Blog 10

Our film explores identity and belief because while our subject was deaf, we did not just focus on her and that aspect of her life. We strove to figure out who she really was, what she aspires to be and how her beliefs influence that. Her beliefs are closely tied with the church and so we asked her questions about how her mission helped change the way she thinks. We actually organized the clips and stories she talked about into a chiasmus. The topics are as follows: Freedom she gets from rock climbing, why she decided to go on her mission, her beliefs on Christ, what she wants to do with her life now and how the freedom she feels from rock climbing is the like the feeling she gets at the temple. First the two were separate, the rock climbing and the beliefs, and then she tells us how they are related in the end.

One of the huge strengths of the film is the subject matter. Shantel was a very inspiring person. She’s accomplished so much in her life already and works really hard at becoming the best person she can be. Everything she does in her life is to help her achieve and accomplish. We just had a lot of great stuff to work with. What an interesting and unique experience!

The main thing I learned about identity and belief was how much her beliefs were infused into everything she did in her life. You can’t do something without believing in it. Everything you do is inspired by what you believe! Shantel rock climbing was an extension of the values that she held close to her heart. Her ideas about happiness and how she wants everyone to be able to have that are evident as she plays with her little sister, experiencing the true happiness that only the gospel can bring. We are what we believe.

I didn’t maybe so much learn this, as I did wonder. I wondered how my beliefs influenced my actions. How was I outwardly showing what I believed, and what did the things I do influence the way I act? I think I just made the goal to really figure out what a documentary on me would have looked like.

Jessica, the Music Therapist

What are your project's strengths and weaknesses as a podcast?
I had some problems with ambient noise. There were one or two times when the door opened and closed. And my roommate was talking in the background. That was a little frustrating/annoying. I think some of its strengths however, are that because I was close to Jessica before we did the interview, I was able to capture the way she really feels about it. I knew exactly what motivated her music and why it was so important to her. I wish I would've had time to include how she feels about the students she teaches. I also was very particular in making sure that her playing the piano was the original. I recorded it while she played. She wanted to just give me a CD, but I felt that destroyed the whole point. I wanted to see what she could do for her future clients. I wanted a taste of what that would be like.

What did you learn about yourself as an artist while creating this project?
I learned that art doesn't have to be perfect for it to be uplifting, good, and inspiring. I think a lot of times artists get it in their heads that it needs to be 'perfect', when part of the whole beauty of art is that it is man-made. It doesn't have to be perfect because we are imperfect people. There's a part of the song in the podcast where Jessica messes up a little. She says oops really quietly and struggles a little bit before continuing on. It's barely noticeable in the tract. And yet this imperfection shows loads about what she has chosen to do. Rather than a vain expression of how talented she is, she has chosen to lift and help people with the talents she does have. This to me is the epitomy of what Jesus counseled when he told us not to hide our talents. I think this is where a lot of artists miss the mark. Your art isn't about you, and how good you think it is. The question is, 'how does your art help others to be better?' Jessica really taught me that as I listened to her passionately describe her current piano students, how much she cares about them and wants them to succeed, and how she wants to continue helping people with her skills for the rest of her life. I think I've always had the goal to focus on others when I create art, but she just showed me what kind of potential there really is for that. I want to take my decision to work like that even a step further.

What does it mean to you to be a Mormon artist?
I already talked about it a little in the question above. But to me, to be any kind of artist, your focus should be to expose truth, bring to light things that might not otherwise be heard. Your work should motivate others to do good, to move towards the things of worth in this life. I think the title Mormon artist really isn't that different at all. I just have one distinction. Because we are blessed with knowledge and light about what truth really is, we have the responsibility to be in accordance with the aim of the artist. So, to me, being a Mormon artist really isn't that different at all... there's just more pressure to do the right thing. There is more pressure to make art that is meaningful and really change those around us, or those who view our art. This is true in other aspects of a Mormon's life. Mormon's don't drink. Why? To stand up for truth. I don't believe it's necessary to only produce paintings of Christ. But, I think it's important to do work that is uplifting and meaningful, inviting others to do good. 

Islamic Art Exhibit

 The Islamic exhibit was very interesting. It wasn't what I was expecting. I think I was expecting to see less artifacts and more 'art' but then as I went through I realized that a lot of the historical things I was viewing were art, especially to us. While a lot of the things to an Islamic person would have seemed completely every day, for us they were art. The images, sculptures and rugs spoke worlds about their culture and what was important to them. The religion in the culture is of course different from our BYU mormonism. There were many God's that were displayed on one of the walls. I think it said that there were 100s of different God's. However, there were also a lot of similarities. Family is very important to them. They are very concerned with adoring their God's. They have prayer rugs that they use when they pray. Religion is a huge part of our life just like it is in ours. Some of the religious things I saw in their artwork was the beautiful representations and symbols of their God's. Their artwork is a great representation of their adoration of their God's. I think a lot of the way they worship is through art and the symbols of their worship and the recited prayers (from the prayer rugs). In Christian art, there are typically just images of deity and of Bible stories we hold dear to our hearts. The geometry of the Islamic art was incredible. It talked about the circle and how it doesn't have a beginning or an end. The table cloths were also made into circles. Symbols are extremely important in the expression of reverence. Christians have symbols as well. Mormon's have a lot of symbols. All of these are used to attach remembrance of divinity to ordinary things. I think that most artists, myself included tend to stick to our own culture as a means of expression. I was actually thinking while I was in the exhibit about how beautiful everything was and wishing I understood more about it. I also remember thinking that I could take an idea from a different culture and introduce it to my own and it would seem new, exciting and different. 

The Elevator Wars

Mary was a man of few requests. She liked his coffee hot, she liked for her desk to be completely organized, and she insisted on riding the elevator alone. In her opinion, there were few moments in a person’s life where one could just ride in peace, enjoy the feeling of being lifted off the ground or plummeting towards it. The last way she wanted to enjoy it was by awkwardly standing with a stranger, or worse, an enemy for the ride.

Bob was her competitor at work. He frequently tried to get at her any way he could. If he got a hold of her coffee, he would drop an ice cube in it. If he found her desk unoccupied, he would turn all the papers crooked. If he saw that she was getting up to leave for the day, he would go to and try to ride the elevator with her.

One such day, he followed her to the elevator. The doors were about to close when he reached his hand in. Mary’s eyes narrowed. She knew who it was before she could even see Bob’s sniveling face.

“Are you going down?” Bob asked innocently.

“No.” Mary felt like growling.

“Well, the arrow says you are.” He went to get onto the elevator.

“I ride alone.”

“You want me to wait for you to go all the way down to the bottom and then for the elevator to come all the way back up?”

Mary smirked. “Yes.” She pushed the close doors button.

Bob stepped in anyways. Mary began pushing him our out of the elevator. She pushed him all the way back to the wall on the other side. Then, the doors closed and she heard a faint ding as it stopped on the floor below them. 

Power to Change a Missionary

After listening to all of the audio documentaries, I really liked having music behind the first one. I know the first one was meant to be a 'bad' example, but I really appreciated the music. While the subject may have been a little boring and repetitive, I liked that it showed his talents and switched it up now and then. I also have a really hard listening to anyone who's going to monologue, particularly for a long period of time. I would like to find creative ways of telling the story of the person. For example, my roommate is extremely talented. She can play the piano really well, but her major is music therapy. She's using her music to help other people. I would love to get stories of how music can help, what she hopes to do, examples of her music. She also has an incredible personality so I hope to capture that by keeping the camera on, even when she may or may not be sure it is on, that way more of herself comes out.

http://broadcast2.lds.org/ldsradio/HistoryOfHymns/2009-07-0070-nearer-my-god-to-thee-64k-eng.mp3

The first time I heard an audio show, I was in the MTC. While I was there, they outlawed this, but my district would always go to the lds.org show and listen to the Mormon Channel. Now it has a website of its own. But my favorite one was this one. It goes through the history of the song, Nearer My God to Thee. It demonstrates its development with a lot of different renditions of it. While I loved hearing the evolving of this song, I really liked just hearing the different versions. My favorite one is at 28:08 by Vocal Point. I love it! I would get lost in the song and it would remind me of how close I could be God and inspired me to do better. Anyways, that was the first time that I realized how much joy I could find out of an audio program.

30 1-Second Films

https://vimeo.com/36504236

With Jen Thomas.

Chewy Caramels

Devin Graham

I chose to include a video by Devin Graham. I know he's a professor here at BYU. I've never taken a class from him but I think he does an incredible job of using media to observe the small things. This video right here was done around the time of Christmas and captures the pure joy of the season with these little puppies and the little things they are doing that makes them puppies. The nibbling on the wrapping paper, the tripping and stumbling and the timid excited faces as they emerge from the box all tell just an incredible story of what puppies are. It's amazing, because at a time when we get caught up in the presents and stress of Christmas, when we remember observing the small simple things, we find joy once again. That was something with the Ode to an Orange that I really liked. I found myself, not only wanting an orange, but savoring an apple as I ate it. I also just felt more grateful to experience what I was because of the incredible detail that God must have put into it all. It just makes you a happier person 

Chewy Caramels

Because my bank account is running on empty, I have limited resources in my kitchen. I don’t have time to make anything so frequently I grab the easiest thing to eat. I open the cupboard the farthest on the right. My eyes look up to the top shelf where in the top right corner is a bag, propped upright, full of the classic caramel chews. Inside of the clear, thin plastic wrapper, which is folded like a Christmas present, is a light brown, squishy box. Without even taking the time to admire the time it must have taken to perfectly fold every piece of plastic, I rip it off a pop the caramel into my mouth. I savor the rich flavor as the gooey nature sticks to my teeth. The taste fills my entire mouth until I can no longer feel a presence of food in my mouth. After it has transformed into syrup I swallow it, my hunger satiated for the time being.

Changing Attitudes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbX6mDnMwM

I think that media can be such a powerful tool for social change. This guy Nick, through digital media has the opportunity to share his story with the world. I don't think I've ever seen someone who should be so depressed and yet lives his life in such a way that everyone can be inspired. He loves his life. He loves people. And he loves inspiring people. I came across this video shortly after getting back from my mission. I was super overwhelmed with being back in the real world. For the first time in a year and a half I had to start worrying about my own problems. I felt overwhelmed and preoccupied. My sister, during one of her many hours of addiction to youtube had stumbled across it. She later showed me the longer version of this video. I remember being impressed but more than anything, touched. The kind of love that he had for all of the people he interacted with or talked to was incredible. It was almost as if God had taken away his arms and legs so that he could have a bigger heart. He more or less made me realize that I did not have to stop caring about other people and their problems even though I had come back from the mission. I was so grateful to the people who had decided to document this.

Someone had to record this conference that he had and film Nick during various activities in his life. He had to decide while he was editing which pieces he was going to include and how he wanted to portray Nick. I would assume that a lot of thought went into it from the filmmaker's prospective and also the subject's perspective. Both of them had to be focused on how they wanted their message to come across and tell it in a visually inspiring way.

The Robot Dance

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/816d0d66d4/perfect-robot-dance?rel=player


So, I found this video when I was on Stumbleupon.com. I think the reason I chose it is because I am just fascinated at the things people choose to do with their lives. Who is sitting in their apartment, or at home, or work or school and thinks, we should make a robot dance!? It is cool and pretty neat to watch, but it just impresses me how many different talents people have and how creatively they choose to express their skills.

I guess in the same respect, other people could think I'm weird as I sit in my classes or at home and think, I should make a movie... and making one about robots is probably the least weird I've come up with. It's just incredible to me what people choose to do with their talents and how we get to benefit from them. That's why we really shouldn't be afraid to show what we're good at, because even if it's a random robot dance, it could bring a smile to someone's day.