A Conversation about (The) Conversations

On the front of the book The Conversations, a joint project of Walter Murch and Michael Ondaatje, There is a quote from the Los Angeles Times Book Preview that reads (for those of you who haven't picked it up yet) "Should be required reading for anyone working in film." My first thought was "Well if you call a two-minute video working in film..."

However after cracking the sucker open I've realize that The Conversations is comprised of a heck of a lot more than the simple art of film. Murch and Ondaatje delve into the creative techniques of not only what makes a good movie, but what makes a good editor, a good actor, a good scene etc. 

The interesting style of the manner in which the information was presented to the reader was what struck me first. Reading an interview, especially when conducted for the purpose of seeking the creative intelligence behind a finished product, is not only insightful but enlightening. I have never seen a single one of Murch's movies but I now have a strong desire to watch, if only to see if I can catch all these seemingly minute details he keeps discussing. 

As I continued to read, I began to have a new found appreciation for the art of film. I enjoy movies as much as the next girl, but I never stopped to contemplate the endless steps that must be taken to create a two-hour piece of entertainment, and how this could become someone else's true passion. Murch puts his passion into words so eloquently when he says "You're the person doing it, yet the feeling is that you're not the origin of it, that somehow "it" is happening around you, that you are being used by this thing to help bring it into the world." 

Finally, I found the comparison Murch made between reading a book and watching a movie to be interesting and somewhat confusing. I've always preferred reading a book to watching a movie because reading leaves much more up to the imagination; essentially none of your senses are being used other than your sight to read the words off of the page. You must then form your own images, sound, etc. On the contrary, Murch advocates for having all of your senses utilized at once while watching a movie. I am now unsure about which I prefer. 

Regardless I have been brought over to the dark side of religious movie-watchers or have been enlightened to my true calling in the art of film, I found The Conversations to be thought-provoking and relevant to our class.

"Putting a film together is, in an ideal sense, the orchestrating of all those patterns, just like different musical themes are orchestrated in a symphony. Its pretty mysterious." - Walter Murch

Am I Usable?

Needless to say, I pimped my blog out a little bit before taking this usability test to see how "user friendly" Steve Krug thinks my blog is to websters. That's not cheating, right?

The first category of the test is titled Use of Media. After much thoughtful consideration, I give myself a B+. I've used as much multi-media as possible in my handful of posts. I have not "trackbacked" to any other sites or blogs yet because I do not believe I have quoted any, but other than that I'm in pretty good shape. For future blogs my goal is to try to incorporate more videos and pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The second category is Scan-ability. I definitely bestow upon myself an A for this category. I will continue to separate paragraphs/ideas so my blog is easily scanned...although I do expect my readers to read the entire entry, ehem.

The third and final category is Design. This is the area I feel needs the most work throughout my blog. Right now I'd have to give myself a mediocre C+ (the plus was generous). My overall design is a bit generic, but I am working on it. The same goes for my colors and fonts; I don't find them overwhelming or uncomplimentary, they just aren't all that exciting. One upside of my blog is that I am not "noisy." Simplicity works for me. I am however, longwinded. My apologies Mr. Krug, I will try to eliminate (minimize) my use of unnecessary words, although I do thoroughly enjoy them. My site navigation is reliable (there is little navigation necessary) and I consider my blog titles to be at least engaging if not ingenious. As far as my "about section" goes, I have major work to do. When I first began "blogging" I had no idea which direction I would be taking, not now that I have a better sense of how I will be presenting my information to cyber space I will be re-vamping my "About Me." 

I can't tell you what the average of a B+, A and C+ is (B maybe?), but I can tell you that I am definitely still an amateur blogger...amateur going on Webby Award winner that is.

"There's always room for improvement, you know - its the biggest room in the house." - Louise Heath Leber

Awards That Are Webby

Better late than never, especially for some thoughts on the internet's "webbiest" sites.

The Webby Awards are a concept I was unfamiliar with until last week's class, but the concept makes perfect sense. We have awards for TV, movies, books and all other forms of entertainment, so why not the dub dub dub? It would be interesting to see a broadcast on these awards though...imagine all of the creators emerging from behind their computer screens and making an acceptance speech. 

While the SAAB test drive website held my interest, I decided to search the Webby's for a topic that interested me. I checked out a few categories but I think the one worth mentioning is the People's Voice Webby Award under the category of humor...failblog.org. It not only qualifies as one of the funniest websites I've ever laid my critical eyes upon, but it is also one of the newest blogs I will be adding to my list. I cannot believe I didn't find it in my search for blogs (maybe because it is completely devoted to people's mistakes? I'm laughing with you, not at you. I swear.)! Regardless, failblog.org is quite literally devoted to the failures of the world which, come on people, are some of the time none other than laughable. 

Exhibit A. 

The hilarity of the fail blog is only one small reason of why the people chose it to win a coveted Webby award. It involves multi-media blogs that appeal to all the senses, and it is user friendly to even the most amateur website goer. The only aspect of this website I did not like were the endless ads that monopolized the top and right side of the page, but those are a small price to pay for endless entertainment.

"We live on the leash of our senses" - Diane Ackerman

TED is the Man

Was I the only person who had never heard of these TED talks before? They are so incredibly interesting!

After being delighted by the TED Talk of Sir Ken Robertson (who shares not only my opinions about creativity but also my last name) I was left feeling uplifted and even inspired. I thoroughly enjoyed Sir Ken's British humor, especially the joke about a man in the forrest. More importantly though, I respected his opinons on the presence, or lack thereof, creativity in school systems today. His story about the dancer responsible for the musical CATS was delightful and so relevant. "I must dance to think." Although I did enjoy his talk, I believe that there must be a balance of both creative exercise AND structure to properly nurture a young student.

Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk was similarly enlightening and somewhat deeper than Sir Ken's in my view. As an aspiring writer, her ideas struck a chord with my tentative creative genius not to mention my fear of failure. I thought that her idea of our creativity being separate from our person was interesting and thought-provoking. If the two are indeed separate, we can mold and change our creativity as well as our creations without the lasting affects on our minds and sometimes spirits. I feel for Gilbert. To be 40 and to have already created your life's work must be daunting, but she seems to be handling it very well. You go girl.

During the talks I was also reminded of my grandmother, whom I will refer to as my "Nonna" which is the Italian word for grandmother and the name my sister and I have called her for all of our lives. My Nonna helped to raise my sister and I and before I could even hold a pencil this woman was nurturing our creativity. I believe she is largely responsible for my writing "talent" in addition to my ability to step outside of the box in almost every endeavor I encounter. So here's a shout out to you Non, thanks for everything!


"Creative thinking may ,mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done" - Rudolph Flesch