A photo about change and adolescence.

     Ed Kashi is a noted and renowned National Geographic staff photographer and his images are quite impressive.  He showed us pieces from three photo essays and a video/mulitmedia presentation for each; the three categories were Indian infrastructure, Oppression and living conditions in Nigeria, and aging in America.  Each piece was remarkable in its realness and sincerity.  Ed Kashi’s work is very real, the people in his photographs are almost tangible, their emotion and essence seem to leap off the screen or paper. 

     This sincerity and candidness made the presentation extra-emotional as you felt like you were witnessing the injustices in Nigeria first hand and in the aging piece, which followed Kashi’s father in law and family as the elederly man moved in with the Kashi’s, we were treated to the delights of a grandparent and the heart ache of loss.  His pieces were so raw and real, but yet clean and refined and well composed.  His photographs are very impressive in that regard – they are well composed and are scholastically good pictures yet they do not feel established or arranged at all, you can tell that each shot is a candid glimpse into a life, into a heart.

     In fact the pieces were so real that after the multimedia presentation for the aging peace, people, including myself, were sobbing and sniffling, and as the lights came up, one could see people wiping away tears.  Furthermore, during the Nigeria and India pieces you could see the shock and awe on the faces of the audience, sometimes accompanied by gasps and whispers.

    Ed Kashi’s work is as real as it gets, on the ground, candid images of real people with real lives and his photographs are outstandingly good at protraying real life, when looking at an Ed Kashi image you know you are looking into the eyes of a real person in a real place in the very same world as yourself.  I am not saying Kashi is the best photographer of all time, but he is very good at what he does, he takes pictures of people around the world and shows us that their stories are real and their lives are real.  Ed Kashi knows they are, that is why he has been very active in advocacy work, especially in Nigeria, and, he wants his work to be the closest thing to seeing it firsthand, he wants the viewer to feel the same emotions as he did when he witnessed the actual event and met the real people.

Artist Statement

I envisioned “The Panic” to be adrenaline-pumping and slightly frightening – enough to convey the mood as panic and instill some level of anxiety in the viewer. However, as I filmed it, I realized I possessed neither the equipment, location, or actors for the fulfillment of vision. But despite the casting of total amateurs and a few improved scenes that were not in my original script, I am relatively pleased with the end result. I believe that through the use of some “point of view” shots, a few key close-ups and appropriate meeting, a mood similar to panic is established. Though, I am not quite sure exactly what mood is created, it is much more along the lines of anxiety or fretfulness or apprehension. Regardless, “The Panic” is a quick pursuit sequence that through the use of key shots and audio attempts to show to frightened young man chased by an unknown and mysterious group or force and I believe the short film conveys their apprehension and anxiety as they flee down familiar streets that have suddenly become hazardous.

Post-Production Notes

       I originally set out with a very idealistic vision; I planned this spectacular short zombie film with the premise of conveying the total and utter panic experienced by the human prey of said zombies.  I believed it to be the best idea and immediately began planning it.  I planned everything quite early, camera shots and angles, dialogue, music, transitions – everything.  However, while in production, while shooting, I encountered a myriad of problems and it probably shows in my piece, but, I have learned greatly from this experience and I believe I know have a further understanding of the film making process, from screen writing to post-production. 

            I began normally with a vision, an idea, and a script-writing word processor (“Final Draft”).  I typed and conjured up the script over a period of four days and as it progressed I was quite optimistic.  That was at least until I got on location.   I thought my location was perfect; the downtown area of my hometown tends to be really quiet and I figured by 11:00 PM it would be perfectly still and calm.  However, 11:00 PM on a Friday night also means that people from the nearby bars are leaving.  This caused two problems.  First, two alleyways that I really wanted to use in the piece were unavailable due to pedestrian traffic.  Additionally, people began to make their way to the main street we, the cast and crew were on.  So, the script could already no longer be followed perfectly.

            The second obstacle was the actors.  My two protagonists were totally inexperienced actors that had never done a play, musical, film, or anything.  Furthermore,  the actors portraying my zombie-like pursuers, left after about thirty minutes of shooting for a party, due to the cold.  It was understandable as the temperature was in the thirties, but it was frustrating nonetheless.  I had to rethink several shots because of this and change a few lines of dialogue.

            As far as the quality of acting, there was really no way to overcome that, I just had to shoot everything at least three times and then, just use the best, even if the best was not even really that good, such as the first dialogue in the alley, where both protagonists are (unfortunately) visibly smiling.  Fortunately though, their acting did improve as shooting progressed and they began to get into their roles more.

            Another actor-related and script problem occurred after the initial shooting.  I had just finished editing for hours only to realize that the piece was only one minute and fifteen seconds long.  Now, that still fit into the parameters of the assignment, but I wanted more. I added to the script and then called my main actors and asked if they could shoot again the night after.  One said yes, the other was called into work and could not make it. I could have found another person but then I would have had to reshoot the entire piece and that would have been utterly impossible.  I just had to deal and that is why, at the end of the piece, only one protagonist is shown.  To compensate for the lack of my second protagonist, I decided to keep the camera really tight on the one guy, Zack.  By keeping the shot tight on Zack, I make room for the possibility that the other man is there, just out of the frame.  In the end it does cause a continuity issue, however, at least I left it open for interpretation rather than just visibly showing that a character had vanished.

            Despite all these setbacks and unexpected obstacles, I am fairly pleased with my work and I am proud of my piece.  It may not be exactly what I wanted, but it still ended up with the style and atmosphere I wanted.  It may not portray panic all that well, but I still think that a mood of fearful apprehension is illustrated and I think it also does a good job of showing a human’s flight response when in a pursuit situation and fairly accurately displays their physical responses to a scary environment.  Yes, there are a few continuity issues and a small audio glitch, and the acting does leave something to be desired, but overall I think it is a competent piece of short cinema and I am proud of it.

This is the poster to one of my favorite movies of all time, “Everything is Illuminated” directed by, Liev Schrieber.  I love this poster almost as much as I love the movie.  The sunflower motif, also present in the movie, provides a nice background that contrasts the blue in the glasses and in the title text, sharply.  The poster design is alos perfectly balanced; using the rule of thirds, actor Elijah Woods’ face is perfectly centered in the middle third and his shoulders complete the balance by going into the side thirds.  His shoulders also balance it veritically, countering Elijah Woods’ dark hair towards the top of the poster.

I also like how the text goes around the actor’s head and shoulders, it helps to lift Woods off the background and seperate him from the floral background, almost elevating him.

The text font also works very well, fostering the quirky theme of the poster by being rather quirky and fun itself.

     Monotony is clearly the theme of this title sequence; the whole sequence illustrates and emphasizes how zombie-like society can be and how people fall into a routine and stick to it, never faltering, just doing the same thing again and again.  Really, that’s what the entire movie, “Shaun of the Dead,” is about.

     The monotony is shown by shots of synchronized acts conducted by people in similar clothing.  In the second little scene its grocery store cashiers, clad in white, going about their repitive droll jobs, their faces marked by apathy expressions.  The second little scene is several men in gray-ish jackets answering or checking their phones like they most likely do every day.  The clip after that is a little less droll, but, also monotonous as young adults and teenagers in hooded sweatshirts meander down an alleyway, with blank facial expressions.  Followed by that, is a boy playing soccer an empty street and he focuses only on the repetitive task of juggling his soccer bowl, and, again, the character has a blank expression. 

   The monotony is also enforced by the monochromatic color scheme of each shot and little scene in the title sequence.  The first one, of the man slowly and drearly pushing the shopping cart is mostly in hues of blue.  The second one, in the gorcery store is primarially white with some pale blue and nothing really stands out.   Third, the men at the bus stop, is primarially gray and brown.  The hooded teenagers break this pattern, but, probably only to highlight and display the title of the movie on the street, effectively.  The boy playing soccer is not totally monochrome either, but the colors are washed out and nothing is vibrant.  In fact, nothing is vibrant throughout the entirety of the sequence, everything blends in, reiniforcing the social commentary of how a person’s life can become very zombie-like and detached.

   The music adds to the monotony as well as the tone and beat of the music simply repeats over and over and matches to the rhythm at which the characters on screen move. 

    The rhythmic repition in each perfectly balanced shot creates a monotonous mood, but, manages to stay interesting; though tedious, the sequence is not boring, perhaps, because the monotony is actually interesting and causes the viewer (provided they catch on) to reflect on the monotony of their own life.  This is probably also helped by how well each frame and scene flows into the next one – it is seamless.

I’m really into concert photography, so, I took advantage of a concert I was going to, to take photographs and compile a photo essay, primarily on the lead singers of the performing bands.  I tried to use the lights to create different effects and blance the shots.  Additionally, I adjusted the white blance on some shots to enhance the lights and colors and create new effects.

Bands featured are Angels & Airwaves and Wakefield.

All pictures taken 9/28/2008  at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland, by Keenan Kunst.

Kiss at the Hotel de Ville

The Artist

Pipi Pigeon

Hell

Resistance Fighter

Jeep Ad

    I found this ad, perusing the internet for interesting advertiments.  Though I found several odd ones, their authenticity was questionable, so, I stuck with this one.

    The appeal here is obvious, Jeep is marketing the new Liberty as a rugged outdoor machine, equipped for any situation.  The words towards the top read, “because there are no street lights between patagonia and macchu pichu,” implying that the shown vehicle can travel anywhere.  Clearly, the sport utility vehicle is depicted as in the wilderness, conquering rough terrain and overcoming the apparent lack of outdoor light.

   The photograph itself, an obvious result of photoshopping and editing, effectively showcases the vehicle itself by having a dark, monchromatic background, whilst featuring a silver vehicle with multiple lights illuminated, almost forcing the car off the page.  The apparent lack of shadows on the front of the car, help the product stand out even moreso.  The photograph does a great job of portraying the product and making it stand out from the background.

    The advertisement itself, as a package, text and graphics, is seemingly targeted at adult males, but by choosing patagonia and macchu pichu, two picturesque locales, for the text, the ad’s masculinity is not as overbearing.  The same goes for the background; there are no lights in the desert either, but rather than portray it in a desert, the ad designers put the vehicle in a lush, tropical location, such as that of South America, which begs the question – why not Africa?

I just really love this song and this music video, so, I decided to put it up here.