Expression through more unique means.

ASOS Puma 'Os Pixadores' from Pulse Films on Vimeo.

As of recent, I've been more interested in abstract art and graffiti, and when I saw this video, I was in awe. However, this video is about 'pixadores'. Pixadores are gang members in Sao Paulo who express themselves and tag their gang through art and graffiti, often times illegally. Now, is this right? No. Is it legal? No. Why would a company like Asos or Puma essentially sponsor this? This has been the question many people are asking. I, too, am confused, however, I don't really mind. It's definitely a better way of expressing themselves than killing people or committing much worse crimes as some gangs do, but it's still illegal. It's hard for me to side against these guys though because of my interest in their art and all. I don't mind small crimes like trespassing or whatever these artists are doing. As long as you're not disrupting anything or damaging anything, I don't see anything wrong with trespassing. Psh. Why not be communist? Let's all share our property. Sounds good to me. And their graffiti can always be removed if need be.

The process itself interests me. I love scaling walls and buildings. It's not hurting anyone, but the fact it's sometimes illegal is exhilarating. On top of that, most people haven't been on these roofs, etc. which, to me, is entertaining because it's almost like the most basic form of exploration. Sometimes you can see everything from a different view, or see new things you've never noticed.

And about the video, it's good. Really well done. Color correction on spot. Angles and speed of film perfect. Interesting story because I don't think many people know of these pixadores, or at least in the United States. Music and sound effects fit well.

A Look At Our Law Enforcers

Saw this shocking video today. I've heard similar stories before on the radio station NPR. Every time, it's so angering. It just gives people even more reason to hate the police, which I slowly find myself doing. I respect the police when I see them, but slowly, through media, I feel I'm being slightly brainwashed. There's a feeling inside my head that wants to hate the police, and there's reason for it, as shown through this video. I want to believe the police and law enforcement systems are doing their job correctly, but it's difficult with evidence like this. When someone hasn't even done anything illegal, and the police officers try to find something to charge them for, and the way they disrespect the "criminals" is simply bothersome. Especially because it has to do with race and other things, irrelevant to the crime "committed".

Now, I myself, as most people have committed minor crimes if they're even worthy of that title. J-walking, trespassing, blocking pedestrian traffic, just to name a few. Knowing things like this are being used to arrest people is enraging. Many of these simple laws are for our own safety, and definitely, for first time offense, are not as punishable as some police departments make them.

Just saw this video and felt the need to write a reaction.

*Warning* Lots of explicit language

Life in a Handstand: Homeless (Ep 4)

This video series is an interesting concept, and is incredibly well done. The filming and color correction look cinematic. It uses sliders, timelapses, film grain, and lots of other great stuff. Some really interesting camera angles that definitely help get the point across, like the close ups of the cigarette scene. Visive Productions is the best filming group I know that's not some major Hollywood group. They only use DSLRs (Two Canon 7D's) and a GoPro, I think.

Considering it's not a real actor, decently emotional, and the fact he's totally not homeless cause he drives an Audi.

Oh...and the skills required to balance on his hands...not easy as well. Props to Livewire.

Russians

Psh. Russians. They must not have backbones or something. Parkour and freerunning at its finest.
So explanatory. Nothing explains it better.

But basically, this video has some of the craziest moves I've seen. Russians always seem to be the first to do the new trick and seem to be able to morph themselves like nobody else.  Who else does gainer precisions? Anyone else wanna try running forward, doing a backflip and landing on something else? Doubt it. Or jump, do half a gainer, and catch a 3 foot high bar in your legs and not hit your head, and then land on your feet. Impossible.

Parkour analysis makes me sound like some crazy person. like that guy ^

*excuse explicit content. once again*

Dystopias in Pop Culture

I recently remembered this music video I saw a while ago and thought it a great example of a dystopian world. Everything about it is fantastically done. It's interesting to see these sort of videos in pop culture.

*excuse any explicit content*

Dystopian Trailer Poster

We were assigned to make a propaganda poster for our dystopian trailer with the option of using it in them or not. This is my group's poster. We chose to design it this way because we thought it effectively communicated some of the ideas behind our dystopian premise. For example, the social classes in our trailer will be divided through loss of their senses between the different classes. The poor can't see or hear the rich. This poster shows this through an eye with a businessman (or rich person) as the pupil. It's also blurred because tha helps show the idea that they're living in a perfect world. The font we chose looks somewhat post-apocalyptic or dystopian which is fitting for this assignment. I do not think we'll be using it in our actual trailer.



Dystopian Film Trailer Review/Critique

V for Vendetta . James McTeigue . R. 2005
When Great Britain becomes a totalitarian nation, a rebel, by the name of V (Hugo Weaving), starts a revolution, calling on the people of the country to help him revolt. He rescues a woman, Evey (Natalie Portman), to later find her to be a useful partner in crime.

A dystopia, by definition, is "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one." (Google). V for Vendetta is a trailer that contains these aspects of a dystopia: a totalitarian society and a nation where many citizens were unhappy. The director conveys these ideas through the use of a speech given by the head of the government (1:16), and the use of montages displaying the government's power (i.e. 1:27).  The trailer is edited with a dark, grey/blue tone to show the dreariness of the situation. The language throughout the trailer is all very powerful and emotion-provoking. There are many quick flashes to keep the viewer on the edge of his or her seat, nervous for the people of the the nation in the movie. There are also many scenes of violence and chaos showing how horrific the place the dystopia takes place truly is. The director uses these and many other techniques to provide the qualifications for a dystopian story.

In my own dystopian trailer, I plan to use many different filming techniques to communicate the dystopian theme. I hope to color correct the footage to cool colors and darken and sharpen it to give it a grungy feel. I also want to film in contrasting environments to show the difference between the high and lows of society in our dystopia. I will use dramatic voiceovers of the main character to keep the viewer's attention through listening closely, as well as watching carefully. With these different techniques and others, my group's trailer has a lot of potential.

5x5 Video Project

1. A shot from an outlook of a town/village near El Salvador's capital, San Salvador
2. A shot of a fishing pier and market at a beach on the Pacific Ocean, south of the village Zaragoza
3. A shot of a wild, starving dog at the foot of "La Puerta del Diablo" translated to be "The Gate of the Devil"
4. A shot of some performers demonstrating traditional Salvadoran dances
5. A shot of a village on the way to the capital, San Salvador

For this video, I used the Canon EOS T2i with the 18-55mm kit lens. This was edited on Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. The edit was simply compiling the clips, no color correction or changing the audio. Everything went smoothly, without any problems.

Personally, this 5x5 is probably as good as I could get with the limitations, but there are a few things that I would've preferred. The video itself is a bit grainy, and shaky, but it's handheld, what can one expect. I also  obviously, would've preferred to be able to color correct, etc.

For our next independent video project, I think it'd be interesting to have everyone make a video that displays some parts of their life, similar to a day in the life video. It could be hobbies, school life, etc.

For our third assignment, we've been told to find an expert on a topic we're interested in relating to our class.     It was required we read an article about subscribing and connecting to people through RSS Readers.

The article talks about the new methods of learning provided by the internet, called the "Collaboration Age" because it allowed students to collaborate with peers, and find experts on topics to learn from. This technology allows one to work with people from all over the world. Different websites or apps can be used to tag websites, write documents as a group, share media, and much more. These tools can prove very beneficial for students, but only if used correctly. This style of learning and teaching requires teachers to step back and rethink their role as a teacher: to be more of a connector than a knowledge provider. This new age would force kids to think about the content of what they're engaged in, whether it can be trusted. If controlled, this new teaching method could be one of the most effective ways to this day.

Annotations: http://diigo.com/0sx64

One of my favorite videos to date. Great cinematography, color correct, and editing, as well.

Today was my first day using the website/app Diigo. It lets you annotate on text and create tag lists.

The movie review was structured mainly around the plot, giving bits of information about the characters. It seemed to avoid the cinematic and dramatic aspects for the most part. The author seemed to be quite critical of the movie despite the popularity and recommendations among people. He first compared "Inception" to other movies about the mind and dreams and then gave his opinion. The review lacks recommendation.

I think for our film class's movie reviews, we could give a basic plot overview, discuss the main characters, setting, and cinematographic aspects, such as: angles, transitions, color grading, etc. Analyzing all the different aspects of a film will only better our understanding of movie-making and help improve our own videos.

See my annotations of a movie review of "Inception" by A.O. Scott of the New York Times.
"This Time the Dream's on Me"
http://diigo.com/0sswq

I'm Sam. I'm a sophomore at Blair. I do parkour and play cello. I have a sister who is a junior also in CAP. I'm really interested in cinematography and video editing. I'm a terrible actor and don't particularly like being in front of the camera. I recently bought myself a DSLR and edit using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, however, in this class, we're using Final Cut Pro. I'm excited to learn a new program. I like the mechanics of filmmaking, as well as the accessories, lenses, and editing programs. I did two years in middle school of a film-making class and a semester in high school. Of the video-making I've done, it would be hard for me to choose one as a favorite because I often find myself unsatisfied with my work shortly after it's completed and I've never gotten to make videos on topics that particularly interest me.

We could use these blogs this year to express our opinions on our school assignments, update each other on how a project might be going, and share media we find to be fascinating and intriguing as inspiration for others.