"Book Bargain" - Short Documentary

In this short, the printing of telephone directories is visually represented without the use of music. I think this makes the film stronger. Music would have distracted from what was being presented. The film moves through different scenes of the production of this particular process. The technique is present as there is a clear view of what is going on and the viewer is not likely to be thrown off. Some might see this process as redundant. Yet, the visuals are pleasing. There is steady camera shots and there is a good sense of what the environment in the factory is like. There are workers, machinery, and resources that are used to make these directories before our eyes. It seems very Mr.Rogers-like but it was interesting because the process itself is not only to be at the attention of the audience. I thought about different experiences and memories as I watched this. Sometimes even something that can be "dull" like this process can bring other things to our recollection. I think about how smells or tastes can also do this. It is all about making the most of our senses and experiencing the world around us in a way that we might oftentimes take for granted. Seeing the simple things can bring about great ideas. That probably was not the purpose for making this film, but somehow I found that this was another way I thought about my world as I watched it. Anything that we can take from something that is apparently not life-changing can lead to other things that can be through our thought-process.

"The Lumière Brothers' First Films" - Feature Documentary

The documentary about the Lumiere brothers’ films was entertaining to watch not necessarily to hear. I appreciated the description provided by the filmmaker commenting on it all but I would have liked to see the films how they really are. Maybe it would have not been engaging for people but I think it would be great to see these how they were originally shown. There were not much historical references mentioned but reactions. I think in that sense it was good to hear some of my thoughts be transmitted to the screen with him commenting. For the short films themselves they are truly a revolution. They are the pioneers of this beautiful thing called filmmaking. To see their films is to see the future unfold. They created things that might have seemed mundane to most people of our time but they can be appreciated for capturing people in how they are in the situations they interact with everyday. We can discover through that something about them or even something about ourselves. That is what documentary does for us all. History comes to life, whether it is history that is widely known or hardly known. Thanks to these guys we are able to see things that we wouldn’t normally see happen. There films capture people’s essence in different scenarios but their being is there for us all to see. Baby scenes like the kid walking it is adorable and makes one realize that life is to be caught on film and later on we can appreciate those clips for our kids and others to enjoy.

“Man with a Movie Camera” - Feature Documentary

“Man with a Movie Camera” is a film about a filmmaker and his world. Set in Russia, this movie captures the surroundings, doings, and ideas of a man with a camera. It is definitely one of the most experimental documentaries I have seen. This piece takes us on a journey through what life is like for a man like this one that has a movie camera as his sole companion. There are various scenes to take in of many different things. A woman is seen waking up, there is an outside view of people walking in the streets, trolley trains going by, people in shops, and creepy mannequins. Nothing seems to really correlate with one another. However, this is his life and how he wants it to be presented. With the use of music to heighten effect this can take us on a oftentimes surreal view of this man’s routine. Some of the processes involved were repetitive. Like the scenes with filming the people in the car and the children noticing the camera. The editing process is also shown for the footage gathered in this movie. It’s like a movie within a movie kind of a feeling. This piece made me realize that I am a small portion of something bigger. I live life in a way that most people would not. Everyone has their own way of seeing things. This man wanted the viewers to see life through his lens. No pun intended. I think this is a beautiful way of capturing one’s own point of view of how they see the world they live in. It might be crazy and hectic, as this was probably not for the epilepsy prone, yet, composition-wise it was amazing and content-wise it was inventive. I really enjoyed this one.

"Please Vote for Me" - Feature Documentary

“Please Vote for Me” is a great representation about competition among peers starting at an early age. Not all cultures are like this, yet, the audience can see how it can be in China where this film takes place. The three key players in the movie the two boys and one girl wanting to get votes from their classmates will do anything to get them. Whether that means relying on their talents or on exposing other people’s weaknesses. Sometimes they come up with strategies on their own and other times they come from their parents. It really did not surprise me that the parents were even telling their kids to somehow sabotage the whole process. It’s awful but I think that the parents thought that they did not want to see their child get hurt from disappointment. Any parent wants their kid to succeed. I think the methods they used are not to my agreement, yet, I can appreciate what is being presented to not do that when a similar situation happens with one of my own. I thought about this concept of competition in the film and I was trying to compare it to society here. I think that even here there is some kind of competition that starts young since there is this idea that people have to do better or know better than someone else to be marketable in the job field. It’s a sad reality that people have to face, but that seems to be the way things function here. This film made me make that connection. If kids were instructed to do otherwise, to not compete with each other and try to treat each other like equals and work to cooperate in helping each other succeed there would be an avoidance of most problems happening in our world today. This, however, does not change that I enjoyed the film. There were a variety of moments. There was comedy, realism, and moments where I got in touch with my inner child. “Oh I remember how that was like.” Kids will be kids? I think that this movie shows that innocence that is unseen by them but seen by the adults. They have the power to mold these children for better or for worse. Even though something like a class election is not the most serious of life-changing events it can be a little piece that shapes their personalities. The experience can help them or break them. I realize with this how I have been shaped because of many experiences I have dealt with especially those lived as a kid. Who knows how this experience in particular has shaped those kids, but it certainly helps others see the bigger picture of things. 

“Streetcar Motor Room” - Short Documentary

In “Streetcar Motor Room” there is much to take in a once. Machinery and workers are doing various chores as the camera shoots it all happening continuously. No edits are required to see both come together. One cannot go on without the other and this short film does well to present this idea. The camera moving above all the action with the use of crane helps create a sense of wondering through time and space through the journey through these men’s routine. I like that the filmmaker decided to go for this rather than a hand held shot of the factory or a different method to help the audience see where these people were at and what was their state. The conditions seem quite dangerous and I can’t help but be concern for the safety involved. There was a man during the filming that was at work and a piece of debris was falling on him and there was some kind of plywood that nearly missed him. I cannot complain about life now ‘cause these people definitely had it tough. It’s always nice to see how a piece can do that for us. Our problems and fears can seem small compared to those these individuals probably face. That is why documentary is powerful. Not only does it show people how they are in the environment they are familiar with, but the message that gets across usually makes us realize something about our lives that can be overlooked because of getting caught in what only concerns us. Or sometimes that message is one we haven’t heard of before or considered in the past.

"Harvest of Shame" - Feature Documentary

“Harvest of Shame” is a moving documentary that gives a depiction of how life for migrant workers is in the farms of America. I was really touched by the harsh realities that these people have to face everyday of their lives and that they really can’t do much to change it. I can feel the frustration involved with these people. They probably have to face the facts that getting out of that situation is hard. Maybe it’s not impossible but for that to happen will take a lot in so many ways. It almost seems in this piece that people in these conditions had to conform to a stereotype. The filmmaker does not make it seem that way at least not intentionally, but this is sensitive matter to these people and the unbiased take can make it seem like they are insensitive about the situation. It might not have been the manner they wanted it to be portrayed but I think that getting people to just keep talking about it is not going to solve much, I almost felt like wanting to reach out because they possibly felt so interrogated by the media. Sometimes the media wants to get their stories without considering others and their feelings, but I think sometimes it might need to be done for educational purposes like instructing others of the realities that the country is facing. People can be more aware of what others are feeling in those situations and be more sensitive themselves towards them hopefully.

"Control Room" -Feature Documentary

“Control Room” was educational and powerful. I did not think that the situation in Iraq was so dire and out of hand at times that people who did not have anything to do with it had to end up getting hurt. Yet, in all war, this is unfortunately the case. The film does well to present a point of view that had often been overlooked or seen as a darker side from common media networks seen in American television. People would probably erroneously connect Al-Jezeera network with Al-Kaida. They transmit video from them but it does not mean they agree with what they are doing. They portray things that are seen as controversial by the U.S. media networks and government, but it is because the footage they show in their network is something that the administration did not want to show at least to the American public. I really saw the tensions build up between people who supported the footage shown on the network as “as it truly is” and the people who did not want it shown because it was too much to handle. Sometimes the truth is harsh and reality can be a bitter place to be afterwards. No one likes to be reminded, but for media to remind the public of something means that hopefully it doesn’t happen again in history. This piece was very informative. It really help me get past some stereotypes that I might have been guilty of associating, like for example, that I thought a society in Iraq would not have permitted women to work and in the film there was a woman at work as a producer I believe. If I remember right. Sometimes people have to see beyond what is being presented. Films like these are not mainstream here but can inform people of different perspectives and different ways of thinking in other places. Documentaries like this one can certainly take us to these points of view when otherwise there would be no way of doing so just by mainstream alone.