Monday Morning Motion Graphics: Pictures of Pictures

These are two clips from a sequence we did for Gail Levin's American Masters' Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides.

Since Starman, Jeff Bridges has chronicled the production of all his films with his widelux camera.  He then prints a small run of books as wrap gifts to cast and crew.

Presenting photography in documentary can present a tough issue.  Showcasing the image is the primary task, so you want to respect the image, intent and cultural context of the picture.

In this case presentation is made even more difficult by the ultra-wide format of the camera.

So we decided to show the books instead of creating a digital graphic presentation.

The idea was to evoke an intimate, personal feeling with the books.  The photographer has an unusually personal relationship to the subjects, so we felt as though the "hand" should feel present here too.

So we shot a test in a couple hours, it was probably about three minutes long.  A few days later, Jed Parker, the film's editor, trimmed it to the length they needed.  We then reshot to match that length.

Sam Shaw

I would be speaking for thousands, hundreds of thousands, of film lovers if I were to say John Cassavetes films were a revelation to my young mind.  They hit me in my mid-20s when Symphony Space ran a series of weekend double features.  I would love to produce -heck, I'd love to just see -animation that has real emotional connection of Husbands or even Opening Night.

Last night there was a signing for a new book of Sam Shaw photos at the Players Club.  We were asked to cut together a little montage for the show.






Shaw was the producer on many of Cassavetes films. But he was also a his friend and a friend to many of his subjects. In fact, he was the guy who suggested Arthur Miller write the part for Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits and his photos of Marilyn became the inspiration for the iconic scene from The Seven Year Itch.

George Grosz Photographs, Part 2 of 2

Here are the remaining five images from the 1977 monograph of George Grosz' photography.

These are all images of New York from the eyes of an immigrant in 1932.

The first set were his passage.

Even a guy fresh off the boat would get his shoes shined.

The pamphlet includes this poem:

America!!! Future!!!
Engineer and Salesman!
Steamships and express trains!
But above my eyes
stretch gigantic bridges
and the smoke of the hundred derricks

        From "Song of the Gold Diggers"
        George Grosz, 1917

 Double Decker, 1932

And the final photo in the booklet, "Young American", is a strong connection to his great caricature and portrait work.

First Landing - George Grosz Photographs

We all know George Grosz as a great cartoonist.  One of the greatest in history, actually.  He was also a top notch paint, of course, applying many of his skills as a caricaturist to his portraiture.  As a painter, he's on the top echelon of era, a particular fecund period in European art.

He also had a camera.  During his flight from Fascism in 1932 he used it to chronicle his voyage over the Atlantic and arrival in New York.

This is a small catalog from a 1977 exhibition of his photography.

The catalog isn't archival so the paper has turned. The scanner also picks up the grain.

A large component of photography is access -just being there, at the right place in the right situation.

This images certainly benefit from the charged situation of Grosz' passage.

Some, like "Fellow Traveller", exhibit the same touch for capturing the life of a person and showcasing them in a unique light which makes Grosz' work with pen and paint remarkable.

 Above: "Remembering"

The remaining five images from this portfolio will be posted tomorrow.