Lessons of Darkness

I like the way you finished the piece with a candle.

first off, i enjoyed the colors in this piece...the interview...the red, white, and natural brown colors juxtaposed with the beautiful streets and golden light with the dark was so nice. i loved that he was such a philosopher and the title of your piece is lessons in darkness...he could have so been my intro to philosophy prof. when i was in school.
this is great work, you are really getting good!

I love how you got into the mind of the artist. Thanks for showing me what is going on in another part of the world in an effort for people to express themselves as individual lights and to come together to make one big synergetic piece of luminescent art. I look forward to seeing your next pod about the summer camp.

i forgot to add that the music and the font is great, super appropriate
good luck!

Very nice -- good interview, and I love the way you cut in footage from the exhibition. But you've got to work on those opening titles -- it took me three tries to decipher them. And the sound is just borderline right now -- getting yourself a lavalier wouldn't hurt. But good enough for a GL!

I appreciate all the comments. The titles are matted to shots of the candles, so I was trying to get the effect of being among all the candles. I might try to find a better font. My shotgun mic sensitivity was unfortunately too low that day; I will look info getting a lav since they are smaller and I am traveling around for 12 months.

Thanks for the GLs!

Be good,

N

Nice piece. Terrific coverage of both the event and the artist. This is an ideal story for Current, and I'm sure that when it comes time to get the piece ready to air things like the intro titles, as well as possibly adding subtitles to the artist's interview will be taken care of. Until then, best of luck getting those greenlights!

I liked it better when he was speaking his own language...he seemed more passionate. I also understand that this is a piece about the artist and his impressions/explanation of the work he's done, but for some reason, I was really taken by his comment about "people taking back the street." That made me want to hear from the people. I fully understand if you weren't into doing those kind of man-on-th-street interviews, but maybe integrating some of their faces as they light candles or even view the spectacle of so many candles would lend some feeling...I'd like to know how the art was received. So anyway, I am definitely giving you a greenlight because the concept is beautiful. I really did like this piece.

Thank you so much for your positive reaction. I really regret not having a shot of the glow on peoples faces when he said that...I tried to put a shot in that kind of showed it but honestly I just didnt have the footage. Muma and I also figured that having 40,000 people at the even meant it was pretty well received!! It was beautiful to watch the kids and families just standing in awe in the streets...

Thanks again for the positive feedback. Sign up for my upload stream, I am travelling around the world making pods and will be having some very different pods uploaded in the upcoming months...

N

any chance you picked the nearly same title as the herzog movie? nice job with the interview and the segues... I don't mind the sound quality for what you are working with... I agree with some of the comments, it would have been nice to have some more of the crowd's reaction/comments. Your focus remains on the artist himself, which is nice, but obviously if you are focusing on the "community" aspect, getting their reactions would be more than appropriate. Really nice job, good luck getting it higher on the rank...

The name comes from Muma himself: "Lecon de Tenebres," in French. He wanted to use the candles as a counterpoint to darkness, I think to demonstrate the postivity of community and the collective.

The problem with filming events is always getting the appropriate coverage for your story before you possibly even know where the story is. Coulda, shoulda , woulda! I intend to do a more extensive and in-depth job with Paris 2007 which I will be attending. Perhaps I might even create a long-form doc about the prep and everything that goes into it.

I like the message and the placement of visual images with the expaination by the
artist, it has a very contagious effect, I like that in the middle the language switches
and then back again, that kept me listening...
thank you,
mona lisa

really great piece... I was fascinated by the artist's process and loved the metaphor of each candle representing a human life... your edits and pacing worked very well in telling the story of this talented artist. congrats!

A GL for the vision.

Hi, I really enjoyed watching this pod and seeing an amazing art project!
I agree with some of the other comments, that the titles could be a little clearer (although I understand what you're trying to achieve, and think it's a good idea). The sound could be better and you could've shot more footage, but that's always easy to say in hindsight! :) With what you shot I think you did very well.
One personal remark: if it were up to me, I'd edit it a little tighter by using his voice more as a voiceover. I'm less interested in seeing him talk, than I am in seeing more of the event... I also feel that if he was shown talking less, and the segments of the candles were shown longer, it would change the pace of the pod - at times I feel that it jumps too much between the interview and the b-roll, and a calmer pace might work better with this particular subject matter. But hey, that's just my opinion - I see some people actually like the pacing.
When doing interviews with ppl who struggle with speaking English, it's always a tough decision whether to have them speak their native language and use subtitles, or have them speak English and perhaps not be able to express themselves as well. I usually opt for the former, but again it's a personal choice and both methods have their pros and cons.
Anyway, don't mean to be too critical or nit-picky, I give you a thumbs-up and my very first greenlight! Thanks and look forward to seeing more :)

Cheers,

Bambi

In a way, not seeing the delight on the people's faces brought more delight to my own.Seeing the candles, the curves and lines of candles--that brought delight. Wish I'd seen it myself. I think you did achieve "the effect of being among all the candles."

nice contrast: the flame of the candles and the chiaroscuro! I'm not big on talking heads, but the narrative moved me some despite that . . .

i agree with some earlier comments, less shots of the artist himself, more of the actual process and result of the luminaries, my favorite sections are of him speaking in french with subtitiles over shots of the city because his language flows, as opposed to the halting, choppy english. that choppiness extends into the editing, by using transitions and a more lyrical hand you could create more of a feeling of flow.
i appreciate what you were trying to do with the titles but there is no way i would sit through something that long and difficult to read unless this thing was already rated so high. the titles are too separate, and not nearly as interesting as the piece itself.
i say this only because i love your video and i think you could push it from good to great. kudos.

Previous posters nailed it pretty much so I'll just say: Beautiful!!

Im absorbing all of the comments with interest - thanks to all! Although I have to say, I enjoy the so-called "talking heads" because it is like a conversation with a person. It allows you to meet and visually interact with someone interesting that you might never have been able to know. I think that we have been conditioned into hating it because of those terrible docs that bored us so much in school...I found Muma to be fascinating in his expressions, word choice and general aura. But to each his own!

To be honest, I never even realized that I could just do the whole interview in French. I speak fluent French, so translation would not have been a problem. I think I misjudged the viewer, believing that the average person would not want to read subtitles while at the same time appreciating the imagery. And I was wrong. I realize now that as long as you have the story and the subject matter, anything goes.

Let me know if my impressions are correct. In the meantime, thanks again for all the support and feedback. Its helped me tremendously! If you know of anyone that would love the pod, please pass along the link as I would love to see it move up the rankings!

Be good,

N

Sorry guy im steeling your idea.This will be great for the videosonblast release party.Those candles set the mood and brings people together.Great pod diffrent.

Awesome!

beautiful b-roll. the guy speaks like michel gondry, which is a big plus, haha! j'aime bien la mélange en langues!

sooooo BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Hey Nick!

lol great film, liked it...
skratch tht luved it, really intresting, nd i think tht artist is gr8, really inspiring

keep it up ;)
tho i think th part about th subtitles needing 2 b clearer is tru, mabe have them th same with a smaal black outline (stroke)
(ppl want evrything easy these days :P)

tc
Mohamed

Amazing . . A candle light in a cup creating a moment in the night can bring people closer together than the world wide web... Aint it kewl !!!!

Interviewing "Muma" conveys a clear sense of his vision of "social art." He's a pleasant, affable, articulate guy, whose English is good, though his French is far more precise.

May I give you a few tips on your filmmaking? Since Muma seemed to be interested in "creating a community" and was interested in the participants' reactions, I'd think you'd photograph the delight, the splendor, the concentration of those who were drawn into this massive project. Also, you began to show some of the details of the preparation for the candle-art -- the measuring, the drawing of the chalk lines. These are the elements of a good montage, but there should have been more. And a pay-off: a wide shot, from either a good distance away, or a good distance up, to reveal the end result of all this careful work. And if I may say one more thing. Your camera focus seemed to be changing during your interview. If your camera is stationary, you don't have to check focus. If you've got it right before you start, it's not going anywhere!

Otherwise, strong concept. The music is elegant, the photography of Lausanne is beautiful. Good luck!

J

I really appreciate the feedback...I have learned a lot from this already, the main thing being to make sure that you are completely satisfied with your framing BEFORE you start shooting the interview.

The other thing is that I shot the interview with Muma the day after the event, due to time problems and the desire to get his reactions after the fact. Looking back I would have done more of a pre-interview, discovering what exactly drove him to organize such an event. That way I could have gotten shots that matched better. The spatial constraints were also large, given the small nature of Lausanne's old town, and also meant that lighting became difficult. I tried to get the shots of people's faces, but they were so dark even with 18dB boost.

Thanks again for such precise and insightful feedback!

N

great story and very nicely done! GL!! and it looks like you got some feedback to make your next pod even better.

check out my latest (who is joe nice) and let me know what you think.

I think it's so awesome. It's a good way of getting the community together.
What a better way, candles. I love candles myself. It was definetly a work of art. It seemed to be very spiritual and free. Like two candles melting becoming one!

Like the opening music and compliation

Very cool, good style of film making, very story driven. Are you actively looking for events like this on your trip or just taking it as it comes? Just curious...

I am activelty looking for great stories! I like event like this that bring the community together and like to shoot them as well, so I am also actively looking for festivals, events, art installations, etc. as I travel. Most of my research before I left was looking around the world for crazy and interesting festivals/events. However, I just stumbled upon this one as I was working in Lausanne, Switzerland at a summer camp teaching English and filmmaking...

Thanks for the feedback! I wish this one was going on air - its a wonderful story of a world away, but it looks like it had its time in the spotlight...

N

I like it, but I don't know if your opening graphics work for my eye or not, they seem dark and muddled. The stroked text looks good, but maybe needs some white inside the stroke to punch it out on screen some more. Muma (sp?) needs a lower-3rd on screen showing the spelling of his name when he introduces himself. As well Muma could definitely use subtitles over his English spoken parts as well I think, this is mainly because many audience members will have difficulty understanding his heavily accented English and it will help the piece gap that language barrier. I can understand him 90% of the time, the 10% I cannot is frustrating (and I have travelled the world and can appreciate his English skills, I'm speaking strictly from a technical viewpoint). But the juxtaposition of the candle art display (which is beautifully done, both as art and your camerawork) and the interview clips works for me. Greenlighted. Good luck! -zen

I would like to see more of the participants. This event takes a big effort that would be nice to see. GL

This is a simple but very meaningful art... it's a great way to bring oneness to the society... it's so peaceful... the flicker of each candle when put together creates the amazing glow... simply unexplainable how simple thing create a big message to man....

BEAUTIFUL!

Aedon

I mean, where are you going to see stuff like this other than Current TV? This is so beautiful, it reminds me of New York after 9/11 when parks were turned into shrines. I love the idea of art created by people and discovered by the artist. To that end, check out Twilight Ballet. getreel

This film is great...I like it...keep up the good work

Frank

Great story, but I would have liked to hear from some more people involved. Aslo I don't know if it was the compression or the camera that caused the focus issues. I've learned that it's best to shoot with the auto focus off. Maybe that will help in the future. I gave it a GL though.

I like the piece. As someone mentioned, I'm not sure about the opening graphic. It didn't accurately portray the mood of the piece. Also, I would've like to hear some of the volunteers' point of view on this.
To pick up the pace a little, I would add even more voice-overs during the candle scenes.
GL

great visuals, want more from the people on the streets.