I had mixed reactions to d'Est. It held my attention for the first hour, especially the static portrait like shots. I found my eye wandering around the frame taking it all in and then the next shot would appear. I was amazed that the countryside reminded me of rural Wisconsin, until the vehicle went by to remind me that it wasn't.
The shots of people all walking everywhere reminded me that our bodies were designed to move, not sit on our rear ends all day behind computers or in vehicles. The older ladies working in the field could do so because their bodies were conditioned to move and be physical, people in our country would be lining up at their local chiropractor's offices if they had to bend over and pick potatoes all day. For shame! Walking a mile (or more) in any weather doesn't kill these people, it strengthens them to handle anything they encounter. I enjoyed this reminder that our American way of life isn't the only way and isn't necessarily a better way.
By the second half of d'Est the tempo seemed to change. The majority of the shots became slow pans or slow tracking shots, mimicking that of a camera out of a car window. I am prone to motion sickness and I found myself looking at my watch about every 10 minutes and the time dragged slower than I ever thought it could. The subject matter was completely interesting, but the vehicle of delivery was very taxing to my stomach. I finally stopped watching all together so I wouldn't get sick. I would have much preferred seeing these shots either tracked from the front or zoomed if motion was necessary, but moving sideways for all of them was impossible to deal with.
How would I present this film? I would love to see it as an interactive learning center. Touch the screen if you want to learn about "subject a" which opens up tangents for further learning about subjects b, c, d...etc. An icon returns you to the main menu and further idea trails can be explored. A viewer could delve as deeply into a particular topic as they choose and then move on. It would ideally be coupled with text, still photos, music, or other different types of media to form a well-rounded exploration of the topic. I first encountered this learning tool at the Milwaukee Public Museum last year and really enjoyed the possibilities it held for learning all about a topic from numerous methods of interest.
d'Est intrigued me, nauseated me, and captured my curiosity about people living on the other side of the globe.
The shots of people all walking everywhere reminded me that our bodies were designed to move, not sit on our rear ends all day behind computers or in vehicles. The older ladies working in the field could do so because their bodies were conditioned to move and be physical, people in our country would be lining up at their local chiropractor's offices if they had to bend over and pick potatoes all day. For shame! Walking a mile (or more) in any weather doesn't kill these people, it strengthens them to handle anything they encounter. I enjoyed this reminder that our American way of life isn't the only way and isn't necessarily a better way.
By the second half of d'Est the tempo seemed to change. The majority of the shots became slow pans or slow tracking shots, mimicking that of a camera out of a car window. I am prone to motion sickness and I found myself looking at my watch about every 10 minutes and the time dragged slower than I ever thought it could. The subject matter was completely interesting, but the vehicle of delivery was very taxing to my stomach. I finally stopped watching all together so I wouldn't get sick. I would have much preferred seeing these shots either tracked from the front or zoomed if motion was necessary, but moving sideways for all of them was impossible to deal with.
How would I present this film? I would love to see it as an interactive learning center. Touch the screen if you want to learn about "subject a" which opens up tangents for further learning about subjects b, c, d...etc. An icon returns you to the main menu and further idea trails can be explored. A viewer could delve as deeply into a particular topic as they choose and then move on. It would ideally be coupled with text, still photos, music, or other different types of media to form a well-rounded exploration of the topic. I first encountered this learning tool at the Milwaukee Public Museum last year and really enjoyed the possibilities it held for learning all about a topic from numerous methods of interest.
d'Est intrigued me, nauseated me, and captured my curiosity about people living on the other side of the globe.
