FTV Blog 9: Jerrycan

Jerrycan was my favourite of the three short films we watched. Clearer story, surface level interactions--bully picking fights, aggressive dialogue. The film was more up front (than Gasman or Crackerbag). Fascinated by boys that age. The drama more colourful here. More instantly entertaining, you could just sit there and watch it.

(Perhaps as somebody not too far from that--boys, of that age, only 5 or so years younger) I enjoyed learning the dynamics within this group between these boys--the obnoxious leader who rules with a 'fuck you' attitude. He is so clear-cut it's a pleasure to watch. I've not been directly subjected to that sort of character before in real life but, like anyone else, I've been through stages of insecurity growing up where you struggle to find a balance between peer pressure, strength of character/identity, and social acceptance. The ages 13 or 14 are notorious in boys for brining out the worst. This film divulged that whole social world as well as telling its story clearly and concisely.

Jerrycan looked good, yeah, and again it was shot on real film. I'm convinced that that alone raises the grade of any movie. The three shorts we saw all had high production values--not necessarily high budget but high standard of production, detail...

You can praise all you like the quiet, beautiful pictures and they're fine but at the end of the day I enjoy watching Jerrycan far more.

FTV Blog 8: agIdeas

I made the decision to attend agIdeas, a three-day design conference at Melbourne Conventon Centre where acclaimed designers from Australia & the world speak to an audience of around 2,500. Some spoke about their work & influences, detailing projects like you would read an art museum curator describe an exhibition--jargon, dull, difficult. Others spoke about their lives and told stories about how they came to their current point in life. Most speakers offered advice and lessons they've learnt during their careers.

Walking out of the convention centre at the end of the third day I was feeling mixed opinions. My ticket cost $300, is that justifiable? There was so much to take in but no measurable outcome. So much conceptual inspiration and wisdom but so little tangible value.

There were two messages at the forefront of my mind. One was that the best designers have the type of character that sees them 'putting themselves out there', being proactive, working out of passion rather than to pass a uni course or comply to the boss's instructions. They go out and work on their own projects and interests regardless of whether it's paid or acclaimed or popular (yet). Only then can be fit to be employed or make a career out of designing something.

The second message I hold from agIdeas is that collaboration is greater than any individual labour. This is not a new philosophy or a revelation to me but it was notable to hear it repeatedly from people who are somehow seen on a pedestal by much of the adoring audience.

FTV Blog 7: A Quiet Word with Rob Sitch

The other week my parents were interested in watching this show A Quiet Word With..., a half-hour talk show hosted by Tony Martin, again on ABC. 'Hosted' is actually an overstatement; each episode he sits down one-on-one with his guest and chats about their career, old times, anecdotes, etc. On Easter Saturday, Martin's guest was Lily Tomlin, who I had never heard of and who didn't interest me at all. I didn't have any enjoyment watching her reminisce about shows and people I didn't care for.

Anyway last week the guest was Rob Sitch, comedian member of Working Dog productions, the film team responsible for the likes of Frontline, The Panel, Thank God You're Here and The Hollowmen. I love Frontline and I'm a big fan of the group, fairly familiar with their work. So it was properly interesting watching him talk about his projects at a very root level, not polishing the final product or phrasing himself like an advertisement.

Having done a few months of this course, slowly understanding the processes within the creation of a film or TV Show, it was good to hear Sitch discuss the way he and his team take ideas and run with them. He says sometimes everybody quietly agrees an idea is great but they leave it for a few years because nobody want to step forward and be responsible for it.

Review of 'Targets' (1968)

Targets is a quiet, simple film, its plot basic but dark: an American man (played by Tim O’Kelly) goes on a killing spree, escalating to a massacre at a drive-in cinema. Meanwhile, horror actor Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff) prepares to speak at the drive-in for his last appearance before retirement. While it’s a terrible thought that a sniper is killing off audience members in their cars, the emotional impact of Targets could have been far deeper if (for example) we became familiar with a family of cinema-goers during the daytime before they are killed that night. Instead, Boris Karloff’s story had little bearing other than to provide quirky, self-referential parallels of film-within-film. Targets is less a scary movie and more a comment on the evolution of the horror genre & its changing reception by audiences.

FTV Blog 6: Music & film thoughts

I wonder if anybody has made a feature film inspired solely by a music album. I know music and film have a close relationship, but how direct has it been?

• At one end of the spectrum is the music video; short movie clips
  

Maybe what I'm searching for is a movie that is not only based on the music but goes beyond the music video and presents a whole story and illustrates the imagery inspired by/created within a song.

FTV Blog 5: Human Planet

I just watched an episode of BBC's eight-part documentary Human Planet, which is being aired on ABC at the moment. Each episode looks at a different type of landscape (grasslands, mountains, etc.) and how humans have learnt to live off--and survive in--these unforgiving lands. Tonight's episode was about desert, so they documented different ways local people find water.

When ABC began promoting this series a few weeks back, I was desperate to watch it, hoping for a documentary of staggering scope that delved into the history of civilisation. In the end the show was less historical and more anecdotal. In the globe's obscurest corners, people of exotic tribes apply time-honoured, crucial skills to accomplish mammoth tasks or epic journeys, doing what's necessary to survive.

While watching the desert episode tonight, it became clear that this show presents its content very much like stories rather than research. It's almost like hearing a fable, ancient and beautifully simple. I can't remember the details of this particular story but one chapter of tonight's episode went something like this:

Deep in the Gobi Desert, there is a Mongolian camel herder. Once a year he must travel for days with his camels to find new water. In the desert he must be wary of the wolves, greedy and savage. Each midnight he leaves his tent to check his herd. One night he counts one missing--his prize female, heavily pregnant. Dawn arrives and the Mongolian embarks on his search fearful that the camel has fallen prey to the wolf. He climbs atop a ridge peak to view the land below. It is vast, unceasing, daunting. But he sees the camel, a tiny speck in a sea of dust. He makes his way towards her, seeing she has given birth. The calf is on the ground, not moving. The Mongolian's fear returns briefly, but the calf is breathing. He carries the calf and leads its mother back to his tent. His sons are happy to meet the young offspring.

Review of 'Written on the Wind' (1956)

At first I found Written on the Wind boring, being dropped into the courtship between Lucy and Kyle without knowledge of the characters, so I had no feeling, interest or care for the story. But the film soon developed spectacle as the larger tree of characters was revealed and we had first glimpse of the family dynamics, cleanly illustrated in the bar fight scene between Mary-Lee’s admirer & Kyle. However, Written on the Wind snowballed into absurdity as the melodrama itself came to dominate. The film continued to entertain mildly although my engagement with the story faded under a blanket of traditional but tiresome melodramatic traits--over-the-top music, characters’ over-reactions and their cartoonish personalities.