This 60-second video was made for Fundacion Mi Sangre‘s Pazalobien campaign in Colombia. Kudos to Einar Baldvin, a very tall and talented animator who coached me through the mysteries of After Effects and Andres Orozko, a swell graphic artist who is from Medillín, presently lives and works in New Orleans, and drew many of the graphics.
This brilliant, wordless, video begins with two young figures reflecting on easels the green life around them. Then that life is cut down and ruined by encroaching industry. The easel images of a green world disappear as the community transforms. A gun fires and a body drops down. Now the young people are attracted to the gun, the violence, and draw that.
Then a strange little being appears and draws a screen across the window, blocking the view of the gun. Its image drops off the easels. On the screen are other images–cameras, a guitar, a microphone. The young people are attracted. The little being magically pulls the young people onto the screen where a guitar falls to the young man and a microphone to the woman. They sing and dance Salsa! This is the intervention of art in the suffering community.
As they sing a tree grows up from their music. In a moment the guitar and microphone drop away and from the tree’s high branches tumble video and still cameras. The youths begin to record and document their circumstances–the learning of critical consciousness.
As the little story ends the frame tips up to find the strange little being hanging in the bright green treetops, swinging happily. A thought bubble appears PAZalobien! Happy, peace and joy!
Bravo, Dr. Pop and team! I look forward to meeting your and applauding your work in person.
This sequence is one I know. I call it Story Bridge: Story>Performance>Relationship>Conversation>Action
Story and Performance together convey the pain and beauty of life. This builds relationship between suffering beings who recognize their shared and different circumstances, and the play of power across and through their relationships. The energy created through the performance of these truths powers the conversation and action which restores harmony in the new green world.
Many, many thanks for this profound creation.
Warmly,
Richard
Richard Owen Geer, co-author of Story Bridge: From Alienation to Community Action
Thanks!