Racing Extinction documentary- review

 Award winning documentary Racing Extinction, directed by Louie Psihoyos was screened at the Booker T. Washington high school for performing and visual arts in Dallas tx in time for earth day. The film has been shown to various schools in the area as an effort to inform students of the hazardous actions humans are taking towards animals and the global climate in todays world.
 This documentary reveals many illegal actions against animals that are being held around the world, examples include the over hunting of sharks of all kinds, just to use their fins, as well as manta rays only for their gills. Many of this illegal use of animals is no exception in the U.S, this documentary reveals how a restaurant was using whale in their menus. The film exhibits raw images and courage from its producers and crew who went all their way into the cause, towards the end of the film they begin to accumulate all of the footage they have filmed of the animals in their habitats and team up with a technichal team and Tesla to create a video that is traveling all over the U.S, and is being projected onto large buildings, greatly attracting many people and informing them on the large issue that is human overconsumption of animals and environment.

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Two Elegiac Melodies: The Last Spring Soluna Festival orchestral piece

For the Soluna festival orchestral piece i have chosen Two Elegiac Melodies: The Last Spring composed by Edvard Grieg as the muse for the film i will make in accordance to the piece. As i listen to the piece it makes me feel like  in a setting of a sad farewell maybe from the 1940's or war era, im taking into consideration the title and the feeling of something slowly being taken away, i began picturing a colorful flowery cloth and its eventual disintegration and wear, in an area with lots of trees and a creek and leaves falling from the trees, i want intense darks and lights during the downfalls and climaxes of the piece, i want to give a calm and reassuring feel and use yellows and warm colors.

Dallas Medianale 2015 at the MAC Dallas, Tx

On Friday the thirteenth the Mckinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas Tx hosted the Dallas Video Fest's new production The Dallas Medianele  which showcased installations and screenings by a variety of international film artists. the MAC is a venue that holds visual exhibitions as well as lectures and other things. The space was very welcoming and relaxed, first i watched a video installation in the black box featuring the work of Micah Stansell and his film The Water and the Blood , the film consists of  intense imagery and auditory details, it begins with the abstraction of the splashes of underwater swimming and follows the leisure of a teenage girl and her friends, it then moves on to a scene of two children running and playing, throughout the film there is intense sound that attracts you to the subjects, it tells a story without using much dialogue, except that each subject throughout the film has a part where they say a monologue of something everyday that they do in their lives, it revolves around the lives of a country farm family, and it ends with a monologue by the grandfather of the family and the very last scene shows all the family members coming out of water.
Even though this installation wasnt part of the main screening i found it very insightful, the cinematography was very beautiful and the colors flowed very well throughout the piece, as well as the sound it was a very important part of this, it gave way to better experience it,  the viewer could feel indulged in the images.

Downtown Abbey series review

    Were all familiar with the successful british drama Downtown Abbey. Its a drama set in  the post edwardian era, focusing of the lives of the fictional aristocratic Crawley  family.  it is  written by Julian Fellowes. beginning in 2010 with season one, the series has  already gone into a 5th season as of 2014. Showing commercial success worldwide from the UK all the way to Australia and the Philippines.
    The overall design of the show, has high quality and really exhibits the smallest details successfully.
having most of the show shot on the real Highclere castle has given Downtown Abbey a signature look and identification.
    First off, the costume design of the series is incredible in its detail and reference to history, it brings attention to certain fashion trends of the era and is aesthetically pleasing, bringing forth the art deco style. As well as the set design of the show, the background is never missing an interesting spot to look at. The artistic design of the show serves as an influence in this modern era for many ideas and new trends in different industries like the fashion industry. Apart from the design of the series, the cinematography successfully reflects the elegance of the era portrayed in the series,  many of the scenes move very smoothly with the characters. for the most part the choice of location and lighting is also very well portrayed, giving the show a natural look. One thing that i have noticed though is that i find the dialogue between the characters somewhat unrealistic at times, the diction seems a little too modern for the time period portrayed and the characters speaking.  As well as the relationship between  some of the upstairs and downstairs characters, but thats what has added to the drama and plots of the series.
   I like how this series gives you a different view of the aristocracy compared to other films or series of this sort, the characters are much more developed and individualized and don't necesarily stick to the cliches. As the seasons have moved on ive been surprised to see the extreme changes in plots and addition of characters, at first i wasnt sure if those changes would be successful but, as the series has gone  you see that theres been a shift in the focus of the series, the first few seasons, although having many character subplots, primarily focused on the courtship with lady Mary and Matthew Crawley, which had the danger of developing into a typical love story, but as the plot twists went on and characters were lost, the show was able to focus on the stories of other characters that would have otherwise stayed in the shadows along with their potential stories , like that of lady Edith in the new fifth season, and of some downtstairs characters like the kitchen maid Daisy. I think this shift in focus has been a good choice, it gives the series content for further development, and increases the themes of the show, to more creative things in reference to history like the increased individualization of women and revolts against the government.

The Seventh Seal- Ingmar Bergman REVIEW

 The Seventh Seal is a 1957 swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman, he was the son of a pastor and grew up in a lutheran household. Many of his films question or depict faith, God, and the human relationship with religion and existence itself. The Seventh Seal is a classic example of Bergmans earliest work, it is a black and white film  and opens up with a reading of the section from the Bibles book of revelation that speaks about the lamb breaking the seventh seal and the apocalyptic events that follow from that. it depicts Antonius Block, a swedish knight who has just come back from the crusades, and his hopelessness in his faith in God and Gods existence. When Block and his squire Jons return they find themselves faced with the black plague. One day as Block is playing chess he encounters Death himself a character depicted with a paleface and wearing a dark cloak, he then challenges Death to a game of chess to challenge his power and proposes to himself that he will perform one meaningful thing in his life. There is also a band of actors traveling two men, Skat and Jof, who experences continuous visions of demons and angels,along with his wife Mia and their young baby. Meanwhile Block and Jons have begun traveling with a servant girl of a nearby village, they soon meet the actors after Skat runs away with a blacksmiths wife lisa. The whole band keep traveling together all the  while Death appearing and playing a game of chess wiht Block, no one else seems to be able to see Death besides Block other than Jof who at one point sees Death playing chess with Block and rushes for mia to get going and get away from the rest of the travellers, as Block sees this he makes sure that they get away while Death is distracted, this is the final deed Block performs as Death has told him that no one can escape him but Block has allowed for Mia and Jof to escape. After that Block and the remaining travelers finally reach his castle where his wife is waiting for them, there she reads the part from the book of revelations that speaks about the seventh seal being broken and the time comes nearer and nearer, finally Death enters the room and they are all taken away by him, later as Jof and Mia continue of their travels, Jof stopps to tell Mia of a vision that he sees against the horizon- that of all the rest of the band holding hands and dancing the dance of death with Death leading the way, Jof, Mia and their small son then go off their own way.
I found this film to have a very uncanny feel to it, it is a black and white film and i think that adds to the overall feel and theme that Bergman wanted to get across, even though it was black and white, the scenes were very well put together in terms of contrast of light and shadow, there was always sharp contrast amongst the scenes even though it was in black and white. This film has alot of allusions and archetypes embedded into it- you could say that the couple with the young child- Jof and Mia are a representation of the holy family of Joseph,Mary and Jesus or representive of the good that comes of that, that is why in the end they are saved because they represent a sacred and divine body of beings. Blocks struggle with accepting god and finding his faith is something that i think Bergman wanted to portray in this film portrayal of the reality of many people on earth and their struggle with the same thing, it explores human fears- especially the fear of Death, the playing of chess is depiction of peoples constant attempt at trying to avoid the idea that they will die, also Blocks determination to perform some meaningful deed is reflective in the inner need that all humans have of needing to have made the best of their lives and not have lived in vain, I think Bergman also explored the human nature of always seeking more and never being quite satisfied with the present, until youre time has come do you realize that you had everything you needed before you the whole time.

Antonius Block playing chess with Death





Antonius Block with Jof and Mia and their small son

Truffaut on the Auteur Theory