Our Cut so Far

So we showed our class our rough cut last week and we got some really good comments. The biggest thing, is that people thought it was too short. They said they wanted more information, which shows that what we have done so far is pretty good. Because we needed out project to be longer, we decided to try to interview another person from the Wat. Unfortunately, that person was out of town this week and we are not going to be able to interview him by the time our Final Cut is due. Even though we could not get a new interview, we still added more to the project. We added an interview that we already had of a person explaining why the monks eat what is offered to them and how they do not turn anything down. I think that the project is pretty good and I am excited to see what the class thinks of this new cut.

posted by Calli

rough cut

our rough cut is done, and as calli said, it is not quite as poetic as we had first intended. we used some quick interviews at the wat as well as our sit down talk with dr. beck to structure our documentary's audio. the video follows along with the audio, straying every now and then to add to the mood. our tone is still the same and we still want to show how human beings are the same whether american or tibetan or christian or buddhist. but this time, we used buddhist footage that showed the similarities rather than jumping back and forth between buddhist and american.

Editing

So we are now in the editing stages of our project and it has become quite difficult. During filming we were not sure where we were going with this project and we ended up with a bunch of random footage. We thought that we were going to make it more poetic, but we did not great feed back from our class when we tried to do that. So now we are doing something different with more narration. I am interested to see what are class thinks of our rough cut.


posted by Calli

Though it is of no relevance to the documentary itself, I think it's important to post the "bumps" . . . or "hills" that arise during the production of any film text, documentary or otherwise. Our group has hit one of these, in the unfortunate, and very frustrating event that I am sick. After suffering from numerous things throughout the past month and a half, I have finally been diagnosed with both a viral and a pulmonary diesase :( Because I can do no more than lie in bed, this presents a challange both for my group and myself. However, after talking with them and discussing the responsibilities I can take care of during the course of the next two weeks, I feel that this will not deter our ability to end up with a very strong peice. I am very excited that we are deciding to go with a poetic approach and plan on making every effort to ensure that this is a group effort and that the members of my group feel the weight of my support. It's very aggravating not being able to physically be with them, but we have always had very strong communication within our group and because of this I am confident that our final peice will be just as much mine as it is thiers. I suppose it's things like this that happen throughout the process of making a film, the unexpected things, that determine the capabilities of the "makers", as well as the determination. I cant wait to see this thing through, it has been such an interesting, inspirational, challenging, creative, and educational experience. Just as the buddhist people have faith in thier religion, I have great faith that this documentary will turn out just the way we wanted, and withstand anything thrown it's way.

*Christy

Great Site on Buddhism

I was looking on the web and I found this great site about Buddhism. It is made by the BBC, a major television channel in the UK. The site has some great information, it pretty much has information on anything you can think of about Buddhism. Just click on the title of this post to go to the page.

Here are some facts about Buddhism from the site:

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life.

Buddhism teaches that all life is interconnected, so compassion is natural and important.

Buddhism is 2,500 years old

There are currently 376 million followers worldwide

Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama's quest for Enlightenment in around the 6th Century BCE

There is no belief in a personal God. It is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God

Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible

The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more

Buddhism is a very colourful faith with many festivals throughout the year

Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple

The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.

posted by Calli

our poetic assignment is complete. it shall make for the majority of our final product. think radiohead-karma police.

PITCH

In a post-modern world, can western culture find a place for eastern philosophy? Americans are said to be consumed by the fast and easy life driven by money and fleeting pleasure—so much so that perhaps we have no room for the reflective ideas of Buddhism. Through the perspective of our own western eyes and the case study of Wat Carolina located in Bolivia, North Carolina, this documentary seeks to break down the most stereotypical notions of what it is to be an American and a spiritual human being as well as what it is to be Buddhist. The United States being predominately a God-based country, it would seem to follow that Buddhism is too far away in location and religious mentality; however, that may not be the case. In fact, there is a Buddhist monastery alive and functioning in the midst of the South’s Bible Belt. But more importantly, Buddhism doesn’t have to infringe on American religious culture to find commonalities with it. What we call relaxing or clearing our heads, Buddhism calls meditating. We think that monks isolate themselves from society, but the monk at Wat Carolina has a computer in his office through which he sends and receives emails. Also, food offerings of pizza and chocolate chip cookies can be found regularly at ceremonies. If the goal of life is to find meaning and share love, then the recognition of common ground can only help the human race down that path. This documentary is a small step towards that, but it is a step nonetheless.

Mixing both customs and inquisitiveness, the Wat Carolina documentary focuses on the ways in which a Buddhist community thrives in Eastern North Carolina, and essentially possesses just as many similarities with its surrounding society as it does differences. Culturally deemed out of place, this monastery exists among the deserted and church-littered Bolivia, North Carolina. After his siblings donated 21 acres of land, Abbot Phrakru Buddhamonpricha moved from Indonesia to establish the Wat Carolina Monastery. Before settling on Bolivia the Abbot searched for a suitable location, only to find a "spiritual presence" where the monastery sits today. With a touch of history and an in depth look at this mysterious Zen-embracing culture, this documentary will urge you to look outside the box at just how alike people so different can be.

*Posted by ChristY

stillz

i guess the first five would be our official stills to send to festivals, but after that i'm putting up some new pics that calli took during our visit to the wat today.

Why was my film not included?

I thought that the DC shorts article about why films are not chosen for festivals was very informative. Many of the things they mention, I had never thought about before. For example, the part about how you should send your film in a clamshell case and not a jewel DVD case, really made me think. I never even thought about that. Also I had never really thought about the length of the credits. It is good to know that the length of your credits matters to the Judges. I also really liked the KISS Principle (Keep IT Simple Stupid). I think that is really funny, but I also totally agree with it. Usually it is the simple things that make nice films. I also agree a lot about how a filmmaker should be careful about the length of their film. Usually films could be cut down in length. I know how hard it can be to cut something out of a film that you worked so hard to get, but if the shot does not help the film then it should be taken out. The biggest thing I agreed with, was story is everything. If you don't have a good story, you can never have a good film. Therefore, you should always make sure you have a good story first. I am really glad that I read this article and I will be sure to keep these things in the back of my mind in the future.


-Posted by Calli