&A setting. The film was done on a low-budget and just proves how a simple narrative with a lot of talent and hard-work can be so much better than these overblown blockbusters. The cast did their own wardrobe and used the director's apartment complex to film with a lot of support from the neighborhood.

Finally, I want to talk about a phenomenal doc called This Dust of Words which is about a brilliant Stanford college student named Elizabeth Wiltsee who eventually ended up mentally unstable and homeless. Earlier I had written a review on the doc Chris & Don: A Love Story which had the difficult task of telling the main person's story without the person being present. This Dust of Words uses a similar approach of telling Elizabeth's perspective by using diary entries and personal letters but it did a much better job. I think part of the reason why was the director's usage of landscape and related footage to go along with the audio. The shot of the lake where Elizabeth spent her final hours was gorgeously photographed and scenes of other locations were as well. Elizabeth's own writing was so moving to where you could really feel for her isolation and eventual downfall in life. She began to hear voices, believed the CIA was reading her letters, abandoned her brother and parents, and ended up at the doors of a Parish ran by several elderly women. The interviews with these elderly women were engaging especially one women in particular who first befriended Elizabeth even when other's were afraid of her (for she sometimes had terrible screaming fits in front of the church.) Amazingly, the longer Elizabeth slept in front of the church the more she opened up to the community and vice versa. Eventually, Elizabeth began taking mass and her nerves began to calm. The churchgoers believed she was driven to the parish by God. The last words she was ever known to say were, "I'm going home." The woman next to me was literally crying and I have to say this was one of the best docs I've seen in a while. The Q&A was very intimate because the original screening had broke and this was an additional make-up screening at 11:30 P.M on a Sunday so only five people showed up. For the first time, I felt brave enough to ask questions. The director actually discovered Elizabeth's story on accident through Google so he contacted her old professor who had written her memoirs then the women of the church. The story began to unfold and he decided to make the doc full-length. He spent a lot of time reading her unpublished plays and poems (many were in foreign languages, she taught herself Chinese among other languages). When he finally felt he had captured Elizabeth to the fullest that he could, he found a young narrator to read her collected works throughout the doc. I wasn't able to find a trailer on youtube but I hope this film finds a distributer so everyone can enjoy it.

UPDATE: Les Ninjas du Japon took the prize for best documentary at AFF.

One more...

So, the weekend went much smoother than expected - after a few technical difficulties and issues with my subject, I finally got all the interviews, Valley tours, and footage I think I'll need. Hopefully I can pull something out of these three-plus hours of footage...

Documentary Events this week

I am re-posting the link to the calendar I created for the UT Doc Center. It is basically a database of all the documentary-related events going on in Austin, including local screenings, photojournalism, and filmmaker lectures. You can click on the film's title and details will pop-up such as when, where, filmmaker Q & A's, etc.

Here is the link: http://www.my.calendars.net/utdoccenter

Also check out the Doc Center website at: www.utdoccenter.org

Production Reports 2, 3, & 4

So, here are some short videos we shot on the FlipCam whilst on the way to and in the Valley before most of the shooting started. Sorry to bog down the blog...(blog down?)...but I was bored and we were having a butt-ton of camera and battery trouble. My camera is probably several years old, and TSTV gave me two half-dead batteries and no DC wall adaptor. So we had to buy one that we thought would work at Best Buy. Then, this morning, instead of going to film a time-lapse sunrise over the Mission, Texas watertower, I slept late and woke up to get an email from my dad saying he's getting divorced. Again. No surprise there...

Production Report #1 - Mi Amiga Güera

It's been an interesting day...

Murderball

Recently I watched Murderball, a documentary about the sport of wheelchair rugby. The documentary follows a few characters, mainly focusing on Mark Zupan, through the trials of getting onto the Olympic team as well as the hardships they face day to day being partially paralyzed. Most of the players were involved in some kind of car accident that broke their neck to cause partial paralysis in their lower body and sometimes partial upper body. A few others contracted deadly diseases or were born with Polio. The main thread through the documentary is the rivalry between the US and Canadian teams as they work to go head to head in the 2004 Paralympics. Team Canada was headed up by a famous USA wheelchair rugby player who was kicked off the USA team as he grew older. Because of that he was the main instigator for all of the drama between the two teams.

The documentary is both gritty and touching. The games that the men play are somewhat violent and very competitive, but the way that the filmmakers delve into the personal lives of the players draws you into the story even deeper. Mark Zupan is the main character (also an Austin local) who we get to see the more of his personal life. We even get to meet his best friend who put him in the wheelchair and the story behind that. The stories that these men had to tell were sad, but uplifting at the same time. They were put in such a horrible situation but found a way to regain their life back through wheelchair rugby. I thought it was a wonderful part of the movie that the filmmakers chose to follow a recently paralyzed man who had a tough time wanting to live until Zupan introduced him to wheelchair rugby. The coverage of the games themselves was fast paced and interesting, especially the way the filmmakers shoes to unfold the last competition between Canada and the USA teams as a sort of montage.

On a side note, I was listening to the 101X morning show on my way to classes this week and they Had Mark Zupan in the studio talking about his wheelchair rugby career. He said that he was now retiring from the USA team and moving on to more promotional aspects of wheelchair rugby and helping out others.

response to THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK

So last week I checked out The Times of Harvey Milk and I was really excited about seeing it considering my interest in social docs and gay rights. I watched the beginning of it about four times because I would end up becoming distracted by something else. I eventually finished only an hour of the film and i was already either tearing up or just enraged. This is a good film to see if you want to open your mind to a history of the gay community speaking out as well as coming out.
I watched this film with my dear friend Brett, whom I've mentioned before. He is an openly gay male and he was acutally very sad and angry at the end of this film because it opened his eyes to the torment of the history of a community he relates to the most. I wasn't sure how to react, though. I simply felt enlightened about the topic and i thought the film was great. It is, indeed, a good film because it was the power to arouse different emotions out of different people.
This film also made Brett and I want to see MILK as soon as it comes out. It is going to be very dramatic.

my HANDS DOWN favorite documentary

Heima is a documentary about the band Sigur Ros shot entirely on location in Iceland. Sigur Ros is a band from Iceland that sold out pretty much every one of their shows on their world tour. When they returned to their country, they decided to go on a tour of free, unannounced shows in random countryside settings and watch how it turned out. Those were a surprising success ad this film documents Iceland's reaction to their free shows as well as the band's reaction to it's turnout.
Sigur Ros has a sound that I haven't heard from any other band. I was first exposed to them a long time ago when my dear friend Brett asked if I like "trippy shit" music and I was like "sure". I watched this documentary with him and I was sold.
Their live performances are supposed to be very haunting. I wouldn't know from personal experience because I've never seen them live but it looks very amazing and I hope to do so one day. They play with a screen in front of them and I think they're trying to get their audiences to feel like they're on drugs. I'm sure it works. Here is the film's trailer.

Inside Books Project

This is a short documentary I did for my 318 final project. Critiques?

The Yes Men by Palin

Chronicle of a Summercinéma vérité at its best

Chronicle of a Summer

Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, 1960

Rouch and Morin were some of the pioneers of the cinéma vérité style, which is apparent in Chronicle of a Summer. They use recorded audio and video footage to set forth meaning, which is a strong characteristic of the cinéma vérité mode. An aspect of the cinéma vérité mode is the attempt to “hide” the camera from the subjects, hoping they will forget about the presence of the camera and reveal their true selves. Rouch and Morin do this by physically being in the film, forcing their subjects to interact with them and not with a camera. 

     The audience is aware that the goals of the filmmakers are to obtain reality in the lives of ordinary people. There is an issue of whether or not the subject’s relationship to the camera makes them “act.” Because the filmmakers make their goals aware to the viewer, we are also examining this relationship. Towards the end of the film, we see the filmmakers walking down the corridors of a museum discussing the film and their goals to achieve "realness". Morin then states “ They either criticized our characters as not being true to life or else they found them too true.” Giving the subjects a chance to view their own lives through the eyes of the filmmakers also adds to the reflexivity of the film. We are again shown that this is indeed a film and we must view it critically. We know that the subjects are “extremely embarrassed” with, happy, or concerned with their representations in the film. The filmmakers stated that many times people do not know if they are acting; that the presence of the camera can “reveal the fictional side part of all of us.” This is also a quality of cinéma vérité, for it reveals the subject’s reaction to the presence of a camera.

Morgan Spurlock Interview

So, a couple of weeks ago, my girlfriend filmed a short interview with Morgan Spurlock before his talk here on campus. It's a short interview, and I had to "jazz" it up due to some technical/audio difficulties. Don't be too hard on me...

Sorry about the audio levels. This will be broadcast tomorrow night through Texas Student Television. The music is directly from Super Size Me.

Moore Spreads More Controversy Than Other Documentarians Combined

Sorry for the pun, guys. If you haven't noticed, I love to include them wherever I can. I get a kick out of how groan-worthy they can be. But anyways, back to the subject at hand. A while back, I wrote a review of Roger & Me, Michael Moore's first documentary. In that review, I mentioned that my producing proffesor, who helped sell the film, believes that Moore deliberately excluded important footage from his film (specifically, a conversation between Moore and Roger Smith, that Moore claims never happened). Ellen posted a well-justified comment, asking if there was any evidence supporting this notion. I went to work to see what was available.

I soon discovered that my proffessor got his information from an anti-Michael Moore documentary entitled Manufacturing Dissent. The documentary, which I have yet to see, focuses on Moore's documentarian techniques, which the filmmakers consider highly manipulative and deceptive. The film apparently shows the lost footage of Moore talking with Roger Smith. Moore has subsequently come out in self-deffense, stating that he did have a talk with Smith, but it was brief, and before production on Roger & Me even started. He further stated that any exchange with Smith would have been valuable and obviously included.

Personally, I don't know who to believe. The evidence that both parties present seems atleast somewhat sketchy. Nonetheless, I was amazed, while doing my research, to discover the amount of critique that Moore has recieved overall. To date, the filmmaker's enormous controversy has spawned numerous critical documentaries (including Michael Moore Hates America, FahrenHYPE 9/11, Celcius 41.11, etc.) and one feature, the recent (and recently disastrous) American Carol, which features the brother of Chris Farley playing a very Moore-esque personality. I can't think of any other documentary filmmaker who has been critiqued more than Michael Moore.

Moore should feel lucky to have all these indivduals critiquing him. Many documentarians release a film to little controversy, and thus little critique. I think critique is a great thing. I love it when people say good things about my work, but I love it even more when I hear people saying bad things. I learn a great deal from the entire spectrum of feedback (not only about my film, but also about the people who view it). Conversely, the documentarians who have built their careers on critiquing Michael Moore should thank the filmmaker they find so disingenuous for their respective successes. Moore's controversy is the subject of books, films, tv shows, websites, articles, etc and i find it utterly fascinating.

So to Ellen, I unfortunately don't have a clear answer to your question, but in searching for an answer, I've raised another question: Is Michael Moore really bad for America? I say no. He has done more to stir a public discourse than any other filmmaker in recent history. Whether you agree with him or not (I don't, for one), we should all be thanking the man from Flint, Michigan for reinvigorating a much needed convesation on politics and documentary.

A Government-Funded Anarchy Doc - Wait, What?

Earlier this evening, I attended a screening of the documentary Anarchism in America (1983) hosted by the Libertarian Longhorns (an organization of which I am a member). The film was made by two anarchists, Steven Fischler and Joe Sucher, during the heyday of the Reagan Revolution. Everyone in the audience laughed when a title card came up at the beginning of the documentary, stating that the film was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. This is ironic (for obvious reasons), considering that anarchists are completely opposed to any form of government. You might rationalize the filmmakers' funding choice as working within the system.

As far as the actual documentary is concerned, i found it a bit unfocused, and at times, a bit boring. This film is one filled with talking heads, and these heads aren't always all that interesting. And to be honest, I think that even the most interesting interviews should still be peppered with b-roll cutaways (but this is just my opinion). In terms of focus, i think the lack thereof can in part be attributed to the filmmakers taking on a big subject. This is one of those films that tries to capture a movement, but doing so, unfortunately, is a monumental task. As we've learned in class, it helps to localize an issue, to personalize it if you will. Not only does this raise the emotional stakes, but it also inevitably focuses the documentary to a great extent.

I could spend several other paragraphs talking about the film's other problems (ie the aesthetic flaws), but overall, I must say that I rather enjoyed Anarchism in America. While I don't consider myself an anarchist, as a Libertarian, I still identified with much of what the anarchist movement stands for. For all you punk fans out there (this doesn't include me), the Dead Kennedys make an appearance, via concert and primitive interviews, espousing their radical ideology to all that will listen. There's also plenty of interesting archival footage, including a segment of a man destroying various food items with a hammer.

While I realize that this film might only appeal to a certain audience, I recommend it to anybody who is interested in politics (and unusual politics, at that). Flawed films can teach us a lot about what not to do, while also being entertaining. I take comfort in this notion, realizing that if I make a failure of a film, at least those who watch it will learn something. But let's hope that doesn't happen!

Note: This film is also available online at google video! I guess you just can't keep films off the internet these days. Anyways, here's the link, if you're so inclined: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5896151564855675002

Road Trip Video - Introduction

       So, last January, three of my friends and I traveled around West Texas for a week or so to visit Big Bend National Park, Chinati Hot Springs, and Terlingua GhostTown, an awesome little art community with an incredibly small population. We took a tiny DV-cam with us on the trip and 3 DV tapes, and I've been trying ever since we got back to make something out of those measly three hours of footage. My hopes were high, but I never realized how difficult it would be. Maybe I'm just lazy. Anyway, the first thing I finished was what I hoped would be the introduction, and I wanted to post it here. Think of it as a "trailer" for the full-length "doc" hopefully soon to come. If only I could turn this in for my project...

And sorry, the music is canned. It's "The Last Beat of My Heart" by Devotchka.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

       This Film Should Be a Required Course.

       Before you guys read this blog entry, you should go out and get this movie - I think anyone in the RTF department who even slightly wants to be involved in film later in life should watch this movie. This Film is Not Yet Rated, a documentary by Kirby Dick, seeks to unravel the secrecy behind the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which, as many of you probably know or can tell by the movie poster, is responsible for the ratings for films in America. Although the board is supposed to be "transparent," Joan Graves, Jack Valenti and other founding members or operators of the MPAA keep the identity of the raters secret to prevent "outside influence." This point, like many of the other justifications the MPAA leaders make, is ripped apart by this amazing documentary.

       The interviewing style of this doc is not very exciting - just your run of the mill single-camera, talking-head-style interviews. However, the filmmakers, media critics, lawyers, anti-censorship activists, and theorists that Kirby Dick finds to interview make up for it with their amazing insight. The film also does an amazing job of pointing out the absurdity and overtly conservative decision-making of the MPAA's rating system by addressing the hypocrisy of the board and the juxtaposition between extreme violence (which tends to get lower ratings) and "graphic" or "aberrant" sexuality (which tends to get higher ratings). I don't want to give too much away as to how this difference is bullshit, so you'll have to just see the movie. Besides, part of the reward of watching this doc is the way it visually pairs scenes from one R-rated movie with scenes from one NC-17 movie with incredibly similar content.

     The film features many accredited, award-winning and wonderfully relatable directors, including Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry), Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Kevin Smith (Clerks), John Waters (A Dirty Shame, Pink Flamingos), Matt Stone (South Park, Team America: World Police), and many others.

       If you're interested in filmmaking or movies at all, this movie should disgust you, upset you, or at least make you reconsider the American ratings system. I highly recommend this doc - should be its own RTF course...

"Ten": An Untraditional Take on Documentary

If you are looking for an unconventional documentary, "Ten" is right up your alley. The entire film takes place in the director's, Abbas Kiarostami, vehicle and is a collection of 10 different interviews with Iranian family, friends, and random street walkers. The car is rigged with two cameras, one camera facing Abbas and the other facing the passenger--this is the only set-up. A passenger gets into the vehicle and as they head to their destination the viewer watches as a normal conversation ensues between the passenger and Abbas. There is a title, "1,2,3..etc" of each interview followed by the start of the interview and the end, usually when they reach a destination. The documentary covers people varying from the director's son, to an Iranian prostitute she picked up accidently on the street.

Although the camera is present and noticed by the passenger there is an amazing quality of realism with each interview. Each person is extremely open and natural in their actions and reactions. There is nothing held back and no sign of discomfort over the fact that there is a camera recording the conversation. Because of this, the documentary is a rare and fascinating view of real life in Iranian culture.

It is, however, only a small view into Iranian life as you are confined to the limits of what is inside the vehicle. There are many times I wish I could have seen more of what is going on outside the vehicle; intriguing people and objects in the background raised questions about Iranian culture that are never answered in the documentary. It is strictly 10 interviews with various subjects confined to a car, with two cameras, edited shot/reverse shot.

Nonetheless, the documentary is groundbreaking in that it discovered an untraditional way of making a documentary. Its unique style and stark realism won me over immediately. I was drawn into the lives of these characters and often found myself wanting to participate in the conversation as if I were in the back seat. If you're tired of the same old documentary this is definitely one to check out.

maybe igby's just camerashy

so this morning i woke up and got some sweet footage of igby doing things like eat bugs and scratch my leg. then he disappeared for a few minutes and i took made a video of my chillin while i waiting for his return. anyways. here it is

Instructors That Provide Free-Rental Services Kick Ass!

So I decided to post my experience of watching "Visions Of Light" followed by "My Architect." I first of all suggest Visions Of Light to anyone interested in film. I think it is even more important for people like us who plan to implement film into the rest of our lives. The film starts with the seed of cinematography and is structured just like a historical timeline. It states the techonological and aesthetic advances of the past and present film industry, how the actual business side of film has developed over the decades, and ultimately it has footage from amazing productions to back up the claims that will have you wanting to re-watch all your favorite films, the films included as examples throught the film, and every film here-on-out in a different manner. Instead of watching my favorite movie afterwords.....I watched one of the top-rented at Spiro's Video Rentals: My
Architect.

I couldn't agree more with everything that Ben had to say about the film, but there were some things after directly seeing Visions of Light that boosted my experience from viewing it. I understood that Nathanial Kahn had to spend an unimaginable amount of time into this highly-personalized project, and it really came out in his cinematography. I realized that as an architect, lighting is just as important to you as a director or a DP. You are taking a deep consideration with the all-mighty light source, the sun, with your architectual projects that are exposed outside and working with natural and artificial lighting inside your man-made structures, which are all important to produce a high-quality product in the end. You can see that Nathanial Kahn has amazing shots, but I wondered who put in more work to make that happen? Was it Nathanial with his keen film expertise, or his father who had previously considered the beautiful atmospheres he would create which his son would film decades later.

I could go on for a very long time about my film-watching experience and would be happy to share more over some bbq or anything outside of a URL address, but I came away with two things that we should all try to become masters of:

1. Become skilled at recognizing "already-provided" lighting in your shooting locations that will not only make your job easier, but it will naturally bring beauty to your work.

2. Also become skilled at executing when there is unfortunately no "already-provided" lighting. I think you should take note of the natural lighting set-ups and how they work, so you can become a creator of those natural settings when you are deprived of them.

An Ode to Execution

A few weeks ago, I watched a fascinating documentary by Errol Morris, entitled Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Frank A. Leuchter, Jr. As the title suggests, the film chronicles the life of Frank A. Leuchter, a controversial American execution technician who has helped holocaust deniers prove that gas chambers did not exist in Nazi Germany.

Before watching this documentary, i read up on the film's subject, and came to the conclusion that there was no way I could end up feeling anything but disgust for Leuchter. By the end of the film, I was surprised at how Morris managed to paint this seemingly despicable man as someone who is merely disturbed, rather than overtly evil. Morris does an excellent job (as usual) of bringing his character's internal state to the screen, as the documentary serves to explore the inner working's of Leuchter's strange (and many would say, twisted) mind. 

The one thing that amazed me most about this film was that Leuchter seemed more than willing to open up about any number of subjects, even if they might seem self-incriminating. This is truly a testament to Morris's ability to establish a relationship of trust with his subject, a relationship that is so important in the field of documentary. We saw this ability earlier in the semester, when we watched the episode of First Person, where Morris chronicles the life of the autistic Temple Grandin. 

I would highly recommend this film to all, although I must warn that the subject matter is at times very unsettling. I've always found holocaust deniers absurd and offensive, but somehow Morris almost made me feel sympathy for a man I would otherwise despise. 

Note: For some reason, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Frank A. Leuchter, Jr. is available in its entirety on google video. While the stream isn't the best quality, its still decent enough for a viewing! Here is the link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=654178281151939378 

Production Report Turned Cat Fight

So, Pruitt had said that she would assist with one of my interviews because I needed to record a girl on her bike and I needed someone to drive me while I got footage. The interview was scheduled for 9 a.m. and Pruitt had said that she would wake up at 8 a.m to help me get prepared. I spent an hour and a half trying to call her to no avail and finally decided to drive to her place at the co-op (that place is a zoo). When I finally found her she was in a sad state. ******* Advisory - There are quite a few f-bombs in this one, we were both pretty heated. *******

Chris & Don: A Love Story

I watched Chris & Don: A Love Story this Friday when it opened at Dobie. The documentary is told from the perspective of an elderly painter Don Bacardy who had a long romance with writer Chris Isherwood. Their relationship was considered unconventional not only because they were openly gay during a time when most of Hollywood was closeted but because Don was 15 and Chris was 45 when they first met on the California beaches. Isherwood died in 1986 from cancer so his side of the story is told from excerpts read aloud from his diaries by narrator Michael York. York was also the star of Cabaret (a film that was based on Isherwood's Berlin Stories). It is unfortunate that this is the only way to get Isherwood's perspective on their relationship. Obviously, had the documentary been made while Isherwood was still alive there perhaps could have been a much deeper examination of their relationship.

During the entire documentary, there is only one archival interview of Chris which is very brief and only mentions the film Cabaret which brought Isherwood his success as a writer. Scholars and curators are shown throughout lamenting on his life and feelings (sort-of like an A&E biography). I always have a hard time with this style of documentary because it is hard for me to consider information valid or accurate when it isn't coming from either the person themselves or close friends/family members. In fact, I was disappointed that the interviews with Don did not delve further into their relationship, the first 30 minutes of the film is simply Don discussing very trivial issues such as his favorite artifacts throughout his beach house. There were also times when scholars would talk about issues from Don's point-of-view when they could have just as well come from Don himself. Although, perhaps this was a way to bring about subject matter that Don would not have mentioned even if interrogated. The documentary never really focuses to much on the moral question of whether it was appropriate of Isherwood to sleep with such a young individual and introduce him to his first experience with drugs. Of course, the documentary was not made to make Isherwood or the relationship look bad. After all, their relationship lasted longer than most peoples up until Chris' actual death. Although, it was definitely not a perfect romance (not that there is such a thing) and at some point the age difference took a toll on Don who felt that he was not able to experience life fully (or rather sexually) living with someone so much older. The couple began an open relationship that nearly tore them apart. The documentary uses some reenactments (not very good ones) and archival footage that Isherwood photographed with no sound. There is also some cute animation involving a cat and a horse which were two animals that the lovers used when corresponding in letters. Overall, it was a mildly interesting documentary but there I think there are far more interesting gay couples out there and the style of the documentary just didn't work too well for me but it had its moments.

Archival Footage for my Subject.

His name is Tatsu, this is some footage (not mine) from last year's king of scratch competition at Emo's. He won 2nd place, the first place winner was "DJ Enfoe" who is the person who taught Tatsu how to "scratch"

I was supposed to show this today in class, but ended up not being able to make it this morning. 

happy friday moonbounce superfuntime!

so last friday my co-op had a moonbounce, a keg, and various other substances and my dear friend john documented us getting crunk. i barely remember him recording this. please excuse the naked dude, he's harmless. LCD sound system North American Scum is played with it. wooooo

Chris Landreth's Ryan

This is a short film about an award winning Candian animator named Ryan Larkin. Ryan Larkin created several short films, including a short clip called "Walking" in 1969 and his life has slowly fallen into decline. Chris Landreth interviews Larkin and close friends of Larkin to examine Larkin's life from different perspectives.

Chris Landreth's film is all rendered in CG animation, giving each of the characters a visual depth which is not necessarily something that can be capture just by audio or video. It may be an animated film, is a very interesting example of what forms a documentary can take.

(Crossposted from my blog!)

production report!

This is a video production report of our trip to Chorpus Christi to meet the Lipan Apache tribe and the others helping with the renovations for the first museum dedicated to the Lipan people. It is in a "half-way abandoned mall." However, in my opinion, it was much more charming than most malls. It had a dollar theater with old crappy movies, a comedy club, a food court consisting of only two restaurants, a train store and now it will have a Lipan Apache museum/store. They have a little merchandise already there but still in boxes; coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc. Anyhow, the video is a bit long but I shot nearly an hour of footage on that little camera Ellen is letting us borrow. This video only consists of that footage.


-daniel

& studying sarah

The Plow that Broke the PlainsNew Deal Propaganda

The Plow that Broke the Plains

Pare Lorentz, 1934

The Plow that Broke the Plains is without a doubt a beautifully constructed piece of art. Lorentz owes these dynamic images to Paul Strand, who later became one of the most respected American photographers (and whom Lorentz fired shortly after the film). Unfortunately, the sporadic overbearing narration really brought down the overall quality of the documentary. During the “war scene” when the plows were montaged with tanks, “NEW PROFITS!” and  “NEW HOPE!” were practically yelled at me.

While the film is expository through the voice of god narration, the poetic elements of the documentary add to its overall effectiveness. The slow pans and close ups across plains, sun-baked soil, machinery, families, and faces mixed with the folk music and all-knowing commentary suggest importance to the viewer. But along with these thoughtfully crafted images is a narrator who knows exactly what he wants his viewer to believe. 

The filmmaker uses the footage to create a story that isn’t completely accurate. Leaving out the human aspect of the dustbowl turmoil did justice to the Roosevelt administration. But was this ethical? Lorentz explains the disaster using war and climate, ignoring the tremendous impact of overgrazing/ploughing. This is an early example of the tension between government sponsorship and the accuracy of the film. 

My Architect - A Personal Documentary

        Well, we watched parts of this film in class, but I don't think the clips we watched really do Louis Kahn's life or architecture justice. You've got to check this film out for yourself. Louis' son, Nathaniel, who directs the film, adopts an amazingly personal style of directing as he hunts down his father's oldest friends and colleagues in an attempt to better understand the man who gave him life but had so little to do with him once he was born.

        Apart from fantastic interviews and a strong connection between the director/narrator, his subject, and the architectural sites he visits, the film offers some amazing cinematography, and Nathaniel manages to use light and space in a way to truly capture his father's structures, their weight, magnitude, beauty, and timelessness. Still, the personality and humanity of Louis Kahn's troubled life and immense talent are only visible through the eyes and lens of his son, whose journey is what truly makes this film remarkable. I would have to agree with Robert Kolker of New York Magazine who is quoted on the DVD box of My Architect as calling the film "a Citizen Kane-like meditation." This is true to the extent that the film delves so deep into the life of one, single character who, to the outside world, may have only been a talented artist, but who, to many who were closest to him, meant so much more than that. The juxtaposition between Kahn's beautiful structures and the heartbreak and bitter journey Nathaniel seeks to overcome is very powerful on film, and the film's climax is only satisfying once you've seen his entire quest. Check it out - My Architect.

My Third Project - Chance

Here's my third project it was turned in a bit late bc of camera issues. The soundtrack was composed by me with Sony Acid.

Southern Comfort

this weekend i watched a documentary entitled Southern Comfort directed by Kate Davis. This documentary went deep into the lives of a select few transexuals that are looking forward to a yearly transexual convention called Southern Comfort. Two of them are named Robert a Lola. One was born a man and the other was born a woman and they fell in love in the last years of Robert's life. Robert was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and most doctors refuse to treat Robert because he is a transexual. This documentary is a very personal portrait of what Robert is going through in the last days of his life. He is falling more in love with Lola everyday but has to say goodbye to her, his friends, and his family soon.
This film choked me up like nothing else. It is a love story that also teaches audiences what is it to be true to yourself regardless of the gender you were born with. The characters in the film had very strong hearts regardless of how their transgender lifestyle may disappoint their families. Southern Comfort is the convention that brings them all together - it's a way for them to find love, refuge from scrutiny, and comfort.

The Unforeseen

I had the opportunity to watch the Unforeseen at Barton Springs pool this week. The Documentary focuses on the development around Barton Springs. 

I really liked how the film payed homage to Barton Springs. The film itself was shot beautifully. Many of the shots of nature focused on the smaller elements that make up Barton Springs. For instance they used a lot of images of insects, and water. 

Everything was in so much detail that it created this really great contrast that exists between nature and development.  I found the film to be slanted in its political view, very liberal. The director mentioned later that she was more focused on doing a service for the community and that she received a lot of criticism from the people who were interviewed.  It was very clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. 

One of the characters, I believe he was a lobbyist in favor of development, was portrayed as this mysterious villain. His face was never shown during the interview, instead he was shot from the neck down, and the camera pretty much focused on him building military model jets. 

The most powerful character for me was a humble farmer out in Hutto. The film progresses over a couple of years as the development continues. We first see him in his natural serene environment. We watch him farm and tend to his livestock. Little by little he is bombarded with industrial machinery and throughout the film his world is demolished. The landscape changes from his farm land into a master planned community. The most powerful image is one where he is standing with his back facing the camera, with a tool in his hand, and in the background there is a monstrous machine digging and demolishing the farmland in the background. I think that image for me pretty much captured the entire tone of the film. 

Although the view was slanted, for me it served its purpose. 

I think viewing it at Barton Springs was a great experience because I was able to watch it with a lot of other Austinites who obviously were interested in preserving the springs. I enjoyed the booing, the cheering and the laughing. We all seemed to share the same platform on the springs and it made the screening much more meaningful for me. 

Self-Distribution: follow up to Peter Broderick article

Hi Folks,

Here is some concrete info for how to do your own web-based self-distribution. If you did not read the Peter Broderick article, click here.

There is an easy way of selling DVDS online without having to invest tons of money upfront. Might be useful in the future.

Create Space is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, can be used an on-demand online distribution platform for filmmakers:

www.createspace.com/

Create Space is also without box's preferred independent distribution Partner:

www.withoutabox.com/index.php?cmd=register.dvd