Response for Monday Nov. 12th

I enjoyed all the films shown in class on Monday especially the John Smith Film "worst case scenario" the way he made all of the still images come alive by breaking down peoples actions into two or three different shots was amazing. Now that I think about the film, I wonder if he used a still camera to capture images or if he used a video camera and selected which frames he wanted to turn into stills. If he did use a still camera it must have been very difficult to take pictures rapidly enough to capture peoples motions in multiple shots. either way it made for an interesting film. when the film first started by slowly showing still images I didnt expect the pace to become as quik as it eventually did. The soundtrack of the film really made it seem like watching a video with sync sound, except for a few sound fx which were kinda cartoonish, but for the most part they did a great job capturing the sounds of the city. I was very surprised to see an experimental film with a comedic element. It was great the way the filmmakers used dead air to build up tension in between movement. I thought the arial perspective was very different for a film with people as the subject. It really gives you a sense of omnipresence seeing everyone from above. I especially liked the scene with the motor bike waiting at the stop light. when the driver starts revving his engine impatiently the other people waiting copy his movement until the green light breaks the cycle. I like the way the filmmakers ended the piece with shots of the people in the film making a direct address, recognizing the camera and the fact that they are being filmed, plus the shot of the camera in the window.
-Gary Ahmed