Mad Hot Ballroom... Happy Halloween!

Based on the documentary we watched today in class "Mad Hot Ballroom,"  please comment below by providing an observational response. Please answer the following questions.

1- Do you think it is an interesting subject? Why or why not?

2- What were some the "documentary techniques" employed in the movie? For example, how it was filmed, edited, etc.

3- Did you relate to the characters? If not, why? If yes, why?

Comments due on Monday, Nov. 1st. 

** CHECK SPELLING AND GRAMMAR!!

Movie Review: 2012

Movie director Roland Emmerich has succeeded in doing one thing, creating yet another action movie with rebuffed visual and audio effects. 2012 is no different than any other action movie except that it had more digital effects in it. The story is decent, but the main attempt to captivate the audience comes from mindless action scenes which were highly predictable and rarely contributed to the story or the movie as a whole. It has some mild humor, and presents some political beliefs that are unnecessary in any movie that wasn't intended to be political. From the start one can predict the rest of the movie, it provides no twists or anything which would make the story more interesting. On top of it all it also pushes a good amount of political unrealism that becomes an annoyance. This move gets 3.5 stars for being a barely decent plot with a lot of effects.

My movie review is on a movie called Ace Ventura when nature calls starring Jim Carrey. The story is about him and he goes in the southern part of Africa to explore different things. This film was made in 1995 I think this is the funniest film he's been in so far. So another thing about the movie is that he goes in search of a rare white bat, but bumps in too some indian tribes and they do fun stuff with him. I would deffinitly rate this movie 5 stars just because Jim carrey makes this movie interesting for people to watch and makes people laugh. I like the setting of this movie that it takes place in south Africa good place to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1ZVImkf_TQ

The Town

This particular movie is called "The Town" and it was directed by Ben Affleck. This movie was released about a month or so. The Town was released on September 17th but this movie is still getting all the buzz and it is still getting reviews from commercials, news, magazines, and newspapers. The Town is a fast-paced action movie with violence and love with a little bit of comedy in it. And not to mention this movie was shot and taken place right here in our hometown Boston and that's one thing cool about this movie. This movie is about four friends who are bank-robbers and when they rob the bank they keep one girl as their hostage but later they let her free and in the end their whole life changes because of love, hate, and violence. This movie is rated R and everything about this movie is perfect; the actors are great, the screenplay is perfect, the stunts are mind-blowing, the fights are action-packed, the shots are brilliant, the setting is perfect, and of course the music is very suitable. Overall this movie was great and the storyline all made sense. There is nothing bad about this movie because I said so, no but seriously I saw this movie about 2 weeks ago and I have to say this movie is amazing. If people who haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend them to see it. This movie came out about like more than a month but still this movie is still playing in the theaters near you. I give this movie 9.5 out 10 because I liked it very much and this movie is just great.

Collider Review
Rotten Tomatoes

Boston Globe Movie Reviews

Texas Chain Saw Massacre

In the mood for original unique new scary horror movie? Aren't we all? but it seems like lately many of them are too UN-original, too fictional, to fake and too much of a disappointment. When you watch a horror movie, you want something that will actually make you crawl out of your skin, rather than make you laugh. And that movie lovers, is just exactly what the 2006 movie ''Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' does. Guaranteeing to keep you up at night, 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' will not only make you crawl out of your skin, but it will keep you disturbed from disgust and amount of gore that you have seen. In my opinion, if u can watch the whole movie without closing your eyes or turning away once, you are a legend. But what really makes this horror movie unique and different from many others, is the truth about it. Although the movie is completely fictional, it was inspired by a true story, and the movie itself makes it seem as if it was true, and just to think that SOME parts of it were true, but everything else was fictional, is still terrifying. But that's exactly what the movie was supposed to do, and the directors did i great job of making this horror movie so horrific. That's why i give it 4 out of 5 stars for how good it was. For more reviews and information about this truly terrifying horror movie, visit these links:

TMC reviews

The True Story

Movie Reviews

Make your own movie review for a film you recently saw or viewed in the past.
Please read/view other examples from Rotten Tomatoes, Boston.com and New York Times.com to get a better idea of how to structure your review.
Include star ratings
Pictures
Links
These will be graded!
I look forward to seeing your review.

Invisible Children

Click Here to see the Invisible Children's website


The Invisible Children video is a documentary because they follow a real event in time and its about a true story that actually happened.
I like this video because it shows how bad the situation is in Africa. It shows the truth about the LRA rebels and that it's not adults fighting, but children who have been abducted and forced to do awful things to their families and friends.

Invisible Children

Invisible Children is an organization dedicated to stopping the longest war in African history. They tell the story of those affected by the war through videos. In school the other day we watched two short videos describing the tragedies that are occurring in this war every single day. Children being kidnapped and trained as killers, being witness to their families being murdered, and over destruction of society. There is a need to help end these atrocities and Invisible Children is trying to do so.

In the documentaries they interviewed some children who had been kidnapped but managed to escaped. One of the children recanted how he had been witness to his brothers shooting and told if he cried out he would be killed. He was so scared he kept quite. There were also interviews of mothers who's children had been kidnapped and never returned to them. These documentaries were sad and inspirational to those watching them. It was inspiring people to get involved with Invisible Children or start something new to fight this war.

Invisible children

The Invisible Children documentary is about children in Uganda being abducted into a rebel army. Joseph Koni is the leader of the LRA which stands for the Lord Resistance Army. He has killed many people in Africa and abducted alot of children and turned them into child soldiers. In this documentary they interviewed children who have escaped from the LRA and parents who's children have been taken by Joseph Koni. This documentary made me sad and I want to help them in anyway possible.

Link: Invisible Children

Invisible Children

Today in class we watched a video by Invisible Children. I really liked the video because it showed what is really going on in Africa. It is very sad to see what is going on but it is good to know that people are helping. For the people who do not know most of the kids are from 9-15 and that they have to kill people there hole life. Because they do not have a chose.

Click Here to see the link

invisible children

Yesterday, we as a class went to see a presentation by the non-profit organization Invisible Children. The presentation's main feature was a short film documenting the organization's progress in attempting to stop the abduction and murder of children in Uganda by Joseph Kony, a rebel/cult leader who has been abducting children to fight for him.

The film was a documentary due to it's documentation of reality. I liked the film for it's content, which was informative, dramatic, and thought provoking. However, I thought that the film was sometimes overly dramatic, especially with it's use of music. My other problem was that the hosts were basically hipsters, which slightly effects their credibility, but I can't get mad at the film for their host's/creator's image. In the end, the film definitely did what it was meant to do in a very effective manner.

The Invisible Children

The Invisible Children is an organization working to free abducted child soldiers from warring countries in Africa. The fighting began in Northern Uganda, with the Lord's Resistance Program (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. It has spread to other countries in Africa, such as The Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Southern Sudan. This war is the longest running war in Africa, and these countries are currently the most violent in the world.

This organization has been working since 2003 to raise awareness about the children being abducted by Kony and forced to do unmentionable horrors that will inevitably scar them for life. They do this through documentaries and appearances at schools, like the one at our school yesterday. They have people like Brenda, a survivor of a raid on her village who lost her father, come to talk to audiences to encourage them to help out. Money is constantly being raised to help the situation in Africa, and you can even track where your money goes to online.

Invisible Children Documentary

After watching the Invisible Children Documentary in school yesterday it was really eye opening to what one person can do and how only one person like Joseph Kony can strike fear for so many. You never hear about this kind of stuff on the news and I had never heard about the LRA or about how Kony captures children and turns them into ruthless killers. Since this is going on in Africa you never hear about this so it is a very useful documentary to show people what is really going on in the world. When you see this stuff you can't turn a blind eye because this documentary proves that the LRA, the child soilders, and Joseph Kony are real. Killing people is wrong and it must be stopped.

Link: Invisible Children

Invisible Children

Link : Invisible Children

The Invisible Children video is a documentary because it show real life situations and it included many interviews and footage of how a life of a child soldier is like and they interview a couple of former child soldier and the former soldiers tell how life was like as a soldier and how it was like in the LRA(Lords Resistance Army). When I finish watching the documentary I felt bad that I didn't know about this until now and I want to help those kids in anyway I can.

Favorite Director

My favorite director is Christopher Nolan. He is known for his films Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception. He also sometimes seves as a writer and producer for some of his films. He is my favorite director because he knows how to write a smart script and put together good action scenes. My favorite film by him has to be The Dark Knight because of the good acting and interesting story. Nolan was born in England and at the age of seven began film-making with his father's camera and his toys and filmed several short films in the college society. Then in 1998, Nolan directed his first film Following. Nolan has recieved many awards for his films including best screenplay from the critics choice awards and best director from the empire awards. Wikipedia Link

Quadruple Threat : Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck was born in Berkeley, California, but moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts when his parents Christine Anne and Timothy Affleck got divorced in 1984. Ben wanted to be an actor ever since he could remember and his first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial, when he was on the PBS mini-series"The Voyage of the Mimi" (1984). Since Ben was tired of getting turned down for major movies and films, he decided to write and direct. He as only directed two movies Gone Baby Gone & 2010's The Town. Gone Baby Gone was nominated for over 25 awards and won 20 of them. The Town's first weekend in the theaters came out #1 with $23.8 million. Affleck's movies are mostly action so the shots would be a zoom shot or a pan, something that will capture the moment. He is in most of his movies that he directs, writes and produces, which makes it better, to see what he wants out of the film. Affleck attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, as well as the University of Vermont.

The Town Official Trailer

Gone Baby Gone Trailer

Ben Affleck Toronto Film Festival Interview

favorite film director

My favorite film director is Clint Eastwood. This film director has 5 people choice's awards, 5 academy awards, 5 golden globe awards that is incredible for a film director. Clint Eastwood became a film director because there was a film company shooting in Ford Ord an assistant spotted Clint Eastwood and snuck him into universal studios and was impressed at what he could do. Clint Eastwood who is now 80 made films like Escape From Alcatraz, Letters From Lwo Jima, Play Misty For Me, Gran Torino and alot more other movies. Before he got into filming he was a factory worker. In 1950 he was brought into the war to fight in ww 2 (world war 2) against Korea. When Clint Eastwood filmed he struggled a lot and needed alot of practice before he got it down. His way of doing films is to make it interseting for people to watch and to make it more exciting.

Gran Torino Trailer [watch]
Clint Eastwood Interview

Favorite Film Director: Brian Depalma

Brian Depalma was originally enrolled as a physics student at Columbia, but then later enrolled in theatre after watching various movies, and graduated from the Sarah Lawrence college. In his early career, Brian Depalma started making documentaries, most notably, ''the responsive eye'' in 1966.
Brian went to film school at the Sarah Lawrence college, and had made a reputation there for graduating as the first male in the school made up of mostly a female population.
Brian depalma was well known for his many great films such as, ''Scarface'', ''Misson to Mars'', ''blow out'' and many more.
Most of Brian Depalma's work is well known for its suspense and thriller in many movie such as ''Carrie'' and ''dressed to kill''.
But aside from his physcoligical thrillers, graphic violence, and suspense filled movies, Brian Depalma still has more tricks and techniques up his sleeve. The most famous ones other then his movie genres are his camera techniques. Some of these techniques include using canted angle shots, and split screen shots. He also used a 360 degree camera pan to to put more drama into his productions.
For more information on this legendary and talented film director, visit these links.
Brian Depalma interview.
Example of Brian Depalma's films.
Brian Depalma article.

Favorite Film Director: Rob Cohen

My favorite film director is Rob Cohen. He is a film director, producer, screenwriter, and an actor. Rob Cohen was born on March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York. He turned 61 this year. He became a film director by quickly distinguishing himself by recommending the script for The Sting (1973) to his boss, then Cohen moved on 20th Century Fox Television, where he earned the title Director of TV movies. Rob Cohen did not attend a film school but he went to Harvard University and graduated from there. He got his first start when he was age of 24, where he headed up the motion picture producing arm of Motown Records, overseeing some notable black oriented films like "Mahogany"(1975), The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings" (1976), etc. He directed and produced many popular and hit films like "The Fast and The Furious", "Miami Vice", "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story", "xXx", "The Guardian", "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor",etc. Rob Cohen works by producing and directing different movies. But he uses techniques like long shots, close-up shots, wide shots, slow motion, rack focus, and long tracking shots. Rob Cohen's style is mostly action, some love & romance, and comedy. His genre is overall action but action as in racing and gun-fighting. For an example- The Fast and The Furious is an action-racing film with fast-paced action.

Resources on Rob Cohen 1
Resources on Rob Cohen 2
Interview with Rob Cohen
Example of Rob Cohen's Film

Favorite Director

My favorite director is David Lean. He played minor roles as an editor and script writer but is best known for his directing of movies such as Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge Over the River Kwai. He is my favorite director particularly because of the movie Lawrence of Arabia. While it is not my favorite film it is, in my opinion, the best and highest quality film I have ever seen. The acting was excellent, the cinematography was perfect and was greatly complimented by the soundtrack. David Lean was born on March 25 1908, in what is now part of Greater London in Britain. His parents were Quakers, and as a teen he took apprenticeship at his fathers accountancy firm.
He became bored of his work, and spent most of his free time at the cinema. He was advised by his aunt to find a job he truly enjoyed, so he applied for a job at Gaumont Studios where he got a month long trial without pay. He started work in 1927 as a teaboy but rose quickly and by 1930 he was working as an editor on newsreels, including those of Gaumont Studios and Movietone. He never received a formal film making or cinematography education, yet in 1934 he began working on movies in low level jobs. By 1938 he had done his first editing job of Gabriel Pascal's Pygmalion.

He directed many movies, including Oliver Twist, many of which were related to historical events (like Lawrence of Arabia) or to traditional literature (like Great Expectations). For his works he received the AFI Life Achievement Award, he is the most presented director in the BFI Top 100 British Films, He was nominated for four Golden Globe awards for Best Director, and won three, as well as being nominated for nine Academy Awards, seven for Best Director, one for Best Adapted Screenplay, and one for Best Film Editing, out of these, he won two, Oscars, both for Best Director. He died on April 16, 1991.

Wikipedia Link

Joss Whedon

-Joss Whedon is a film and television writer, producer and director.
-Almost everyone in his family is a writer of some sort, his mother is a novelist, his father a screenwriter, and his two brothers are also writers.
-Needless to say, he started off as a writer for TV and movies.
-His notable TV shows are the cult classics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. He has also directed a few episodes of The Office, and the "Dream On" episode of Glee.
-The film Serenity, a continuation of the canceled (best show ever) Firefly, was very awesome and amazing, it received good reviews and the fans (including me) went wild. Yay. Sadly, he has few other films worth mentioning, though he did help write the screen play for Toy Story.
-Another of his successful works is Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a short film type thing made during the writer's strike. It instantly became a cult classic.
-It was confirmed this year that he will direct The Avengers. (from Marvel Comics)
-His stuff is mostly science fiction and fantasy, but not always.






Some random links-

An old interview about Firefly and Serenity (old)
And one about Buffy (older)

Used in this post, both the interviews listed above and Wikipedia.

Martin Scorsese

My favorite director is Martin Scorsese. He has directed many films such as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Shutter Island and The Departed. Martin Scorsese developed a passion for films at early age because he often went to the movies and was influenced by norealist cinema. Scorsese attended new York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Martin Scorsese started his career of with several short movies, the most famous being The Big Shave which shows a man shaving until he begins to bleed. He got his big break after making the movie Mean Streets and realizing that he should make the movies he wants to make. Scorsese frequently uses effects and techniques such as slow motion, long tracking shots, and begins his films with clips from the middle or end of the film. His movies also often feature the characters feeling guilt, a lead character being a sociopath or wanting to be accepted by society, and the leading female character being seen as angel like by the protagonist. Also, he often has small cameos in his movies and features New York City which is where he grew up.

Resource on Martin Scorsese

Interview with Martin Scorsese

Example of Film: The Departed

Your Favorite Film Director Blog

Pick your favorite film director and make a personalized, interesting, and detailed BLOG about the director.
So, for example, if you favorite director is Spike Lee make sure to write about:
--How Spike Lee became a film director
--Did he go to film school?  If so, where? If not, where did they learn about filmmaking and how did he get his first start?
--Other films by Spike Lee
--How does he work?
--His style, genera, and overall style
--Include links to articles and quotes from interviews
--Include pictures

** These are due on Monday for a grade! Make sure you spell & grammar check! NO TEXT-WRITING.
*** Links should look like this:
Resources on Spike Lee 1
Interview with Spike Lee
Example of Spike Lee film 

Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most famous Japanese animation film director. He was born in Tokyo, on January 5, 1941. He was first an animator at studio Toei Douga in 1963. He drew attention with his drawing skills, as well as his near-constant stream of movie ideas. He moved to the A Pro Studio in 1971, and then to Nippon Animation two years later. He was greatly involved with the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for five years, and after that, created his own television series, "Mirai shônen Konan"(Conan, The Boy in Future). From there, he went to Tokyo Movie Shinsha after a year, and directed his first movie, "Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro". Five years later he directed "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", based of of a manga he also created. When the film was a success, his new-now current-studio was established: Studio Ghibli (Sutajio Jiburi). His film "Princess Mononoke" received the Japanese equivalent of the American Academy Award for Best Film and highest gross. He has also created several mangas, most of which he transferred into films. Miyazaki worked as an animator, drawing characters for films. He works in what is called 'Japanese Animation' or just 'Anime' in America. His films tend to be worlds, though some are based of of books by others, like "Howl's Moving Castle", which was based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones. He generally focuses on young protagonists, and tends to make references to Japanese culture. He is married to Akemi Ôta, and they have two children.

Interview with Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki Biography
Hayao Miyazaki "Princess Mononoke" Trailer:

Bob Marley

I chose this video because I like Bob Marley, and this video was also felt interesting to me . Bob Marley who brought reggae music on this world. Even that he's no longer in this world his music stays alive. He is one of the most beloved musician.

Paint-Ball Documentary

I picked this video because I love to play paint ball. I liked this video. Tt shows them playing it and shows what it takes to be a pro at paintball. Paintball is one of the funniest sports to play and it shows that it can be hard but fun at the same time. The team name is the New England Hurricanes and they are the best team around.

Click here to see the video:

Cristiano Ronaldo The Story So Far

CLICK HERE to see the video.

This video is about Cristiano Ronaldo and his life. This doc tells us how he became what he is right now and how he grew up and his life right now. He is one of the best soccer players in the world. His widely know and very talented. This documentary is good because it is very specific about his life and tells us things that even people who read about him alot don't know.

Biography of ACDC

This Biography is about the Australian rock band ACDC and it interviews all the members and ask them what it was like when they were starting out and what they're planning on doing in the future since they're one of the highest grossing band of all time. This biography uses alot of interviews and the band's performances.

Link: ACDC behind the music

Carl Sagan: A Biography

This biography takes different interviews and clips from media surrounding the astronomer Carl Sagan to fully examine his life. It starts out describing his early life, which was mostly idealistic and sets off with his accomplishments while simultaneously describing his personal life. At the end, the clip incorporates clips from news stations on the day of his death. The biography its self appears to be from a news station as well.

Biography on Michael Jackson

This biography is about Michael Jackson, also known as "The King of Pop." Jackson was one of the most successful and influential singers and performers, not only in the 80s, but now as well. Although he is typically seen as crazy or disturbed, Michael's music and influence lives on today. The biography outlines the path of his career and biggest successes. It also includes Michael's unfortunate downfall, starting with being accused of child molestation.

Link: Michael Jackson: Mini Bio

Biography on Louis XIV

This biography is part one of a five part episode on Louis XIV of France. He was king of France in the 17th century. Louis XIV was known as the Sun king. His regin would be known for its splendor and glory. Part one discusses his early life and how he became king.
Link: Louis XIV

Biography on Pedro Alanso Lopez

This is a biography about Pedro Alanso Lopez a famous serial killer in South America who would kidnap, rape, and kill 8-12 year old girls. Nicknamed "the Monster of the Andes" he is one of the most famous serial killers ever.

Link: Monster of the Andes

Biographies Blog

As we move onto our documentary biographies, please start exploring other biographies this weekend.
Created a blog to a biography (any length) that you would like to share with the class. Describe the biography--who is the subject? How is it shot? What kind of footage does it feature? Who made it?
Due on Tues, 12.


Here is an example:


This documentary was made my Watertown High School graduate Anthony Alberico. It is about the musician Derek Trucks. It features a narration, images, and videos about the musician. Anthony talks about Derek's past, present, and future, while explaining his special style of slide guitar. This makes the video unique and popular with audiences.

Frontline Documentary: Inside the Teenage Brain

Frontline Documentary: Inside the Teenage Brain


This documentary explores the teenage brain, and how it affects their seemingly inexplicable behavior. It attacks topics such as mood swings, sleep deprivation, the desire to be independent, and parenting. Scientists are working to understand the reasons behind their actions through brain scans and experiments involving volunteering teens, children, and adults.

Overall, scientists have discovered that right before and during the teenage years is the biggest change in the brain since early childhood. Teens perceive danger and emotion much differently from adults, because of how their brains are set up and how they are changing. Their brains and hormones can also account for things like mood swings.

Teenagers' main problem is that they feel misunderstood; by their parents, their teachers, and other adults. Most adults are convinced that teens are always looking for trouble, that everything they do is wrong in some way, shape or form. Teens like Charlie O'Donnell claim that they think their parents have forgotten what it is like to be a teen. Parents' seemingly can't relate to their teens and their problems with rules, sleep, ect.

In the documentary, it shows a teenager named Brittany Hosnander, describing her mood swings and relationship with her family. It also shows Nicole Ellis, and her great relationship with her mother, as well as her mood swings, like Brittany.

I think that this documentary was made because parents everywhere have been struggling to raise and understand their teenagers. Teenagers are seen as unpleasant and reckless in the eyes of most adults, and this documentary gives a new perspective on teens and their behavior, so they aren't as misunderstood.

While watching this documentary, I learned a lot about how my brain and the brains of my peers work. I could relate a lot to the teens that were interviewed and followed, especially when they were talking about being misunderstood by their parents. The documentary taught me that sleep is very important for learning and basic function everyday, and that teens are even more different from adults than we thought.

Frontline: Digital Nation

The documentary I watched Digital Nation talks about how in today's society people depends on technology too much and it is making them dumber. The main character in this documentary is Rachel Gretzin and her partner Douglas Rushkoff. Through out the whole documentary Rachel and her partner traveled to different places in the world to see how technology is affecting their community.

During their travel they found a school in the Bronx New York that was doing really bad until they started to bring in more technology in the school and that help increase the school's attendance and grades. The documentary also mention how in south Korea almost everyone is always wired and some needed special therapy to stop using the computer so much.

I think that this documentary was made to show everyone how technology can be good in our lives but over using it can be bad and in some cases dangerous for your health. I have learned to use less technology in my life through this documentary because it's bad to use technology everyday for a long period of time. Through this documentary I learned to use more scenery shots in my own documentary and I also learn to ask more questions for my future videos.

Link: Digital Nation

New Orleans Post Katrina

The video was very informative and I learned a lot about the New Orleans police department. This video started out talking about Henry Glover who was killed in the chaotic time after Katrina hit. Later it gives us the polices story of what happens but there are many holes in there story.At the of the video they give us the history of the troubled police department in New Orleans and it shows us the federal case between the x-cops and the U.S.A.
Henry Glover and his brother are the main characters but the news reporter acts as the narrator throughout and many cops give us there take.
I think that this documentary was made to revile what really happened in New Orleans after Katrina. I think this is important because the victims of these crimes deserve justice for what happened to them and there family. Also the man who created the documentary was one of those people who knew something wasn't right so he kept looking deeper until he found a lot of evidence showing that what the police reports said weren't all true.

I have learned that no ones perfect not even cops and also that during hard times anything can happen. I think that anyone who watches this can be touched by the story that is told but you may also be disgusted with what you hear.
The best technique I can take from this documentary is how the reporter supported his ideas with interviews for the people involved. Also he asked great questions which made the person being interviewed really think.

Link:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/law-disorder/

file:///Users/student/Desktop/hurricane%20katrina%20flooding%20photos.jpeg

Health Care: Obama's Deal

Looking back on what most surely defined the Obama administration so far, we see the Health Care Bill. For some (including me), it was a necessary bill that, although weakened, was a victory. For others, it was the sign of what they feared the most: Government take over, Washington insiders, backroom deals, and a whole lotta other stuff. Now a new documentary by Frontline examines the steps taken to pass the ever controversial bill, from the initial steps to the death of the late Edward Kennedy to the final passing of the Bill.



Leading the charge was President Obama, whose idealistic ideas were played out Washington Style. One of the greatest criticisms of the Obama administration has been their apparent forceful nature behind the bill. Although some of these concerns seem justified, such as the deals with the pharmaceutical companies and the apparent intimidation and bribing of the members of Congress, largely be people such as Rahm Emanual, this film seems to beg the question as to whether this is how Washington has to work. For a bill of this nature, and the backlash from the GOP, which has constantly voted against everything Obama has to offer, it appears that such forcefulness is necessary, to a point.

Some of these strategies do seem extreme and harmful, especially to Obama's polls. Although his popularity is not necessarily a sign of how good a President he is, these deals do appear to be against his original promises. However, although many blame Obama for the partisan nature of Washington right now, that's the its always been. Look at Lyndon B. Johnson, famous for his "Johnson Treatment". Also, the down right refusal to cooperate from the Republicans adds tremendously to the answer of why such actions were taken. With pressure from the insurance companies, who refused to cooperate unless there was a mandate forcing all American citizens to buy health insurance, it is a wonder the bill ever passed.

So why make a documentary on such the subject so soon after the bill was passed? Well, part of it is that it serves the public, showing them the under-workings of how our Government, specifically the Health care bill works. However, this film did not go into the reasons why the bill was created, which would have given a greater perspective to the situation. The film also nicely incorporates media with interviews. This technique, where clips of news reporters and journalists speaking are put over images of Washington, is very affective in showing reaction and would work nicely in my coming documentaries.

Frontline Video-The New Asylum

The New Asylum explores inside the Ohio prison system's treatment of the mentally ill. Many state run asylums have been closed and prisons all across the country have taken their place. While they discuss how it may not be the most effective way to treat the mentally ill, there are few other options for them. The documentary went through prisons and interviewed important people in the prison systems like Gary Beven, a chief forensic psychiatrist. In the video he describes the negative effect prison has on the mentally ill. Effects such as increased delusions, self mutilation, and rebelling against guards. Robert Bankston is a paranoid schizophrenic whom they showed during a psychotic break. He is shown being carried out of his cell by prison guards and resisting them. This shows that prison is not designed for the mentally ill and they need hospitals, and constant care.

I think this documentary was made to show the need for psychiatric hospitals because prisons are not designed for the mentally ill. From this video I learned the importance of the mentally ill taking their medication and how prisons can not cope with the growing number of mentally ill inmates. Many videos of patients were shown along with images of prisons they live in. There were interviews with members of the Ohio correctional facility, doctors, and officers involved in caring for the mentally ill.

I'm going to incorporate interviews in my own documentary as well as clips of whatever its on, background information. Overall this video was extremely informative on the treatment and handling of the mentally ill in American prison systems. There is need for change in how things are done but for the most part prison doesn't seem to bad.

When Kids Get Life (Frontline Documentary series)

When Kids Get Life was about teenagers who committed murder in the state of Colorado. This documentary is about a few of the 43 juveniles who committed murder and got tried as adults in court and as a result received a life sentence with no chance of parole.

First it talks about Jacob Ind who killed his abusive mother and stepfather when he was 15 years old back in 1992. It tells the story through his brothers point of view and says that the abuse got so bad that Jacob could not find another way out. He was handed a life sentence although the judge did not want to.

The next story was about Nathan Ybanez and Eric Jensen when they were in high school Nathan could not take the sexual abuse from his mother anymore. One day Eric drove Nate home from work and waited outside for him to come back out of the house and so they could go out. After half an hour Eric went to the door and Nate's mom told Eric to wait in Nate's room when he got there he saw Nate hit his mom with a fireplace tool and strangle her. This story was told by Eric's parents and they tell how both boys got life without parole because Nate committed first degree murder and Eric for being an accomplice.

These were a few of the murders that Frontline discussed in When Kids Get Life. The ongoing debate is whether kids should get life without parole. Some people say no because they are only kids and should learn from mistakes and 20-30 years would be more fair. On the other side of the spectrum people say yes because these people were only kids when they killed somebody and that what will they do later in life if they were already killing as kids.

Ofra Bikel Productions Eric Jensen age 16 and Nathan Ybanez age 15

Jacob Ind at age 15, when he killed his mother and stepfather.

Link: When Kids Get Life

FRONTLINE BLOG

Once you have picked your Frontline video, finish watching it and then BLOG.

In your blog:

1) Summarize the video

2) Identify the Main Characters/Subjects

3) Discuss why they think a documentary was made about the subject

4) What they have learned from watching the documentary

5) Techniques they will incorporate in their own documentary

* They must include links to the video that they have watched

* They must include pictures

The blog will be graded for Friday

SPELL CHECK, CAPITALIZE YOUR SENTENCES, CHECK GRAMMAR 

Shots Video

I had a good experience making the shots video. It was fun to do and a good way to start to learn about editing clips together and learning about all the different shots. I thought it was a good experience because it introduced me to all the different things you can do in editing film. I look forward to the other projects we will be doing this year.

Another PSA

This is another "PSA" that talks about encouraging other people to be a teacher and telling other people that being teacher s not a bad thing. A girl named "Clara" in this video gives her own advice about having a passion. And if you have a passion about teaching or being a teacher then you should definitely be a teacher.

PSA on Winning

This video is a public service announcement about the sports legends winning. However, the real winners are those that don't get recognition or trophies. Winning comes with a soul. .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olyqQ9VOrnM

Here is another PSA that shows and alerts people the importanace of not texting while driving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LCmStIw9E

Star Wars Smoking PSA is as Amusing as it is Effective

A PSA about not smoking using the well-known characters from Star Wars, C3-P0 and R2-D2. It also has a small 'Wizard of Oz' reference. Using the famous robots is an effective strategy for reaching to adolescents, since they know and love the two. I enjoyed it because C3-P0 always makes me laugh, and R2-D2 is one of the most lovable little robots out there, as well as one of the toughest. There is of course, a slight problem with the video. R2-D2 not only has no lungs or biological heart, but he also has no mouth. But I suppose since C3-P0 is the only one of the two who can talk, they had to give him the speaking part. Either way, the idea is just short of genius.

First Time Video Editor

Editing with iMovie was one of the best experiences for me. Since I want to go into the movie world, seeing all the steps to making a movie is really fantastic. GarageBand was really fun to work with, looking at all the different music loops that you can add to your track. To me; editing came like breathing to me - easy as can be, I'd edit a movie every day if I could. A cool part of iMovie was that you can take parts of the video and put parts of another shot together. Mac's are amazing. My overall experience with iMovie and GarageBand was a 11/10!

Another PSA

This is a PSA about healthy habits. It features Elmo, and Michelle Obama and is directed towards both kids and parents. I find it completely hilarious.

Link.

PSA Examples

Here are a few examples of Public Service Announcements:

Crack Cocaine

Haiti Crisis

Smoking PSA

experience on imovie

I like doing imovie because I like doing film with movies. I thought while doing this it was a bit complicated at first because I had to get the pictures on there and also make music on garage band then I had to somehow add it on imovie which I thought it was hard for me. My experience of this project was pretty good I would definitly do this project again it was fun.

Editing Experience

I'm finally done with my first video and it was a great experience for me. This very first video is my first project for Video Production class. I'm proud of myself for making my own video and I feel really good. Even though this isn't my very first video technically because I made my first video last year with my English class, which was a great experience by the way. But the difference between last year and this year that last year I needed help from teachers for editing whereas this year I did it all by myself. Just making a video isn't enough, you have to make it really good plus you have to feel it that it's good. I had a lot of fun making my own first video and I learned a lot from it. I learned to put better music on my video, put special effects, and how to download a video from a certain website and then export it to iMovie. Also making your own music from the Garageband and then importing to iMovie. iMovie is a great application or a program that helps people make a simple video for the beginners. I had a lot of fun making a video with iMovie and had great experiences with making my very first video.

First Video

I thought making my first video project was a good experience. I thought it was a good way to learn the basic shots and filming techniques. It could have been better because when we actually got the shots I didn't finish and had to get videos or pictures from the Internet. In my opinion it was also cool to make our own music to go along with the video.

Editing Experience

I haven't had much experience in video editing, since I'm not very good at using technology. Whenever I film things it's shaky because my hands shake almost constantly. Still, there are ways to handle that, like 'pods' and other stands for cameras. I was mostly fine through most of the editing, except for when iMovie started to glitch and showing the wrong image at the wrong time, with the correct effects, or suddenly shutting down. Then there was the annoying sound my computer made whenever I started it up. I still think the announcements are coming on whenever I turn the power on. I get frustrated with glitches, especially since I'm pretty much technologically incompetent and can't fix them. I'm less likely to smack a nice, shiny, new computer then I am to smack an older, tougher one, but I occasionally come very close. They extent of my technological enterprise is some very awesome (in my opinion) slide shows. I'm not too effective at dramatic film-making, and even GarageBand gave me trouble. I do think I make some excellent plot-outlines and plans, however.

PSA

A psa or public service announcement is a type of advertisement on tv, radio, print, or other media. It raises awareness of an issue such as smoking and drug awareness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWQgktBR6-w

Editng Experience

I found my first editing experience to be very interesting because i have never done it before an it was very interesting to see how other people do it, and be able to actually do it myself. It was also really facsinating to actually make your own production and watch it yourself, and know that its something YOU made, because usually most people are actually the consumer, but for once, now we can be the producers. But although it was fun and interesting and fun to make, it was also pretty tricky, and oconfuing at some points, which just goes to show you, its no as east as it seems, but then again, i am just a learner and a begginer now, and i think i will get better at it more and more during the time i have in video production class.

Editing Experience

While editing I had to spend alot of time replacing videos. Alot of the videos I took were shaky or did not quite represent the desired shot, so I had to find other videos or pictures to replace them. I also had to find videos for shots I couldn't take using my camera but also couldn't be represented by a picture. I also spent alot of time adding text into the video. I had to find a format that wasn't too big or too small and could be clearly seen over the pictures.

what is PSA?

A PSA is an advertisement featured on television radio, etc It's to benefit public interest it stands for public service. Its to interest people so they can try out a product or what ever there doing. Also a psa can help people around the community to make the world a better place.

Public Service Annoucement

Public Service Annoucement-

A public service announcement (PSA) or community service announcement (CSA) is a non-commercial advertisement broadcast on radio or television, ostensibly for the public good. PSAs are intended to emodify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues.

Lea Michele speaks her mind about fur with PETA