my final paper

5/5/06
Multimedia Video
Sama Alshaibi



AD&D and what you didn't know...
A Comparison of my final film and those we saw in class.
By : Megan Baldwin


When I started my project I had a very clear thought: " I would like to create a piece that is as moving as Arna's Children, because my subject matter is crucially important to me and it is a very serious problem that I wish to film while keeping the film as light hearted as Fahrenheit
9 / 11". As I began work on it however, I just kept struggling through my subject matter. I felt lost, because I did not know how it was that I could make my video move anyone.

It was about this time that I decided that if I were to be successful with my endeavors, then I would have to take entirely new approach to it. While I was constructing my film I attempted to specifically avoid using techniques that I saw in the films in class. Each of those films had their own style and finesse that made each of them effective in communicating their message and I knew I would need to find my own style if I were to be successful as well.

Using what I had learned in class I began the long process of capturing footage. I was able to requisition the aid of several friends and relatives, which was greatly beneficial to my project. Through carefully planned filming sessions, I filmed a good portion of my film without the aid of major editing. I was almost a third through my film when I had my review of my rough cut.

Needless to say, I was quite distraught when I received comments on my film such as "the woman in the film who has such a major role has a voice which is harsh and choppy. I found it difficult to listen too and get the message you are attempting to portray." and " this film would be better as a comedy rather than a serious documentary which you attempted to make"

In hindsight, the review was actually one of the most helpful I do believe I have ever had. The comments began me thinking of new ways to look at the situation that I was working with the footage I had on tape. After much debate over the topic of weather to continue with my current project, or to change its focus and attempt to make it more punchy. It was actually frank who suggested that first I try a more comedic approach. Because of that, I have completely reworked the film to include more humor to the film and to allow of some ironic placement of cut scenes.

The finished product of my semester long journey through the independent film scene is a film that is a strong blend of a very serious subject, the radical Christian groups and other organizations who despise AD&D and believe it to be the work of demonic forces from other worldly sources; and the quite peaceful and serene views of a laid back community who only take up arms when they need to defend what they believe is a strong, fun, educational way of living.

Although I tried quite hard to avoid reusing aspects from the film in class, I did end up falling back on the concept of one of the films. In the film From Temples to Low Riders I did enjoy the ending format with the typed lettering for credits and it was that which I used to display a shocking fact toward the center of my film.

I enjoyed quite emmensly this process, it was in a way, therapeutic. It is a way through which i was able to share with the rest of the world, a problem that is troubling to me and seems to be getting progressively worse. It was once as mild as a few people campaigning to restrict the availability of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons; but it has evolved to the point where groups of these D&D hating Radicals have gone to the extent to gather thousands of copies of books that are no longer in print, buying them from collectors, just to burn them is pyres of what they see as cleansing fire.

Acts like that are what caused me to make this film and I plan to make at least one more. I believe that the less people who turn a blind eye to this, the better off the Gaming community, and the public in general will be. To incinerate knowledge, just because you don't agree with it, is wrong. It was these things I wished to portray in this film, however, with lack of footage and Christian radicals for my filming, I was unable to portray that as I wished too so that will have to wait until part two.


While trying to conceptualize my films layout, I was reminded of the highly dramatic and effective usage of a split screen in the film that we saw by ousama. He used graphic contrast to compare his subject matter in a very effective way. For my next film I may resort to using a similar tactic for parts, but for this initial film, I wanted it to remain light hearted and less emotional so such a drastic contrast was not a feasible choice.

From what this class has taught me, I have gained a knowledge of one of the more interesting forms of self expression and I feel that I have become inspired. Weather you are attempting to display the violence of a country and its people trying to survive from under it, or weather you are on a personal crusade to stop destructive crusaders against what is a deeply enriching form of entertainment, film has become one of the best ways to actually show your audience what it is in this giant world that is troubling you.

i finished something

ok its not a big something but i think i finally got my editiing project compleated it wasnt so bad i can see i need to work on some stuff but once i had everything set up ( thank you forever sama for your paitance ) i was able to relly get into it. one thing i know ill need work on is sound editing stuff ill try to play the music un stead of importing not sure how to even do that but ill have to lurn for my final still things are looking up i feel like i might beable to do this now.....hmmm if only i could get the rest of my life figured out .

review 004

just found these notes on a set of films we watched 2 weeks ago and had forgotten to do the wrightups sp here gose ill see what i can remember

Hubbard street: this film was slighty diturbing to me both in content and in that why it was filmed the frist part is pretty boring and reminds me of stock grahpics that you see on a media player for music. it then moves into a sensual and yet kinda sick bondage type film that is semi jaring when it is broken up with a loud beep and a white light. a real turn off for watching the film i think a better transition could have been placed there. one good thing issome of the drimatic lighting use but the sound just through it all off and i surpose some people could say it was surpose to do that but i feel it was a bad choice.

Feild Day: simple and ammuseing reminds me of monty pythone moviesbut i can see where a little gose along way and porbly about half as much would have been as effective.

ID est: did not like this a all the whole time i was thinking what is this a combination of modern dance and soft core pron (badly done).....ok what up with the dishes this flim is compleatly confuesing i have know idea what is going on or what the message is .th imagery could have been better but the music didnt seem to fit it was to over powering i dont think opra was the best choice no wait i take that back the pics where pretty bad too. i not sure why this person decided to do this is there a background stor im missing or something. my final comment for this pice is " WTF, these people have problems".

coptue something something didnt catch the title sorry: its quite unique film but i wish i knew what was being siad it kinda distracts me not knowing the information case then im trying to guess and not pay as much attenchion as i should. the videowas very trippy and thought the style ofthe differant sceans fit together the contant is the oppisit kinds of imagery such as the wolfman and the flowers. it has an over all erri or hunted effect which get perpelled by the music that was used makes for a good halloween sounds tape.

reem's film: this is one of those films id have to see serveral times to get everything. the chair shoes remind me of 6 inch high heeled shoes some women wear they try to do everything but its realy hard its like she is handicaped but then agian if you were serperated from the earh and nature i belive we as a race become handicapped. the rate at which it was filmed is a little off like its speed up in places which makes the subhect seem to move slower. i love who not meny people seem to notice her and those that do tend to stare or just glance up for a second my favorite is the girl on the cell phone who was walking behind but had to slowdown so got annoyed and walked around reminded me of impatiant driver on the highway. it had a funny ending you think theres goingto be some profound change or epiphony but no it just starts over whit new chairs. its funny but at the same time when thought about deeper its kinda sad that this person seems to be stuck like this dilgiently trudgeing on trying to make the best till they die and are burried which will probly be when they can finally reconect with the earth.

working on it

ok still trying to get it together this spring break is going to be everything but a spring break i think ill probly be in the lab as much aspossible, today i hope i can get the camera sence i didnt get all week due to no being able to find people at the righttimes and then leaveing thinking the other wasnt going to come and then checking the phone and getting messages to late ......but anyway i want to shoot stuff all day today if possible i got my actors to free up there day and it would be nice to be able to do the outdoor sceanes when theres still daylight cause my lights dont work all but 2 bulbs have blown this past week and i dont have meny candles and i cant afford new ones which sucks but i guess it might save on the electic bill this month maybe well be able to pay last months now drrrr why does everything have to cost so much $600 dallor appartment 50 in electicity 35 in geroiceries every week and then other expenses and all trying to be payed with about 130 a week . and our credit isnt good enough to tak out loans not that that would be a good idea sence we cant pay back the bills we got now....... but im getting way off topic..... anyway this vaction i should get all my fotage shot and im going to try and do it in order as much as possible to make it eaisier to edit cause if i can shot it right i wont have to waste as much time editing right well that my theroy anyway hope it works out see everyone in class!

review 003

usama's film was a focus on contrast be it the simle
contrast of black and white to color or the shocking
contrast in imagery and contant as with the prisoners
exicution and the birthday party. for most the film i
found myself speechless and in shock myself. the dule
video is very effective for making ontrast and the
noise overlapped and scratchy makes it confuessing but
i surposse that is the point to show that for these
people involved the situation can be confuessing
because of all the lies you get told . sre it may seem
like a party with dancing girls but what happenends
when the party is over and how is everyone connected
could one of those dancing girld be the sister of a
sholdier that you and your buddy's just beat to death
cause you were told they where bad when all that guy
was trying to do was make a better life for his family
so his sister wouldnt have to dance for the people
oppressing them....its an evil cycle. but i digress
the point i belive is that even though you are told
one thing your not getting the whole truth and life
for some poeple might as well be a hollywood film with
palm tree lined roads.

review 002

joe fabrook films the frist tyranny of the
missing son, for this i have only one coment because i
dont understand i guess my belifes are to far from
this on to get it: " it is only such if you want it to
be so and only you can open your own eyes and change
it to be what you want, there is always a choice."

for Simulacra it was a very intersestin concept
something that ould be simular to stuff im more
fimlure with but the graphic qualit is low and realy
turns me off of the film the jumble of images and
sounds often made it unclear what was going on. i did
love the travel around the world section and would
love to see something based off of that i think it was
a lot of potential to realy say something and get
alot of peoples attenchion, but maybe i just like
adventure and seeing the world in a new way to much
for my own good.

hmmm

ok i understand the you have to save the file to your hard drive as you make the time line so its all together but how do i save the stuff there to begin with so i can start working with it? okay i dont think that made any sence *sigh*

rant #2

omg any one else serverly hate mac/ apple comps i cant fingure out how to do anything on this stupid computer drrr why cant we do this class in the dell lab......and i never can concentrait in class to work its like so unconfertable and there to meny people not that i dont love you all but ya all make me parinoid. its like i messed up at the begining and i still cant seem to get this right maybe im not ment to do this kind of stuff cause i keep trying but then i keep messing up. and i know it takes time to lurn how to do stuff when its something new but i think my brain is being stuborn or something cause it keeps for getting the littlest thing like one day i forgot my head phones and i for got to check for firewire on my hard drive when i got it even though i had told the people getting it for me it had to be compatible or that fact that i didnt know the differance between mini disk and vhs. ok thanks for lid]stening if anyone else just have to get alot out in this class i love it but at the same time i hate it cause the program is like the bane of my exsistance.

its hard to work

well still no news on the hard drive but ive been filming some and hoprfully if i can keep it all on one tape it wont be to bad for my partner though not good for when i finally get to logg and capture. this soooo sucks i got everything planed but ive had to cancle on my readers because of technical difficulties hopefully class tomorrow will have good news though its been so long sence the demo i probly forgot how to do half the stuff.

Theams

well it turns out i did see this one it just didnt get wrighten as i watced and i forgot i had notes . oups
this film had a key factor is it and that was time from the large dissplay of a digital clock to the celebrations of hoildays and new years from around the world. Even the use of candle emphsaizes time as they burn or on a larger scale as life and death. i believe the couple had an enjoyable time shoting this film in all the differant countries they captured a real sence of irony that occures and put them right in frount of the viewer to deal with,this is a new and bold take from what ive scean but its also playfull with undertones of sadness.
i found the conent of the film amusing and quite the eye opener to our own silly ambition that will probly never happen, this can be used on both a personal level and the more obvious world wide level, and those that have happened are fairly insignifiacant to what we are "surposed" to have in our morden world. for me it was a little shocking to see how history and religion is used as a modern ploy to sell junk to people,i guess until now i never really noticed how bad it had gotten and now all i do is see it everywhere. so the film has had an impacted on me. one part i was not surprised by was the sections on sterotyping that so eny bussnesses are guilty of surporting and the funny part is the average person belives them. my favorite part is the ironic sceane of the live bait vending machine sitting next to the soda vending machine with the person at the live bait one. the lines i can draw from that one scean alone boggle my mind. "is that what we are now 'live bait' to big companies and do we have anyone to blame but ourselves for buying into it all?" those are questions i have gotten frome the film and though i belive the makers belive that this is true i think they made this film to show others so that maybe someday it wont be true.
lighting in this film was handled quite well the blinking lights candles sun light and shadows are all blanced and fit well to the content though its not partiuarally dramatic as a whole film the individual sceans hold the eye and at times have a theatrical feel to them. some that stood out were near the end with the fake spinx and the sunnydays looking over the land and the colud's shadows pass accross the valley. most ofthe film though out side tended to be on nice days the fact that there is so much sun shine realy helps that feeling of everything being fake cause i know when ever i try and go somewhere or do something its never that nice out for ever day though you could also argue that these are professionals and could have just waited for the sunny days to be more convieant.
sound being important through the couratual music (at least i think it was, couse now i could be sterotyping) was kept simple and suddel i enjoyed the narritive aspects they were dead on but the wrighten words seemed to have the biggest impact as they would sometimes quote important things and people or just plain state the irony like the salsa hat and the words "made in chaina" i found this very effective and would like to use it in my own work.

when it rains it poors

my life update for the weeek please ignore i just need to get some stuf out



so life have been the opitimie of hell ive love my best friend/lover its long story and now this new girl he likes for some reason thinks its fun to send me tells and rub stuff in mey noise and make rude hurt ful comments as well as threats.
finanically i cant make rent i cant afford electricity much longer and no hot water . im leaving off of about 15 dallors for weeks expenses at the rate me and frank are going we might not make it we fight everyday the house is a mess cause we both have just stoped careing i cant sleep im constantly stressed. the only thing i got going for me is a steady friend but he cant help much cause he lives in canada but at least i know what i want for my project and i can work on that today and maybe get that 800 word review done by tonight . god i cant even relaxs for 10 mins i get maybe 2 hours a sleep each night and im crying myself to sleep every night i havent eating anthing sence yester day and im constantly feling ill my head hurts and i havent had a shower in days which i know it not good i dont even know what im doing where im going anymore im soo lost even art has become a hassle now i used to love art it was all i did now im having to force myself to do the projects in my drawing class which by the way i still think the teacher hates me from last semester. i miss my sisters i havent seen them in 3 months and until this year i would always see them every day i miss my mom i only she her once a week when she drops off my 2 bags geroices and themn leaves cause she needs to get home before hers gose bad. i ramdomly start crying for know reason at all the littlest things can set me off now. i now im not psycotic or depressed or polar so its not like that its just too much all at once and all of it bad. i dont know what to do to graduate is there some one im surpose to tell or something....... i dont get it and my teacher im surposse to beable to talk to dosent know anything ive tried talking to him like 10 times but nothing. on top of it all my cat has decided that clawing people is the best way to get there attenchien so now i got scratches all over my hands and feet i really hope they dont leave scars.on top of all this im haveing problems telling my friend something its a secrect and i dont know how hell react but im pretty sure hes agienst it and i dont want to lose hm to but i hate lying to him keeping this secrect from him. did you know i havent been anywhere but my appartment and class for 5 months i think ive forgotten what the sun looks like. and now for the closing statement: Ever have a Nightmare that wasn't a Nightmare becuase it was nicer then your Real Life.

todd's film review

this on was a tughy to review though it had a clear message im not sure i would have gotten it if i wasnt give a background story . one scean that did work to give me that message was the twitching hand on the floor that was preety clear im not sure i got he whole spoon thing but esstectically it had ver nice layering of pictures and though the transitions that were jumpy it worked with the drug induced feel. the part the made the film very clear would be the dedication at the end it added a touch of sadness the for me equaled a lose of some sort.

simone review

this was probly one of my favorite films ive seen. though im not sure i agree with all of the things in it i can understand the meaning and empathize. i totaly love the interposed filmed pictures with the wrighten text on top . and i think the effect helped to make you feel like you are reading the same book i also love the naritive and the use of photograph to show what has happenend in both Simones life and the narrators life it makes it easy to see the comparisions between to two. i accually want to go read the book now. another part of the film i enjoyed was the music it had just the right amount and the choices were exceptionally good to fit with the feminist movement and the difficulties there is in being a women. the film makers did a good job on making sure the music did not over power a sceane but blended well. being an artist i enjoyed the one sceane with the flower and hand painting being drawn out it had good movement and conected the opening sceane with the film more. this film though quite serius also gave a sence of playfulness too. i think that realy help to make the film enjoyable to watch.

from temples to low riders review

the films frist impression on my is shock and a disturbed sence of realaity. the combinations of the over layering of sound and the motions of the pictures realy captures this its wasnt till the last 3rd of the film i felt comfertable and relaxed enough to hear part of the message and the was that only the earth lives forever. i found the film interaging over all and i think its one that needs to be watched a few imes to understand every thing that going on even though theres only one subject in the film the colors and shape light and dark contrasts give you a lot to take in. i did enjoy the ending format with the typed lettering for credits it might be something id like to try.