Pina 

I found this film on Pina to be incredibly vulnerable in its motives and passionate in its story telling. By watching this film one could tell what an important roll Pina played in all of their lives, especially when it came to their style of dancing and the emotional connection between themselves and their art.

I found the individual stories interesting because it gave every dancer the opportunity to display the feelings they had toward Pina, not only with their individual interviews, but also with their routines meant as a tribute to Pina. I also loved how they were all from different countries and spoke different languages. Someone commented in class that they also loved this characteristic of the movie, and then stated that they clearly all have to speak the same language to converse with one another. I think this is one of the main points in the film, that it doesn’t matter what language you speak because dance and emotions are felt worldwide and do not take words to express. They are in a sense their own universal language.

I also loved that the viewer was able to derive his or her own meanings from the dances. I know online there are descriptions of what each dance represents, but to me, knowing what was supposed to be intended ruins part of the abstraction of the art, and takes away the ability to create my own understanding of the piece. In class, a few of us discussed what we thought the very first dance was about, and all of us thought it meant something different. To me, this is the beauty of art, it’s ability to effect people by the way we view it through our own perspectives.

However, I did have a few areas of the film that I felt to be monotonous, but maybe that was part of the intended result? Pina had told them to feel a certain way, instead of creating choreography. So each dancer was moving according to his or her feelings, but I felt a lot of the style of dancing was the same. For example, the women walking, then falling while the man propped her back upright. To me this style was constant throughout the whole film. I think it could be looked at in a myriad of different possibilities. For example, having the consistent style could be to express life’s monotony, or even our own feelings of sameness. It could also be viewed as just a single style of dance that they were all trained in, or Pina’s influence of all the dancers, and her own personality reflecting through their movements, whether intentional for this film, or subconsciously built over time.

Although at times I felt this movie to be a bit strange, or maybe just not my style, I could still derive my own understanding from it, and it has helped me to look deeper into my own art form and apply more of my raw emotion and abstraction into it. 

The Cost of Living

Well, I cannot say that "The Cost of Living" was my favorite video. There were aspects that I enjoyed about the movie, and then there were aspects that I did not enjoy. I will start with the parts I did not like, that way I can end on a positive note. I did not enjoy the amount of cursing in the video. I know this is just a personal preference, but I do not like cursing, especially in excess, when it is not necessary, and when there are other words that could be said instead. I think that the language was my biggest dislike in this film. Some aspects of the film, such as it's ability to make you uncomfortable, I did not like, but I understood its reasoning. It was a very intrusive video, with people being right up to the camera and also not understanding what was happening, created the sense of discomfort. Other parts of the video, such as when the guy was dancing to Cher, I really enjoyed. It was fun, but also told a story while it went, with the love the was connecting between him and the hula-hoop dancer, through the hoop. I also enjoyed the part where the main guy with no legs danced with one of the main dancers. I found that choreography to be quite beautiful. The idea of public performance, and live performance were dominant features in this video. The video says a lot about how a normal public space can be turned into an area of art and performance. Although they were doing this to make performance art for a video, they also played with the idea of live art for a live audience. The way they approached art, dance, and sculpture in this video was pretty brilliant. I believe I would have enjoyed the video more if the focus was more directly placed on the performance art, and less on the vocal dialogue between actors. If this was a video re-edited with only the dance scenes, and placed to music I think I would have an entirely different feeling toward this video. 

“The Five Obstructions”- Lars von Trier and JØrgen Left

Movie Response:

This video took me a while to warm up to. I’m not sure if it was the concept of the film, the way the film was shot, or the dialogue, but it was a harder film for me to find interesting. One thing I did enjoy was that you did not realize you where watching one of the obstructions the whole time. It felt like they were taking you through all the different ones, then at the end you realize it is all one large obstruction, with the ultimate purpose of discovering JØrgen Left and in turn Lars von Trier. As much as I liked the trickery of the film, I wish they had allowed the viewer to come up with that conclusion on their own, leaving some of it to mystery and confusion. However, also as we discussed in class, Lars von Trier does not like any film ever made and therefore tries to break the rules of films, trying to make something that is “crap” and it ends up being wonderful. Because of Lars von Trier’s attitude towards film making I could understand where he would want to take away the mystery and the viewers opinions, because that is what good films do, and he wanted to make a bad film. I think the film has a lot to say about the original film “The Perfect Human” and the creator JØrgen Left. The obstructions’ intent was not to create a new version of “The Perfect Human,” but were in fact a way to observe the man who first created and idealized “the perfect humans” and his outlook on what was perfect. I found the obstructions themselves to be a little dramatic and at times inappropriate. I don’t enjoy work that has a lot of nudity and sex in it, even if they are talking about human nature. Overall though, I thought it was a very interesting film and the concept behind it was creative and exciting. Therefore, much to Lars von Trier’s disapproval, I found this to be a very good film.

“Meshes of the Afternoon” by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid

Movie Review:

I found this video to be very captivating not only technically, with its camera work, angles, and movement, but also psychologically, and all the questions it had the viewer asking. The camera work and editing was very interesting with its chopped and repeating scenes. They also used camera movement to insinuate earth movement, which I found to be very successfully done. The film itself could have several meanings, all to be determined by each individual viewer. It creates questions such as, what really is reality, is any of this reality, is this about a love lost, or is this about memories lost? Even questions about the ending such as, who killed who, did she kill herself in order to keep herself from killing him, or did any of this even happen. I believe the questions this video stirs is an example of why it is a good film, and it is successful in the sense that it keeps the mystery of the unknown and allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions or theories. 

Silent Movie Reviews

Movie Responses:

“Emak Bakia” by Man Ray

I found Man Ray’s “Emak Bakia” visually aesthetic and mentally stimulating. I find it interesting that this film was made in 1926 and was ahead of its time, because I still feel that it is relevant to art today, even ahead of art today. To make a piece of art that can withstand a century is truly remarkable. I enjoyed the abstract qualities of this video. I liked how it made you question what you where seeing and leaving it open to interpretation from the viewer. I believe, as I said in class, that I would have enjoyed watching it without sound first, because I found the music to easily sway my feelings. I do believe the music fit the video well, but I believe there were parts I would have felt differently about if there were no music. I also felt a dream-like quality over the video, only bringing in reality with the shot of the daisies and the car driving down the road. I believe Man Ray was an artist who allowed the viewer to observe the work and create his or her own opinions and feelings about his work. Overall, I really enjoyed this video and this style would be an approach I would take to my own work in video.

“The Man with the Movie Camera” by Dziga Vertov

This video was a little harder for me to get into. I’m not sure if it was because of the movie itself or because we watched it right after Man Ray’s silent film that I loved so much. However, I would agree with our feelings of this video shared in class. I do believe this video was made for propaganda use. The way it starts in a theatre, where you would see a short propaganda film, and concludes in a theatre, sets the stage for this film. It allows the viewer to see a “happy” Russia, with workers smiling, babies being born, technology booming, everything to ensure Russia is the place to be. I did enjoy Vertov’s filming with the repetitive use of a similar line. The line of the theatre chairs, matched the line of the baby cribs, and the line of the houses. All of these technical qualities, aesthetic qualities, and advertising qualities, let to an interesting propaganda film.

“Un Chien Andalou” by Luis Brunnel and Salvador Dali

I think for me, this film was my least favorite of the videos we have watched this far. This film started off very interesting with the interpretation of the moon getting sliced in half to a woman’s eye getting sliced in half. My first thought was that I hoped that was a cow’s eye, or at least someone who was already dead. Which just seems gruesome. The film itself was hard to read and follow, but I think that was the point of it. I think that the film was made to confuse the viewer and make them feel they were in this “dream” state of confusion. Dreams are not supposed to make sense, and I believe that is why this video does not make sense. There were a lot of repeating elements within the movie, and people and items were ending up in other areas of the film. I also believe this film may have hinted at the idea of death, and life and love after death. All the ideas I gathered from this video however, are vague and not definite ideas, but I also believe that was the intent of the creators.

“Mothlight” by Stan Brakhage

I really enjoyed this film by Brakhage. I think it ranks number 2 of 4, in my book. I liked the abstract quality and fast moving pace. I think if you watched it too much it might give you a little bit of motion sickness though. However, I found his way of interpreting moth wings and light very interesting and beautiful. I think you could stop this film at anytime and have a great piece of wall art. I’m not sure what his message with this film was. I think that it could be easy for debate. It could be talking about how something that would not be looked at as beautiful is beautiful in the right light, or that science can be art. There are so many possibilities, but I think whatever the original intent it could be easily changed by the viewer. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I am considering finding the slides that I like and turning them into artwork for myself. 

Passion 2012 Promo Video

This video was created to promote the Passion 2012 Christian conference held down in Atlanta, Georgia. I have had the opportunity to go to this conference two years in a row and I am looking forward to attending it again. It is a great way to make new friends and share your faith. If any of you would be interested in going you can get on their website or get ahold of me. It's an amazing opportunity and I encourage you all to go and see what it's all about. Here is what Passion 2012's Facebook page says about the conference:

At the heart of it all, Passion exists to see a generation stake their lives on what matters most. For us, that is the fame of the One who rescues and restores, and our opportunity to amplify His name in everything we do.

Given the fact that the University landscape changes every fall with a rush of new freshman faces, our mission with Passion is to continue to engage the “university-moment” with the compelling message of Jesus...… and the challenge to make life all about His fame.

To that end, Passion 2012 is more than simply another event. Rather, it is another step in a journey that is all about finding true meaning as we take our places in a story that is so much bigger than ourselves. It's about trading in small dreams for a role in a grand epic that is shaping history and has no end. And it's a rare chance for tens of thousands of university-aged young people to gather from across the US and around the world to celebrate their common faith and purpose.

The Mountain- TSO Photography

I found this video floating around on Facebook one day and I fell in love with it! It was shot on El Teido, the highest mountain in Spain, by TSO Photography. The video shows the beauty and majesty of our Milky Way, and also captured a sandstorm that passed through the Sahara Desert. I believe this video is a wonderful representation of a well-made time-lapse video, as well as an aesthetically beautiful video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did… and still do!