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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HETr3Y9s3to

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.