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Showing posts with label TMA 273. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TMA 273. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
TMA 273 Post #3
"Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord?" Alma 26:16
Service will open up so many opportunities and people to you. Ammon's service to King Lamoni resulted in the opportunity and conversion of a nation that would be an example to those who fought against them. I finished reading the block of scriptures this week and so service was on my mind throughout fast Sunday. Then it turns out our Relief Society lesson was on service. A quote was shared from President Monson that went something like this
"We often sit side by side, but we don't speak heart to heart."
By serving King Lamoni first, Ammon was able to speak heart to heart with him later. The story would've turned out very differently if Ammon hadn't done that because that time allowed King Lamoni to see the power of God through Ammon's service.
I also love the discourse between Aaron and Ammon, when Aaron is afraid that Ammon is boasting, but Ammon corrects him. He tells Aaron that is joy is so full in God that he is not boasting in his own strength, but the strength of God. I think that's a beautiful expression of faith and humility. He knew that in God he could do all things and that alone he was nothing. It's a good reminder to be grateful to the real source of your success because without God we are nothing.
I have a lot of good girl friends on missions right now and I love writing and hearing from them. Their letters are always so focused on the right things, in the right perspective. They know that they need the Spirit with them to be able to touch the hearts and teach those they meet. People aren't converted because of the missionaries, they're converted through the Spirit. You need to invite the Spirit and also you need to receive it. I think it was one of Utchdorf's talks where he mentioned the word 'receive', which denotes being active on your part. You have to receive and listen and act!
Service will open up so many opportunities and people to you. Ammon's service to King Lamoni resulted in the opportunity and conversion of a nation that would be an example to those who fought against them. I finished reading the block of scriptures this week and so service was on my mind throughout fast Sunday. Then it turns out our Relief Society lesson was on service. A quote was shared from President Monson that went something like this
"We often sit side by side, but we don't speak heart to heart."
By serving King Lamoni first, Ammon was able to speak heart to heart with him later. The story would've turned out very differently if Ammon hadn't done that because that time allowed King Lamoni to see the power of God through Ammon's service.
I also love the discourse between Aaron and Ammon, when Aaron is afraid that Ammon is boasting, but Ammon corrects him. He tells Aaron that is joy is so full in God that he is not boasting in his own strength, but the strength of God. I think that's a beautiful expression of faith and humility. He knew that in God he could do all things and that alone he was nothing. It's a good reminder to be grateful to the real source of your success because without God we are nothing.
I have a lot of good girl friends on missions right now and I love writing and hearing from them. Their letters are always so focused on the right things, in the right perspective. They know that they need the Spirit with them to be able to touch the hearts and teach those they meet. People aren't converted because of the missionaries, they're converted through the Spirit. You need to invite the Spirit and also you need to receive it. I think it was one of Utchdorf's talks where he mentioned the word 'receive', which denotes being active on your part. You have to receive and listen and act!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
TMA 273 Post #2
Harvard beats Yale 29-29 - I was at first intrigued by the title of this film. Two competitive ivy league schools competing in football, something outside of their highly respected academic reputations.
I kept watching, waiting for something more until the very end of the film. The whole film was cut between all of the sit down interviews with some old footage of the original football game.
Since we'd talked about lighting and things like that, I noticed all of the sit down interviews. All of the backgrounds were really boring. The colors were neutral and usually it seemed to be random settings and just a wall behind. Even when they showed more of a room, it didn't feel like it had to do with the story.
The film felt like you had to have been involved in the actual event in some way to get something about of the film. No emotion was created through the interviews or old footage. The interviewees weren't really animated, there was no music added, there wasn't any b-roll of Harvard or Yale, or their current teams, or anything. They did use a few old pictures to supplement, but that's about it.
I think it is good to have all of those interviews from the players because it was such a monumental game. I didn't have any background on the story, so I thought it was interesting to hear the story for the first time, but I had to struggle to stay focused on it. The story could've been told in a half hour and a faster pace would've made it a lot more engaging. I want to feel like I was in that stadium. Football games aren't boring.
The dynamics were set up interestingly between the two teams. The backgrounds of many of the Harvard players were more working class and I think that was a conscious decision to include that in the beginning. Also, there was the story of how the Vietnam War split the players when they weren't in their football uniforms, but on the field those differences in opinion went away. I liked the inclusion of the one player's story about getting back from the war and thought that that added a nice segway into how the war and current events played into team dynamics. The story structure was good and basic. It started before the game and ended with the end of the game and the win for Harvard.
It takes a lot more than a lot of interviews with the right people and some old footage to make a film engaging though.
I kept watching, waiting for something more until the very end of the film. The whole film was cut between all of the sit down interviews with some old footage of the original football game.
Since we'd talked about lighting and things like that, I noticed all of the sit down interviews. All of the backgrounds were really boring. The colors were neutral and usually it seemed to be random settings and just a wall behind. Even when they showed more of a room, it didn't feel like it had to do with the story.
The film felt like you had to have been involved in the actual event in some way to get something about of the film. No emotion was created through the interviews or old footage. The interviewees weren't really animated, there was no music added, there wasn't any b-roll of Harvard or Yale, or their current teams, or anything. They did use a few old pictures to supplement, but that's about it.
I think it is good to have all of those interviews from the players because it was such a monumental game. I didn't have any background on the story, so I thought it was interesting to hear the story for the first time, but I had to struggle to stay focused on it. The story could've been told in a half hour and a faster pace would've made it a lot more engaging. I want to feel like I was in that stadium. Football games aren't boring.
The dynamics were set up interestingly between the two teams. The backgrounds of many of the Harvard players were more working class and I think that was a conscious decision to include that in the beginning. Also, there was the story of how the Vietnam War split the players when they weren't in their football uniforms, but on the field those differences in opinion went away. I liked the inclusion of the one player's story about getting back from the war and thought that that added a nice segway into how the war and current events played into team dynamics. The story structure was good and basic. It started before the game and ended with the end of the game and the win for Harvard.
It takes a lot more than a lot of interviews with the right people and some old footage to make a film engaging though.
TMA 273 post #1
An Inconvenient Truth - I care about the environment and I wish everyone did. I try to do my part because I know we have pollution issues. Al Gore's film though was so heavy on advocacy and obviously had an agenda.
This film is as much about Al Gore's life and political career as it is about climate change.
The very opening is set up in a casual, generic way, so that you feel comfortable and Al Gore's voice over speaks to something that everyone can relate to. Who doesn't love those moments when you can sit and just observe the beauty of creation and nature.
Then your emotion carries over when it jumps into his presentation about global climate change.
The other part that is supposed to pull at your emotions is when Al Gore refers back to his childhood. They use old footage and photos with his voice over telling personal stories. Both, in combination with the music that they add, are supposed to help you make a personal connection with Al Gore, showing he's a real person.
The structure of the film didn't work for me though. They set up these emotional parts with the photos and music and Al Gore's softer tone of voice, but then it would just cut to the huge lecture hall and was very impersonal. Some of the more personal stories and things that were shared didn't seem very relevant to me.
I think they used the lecture to show that many people are interested in this subject and Al Gore's ideas. The lecture put him in an authoritative position to speak about climate change even though he's not a scientist.
Overall, I think there were some good points made, but the film didn't convince me of the weight of the issue and the consequences that would occur in the near future if the we don't change our actions now. I think it would've been more effective to have him provide all the same information from the lecture clips, but not in the lecture setting.
Lastly, he tried to spin the subject through this too and disconnect it from his political career in this comment:
"Really this is not so much a political issue as it is a moral issue." -Al Gore
This film is as much about Al Gore's life and political career as it is about climate change.
The very opening is set up in a casual, generic way, so that you feel comfortable and Al Gore's voice over speaks to something that everyone can relate to. Who doesn't love those moments when you can sit and just observe the beauty of creation and nature.
Then your emotion carries over when it jumps into his presentation about global climate change.
The other part that is supposed to pull at your emotions is when Al Gore refers back to his childhood. They use old footage and photos with his voice over telling personal stories. Both, in combination with the music that they add, are supposed to help you make a personal connection with Al Gore, showing he's a real person.
The structure of the film didn't work for me though. They set up these emotional parts with the photos and music and Al Gore's softer tone of voice, but then it would just cut to the huge lecture hall and was very impersonal. Some of the more personal stories and things that were shared didn't seem very relevant to me.
I think they used the lecture to show that many people are interested in this subject and Al Gore's ideas. The lecture put him in an authoritative position to speak about climate change even though he's not a scientist.
Overall, I think there were some good points made, but the film didn't convince me of the weight of the issue and the consequences that would occur in the near future if the we don't change our actions now. I think it would've been more effective to have him provide all the same information from the lecture clips, but not in the lecture setting.
Lastly, he tried to spin the subject through this too and disconnect it from his political career in this comment:
"Really this is not so much a political issue as it is a moral issue." -Al Gore
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