Prague Stories

The Final projects are due on Monday. I woke up early today to begin the long process of editing, logging and capturing, and setting up some type of coherent narration. The desk in our room is a mess of laptops, wires, cables, hard drives, tapes, etc… I am praying for a miracle for this poor documentary. It is coming along so slowly and I am not entirely sure what it will look like. I spoke to George today and he gave me some great ideas for it. Also, a coordinator for the “Music on Film Film on Music” came by and spoke to us about the festival and showed us some music videos and short films that were his favorites. It was real interesting and I wish I had had more time to talk with him about music films. (Music is a great passion of mine.) But after talking with George I just headed back to the dorms and began to edit what I think is a good idea. I still have to go back and interview some people giving their thoughts on Svetozor but George gave me the confidence to just go out there and finish this film! I began to look for my favorite footage and took away the sound. I wanted the images to be able to work on their own without music or anything. So I just played my own CDs and edited away. My “rough” cut is about 7-8 minutes long. I am so tired. I have to stay up late to finish this on time….

Our program is coming to an end. We turned in our final documentary projects and we prepared for our class screening. It was a long awaited event and feeling of completeness. We had the screening at a famous Prague outdoor beer garden by the TV tower (the one with babies crawling all over it). Unfortunately, the weather was very cold and windy, so we didn’t have a big beer garden audience. None the less, our show went on for a great audience (my classmates and program affiliates).
The class documentaries are a great compilation for a screening program. The documentaries are very diverse and cover a range of emotions and settings. We have the very serious to the very light and fun. I love it! My classmates did a wonderful and unbelievable job. I can’t believe that we pulled this off in three weeks. Its crazy to look back and reflect on how much work everything required. I am happy for the way my documentary turned out. I wanted to present my information in an objective point of view and I was told that it did just that. YES! Score!
Our class work needs to be shown in Texas. Our documentaries are made from Texas soul and they need to be screened in our “home” base. We need to get Texas feedback and receive TEXAS size support. I believe that this needs to get done, so I am heading up a committee to plan the Texas screening. I am very excited about this!
Watch your calendars!

It is almost time to leave.  Two more days.  I am ready for home.

I am flying from Prague to London and London to New York and New York to Washington on American Airlines.

Took the green line to its last stop east.  Nothing but empty factories—brown smokestacks and broken windows.  A highway leads somewhere, and I walk down it.  I see a field to the left with the concrete remnants of something and there is a path of broken green glass. This is or was or might have been or was going to be something great.  I follow it into the darkness of the trees.  People live here in this darkness—I know it!  My heart booms loudly and fast.  Should I keep walking? “Of course not!”  Body tenses, but I keep on.  I cross a railroad track and a man with no teeth, smiling.  “Dobry,” he creaks.  The sky is getting darker.  Raindrops.  Still darker, and I look down. I am at a ravine.  50 feet down.  No one but me.  Silence and a birds creaks.

Some of the people on this trip aren’t like everyone else, and I love them for it.

“Our means secure us yet our mere defects prove our commodities.”  Shakespeare.

Break Time

Editing

Suggestions. Suggestions. Suggestions. Dangerous if you do not know how to take them. During our class rough-cut critique on Thursday, I received many suggestions about how I can make my documentary better, what was not working and what would work in its place. I don’t want my documentary to suck, so I felt that I should do every suggestion that I was given. But some suggestions were not my style and I wondered, how can integrate their suggestions into my documentary, if they do not fit into my artistic vision? I felt that if I used every suggestion, then my documentary would no longer be MY documentary and would never be a documentary that I could be proud of editing. I pondered all day Friday and woke up on Saturday to a conclusion. All those comments were simply suggestions. I do not need to incorporate them into my documentary if they don’t work for me and some didn’t. On Saturday, I edited my short documentary according to my artistic desires and with some helpful “suggestions” and I felt fulfilled.
In my efforts to make a great documentary, I lost purpose. I became enthralled with suggestions that I felt obligated to do. Sometimes it is hard to know when to take a suggestion and when to leave it. It is a fine line between your work being communicated well to an audience and not being communicated at all. And in time, I think I will get better at communicating my vision through editing. But for now, even though, I am by no means done with my documentary (it is still a revising project) I was able to find a healthy balance for suggestions, incorporation and my own work.

at Thai restaurant

dorm hallway

After yesterday’s stress of trying to turn in a rough cut of our final film and finishing an Art History paper, today was supposed to be a stress-free day. Well, almost. I woke up late and went to Bohemia Bagel with Molly to finish the paper I had told myself would be finished by Thursday night.

Side note – For all of you who do not know about Bohemia Bagel, you should definitely check it out. It’s probably the ONLY restaurant in Prague that serves American-style food. They even have pancakes! Molly will be saying more about the greatness that is Bohemia Bagel, so I’ll stop talking about it.

Though I love the city of Prague and European culture in general, I’m sort of ready to go home. I don’t think I can handle one more serving of goulash or any more pivo (beer) at two o’clock in the afternoon! Yes, yes – that is Czech culture in a nutshell.

I’m ready to be back in Texas eating a plate of real Mexican food. That reminds me - if you’re ever in Prague and homesick for Mexican food, DON’T (I repeat DON’T) try it here. Molly and I made this mistake a couple of days ago. To say the least, the nachos were on nacho-cheese Dorito-like chips. They weren’t even real Doritos, and, even if they were, that’s just not good.

So, I guess the moral of the story is… if you go to Europe for over a month, be prepared to get REALLY, REALLY homesick for American food, but stay strong! Don’t give in to your cravings (like Mexican food) because they probably won’t be satisfied – except in the case of Bohemia Bagel. Come to think of it, I should probably be getting paid to be their spokesperson right now…

Last Thought – I tried Thai food for the first time tonight with Molly, Chase, Brian, and a Korean girl that Brian met on the Metro. It was a fun experience, although our waitress was the rudest person I’ve probably ever experienced in my life! That didn’t ruin our time though. The Thai food was actually pretty good. So, when in Europe, don’t be scared of trying Asian dishes at Asian restaurants. I would, however, still steer clear of the Mexican food!

writing paper

picture of boys at Thai restaurant

Bohemia Bagel. It is interesting that we have traveled half way around the world and we decide to frequent probably the most Americanized restaurant in all of Prague, or maybe even Europe. I don’t know if it’s the bottomless fountain drinks, the real Heinz ketchup, the ice, the French fries, the hummus, or the amazing bagel sandwiches, but something about this place just keeps us coming back. I could definitely see it fitting right in in Austin. Anyway, today, like most days, Lauren, Jasmine, and I went to Bohemia Bagel for dinner. I ate the turkey club sandwich on an everything bagel (the usual), and French fries. Lauren decided to venture out and try the Italian veggie sandwich (not the best thing on the menu, but still good). Jasmine got the BLT. After a long night and day of editing our final projects this was just what we needed—a lot of good food! While there we discovered the breakfast special—Monday through Friday, any egg sandwich and bottomless coffee or soft drink for just 79 Czech Krowns. So, tomorrow morning, back to Bohemia Bagel!

Staromesto Birds

Night Noises

Sometimes in Praha, the best thing you can do is look up. You will see a whole new world that you would never realize if you did not have the ability to gaze upwards into the heavens. On this fine evening in Prague, I had no clue what to expect only that my theme would involve sites high above ground. After crossing by Karluv Most, I heard the cawing of poultry. Turning around quickly my gaze fell to Staromesto Namesti, and I could not help but stare in awe at the flock of birds in flight, hovering above and surveying the city of a thousand tales. Being next to everything there made me feel free and that I somehow, without even knowing it, am participating in an event larger than humanity. These sights my eyes behold now many in the past stumbled upon as well and my descendents will also be able to gaze out into the night air. That is eternal. Again, in Praha one must look up. This time I did not see a life form, but rather a huge sphere of rock and dust hanging in the fixed blackness above our reach. Amazed by this moon, I had to stop for a minute and film this wonder of nature. I often find the most majestic things I see are the simplest. The ones you can see anywhere in the world. Whether it be mud or rock or clouds, let your mind me blown away by these things. Milovem kazdy blizko. Znat vase, znat zeme, znat myslite. Jestli zit mit miru, cely vec vule prijit.

I love how many of the metro stations are designed! When I first arrived to Prague, these stations caught my eye immediately. Living in the northwest of Prague (Dejvická) I’ve relied on the green line, specifically from Staroměstská to Malostranská to Hradčanská to Dejvická. These stations, I think, are designed so well. Perhaps it’s because I come from Austin, where there is no underground transport system that I am more inclined to noticing how a subway station looks. Yeah it’s functional, but is it pretty? Either way, I like the aesthetic choices made behind them, and I commend the designers for not only throwing up advertisements instead.
Added to this observation, though, are the advertisements that are in the underground tunnels. There are limited ad spaces here, with a majority of them lining the escalators. These posters advertise art exhibitions, galleries, musical performances, and other cultural events. Instead of ads for Tesco or Kofola (Czech Coca-Cola), the city seems to push art and culture. That’s wonderful.
Today after class I took a stroll down the Vltava River near the Charles Bridge and FAMU. Finally, the weather has lightened up a bit on the heat. That was one reason I left Texas, to escape those oppressive temperatures! But for the first few weeks here, it felt like that hellish heat had followed us. Now with what I’d consider a pitch perfect climate, I am ready to finish my stay in Prague with a bang, doing as much as I physically and mentally can. Tomorrow is my birthday. It will be interesting to experience it in a foreign place. But for the rest of my day, it’s back to menial activities such as laundry, editing the final project, napping, and having at least one pre-birthday pivo before the night ends.

Staroměstská metro station

Inside a tram