Baraka

1- Baraka, created by Ron Frickle and Mark Magidson, is a film with no plot but rather a deeper meaning of the world around us. In addition, Ron Frickle and Mark Magidson's production makes us think differently about the events happening across the globe.With all of the beautiful shots taken around the world we as individuals must find out our own meaning to what we see.

Baraka is a specifically designed movie to heighten the viewers awareness about the traditions, lifestyles and the devastation that man ,animals and nature itself can create on the planet.

Above is a screen shot taken directly from the film, it shows how a simple oil fire fire can summon such destruction and terror on a landscape and the intensity of a volcano (right side picture)

Altough Shot Durations are prolonged to a certain extent to where the viewer can't take it anymore, the scenery changes. This developing technique is used to first, draw in the attention of the viewer; two, let them absorb the information given to them; three, process the information gathered.

The shots shown above are from Maui, Hawaii. They are from different time frames but each one of these shots were prolonged to about 30 seconds (a lot longer than the average 3 second shot). This is paramount because it exemplifies the way the directors are able to capture there audience with such camera work. It is interesting to see how after a 30 second shot we can move over to another location a few miles away and still be interested in the landscape with another 30 second shot (we might even be looking forward to it).

Why is the film titled Baraka?"

Baraka; meaning "breath" in Persian Sufi (Islam), is the title because with each breath you try to capture the essence of the situation around you. The word 'baraka' is a message to tell us that you need to stop and pay attention to your surroundings for a change and notice the smallest details.

Actors and Locations:

In the film world, directors are constantly looking for actors. But what better actor is there then the true being you are trying to impersonate? The directors of this movie intended on one goal: to show the people of how other peoples societies function. Embarking on this mission required two things which were: ordinary people (as actors) and there society (as the location or setting in which they inhabit).

Narrative Structure:

A theme to take away from this film is that everyone, in every part of there lifestyle, religion or culture is different. Some might be more similar than others but there will always be something that separates an individual from the rest.

Editing:

The way the movie is edited is edited merits some spotlight. Each shot is pieced together in a way so that each shot either connect through a deeper a meaning or is simply just a transitioning tool.

Sound:

According to the different shots, a partially different sound or music/soundtrack plays. Obviously, each shot has a different pace and intensity depending on location. As a result the editors or sound designers change the the track to something up-beat or slow passed so we understand the level of stress in an environment.

For example, as factory workers work in a factory we can imagine how it is for them to keep up with there work and stay on schedule all the time. Therefore, the music is up beat and moving quickly.

We have another occasion where we see the life of large portion of indian population living in a slum or a type of downtown where the buildings are a wreck. the next shots are of graveyards showing that there lives are as dull as the deads. therefore there is slow-passed music.

2- The film is expressing a planetary perspective critiquing the modern world. it is saying that the people in our current century are not as caring nor observant of the different cultures and severity of situations around the world. The film also tells us that we as humans spend so much paying attention to ourselves that we've become ignorant about the beauty that surround this planet.

3- Baraka brings us several messages such as taking care of our planet and praise it for its true beauty because every time something man made is created it ends up in the dumb like the dumb seen in the film. We receive the message by looking at landscapes around the world and it says that natures pure beauty should be enough to please man kind.

4- The absence of voice affected the goal of the global perspective in Baraka by letting the action in the shots or the actions by the people speak louder than words. so to make the actions speak louder the editors removed any speech or dialogue.

5- Answered above.

6- We watched Baraka in order to be exposed to different editing techniques and concepts. I have never thought about connections so much in my life with this movie and after though i have seen this movie it does not encourage me to travel because most of the shots creeped me out but taught me a thing or two about our planet.