Thursday, March 8, 2007

Desert Storm



This experiment is about manipulation to take an element from one extreme to the other. Through manipulation, the sandy desert wind becomes a tsunami of thunder and rain. Sand becomes running water helped by the motion of the camera and audio effects. Here is again the power of film/video manipulation to affect the perception of the human brain. Allies and enemies use these techniques for propaganda, war, politics, good, and evil. After watching the film The Yes Men in class, I can’t help thinking that the filmmaker is manipulating our opinions as much as “the bad guys” do. He gives us opinions supported with video and audio that have been edited (therefore manipulated) in order to pursue a political agenda. Is manipulation more justifiable when we agree with the agenda? I’m sure that another filmmaker could take that footage and turn the story around to make the “yes men” look like “crazy manipulative terrorists.” Just another example of the power that manipulation gives to filmmaking! How much of what we see on the media is real?