My third film analysis, Paciocco's Forever Brooklyn is an intriguing example of a documentary collage, capturing the spirit of Brooklyn through an array of sounds and sights. I'm interested in trying documentary film-making, although I've been put off by the difficulty of including a plot within such a limited timeframe of short film. However, it was interesting to look at the way in which Paciocco has taken a rather vague subject- an area of New York- which is essentially just a montage, yet is still interesting to the viewer. Check out Forever Brooklyn below...
My initial impression from the film was that, in part, it was largely autobiographical, and that the viewer got a glimpse into the life of this man through his camera lens. This idea is introduced right from the beginning, when a series of archive footage is cut within a montage to help set the picture of what life was like in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn's cultural importance as he grew up. The opening 24 seconds is heavily mediated, although not necessarily in a bad way: Paccioco selects scenes and footage that genereally speaking have positive connotations of Brooklyn- the industry, the family's, the baseball. It could be argued that Paccioco selects such positive imagery as it acts as a reflection of the nostalgia and happiness of childhood, unexposed to the negative aspects of the city. Brooklyn appears to be thriving, a place that he was happy in. Moreover, it should also be noted that one can tell that this is archive footage from the graininess of the picture; preceding his own footage, it acts almost as a prologue to his life, contextualising the rest of the film, putting the audience into that place before his own work even begins.
There's a fairly patriotic undertone to the piece; the shot at 25 seconds zooms in on the American flag on the Brooklyn bridge. The way in which the flag is centralised and dominates the frame symbolically connotes how Brooklyn is at the heart of America. Added to this, the scenes in the boxing ring has connotations of being the underdog, lending itself to the idea that perhaps the aim of Paciocco's video is to present Brooklyn in a better light, given all the bad press Brooklyn receives for its renowned criminal past. Paciocco clearly wants to give the film a vibrancy, a sense of the city being alive; he does this in part through the editing. Quick cuts as well as a dissolving transition are used to give the piece a fast flow; moreover, he doesn't stick with any of the character's for that long, giving no one a sense of prevelence, giving the city the lead role. Although I understand his intentions, if I were to do something along these lines I'd like to pause, jsut for a moment, to find out more about their lives and what it is that Brooklyn means to them.
The film almost becomes like a piece of art, a series of images strung together to make this whole. I really admire the black-and-white colour palette; the colours create a real sense of frankness, making the film appear to be a more personal venture. Added to this, black and white act as a metaphor for secrecy or mystery, which makes the short all the more interesting to the viewer. The sound in the film is mainly non-diegetic, music that isn't too intrusive yet is engaging to the viewer. Also, the film really encompasses all walks of life- capturing lives well through this arty style of film-making; the towns nightlife, its cultural and historical significance, and its street art, all of which gives the film a real sense of depth and pathos. The almost trance-like nature of the shots (as well as the use of slow-motion) capture's the audience, the film really giving off a sense of the vibe of Brooklyn. This idea is re-inforced by the clever use of splitscreen, which emphasises just how much of Brooklyn there is to explore. The film begins to end with a series of close-ups of the different characters of Brooklyn, adding colour to the city. I like the films ending, building to a dramatic crescendo by increasing the number of shots to an almost rapid rate.
I enjoyed this film, and it gave me a real understanding of the city and its unique culture. The film, which was apparently shot over 20 months, covers a large part of Brooklyn, which the film a real sense of completeneness. As I say, my only criticism is that I'd really like to explore the lives of those characters featured in the film. Howevever, the lack of diegetic dialogue gives the film a more personal style, which is understandable. Therefore, I liked the poetic and artisitic nature of this film, and would like to apply some similar styles when creating my own short...
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