DATELINE: July 29, 2010
PMD-For-Hire HQ
A documentary a month. They said they were going to do it and they did it. So there!
Alex Jablonski and Michael Totten are the directing/shooting duo behind The Sparrow Songs, an monthly documentary series shot in and around the Greater Los Angeles area.
The idea behind this innovative project has Jablonski and Totten selecting a subject to document each month — something seemingly innocuous — and through the use of multiple camera angles and an engaging array of questions laid down (by Alex) to his various interview subjects, they assemble a 15 minute-long piece chronicling a day in the life of ordinary people getting on with their lives. There are even some behind-the-scenes elements sprinkled in, courtesy of the team’s multiple camera setup.
Sparrow Songs was another one of those amazing finds I’d stumbled across after reading through Filmmaker Magazine‘s Summer 2010 edition cover to cover. Ever year, editor Scott Macaulay and his team of intrepid indie writers compile the Top 25 Faces to Watch according to criteria as various as the filmmakers’ award-winning film exploits or cutting-edge guerilla filmmaking techniques.
Jablonski and Totten feature on page 56 of this quarter’s edition.
Favorite Sparrow Songs‘ episodes
Since this crew began recording their content last November, they’ve shot, cut, and posted eight slice-of-life documentaries at the URL.
Faves were:
- Porn Star Karaoke.
- The Puppet Maker.
- The Donut Shop.
- The Truth, and
- El Circo.
I’ll briefly summarize these five so you can get an idea what to expect (screen shots weren’t available, but the site has thumbnails of them all).
Porn Star Karaoke:
So how exactly do porn stars unwind after a long day at the, er…grind? Well, they sing at Burbank-area karaoke bars, that’s what! Alex and Michael venture out into the Valley to chronicle one of these mid-week shindigs, where porn stars — male and female alike — and their various (mostly male) adoring fans let their hair down and belt out their favorite pop lyrics to a packed room. Lyrical talents of these skin queens aside, what really drew my attention to this episode were the interviews Alex conducted with some of the female stars outside. These, I assure you, will shock by their frankness, and if you’ve ever been one to wonder what motivates some of these women to do what they do, now’s your chance. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not because they’ve been traumatized or sexually-abused that drives women into the business. In fact, they’re part of an entire mirror-like Hollywood subculture complete with contracts, multiple-picture deals and agents and managers. One star even went so far as to refer to herself as an “intellectual with an animal side.” “When people see something they like, they want to fuck it,” she even asserts. “Otherwise, we’re just like any other folks. We like to read. We love. And we have relationships off-camera.” Another one claims she “completely shuts off her emotions” during lurid takes in front of the camera. I found that fascinating. I also wondered to myself how the constant dulling of an otherwise natural human sentiment — sexual emotion — might have adverse long-term effects that manifest themselves later on in these ladies’ lives. Porn Star Karaoke was a real educational experience, as I suspect it will be for you.
The Puppet Maker:
Bob Baker has been in the puppet business for the better part of seventy-five years. He received his first hand puppet when he was seven years-old, and from that point began his lifelong infatuation with the puppet trade. Single, never-married, and — as he claims — completely satisfied, he recounts his life’s work and harrowing disappointments while we’re treated to a brief show as Bob’s voice-over carries on in voice-over. If you dig puppetry, or are just a fan of artists who refuse to compromise their artistic visions and can do so profitably, you’ll enjoy hearing Baker’s odyssey. One of Baker’s lines really stuck with me: “If I don’t like someone, I don’t want to hate them. I just wish them well, leave them be, bless ‘em, and move on.” Simple, yet so profound.
The Donut Shop:
I can’t decide whether I liked this one more or Porn Star Karaoke. The episode hearkened back to something I used to do five years ago back when I was still living in Toronto. I’d spent many my witching hours in downtown dumpy donut shops, pounding away on my laptop or reading books as I’d watch the constant stream of late-night humanity pile through the coffee shop’s doors. I’d munch away on stale tuna fish sandwiches and knock back cheap cup after cheap cup of overbrewed swill, and was hooked. I learned so much about people in those days. Even made friendly with several of the addicts, drug dealers, and street bums who would use the place as their meeting or living rooms for a few hours. I was a source of familiarity for them, an unthreatening presence who knew what they were really up to yet who didn’t judge them. Then there were those late-night club revelers popping in for a late night cup of buzz-killing joe and a bag of donuts. Or the neighborhood retirees trying to save a pension buck or two on an outing, yet still benefiting from some manner of public interaction. Alone, as Alex says in the voiceover, yet not lonely. Cab drivers would come in to scan the ethnic newspapers, re-upping on cigarette packs and coffee, perhaps even exchanging some coins for notes with the cashier. Even Canadian newcomers and immigrants working behind the counter taught me things: regaling me with tales how they made their way to Canada, or what they had to endure back in their home countries before finding safe haven in this new country. In The Donut Shop, the men who while away their late nights here are all avid chess fans. They don’t care about the coffee and the donuts; just the competition. Sad thing about this doc? Hardly anyone wanted to go on camera with the filmmakers.
El Circo:
The circus is a Ramos Brothers family tradition which has been in their clan for generations. The ringleader tells Alex that most of the people who come under his big top have never been to a circus in their entire lives — and some of these people, he adds, are in their forties. I enjoyed El Circo because it reminded me of my youth. The determination of the performers to always throw themselves bodily into their acts no matter what the consequence was also tremendously uplifting. Be on the lookout for a few behind-the-curtain glimpses of the performers. Listen to the manner of family ties they’ve created in the circus and their desire to want to remain with it forever. In the words of one performer, “I want die here.” The ringleader was so outspoken, defying the “carnie”-like impression most people have of circus performers. He was eloquent with a capital-E. Unfortunate, though, that the Ramos Brothers website wasn’t working…would have been nice to get to know some of the performers by name.
The Truth:
Do you believe the 9/11 attacks were the work of a cell 19 determined Muslim fanatics hellbent on detonating New York’s Twin Towers, the White House, and the Pentagon? Or are you of the mind that the entire incident was a jerry-rigged government conspiracy to give the Bush Administration the pretext it needed to launch an all-out Middle Eastern war of conquest for oil and territory? This is precisely what “Truthers” believe, and they’ve devoted their lives to making this fallacy manifest to the rest of the American population. They stand out on street corners, distribute leaflets, and even go on camera to make their views known to the world. Alex takes point again: we meet four Truthers who share with us how they came around to disbelieving the common government-sponsored line for the attacks’ culpability. There is no Osama Bin Laden. There is no plot to destroy America. This is about world domination and World Government. The Truth reveals to us these peoples’ lifestyles and their disappointment about being American. So are the Truthers cultists? Are they blind to the real story? Or are we blind? Watch and decide for yourself.
