Saturday, April 7, 2012

YOUTUBE CINEMATIC LOG #CT

Music soothes the savage breast...shouldn't it be savage beast? Ah whatevs. I guess the important thing is that music can calm us down if we like what we hear. And if there's one genre that makes me feel a little calmer and slow down to think, it's country music. For some unsettling reason, I'm soothed by the calm way the singers recall their own misfortunes, like their salary of 8 cents per CD sold. Maybe I need a doctor.

Now, over the years, many country musicians have come and gone, leaving and continuing the aura of calmness. But none bring the sound of the south like the person whose video I'm studying for this post. He was named after his fave silent movie actor. DJs refused his country music at first. He found his fortune due to the accidental playing of a song he co-created while in Hamilton, Ontario.

Ladies and gentlemen...Mr. Conway Twitty.

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

It starts with a close-up of Conway himself as he belts out how he can't decieve himself, for he knows it's only make-believe. The shot crossfades to an angled longshot that zooms in as he wonders if the audience will one day be his one and only true friend, and how much he loves it. The shot crossfades again to another angled longshot as he goes on about hislove, until he confesses that he kids himself, for it's only make believe.

Another crossfade, but this time it's a close-up, Mr. Twitty boons his deep trust in his lover as he reveals he would put his very being on the line for such a person, and would rip out his own heart for use as a wedding ring. It's gets more vivid as he reveals his heart rages out of control, and the camera crossfades to the previous angled longshot. Here, he explains how he wishes for his love to comfort him, yet once again coming to grips with the fact that it's all make believe. This time, the camera zooms in on the mustachiod blonde singer as he sympathizes with Twitty's yearn for impossible love.

Guess what? The camera crossfades again to another close-up of Conway Twitty as he wonders if the audience will one day be his friend, and if they know how much he loves them so. In the final shot, which is the final crossfade angled EXTREME longshot, Twitty yet again yearns for his love to care for him before it finally dawns on him. The truth draws in the camera. The truth makes him wince in pain. The truth for Mr. Twitty is that- are you ready for this? - it's all make belief.

Wow, Conway must have suffered in the past. A love that never bears truth is a hard thing for any living thing. But the way he sings it, his Southern drawl adding to it all, calms me down. His friends sympathizing with him also adds to soothing my savage breast. Not beast.

YOUTUBE CINEMATIC LOG #9

Humans are mammals unlike any other. They can talk any language in existence if they put their mind to it. They operate complex machinations that lead to either riches or ruin. They have opposable thumbs which makes the previous sentence possible. And they care for others of their species.

Indeed, humans can be great or grating. But I must ask- what about the turtles? Won’t anyone think of the turtles? Well, one person on youtube did, and I’m here to look, play by play, at the camerawork and content of the video.
For in this video by zetanian20, a turtle helps its mate who was turned over.

The video begins, continues, and ends as a high angle longshot of a turtle finding a flipped comrade. The turtle looks at the tail of the fallen one, and horrified, shirks back into its shell. The camera then pulls in closer as the turtle wonders, thinks, unsure of what to do. It then decides to show the world its strength by pushing on its friend.

At first, the turtle can only push its friend at an angle, slowly and unsure. The camera follows as it continues doing so until the turtle decides to push from the middle instead. The camera trucks left, moves away a little, then finally settles on a side shot as the aquatic hero continues pushing its now flailing amigo. Finally, the turtle gives one slow but strong push and PRESTO! The other turtle is now a go-go.
The turtles, this horrifying ordeal a thing of the past, start walking away, the hero urging the victim to hurry. The camera moves away and reangles to another sideview of the turtles. Eventually, the camera follows from a stationary position, and the last thing seen of the turtles constitutes a high angled backview extreme longshot as they waddle onward, more struggles probably involving cars, ants & pebbles ahead.

This video gives me a good feeling inside. Why? Well, it’s how a turtle helped another of its species when it could have left it to wallow in misery and die. In other words, the turtles care about each other like the humans- maybe even moreso.