Hugh and group Eval.

We're coming down to the last weeks of post-production, and I can confidently say it's been an experience. Coming into this semester with no knowledge of who would make up my group, and what topic we would be chained to for the next few months I'm thoroughly impressed with what we've accomplished. However timid in the beginning, we have persevered thus far. With excellent work ethics and creativity, my group members have made working on this project a shear pleasure. I have learned so much from them, and am surely proud of what we've done so far. I know that Brad and Morgan will have nothing but success in the future, based on their determination and desire to always do better. It's been a pleasure.

Hugh on Ken Burns

       I watched two Ken Burns films, one on the west, and part of one on the Civil War. Only part because of its length. The thing I enjoyed most about the Burns technique is his ability to make every shot interesting. There is a beautiful, poetic quality to what he does, and I feel this would be great for our documentary. I feel, however, as do my group members that it might ruin what we're after with our doc. to put to much ken Burns in. But a healthy dose would be nice. None-the-less i feel as though i gained a good bit from watching these two films closely. I think that it's only beneficial to know what other techniques works, and obviously Burns is one of the best in the business.

Morgan's Bio

Morgan Daniel Lear feeds off all things intangible: philosophy, realizations, awkward situations, worldly understandings, and knowledge. When it comes to his film work, he is a perfectionist that focuses on imperfections. He revels in all concepts and subjects that remind us that we are living, breathing, human-beings. Therefore, his love of cinema reflects his ambition to capture those humbling moments of humanity. Morgan aspires for self-actualization and a better understanding of the world around him. He's produced film shorts and he's (nearly) a college graduate (B.A. Spanish and Film Studies) who has an undying ambition to make the world a better place. He also knows how to cook breakfast tacos, speak spanish, design motion picture sound, work with his hands, and most importantly, think critically.

Morgan on Ken Burns's 'Jazz'

      In his piece on the american musical movement of jazz, Ken Burn combines expert interviews, archival photos and footage, to create his conservative piece about america's favorite improvisational music. By juxtaposing relevant photos with information given on-screen the information becomes accessible to the audience. Burn's style invokes the audience to apprehend information without biases or opinions; he aims to present genuine historical information through the words of people that know what they are talking about. Also, by linking relevant photos and footage to the spoken word, Burns keeps the viewer focused on supportable information (words: Louis Armstrong was a musician from the projects--> picture: Louis Armstrong as a kid living in the projects).
      Now, this filmmaker's relation to our project became very clear after the first 10 minutes of the film. He constructs visual and sound in a way that will maximize the viewer's apprehension of information: nothing more, nothing less. Our project lies in the realm of a Ken Burns film because its adherence to historical subject matter. If we are to follow in the steps of Ken Burns then we must looks at his pacing and his presentation of B-Roll.  His his speed of  B-roll revelation is something to note, because it slowly progresses in and out of the image. Also, he used a lot of dissolves and when pertinent can come handy when attempting to move the unmoving image. Basically, he produced a film that maximized education and minimized sensational entertainment. (Less Errol Morris--> more history channel). This documentary is historical and thus necessitates a factual based documentary. However, depending on where exactly Brad wants to direct the film, its has potential to deviate from Burns's pics (think irrelevant images+ put over factually based narration= create different meaning).