articles : part II

Hines, Babbette. Photobooth. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.

While this book is just a compilation of photo strips found, the preface and

forward were really interesting. Hines talks about how we look at pictures, 

"searching for a resemblance to my own, watch my story unfold as theirs 

does". Understanding ourselves in relationship to others, while also making 

meaning out of these seemingly worthless pictures is something that I focused 

a great deal on with my RA II. She also references "the Face" by Sartre; however, 

I was unable (as was the librarian) to find it anywhere. Also, she talks about 

time -- how these photos can transport you immediately to these other times 

with these individuals found in each strip. Also in photostrips, people are able

 to make themselves who they want to be-- a believable truth that mixes truth 

and fiction. 

Photobooth.net has some stuff on Amélie-- as well as photo booths in other

films and other information about them. They discuss photo booths around the

world, different photo booth artists as well as other projects. I think that this

would be interesting to look at and see how they do work in society and also then

within the film? It also seems like a pretty reputable source that doesn't promote

any crazy ideas.

"For most of us, the photobooth is a shopping mall memory from our childhood, a diversion while waiting for the movie to start. For others, the photobooth is an unbiased and silent historian, capturing a spontaneous moment in four slices of time."

most of the things ive read so far have talked about jeunet and negative aspects of it so I've found some short articles that support Amélie:

http://content.epnet.com/pdf14_16/pdf/2004/L2I/01Oct04/15446476.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=15446476&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHX8kSeqLc4y9fwOLCmrlCeqLBSs6e4S7GWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGut1G1qLFMuePfgeyx%2BEu3q64A&D=aph

http://orb.wulib.wustl.edu:80/V/RSJQMYS5UPASU5HDVUSI8A5IM9XCB3HAU46G1FAUYDSI9DBL2M-07750?func=quick-3&short-format=002&set_number=183269&set_entry=000001&format=999

http://orb.wulib.wustl.edu:80/V/RSJQMYS5UPASU5HDVUSI8A5IM9XCB3HAU46G1FAUYDSI9DBL2M-09945?func=quick-3&short-format=002&set_number=183313&set_entry=000002&format=999

Amélie : Le Fabuleux destin d' Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) / Isabelle Vanderschelden
	London ; New York : I.B. Tauris, 2007. Is this just the film?? i don't think so but i'm not sure.

ARTICLES

Bonnaud, Frederic. "The Amélie Effect." Film Comment (Nov.-Dec. 2001): 36-38. 27 
     Mar. 2008 .
"Amélie's triumph is the result of the reflexive nationalism of "the sacred union": let us all stand united behind our common folkloreand iconography" (38). Bonnaud discusses how Améile was such a national and international success that revived the fadinginternational respect for french cinema. Kaganski (a film critic who wrote "Amélie pas jolie") : he uses as his main source ofnegative criticism. He claims that the film is xenophobic, extreme right, and is "removed from the reality of present-day Paris".He accounts for the overwhelming success of the film by discussing how we are "seduced by the use and abuse of in your face devices-- like Amélie's heart beating under her sweater or any number of crazy, ostentatious camera stunts. (I found this really interestingbecause I wrote my RA II on the scene with her heart and found it too be fanciful and endearing).  He dissects the "proliferation ofclichés and false surprises", that I personally love.

Andrew, Dudley. "Amélie, or Le Fabuleux Destin de Cinéma Français." Film 
     Quarterly 57.3 (Spring 2004): 34-46. 27 Mar. 2008 
     . 

Andrew discusses the faults of Amélie; however, he also accounts for Jeunet's artistic andcinematographic intents. For Jeunet, Amélie takes place in "the Paris of my youth, a fairy-taleParis". Unfortunately, the magical, surrealist and artistic idiosyncrasies found in the film arenothing but a byproduct from carefully calculated "story boards" that lack imagination and truecreativity. He also dicusses how the film in precocious : "particularly in the litany of 'likes' and 'don't likes' that define the style and personality of each character" (35). ALSO he references photo booths, which is great considering there is nothing scholarly written on them... anyways he talks about how Jeunet believes "one idea per shot"-- each frame has a visual introduction and conclusion and he usually frames the figures in the center with emphatic camera movement. The idea that he breaks down this film into shots, or even smaller into each frame (24/second) is a very interesting way to look at the relationship to photo booths : he creates this reality that seems spontaneous, but he does so through carefully scripting and not deviating from his story boards. 

five minutes of fame : handout

Amélie & Photo booths

Lauren Finkelstein

Big Claim : The photo booths serve both symbolically and physically as a mechanism that isolates and paradoxically frees those who are inside the booth from the outside world.

 

I.      Both Amélie and Nino try to make sense of his/her own life through observing and trying to understand the lives of others.

                                               i.     Nino obsessively collects images from underneath photo booths throughout Paris

                                              ii.     Amélie carefully observes others, like they are specimens. She, almost scientifically, brings together Joseph and Georgette, since she herself cannot fall in love.

II.     Photo booths allow the person within to create an image of oneself exactly how he/she wants it, where “truth and fiction easily communicate” (Hines). This creation of self and of one’s reality is seen in the film’s cinematography and dialogue.

                                               i.     A comical “x-ray” of Amélie’s heart when she looks at Nino

                                              ii.     Amélie playing with imaginary friends at a young age

                                             iii.     Pictures and painting come alive and speak to both Amélie and Nino

III.   The enigmatic and isolated nature of the photo booth strip—who is taking the picture, why, why did he/she keep it or rip it up, what was he/she thinking—appeals to these two “oddballs” who have never truly connected with others and thus feel as if something is missing.

                                               i.     Nino becomes obsessed with trying to uncover who the Mystery Man is—he appears 12 times in the photo album

                                              ii.     The game Amélie plays with Nino, dressing up and posting signs—detatched but invested.

“Pages full of dual ID photos carefully reassembled by some odd ball…some family album”

five minutes of fame : part I

okay so I just watched Amélie and read over "Photo booths"... and I'm starting to formulate some ideas for my RA II and my RAE (hopefully). I wanted to focus on the relationship between truth and fiction and how that in photo booths we choose our own truths-- preparing our poses, and discarding the outcome if we do not like it. We are both the photographer and the subject... and can be whatever we want. It is a way to make our lives, our existence permanent.

The clip that I will be working on is in chpt 12 (1 h 26 m) where Amélie meets the "mystery man" seen in Nino's album 12 times. The parallel editing, dramatic cinematography and fanciful additions wonderful capture the spirit of the movie... and how the photo booth functions within the film. Photo booths are used to preserve people's memories and also they serve as a mechanism to bring people together (people try to make meaning of their own life/circumstances through understanding others'). We try to make meaning out of everything... including this mystery man. also the fact that amélie is a loner (as is nino) and that this somehow compels them more to seek out understanding through these photos.

These are just the few mains points that I want to make and will make them tighter for my presentation. Also, I can't find the clip on youtube so hopefully these stills will be helpful.

Amélie : Photobooths

Amélie :

I've found a few books online that talk about photo booths (the history, reference in culture, etc) and also some books on things found on the ground such as notes and pictures. I want to work with the idea of making meaning out of nothing, how the progression of four shots can capture such intense and personal emotion, and why people love them. I'm not sure... I really need to do a lot more research.

Within the movie : 

scenes : when Amélie finds the book and flips through it

       the mystery guy

       other photo booth scenes

Possible books:

(also photobooth.net?)

"Photobooths"; Babbette Hines

Our goal was to create a book that would reflect the spontaneous and uninhibited character of the photobooth images that are this book’s subject. Each of these photographs has a story to tell, so we decided it best to just let the images speak for themselves without too many graphic elements. Pacing and interesting juxtapositions propel readers through the book. It was necessary for us to create an object that people would see and instinctively want to pick up and take home as a memento of their own photobooth experiences. Producing a book that’s appealing as a collectible, but also affordable, object is always difficult.

"American Photobooth" ; Nakki Goranin

Generally relegated to the realm of kitsch, the history and cultural importance of the photobooth has long been overlooked. Here, Näkki Goranin documents the invention, technological evolution, and commercial history of the photobooth with extensive illustrations culled from twenty-five years of collecting. Complementing this history is a powerful collection of heartbreaking, funny, and absolutely beautiful photobooth images. These often solitary figures—seeking freedom, confession, a thrill—are evocative of a lost time and place. Haberstich writes, "For anyone who assumes that photobooth pictures are perfunctory, utilitarian records at best, the range of emotions and moods portrayed by the subjects of [this] collection is a revelation." Over 200 color and black-and-white photographs.

"Found. The best lost, tossed and found items around the world" ; Davy Rothbart

possibly going into snapshots as well??  (personal biography)

Le Petit Prince → The Little Prince

Le Petit Prince à The Little Prince

chpt. 26

English:

And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found. It is better, like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens . . . they will all be your friends. And, besides, I am going to make you a present . . .

French:

Tu regarderas, la nuit, les étoiles. C'est trop petit chez moi pour que je te montre où se trouve la mienne. C'est mieux comme ça. Mon étoile, ça sera pour toi une des étoiles. Alors, toutes les étoiles, tu aimeras les regarder... Elles seront toutes tes amies. Et puis je vais te faire un cadeau...

Sentences:

1. you will see, the night, the stars.
1. “and”, take out night, “up at” – above & encompassing, longer sentence with no commas, more direct?
2. My house is too small for me to show you where you can find mine
1. “so” vs. “too”, add star in eng sentence, eng is more passive “where my star is to be found”.
3. Similar
4. My star, it will be, for you, just one of the stars.
1. Pour toi is earlier in the sentence, similar – it will just be one of many
5. So, all the stars, you will love to look at them… they will all be your friends
1. + heaven, fr starts with stars & eng starts with you, all with be your friends but changing emphasis on relationship?
6. And next, I am going to make you a present
1. The same

 

Mix between exact translation and interpretation.

Differences : adding words in references to the stars, heaven and sky; changing emphasis on if it starts with “you” or the “stars” (maybe due to sense of self in relations to the rest of the world changes between cultures), subtleties may be more common in one language (French…maybe because of grammatical structure, have less words within sentence), French is simpler.

Images : constant, untranslatable, famous, moving, simple

Words: change for each culture, why are certain changes? look between french and english in relation to culture, how kids are raised/education, what is lost in the translation