The title of Koyaanisqatsi comes from Indian, which means madness, confusion, loss of balance, collapse and alternative life. Expressing the emotions that the film wants to express in such a laborious way but without a commentary in the whole process, such labor seems sincere and sincere.
The documentary itself is a life attitude and a requirement of the public's aesthetics. It quietly presents the various life, society and natural elements to the audience by means of regression and restoration. "Life Lost Balance" doesn't even have a commentary narration, using pictures and music to express the state of life in this increasingly complex and irritable world.
The focus of the film is placed on the modern lifestyle and the concept of globalization, with very different ancient civilizations and the third world entangled in it. The director said that the film: "It deals with contemporary culture, traditional culture, and the existence of craftsmanship-the simple culture of the southern hemisphere."
At the beginning of the film, music accompanies the audience at an unknowing moment. Special symbols on the brown mud wall. Full of religious mystery and simple cultural origins, there is a hint that the long river of history has begun to flow. Then the slow motion shows the scene of falling snow and the mechanical collapse. If you watch the complete film, it is not difficult to find that both of these two places reappear at the end of the film, deepening the theme of "imbalance" and forming a back-to-character structure.
The huge imbalance process began to unfold: from the original beauty of nature gradually over, from volcanic eruption to human beings relying on their own subjective initiative to change nature, and then to the development of people in all aspects of industrial life and people’s mechanical life, the rhythm is getting more and more Quickly, the expression is getting more and more numb...
There is no imposing language instillation, but it conveys the emotions of people in the current situation where life is such an imbalance, driving us to think about what we want and why it is this Look like?
Throughout the whole film, the arrangement of the image data seems to be faster or slower than the actual speed. The shooting method is only aerial shots, tilt shots, or close-ups, and the movement of the lens is only sliding and panning. Its unique structural form can be seen everywhere in remarkable places.
Scene understanding:
First, the rivers and mountains in slow aerial photography, and the mountains in warm colors are all very static and primitive. The unpolluted, barren and human scenes live in harmony with nature, and the slow pace allows the audience to experience the persistence of the natural environment. This is similar to the later large-scale environmental protection documentary "Homeland"-the earth has gone through a long period of 4 billion years from the very beginning to the later when it became rich in materials and resources.
Yunjuan Yunshu hints at the passage of time, here the playback speed begins to accelerate, the sky is full of unpredictable changes and dynamics, like beautiful postcards, and various changes on the earth are gradually beginning-the waterfall flows straight down. The turbulence, the collapse of mountains and rivers, the volcanic eruption, the uninvited guest of humans began to enter the natural biosphere and transform it. Volcanic eruption—people dropped bombs—demolition and demolition completed the ingenious transition from nature to man-made in a smooth manner. The earth was transformed during the drastic changes. .
In the sunny desert, the exploded mushroom cloud with powerful lethality in the distance and the plants that grow hard in the drought nearby form a uniform and layered depth of field picture-conveying a natural biological environment has been stepped. The helplessness swallowed step by step, even if you want to live tenaciously, it is still difficult.
With the advent of modern machinery and equipment, the music began to change the tone harshly, and the rhythm accelerated. The editing method here is very peculiar: the crowds standing among the large machines look helplessly to the sky with anxious expressions + the transformation of clouds on the blue glass of the tall buildings, the lens collage naturally transfers heavy thoughts to the hands of the audience. What are they looking at? What are you waiting for? Why are the expressions so helpless and why there are no words?
After that, the large-scale display of modern human life content was almost all played at a rate greater than 24 frames per second. With fixed opportunities, the crowded waiting halls and crowded streets were shot down at a fixed opportunity. They all showed the busyness of almost a day here in a short time-noisy, chaos and no tranquility.
When the facial expressions of the characters are close-up, the playback speed becomes slow again. The white-collar workers in front of the subway, the pilots in front of the plane, and the actors smearing powder on the square all smile but not-what are they thinking? Are they happy? Is this life? Can rigid reinforced concrete tall buildings give people a real sense of security? Sleep comfortably in a bustling and bustling night? Overloaded ships and trains will not become sick from overwork? Where are the staggered highway overpasses and the endless stream of vehicles heading to?
The bright full moon also rises and hides behind the tall buildings, and the night is quickly dismissed because of the accelerated pace of life. The sun rises at dawn, the light shines on the earth, the singing of the pilgrimage awakens the morning, and the day of people rushing through the city begins again without stopping. Labor production, fast food, entertainment and pastime... just live for life. The moving car in the video game is a metaphor for this.
A large amount of modern life materials accumulate about two-thirds of the content of the film, and it is this accumulation that innovates a unique film language.
Music comprehension
only relies on video and soundtrack to complete a film that wants to express the meaning of Chinese, and music must occupy a large proportion. From the perspective of documentary aesthetics, music should have a sound source in a documentary and participate in the composition of the work as an important element of the structure of the play. The soundtrack of this film is the passionate work of American minimalist music master Philip Glass. Whether it is the speed of relaxation or the change of instruments, it is appropriate and immersive, including the lowness of brass and flute. The atmosphere, the simplicity of the cello, and the etherealness of the piano, sometimes repeats the loop, sometimes abruptly abruptly, giving the audience the audiovisual experience of following the diffusion of musical thinking.
From the perspective of audience appreciation, a true story emerges out of thin air of a piece of music with obvious intentions that is impregnated by the director's strong subjectivity, and the result is that the authenticity of the documentary is destroyed. Documentaries should not abuse music, and "not enough drama" and "songs to make up" shouldn't happen in documentaries. When it’s time to use music, the music at this time should be nothing if you just take it out. There is no obvious melody, no complete phrase, just a combination of disordered notes. It can only be combined with other elements. To express an emotion, an atmosphere or an emotion, the music at this time should not be described in words, it is just a feeling, or it is already a variant of sound. If there is a sound alternative, there is no need for silent music. Therefore, the music must maintain a corresponding relationship with the video content, and the structural trend is consistent, in order to gradually guide the audience psychologically, suggest and influence the
conclusion: a crazy life, a turbulent life, a restless life, a broken life, and the need to change life The state of the way. If we dig precious resources from the ground, we will cause harm. On a clean day, the sky will be covered with spider webs and the world will be turned upside down.
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