Within the Past two weeks, I finished reading the book Food Politics, and have begun a new book - The Politics of Food and Culture. I'm really enjoying this one because it is a series of separate essays by different authors, and (to save time) I can pick out only the essays that are most relative to my film research. I've also begun to realize that (seeing as week 8 is beginning) I'm running out of time! I've been so very busy this quarter, and balancing it all has been difficult. Although I am only doing 8 credits, I really was hoping to have a lot more research done by now. Thus, I have a new plan as far as research goes... instead of writing many small papers - I will write a longer essay that serves as a synthesis for all of my research/thoughts about researched topics. I will breakdown what I have learned, as well as main points I want to include in my film, and why they are so important. This essayistic format may lend itself to the film, and I am considering taking an essayistic approach to the film as a possibility -- giving it slightly poetic mood which may compliment the animations. I have been wanting to try an experimental format like this, so I am seriously considering it.
Also, I have decided that I will not spend as much time reading individual books one-at-a-time, but instead, I will grab main points out of many books. I am really interested in the topic I am researching, and I really would love to read all of my books from cover to cover, but I'm realizing it's not a realistic goal, especially when I'm only devoting 8 credits to the project as a whole. My focus on research has also taken me away from many hours learning after effects, so I'm hoping to balance the two in the coming weeks.
Some books I am now reading:
- Diet For a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe (pub. 1971)
- and the updated version - Hopes Edge: The Next Diet For a Small Planet (pub. 2002)
- Seeds For the Future: The Impact of Genetically Modified Crops on the Environment by Jennifer A. Thomson
- The Benefits of Urban Gardens In Theory and Practice by Alys Barkes
- City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America by Laura J. Lawson
- The City Gardener's Handbook by Linda Yang
I've also begun watching films...
The first is titled Growing Awareness and i believe it was made by an Evergreen Student a few years ago. It focuses mainly on local (Olympia/Seattle area) organic farmers and how they support themselves and their communities with "community supported agriculture" (CSA's). Many of the farms, like Rising River Farm, have stands at the Olympia Farmer's Market that I buy produce from often, so it was really great to see where the food I buy comes from and what the Farmer's story/perspective was on a range of topics involving organic food.
Overall, I enjoyed the film, though there are a lot of mistakes the filmmaker made that I made note of so I can avoid them... for example, a lot of the interview shots were dark/needed to be color corrected; some parts went on for way too long (though they were visually interesting ideas at first, they became less interesting after being on screen too long). The film also included a lot of very personal stories of farmers, which were informative, but I think I want to stay away from that in my film, to give it a broader message ( a few personal touches a great, but not for the majority of the film). The filmmaker did a very cool effect where they filmed rows of crops (very linear) from a car and then sped it up so it looked very textural and interesting. This gave me the idea of doing something similar with texture and have that as a background for motion graphics/text/animation.
Topics from the film that inspired me were the "community" aspects ( I do want to touch briefly on CSA's before talking about groups like GRUB and community gardens), genetically modified produce (sometimes hormones are added to make the shape perfect! We truly are a cosmetically obsessed society), the idea of eating seasonally and eating raw food, America's cheap food policy (in the U.S. we spend only 10% of our income on food -- some of the cheapest food in the world, though some of the most expensive real estate), and a big one -- QUALITY OF LIFE.. being outside and farming (especially with your community) makes people happy! (Versus being inside with the television, etc.)
I have a few other films to watch and I'll make posts after I'm done with them..
I've also decided on the tone of my film... I feel that many documentaries tend to be a bit depressing, especially when talking about global issues such as food. I'm not saying I want to exclude any statistics or REAL facts just because I want to keep it up beat, BUT I do want the audience to leave the film feeling uplifted by a positive message. When I worked on organic farms in Canada, I experienced a lifestyle and a sense of community that I had not felt before -- though it is similar to that warm and fuzzy feeling I get when I go to the farmer's market. I want my audience to understand simple pleasures like eating an organically grown strawberry right off of the plant -- the sweet and tangy flavor seems to explode and melt in your mouth.. very unlike bland corporately grown strawberries (which are grown in a plastic covering to hold all of the chemicals in the soil). Organic food itself is beautiful -- brightly colored, fragrant, textural, and delicious. I want the film to look and feel all of those things (and it's in HD so I think this is fitting). Also, I don't want to use cheesy depressing music during all of the statistics, because I feel it is overdone. I'm not sure what to do for soundtrack ideas, but I do want to give it a country-ish feel. Like bands that play at the farmer's market! I just want to tell people the real facts about what large corporations are doing (and not doing) to regulate food, and what actually goes into food processing,etc... and give them an alternative that is enjoyable, sustainable, and self-reliant.
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