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Pictures from my FYOS events!

FYOS Events

1. Short Films at Cine (They were awesome!)

2. Pamoja Dance Recital

For my second event I went to a recital by the Pamoja Dance Company. It is a predominantly black dance company that puts on a show every fall and spring semester. I decided to go to the show because my cousin would be dancing in it. The theme was “A Love Story”. It told the story of a girl finding love in college. I really liked it because it incorporated both classical and hip/hop styles of dance. Also, they used current songs to help tell the story. I really liked that because I already knew the songs and could relate to them in my own way. At the end of the recital the main character fell in love and got married, so I liked that it was a happy ending too. I think by watching them I learned about how different forms of dance can work well together, and can be merged so that it doesn’t look weird when they’re together.

The show was put on very professionally although I can tell it was run completely by students. They had nice programs and tickets, and it was held in a performing arts center a little off campus. I’m really glad I went, because I think it showed me a part of a club I didn’t know existed. It showed me that there are always a lot of different programs going on and you might have to look around to find some cool ones to get involved with.

3. Hatch Art Exhibit

Last month I went to an exhibit at the museum at the University of Georgia. It was really cool because I didn't even know we had a museum here. They were showcasing a series of new prints that they had, but you also got to see their other artwork. I really liked some of it, especially the old pieces. Other works I didn't necessarily understand, they seemed a little weird. One piece I actually thought was made by a kid, and then I found out it wasn't.

There were other things at the exhibit besides artwork. There was food, which I thought was really nice. At another station you could have your picture taken with "elvis", which my friends and I liked. Then they had a center where you could make your own stickers, which was a little childish, but I still had fun. The best part was probably that they had two live bands who played shows. They reminded me a lot of Mumford and Sons, and I was impressed because it was a pretty small show. I'm really glad I went because it was cool seeing the museum, and I wouldn't have even known it was there if I didn't.

The Incident.

When I saw this film was 30 minutes long, I was skeptical. I thought I would get bored and that it would be really drawn out. But, it never lost my interest, and I ended up genuinely loving it. It was probably one of my favorite films that we've seen this semester. It had great shots, and was really moving in a short amount of time.

I thought the second scene where he's with his girlfriend was good for showing what place in his life he was. He has a girlfriend who loves him, although I could definitely sense some tension there. Which I didn't really understand. When he kisses her she immediately gets out of bed and says she is way too busy and has to go. I thought it was a little rushed and weird. Also it looks like she has a job and he doesn't really.

Okay so then he gets to the park. It seemed so peaceful there! It reminded me of my desktop background, and I really wanted to be drinking coffee in autumn. But anyways he was just hanging out, you could see that this was his happy place and he enjoyed being here. You could tell when he goes a second time to read that he probably does this a lot. I thought it was cute at first when the Old man started talking to him. Then it was weird when he started getting pushy and really wanted to use the bike. I think it was out of nostalgia, and maybe he just didn't see why Michal wouldn't let him. Anywho, I felt awful when I realized what had happened after Michal tried to shove him aside and ended up pushing him completely down, killing him.

It was such a believable thing that could have happened to anyone really. Michal was just trying to push him away and things ended up going really bad. Thats why I think I connected to it. It was especially awful because he had so much going for him, it was sad to think this accident might end his future.

From here you can see the emotional journey he takes knowing he has just killed a man. He hides the body, but you can tell he feels awful about it. The worst part is when he keeps visiting the man. You can tell he just can't get what happened out of his mind. He really seems to realize that he's killed someone when he opens his wallet and connects the guy to being a real person.

I wasn't sure what the part where he suffocates his wife while she's sleeping was supposed to be. I was thinking that maybe he was just trying to separate what he accidentally did with an intentional killing? I think he was trying to prove to himself that he wasn't actually a killer, but this bad thing had just happened to him.

This was a great film because you follow someone you don't know on an emotional journey and you really connect with him. I think it was a very moving and emotional piece. In some ways I also think it was about growing up, because he knows he has to move on and go on the job interview, even though this huge thing has happened to him. Great Film.

Okay So...

I just realized when I checked my drafts folder that I saved two of my Posts as drafts instead of posting them. I don't know how that happened, I think they're from like 3 weeks ago? Sorry! I didn't realize they hadn't been posted.

Cashback.

I really enjoyed this film, although it might have run a little long. Which is ironic because it was made into a full length movie, that one must have run really long. I also noticed that the main character played Oliver Wood in Harry Potter. I was pretty excited about that. I think the main themes in this film were about being stuck in a situation and trying to make the best of it, also the theme of respect towards women.

The main character is a very sensitive guy it seems. he looks very annoyed at the beginning when the boss pats Sharon on the butt. Part of this may be that he has a crush on Sharon, but another may be his love for the female body which he feels has been disrespected.

Throughout the film we are introduced to the main charters different ways of dealing with time passing. Some goof off, others try not to think about the time thats passing. However, the main character freezes time to make it go by quicker for him. I liked that we could see how he views the world in these parts. He viewed everything he saw as a form of art, that he could express. Even though he was in a horrible place that he hated, he found a way to see art in it. I think that was really important in the film as well.

I'm sure a lot of people could relate to this film. Especially people that have had a job that absolutely bores them. I worked at a preschool this summer, and I loved it but sometimes the time would not go by fast enough. The boss was really easy to hate, constantly telling people what to do. Although he was just doing his job he gave us someone to hate. I liked the ending of the film when the boss was put in front of the gross milk, it gave it a light hearted twist.

I also noticed that at the beginning he was talking about dreaming and sleeping, and how you never know you're asleep. I feel like that really related to the rest of the film, and how he goes into his own little dream like state to make time go faster. Maybe he was really asleep when he froze time, or maybe he was just day dreaming. Either way it was kind of like sleeping because he was escaping from the world around him.

For Our Man

I'm not going to pretend to be smart on this post. I did not get the short film at all. Well, I understood bits and pieces. I think it was largely about death and the fact that it is unpredictable. The old man's voice reminded me of a documentary. It was kind of slow and deep. I have a problem paying attention to things, and the guys voice really made it hard for me to focus and keep my concentration on what was going on. Plus it kept switching between things, so I was trying to pay attention to the pictures and the guys voice. It doesn't seem hard, but I got lost.

I didn't really like this film, it went on for a long time. But there were things I noticed about the film that I did like. I liked the many different camera techniques and shots that they used. For some they looked like home video, others they made it so that it was the negative image. I could tell the artistry of whoever made the film was pretty advanced. My favorite shot was probably she the man gets hit by the van and it looks like he's going through a tunnel. I thought it was well filmed.

Although this seemed like a serious film, some parts were also quite silly. Like at the beginning when they show the bullets hitting different things. It is almost comical when the old couples balloons get popped. And at the end when the shop keeper throws the mallet it is pretty ridiculous how it soars through the window into the truck. They even filmed it comically while tracing the mallets path. Maybe by this they were trying to show that the film and life in general shouldn't be taken too seriously because you don't know how it will turn out.

Another thing I noticed is that the mans truck had Vomit.kom spray painted into the side. I just thought it was a funny name and it was spelled wrong.

I can't wait to hear everyones opinions of the film, and hopefully get to understand it more, because it might have been carrying a really great message that got lost in translation.

Doodlebug.

I guess I'll start with this one first since its shorter. It was made by Christopher Nolan, who is famous for directing huge hollywood films, including Inception and The Dark Night. His films seem to have a somewhat dark twist, and I could definitely see that in this film. For one it was in black and white, and the film was sort of grainy. Giving it an old school horror film type of feel. I thought this was going to be a really cute short film because of the name. I was expecting more along the lines of "Post-it love", but it ended up being more relatable to "The big Shave".

I think this film was hard to watch because the main character looked pretty insane the whole time. It didn't keep my attention as long as it should have for a 3 minute movie. Maybe thats because for the whole first minute he just chases around a "bug". The setting never changes and he stays in the same room the whole time, so even though the film was really short, at times it seemed kind of long.

I liked this film because it was different from others we have seen so far in this class. It wasn't my favorite but I appreciated the artistry of it. I think that Nolan was maybe trying to go for the creepy factor, but at the same time I think he was trying to show that sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. The guy ends up killing himself, and just after that he ends up killing himself. That sounded confusing. But I think this shows how we get in the way by second guessing, or squashing different parts of ourselves that we don't let out enough. And how we might actually be the ones causing a problem, when we think its something else (i.e the bug).

Bean Cake.

I've never had bean cakes. But, I looked up the recipe online. And they don't look that good. I would understand if a little kid loved actual cake, because its sweet and everything. But bean cakes to me seem gross. Right when he said he loved bean cakes more than his mother I was reminded of a time in my childhood. On a poster we had to list all of the things we loved more than our mother (it was a weird assignment for mothers day). I put that I loved her more than Oreos as one of my things. I was pretty young, around 2nd grade, but I have a really weird memory so I remember things like this. When I gave the poster to my mom I remember her jokingly asking me if I really loved her more than Oreos. I of course said yes (I knew that was the right answer), but in my head I was like "Do I really love her more than Oreos?" I still feel guilty about that, but it helped me relate to the little boy in the film.

Anyways. i didn't love this film, but there was nothing to hate about it either. I thought it was funny at parts, and kind of frustrating at others.

This film was shot in black and white and looks like it was made in the 1950's. But...it wasn't. It was made in 2001 (according to IMDB). I thought this was a really interesting choice, and I wondered why they chose that. At the beginning they said takes place in 1933, which was during the chinese civil war. I know they must have been trying to portray how the attitude was at that time. That you should honor the emperor above all else, and maybe his disapproval of the times, although I don't know if a 4th grader would know about that.

I appreciated that even though it was the first day of class he wasn't trying to impress everybody by giving the answer he knew was what the teacher wanted. He really just told the teacher what he thought was best. I think another part of this film is about being yourself and saying what you feel, even if its not the right answer.

I thought the boy was likable, because he was kind of dorky. And I liked that the prettiest girl in the school ended up befriending him in the end. It was cute...and cheesy. In the end I think he learned that sometimes even if you don't agree with something, taking the most peaceful route is best.

I wish I knew more about politics, because I'm sure I could relate this better.

Post-it Love!

Yay! Finally a happy film with no twist endings! No one died! Needless to say I really liked this film, and it really caught my attention, especially because it was short. It was a very simple film, but I think that made it effective.

At the beginning it shows a split screen of two people side by side both going through the same motions at a copier. I thought this part was clever and from the very beginning you got the hint that they were supposed to be together, because they were so in sync. Then they had that cute little glance at eachother, and I could see sparks. Not literal ones. Just imaginary.

I thought the little smiley face she left him was adorable, you could tell by that they were both try shy, which gave premise to the story because otherwise they would just talk to each other. I loved seeing the escalation from there, because you didn't know how clever the next one would be.

The music in the background gave the whole thing a light feel, also the light seemed pretty bright which made it feel fun. I loved the end when she sees the giant portrait of herself and him. Although I must say I wanted her to drop the post-it notes and run to give him a kiss, but that didn't happen. Oh well.

Overall I really liked this film and I think it shows that short films can often be light and fun while still conveying a message. I think this film showed two shy people and how they interact which was really cool. I loved the art that when into it, and it was very creative.

abrilliantglow-blog

bennettbecca-blog

I agree with you that it did kind of go off in tangents. I think the creativity put into it may have made it more confusing to watch.

abrilliantglow:

I think it is a general consensus that the majority of us did not like this short. I enjoyed the creepy beginning the director tried to give us. The ominous undertones and the over-voice that is obviously the old mans’ give the film a Twilight Zone feel.

The film, however, is lacking in...

Sooner or Later.

This film takes place in WWII era germany. It only has two main characters, someone who was imprisoned and the person that is in charge of him. The film lighting is very dark and murky, with some green shades. I think this sets the scene, as it is obviously a very negative place to be. The prisoner looks weak, tired and thin. His "guard" is fat and healthy. This shows the immediate contrast between the two, and shows a layer of hatred because this one person is so unhealthy and the man across from him is obviously well fed.

Then we find out he has been given a serum to be tested with. I didn't know this film was gong to be futuristic at first because I knew that the nazi's did different types of experiments during world war two, and it seemed like they were just testing one on this guy. When he sees the guy covered in bullets, I thought he was just tripping or something, I thought the serum might have been acid.

It only got more confusing from there. The serum is a time travel type of drug that lets the user go back in time. He goes back once, but then a duplicate of him comes back to help him. It seems like this would just go on and on forever, because after the future him comes back he sits down again and the scene restarts.

There were a few things I noticed in this film. First they played with the image of the ashtray a lot, I think that they kept panning back to it because they wanted to show how it changed over time,and how it would burn out then magically become whole again. I would re watch this film just to see what changes from scene to scene that gives evidence of him going back in time.

If this film were trying to say something, I think it would be about hanging the past and how complicated it makes things. Because I definitely was confused.

Morning Fall

Wow. What a tearjerker.

This film starts out sunny, but then pans out to show a man who has obviously suffered a motorcycle accident. I liked how throughout this film we were discovering what had happened at the same time the main character was. We didn’t know his head was damaged until he reached up and touched it himself. The confusion he was feeling was apparent throughout the film and was felt by the viewer as well. This was a great technique, and it made everything that happened much more surprising along the way.

When he discovered the deer, at first I didn't really get the significance. I just thought it was a dead deer and it was sad. And then I felt stupid because I realized it was what had caused the accident. I liked how he covered the deers face because he couldn't even look at it, this showed that he was pretty sensitive and felt bad about its death. In retrospect this part is especially sad because if he blames himself that much for the deers death, then he will be killing himself over the death of his girlfriend.

I thought it was weird how he kept obsessing over the cigarette. I know this is a stretch, but it is one way in which these two films are related. The first kept panning to the ash tray and pausing on it momentarily, in this film he was devastated when he couldn't find a lighter or a cigarette. I know this must have been in some way significant.

He gets picked up and bandaged by someone in a truck. He gets all cleaned up and bandaged and will be okay. He then calls his girlfriend to tell her what happened and to tell her that he's okay. You can tell that he is leaving a message on her machine, as he keeps repeating "I wish you were there". From this the viewer can infer that their relationship is close.

He hangs up the phone and the camera switches to showing the lighter that he tossed away earlier. It pans out to show the surrounding area and we see his girlfriend lying dead on the ground, and it becomes obvious that she was with him on the bike, but he doesn't remember.

Overall, this film was very sad but very effective. You could see from the view of the biker, and understand all of the confusion.

The Lunch Date.

This film was very interesting for many different reasons. If I hadn't read that it was shot in 1990 I would have thought it was a really old film. It was in black and white and very grainy. I think that the filmmaker decided to do this to enhance the contrast between the two very different people in this film and also to enhance the theme of black and white stereotypes and racism.

The film starts out by following a woman through a train station. You can tell she is in a rush. It is also obvious by her appearance that she is upper class, and has just gone shopping. She is wearing basically a whole outfit of fir, and has many bags in her hand. A few seconds into the film she bumps into a black man and spills the contents of her purse, and objects when he tries to help her pick them up. From this the audience can tell she is kind of racist, and very uncomfortable in her unfamiliar surroundings.

Because of the accident she is late and goes to get lunch while she waits. The next sequence of events was very interesting. I could tell how uncomfortable with the situation the woman was, and I loved that I could see on her face that she was constantly thinking of what to do next. Although, I do have to admit that I've seen a remake of this short film before (It was set in a mcdonalds), so I pretty much knew what was going to happen. But the way it is set up is fantastic. She gives up halfway through yelling at him and just decides to eat the salad with him.

I loved that he also got her a cup of tea. He could have yelled at her and made her leave when she tried to take his salad, but instead he let her do it. And then, even though this lady had stolen his lunch, he got her a cup of tea assuming she was having a hard time. Her reaction to finding out what she had just done was very funny. She just laughed and laughed at what had happened. I think this may have showed her in a better light, maybe saying she realized how ridiculous she was being, and showing that she didn't take herself too seriously.

I liked this film and its message. I think the director was trying to show that stereotypes and preconceived notions often lead you to assume things that are worse than they are. I think it also showed how even people you don't expect can be caring.

Gridlock.

This film starts with a cheerful song, and a bright blue screen. It starts to pan out and I was thinking that it would be somewhere on a summers day, but as the camera continues backing up you see that what was believed to be the sun is really a car headlight on quite a dreary day. And the song thats playing is in the car of a man stuck in traffic. I think the director chose to deceive the viewer at the beginning to show contrast, and maybe to foreshadow that there will be surprises yet to come.

We can see that the man stuck in traffic is a pretty irritable guy. He calls the woman on the radio a "stupid bitch", and he seems generally aggravated. He then pulls out his cellphone, which he mentions he'll see if it "works as well as they've told him it does". In the initial viewing I noted this fact, and I'm glad I did because it helps to explain more of the conflict that happens later on.

He places a call to his home and what appears to be his daughter picks up. Here, we see contrast again. He is a very stressed out guy that seems bothered by everything, and she is very innocent and not really bothered by the big situations she is talking to her "Dad" about.

They then go through a tragic series of events, leading to the little girl watching her mother and Uncle? die. It is a great example of miscommunication and jumping to conclusions. Because the "Dad", is so quick to judge every situation that the little girl throws at him it leads to horrible consequences. He obviously doesn't take long to talk to the girl, or he would find out its not his daughter. He automatically assumes something bad is going on. And all of this could be avoided if he didn't rush his decisions so much. This is why in part I think this film is about being impatient and rushing to conclusions.

This film is very dark. Both in its mood and in the lighting. The inside of the car is poorly lighted as it is obviously nighttime outside, and even the inside of the little girls house is very dark. It is also dark in subject matter. The girl is so innocent that she doesn't know the gravity of everything happening around her, and it is really heartbreaking to see her retell all of these events that have a huge imp at on her, that she doesn't even understand yet.

I think the ending could be interpreted many ways, and I'm still not sure which one I believe. It could be seen that the child is not his, he called the wrong number, and he doesn't know any of these people, which is probably the most likely. However, I really don't understand how a father wouldn't know the sound of his own child's voice. I think that the beginning when he hints to the phone being new also shows that he could easily misdial and not be able to work it properly, also he might have none of his contacts saved and thats why.

It kind of eerily ends on an upbeat song when it goes to the credits, which I think is to show how such a common situation can lead to something really devastating. Or maybe to show that its really a silly thing that happened, although tragic. I thought the film was good and entertaining throughout, and I'm glad I watched it.

Get That Number

This was definitely not my favorite film but I think it was very enjoyable. I could tell it was kind of dated while watching it because of some of the mentions (Janet Jackson, etc) and the clothing styles. But, guys are always trying to pick up girls so it was still very relatable.

I wasn't expecting to like the main character (the white guy), but I really did. He was just a nice guy that gave off a weird vibe when introducing himself to other people. But, I really liked that he was always himself and didn't try to change too much from who he really was. I loved when he told his friend "I just wanted to talk to her!".However, I didn't care for his best friend, I think he was a little too much of a womanizer.

This film was definitely cheesy. And a little long. But, I think the overall message was good. He didn't find any of the random people in the park, he fond someone that liked him for who he was. I knew he was going to lose the girls number, because thats just how these films seem to go. That part was sad, but I'm sure they'll find each other somewhere in NY!

The Crush

I posted this film a few weeks ago but I re watched it to refresh my memory. I loved it the first time, and even more the second when I wasn't so nervous about what was going to happen. I noticed quite a few things about this film. First of all, the words the teacher wrote on the wall were Love, Pretend, and Reveal. This was great foreshadowing to how the film would unfold.

This film was about love, but it didn't take the cheesy route that most films like this do. It was really about real love and the difference between when someone says they care and when they actually do. I loved Ardal and the actor he was portrayed by. He was so innocent, and you didn't want to laugh at him like you would another kid, because he was so earnest about his feelings. I really felt for the teacher too because you could tell that she was with a guy that did not treat her right.

I think for this film the filmmaker wanted to show a complex situation from the eyes of a kid. Ardal knew that his teacher shouldn't be with this man instantly, and he showed her why. It was a great film that was cute, funny, and touching at the same time.

Zen and The Art of Landscaping

This film was all over the place, and I was not quite sure what to think of it. It was 5 episodes of desperate housewives packed into 15 minutes. And, it never ceased to entertain me. I pretty much knew from the start that Jean would try to seduce Zen. They gave me those vibes. Plus, everyone knows what coming in for a drink of water(or vodka?) means.

When I saw the car pull up I knew it was the sons because of the bumper stickers, but I didn't understand why she would want her husband to see her. Probably for the drama of it all. But, I loved how disappointed she was when her son walked in. This is when shit really hits the fan. He comes in and reveals that Zen is a bully, and I'm not really sure who's side the mother is on after that. From this we get a series of things all in a row, cheating, their son coming out, then him being adopted, and the dad cheating with Zen's girlfriend.

While this was all very exciting, I didn't really have an emotional connection with any of the characters so it didn't evoke much emotion from me. But, it did make me laugh. I don't know if this story was trying to prove something. Maybe it was just there to entertain, although I think there is probably something there. I really liked it because I thought it was different, and unlike other things I had seen before. The acting was straightforward, and the setting simple, but so many things were going on that it made the film quite complex.

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