How does your perception of Timothy Treadwell evolve during the film? How is that opinion shaped by Herzog’s opinion?

At first hand one assumes Treadwell is just ‘enthusiastic’ or fascinated by the bears (almost what David Attenborough is to nature). However there’s much more to it (which is touched upon by Herzog himself later on). However what’s evident straight away is Timothy’s desire to almost live with the bears in peace, to love them and cherish them. He speaks about ‘warriors’ and ‘death’ in a very artistic and profound way. He further goes on to say: “I will love them and protect them but I will not die at their claws and paws; I will fight I will be strong…I will be the master”. Were these words the making of his own death?

What really moved me was the evident struggle that Timothy was facing with himself and humanity. For example in one scene he calls upon the God’s of different faiths to bring rain into the grizzly maze for the bears. In this exact moment we see his sheer desire and need for it. It’s in this moment where we truly see that Timothy’s ‘struggle’ truly lies in himself. This is further apparent when he curses at the ‘park services’ towards the end of the documentary. It’s here that Herzog draws light on this in a very analytical way. He clarifies almost immediately that “we” won’t cross this line that Treadwell has just done. What he’s talking about is how Treadwell straight away starts to attack the park services for their ‘park restrictions’ (who Treadwell worked for, for 13 years).

Treadwell further begins to get very agitated and angry whilst mentioning the park services. Considering that he instigates how they don’t protect the animals and how he’s the only one doing something.

Herzog says here: “It’s clear to see that the park services are not Treadwell’s real enemy, there’s a larger more implacable adversary out there; the peoples world and civilization.” Herzog then mentions ‘madness’ associating it with Treadwell’s behavior. Saying that he’s only seen this behavior from actors on a film set. He then states how Treadwell’s not an actor as he’s a filmmaker, thus in a way he’s fighting civilization itself.

In conclusion it’s clear to see here that Treadwell is more than a bear enthusiast; he’s obsessed by the bears; further infatuated by them. This is what Herzog touches on throughout the film. However he doesn’t deem Treadwell as crazy as many would perceive him to be. Instead he speaks of admiration towards Treadwell as an individual who uses creative expression to get his points across. The main thing that Herzog touches on however is Treadwell’s blindness towards the true animal order. Considering that he finds it shocking when animals kill other animals. It is this, which Herzog deems as wrong as it’s the natural order of things.

Thus in this way Treadwell’s perception of the bears begins to change slightly. As he believes he is their ‘master’ and ‘protector’. When in actual fact he is not as the animals defend themselves and live in their own habitat in a way they deem fit. Thus should not be interrupted by any man who disagrees with their way of living. Maybe it is for this reason that Treadwell came full circle or maybe it’s because an animals ‘eden’ should never be altered with. Further determining Treadwell’s evolving state throughout ‘Grizzly Man’, narrated and shaped by Werner Herzog. Or was Treadwell just completely lost, finding himself in a being, which would never reciprocate love the way he did for them?

References:

Excerpts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8MjDyfcMmU

Source: YouTube/Grizzly Man /Directed by Werner Herzog/2005/ Channel: StuOh/July 2012

Image: https://uk.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-17096/Grizzly_Man.html (‘google images’, accessed 19/12/15)

 

 

Christmas Task (extended version): Grizzly Man(Herzog 2005)

How does your perception of Timothy Treadwell evolve during the film, and how is that opinion shaped by Herzog’s narration?

 The first frame features Timothy Treadwell wearing sunglasses expressing himself to us, with a wild bear in the background. At first hand one assumes he is just ‘enthusiastic’ or even ‘fascinated’ by the bears (almost what David Attenborough is to nature). However there’s much more to it (which is touched upon by Herzog himself later on). However what’s evident straight away is Timothy’s desire to almost live with the bears in peace, to love them and cherish them. He speaks about ‘warriors’ and ‘death’ in a very artistic and profound way. However what he doesn’t realize is that his words are in a sense contradictory as in one moment he explains how the bears can bite and kill. He further says “I will love them and protect them but I will not die at their claws and paws; I will fight I will be strong…I will be the master”. This is because he dies at the hands of a bear, an animal that he felt he found himself in, who he felt he was protecting. Thus in this way he envisioned how he would die. Sadly the tragedy of this story is that his death was one he didn’t expect, certainly in the way that it happened in anyway. Who knew the animals he was protecting would later kill him. Was this a sign that an animals ‘eden’ should never interrupted by man? Surely Timothy knew that there would always be the risk of the animals turning against him in fright or anger?

In particular, Herzog focuses on Timothy’s character and his thought processes. However upon introducing himself he explains how he finds Timothy’s footage to include: “Human ecstasy and darkest inner turmoil”. This is just another example of the ‘demons’, which were ‘consuming’ Timothy in his daily life. One thing, which stayed put, was his love and devotion to the bears. It is this, which Herzog finds ‘fascinating’ and remarkable in its self, further brought on by Timothy’s exuberant nature and theatrical style in presenting himself to the bears and his camera.

What really moved me was the evident struggle that Timothy was facing with himself and humanity too. For example in one scene he calls upon the God’s of different faiths to bring rain into the grizzly maze for the bears. In this exact moment we see his sheer desire and need for it. It’s in this moment where we truly see that Timothy’s ‘struggle’ truly lies in himself. This is further apparent when he curses at the ‘park services’ towards the end of the documentary. It’s here that Herzog draws light on this in a very analytical way. He clarifies almost immediately that “we” won’t cross this line that Treadwell has just done. What he’s talking about is how Treadwell straight away starts to attack the park services for their ‘park restrictions’, who Treadwell worked for, for 13 years.

Treadwell further begins to get very agitated and angry whilst mentioning the park services. Considering that he instigates how they don’t protect the animals and how he’s the only one doing something, when this is not true. Herzog says here: “It’s clear to see that the park services are not Treadwell’s real enemy, there’s a larger more implacable adversary out there; the peoples world and civilization.” Herzog then mentions ‘madness’ associating it with Treadwell’s behavior. Saying that he’s only seen this behavior from actors on a film set. He then states how Treadwell’s not an actor as he’s a filmmaker, thus in a way he s fighting civilization itself.

In conclusion my opinion of Treadwell is shaped by Herzog, but only ever so slightly. This is because I believe Herzog ‘observes’ Treadwell in a very incandescent and mature way. He believes things opposite to Treadwell, however he doesn’t cut Treadwell off completely as he see’s Treadwell is fighting demons within himself. Thus is ‘understanding’ because of this (to an extent).

One thing, which is completely true, however is Treadwell’s blindness to the ‘animal order’. For example in one instance Treadwell is shocked when his pet fox dies by the hands of a bear. Whilst Herzog isn’t as it’s the natural order of things (however brutal this may be). Thus in this way I fully agree with Herzog as he differs with Treadwell as he outlines that in nature there are predators. He believes the common denominator of the universe not to be harmony but to be chaos and hostility and murder (as mentioned in his narration). Thus Herzog is stating the reality of the ‘animal order’, one that Timothy didn’t want to believe. Thus it’s at the end of the documentary that we come to understand that Treadwell used the bears as an ‘escape’. He wanted to (in some ways) protect and control their ‘land’. However I personally believe there are some borders man should not cross. In this case man should not interrupt an animals ‘land’ as he inexplicably interrupts an animals senses. Giving them initial shock at their first encounter with a human (who is extremely close to them).

References:

Image 1 (Google Images): 

Image: https://uk.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-17096/Grizzly_Man.html (accessed 19/12/15)

Excerpts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8MjDyfcMmU

Source: YouTube/Grizzly Man Documentary/ Directed by: Werner Herzog/2005- Channel: StuOh/July 2012/Education

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Farewell Nicola

Over these last few weeks my group and I have been working on our ‘character’ going missing (fitting in with the brief). This project was challenging in its own way, but also extremely creative. It tested us, not only as a team but also as individuals. As we had to incorporate all of our “Cabinet of Curiosities” into one idea, thus proved to be very interesting. For me this added to the whole idea of creating a ‘character’ as it made sure that all of our ideas were included in the final product, making us come together more. Helping us to further understand our peers and their thought processes through the blend of all our ‘visions’ and interests etc. Upon delivering our final presentation I would say it went well.

For me, we really developed our ‘artifacts’, which we fitted into our group portfolio. This included our case file and our characters diary (which was the main focal point). One of my peers (Liam) spent a lot of time writing the passages for the diary. I really felt he channeled our characters seventeen-year-old self extremely well. This was because he worked extensively on her thought processes, her emotions and of course feelings, in finding out she was adopted. He also added a lot of dark moments within the passages, engaging us even more (upon reading it).

I would say that as a whole team we worked off each other well. I would say that I organized all the group meets and schedules too with my other team member (Jana). This helped us to stay really organized and on time, in order for us to deliver on the day our presentation, the best we could. Furthermore this particular project helped us all to think outside the box as we really thought about the brief in an interesting way. For example we liked the idea of ‘adoption’ but wanted to add more to it. Thus thought of having a diary, whilst presenting out ‘pitch’ in a debrief form (similar to a live investigation). Where we’d compared what we had then and what we have now. Whilst referring to our characters diary at the same time, for our assessors/audience members to look into. Thus in this way involving them the best way we felt fit.

To describe this project in a few words I would have to say: fun, challenging and deeply engaging. I would be lying if I said that I felt we didn’t create a ‘character’ in their true form. As I really feel as a group we did. We did extensive research and added layers upon layers to our character each week. More so, that by the end we felt that our character was going away as we’d spent so much time with them (through the construction of them involving their back story too). Thus on an end note I’d like to finish off by saying thank you to my team for all their hard work and also thank you to all those who watched us today. I hope you understood Nicola’s story through her diary and the other evidence we presented as much as we did.

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): B’day Card

Today I worked on some ideas for our character’s 17th birthday card, which she receives from her real mum. Upon writing some paragraphs I thought of the following themes: abandonment, trust, loyalty and despair. I also thought about the lecture we had on ‘characters’. This helped me to portray our characters Mum in a more 3 dimensional way, through the use of emotive language and so forth. Thus in this way I tried to get across the themes (listed above) within the message which Nicola receives on her 17th Birthday by her birth mother.

Final Edit:

To my sweet Nicola,

I can’t believe your 17 already! Time has gone by really quickly. I hope one day you’ll understand the decisions I made. I always put you first baby girl, please understand that. Happy Birthday.

Love MUM (always and forever) xoxo

My group then gave me some feedback on my ideas.

• They liked how I formed my ideas in encapsulating a mothers ‘despair’.
• They further liked the tone of language I used for the mum.

 

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Strengths and Weaknesses

Upon evaluating my performance during this project, I’d say my strengths were:

Good time management

Very enthusiastic

Very encouraging to other members of the team

Made sure all were involved in every stage (where possible)

Weaknesses

Nerves tend to get the better of me

Sometimes need to take the back seat in some situations

Team:

Overall:

Communicated well during last couple of weeks

Came together as one in the building of our character

Made sure to voice each of our opinions for us to be heard

To keep in mind next time:

– Assign roles right at the start so that its clear to each individual their purpose within the project.

• Set deadlines for tasks of all members to do and complete by

 

For me personally this project was challenging and very creative. It helped me to develop my team working skills, whilst also testing me in the long run. It further helped me to make myself vocal as I took on the leadership role on some occasions. Thus in this way I had to command the situation in an appropriate and firm manner. I would also like to think I was a good influence on my peers, as I kept them motivated along the way. Making sure that the sessions were creative, whilst necessary (in order for us to get things done). Thus working in a team of 6 with my peers was a very good experience. Some times there was low moral, but this was boosted by a good nights sleep, on many occasions. On an endnote this project was very well though out and extremely intuitive too.

 

 

 

 

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Prepping for Final Presentation

Last nights session included looking over our feedback/organizing roles for our final presentation. For those who were present, we went over budgeting and our plan of action. Our plan of action included setting up our next meet, sorting out the budget for next week and delegating roles for our final final presentation for Thursday.

Although nerves tend to get the better of me in ‘marked assessments’, I’m quite looking forward to bringing our character alive. Now I don’t mean in the sense we are going to bring her in and interview her no. I mean how we are going to construct her diary and recite some of her passages to our peers. In this way they’ll understand our character much more and hopefully be engaged with her too.

Below is a collation of our ideas for our final presentation and the things which we need to get done:

As for progress today I’d say we did well. I made sure I was vocal in where I wanted us to be by next week. Further stating my views on what needs to be wrapped up pronto too. For those present (Liam and Jana), I’d say they were very enthusiastic, engaged and highly committed in today’s session. For myself however I would say I was away with the fairies for a little while (Goal 1= Get more sleep and stay energized). After the session ended I concluded by organizing another meet. For which I made clear on my groups whatsapp group, in order to make sure all could be present. So that we could start rehearsing and prepping for our ‘de-brief’ and ‘news report’ which we’d present to all, not to mention our characters diary too.

To end I’d say to myself for next time: “Be more pro active in order to really bring the session in more”.

 

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Draft Presentation

Today we presented a draft version of our final presentation to our peers. Upon preparing for our pitch, I made sure my group knew what they were doing. This included organizing an agenda for the presentation. For example we decided to introduce our character, we then showed our news report. Next we read out some of our characters diary entries (compiled by Liam). This was followed by us presenting our case file, which was then followed by a Q and A.

Please see feedback sheet at the bottom of this post.

Personally I would say our presentation went well, considering that we received praise but also constructive criticism. Praise was aimed towards our complete idea, involving our characters premise. Whilst criticism was aimed towards our news report, which was very valid. Considering that the sound quality wasn’t very good, as an external mic wasn’t used. Whilst an ediroll also wasn’t used. Thus helped us understand the importance of editing s we’d been given a lecture on it, before hand. Thus my peers who were in charge of the editing knew what they had to do to improve the ‘news report’. Thus made it clear that they’d re-do it for the final presentation after getting sufficient tips from the lecture earlier.

After the session my group decided that in our next meet we’d go over roles for our final presentation, for our ‘brief idea’. We’d also make sure that all our paperwork was intact. By creating individual wallets for each of us, to put our input in. Collecting all the wallets up at the end within a pin button folder in order to keep things tidy and functional.

Other things, which were done today, included the recreation of the case file (by Jana) and also a ‘missing persons’ poster (created by Eddie). Upon seeing the case file and the poster, it made me feel really ‘involved’ in the character we’d created much more of. As I felt that she was coming to life even more, through the case file, posters and of course the diary entries (which my peer and I would be writing up later, including drawing up images for the diary too, with Matt).

Images below: Poster (1st edit, some spelling errors apparent)

Case file sample (By Jana):

 

Above includes our feedback from are draft presentation and our response to it.

 

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Overlooking first edits of diary drafts/talking about draft presentation

In today’s session Liam showed us some of the passages he’d put together for our characters diary (see attached document below).

Nicky Diary Entries

After seeing Liam’s work on the passages I went around the group to assess Liam’s work (image below). This helped us to evaluate his work and to commend it too. Considering he’d put a lot of effort into writing the passages, as he really dwelled deep into our character.

Diary Passages: By Liam Spittle (Group Feedback)

After this I received the character profiles of our characters parents and her close friend from my team member Jana (see attached document below). For this my friend used a ‘name generating site’ to conjure these particular profiles. She then added to them, by editing in traits and so forth. Thus making the characters more realistic and relatable respectively.

Character Profiles CC (By Jana)

The session then concluded by my peers and I discussing our roles for our practice presentation.

Below were the topics we’d go into:

News Bulletin (introduced by Ashish and Jana)- featuring Eddie and Matt (filmed by Dilyan)- 1 minute

Introduce Case File (Created by Ashish)- ALL- 1 minute (bonus)

Diary Passages (by Liam)- Spoken by whole team- 4 minutes

Debrief (all)- 1 minute

Duration= 6 minutes (with a 4 minute Q and A coming in after)

In structuring our practice presentation like this, we felt it would flow better. Considering we’d all have an equal part in presenting, with many of us being present in the Q and A as well. Thus really coming together as a collaborative upon presenting a draft version of our presentation. Giving us that confidence that we’d need for a final presentation, in order to sell our character to our peers. Making it clear to them that someone has gone missing, so forth. One last thing, which was discussed, was that Liam would carry on with the diary passages, Whilst Jana and Matt would aid him in the drawings for the diary. Leaving the rest of us to formulate the brief and to delegate speaking roles (where needed) for it.

 

 

 

160MC:(“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Further Preparing for Our Draft Presentation

To prepare for our draft presentation I thought it best to assign roles to everyone. For example Jana and me were left in charge of recording voice clips for the case file- to photographing pictures for our character. With Eddie and Matt were left in charge of the news report, with Dilyan on camera. Leaving Liam responsible for drafting up the diary entries for all of us to add to. This worked well as we split the roles up equally. Feed backing to the group when possible, regarding our progress, during our group meetings.

In critiquing my performance whilst working with Jana. I’d say that I was a good listener and very co-operative. Whilst my team member Jana was fully motivated and ready to do the task at hand, making sure we overcame any obstacle. For example upon recording clips for the interviews (i.e our characters parents) using our voices, we stumbled upon a small issue. The issue here being the handheld microphone, as we couldn’t get it to work). Jana quickly searched up the model and went through the instructions till we eventually could use the microphone to the best of our abilities. This proved successful as we managed to record rich audio, which we’d later edit on ‘Adobe Audition’, to change the pitch of the voices.

I also started to finish off the case file I’d been working on for our character, using Adobe Photoshop CC 2015. This was a good experience as I’m quite familiar with using Photoshop.

Case File Template (Google Images):  http://orig12.deviantart.net/f22d/f/2013/338/3/f/short_police_file_oc_reference_template_by_falconbirdex-d6wozdx.png)

I made the template into what I saw a case file too look like, thus used the burn tool where appropriate and also added in text too. To make the case file even more authentic. I then decided that I’d attach pictures to the case file much later.

Finished case file (may be subject to change)- By Ashish Patel

References:

Google Images (Image):

http://orig12.deviantart.net/f22d/f/2013/338/3/f/short_police_file_oc_reference_template_by_falconbirdex-d6wozdx.png (link accessed 17^th of November 2015)

 

160MC: (“Cabinet of Curiosities” Project): Progress Post

So far my group have come together to plan our presentation (practice one). Upon deliberating we opted to create a news bulletin, start on our case file and our characters diary too.
Below are some pictures of this:
Case file created by me (image found on google images, edited on Adobe Photoshop CC 2015).
Diary Images: Jana Soltisik

I then communicated with my group what needed to be done (see list below):
Eddie and Matt: News Bulletin
Liam: Diary entry drafts
Jana and Ashish: Case file and Diary entries (initial designs)
All: Learn whole character profile, to prepare us for Q and A.

One last thing which was decided was that as a group we’d present the investigation brief to our peers for our draft presentation. Thus giving us sufficient time to prepare a live investigation for our final piece. This would also mean that we’d communicate our character in a more direct and informative way. Thus making it clear to our peers and lecturers, what our character is about and why they went missing and so forth.

Making them understand our character for what they really are, rather than be really confused by them.