die achte Woche

WEEK EIGHT

This week's film screening was Tykwer's Lola Rennt. I had seen this film about 3 years ago and can remember really enjoying it, but I was very excited to watch it again, especially after having lived in Berlin for a couple of months. Seeing it this second time meant so much more to me, especially the implications of the film that are so unique to Berlin. We discussed in class how Berlin as a touristic site is not portrayed in the film and that the film could possibly have taken place in any city. However, I feel a strong connection and portrayal of Berlin in this film, but perhaps that is just because I know that it takes place in Berlin and that I have become so familiar with the city. I think that this is such a powerful movie for Berlin because it represents this new generation of Berliners, a generation of possibilities and chance. The way that Lola runs throughout the city never could have been done in the three decades before the film was made, and I think her mobility throughout the city is a representation of the new united Berlin and of the new connections that are made possible by the fall of the wall. Also, we talked about the issue of media convergence in the film. In this film, I see converging media when the animated version of Lola running down the stairs appears on the television screen and then becomes the predominant medium of the film. I also see converging media in the different devices used to film the real-life parts of the film, mainly the mixture of photographs as well as the two types of video cameras. I feel that the convergence of the animation and film further expresses feelings of power and persona freedom. The animated segments make the viewer feel as if Lola could do anything, almost like in a video game. By converging these two media, through the television screen and then through the apartment door, this feeling of freedom then translates into the real-time film and gives Lola this fantastic sense about her. I felt that the use of the photo snapshot sequences in the film were reflective of the modern explosion of the camera as a way of documenting our lives. Just as the snapshots told a story of what happened to various characters that Lola encountered, we ourselves tell stories about experiences that we have with pictures and photo albums. Also, the lack of movement with such a medium accentuates Lola's movement and the juxtaposition of the two media gives her a sense of control.

Another reason why this film was more powerful for me this time was that it inspired me in the film-making process. After the movie, our group thought of some more ideas as far as the style and overall theme of our film. Our most exciting new developments involve the soundtrack and some other post-production work. This week we have done some extensive filming and converted all of our new footage onto the software editing program. We havent edited any footage yet, but we are still eagerly gathering film whenever we have time. An exciting new development is the usage of the "Kerry cam", which involves Kerry riding her bike with the camera, on the tripod, in her backpack. This creates the same kind of function as a dolly, and with it we have gotten some great footage. We continue to follow our film schedule and hopefully we will be done with filming by deccember, giving us a month or so to edit.