TMA 273 - Press Pause Play

This beautifully shot film couldn't have come at a better time. Press Pause Play expertly explores the post industrial creative world. The film seamlessly and navigates the complexities of the democratization of media production. It does this by engaging with individuals who have not only found ways to navigate the new age of global connectivity, but have even capitalized on it. These stories are deepened when juxtaposed with industry veterans who have witnessed the crumbling of the media establishment.

The Filmmakers did an excellent job with representing the changes across the gamut of artistic mediums. Though ultimately affected in similar ways, the changes in Film, music, design, and performance arts due to technological advances and the internet are nuanced. The film represented the respective challenges of producing quality material in this creative climate fairly and adequately. An example of this was the discussion  of whether or not the masters of cinema would have made it in the modern system of self-promotion and click obsessed networks. The modern filmmaker needs to ask herself why she is attending film school. It is no longer to learn the craft. The film explains that as far as tradition is concerned, "craft is dead", meaning technology levels the playing field.

I found the film to be near perfection as far as seamless and interesting viewing is concerned. A few moments felt strangely elongated and slow moving, which didn't seem to complement the themes of rapid change. Particularly the scenes shot in Tokyo felt unnecessary and uncomplimentary. 

Ultimately this film or at least the conversation of where the artist should be placed in a culture of endless art, should be on every media conscious persons radar. Even more so for the young budding filmmaker.

TMA 273 - Alan Berliner's The Sweetest Sound

Every once in a while I find a film that explores an idea that is so universal and commonplace that I can't believe someone made a film about it. My disbelief doesn't come out of the notion that the film's premise isn't worth being a film, but rather that I can hardly believe that other filmmakers didn't come up with the idea first. I think that is a great strength of Alan Berliner's. He has a wit strong enough to carry you through films about the most personal and equally universal stories. This knack of his was excellently demonstrated in The Sweetest Sound.

The film was comprised of what could be described as vignettes. These vignettes are constructed by archival footage and interviews of Alan Berliner, the director of the film, as well as 13 other Alan Berliners. These vignettes converge on the singular idea of names. How do names give us identity and shape our personalities. They way the film is constructed mirrors in a way the manner in which all the Alan Berliners congregate for the first time, that being, 13 individuals, arriving to create one body.

The film was fascinating in the way it exposed the commonalities shared amongst the name sharers, ultimately answering questions I didn't know I had. For instance, do people named Jared inherently like the color green, is it something that comes with the name? What baggage do we give others when we name them? These are important questions that the film raised.

Perhaps the film's strongest point was the clever sound design. Shaped around the computer, the noises throughout the film added to the theme of resolving identity amidst a sea of individuals, especially individuals that happen to share your name. The sounds ushered the action along, and emphasized repetition, perhaps one of  the film's more subtle points of consideration.

Oh and of course Alan Berliner - that is the director Alan - got the www.alanberliner.com domain. Evidence of his forward thinking filmmaking.

TMA 273 - An Unreasonable Man

An Unreasonable Man is a fairly dense, intricately composed documentary. Aside from seeming rather run of the mill in its talking head nature, it manages to accomplish a number of things quite well. Perhaps the most important of these being the surprising efficiency in which the filmmakers expose an unprecedentedly successful activist career.

The use of the word ‘efficient’ might be questionable considering the documentary's two hour long run time. In spite of this, I found the film to be quite concise and fast moving, packing in impressive amounts of information. There were very few shots that lingered for more than a couple seconds, often times with talking heads finishing the sentences of the previous speaker. Initially this seemed a bit overwhelming, but it was understandably practical in the sense that it allowed for both supporters and detractors of Ralph to have screen-time and cover plenty of ground.

The filmmakers did a decent job at allowing individuals on both sides of Nader's story to express opinions. However, rarely did they let any negative claim go undefended.

Perhaps due to the rapid pace of editing and dissemination of opinions, the beginning of the film was hard for me. It was hard to discern what the film was really going to be about, besides just Nader in general. For instance it started with a series of individuals greatly opposing Ralph which set a sentiment that was a bit misleading. However, once the film made it past the scenes describing Nader as a youth, the film found its paces was engaging.

The filmmakers used music and subtle sound effects quite well. For example, I noticed the sound of a book closing anytime an excellent counter argument was made to disprove a critique of Nader. It was as though the filmmakers were saying “case closed” or “finished.” Perhaps it was a bit manipulative, but it was an indication or rather a manifestation of the filmmaker’s voice. Additionally I really enjoyed the inclusion of the celebrity interactions with Nader. The polarized moments with Michael Moore and the musicians were interesting considering their drastic loyalty shifts. Lastly, I’m a Bill Murray fan, so seeing him unexpectedly was nice and gave the film greater sense of credibility for me.

Ultimately the film made me question the ways in which I am engaging with my society as a consumer, and wether or not I am participating in democracy. This alone made the film a success for me.