I love documentaries because you're given access to a window into someone's life and story that you would otherwise not have the chance to learn about. This documentary reminds me of one I saw at Sidewalk this year about a man who ferments things in the woods. In both cases, for the first half of the piece, I was thinking, wow, this is a super weird dude, but then once I learned about why they do the things they do, and how it makes them feel, they became so much more relatable and I realized how judgmental I was being. Now isn't that the beauty of storytelling! Anyways, I thought the lighting in this film enhanced the fluorescent and, for lack of a better word, spookiness of the artwork and made that very apparent and intriguing. The music sort of told the story that he was an oddball, but not in an off-putting way. Overall, it was thought provoking and I really enjoyed it.
This was a real interesting documentary. The opening music and images were partially disturbing at first, but as the story went on the choice made since. I really liked the lighting in this film because I feel as if the background lighting really brought out the beauty in all of paintings. I liked the music choice because I feel as if it really gave us an insight into the characters personality. I thought this documentary served its purpose and really got me to reflect on my life so far.
It was very important that Fred Kress and his work be documented, because he was making art simply for art's sake. He was very good at what he did, and obviously took pride in what he did, but painted for no reason other than that's what made him happy and that's what he wanted to do before he died. This documentary, while showing us one man's experience, causes us to step back and ask ourselves what it is we would spend our time doing if we had very little time left to live. The shot and music selection put us into a strange yet homey environment, since the workspace was dark yet simultaneously well-lit with glowing alien heads. Kress was strange and, for me personally, may seem kind of threatening in other circumstances, but since we see a very intimate view into his personal world, we see his true character.
I enjoyed how the documentary showed the subject, then established the location, then went back and introduced the subject. The subject spoke very slowly and smooth and the film mirrored that by having slow tempo music and slow pans and long holds on shots.
I thought this documentary was very interesting. The fact that he was building this room with things he made, things he love, for the purpose of making a room that he will die in is very thought provoking. It makes me wonder if I was in his shoes, what would I fill my room with? I thought the intro did a good job of grabbing the viewers attention. With the kind of funky/odd music making the viewer want to know what these alien-like mass and sculptures are and why they were created. I also thought the cuts to the b-roll were done nicely. Considering the Fred Kress has a kind of monotone voice and slow speech pattern, the b-roll keeps the documentary flowing and the viewer's interest. I also thought the music that played in the background when he was being humorous was appropriate and helped establish that even though his future is grim, he still has a positive outlook on life. It made the story more light-hearted and helped you connect to this man whom you would normally not connect with.
Dan Bryan: The choice to use easy-going music in the background strikes me as a very important element to this documentary, for two reasons: first, because it compliments Kress' easy-going attitude and speech, and secondly because the combination of Kress' and the music's lack of urgency helps us to understand the documentary's underlying theme of acceptance. Kress knows that he is going to die; he's accepted it--the job of the documentary is to convey to the audience *how* he's accepting it. There's a lot of complex questions that could conceivably arise from this situation regarding the importance of art to the artist and coping mechanisms in the face of despair. but the documentary kept the focus on what was important to Kress himself. The audience is shown his world, his habits, and the collective artistic contributions he surrounds himself with. There are no judgments here, no deliberation on what led him to this point or how he chooses to use his final days--simply a snapshot of a man near the end of his life, surrounding himself with the activities that keep him engaged and calm. So, the documentary takes an interest in what interests Kress--his various masks and mannequins, who he has given affectionate names to. The b-roll footage not only gives us the scope of Kress' artistic endeavors, but also always keeps movement somewhere in the frame, whether it comes from a glowing electric ball just in the peripheral view of the shot, or by moving the camera itself. I think this is important not only to keep the audience visually engaged, but also to sell the underlying message that keeping a spirit of liveliness is all-important in Kress' work. Kress seemed like a fascinating subject whose situation spoke for itself, and I hope he found happiness in his work before the end.
Thomas Meason: I really enjoyed this documentary and all the aspects of the film. The part that stuck out most for me is the great use of b-roll. In this type of documentary, a lot of the shots are dependent on details and the use of b-roll captured this. The whole story is based in this little room filled with colorful masks and surrounded by black lights which brings out the colors. The detailed shots are what make this film because it lets the viewer see the detail Fred Kress puts into his work. Another aspect that I admired was the use of movement. Movement in b-roll is best because it brings attention and variety to the shot. Almost every shot included some type of movement and it added a lot to the film. Fred Kress' work was amazing and this film let us know how much passion he put into his work.
Thoroughly enjoyed this short documentary into this gentleman's life. I love the bright colors and the multiple layers of different textures, and movements among his many mannequins. The music tied in well as well as the shot of his paintbrushes in the medicine bottles when he begins discussing his illness. Fred most definitely has a passion for what he does, and that's a great way to end your life, doing something you love.
Wilson Weirich: Thanks to the subject matter, the backgrounds of nearly all the shots were vibrant and interesting. The colorful masks and painted mannequins gave the background a very spacey and mysterious, yet beautiful feel. One aspect that really grabbed my attention was the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups, as the use of these close-ups immensely added to the drama and emotion of the piece. Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed was the intro and outro, as the title screen introduced the documentary well and truly brought the piece together for me when the subject spoke the title. The outro was very emotional thanks to the brief prologue, which brought the film to a fitting close.
I very much enjoyed this documentary. It was very sad but still interesting to see how he could keep his cool and make his artwork while knowing his own fate. I really like how it was filmed in a dark room with lights on the bright colors to really make them stand out. This was definitely a story worth documenting.
While I really enjoyed this documentary it also made me really sad to find out that such a great artist is now gone. The way the colors on the masks and other objects stood out on screen made the video visually appealing. The music was also really nice in that it helped carry the story along and gave us something to listen to in the background while our eyes were busy watching him paint. While getting to watch Fred as he worked you could really see how passionate he was about painting and creating art.
I love documentaries because you're given access to a window into someone's life and story that you would otherwise not have the chance to learn about. This documentary reminds me of one I saw at Sidewalk this year about a man who ferments things in the woods. In both cases, for the first half of the piece, I was thinking, wow, this is a super weird dude, but then once I learned about why they do the things they do, and how it makes them feel, they became so much more relatable and I realized how judgmental I was being. Now isn't that the beauty of storytelling! Anyways, I thought the lighting in this film enhanced the fluorescent and, for lack of a better word, spookiness of the artwork and made that very apparent and intriguing. The music sort of told the story that he was an oddball, but not in an off-putting way. Overall, it was thought provoking and I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a real interesting documentary. The opening music and images were partially disturbing at first, but as the story went on the choice made since. I really liked the lighting in this film because I feel as if the background lighting really brought out the beauty in all of paintings. I liked the music choice because I feel as if it really gave us an insight into the characters personality. I thought this documentary served its purpose and really got me to reflect on my life so far.
ReplyDeleteIt was very important that Fred Kress and his work be documented, because he was making art simply for art's sake. He was very good at what he did, and obviously took pride in what he did, but painted for no reason other than that's what made him happy and that's what he wanted to do before he died. This documentary, while showing us one man's experience, causes us to step back and ask ourselves what it is we would spend our time doing if we had very little time left to live. The shot and music selection put us into a strange yet homey environment, since the workspace was dark yet simultaneously well-lit with glowing alien heads. Kress was strange and, for me personally, may seem kind of threatening in other circumstances, but since we see a very intimate view into his personal world, we see his true character.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how the documentary showed the subject, then established the location, then went back and introduced the subject. The subject spoke very slowly and smooth and the film mirrored that by having slow tempo music and slow pans and long holds on shots.
ReplyDeleteI thought this documentary was very interesting. The fact that he was building this room with things he made, things he love, for the purpose of making a room that he will die in is very thought provoking. It makes me wonder if I was in his shoes, what would I fill my room with? I thought the intro did a good job of grabbing the viewers attention. With the kind of funky/odd music making the viewer want to know what these alien-like mass and sculptures are and why they were created. I also thought the cuts to the b-roll were done nicely. Considering the Fred Kress has a kind of monotone voice and slow speech pattern, the b-roll keeps the documentary flowing and the viewer's interest. I also thought the music that played in the background when he was being humorous was appropriate and helped establish that even though his future is grim, he still has a positive outlook on life. It made the story more light-hearted and helped you connect to this man whom you would normally not connect with.
ReplyDeleteDan Bryan: The choice to use easy-going music in the background strikes me as a very important element to this documentary, for two reasons: first, because it compliments Kress' easy-going attitude and speech, and secondly because the combination of Kress' and the music's lack of urgency helps us to understand the documentary's underlying theme of acceptance. Kress knows that he is going to die; he's accepted it--the job of the documentary is to convey to the audience *how* he's accepting it. There's a lot of complex questions that could conceivably arise from this situation regarding the importance of art to the artist and coping mechanisms in the face of despair. but the documentary kept the focus on what was important to Kress himself. The audience is shown his world, his habits, and the collective artistic contributions he surrounds himself with. There are no judgments here, no deliberation on what led him to this point or how he chooses to use his final days--simply a snapshot of a man near the end of his life, surrounding himself with the activities that keep him engaged and calm. So, the documentary takes an interest in what interests Kress--his various masks and mannequins, who he has given affectionate names to. The b-roll footage not only gives us the scope of Kress' artistic endeavors, but also always keeps movement somewhere in the frame, whether it comes from a glowing electric ball just in the peripheral view of the shot, or by moving the camera itself. I think this is important not only to keep the audience visually engaged, but also to sell the underlying message that keeping a spirit of liveliness is all-important in Kress' work. Kress seemed like a fascinating subject whose situation spoke for itself, and I hope he found happiness in his work before the end.
ReplyDeleteThomas Meason: I really enjoyed this documentary and all the aspects of the film. The part that stuck out most for me is the great use of b-roll. In this type of documentary, a lot of the shots are dependent on details and the use of b-roll captured this. The whole story is based in this little room filled with colorful masks and surrounded by black lights which brings out the colors. The detailed shots are what make this film because it lets the viewer see the detail Fred Kress puts into his work. Another aspect that I admired was the use of movement. Movement in b-roll is best because it brings attention and variety to the shot. Almost every shot included some type of movement and it added a lot to the film. Fred Kress' work was amazing and this film let us know how much passion he put into his work.
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyed this short documentary into this gentleman's life. I love the bright colors and the multiple layers of different textures, and movements among his many mannequins. The music tied in well as well as the shot of his paintbrushes in the medicine bottles when he begins discussing his illness. Fred most definitely has a passion for what he does, and that's a great way to end your life, doing something you love.
ReplyDeleteWilson Weirich: Thanks to the subject matter, the backgrounds of nearly all the shots were vibrant and interesting. The colorful masks and painted mannequins gave the background a very spacey and mysterious, yet beautiful feel. One aspect that really grabbed my attention was the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups, as the use of these close-ups immensely added to the drama and emotion of the piece. Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed was the intro and outro, as the title screen introduced the documentary well and truly brought the piece together for me when the subject spoke the title. The outro was very emotional thanks to the brief prologue, which brought the film to a fitting close.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed this documentary. It was very sad but still interesting to see how he could keep his cool and make his artwork while knowing his own fate. I really like how it was filmed in a dark room with lights on the bright colors to really make them stand out. This was definitely a story worth documenting.
ReplyDeleteWhile I really enjoyed this documentary it also made me really sad to find out that such a great artist is now gone. The way the colors on the masks and other objects stood out on screen made the video visually appealing. The music was also really nice in that it helped carry the story along and gave us something to listen to in the background while our eyes were busy watching him paint. While getting to watch Fred as he worked you could really see how passionate he was about painting and creating art.
ReplyDelete