Speaking Indirectly About Pockets of Poetry

     What I admired most about Speaking Directly was the apparent honesty and vulnerability of the director.  Now, I don't know Jon Jost, so I cannot verify that what I saw was not a fiction, but what I felt, as a viewer, was a person exposing and positioning himself to the point of me feeling that he didn't pull any punches or paint himself to be more or less than who he is (if that is possible).  He's able to create a sense of authenticity and, for this film, it is vital.
     What I would like to focus on as far as what I can apply from Jon's film to the projects for this class is how he uses different types of visuals and audio to represent himself, others, and ideas in this film to keep the representations fresh and interesting.  He uses film, photographs, special effects, stock footage and audio, music, narration, and other techniques.
     A specific sequence I found most interesting was when he was introducing people that he knew in his life.  During these sequences, he typically switches between photographs and film of the people he's talking about and he also conducts 'interviews' with some of them.  The most interesting decision I thought he makes was when he cuts to the film of a path to his neighbors - it's unique because up until then most everyone he's discussing is given a photograph or film visualization and to use the path to represent these people breaks the rhythm, yet still reveals something about his neighbors, himself, and their relationship.  So the decision, while it may have been necessary because they weren't available, still fits the 'showing' us his neighbors.
     Though the film is full of smart and clever artistic decisions, this moment took me somewhere that was unexpected, but not jarring (like jarring me out of the film).  It was a poetic moment that made me laugh the good laugh.
     How to apply this to the projects I'll be working on in this class (and beyond) is more about choice than it is about how to apply it technically.  While representing my subjects in my projects I will try to use different ways to 'show' them so that the subjects remain fresh to the viewers.  This doesn't mean I arbitrarily apply a technique just to be different - how and what I use to represent my subjects will still have to fit within the framework of the rest of the film/video.  It is those combined choices that will allow for pockets of poetry to appear.

Inspirations from the First Viewings

     Watching Fog made me think of how you could utilize the dramatic effect of the slow dissolve of nature by focusing a handheld camera on the ocean with a low hanging and dense fog.  The ocean wouldn’t be visible right away through the dense fog, but eventually the white caps of the waves would make the location apparent.  If the timing was good and you could also collect a few storm clouds rolling by, it would add to the visual dynamic as the screen could be split into thirds:  the bottom third being the ocean, the middle third being the distant horizon, and the top third being the storm clouds.  Fog used the divided canvas well by using the power lines as visual dividers. 

     As the fog dissipates over the span of about 10 minutes or so, the ocean and sky become more obvious and then a warship appears out of the fog slowly floating through the frame for about two minutes and then disappears out of the frame.  I like the idea of not following the warship, just as in Fog the handheld camera just stayed focus on an invisible point.  This non-focus on the moving object would match the passing overhead clouds and the ocean waves.  I would end the film with a couple of minutes of the handheld camera focusing on the ocean and clouds, letting the passing of the warship be just a memory.

     I would probably not want to use any sound in this visual, as it would allow the viewer’s mind to create its own ocean sounds.  I also think the appearance of the warship without sound attached could be interesting, but also believe if sound was started at that point (the ship moving through the ocean), it would add a different dynamic for the viewer:  why sound now?  The sound would end when the ship is out of the frame and the film would end in silence.

     The muted grays of the fog, sky, ocean, and the warship also create an opportunity to contrast the grays with the coloring of the nationalized flag of the warship (though the flag may be barely visible).  This would match the muted grays in Fog, yet twist it a bit with the momentary glimpse of color.