Eggland's Best

This is my first project for my digital cinema class. I'm looking for audience responses outside the classroom, whether positive or negative.

All feedback is welcome and helpful. Feel free to comment on any aspect of the piece - the content, technical, and/or formal elements.

Our instruction was "Recreate an incident from your life and provide a narrative, then transform it."

Video Synopsis:

Eggland's Best is a video reenactment of a dialog held between myself and my mother a few days before Easter Sunday this year concerning our differences in regards to the importance of Christian religious ideals--her perspective being that of a devout Catholic and mine of Agnosticism--although both coming from like backgrounds of strict Catholicism, imposed upon us at an early age.

This video highlights the significant amount of change, and simultaneously the lack thereof, in a formally established mode of thinking that has occurred over the span of a single generation -- from mother to son. Also emphasized is the persisting indifference I often feel toward my mother and my family in general.

I believe that having such vastly different religious and political views from the rest of my family has slowly evolved my childhood sense of belonging into a familiar program of indifferent behaviors and reactions that I now exhibit almost unknowingly in my day-to-day life.

Proclaiming to refrain from pushing religion onto any children I might have in the future forebodingly suggests that my life will only continue to exist more as a sort of trivial outside affair rather than operating harmoniously as an essential part within the whole of my family.

During the making of this project, my mother visited me in Memphis and happened across a copy of the script for this video, which duly implied that I had did not have every intention of keeping our conversation secret. Undoubtedly this event has broken scab between us and has distanced me even further away, and about this I feel almost complete indifference.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• egglands
• best

[salamyarmy]

loved the vid. I have been in situations like this with family members as well and they never seem to understand why i feel the way i do. People are so centered around there beliefs it blinds them. No matter what you say or do will not change how they feel even if they are wrong. I am happy to be open minded. Hope things work out for you.

[PennyRoyaleTea]

Also, if you don't mind me nit-pickng, the lamp is more above & to the center than the Boy is.

So, my eyes are almost fixated on the lamp instead of him...Pay careful attention to how objects are arranged in your camera view.

Things don't have to look TOO neat & organized of course, but you have to have a balnce, & find out who is suppose to have the "power" in the shot.

[PennyRoyaleTea]

The camera should have been moving, even if there was just a 2-way dialogue...

You should have tried for "fancy" camerea angle shots OR something!

This was just boring and cruel to watch.

For a good example on how to shoot a dialouge scene (without it being 'boring') watch Ikiru.

In that movie there are a couple of scenes that may strike you.

A scene in a bar, (with just 2 people)

and another scene at this restaurant place (with dialouge between just 2 people).

[phytoalexa]

With regards to aesthetics, I like the use of very subtle lighting and movement. Thematically speaking, it made me shudder as she reminds me far too much of my own psycho-Catholic "mother", but I really enjoyed the clip.

I did not think the video was depressing in the slightest, if a bit familiar. All in all, I think it was courageous on your part not only to share that with complete strangers, but to be so willing to reflect on something most would rather repress.

[minedarea]

It's was well made, but I must say it's completely depressing. Not everyone can have a close relationship with their immediate family, I find it uncomfortable to watch because it's a little too true to life.

[alden6]

wow she is fucked up!

i am very atheist, but even if i was devout im sure i would still find this revoulting.

"doctors that dont belive in god are not good docters" my dad would be considered a "heritic" by your mother, but he is the best and most powerfull docter in southern california.

wow she is crazy, raise your children the way you want.

[Inzanecrazyboy]

By the sound of it, your mother's a dumbass.

[Thunderhorse761]

Ah, the things your mother says make me cringe. While I understand that you must respect her, being your mother, I think she should allow you to believe what you want.

[Badewell]

Wow, this really moved me. You did a great job with the mother, almost anyone would be appalled by what she was saying, religious or not. It's easy to see why you feel so indifferent when you have things like that coming your way.

Once I got it, I also really liked how the main character was more focused on his food than the conversation, that sends a crystal clear message of indifference to the viewer.

Very good video, I'm glad I watched it. Thanks for uploading it.

[musicgreaterthanlife]

I enjoyed it. I guess mostly because I agreed with with you were saying and disagreed with your mother, but I liked the split screen and how it was set up. I'm no expert on this sort of thing, but I thought it was well done.