Reenactments Done Right

Having spent years working on historical documentaries for The History Channel and various museums, I became an expert in the creation of low budget reenactments that would form the basis for narrated stories of Revolutionary War battles and Civil War prison camps. These projects taught me how to make fake blood out of just about anything, stuff myself into a uniform when not enough reenactors showed up to fill out our crowd scene and aim a muzzle-loader like I actually was going to shoot someone. They also showed me how much room there is for creativity outside of the cookie-cutter marching and firing we were doing.

The use of reenactment is ongoing issue among documentary filmmakers - how to use them, when they're appropriate (scream the purists, "never!"), and how to differentiate them from authentic footage or photos. Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, writing for the New York Times, did an excellent job of describing how he justifies the use of reenactment in his films. Many would argue that a story that has no existing visuals doesn't actually lend itself to filmmaking - that it should remain in the world of print. This seems unnecessarily limiting, and instead of hard and fast rules about the use of reenactment, I think our filmmaking focus should be on making reenactments BETTER. They're frequently a necessary part of filmic storytelling, so the challenge is to present them in a creative way that presents no confusion for the viewer about what is real and what isn't.

A fine example of this art can be found in Wisconsin Death Trip, a 1999 film based on Michael Lesy's book of the same name. The film's narration is scripted entirely from 19th century reports from the Black River Falls, WI newspaper with occasional excerpts from the records of the nearby Mendota Asylum for the Insane. To illustrate these macabre, lonely and sometimes humorous accounts, Writer/Director James Marsh used elaborate and lovely reenactments that are some of the best I've seen. Intermixed with these reenactments are historic 19th century photographs taken in the area, though the viewer is never confused (or, I'd argue, concerned with) what is authentic and what is reenactment.

Take a look at the 10 minute excerpt below to see for yourself.

Inappropriate on public transportation

I cried on the L this morning.

It was a quiet, tears-streaming-down-face kind of crying, not a loud, sobbing, fist-pounding freak out, but crying nonetheless.

This made me start thinking about all the inappropriate things I've seen on public transportation. These include:
- woman plucking her eyebrows
- man clipping his fingernails onto the ground
- woman brushing her hair and then cleaning the brush out and throwing the hair on the floor
- countless examples of nose picking/eating
- loud and graphic conversations about sex
- the painting of fingernails (this was both ill-advised given the motion of the train AND smelly)

I'm curious what other inappropriate things you've seen on public transit, which many seem to perceive as a space so public that it might as well as private.

Anything to add?

The Staircase

Happy new year!

For all of those who have missed my inconsistent blogging (er, that means you, Bob). I'm back, and one of my goals for 2009 is to be less inconsistent. "More consistent" seems like too much of a stretch. Baby steps, and all that.

One of the many reasons I've been absent from this space is that last weekend I became obsessed with the documentary series The Staircase. This 8 hours series, originally broadcast on the Sundance Channel, chronicles the case against Michael Peterson, a novelist who's accused of killing his wife. The French crew began filming a few week's after Peterson's arrest, and continued following the story for several years. While Peterson's defense is based on his contention that his wife fell down the stairs, the prosecution contends that Peterson beat her to death after a fight about his extramarital affairs.

With several unexpected revelations and amazing access to all involved parties - the family, the prosecution, the defense, and the courtroom, this true story is more engrossing than any Law & Order episode could ever be. The story begins with the arrest and ends on the verdict, and every second of it is incredibly compelling filmmaking. Do yourself a favor during these cold, dark winter months. Rent both discs from Netflix, hunker down and commit yourself to a day/weekend of hearing the case and deciding whether or not Peterson is guilty.

But don't research the case before you watch! The drama of the story depends largely on not knowing how it will all end.

You take a dump and then you're home

Two clips to make the wait for the BIGGEST SNOWSTORM THIS YEAR a little shorter...

Louis CK on underappreciation



Patton Oswalt on KFC bowls

New music Friday

I can't stop singing the praises of elbo.ws, a music blog aggregator that a friend introduced me to a while back. The older I get, the less I seem to be surrounded by people whose primary interest is in discovering new bands and liking them before anyone else does (and then, of course, disliking them the second they become popular). While I don't miss the snobbery of "I liked them when they were playing shows to 6 people, 3 of whom were dating band members," I do miss the presence of new music in my life. One cannot live by Bruce Springsteen alone.

So, I highly recommend that anyone with a similar craving for music made in this century check it out. It's a great source for free MP3 downloads as well as the opinions of those who are paying a lot more attention than I am to new releases and up and coming bands.

Here's a link to a folder where I've shared some of the songs that elbo.ws has introduced me to.

DOWNLOAD MP3s HERE

Timesucks

Having spent a good portion of the day reading news coverage of the Blagojevich arrest and having, for now, exhausted that topic, I've moved on to my other daily timesucks. In the interest of these providing diversion for others, here are the websites I check daily (if not hourly):

Tastespotting - food blog aggregator that's actually just food porn (thanks to Lauren for the recommendation)

Gapers Block - things happening in/around Chicago, news and events

Apartment Therapy - decorating ideas for (relatively) small spaces, or for the loft that I don't actually own

Television Without Pity - I like to read snarky recaps of TV shows I've already watched. It's a little like reading the novelized version of the film, but for some reason I'm obsessed with it.

ESPN MLB homepage - for the latest news on trades, injuries, amazing catches, no hitters and steroid abuse

People - don't judge, but I love the daily paparazzi photos, and it's the only place I can read breaking news about how Jennifer Aniston feels about Angelina Jolie hooking up with Brad Pitt while he was still married to Jen ("not cool," in case you were curious).

Not it

A few weeks ago, in an effort to get out of a tedious chore (calling a university to ask for permission to film, which I doubted we would get) I quickly put my finger against my nose in what I thought was an internationally - or at least nationally - understood symbol for "not it." Everyone in the room looked at me like I was nuts, or was caught picking my nose and tried to turn it into something more benign.

This prompted a questioning of the entire office to see who understood that finger-to-nose is a silent "not it" - best used so as not to give away that "not it" is being declared, therefore leaving the last man standing confused as to how all parties had managed to get out of whatever odious task was being avoided.

Only one other person in the office knew what finger-to-nose meant, and he and I share neither age (he's about 10 years older than me) nor geographical area of raising (he grew up in the Midwest, I grew up in Northeast/Mid Atlantic). These were the two factors I figured would contribute, but they've been unscientifically ruled out.

The gesture was used on a recent episode of House which indicates that it's nationally understood, though my survey showed that it wasn't. Puzzling.

Wikipedia offers little help on the origins of the gesture aside from labeling it 'The Nose Game," though it does describe it as a subset of "dibs" (or "antidibs"), which is interesting if you've had a really boring day.

Can anyone offer any anecdotal evidence as to whether or not you know of this trick and/or use it?