The Man. The Legend. Bob Marley.

[Extra Credit]
 

Bob Marley: The Making of a Legend

Part of Changing the Picture (2014) 
Sunday, April 27, 4:30 p.m.

If I could describe this documentary with one word it would be “raw”.  I’ve never felt so intimate with a film before, it felt like watching a home video.  The most astounding part of all of it was that this home video was about Bob Marley, one of the most iconic and my personal favorite artists of all time.  It depicted the earlier part of Bob Marley’s life and career before he became the famous reggae artist he is today.

            Ester Anderson’s artistic choices in the film creates a unique experience for the viewers.  Like I said it was not only intimate but more than anything it was visually stimulating.  The mix of color and black & white imagery created diversity throughout the film.  The technique that stuck out the most to me was the use of transitions.  Because much of the footage was gathered randomly and then lost for over thirty years, the material would not have flown together very naturally.  But Anderson’s use of transitions and fades helped create fluidity throughout the documentary.

            Anderson’s choice to release this footage and create the film allows fans to see Bob Marley in a completely different light, one that shows innocence and the hopes he had of perusing his music but she still managed to capture his down to earth vibe that he’s famous for spreading through his music.  The truth and honesty in her work reflects Marley’s personality and art and I believe that’s something all documentaries should aspire to achieve.

Art of the Reel

[Extra Credit]


Attending Art of the Reel.

Castanha
Davi Pretto | 2014 | 95 mins
Saturday, April 19
9:00pm


        On Saturday, April 19th I went to the Art of the Reel film festival to see the documentary Castanha by Davi Pretto.  The story is about a middle-aged man who lives with his mother and supports her and himself through his double life as a child entertainer and cross-dresser.
       The documentary was unique because of Pretto’s way of mixing a documentary story with fiction like elements.  It boarder lined on the genre of thriller or horror because graphic content.  The film was a bit uncomfortable to watch at times which seemed to be exactly what Pretto was looking for.  The storyline itself is uncomfortable, so to reflect this in the imagery of the film made sense.  The film was very dark and involved a lot of sillouettes and shadows which added to the eery film.  Shots would some time start out blurry and then go into focus, this kept the audience at the edge of their seats questioning what they were looking at until it came into plain focus.  A few shots that stood out to me was the over the shoulder shot in the cab car where the cab driver is talking while he is driving.  This along with the narrative voice overs reminded the audience that this was an actual documentary.  The extreme close up of Castanha putting on his drag makeup was another great shot that showed the transition from Castanha’s home life into his work life.
       The most significant shot to me was the shot of Castanha stumbling forward naked and bloody.  This shot seemed to be straight out of a horror movie.  Pretto’s decision to shoot it straight on with Castanha dead center and moving closer to the camera was a very strong and powerful decision.  I enjoyed how Pretto started making the movie with a strong desire to make the audience feel the pain and emotions in the story.  He did everything he could in his film to get these feelings to reach the viewers.

The Little Things.

Kris Unick Final Project from krisunick on Vimeo.

Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots

Blog # 4

Relationships Between Shots:

Wolf of Wall Street Opening Scene

The scene I chose to do is the introduction scene of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese.  I chose this scene because The Wolf of Wall Street is one of my favorite films and I thought the way Scorsese took a real story and transformed it into a masterpiece was astonishing.  The introduction caught my eye especially because it is the very first glimpse you get into the story that is about to be unfolded.  This scene is important in all films; it sets the mood and can be a make-it or break-it scene that determines whether you watch the rest.

                A major theme in this film is excess and Scorsese not only portrays this through the story, the characters, and the setting but through the design of his shots.  In the first scene he tells a short story and gives the audience multiple points of views and mini scenes in one.  One shot that stood out to me was when he pans from the back of the house to the front of the house at an angle.  There was many ways he could do this shot to show the lavish estate but this strategy was pleasing to the eye and something unique.  Scorsese also uses a lot of angles, instead of shooting straight on he gives more variety to the shot by shooting from corners of rooms and not only allowing more to be in the shot but it keeps the scene visually intriguing.  Scorsese also throws in many “at home video” types of shots in the midst of his scene.  These show an amateur quality but remind the audience of the fact that this is a real life story of someone.  Another interesting shot is the one Scorsese shoots over a women’s body, it gets the viewer questioning at first what the shot is of but once we figure it out it plays with the sexuality theme in the movie.

What I most appreciate about Scorsese is his ability to come up with such innovative ideas and ways to shoot his movie.  I admire his ability to “show” and not “tell” the story and its themes through his imagery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tX40xe2cnw