It’s late at night and I’m toast. What is all this about, this topic of beautification? Where is it leading us? At this hour - I don’t know - I’m so tired I don’t even care. Ryan and I spent the whole evening preparing for our first formal interview. We’ll drive to Bakersfield to do it. What is it going to be about? What are we going to learn? Are our questions going to define answers? Are we defining the film by our hidden presence in it?
But the questions spill over the brim, endlessly, mercilessly.
Why are we fascinated by the topic of beautification?
Is it true that not conforming to norms of beautification is social suicide?
Is it true that we communicate by our looks?
Can we find answers to these question?
Who are we - we the filmmakers? How are we related to the topic?
No pictures yet, no film, just questions.
We can’t hide ourselves behind the camera. We can turn it around and the subjects of our interviews will be us, giving a dissection of a dialect of the same language everybody speaks: beautification. The observer and the observed is one and the same.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Urban Community Gardening
As humanity progresses and "modernizes", it seems we start to lose that connection with nature that is within each and every one of us, its like denying our primal instincts. This could be due to lack of time, funds, space or other social or economic issues. At Tanaka Farms we were hoping to find people trying to reconnect with nature and understand better where food comes from and the process of it all, being so near their homes in Irvine and other Orange County cities. Yet, that doesn't seem to be what we found at all.
Luckily though, through some connections in class *wink* aka ;) (I can't believe I just did that), we got in contact with a group called The Grain Project.
What the Grain Project is is a non profit organization based out of Santa Ana which in the past hosted and organized a farmer's market. This took a lot of coercion of the city of Santa Ana and its mayor. After they were allowed to conduct their farmer's market the resources and funds didn't cover the cost, so they had to temporarily discontinue it.
This setback led to a new door opening which is a plot of land near Jerome Park (near an elementary school, a senior center, and several apt. complexes) that is a quarter acre in size which is all dirt. From this dirt Dr. Nick Spain and his key volunteer Laura have turned the plot into a community garden. Unlike other urban communal gardens though, this one is not rented or sectioned off to individual plots. The community is able to come tend any crop in the garden and is welcome to eat any of the "fruits of their labor" (see what I did there?).
This has lead to educating the youth of Santa Ana on plants and the growing of those plants. Also it has allowed for the older generations who might have small scale subsistence farmed wherever they lived before immigrating to Santa Ana rejuvenate their past knowledge. A bridge is forming connecting older generations to new ones and the connection to nature is being reborn and stories are being passed down while children can get their hands dirty and farm just like grandma and grandpa did.
We have yet to visit the site, but have seen pictures of the construction and first harvest (they've had the lot since March). It looks very promising, people from all age ranges come to contribute. The Jerome Park Garden is only open on Saturdays, due to lack of volunteers, but hopes to have enough resources to open more often in the future.
We plan to explore the growth of the garden and the community of its participants. Interviews would include The Grain Project administrators, kids, parents, teachers, possibly city council members, and other non-profit organizations. It is definitely a nice story which would develop into good narratives as we do our fieldwork documenting THEIR field work.
Luckily though, through some connections in class *wink* aka ;) (I can't believe I just did that), we got in contact with a group called The Grain Project.
What the Grain Project is is a non profit organization based out of Santa Ana which in the past hosted and organized a farmer's market. This took a lot of coercion of the city of Santa Ana and its mayor. After they were allowed to conduct their farmer's market the resources and funds didn't cover the cost, so they had to temporarily discontinue it.
This setback led to a new door opening which is a plot of land near Jerome Park (near an elementary school, a senior center, and several apt. complexes) that is a quarter acre in size which is all dirt. From this dirt Dr. Nick Spain and his key volunteer Laura have turned the plot into a community garden. Unlike other urban communal gardens though, this one is not rented or sectioned off to individual plots. The community is able to come tend any crop in the garden and is welcome to eat any of the "fruits of their labor" (see what I did there?).
This has lead to educating the youth of Santa Ana on plants and the growing of those plants. Also it has allowed for the older generations who might have small scale subsistence farmed wherever they lived before immigrating to Santa Ana rejuvenate their past knowledge. A bridge is forming connecting older generations to new ones and the connection to nature is being reborn and stories are being passed down while children can get their hands dirty and farm just like grandma and grandpa did.
We have yet to visit the site, but have seen pictures of the construction and first harvest (they've had the lot since March). It looks very promising, people from all age ranges come to contribute. The Jerome Park Garden is only open on Saturdays, due to lack of volunteers, but hopes to have enough resources to open more often in the future.
We plan to explore the growth of the garden and the community of its participants. Interviews would include The Grain Project administrators, kids, parents, teachers, possibly city council members, and other non-profit organizations. It is definitely a nice story which would develop into good narratives as we do our fieldwork documenting THEIR field work.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Nature and Constructed Space: Blue Planet and my love for Christmas
While I enjoy buying dresses and snazzy shoes as much as the next person, I am mostly a consumer at Barnes and Noble. I recently purchased the documentary series by the BBC called the Blue Planet: Seas of Life to accompany my copy of Planet Earth. Needless to say, both documentaries are filled with breathtaking video.
Tonight, it seemed appropriate to watch Blue Planet since I have also started filming for our own documentary about "nature". As I watched what could have potentially been boring, repetitive shots of ocean waves (except that each shot was utterly captivating and would most likely be boring to someone who thinks only white walls are pretty to look at),
a fear crept into my mind. I thought about how even the most beautiful of locations can look flat, unmoving, and dead if the shot isn't framed/set up well. As a infant cinematographer, I am bound to make such mistakes...repeatedly. I do believe the the assured way to get better, familiar, and lucky, is to be filming as much as possible. If not filming, then at least remembering to ask, "Hmm...I wonder what this would look like if I were able to frame 'it' like this?" So that's my plan.
On a more philosophical note, I also watched A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight (that's why it's so late - and my roommate is telling me a fantastic story about Dinosaurs being alive in the Congo - and if you want to visit the dinosaurs, you need space suits because its too toxic).
As Charlie searches for the true meaning of Christmas, we are searching for the meaning of "nature". Charlie is unsatisfied with the seemingly self-centered and commercialized nature of Christmas. In fact, one could argue that Charlie is deep down, an idealist - one who hopes the world is different than it seems. Anyway, Charlie is lucky enough to have a prophet in his life named Linus who explains the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie. Somewhere in this film process, I hope we find a Linus who will simply explain the underlying meaning of humanity's complex relationship with "nature".
Tonight, it seemed appropriate to watch Blue Planet since I have also started filming for our own documentary about "nature". As I watched what could have potentially been boring, repetitive shots of ocean waves (except that each shot was utterly captivating and would most likely be boring to someone who thinks only white walls are pretty to look at),
a fear crept into my mind. I thought about how even the most beautiful of locations can look flat, unmoving, and dead if the shot isn't framed/set up well. As a infant cinematographer, I am bound to make such mistakes...repeatedly. I do believe the the assured way to get better, familiar, and lucky, is to be filming as much as possible. If not filming, then at least remembering to ask, "Hmm...I wonder what this would look like if I were able to frame 'it' like this?" So that's my plan.On a more philosophical note, I also watched A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight (that's why it's so late - and my roommate is telling me a fantastic story about Dinosaurs being alive in the Congo - and if you want to visit the dinosaurs, you need space suits because its too toxic).
As Charlie searches for the true meaning of Christmas, we are searching for the meaning of "nature". Charlie is unsatisfied with the seemingly self-centered and commercialized nature of Christmas. In fact, one could argue that Charlie is deep down, an idealist - one who hopes the world is different than it seems. Anyway, Charlie is lucky enough to have a prophet in his life named Linus who explains the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie. Somewhere in this film process, I hope we find a Linus who will simply explain the underlying meaning of humanity's complex relationship with "nature".
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The "Culture of Beautification"
Things are cruizin' right along! We've welcomed Nicole as a new member to our film family!! She's already proved as a great asset to the development of the film! We're really narrowing down what it is this film is going to be about! Its exciting now that ideas are coming together!
It looks like we'll be conducting our first formal interview next Friday in Bakersfield. We first thought this consultant would be a source regarding the experiences of botox, but this has changed. As it turns out, she has participated in breast enlargement, rhinoplasty, and mentoplasty (chin augmentation)! We're excited about interviewing her, as she'll provide great insight into the motivational factors behind cosmetic procedures, as well as being able to express how her thoughts changed as she progress through what we're calling the Three Levels of Cosmetic Enhancement. Non-invasive (laser hair-removal, dermabrasion, etc), Semi-invasive (botox, tattooing, etc), and Invasive (liposuction, breast augmentation, etc). The consultant has requested to see some of our questions before hand so that she can think on the questions and provide us with a better interview. I personally think this is a good idea, but that perhaps some questions should be left out as there may be certain questions in which we want to be answered spontaneously. And, of course there will be questions that will be spontaneously asked during the interview.
The camera.
As a photographer, I like this camera a LOT!!! I got the chance to explore it over the weekend, I must say that its a gem! Some of my favorite features are the on-board sound mix, and the focus ring. The sharpness of this camera's lens is amazing! This is a good thing, but it can also cause you problems. Its imperative to make sure you're in focus when shooting. If you're out of focus in the slightest bit, it WILL show.
"The Eyes Have it All"
In portrait photography, it is standard to focus on the eyes,as they are what express the most emotion, as well as sit in a good position to provide a good plane of focus so the rest of the face is sharp. The expression, "The eyes have it all" could not be more true. When one eye is closer to the camera then the other, be sure to focus on the eye CLOSEST to you. Here is a link to some basic portrait photography technical guidelines that may help.
http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographytips/207/better_portrait_photography.htm
You don't necessarily need to shoot so close that you can see the detail in their eyelashes, but zoom-in on the eye to focus, then zoom out to your preferred framing. I think these basic principles of photography can help. They certainly can't hurt. Just remember, that everything you do in regards to framing, focus, lighting, etc., guides the viewers eyes and influences how they'll interpret the image. I'm sure Steven talked about this, I just wanted to reiterate how important it is. If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Happy shooting!!!
Ryan
It looks like we'll be conducting our first formal interview next Friday in Bakersfield. We first thought this consultant would be a source regarding the experiences of botox, but this has changed. As it turns out, she has participated in breast enlargement, rhinoplasty, and mentoplasty (chin augmentation)! We're excited about interviewing her, as she'll provide great insight into the motivational factors behind cosmetic procedures, as well as being able to express how her thoughts changed as she progress through what we're calling the Three Levels of Cosmetic Enhancement. Non-invasive (laser hair-removal, dermabrasion, etc), Semi-invasive (botox, tattooing, etc), and Invasive (liposuction, breast augmentation, etc). The consultant has requested to see some of our questions before hand so that she can think on the questions and provide us with a better interview. I personally think this is a good idea, but that perhaps some questions should be left out as there may be certain questions in which we want to be answered spontaneously. And, of course there will be questions that will be spontaneously asked during the interview.
The camera.
As a photographer, I like this camera a LOT!!! I got the chance to explore it over the weekend, I must say that its a gem! Some of my favorite features are the on-board sound mix, and the focus ring. The sharpness of this camera's lens is amazing! This is a good thing, but it can also cause you problems. Its imperative to make sure you're in focus when shooting. If you're out of focus in the slightest bit, it WILL show.
"The Eyes Have it All"
In portrait photography, it is standard to focus on the eyes,as they are what express the most emotion, as well as sit in a good position to provide a good plane of focus so the rest of the face is sharp. The expression, "The eyes have it all" could not be more true. When one eye is closer to the camera then the other, be sure to focus on the eye CLOSEST to you. Here is a link to some basic portrait photography technical guidelines that may help.
http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographytips/207/better_portrait_photography.htm
You don't necessarily need to shoot so close that you can see the detail in their eyelashes, but zoom-in on the eye to focus, then zoom out to your preferred framing. I think these basic principles of photography can help. They certainly can't hurt. Just remember, that everything you do in regards to framing, focus, lighting, etc., guides the viewers eyes and influences how they'll interpret the image. I'm sure Steven talked about this, I just wanted to reiterate how important it is. If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Happy shooting!!!
Ryan
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Environmental Charter High School
Since our last post, we have been focusing on putting together some wordy contracts between the school and ourselves to ensure creative control of the project. We are also trying to figure out our approach to creating a symbiotic relationship with the teachers, faculty and staff of ECHS! Here are some photos to give you all a better idea of what ECHS looks like....
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Personal Liability Insurance Info.
Hey there everyone, I just spoke with my aunt about personal liability insurance. Steven recommended I blog this information.
As I mentioned in class, my personal liability insurance is tagged onto my renter's insurance, for which I pay $13.50 per month. For the personal liability insurance portion of my plan there is no deductible. Meaning, if I were to be out in the field with the camera, and, due to my own personal negligence, drop the camera off a ten foot wall, 100% of the value of the camera would be covered. But, if we were to have the camera, and another group member (or total stranger for that matter) were to damage the CSULB property, my insurance would not cover it. In addition, if the camera were in my apartment, and someone were to steal it, it would not be covered by my renter's insurance because I do not own it.
My aunt recommended that if people want this sort of insurance, it is more cost effective to tag it onto a renter's insurance or auto insurance policy (to just get in individually is about $10 or $11 per month--I think). She recommended people in the class to call their local insurance agent (State Farm, etc.), or, they can call her office to write up a policy through Driscoll & Associates, which is located here in Long Beach (technically Signal Hill). My aunt's name is Carleen Armstrong.
Driscoll & Associates
3150 E. Willow Street
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Phone: 562.595.5355
Fax Number: 562.427.6069
I hope this helps! Personal liability insurance is kind of cool to have. For example, if I were to be shopping in a store, and break a large and expensive vase, it would be covered. Another example my aunt gave was that if I were have a dinner party and serving a walnut salad, in the case of someone chipping a tooth on a walnut shell, their damage would be covered by my liability insurance.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tanakatainment Photo Supplement
Gail handing off the launch controls...
and...blam!
The corn looked suspicious...Tanakatainment? First day of filming
Mike, Lauren and I had our first day of filming at Tanaka Farms on Sunday 10/26 and I have to say...everything went pretty well. We filmed three interviews (one of which we will probably not use, but was useful practice for filming and setting up the interview shot and sound) and also a number of cut-aways.
We were all under a lot of pressure to capture footage that day since it would be out last opportunity to film during the "pumpkin patch/Halloween season", which may be taken down after friday to begin setting up for Christmas tree season.
One problem that we did face while filming had to do with the audio from the external mic. We had set up our interview, prepped out interviewee, and were ready to film when we discovered that the only audio we were recording was from the internal mic (and there was way to much external noise). After about 45 minutes of fussing with it, we finally were able to figure it out with the help of our interviewees father (who happened to be a filmmaker).
Another small problem we faced was that many people we talked with did not want to do interviews with us. The environment of Tanaka Farms is very crowded and busy, and many families with small children don't have enough time to stop and give us the time needed for a proper interview. We ended up finding individuals who were stationary. For example, out best interview was a father whose daughter was having a birthday party at the farm, which allowed him free time while the kids were playing and eating cake. Another great interviewee was a volunteer who manned the "launch pad" which shoots pumpkins out of a large cannon toward a target at the other end of the farm.
Anthropology News: March Issue
This is from an email I received from AN. I just wanted to throw it out there in case any of you might be interested in submitting commentary on the topics they're addressing.
-Ryan
I’d also like to let you know that March AN will focus on the theme “Ethnography across Media.” Series topics will include (1) Multisensory Anthropology across Media and (2) Visual Ethics. If you are interested in submitting a commentary piece for this, please go to www.aaanet.org/issues/anthronews/callforpapers.cfm for submission details and guidelines.-
-Ryan
I’d also like to let you know that March AN will focus on the theme “Ethnography across Media.” Series topics will include (1) Multisensory Anthropology across Media and (2) Visual Ethics. If you are interested in submitting a commentary piece for this, please go to www.aaanet.org/issues/anthronews/callforpapers.cfm for submission details and guidelines.-
Botox Anyone?
Things are coming along in the world of cosmetic surgery!! We've established some great contacts in the last week, and what was looking like a dry river of access has turned into a flood of information and willing consultants!! Hopefully this deluge remains throughout the project.
As of now, we have a woman who regularly undergoes botox treatments, and has participated in botox "parties". She is willing, and practically pushing for us to film one of her treatments in the coming month! She may also connect us with others who undergo similar treatments. Thanks to Patricia, we have a consultant at a local salon who is willing to give us an interview and perhaps give Tin a facial. Speaking of Tin, his hard work has put us in a great position to capture the innards of the cosmetic surgery industry! Through a physician friend of his, we hope to gain access to, and film a surgical procedure!! We'll be pitching our film at his facility this week in hopes of acquiring permission to document a tummy tuck/face lift/liposuction/breast enlargement/etc. procedure! There is also the possibility of a contact within a penis-enlargement office!!
Now we just need to narrow down our angle and pin-point how we're going to drive this train to make an interesting and personal documentary. I will admit, this class is turning out to be formidable. There are times when it seems overwhelming, and I'm sure its going to get even more so. But, I'm really excited to see what's going to happen in the coming months.
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