Lumiere Film Response

I recently watched the Lumiere Brothers' early films. As two of the first moviemakers, they experimented with original cameras that captured the essence of life in Lyons. I already have a familiarity with the directors, as I am interested in film studies and currently pursuing a secondary degree in Literature- Cinema Studies. Knowing two of the first filmmakers ever remains quintessential knowledge for all who are as fascinated with the movies as I am.

I had seen the majority of the short films produced by the Lumiere Brothers, but one I had not seen was the use of rewinding along a demolished building. Originally intended as a documentary, the Lumiere's experienced a bizarre encounter: part of the wall being tore down suddenly collapsed into rubble. However, the Lumiere's discovered that by rewinding their footage, they could create an interesting cinematographic effect. The construction workers now appeared to be building the wall instead of tearing it down; this remains an effect that can only be done by the power of the movies.

In addition, the Lumiere Brothers documentary also brings an interesting spin to character development.  They use good contrast of black and white, and do so with elaborate costuming and dark buildings and props. Historians know that the Lumiere Brothers set up an excellent stage, because none of the people look at the camera. If they would have filmed during the day on the street, many people are bound to look at the camera; instead, the Lumiere's heightened reality by hiring a group of people to not look at the camera, creating cinema verite in the purest sense. They also experimented with genres, creating the first horror and comedy films that still prove relevant today.

I enjoy film history, and think it has a fascinating story. Considering it is one of the most powerful technologies in the world today, cinema remains an integral part of human history. Without the Lumiere Brothers, filmmaking might not have ever happened; for that, we thank these two individuals with a dream and a passion for the arts.

Thackara Reading Critical Analysis

John Thackara wrote an interesting critique about the modern age of design, called In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World. The Introduction and Chapter 1 of this book introduce the reader to creative ways of countering design problems. All in all, they remain a useful guide in repairing the rut that many designers face.

In the Introduction, Thackara interestingly uses the airway term of control, "in the bubble", to parallel how the world does not operate in such a style. Design is a creative process, and Thackara understands this when he writes about ten different methods to avoid the mindless design boredom that exists in the world today. In addition, while Thackara appreciates the benefits of technology, he emphasizes the creative power of the human spirit. Personally, I found this to be an interesting alternative opinion than the common consensus. This "less-stuff-more-people" method works in design because it is a largely creative enterprise, and Thackara is writing this book in order to teach people that message.

Chapter 1 is the first example of how Thackara is aiding the approach to "less-stuff-more-people" ideas of design. Entitled simply "Lightness", the chapter gives ideas on how global companies can begin to return to the "weightless" methods of creativity that technology and the Internet promised. I particularly found his discussion of improving existing products instead of creating new products to be interesting. Phones and GPS', for example, constantly need to be replaced; why can't companies instead offer upgrades and repairs for the ones we already have? This would add to the "weightlessness" of the world that Thackara is discussing.

Overall, I enjoyed these two chapters. The Introduction offered an interesting counterargument to design, while Chapter 1 was interesting in how the world is growing heavier under the stress of new technologies. While a little flawed at times, these two articles were all-in-all fascinating to read and intriguing to understand.

Assignment #2: Automat

​Logline: A young woman makes the difficult decision of choosing her professional ambitions over love.



​Treatment: It is nighttime, and a woman sits alone at a table in a Washington D.C. cafe drinking coffee. She is visibly nervous; she places her mug back on its saucer, and begins to drum her fingers on the table. She shakes her head, as if thinking better of it, and fishes into her pocket for a carefully folded up letter. She delicately unfolds the letter, and begins to read it; the letter is worn, and it is obvious that the woman has read this letter many times before. The camera zooms in on the letter; we see that the woman has been offered a position to be a writer at the Los Angeles Times. A young, handsome man, approximately the same age as the woman, enters the cafe; it is the woman’s fiancé. As the man walks happily over to the woman, she quickly and discreetly refolds the letter and slips it into her pocket. The man gives her shoulder a squeeze before sitting down; the woman offers a meek smile in return. The man takes the woman’s hand that is resting on the table, and makes a concerned expression as if to ask what is wrong. The woman reaches into her pocket and gingerly places the letter she had just been reading on the table. The man lets go of the woman’s hand and begins to read the letter. When he realizes that the woman has been offered a position at the Los Angeles Times, his eyebrows raise in surprise and he breaks out into a grin; he is happy for his fiancé. He jumps up from his seat and hugs her, but steps back cautiously when he realizes that she is not equally excited. He sits back down again, still puzzled. The woman points to the last line of the letter which reads: “Acceptance of this position will require you to leave your residence of Washington, D.C. and move to the Los Angeles area immediately.” The man sinks back in his chair, finally realizing the woman’s sadness. Wiping a tear from her eye, the woman fishes into her pocket once more: this time, she places her engagement ring on the table. Without saying a word, she picks up her suitcase, which was under the table, and heads out the door of the cafe quickly. The man sits at the table for a moment, and fingers the ring that the woman has placed on the table. We see the woman hurrying away from the cafe, suitcase in hand, headed towards an awaiting taxi. The man runs to the door of the cafe, waving his hands and calling after the woman. The woman does not look back.

Exercise #6: Logline and Treatment of "Winter Alley"

Leonid Afremov is a Russian-Israeli painter that frequently paints with palette oils. His works are highly colorful and expressionist. For this exercise, I chose his painting "Winter Alley" because I felt that a lot could be done with the striking colors and singular figure. Here is the logline and treatment for a potential film idea of "Winter Alley". 

Logline: A depressed man tries to ease his suffering by creating a fictional world on the alley as he walks home. 

Treatment: A nameless man is walking home in the rain, obviously upset and depressed. The man is holding an umbrella, which prevents the rain from hitting his face; but, he is still getting wet because he is unintentionally splashing in the puddles with his sneakers. He sees a group of friends playing, which only makes him more visibly sad. Then, however, the man looks to a tree on his right. He looks at it curiously, as the leaves on the tree are changing colors. There are now purple, red, and yellow leaves. The man continues to look around curiously, because everything is now seeming to grow colorful. He smiles because this new "colorful" world is a lot more happy than the previous dark colors of before. Even though the rain is continuing, the man begins to run through the alley while laughing heavily. The man continues to run until he stops at looks around. He then begins to slowly walk again, smiling and walking into the distance, the world more colorful than ever before for him. 

Exercise #4: Photo Essay

Photo Essay

With Jenna Cunningham and Frances Burkham, we created a Photo Essay about Eastern Market in Washington, D.C. We saw a wide variety of people, food, and goods throughout the area- a truly eclectic mix of objects. My interpretation of the trip and Photo Essay is that Americans enjoy the old fashioned shopping experience. People from around the city took the time to collectively shop at the marketplace, buying homemade items and foods.

My portion of the Photo Essay are the last three slides; namely, the woman at the counter, the scarf shelf, and the American flag backed by the sunset. The woman at the counter appealed to me as an image because it captured such a normal image: a mother taking her child to the cookie section to buy her a desert. Her dark jacket balances nicely with the colorful backdrop of the counter. It holds a lot of texture and meaning. I thought the scarves were also very colorful and interesting to look at. They had a lot of texture too them, and the continuance formed by the dangling clothing makes the viewer see how they are made below them. Finally, my favorite image of the whole essay is the American Flag. It matches nicely in the wind with the Washington D.C. coat of arms, and the sunset backdrop helps to create a truly powerful image.

Overall, I thought this Photo Essay was really interesting.