Film Review
By Meghan Giglio
I remember years ago my mom telling me of the days she used to go to the chicken market with her mom to buy fresh chicken for dinner. She said the chickens would be in coups and you would pick out your chicken (I imagine similar to lobsters in a tank when dining at a fancy seafood restaurant). When the best looking chicken was picked, my mom said the butcher would grab it, chop the chicken’s head off, clean it, package it and off you went. Yet, my mom’s FAVORITE part was every so often, the chicken, now headless, would sometimes manage to wriggle from the butcher’s grasp and run around. She thought this was hysterical. I on the other hand, was a bit mortified.
After watching Food, Inc., a documentary dispelling where our food comes from, I have learned that presently our food travels on average of about 1,500 miles from place of origin to our table. That’s quite a change. So much in fact one of the first shocking statements Food, Inc., starts with is how the way our food is processed today has changed more in the last 50 years than in the past 10,000 years.
Food, Inc. states early on that even if you’ve made a conscious choice to avoid fast food, an industry debated for years, fast food hasn’t avoided you. The fast food we get in the little window at the drive thru is produced on the same mentality as the ever fresh tomatoes piled high in bins and the stacked meat and poultry lined on the back walls of our grocery stores. Food wasn’t always this similar. As the slogan on the front of the Food, Inc.’s DVD box exclaims, “You’ll never look at dinner the same way again.”
That said, I’m sure there are many people who have heard of Food Inc, but would rather keep his or her head buried in the sand, “So long as it doesn’t kill me, I don’t care.” But that’s the thing, food has killed—many. E. coli, salmonella, obesity and diabetes are all explained consequences within Food, Inc. However, the biggest part to remember when thinking of viewing this film is its intent is not to scare us away from our food, but to make us aware of our food; where it comes from, and how we can change the Food Industry.
Food, Inc. is directed and produced by Robert Kenner. He weaves this story with the help of two well known and knowledgeable subjects, Michael Pollen, author of Omnivores Dilemma and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation. Each author helps narrate the unveiling of the Food Industry. They explain how the fast food mentality was revolutionized by the McDonald Brothers back in the 1930’s; assembly lines were brought back to the kitchen like a factory. Today, 4 meat distributors control 80% of our meat.
Food, Inc. is a visually stimulating documentary luring you right from the start with alluding image labels on our food, accompanied by sweet, chiming music. These images represent the happy façade the food industry has used to continue the idea that our food comes from a friendly farm in Iowa where pigs roll in mud with glee and cows munch grass until full. A camera winds sedately through our grocery store isles suggesting diversity, selection, and like the calm before the storm, these happy images dissolve. Dark, sinister conveyor belts now move our not so happy livestock toward a place looking more like the mouth of hell; the slaughter factories. Once farms, now factories.
I will warn, this film is not the best candidate for good ol’ fashioned family fun nor would I suggest it on a first date, however as Michael Pollen says early on, “The idea that you would need to write a book telling people where our food comes from is just a sign of how far removed we’ve become.” I first ask, why wouldn’t we want to know? But more importantly, why DON’T we know? Food, Inc. points out, because we’ve never asked, stating, “The industry doesn’t want you to know because if you did you may not want to eat it.”
Now from a film standpoint, of course all films, be it documentaries or narrative fictions are still subjective. One should always keep in mind to take a film’s contents with a grain of salt. Perspectives are held and what the filmmakers want us to know is told through shot selection and edit process.
That said, I don’t believe Food, Inc’s purpose is to just bash the food industry and hope the public doesn’t eat again. The film’s running theme is our right to know as consumers and demanding change. This is important to know because as Food, Inc.’s story unravels with beautiful interweaving shots of corn fields in Iowa to shocking footage of feces filled grow houses throughout the south, we should be demanding change.
As Food, Inc. delivers its questions, it layers its answers successfully. There are plenty of first account interviews given by science experts, grow house farmers and undocumented workers all juxtaposed with shot images and archival footage. For example, Food, Inc. reminds its viewers of past and not so past, food poison outbreaks by showing news anchors covering stories from 1993 to 2007. Remember E. coli outbreaks in our meat and spinach? The salmonella in our tomatoes and peanut butter? Food, Inc. helps to show how one has absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the other.
With all the shocking facts Food, Inc. states about the food industry, it’s always good to question the validity and sources. I did at times wonder where subjects have been getting certain stated facts and numbers, but that doesn’t mean I discredit it. They all make sense. However, an image of a chicken, belly up, panting for breath in an over stuffed, confined grow house is something I don’t have to question. The images are disturbing. The images are real. The images speak volumes of what I thought I knew.
Beyond that, what Food Inc really wants us to realize is that the food industry is powerful, but only as powerful as the consumer dollar makes them. Food, Inc gives more than enough support and reason to purchase organic, wholesome and sustainable foods, free of growth hormones, preservatives and pesticides. Why wouldn’t we want to eat this? Ever wonder why chips cost more than carrots? This film has the answers. Farmer Troy Roush, Vice President of American Corn Grower’s Association says, “People need to start demanding good wholesome food from us and we’ll deliver, we promise. We’re very ingenious people, we’ll deliver.”
Monday, December 14, 2009
Film Review by Meghan Giglio
Monday, November 9, 2009
Steadicam at PWP
Long time staffer and PWP Director of Photography Tom MaCoy is no longer just a certified Steadicam Operator, he is now a Steadicam Owner/Operator. This means that PWP and our clients will have even greater access to high quality dynamic video.
For those unfamiliar, Steadicam is a Academy Award Winning invention by Westchester, PA based Garret Brown. Early famous shots include the Rocky Steps sequence and multiple sequences in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
Never ones to be amazed only by the ability of technology, we are looking forward to deploying the Steadicam in future productions where the added storytelling value of moving camera will increase the visual and emotional impact of our shot choices.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Teach. Kids. Science.
by Dave Lamm
With two Grammys and nearly 25 years of rock experience, the band They Might Be Giants have been steadily recording and performing music. The band has produced such popular song favorites as “Birdhouse In Your Soul,” “Triangle Man” and a cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” Over the years They Might Be Giants have continuously evolved, from the original two member band of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, into the full contemporary cadre including Dan Weinkauf, Dan Miller and Marty Beller. A rock band that originally wrote and performed songs for a more adult palate, they eventually began to write and release music for those very same adults’ kids. Starting with the album, “No!”, “Here Come The ABC’s” and “Here Come The 123’s,” it is only appropriate that this evolution should culminate into their latest release, “Here Comes Science.”
As an Amazon.com exclusive, the album comes as a two-disk set: one music CD and a DVD. The DVD is an animated presentation of the entire album and is hosted by stylized caricatures of band members Linnell and Flansburgh, both members voice their respective characters. The album tackles some very complex scientific subjects, such as cellular DNA, photosynthesis, the periodic chart of the elements, evolution, the solar system and the scientific method. The content from some of these topics would be enough to stump a typically educated adult, but that’s really the point. Instead of taking the repetition approach like the Baby Einstein series, or the Wiggle approach to, well, whatever it is The Wiggles do, “Here Comes Science” dispenses these topics as they would be from a well illustrated science text book. Each subject is dished out with brilliantly animated examples and rich in information that can be gleaned after many, many viewings.
Each song style is as varied and brilliant as is each animation style it represents. From the driving backward bass lines and frenetic colorful style of the title track “Science Is Real,” to the lovely slow ballad round and monochromatic feel of “What Is A Shooting Star?” This disk is also a must see for those who revel in short animation collections. Each piece has been animated by different artists, and as such, employs as many different artistic methods. In today’s consumer animation market, it’s such a pleasure to see a track like “Computer Assisted Design” use both traditional stop motion character animation along side some contemporary CG. “The Ballad of Davy Crocket (In Outer Space)” employs an incredibly fun technique of hand drawn animation using chalk and a traditional slate schoolroom chalkboard.
The ultimate goal of “Here Comes Science,” is not to just be a vehicle for children’s “infotainment,” but to instill an early sense of discovery, problem solving and a passion for finding out why. The project’s very spirit throbs with a beat that is the very nature of science. That is, the conviction to always better oneself, and the world around you, with the acquisition of new information. Consequently, and equally important, is the willingness to prove you were wrong. For example, the juxtaposition of the songs “Why Does the Sun Shine?” and “Why Does the Sun Really Shine?” The former song is a rave-up cover of a 1950’s children’s educational tune, and a fan favorite in They Might Be Giant’s live set list. Scientifically speaking, the song is ridiculously outdated. The latter track makes reference to the previous, as John Flansburgh lements;
The sun is a miasma
Of incandescent plasma
The sun's not simply made out of gas
(Plasma!)
Forget that song
(Plasma!)
They got it wrong
That thesis has been rendered invalid
After all this reflection on science and discovery, I was inspired to prove my own theory. 'What effects does this DVD have on its target audience?' My subject was a bright kindergartener who lives next door. In this equation, we’ll call her “d”. I added to the mixture, one dvd, and multiplied by one week of time. The attention span of the dvd was shared by “d’s” parents. We’ll assign them” J+J”. During the experiment, it was noted that “d “disregarded her toys, as well as her little brother, “c”.
Based on my empirical data, there will be many more.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Blu-ray Waits to Join the PC Party.
This article copied directly from the Markertek RSS Newsfeed. With no good way to link directly to this article only, I am cutting and pasting. The newsfeed can be found at http://www.markertek.com/rss.asp.
This article is important because it is going to influence how long it will be before we suggest to our clients and colleagues that Blu-ray become a defacto distribution choice.
Blu-ray Waits to Join the PC Party.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Despite the recent rapid rise in the sales of consumer Blu-ray players, a fall in their prices and an increase in the number of high-definition movie titles, Blu-ray Drives (BDs) in PC systems are - for now - being left in the blue. According to iSuppli, By 2013, Blu-ray drives will be found in only 16.3 percent of new PCs shipped, up from the scant 3.6 percent of BDs currently being shipped with new consumer computers. BDs wont be replacing DVDs as the primary optical drive in PC systems through at least the year 2013, said Michael Yang, senior analyst for storage and mobile memory at iSuppli. They eventually will find success, but during the next five years, that success will be limited in the PC segment. According to Yang, the two main reasons hampering the adoption of Blu-ray drives in PCs include costs as well as the lack of a library of movies that justifies the need for consumers to move to a different drive in their PCs. Cost, Yang said, is the primary impediment. Given the high price of the product, consumers are unwilling to pay the extra money in order to obtain a high-definition drive. The cost issue is amplified by the fact that the library of content is so small that there really isnt a reason for users to switch at the moment, Yang added. And while this is changing and studios are rolling out more Blu-ray content every week, there remains a long way to go. However, the struggle to become the standard storage medium in the PC world is nothing new. From a historical perspective, each of the successful storage media in PCs has gained popularity only when content became available and when consumers actually understood that what they were getting was easy to use and worth the cost. For instance, the once-ubiquitous 3.5-inch floppy drive had a life span of 15-plus years, surviving well past its prime. Eventually, it was replaced by CD-ROMs - which, in turn, gave way to DVD drives. A changeover occurred and the floppy disk finally supplanted when it became apparent that CD-ROMs not only offered a distinct advantage but were also the medium being adopted by everything from music to games to movies. According to Yang, the moment has not yet come for Blu-ray. Until cost declines and user awareness and knowledge increases, Blu-ray will have to wait.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
HDTVs in More than Half of All U.S. Homes.
From the Markertek News Feed, August 13, 2009:
A recent Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) tracking Pulse report shows strong growth over the past year in HDTV ownership. In 2009, 53 percent of total U.S. households report owning a high definition television, an 18 percentage point increase in ownership over 2008, when 35 percent of households reported owning an HDTV (23 percent in 2007). Among HDTV set owners, 69 percent now subscribe to high definition service, compared to 56 percent a year ago. Ownership of large screen televisions –32 inches and larger – has also seen solid growth. In 2009, 59 percent of households owned one, up from 52 percent in 2008 (44 percent in 2007). The CTAM tracking study also took a look at recent movers and which technologies they are likely to purchase and services they’re likely to subscribe to over the next year. Movers are more likely than non-movers to buy an HDTV set (26 percent vs. 15 percent), a laptop (24 percent vs. 16 percent), and a video game system (23 percent vs. 7 percent); as well as subscribe to HD programming service (15 percent vs. 8 percent) and DVR service (17 percent vs. 7 percent). The CTAM research is based on a telephone survey conducted by CENTRIS as part of the CENTRIS omnibus survey conducted from June 5 through 14, 2009. The sample includes 1,144 randomly selected adult consumers age 18+. The study has a +/- 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
What does this mean for our clients? Even if you're not planning on producing in full HD yet, switching from the old 4x3 screen aspect ratio to the more pleasing 16x9 aspect ratio is no longer a tough decision. More than half of the TVs that will be playing your videos will be in a wide screen aspect. This ratio is more attractive, makes for pleasing compositions, and is just expected.
We would have to look for another report, but smart money would bet that the 50% line has also been crossed for wide screen laptop and computer screens as well. YouTube and most other streaming sites support 16x9, and DVD players have always automatically letterboxed images based on user selection. Unless there is a very specific reason, it is time to abandon 4x3 and go wide screen!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Seattle Crew Photos
Here's a link to our Facebook album of crew shots from Seattle when we were out there earlier this summer shooting Green Careers: Sustainable Futures.
Monday, August 3, 2009
PRIMITIVE WORLD PRODUCTIONS OFFERS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DISCOUNT
Press Release
PRIMITIVE WORLD PRODUCTIONS
OFFERS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DISCOUNT
Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2009: Philadelphia based video production company, Primitive World Productions, announces the addition of a new discount program for green and sustainable businesses. In the process of creating an educational video for national distribution entitled “Green Careers: Sustainable Futures,” the principals of Primitive World realized that they wanted to make video more accessible to green and sustainable businesses. They are introducing a sliding scale discount based on number of employees and commitment to sustainability as demonstrated by membership in green business organizations.
Full details of the discount program are available at www.pwpvideo.com/green.
Primitive World Productions is approaching their tenth year in business in 2010. Their work has focused on nonprofit organizations and educational programming. The company was started as a sole proprietorship and now employs a full-time staff of seven and multiple part-time and freelance employees.
Contact: Michael Schweisheimer
Primitive World Productions
(Office) 215.848.0594
(Cell) 215.837.0999
PWP