hist 615: Stories on Pan

Steelband Begins

Download steelbandbegins.wmv  Finally!!!!  I was able to upload this file at work versus trying to upload at home on a dial-up line.

Enjoy...

Final Project

It's done...  This project is dear to my heart and it was a labor of love, but it also caused me a lot of frustration.  Time was never on my side.  Equipment failure always came at the wrong time, but I had to let it go and continue to move on.  And the lighting...

I don't want to stop at with this mini documentary.  I stirred up a great deal of interest while working on this project and the steel pan community want to see me go further with it.  There is a lot going on in my life right now -- but if I continue to put off, I will never accomplish...so with all that said, this is not the end but the beginning.  I am glad I pushed myself to complete this assignment and this class and I hope to be able to show off the full version in the coming years.

Here is my final video it's a hugh file.  Also, in the program my audio is fine, but when I export my audio on some clips have been very low.

Storyboard

The layout of this storyboard most likely will change. I am still working on getting a few more interviews and still images. (see photo album on left)

Short Movie Assignment

This is a journey through African American music from the early days of the negro spirituals to today's hip hop.
(Narration still to come)

Treatment

This treatment is based on the artice: Reading Race into the Scopes Trial: African American Elites, Science, and Fundamentalism, by Jeffrey P. Moran. From The Journal of American History Vol. 90, Issue 3.

A photograph of the Reverend W. H. Moses, campaign director for the National Baptist Convention is superimposed over the headlines from a “race newspaper” publicizing the Scopes Trial of 1925. As the photograph of Rev. Moses fades, a photograph of W.E.B. DuBois fades in to another headline from another “race newspaper.” The headline that comes up with Moses reflects a tone favoring Christianity to science. The headline that appears with DuBois favors a scientific dispute on evolution.

The time period is the 1920’s and there was a division between the intellectual elite and the religious leaders in the African American communities. Some of the African Americans who are the secular black elite, included in this list are W.E.B. DuBois who believed in the “theory” of the “talented tenth,” syndicated columnist William Pickens, Dean Kelly Miller of Howard University, William N. Jones a columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American and others. These black intellectuals contended that the Scopes trail brought out the Fundamentalist beliefs and the dominance of religion at a time when the race should be moving forward. Excerpts from editorials from African American newspaper of the period can be heard as the words appear on the screen with the faded background of an urban environment.

Some African American ministers attacked the theory of evolution and stood their ground on theological beliefs. Excerpts from editorials commenting and quoting from sermons are read as text is shown in the background.

A video clip of the trial can be show along with flashes of newspaper editorial cartoons depicting occurrences of the trial.

The article states the “Just as the Scopes trial offered members of the secular black elite an opportunity to position themselves rhetorically alongside the forces of modernity, it also laid bare the gulf that existed between these leaders of the race and their ministerial competitors.” The article ends stating that on Sunday mornings after the Scope trail African Americans still found themselves in church. So it would seem appropriate to conclude this documentary with visuals of African American churches in the south and music of Negro spirituals playing in the background.

Scene Analysis: Murder at Harvard

"Murder at Harvard", a documentary directed by Eric Strange is the account of the famous 18th century trial of Harvard Professor John Webster accused of the murder of Boston elite, George Parkman. A documentary visually pulls together details and facts which help the audience gain an understanding for not only the details of a particular event, but the time period in which the event took place. In other words, it brings history to life using both audio and visual enhancements. The objective of a documentary is not only to visually display information, but to set up a mood, helping to create an atmosphere in which the viewer may feel they are a part of the story. This is done with music, narration, images and video transitions. Historians are used to provide commentary, giving validity to the accounts presented, in some cases interviews with persons who may have lived through the event works the same way.

As the narrator in the "Murder at Harvard", Simon Schama in a dramatic tone sets up the events viewers are about to see. The film is shot in black and white that may be a representation of the past. The music plays in the background as an element that sparks the feeling of darkness and dread, while the set brings viewers directly into an 18th century court room that may stimulate a viewer’s curiosity. Simon Schama tells the “story” and presents the facts or evidence in this case, in doing so, he “creates the ambiance of the past.” He introduces the main characters and describes the details surrounding the case. Not knowing the actually events Shama “imagines” what dialogue may have occurred based on the documents of that time, ie, newspaper articles, court transcripts and artwork. Shama states that he “felt free” to let his “imagination work” to get him closer to the truth. As he read the trial transcripts, he began to “hear” and feel the emotion of the situation.

The scene that I will focus on is the final scene in the documentary. Schama informs the viewers that because of the information he has gathered about the account, he feels as though he can provide an interpretation of the events that led up to the murder of George Parkman at the hands of John Webster. As the scene is dramatically re-enacted, director Eric Strange shows George Parkman as an antagonist, backing John Webster into a position to “defend” or “attack” his person. The music used in the scene kept building and building. The use of blur and slow motion was very effective. The blurriness kept me understanding that this was not an actual account, but what may have happened. The effect of slow motion kept me glued to find out what would happen next.

I viewed this film as more than just a documentary. Although it is an actual account, I was lured more to playing detective and deciphering the facts than I was to accepting the facts as they were presented.

Lots of Support

When I initially thought of my topic (the history of the steel drum - "pan"), I wasn't sure where I would be able to gather the materials I needed to get this project going. I did a Google search to see how much information was out there. What I've found has helped me set my foundation.

After reading and clicking all that I could, I moved on to my next set of resources -- family and friends. My Mom, my cousin Mark, my uncle Selwyn and family friends have been thinking of people that I should be in contact with to assist me on this journey.

Over the weekend, I was fortunate to interview a "pioneer of pan" and a gentleman who arranges the music for several steel bands. It was very exciting. There are a lot of "stories" out there about pan and I am looking forward to capturing them on video.