We saw the Videos! And we liked them!

Hello there everybody! I wanted to update you guys on what’s going on here in L.A. and also that we watched the videos and I wanted to let you know what we thought of them.

First off here in L.A. everything ahs been going well. We started our fall term and we’re all really busy with projects and homework assignments. We are taking the Non-Profit photo class again to work on the Tlachi project, but it’s only Jonas and me in the class. Christian graduated last term and Zulema, Michelle, and Dilean opted to not take the class so they could take other classes that they need to graduate. Jonas and I are doing our best to keep them informed of our progress.
We got approval to hang our pictures in the Faculty Dining Room, which is really great because a lot of important people will see them, and we are thinking about other places we can submit our photos to. I was thinking about designing some pamphlets or brochures for Cihuame and also maybe redesign they’re webpage, could you guys ask if they would like that or if they need any help with that kind of stuff? We are going over the photos to submit to Juan, I hope he likes what we pick.

About the videos, overall they are starting to look good. It was kinda hard to hear the dialogue; maybe some subtitles might be helpful. We were wondering if the videos are going to be more documentary or instructional and also who is the audience going to be, who are the videos being made for? Are they for Juan to introduce Cihuame to new pueblos or as a backdrop while Juan is giving a presentation, or will it be shown at a film fest Mexico City audience? We would also like to see what happens to the products after they are made like the stoves being used, where does the honey go to be sold, stuff like that. The Centro titles at both the beginning and the end were a bit repetitive and I didn’t understand why they were on there twice. The videos seem to start and end abruptly and a formal introduction and ending would be nice, the story is a bit confusing. A history of what the viewer is going to be looking at would be really helpful. The pacing in most of the videos is nice, but in a few it seems to drag on and the audience mat lose interest. Maybe there could be just one acknowledgement section at the very end of the last video instead at the end of all the videos. The videos don’t feel like they have the voice of the filmmakers, they seem like they are being presented by the project instead by the filmmakers. Does that make sense? I noticed that Rodrigo and Michelle had cameo appearances in some of the shots, and also there was a sound of a camera shutter during the flores.

Estufas: I was curious about how they move the stoves into place after they are made, it wasn’t clear to me in the video. The visual narrative is pretty good, but maybe an introduction of the people and the process that they work on and the how the community is involved in the process would be nice, more of a background story is needed and how many people contribute. The people need more of a formal introduction, an introduction of characters. We were wondering about what it was that doesn’t work about the older stoves that made them change to the newer ones, perhaps a view of an older stove working what they left behind that made the people change to the new ones, like a before and after shot of the old stoves and new ones. Also how much do the stoves cost and does everyone in town get one or only those that can afford it?

Miel: Again an introduction to what the audience will be looking at and the characters involved would be great. Perhaps a narrator to explain the process of what’s happening visually and why and also to ask questions that the people in the video can answer would help. The shot of the boxes being made needs to explain what they are being made for, how are they going to be used, and the fast pace of the of the bottles filling up is a little funny. I was wondering how the bees are cultivated, like where did they get the bees from to start making honey. The pacing is very nice is this video.

Ecologia: this video had the best of the shot and the narrative weaving together. The beginning footage was w little weird and feels like it would fit better at the end. The girl swimming would be a good shot for the beginning or a shot of just the river. Is there any more footage of plant life, Jonas says there is lots to talk about it and even though the length of the video is nice if there were more footage of plant life then it would work being a little bit longer.

Damn this email is long!

Textiles: It is really hard to hear what the lady being interviewed is saying. The shortness of the video compared to the other videos makes the textiles seem less important, but it also shouldn’t be filled with random stuff to make it longer, history or a back-story would be nice here. We were wondering if there was a pattern that the ladies follow or if they just free sew without a pattern and where do the products end up when they are finished. An introduction of the ladies and their role in the community would be nice.

Flores: the voices are hard to hear in the beginning, is what they are saying important or are they just talking about gossip? The overall length is a bit long and drawn out and maybe could be half the length. The narrative is thorough enough that the viewer gets to see the entire process in just a short period of time. This video was the hardest to watch because a half way through we started thinking about something else. The images in this video don’t carry the narrative as strongly as in the other videos. How do the flores get colored and what happens to them when they are finished. Again maybe less of the process and more of a back-story would be nice.


So that’s what we thought. I’m not very good at critiquing and I was the one who took notes of what we thought and had to write it all out, so if it seems harsh I’m really sorry, don’t take it personally. I have a hard time saying what I mean verbally.
If there are any questions feel free to email Jonas or me and we are excited to see the next round of videos and see what happens next!

Thanks a bunch!

-Bettina

VIDEOS!!!!!!! Que opinan?

Hola gente de Art Center, aquí desde el DF les contamos que mandamos un primer corte de los videos que tenemos para Dennis y Pato, ojalá que lo vean y nos puedan dar comentarios, sería muy importante conocer su opinión. Estaría padre si también pudieran postear aquí o mandar por mail o algo la entrevista que le hicieron a Zulema, o si hay un link para la página del periódico o algo así.

Pues si tomamos en cuenta la opinión de la señora Elodia y de Juan porque finalmente ellos fueron quienes nos solicitaron el video, son los "clientes", por llamarlo de alguna manera. Y por supuesto que no quisiéramos hacer nada en detrimento de su imagen como asociación, así que quitamos lo que nos pidieron. Nosotros tampoco entendimos bien por qué no querían abejas, supongo que la gente que lo vea puede llegar a pensar que es sucio porque son insectos o algo así. Y pues sí es una lástima porque eran tomas bastante padres.

Queríamos regresar a Tlachi para grabar unos sonidos que nos faltaron y otros detalles pero como sabrán recientemente ha habido varios huracanes y está muy difícil llegar allá, los caminos están cerrados y así. Así que no hemos programado otro viaje para allá. Si se hiciera otro viaje, alguno de ustedes vendría? Cuando hagamos la presentación de lo que hemos hecho estaría padre que sí vinieran todos, pero hay que planear todo eso con más cuidado.

Bueno, cuídense mucho y esperamos su opinión sobre los videos.