Purpose: To inform people about the issues existing in Nicaragua and how Capuchino High School's peace club is working with a non-profit organization to help build a school there.
Contacts:
- Ms. Truman (ceramics teacher & peace club adviser)
- Mallika Sharman (peace club president)
- other peace club members
- Eddie (Cap staff)
- One Dollar For Life organization members (non-profit)
Interview Questions:
- Mrs. Truman: Why did you decide to create peace club? What is the goal of peace club?
- Mallika Sharman: What is the current project that peace club is working on? How did you get involved with ODFL? What are some of the ways peace club is planning on helping Nicaragua?
- Peace club members: Why did you join peace club?
- ODFL: What is the purpose of your organization? How did you get the task of building a school for Nicaragua?
- Eddie: What is your connection to Nicaragua and how do you do your part to help the country?
General Flow:
First, b-roll of the San Bruno/ Burlingame will be shown (Capuchino, Mills, houses, streets/ roads, stores) , contrasting with the various pictures of Nicaragua that will be shown after. (the poor schools & communities, trash heaps, etc..) with an opening voice-over telling the audience some interesting facts about the country. Then, peace club will be introduced (b-roll shown here). Next, the interviews will be shown, while b-roll of activities, meetings and more pictures will be overlap it. Finally, as the closing the b-roll of a hand holding a dollar and going around the school buying unnecessary items, but then Mallika stops the person and she leads the person to peace club where they donate that dollar for a good cause (a closing voice-over is heard during this time).
Shot List:
- LS of Capuchino High School
- LS of the peace club meeting room (ceramics room)
- LS of club members during a meeting
- MCU of adviser talking
- MCU of club president leading meeting.
- CU of club member writing on agenda sheet
- MS of club members discussing how to sell items to raise money
- CU of merchandise that are pending to to be sold
- MWS of interviewers answering interview questions
- POV/ ECU of person's hand holding a one dollar bill & walking to the vending machines and cafeteria to buy food
- POV of Mallika talking to person
- POV of person waking towards ceramics room to buy a bracelet with that same dollar
Intro: Never rich in the first place, Nicaragua continues to strive to overcome the negative effects of dictatorship, civil war and natural disasters, which have made it one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Well so what you might say to yourself? Why should I care about a country that has nothing to do with me? Well that may not be the best thing attitude to have regarding third world countries. That is what the students of Capuchino High School realizes. Every week these determined students get together to help countries in need. The country in focus for the 2010-2011 school year is Nicaragua and Capuchino's very own peace club will show you how a small contribution can make a big difference.
Closing: A dollar might not be worth much in the US, but what if that dollar was doubled? Tripled? Multiplied by a million? Now that number you pay attention to. If every single high school student in America donated one dollar, then we would have enough money to build 1,000 schools in third world countries. Now that really is something to think about. One dollar for a downloaded song, or one dollar to help build a school? You decide...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
A Sentence Apart Documentary Review
This documentary is really compelling and sad. It is about three individuals struggling to cope with the fact that their loved ones are in prison. An African American woman tries to live her life without her daughter, who was convicted for attempted murder on three counts. A young African American girl spends four years without her father, and she explains her difficult situation. Another young girl, her father has just gotten out of jail, she confronts him for the first time after a long time, their reunion a little shaky. It's hard to patch up a relationship after years in prison. I believe the theme of the documentary is to show how family is one of the most important things a person can have, and you won't know what you have until you lose it. Family is the spine to your life, without it, you will fall apart and will have no support.
Director and cinematographer
The camera work is done pretty well. The director and cinematographer makes use of the foreground, mid-ground, and background in their shots. They shoot in long shots and close ups most of the time. Good use of panning and dollying by the cinematographer. The camera movement is very slow and smooth, not fast and bumpy/ The camera work makes the documentary look more professional and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
The documentary's editing is composed of mostly straight cuts. Special effects were not used in this documentary at all, it would have distracted the audience and taken away the true message intended to be revealed. The sound design was not all that memorable. Some depressing, slow tempo music in the opening shots and some during dramatic, emotional scenes.
Co-director and editor
Overall, the documentary deserves a 4 out of 5 stars. I really like the theme of the documentary and the camera work. I also like how the creators focused on three people instead of just one, it gave us multiple perspectives on the same issue.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Baraka Film Review
Baraka surprised me as I began to watch it. The locations were breathe taking and the activities of the people in each country was incredibly interesting. I thought that it was nice to see a comparison of different cultures, religions, and environments because few have the opportunity to travel the world and embrace the beauty of life. I am really astonished that I understood the theme of the film when it lacks dialogue, or even a plot for that matter. Baraka does not focus on just a few characters in one location, but a wide range of people all over the world. From the various footages, I put the pieces together and came to the realization that the film's purpose was to show the uniqueness of different cultures and remind us that we might have lost touch with mother nature. The cinematography was very unique to the directors. There were a lot of slow zooms and panning. Shots are held fairly long on objects, landscapes, animals, and people to sustain the emotion of the audience. The directors did an excellent job shooting in a variety of angles to make the film more dynamic and entertaining. Lighting was not manipulated or controlled in this film, natural light sources or indoor florescent lights were used. The editing was nothing creative, just simple jump cuts. However, the music choice was creative, though. It ranges from slow tempo music to upbeat and dark. Overall, Baraka deserves a round of applause because it gives us a glimpse on different aspects of life, but was a little odd due to the lack of dialogue and plot throughout the film.
1. I think the film is entitled "breath" because it is a breath of fresh air, or at least new insight about different places around the world.
2. I think the planetary perspective of the film does expresses a critique of the modern world. The film shows footages of different landscapes and animals. Contrasting that, city life and people are shown. The beauty of the landscapes does not compare to the man made buildings and streets. The film seems to reveal the theme that modern society and technology has corrupted nature and that we should get back in touch with nature.
3. After watching Baraka, I got the message that it is important to be exposed to different cultures and appreciate the nature aspect of the world.
4. In this case, the absence of voice and text does put the film at an disadvantage because showing is much more effective than telling. The theme is clearly revealed through the footages shown and dialogue and text would be too distracting.
5.
The Tibetan buddhist monks prayer near Swayambunath stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal is applied to culture in the movie.
Sao Paulo, Brazil is applied to city life in the movie.
The prayer in Nepal relates to nature because it is a natural custom that Nepali people practice and it is not harmful to the environment. The city, Sao Paulo contrasts nature because it shows how modern buildings, streets, cars, and human activities are corrupting nature and does not preserve what is good and pure in the world.
6. I think the monk walking down the street represents the old world of refletion vs the new world of agitation. The old word (religion/ spirituality) tries to compete with the new world (modernization) and they just clash.
The cigarette factory and streets of New York represent how much nature has been altered by humans overtime. Determining whether this change is a positive or negative thing, that I leave to the readers. Religion and spirituality represent the positiveness of society in the new world. It is harmless, pure, and good for one's soul.
7. The images of the refuse heap and the poor show the greediness of the world. While some people are well off financially and have a lot of opportunities, others are forced to take the scraps and suffer. The images show the differences of social classes within countries and the contrast of wealth of many countries.
8. The music transition that stood out to me the most is when it transitioned from a mellow, slow temp song to a upbeat, loud song. The changed in song indicated that the location is changing as well, from a rainforest to an active volcano, perhaps.
9. We watched Baraka because we needed a sense of what our world is about. We needed to be exposed to new places, cultures, religions, customs, and animals. Isolation within our own society, our own country, doesn't do us any good. As long as we are alive, we should be aware of what is around us, the beauty, the culture, the majesty of the world. For me, this vision couldn't have rose up without seeing this film because it's concrete evidence of the positives and good things in life and I would not have the opportunity to travel the world to experience what I saw in this film. This film definitely makes me want to travel the world, embrace it and actually live my life.
1. I think the film is entitled "breath" because it is a breath of fresh air, or at least new insight about different places around the world.
2. I think the planetary perspective of the film does expresses a critique of the modern world. The film shows footages of different landscapes and animals. Contrasting that, city life and people are shown. The beauty of the landscapes does not compare to the man made buildings and streets. The film seems to reveal the theme that modern society and technology has corrupted nature and that we should get back in touch with nature.
3. After watching Baraka, I got the message that it is important to be exposed to different cultures and appreciate the nature aspect of the world.
4. In this case, the absence of voice and text does put the film at an disadvantage because showing is much more effective than telling. The theme is clearly revealed through the footages shown and dialogue and text would be too distracting.
5.
The Tibetan buddhist monks prayer near Swayambunath stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal is applied to culture in the movie.
Sao Paulo, Brazil is applied to city life in the movie.
The prayer in Nepal relates to nature because it is a natural custom that Nepali people practice and it is not harmful to the environment. The city, Sao Paulo contrasts nature because it shows how modern buildings, streets, cars, and human activities are corrupting nature and does not preserve what is good and pure in the world.
6. I think the monk walking down the street represents the old world of refletion vs the new world of agitation. The old word (religion/ spirituality) tries to compete with the new world (modernization) and they just clash.
The cigarette factory and streets of New York represent how much nature has been altered by humans overtime. Determining whether this change is a positive or negative thing, that I leave to the readers. Religion and spirituality represent the positiveness of society in the new world. It is harmless, pure, and good for one's soul.
7. The images of the refuse heap and the poor show the greediness of the world. While some people are well off financially and have a lot of opportunities, others are forced to take the scraps and suffer. The images show the differences of social classes within countries and the contrast of wealth of many countries.
8. The music transition that stood out to me the most is when it transitioned from a mellow, slow temp song to a upbeat, loud song. The changed in song indicated that the location is changing as well, from a rainforest to an active volcano, perhaps.
9. We watched Baraka because we needed a sense of what our world is about. We needed to be exposed to new places, cultures, religions, customs, and animals. Isolation within our own society, our own country, doesn't do us any good. As long as we are alive, we should be aware of what is around us, the beauty, the culture, the majesty of the world. For me, this vision couldn't have rose up without seeing this film because it's concrete evidence of the positives and good things in life and I would not have the opportunity to travel the world to experience what I saw in this film. This film definitely makes me want to travel the world, embrace it and actually live my life.
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