Aquadettes by California is a Place 

A film on  Life, Death, and Synchronized Swimming

I know what you’re thinking. an inspirational story about senior citizens who make it to the olympics of synchronized swimming. Or at least that’s what i thought. 

Little did I know that this video would be about so much more and go in directions I never conceived of, putting a face not only to the world of senior citizen synchronized swimming but also to the ‘legalize marijuana’ support faction. 

But that’s the thing I love most about great journalism. It flips stereotypes on their heads, exposes the world to a multitude of perspectives, and if you’re lucky… hits right into the emotional core of what makes life worth living. 

Another piece of brilliant storytelling from the California is a Place crew! 

“Big Vinny” from the California is a Place series. 

Once upon a time, he was a local celebrity. He earned his nickname after doing a tv commercial for a Round Table pizza named The Big Vinny. For over twenty years, he was the face and voice of a successful used car business in small town Alameda. He sold and he sold and he sold and Californians drove away happy. Today, everything has changed. The business is dead. The lots sit empty. Big Vinny is out of work. But he still remembers the good times.

The opening of this video is a great example of the power of contradictions. From the beginning, the booming voice of “Big Vinny” giving us his famous car pitch is juxtaposed amidst the imagery of a deserted and broken-down car lot. In just 10 seconds, the audience is already in a mood of melancholy.

This sentiment only builds further as the cinematographer employs shifting focus shots, directing the audience’s eye towards the lock on the fence or a dilapidated banner still floating in the wind from a previous sale. Natural shadows obscure parts of the frame to convey the fall of the business. 

Additionally, candid soundbites and slightly overhead angles on Big Vinny keep the piece fresh and help convey the story of a man who’s still just as passionate about his work despite it being long-over.

Trailer for “LIMBO” 

After winning the 25k Grant from the Vimeo Awards, Director Eliot Rausch partnered with Producer Mark Schwartz and the Dreamers of Los Angeles to create LIMBO. This 19 minute film exposes the lives of 3 undocumented students, living in the US without legal status. Never having touched a camera, the 3 students were gifted with a small handycam and trained for half a day by Lukas Korver and Matt B. Taylor. They were asked to film everyday for 3 months. Through their lens, this is their story. 

Ever since Chris Milk’s Johnny Cash project, I’ve been really interested in crowd-sourcing and collaborative projects. In such projects, the role of the filmmaker transforms into that of a curator who uses technology to bring together people from around the world (often non filmmakers) to help produce a story.

Such methods are effectively used in Limbo. What better way to tell the story of the undocumented then by allowing them to document themselves? I would love to produce something like this someday and I can’t wait to see the final product! 

Living off the grid in Slab City

People tend to think that The New York Times produces the best multimedia journalism of a major news org, but I would argue that The Los Angeles Times is one to watch as well. (Plus, it doesn’t hurt that The Los Angeles Times has 100% free content while on The New York Times, one is constantly worrying about the subscription pop-up box of death.) This piece is all about life in Slab City, a desert community about an hour outside of San Diego where rent is free and nature is abundant. I love the piece’s combo of still photography and video.  Click here to view the short. 

Remember those Days

You know you’re watching a great multimedia story when it can make you care about something that you didn’t before. MediaStorm’s Remember those Days profiles a family seltzer business and one man’s determination to keep it alive. Before watching the short, I didn’t even know what seltzer was, let alone realize that there were whole businesses dedicated to it. The power of this video however is that it’s about so much more than just seltzer. It’s about following your passion and keeping the memory of your family alive. Such universal emotions are what truly make this video one of the best I’ve seen. 

Side Notes: I love the Shaft-esque beginning, making it seem as though the seltzer man “runs the streets”. Very clever! :D 

-The video was also very effective in capturing small euphonious sounds like the clink of the bottles and the fizz of carbonation. 

-I love the still shots with movement in the background of the seltzer man doing their day to day tasks…almost as if the camera wasn’t there. 

-Apparently this was made in a week. Crazy!!!! 

A Thousand More 

No blog about multimedia journalism would be complete without mention of the work done at MediaStorm. They are practically the kings of the multimedia scene right now and everything they make is a masterpiece. A Thousand More, which follows the story of a family’s determination to give their disabled son a fulfilling life, is a masterclass in b-roll, cinematography (the close up shot direct on the subject’s face while he is moving and laughing is breathtaking), and storytelling. 

The Art of Film & TV Title Design

A couple of weeks ago, I watched the breathtaking film Blue Valentine. One of the high points of the film was the ending credits in which images of the film’s title characters are illuminated by fireworks. In this fascinating documentary short, the man behind Blue Valentine’s beautiful title sequence and other renowned title artists talk about the creative process that goes into designing opening and closing sequences. The video is one of a series of really interesting videos that PBS has produced in recent months all about non-traditional mediums of art such as steampunk culture, the art of memes, and fan art. Overall, the series provides a really interesting primer into the different mediums of creative expression that are emerging in the 21st century. 

fabthings:

Intel Visual Life: Michael Wolff

This video is a testament to the power of effective b-roll. Throughout the short, b-roll is used to capture the world through Wolff’s eyes and tap into his obsessive curiosity for life. I love how the video portrayed normal things in beautiful ways. Overall, a very inspiring video.

Intel Visual Life: The Sartorialist

A great short about the man behind one of my must-visit sites on my daily internet perusals. The cinematography is beautiful and the story is really well put together.