Tim Jenison, the man behind the documentary film entitled Tim’s Vermeer set out to replicate a painting in the style of the beloved artist Johannes Vermeer. In order to do this, Jenison replicated a system of lenses that he believed Vermeer had used hundreds of years before him for the sake of duplicating the correct light variations around the objects of his muse. The course of the documentary showcases Jenison as he first constructs this hypothesis of Vermeer mastering light, moves on to Jenison's development of his lense device, and finally to Jenison using his device to paint a work of art in hope that it will be comparably close enough to the work of Vermeer that his hypothesis can be proven. Whether or not Jenison succeeded can be debated and was one of the topics that the panel of professors including Professors Baugh, Gorchoff, Myers, Willhardt, and Wright discussed at the convocation. …show more content…
My attention was caught as a quote from the book Curious was given by Professor Wright, “The true beauty of learning stuff, including apparently useless stuff, is that it takes us out of ourselves…” (Leslie, xxiii).
This quote I felt summed up the film being discussed and Jenison as a person. Professor Baugh then referenced the film as he touched on the topic of chemical process in photography. According to Baugh, “The only reason photography was not invented at the time was because the chemical process had not yet been perfected.” However, in the film, it is said that Vermeer, if he did in fact use a device similar to Jenison’s, was creating photographs. This is because the replication of light would have in a way, been pixilated. Professor Baugh also showed the audience real life examples of light manipulation. As he procured the light and mirror to form a reflection of the light bulb on the surrounding walls, I was shown a simular type of device that Jenison had been discussing within the
documentary. The convocation itself was very interesting in the fact that it was for the first time a panel of multiple individuals. For the most part, topics were made clear. The only time within the convocation that I felt as if I was uncertain of the point at hand was when Professor Myers took questions from the audience. This was mainly due to the issue of volume from the students in the crowd. Professor Myers’s answers were directed in a way that I was able to hypothesize the original questions though and I was therefore able to still gain the information. The overall presentation was very good and well organized. I enjoyed the fact that there were various points of views being represented. I thought that the difference in each professor’s area of study brought an interesting twist to the convocation. For example, Professor Baugh was able to bring the point of view of an artist and relate to Vermeer, while Professor Gorchoff was able to discuss the psychological mindset that Jenison had throughout the film. As Professor Gorchoff argued within her presentation, it is best to think broadly and be skeptical. In my own life, and even in class, I must be skeptical and hesitate to immediately agree with another’s opinion. I must first assert my own judgements and only then can my curiosity truly be contained. We must think of the film Tim’s Vermeer as an argument, an argument in which only selected evidence was used. It is up to us as the audience to do further research, broaden our curiosity, and form our own opinions regarding Vermeer’s true technique.
It takes a lot of courage and boldness to step out of your comfort zone to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. This is clearly shown in the movie, Secondhand Lions, directed by Tim McCanlies, when 14 year-old Walter is dropped off by his irresponsible mother for an unannounced visit with his two great-uncles, Garth and Hub. Walter is dumped with his uncles for the summer because his Vegas-bound floozy of a mother, Mae, decides to attend court reporting school, but ends up engaged to a guy in Vegas. With the bad influence of his mother and a lack of a father figure, Walter has never learned how to stand up for himself but his uncles soon teach him that. As the movie continues, Walter changes from his timid self into someone bold and gallant.
I observed a very unique series of photographs by Vik Muniz called Seeing is Believing. Vik Muniz’s images are not simply photography but are pictures of complicated pieces of art he has produced at earlier times. Utilizing an array of unorthodox materials including granulated sugar, chocolate syrup, sewing thread, cotton, wire, and soil Muniz first creates an image, sculpturally manipulates it and then photographs it. Muniz’s pictures include portraits, landscapes, x-rays, and historical images.
Damien Echols is found guilty and sentenced to death for the crime of killing three eight-year old boys; for eighteen years he spends his life on Death Row before he is released. Before being placed on Death Row at Varner Super Max Security Unit in Grady, Arkansas and Tucker Max Security Unit, Echols also spent time in Crittenden County Jail for misdemeanor charges he received as minor. While on Death Row Damien explains that it was the guards that he had to watch out for and not the other prisoners. The visits from spiritual advisors as well as the media caused Echols to receive hatred from the guards. They destroyed everything in is cell, planted a knife in his bunk, sent to solitary confinement for no reason, beat up by a team of five guards,
To be a True Blue Aussie you have to have a mate because “You've to have a mate,” as verbalized by poet Dave Butler in 2013. For in Aussie culture, a mate is a person whose actions speak louder than their words. In Australia, being a mate is a value that is held in the highest respect.
Hocus Pocus is a 1993 film directed by Kenny Ortega. It is a very enjoyable movie with a good cast. The movie genre is comedy, horror, and fantasy. The film is based on a story about Garris and David Kirchner. And it is starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The story follows the villainous trio of witches, who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage male virgin. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts.
The media object selected for analysis is the Daguerreotype. Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre (1787-1851), a Romantic painter and printmaker, had introduced the Daguerreotype on 7th January 1839 and would forever change the perspectives of the visual experience through photography (Daniel, 2004). Ever since the advent of the Daguerreotype, people were able to view a detailed imprinting of a certain visual frame on a treated sheet of copper (which today is called the film) (Daniel, 2004).
Sex, love, depression, guilt, trust, all are topics presented in this remarkably well written and performed drama. The Flick, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Annie Baker, serves to provide a social commentary which will leave the audience deep in thought well after the curtain closes. Emporia State Universities Production of this masterpiece was a masterpiece in itself, from the stunningly genuine portrayal of the characters of Avery and Rose, to the realism found within the set, every aspect of the production was superb.
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
The Bad and The Beautiful (1952) and State and Main (2000) are films within films that unmask Hollywood Cinema as a dream factory and expose the grotesque, veneer hidden by the luxury of stars. The Bad and the Beautiful, directed by Vincent Minnelli, is a black and white film narrated in flashback form. The films theatrical nature requires more close-ups than wide-screen shots to capture the character’s psychological turmoil. For example, Fred and Jonathan’s car ride is captured in a close-up to signify their friendship; however their relationship deteriorates after Jonathan’s deceit. While the camera zooms out, Fred stands alone motionless. Here, Fred is captured from a distance at eye-level and he becomes ostracized by the film industry and
The story of Charles Foster Kane was truly one that could go on as timeless. Born in poverty Kane was given away with the promise of having a better life. In a material point of view Kane lived a very fulfilling life filled with anything he ever wanted. Although throughout the movie, Kane despised the situation in which he was brought up in. Being placed under the care of his mother’s banker really influenced the way he viewed the world. He considered himself a people’s person a sort of hero for those in worse situations than his own. The mass appeal for this character along with the truly original storyline and plenty other factors led many people everywhere to gain a huge appreciation of this movie. Despise its early failure following its
The vast influence of observation was highly apparent in paintings during the Scientific Revolution particularly for artists like Jan Vermeer (Fiero, 120-121). According to, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Vermeer was intensely preoccupied with the behavior of light and other optical effects such as sudden recessions and changes of focus (Liedtke).” In Vermeer’s painting The Geographer, I think he pays attention very well to the light in this particular painting. It is obvious the source of the light is coming from the window next to the man in the painting. He captured the way light hits various objects in the room and the shadows they create in a very realistic manner. It is also, apparent Vermeer’s precise technical abilities and careful observation to everyday human activity that support in the realism of this particular painting. I like how he captures this individual briefly taking a moment away from his work to possibly double check something as someone would do to check their own accuracy. Jan Vermeer captured everyday life in his impressive realism paintings, which showed people a different world that existed around them. Similar to, the art influencing different viewpoints of the world was new literature of Enlightenment
In movies everywhere, shots are seamlessly put together to create something great. Cinematic techniques serve a purpose in every shot of every movie. Tim Burton, a unique and interesting director, knows this better than anyone. Known for his dark and quirky movie style, viewers can almost instantly pick out a Burton film when they see one. Burton was always the one who stood out for being different, so he put this idiosyncrasy into his movies today. The incredible Tim Burton uses close up shots and low key lighting to portray a odd, dark, and almost creepy feeling in his viewers and communicate an overall message of being treated as an outcast.
What does it mean to give yourself completely to your vocation or life? We find in a fictional story from Wes Anderson, his eighth feature presentation, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” What it means to be completely giving of oneself. Even though Wes’s movie is fictional, we find many deep and underlying themes, tones, and values. these are values are applications that anyone male or female that one can implicate in ones life to any situation. The main values we can find in the movie are simple, but can improve life ten-fold. Three easy steps to improving ones life are as stated: gratitude, positivity, and you must contribute yourself 100% of the time no matter how hard the road in front of you is going to
In the film My Neighbor Totoro, Satsuki and her family go through a great deal of changes in their lives. These recent changes cause them oodles of stress. Every person in the family gets through the stressful changes in different ways. Satsuki’s dad gets through them by trying to spend more time at home instead of always being away at work. Mei, Satsuki’s sister, deals with her stressful feelings by trying to spend all of her time with Satsuki. Satsuki attempts to get through the stress by trying to simply ignore it. She tries to distract herself from the entire situation that her family is enduring by consuming herself with other aspects of her life. This causes her multitudes of issues throughout the film, and it eventually causes her more stress than she originally was dealt with. The Totoros come into the movie in order to give Satsuki’s life an alternative, stress-free environment. They also provide a
If we go back beyond Lumière Brothers’ projection of their cinematography in Paris over Christmas 1895, which is too straightforward birth narration of cinema; ancient visual forms like Egyptian hieroglyphics or pre-cinematic technologies of image capture and projection, known as magic lanterns, employing a series of lenses and light sources, were early proof of humanity mesmerised by the play and tricks of light and shades.