Assignment 4 – Personal Conflict

I agreed to do this, why I am not sure. We gathered into the car that chilly December morning and drove to the beach. It had stopped snowing and we were fortunate that the sun decided to come out for a bit. Erin and Ken were excited for this opportunity and I, well, let’s just say I was more nervous. I didn’t have fancy lenses nor did I really have too much tacit knowledge of my camera. I had never done a photo shoot with people before. I had joined Brian on weddings, but it didn’t really matter if my camera took a good shot or not. It mattered today; I was the sole photographer for my little sister’s engagement photos. I wanted to take the best possible photos, however I was uneasy and afterwards only a handful came out decent. I really think my Mum was disappointed with me. She never commented on most of the photos, but I really think she was hoping for a better turn out. I can’t change how I took them or how they came out, but for me I am glad that day is behind me. I was very nervous and to this day uneasy when it comes to photographing people.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9267476@N04/611973684/

 

Kody Video Short

This is a short clip unedited of Kody at the “beach”. I am unsure at this moment the best way to work the video in for pass 3. Kody was not feeling co-operative the day this was filmed.

 

Adventures of Kody – Book 2 (Story Pass 2)

Assignment 3 – ten features of narrative

 

Jerome Bruner’s ten features for narrative breakdown the main elements of narration. Without these items the story may be lacking creativity and motivation, therefore boring the reader and possibly the writer. It is the first of these features, narrative diachronicity (use of time), that I will be analyzing in the film 11:14.

           11:14, directed by Greg Marcks is a movie about the events leading up to an 11:14 PM car crash, from five very different perspectives. This film tells the story of random yet vitally connected set of incidents that all converge one evening at 11:14pm. The story follows the chain of events of five different characters and five different storylines that all converge to tell the story of murder and deceit (from Amazon.com).

Bruner’s narrative diachronicity is how the story uses and is presented within an allotment of time. This means that the actions and events must include a timing element. Time in narratives can have a multiple format. Bruner hints that the way people read comics from left-to-right and then top-to-bottom. He also refers to how time can change within the narrative by using flashbacks and fast-forwards. The film 11:14 uses the advantage of time to tell its story in a different manner.

When the film begins, the audience observes a man driving his car and the car’s clock radio divulges a time near 11:14. From the title of the film, we can understand that something is going to happen at the time 11:14. Shortly after the camera zooms into the clock radio and we see the time change to 11:14, the camera then cuts to the driver and then the point of view changes so that the audience sees what he sees: a body falling onto his windshield. We watch the next few minutes of the man dealing with the recent disaster. Shortly after this scene, the camera cuts to a clock revealing a time earlier in the evening.

 

The film uses time to play with the characters. Who and what the characters are is only important because it puts them in the right place at 11:14. The film manipulates the audience and the timing, by only giving snippets to watch in a specific order. With each new character’s introduction the time of the film gets further out from 11:14. This builds up the character’s creation and the plot. Each new introduction makes the audience wonder how this character will affect, or, how does the character have an effect on someone else.

 

This film also uses time in a more post-modern look at cinema. The audience has seen flashbacks many times before, however, most films do not use flashbacks throughout the length of the film to reveal the plot. Memento is an exception to the time rule, where the film plays out backwards much like 11:14. The comparison for Memento and 11:14 varies where one would be bored watching Memento in a chronological order and 11:14 would play normal. The biggest objection to watching 11:14 in order would be the overall shocking ending. With the playing of time in this film, the audience sees how the interlocking characters got to the place they were, in correct order, we would know why, however the 11:14 timing would be the surprise.

Adventures of Kody – Book 2 (Story Pass 1)

“Kody!” a man’s voice called out.

Kody slowly opened his eyes to look into the sun-filled room. He yawned and stretched his body and then climbed out of bed. He shook his body and looked around to see where the voice came from. Kody heard the voice call out again and made his way to the kitchen.

“Hey there little man, are you hungry?” the man asked. Kody turned his head to the side and looked up at the man. Kody looked over at the bowl sitting in its usual spot and worked his way over to it. He banged his nose into the bowl and the man smiled. “Okay, I will get you your food.”

The man fed Kody and walked into the living room, allowing Kody to eat and drink. Kody finished his food and hopped into the living room, staring at his wheel chair. He let out a little whine and the man looked down from his paper. “Ahh, you want to go outside eh?” Kody bounced up and down in excitement. The man stood up and walked over to Kody and his wheelchair. He carefully placed the chest-strap over Kody. After moving the wheelchair closer, he picked Kody up and placed him in the harness, strapping the chest-strap into the harness. The man carefully lifted Kody’s back legs into the footholds and then finally hooked the back-strap together. The man stood up and Kody ran to the front door.

            The man walked up behind Kody and opened the door and Kody went running out into the grass. The sun was glowing bright yellow and the neighborhood was covered in its light. Kody looked back to make sure his Daddy was behind him. He saw the door close and Kody knew that he was able to walk further down the sidewalk. Kody wasn’t feeling much like exploring today. He was happy to be outside and wanted to run around and enjoy the warm weather, and to eat the grass. Kody knows that the grass is bad for him, but he loves the taste of it.

            Kody and his Daddy continued to walk around and occasionally chase after sticks and bugs that were near by. Kody didn’t want to use too much of his energy, he knew that he was going on a special trip later that day. They walked around the building and Kody found himself near the front door. He saw his Daddy walk past him to open the door, and Kody hesitated before entering. His Daddy again picked him up to undo the wheelchair. Kody was placed on the floor and made his way to the kitchen. He knew that he deserved a treat, it was the outside rule. When Kody would come inside from being out, he got a treat.

            Kody heard a jingle as he ate his carrot, his head turned to look around. Samu slyly moved his head from around the room’s corner. Kody saw him and quickly grabbed the remaining bites of his carrot and moved closer to his Daddy. Samu made himself known to the man. The man walked over to the orange cat and gave him a pat on the head. “Samu, don’t you go bothering your friend Kody. You know you are only a visitor, so behave.” The man walked back into the living room and Kody decided to follow. Samu looked around the room and lay down in the doorway.

            Kody turned and saw Samu was not following, so he put his carrot on the carpet and continued to eat it. He knew that Samu did not like carrots, but that does not mean that he wouldn’t try to take it from him. While Kody ate his carrot, the man walked to the hall closet. Kody heard the door open and quickly ran to see what the man was doing. Kody saw a little lifejacket fall to the floor. Kody was very excited because he knew that it was more or less time for the special trip. The man closed the door to the closet with the life jacket and cooler in hand. Kody ran back to his bed in excitement.

            Samu quickly gazed at the cooler and life jacket and realized that the trip would not be including him. This made the cat happy because he was unhappy traveling. The car ride over to visit Kody and his Daddy made Samu anxious. He knew it was only a short vacation, but the three week long vacation had 20 days remaining.

The man grabbed four bottle of water and a bag of ice from the freezer. He placed them in the cooler. He grabbed Samu’s water bowl and filled it up and placed it back on the floor. Samu ran over to the bowl and eagerly drank the cold water. In the hot
Florida weather, the water warms up and to animals, is not as enjoyable as fresh cold water. The man checked Samu’s food bowl and grabbed the cooler. He placed it down on the floor in the hallway near the lifejacket. The man went upstairs and Kody went over to sniff the cooler. Kody was very happy to be making this trip today, he knew where he was going, but had to pretend he didn’t know for his Daddy.

The man came down the stairs with a bathing suit on and several towels. Kody knew that the trip was almost here. He ran back to his bed, hoping that the man would let Kody bring his bed for the car ride. Kody used to love sitting in his Daddy’s lap while the car was driving, but since Kody is now paralyzed he had to stay in the backseat in his bed. The man grabbed the cooler, towels, lifejacket and his car keys. He opened the door and said “Kody, wait right here, I will be right back.” He walked out and shut the door behind him. Kody, too happy to be making a trip, ran to stand in front of the door. When the man returned without the items, Kody knew he was next to go outside. The man grabbed Kody and his bed and carried him outside. The man shut and locked the front door, leaving Samu alone in the kitchen window staring outside. This made Samu happy; he had the whole house to himself.

Kody and his Daddy drove down the highway, heading towards the sun. Kody knew that soon he would soon smell the salt air of the ocean. Soon the man stopped the car and Kody watched the windows roll up, they were there! The man picked Kody up and juggling everything so he would not make another trip to the car, made his way to the sandy beach. It was quiet there that morning, this made Kody happy. Kody loves to think the whole beach belongs to him and that is difficult to do when lots of people are there. The man sat everything down in the sand and grabbed a water bowl out of the cooler and placed it in the sand. “That is going to be for later.” Kody looked at it and stuck his nose under the pile of towels. “Alright, I will lay them down. You want to sleep already?” The man unfolded the towels and laid two of them down in the hot sand. He picked Kody up and brushed the sand off of him and placed him on a towel. Kody dug a few lumps out of the towel and lay resting in the hot sun. A few minutes later Kody woke up to being placed in his lifejacket.

The man carried down to the water and before Kody could contemplate what had happened he was floating in the waves with his Daddy. This was the first time since Kody had been paralyzed that he had gone swimming. His Daddy stayed beside him watching and playing with him. Kody would swim after the fish and a few seagulls. He was curious about them, and he loved being in the water.

Kody’s lifejacket helped to keep him floating since Kody’s back legs were just hanging in the water. This never bothered Kody, he two front paws moved him around in the water and he was happy. His Daddy let him be in the water for quite some time swimming and chasing the other animals. A little girl came floating by on a raft and Kody barked a friendly hello to her. She smiled and paddled over to Kody. He was very happy to have someone else to play with. “What’s wrong with your dog?” she asked the man. “Nothing at all, he is just paralyzed, he cannot use his back legs,” he replied. The little girl looked at the man then down at Kody was pulling on her raft’s rope. “May I play ball with him?” she asked with care. The man said yes and she gently tossed the ball into the water.

Kody swam over and grabbed the ball. He could barely keep his mouth on it and swim it back over to the little girl. He dropped the ball near her raft and waited for her to throw it again. She tossed it a little closer to shore and Kody swam towards it. The man saw a larger wave heading towards the beach, swam to Kody just incase the wave washes Kody up onto the beach. As soon as Kody had the ball, the wave came and knocked him to the land. This worried Kody, but his Daddy picked him up quickly and told him he was okay. He shook the water and sand off and whined to get the ball. He placed Kody deeper into the water with the ball and Kody brought it back to the girl and then swam back to his Daddy.

“I think he had enough of playing ball today.” The man picked Kody up and walked back to the shore. He took Kody’s lifejacket off of him and placed him on the towel. He opened up the cooler and took out a bottle of water. Kody watched as the water was poured into his bowl. The man took out a leash and clipped it to a collar and placed it around Kody’s neck. He then tied the other end to the cooler. “That way you can’t go anywhere if I nap.

The man rested his body beside Kody on the towel and Kody continued his drinking. After Kody stopped drinking, he decided to curl up beside his Daddy for a nap. Kody loved the hot sun beating down on his little body. The two woke up about an hour later and the man, who did not put sunscreen on, was burnt. He looked over and said “man, that is going to hurt later, eh Kodes.” Kody looked up at his Daddy and turned his head sideways. He always did that when he wanted to understand what his Daddy was telling him. He waited for the man to pick everything up and brush himself off. The man untied Kody, picked him up and brushed the sand out of his fur. “You can have a bath when we get home.” Kody did not like that idea. The car was packed up and soon Kody was back enjoying the breeze from the open windows. Kody soon remembered the warning of a bath, so he pretended to sleep for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately for Kody, he did really fall asleep.

The man stopped the car and unloaded the objects onto the grass. He picked up his little sleeping buddy and carried him into the house. Samu greeted the two at the doorway. The man said hello to the cat and continued to bring Kody upstairs to the bathroom. Kody looked over the man’s shoulders to see Samu follow up the stairs. When Samu got to the bathroom door, the man turned around and the last thing Kody got to see was the door being closed. It was time for that bath.