In 2008, I was in Nepal filming the documentary Journey to Kathmandu. Much of this time was spent with chai tea sellers, Prem and Goma Aryal, and their two children Kopila and Kapil. I am happy to say that just yesterday I received word from the daughter, Kopila, that the family is safe and unharmed. However, along with so many Nepalese families, due to the earthquake, they have lost their home up in the mountains.
If you would like to directly help the Aryal family – and if you’ve seen the film, you know how lovely they are – then please donate via PayPal to cgparkhurst@gmail.com . All monies will go directly to the family. Along with the satisfaction of directly helping a family in need, you will also be emailed a free download of the film, ‘Journey to Kathmandu’!
In advance, thank you for your contribution, and if you wouldn’t mind, please share this link to anyone you know whom might be interested.
I remember years ago while editing on the award-winning documentary Bombhunters – the film which got me started on this whole documentary and SE Asia path – I was cutting together a “history of bombing” montage. Starting with the first-ever bombs dropped from an aerial source during Italy’s war with the Ottoman Empire in 1911 and culminating with at-the-time cutting edge new drone warfare being deployed by American forces in Iraq in 2004.
Circa 1915: Crowds gather to see a birdlike German ‘Taube’ aircraft, on display at Les Invalides, Paris, at the height of the First World War.
I remember being slightly fascinated, slightly horrified, slightly enamored with the spectacle of it all. We all know them well now: the visuals that have now long since become everyday news images of black and white (or infrared) video footage from a drone’s perspective blowing up a distant target from above. But at the time, I’d never seen any footage quite like it. And then when I saw the exterior shots of the drones where the point-of-view camera angles had been coming from… well, that was also something I’d never seen before. They looked like these mechanised giant ants kind of racing through the air towards god only knows who or what. Even now the images of these drones still creep me out. (As they should, no? I mean, how is the idea of some human thousands of miles away manning a giant mechanical deadly insect by remote control, ready to unleash a host of destruction upon unsuspecting citizens of another country, not creepy??)
Thing is, maybe the term ‘drone’ has gotten a bad wrap, what with all of these photogs and filmmakers nowadays employing these drones for their own not-exactly-destructive ways. Alternatively, the footage that has now also seemingly overnight become incredibly familiar are coming from these various flying machines equipped with small cameras and manned by remote controls in the hands of mere mortal men. Since roughly 2010, filmmakers and hobbyists worldwide have been taking some rather stunning pieces of aerial footage that had long-since been only achievable by a specially license heli operator and a select number of camera operators who maybe specialised in this kind of aerial photography (and had the financial mans to achieve it!).
It’s funny. I kind of go back and forth on the whole camera drone thing. I mean, on one hand it’s just continuing Coppola’s prophecy of “some little fat girl in Ohio is going to be the new Mozart and make a beautiful film with her little father’s camera…For once the so called professionalism about movie will be destroyed forever and it will really become an art form.” You know, the ongoing democratization of filmmaking that we’ve been hearing about since digital video started to take shape in the 90s.
On the other hand, it can be argued that not unlike when the DSLRs flooded the market with wedding photographers cum wannabe filmmakers, aren’t these drones perhaps enabling the hobbyists to puff out their chests and suddenly tout themselves as aerial cinematographers?
The Elvis of Cambodia crew has, in particular, been seeing a lot of drone footage of Cambodia this past year. And yes, while a bit of it tends to emanate from the backpacker GoPro-and-YouTube-loving crowd, some of the stuff is undeniably pretty damn good. (And I don’t mean to imply that all of the drone users are the afore-mentioned backpacker types! There are a lot of industry people using these as well.) With the estimated number of NGOs in Cambodia at 10 0000+ and a rapidly growing commercial and consumer base, the need for made-on-the-cheap footage but with high production value is everincreasing.
Patrick Firouzian aboard the Lake Clinic 4, getting set for some aerial footage of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap.
French filmmaker, Patrick Firouzian, who prior to his work as a consultant for NGOs (he is the co-founder of Global Roots) and photography and film endeavours, worked significantly in both the IT and manufacturing sectors, ventures which would help him greatly while shooting in developing countries throughout SE Asia. Over the past couple of years, he too has been embracing the drone technology and has taken some rather remarkable footage in both Cambodia and Nepal, the last two settings of Barang Films documentary productions. He was kind enough to allow us to use some of his aerials for our July fundraiser in Portland, Oregon and during our Kickstarter campaign.
Just recently – after nearly a year’s correspondence – I was able to meet up with him over some nice Indonesian cuisine at Sumatra Restaurant in Phnom Penh! We spoke at length about various topics, including but not limited to filming in SE Asian countries, in particular “droning” (if you will) in these areas. Firouzian, a fan of using the DJI copters operates with two different set-ups, employing the DJI Phantom 2 for his GoPro outfit, and then he also recently acquired the S900 model for use with his Panasonic GH4.
We shared some great “war stories” amidst mouthfuls of nasi goreng and chicken satay and I came to admire this person who not only displays a passion and professionalism for his work, but clearly cares for the cultures in which he is able to do his work; a man with a Barang heart, one might say!
We have agreed to meet up again in the next week or so in hopes of testing out some of one another’s equipment. I’m looking forward to finally getting out my Feather Crane, which my friend’s over at Lite Pro Gear were so kind as to ship out to Cambodia. (There will surely be a post about these initial tests!) And Patrick has offered to take me out droning on one of his boat ventures to film the great Tonle Sap from above.
Am greatly looking forward to delving into this magical world of the drone…
What a year it has been for Barang Films, LLC . A year chock full o’ good and bright things to be thankful for. Each of the next six days – until the start of the new year – we will be revealing (in no particular order) what and who we were thankful for in 2010.
Here goes:
1- Goats. Families in rural hilltop villages in Nepal have a goat. So do sustainable city dwellers in Portland, Oregon. I mean, who doesn’t love a goat?
Copyright Barang Films, LLC ® 2009
2- Teachers.
3- The word barang. For those who are not in-the-know… now you know.
A barang could never do this
4- Arcade Fire ‘The Suburbs’. A potent, wise, heartbreaking album that speaks to a generation – and a moment in history, for that matter -in ways that only the true greats can do.
5- Mothers. Because nothing in this world happens without them.
Copyright Barang Films, LLC ®, 2006
6- NGOs (Non-governmental organizations), humanitarian organizations, and all organizations and people associated with them. Without you, this world would be a darker place. But with you, Light shines through even the darkest parts of our planet.
Well, after nearly five months of meetings with a business coach, a branding expert and logo/website designer, the new Barang Films website is set to launch on September 28, 2010. A lot of work, thought, consternation, perspiration, whatever-else-ation has gone into this and I’m incredibly excited to share Barang Films with the world.
Until then, we’re revealing a couple of teasers: the brand new Barang Films logo and a taste of the new website. We’re also giving you a rare glimpse into some of the process work that went into it. Special thanks goes to logo and site designer, Jesus Cameron of Goodeye (but more on the genius that is Cameron to come). Enjoy and we’ll see you next Tuesday!
Note: We are working out some development bugs, but should have the site up by October 15th!
Over the years, as I’ve followed my dreams and passions of documentary storytelling – often times into some of the more tragic parts of the globe – I’ve resorted to channeling my inner James Nachtwey for inspiration and insight. Undoubtedly, many of you are quite familiar with who Nachtwey is. For those of you who are not familiar with the name, I would argue that there’s a 99.9 % chance that you are familiar with his work.
Since the Vietnam War, Nachtwey’s images of been seen worldwide by Life Magazine, Magnum and CNN (to name a tiny few). He has covered some of the most known of world events in the past 40 years including Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Indonesia, Cambodia and Nepal (to name a few). Christian Frei‘s extremely powerful ‘The War Photographer‘ was a well-known documentary film that was a first-hand account of past and present work, by the man himself.
To say that he has been a Hero and an Inspiration to all cultural, war journalist and humanitarian photographers and filmmakers, would be a vast understatement (bordering on cliche, even!).
I recently viewed his acceptance of the 2007 TED Award (Technology Entertainment Design) and wanted to share it with you:
What do you think of his work? What about the idea of a documentary photographer? Are what they (we’re) doing actually making a difference?
I believe that it’s a higher calling and one that is absolutely essential to give witness, give record to world events… so that all may learn from past mistakes and apply to future endeavours.
We hope that you enjoyed the first Relief International video (that we posted last week). This is the third and final (and dare we say ‘favorite’?) of the RI videos that Barang Films produced. I think it not only captures the brilliant work and building of sustainable lives that RI is helping to foster in Haiti, but it also captures the undying spirit and positivity of the Haitian people.
Again, Barang Films would like to thank the many good souls of Relief International (Emily, Farshad, Joseph, Richard, Sony, Seth, Nikki, Emily, Daniel, Jace, etc) for the wonderful opportunity that was this project in Haiti. And we would also like to express gratitude for the generosity of the citizens of Haiti… the perspective that you have given us shall be felt deeply for a long time. And lessons that you have taught us… hopefully for a lifetime.
BARANG FILMS 