MetaFilter posts tagged with documentary

Tremé

nola — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:59:04 -0800

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans premieres Thursday, January 29 on PBS. Faubourg Tremé is considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Trailer for Faubourg Tremé

Running the Goat

salishsea — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:19:40 -0800

In 2002 the tiny Newfoundland fishing village of Harbour Deep shut down. It was never able to survive the 1992 closure of the in-shore cod fishery. But the 350 year old history and spirit of the village has survived in the form of a dance called Running the Goat. In a brilliant radio documentary (link is an .m3u), Chris Brooks captures the stories and the sentiments about the dance and what it means for traditional culture in Newfoundland. For more on Harbour Deep, check Chris Brooks' other bits of audio, called A Map of the Sea. (And to listen to more of this brilliance, Battery Radio has their top 10 documentaries online)

Radio from Coast to Coast to Coast

Lutoslawski — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:48:38 -0800

The Third Coast International Audio Festival recognizes excellence in audio documentary, and the 2009 awards have been announced. You can listen to all of the winners' work as well as a two hour broadcast of the highlights.

Sounds from Nine Countries

flatluigi — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:28:54 -0800

9 Countries was recorded on location in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Tibet, India, Egypt and Greece between October 2005 and March 2007 by Tom Compagnoni. What you hear has been entirely assembled from these field recordings, no additional samples used.

A mashup / sound-collage / ambient / documentary album by Wax Audio.

Last Minutes with Oden

Lord_Pall — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:38:21 -0800

Last Minutes with Oden, A beautiful but heart-wrenching short documentary about an ex-convict saying goodby to his best friend

21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777

FishBike — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:49:47 -0800

21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777 (part 1 of 5) In the early 90's, Boeing decided to build a new airplane, the 777. They also decided to allow KCTS Television and Channel Four London to film the design, construction, and testing of the new airliner. This 5-hour documentary, first aired in 1996, is no longer shown on TV, and out of print on VHS, but you can now watch it on Google Videos. The 777 is still the largest twin-engined airliner ever built. Its engines are the largest aircraft engines ever made. It was the first fly-by-wire airliner from Boeing, their first to be designed entirely on computers. The documentary covers all of this with plenty of airplane stuff, plenty of manufacturing stuff, and also a surprising amount of "people" stuff. Boeing tried a new "Working Together" philosophy to improve teamwork internally, with sub-contractors, with regulatory authorities, and even with customers. As a result, the 777 was the first twin-engined plane certified to fly up to 180 minutes from the nearest airport at entry into service (rather than the usual 60 minutes), and was the first Boeing plane where the first one delivered was accepted by the customer the first time around. Part 1 covers the decision to build a new airplane, how they got United Airlines to be the launch customer, the computerized design process, the new "design-build teams" concept, and some footage of cold weather door tests. It also covers the design of the cupholders and toilet seats (yes, really). Part 2 shows a lot of the initial assembly of wings and fusealge, an internal discussion about whether or not to use aluminum-lithium alloy for some 777 parts, and a visit to a Japanese sub-contractor's new factory. Some of the logistics of getting parts to the assembly line are also included, such as bullet-proof rail cars to prevent skin panels from arriving with bullet holes in them. Don't miss the 130-foot tractor-trailer with a driver at each end. In Part 3, the 777 rolls on its own wheels for the first time. Extensive coverage is given to the design and testing of the new engines, including water, ice, and bird ingestion, and a "blade out" test where a fan blade is intentionally detached from a running engine to make sure the fragments will be contained. Also included in part 3, pressure testing of a completed fuselage, and the large airplane ground operations simulator (LAGOS)--a cockpit on a very long stick to test how best to manuever such a large plane around airports. Concludes with a high-speed taxi test where the 777 "almost" takes to the air. Part 4 begins with the first flight of the 777 and then focuses on the flight testing process and Boeing test pilot John Cashman. In this part, we see such things as intentionally dragging the tail of the aircraft along the runway, a "spray test" involving driving through deep puddles at high speeds, and various brake tests including "the big one" that destroys $750,000 worth of wheels and tires. Part 5 starts with a wing structure being tested to failure, United Airlines making an advertisement featuring the 777, the steps taken to certify the 777 for 180-minute ETOPS at entry into service, and an emergency escape systems test where 419 volunteers get out in less than 90 seconds. Final test flights are flown by United Airlines to prove they are competent to operate the 777 on commercial flights. We see the purchase and delivery of the first plane to United (including a very complicated conference call to conduct the transaction). The documentary ends with the inaugural commercial flight (which one passenger had mis-heard as "an all girl flight").

There is no evidence that Quetzalcoatlus could see dinosaur pee with its ultraviolet vision, or that a herd of hadrosaurs could knock over a predator with their concentrated infrasound blasts.

brundlefly — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:45:29 -0800

Paleontologist Matt Wedel was a talking head in the Discovery Channel's Clash of the Dinosaurs, but was not very happy with the final product. The production company, Dangerous, responds. Finally, the Discovery Channel steps up.

Architectures

vronsky — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:03:46 -0800

Brilliant short series of documentaries each dealing with an architect and their signature creations. (each approx. 30 minutes) Frank Lloyd Wright Johnson Wax Building :: Walter Gropius The Dessau Bauhaus :: Alvaro Siza The Siza School :: Renzo Piano Centre Georges Pompidou :: Santiago Calatrava Satolas TG V :: Felix Duban School of the Beaux Arts :: Peter Zumthor The Thermae of Stone :: Emanuele Rocco La Galleria Umberto :: Otto Wagner The Vienna Savings Bank

"Until then, the only music anyone heard was Opera.."

The Whelk — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:11:25 -0800

The Year 3000 looks back on the Beatles: A future-documentary on the world-changing impact of the Fab Four. (via)

Tattooing Since 1928 by a Teacher of the Art

hydrophonic — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:00:11 -0800

Stoney Knows How is a half-hour film by Alan Govenar and Bruce “Pacho” Lane that portrays Leonard "Stoney" St. Clair, tattoo artist and former sideshow performer. Affected with rheumatoid arthritis when he was four, and with stunted growth, Stoney left Appalachia at fifteen to join the circus as a sword swallower and learned to tattoo soon after. The film is about as safe for work as a 1970s tattoo parlor, which is to say, not very.

Wesley Willis's Joy Rides

kid ichorous — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:17:16 -0800

Wesley Willis's Joy Rides, one week only at Pitchfork TV. Dual-wielding a Technics KN and a microphone, breaking Chicago down to a vector space of magic marker; homeless busker, Napster celebrity, punk headliner and hellraiser: take your pick. The late Wesley Willis as remembered in Joy Rides.

I think that making people laugh is good enough for me.

Vectorcon Systems — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:41:18 -0800

Mike Krahulik (Gabe) and Jerry Holkins (Tycho) of Penny Arcade now have their own reality TV show. The first episode of PATV explores the unlikely rise of their video game media empire and covers the recent Penny Arcade Expo and the birth of Jerry's daughter. Previously on Mefi: The podcast The other podcast The charity The video game

Gay History - Online Documentaries

hippybear — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:42:42 -0800

A treasure trove of gay and lesbian documentaries to watch online. Our course begins with a brief overview. (9m05s)

Before Stonewall

Phyllis Lyon and Dell Martin started a newsletter for lesbians. (9m49s) Other women read dimestore lesbian novels [Forbidden Love - Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10unavailable (approx 75m)]. Gay bikers held rally weekends (silent, 2m30s). Life, pre-Stonewall, as told by gay seniors who lived it. (6m55s)

Stonewall

The setting and events of Stonewall, told by Phil Davis. (36m04s) Stonewall veterans share their stories. (6m12s) The first march, as told by gay seniors who lived it. (6m31s) GLBT groups began to organize and create community centers. (8m06s) Bonus movie: 1971 Gay Activist Alliance takeover of the NYC Wedding Bureau after City Clerk Herman Katz threatened to crack down on MCC gay union ceremonies. (5m preview, 47m34s with Veoh Player install)

The First Decade After Stonewall

Gilbert Baker designed the Gay Pride Flag. (27m46s) A pride parade from the mid-70s. (10m0s) The Times Of Harvey Milk (1h28m0s) [used by Sean Penn to study for his portrayal]. Harry Hay (Mattachine society founder) starts the Radical Faeries. (1m56s) The early years of the Radical Faeries, told by Jerry the Faerie. (10m0s) The Age Of AIDS Part 1 2 3 4 (approx 3h30m) [not strictly gay] Black, White, and Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe (1h12m) Twenty Years After Stonewall (including speeches by Harry Hay and Harvey Fierstein, amongst others) Part 1 2 3 4 (approx 68m) Paris Is Burning [NYC Vogue "Houses"] Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (approx 1h10m)

Gay in the Twenty-First Century

Radical Faerie Sanctuary at Short Mountain. (28m19s) Gay Conversion Therapy (21m06s) [sound is out of sync at beginning, gets better]. 30 Days: A Straight Man In A Gay World (45m44s) I Have Gay Parents. (40m19s) Gay media figures examine the forty years since Stonewall. (1h21m) Forty Years After Stonewall (34m00s) Bonus films: Gay Hollywood: The Last Taboo Part 1 2 (approx 47m) and The Lavendar Lens: 100 Years of Celluloid Queers (1h57m52s) Plus: Fellow Travelers Part 1 2 3 (approx20m30s) - Photographer Mark Thompson narrates his portraits of gay leaders. Also: Saint Of 9/11 (1h31m) Story of Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge, first recorded casualty of the terrorist attacks. [note: Sept 11 footage]

Not entirely devoid of the con

FelliniBlank — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:11:29 -0800

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen For one week only on Pitchfork TV, "this 45-minute film from 1965 offers a candid glimpse of Cohen's pre-singer-songwriter days." Previously: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and let us never forget 7.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (In Patagonia)

Len — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:08:46 -0800

A few years ago, Gruff Rhys, lead singer of fabulous Welsh pop oddballs Super Furry Animals (Cymraeg/English) set out to make a film about the search for his uncle, a 1970s Argentinian pop star called René Griffiths. The result is Separado!: part travelogue, part music film, and part history of how a small band of idealists set out to establish a Welsh colony in the Argentinian part of Patagonia. The settlement was the idea of Welsh Congregationalist minister Michael D Jones (pic of his fabulous beard here), and the first settlers left Liverpool, bound for Patagonia, on a rickety tea clipper called the Mimosa in May of 1865. 153 passengers were aboard – including the Rev. Abraham Matthews, whose family travelled on this ticket. The Mimosa landed at Puerto Madryn and over the subsequent decades, its passengers and their descendants established a thriving Welsh community in the Chubut River valley. The settlers had been promised that Patagonia was much like lowland Wales, but they soon found it a harsh and unforgiving environment. Despite this, the colonists built both churches and what may have been Argentina's first system of artificial irrigation, as well as towns like Trelew and Gaiman, many of whose Welsh shops and tea houses survive to this day. (Small gallery of contemporary Gaiman and surroundings here.) Glaniad – a joint Welsh/Patagonian project – has original documents relating to Welsh emigration to Patagonia, including printed material extolling the virtues of the settlements, the culture of the settlements, and the everyday working lives of the colonists.

The Price of Sex: Women Speak

autoclavicle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:56:41 -0800

The Price of Sex: Women Speak Since the collapse of communism in 1989, millions of former Soviet bloc residents have migrated abroad, looking for opportunities. These waves of migration breathed life into one of the oldest yet darkest criminal enterprises--the trafficking of human beings into sexual slavery. Hundreds of thousands of Eastern European women have been sold into prostitution. Photojournalist Mimi Chakarova, a Bulgarian who immigrated to the United States in 1990, has documented their journeys from villages in Moldova to the streets of Turkey and nightclubs in Dubai--where prostitution is an equation of supply, demand and desperation.

"I am an American as you can see from my shirt."

Pope Guilty — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:59:44 -0800

Ya'll remember Johnathan "The Impaler" Sharkey, Minnesota gubernatorial candidate for the Vampires, Witches, and Pagans Party? Of course you do. But have you seen Impaler, the documentary about him? hulu

A Walk to Beautiful

BigSky — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:35:26 -0800

The documentary A Walk to Beautiful, follows five women in Ethiopia suffering from fistula, isolated from their villages and some from their families, seeking treatment at one of the few charity clinics. It can be viewed online at the PBS NOVA site. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, who runs the hospital in Addis Ababa, is interviewed here. There's also been a couple of recent articles on fistula: one from Nicholas Kristof who's been one of the most prominent voices on this issue, a piece by Kate Harding, and an older piece where Abby Frucht describes living with fistula in a developed country with a supportive family. For those inclined to donate, links to charities can be found in the Kristof op-ed. Other Metafilter posts on fistula: 1, 2

Kobelkoff

vronsky — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:06:11 -0800

Kobelkoff: "This rare documentary puts us in a troubling situation of voyeurism by having us attend the exhibition of trunk man Nikolaï Kobelkoff, born in Siberia, without limbs. Kobelkoff uses his unique stump with incredible dexterity: he drinks, eats, shoots with a rifle, paints, winds his watch and lifts a dumbbell! In 1932, this extraordinary character was film director Tod Browning's inspiration for the famous film Freaks." (1900, b&w, silent, 1:23 min) brief history

"Everything is pessimistic. Your grandma stocks up on washing-up liquid in case there’s another Holocaust."

sleepcrime — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:48:28 -0800

Marc Isaacs is a British documentary maker with a talent for making poignant, revealing films about people. You can watch his new film Men In The City ‒ an affecting and beautifully shot profile of four very different London workers ‒ on the iPlayer, following its broadcast on the BBC yesterday. You also shouldn't miss his BAFTA-nominated short film Lift, filmed entirely from within an elevator inside a block of flats, and All White In Barking, a study from an English town with high immigration and strong BNP support ( pertinently ). Another interview with Marc.

George S. Zimbel

chunking express — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:52:52 -0800

George S. Zimbel is a documentary photographer. His website features a lot his work, which goes all the way back to the 1940s. There is a lot of great stuff to look through. His blog is also an interesting read.

One Fast Move Or I'm Gone.

grapefruitmoon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:23:26 -0800

One Fast Move or I'm Gone : a documentary of Kerouac's Big Sur features a soundtrack by Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar.

"I don't think it's nice to have diversity anywhere, myself."

afx237vi — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:43:42 -0800

BNP Wives. A 46 minute documentary following three female members of the far-right British National Party.

Making the Real World Look as Good as Cinema

netbros — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:34:23 -0800

DSLR News Shooter is a new photo site featuring the use of the latest HD-dSLRs like the Canon Eos5DmkII, 7D and Nikon D300s for news, documentary and factual shooting. By Guardian news photographer Dan Chung, it's a place for professionals, educators, students and industry figures to discuss the practice and the art of cinematic photography in documenting the real world. For example, the time-lapse and slow-motion film of the recent 60th anniversary parade of the PRC. Other places to look for information and discussion of DSLR video are the Planet5D blog, and filmmakers such as Vincent Laforet and Phillip Bloom. (previous 1, 2)

How William Shatner Changed the World (and Ballet)

rumbles — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:31:47 -0800

Canadian actor William Shatner continues to diversify his cultural contributions in two recent documentaries making the rounds on the film festival circuit entitled: How William Shatner Changed the World (youtube trailer) and William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (youtube clip).