Linking Gaza To The Outside World and Barbers’ Tales

I think it is a pretty cool idea, to have these blogs. I look forward to updating my own and reading everyone else's. So, the first entry will be about these two videos:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/16/world/1194840995653/linking-gaza-to-the-outside-world.html?ref=egypt

Linking Gaza To the Outside World

The video is about tunnels that link Gaza to Egypt and how people smuggle food and different goods through these tunnels. The goods smuggled range from chocolates and chips to motorcycles, as long as it fits through the narrow space. The first thing we see in this video is the inside of the tunnel. It is pretty dark and claustrophobic. The presenter has a slow pace in telling the story and a very deep voice. So the picture and the voice combined give this video a very serious feeling.  We see the tunnel from the perspective of the worker, who for 12 dollars a day risks his life, because that is the only source of income. This perspective shows how it really is inside those tunnels and how the whole system works. It gives a really behind-the-scenes look to the video. The structure of the video adds greatly to the story, because first it shows the inside of the tunnel and then it shows the life above the tunnels. I would also say that this story has a lot of sides to it. It shows how desperate people are, like the tunnel workers who risk their lives every day for 12 $, or people who dig tunnels to get the goods they need. Another side is the Israeli army stating that weapons are being smuggled and the last side is the real question, what to believe.

http://www.monocle.com/sections/business/Web-Articles/Barbers-Tales/ 

Barbers' Tales

Barbers’ Tales is a very creative slideshow of four hair salons in different cities. Even though they are doing the same thing, cutting hair, all four of them are very different. The whole style of the video is very relaxed. The voice of the presenter is feminine and laid back, the tone is easy going. The imagery is structured by cities and the interviews of the owners of the salon. I think the strength of this video is the diversity and an interesting perspective. And I think there are almost two perspectives. One, that of the owners who were explaining what they wanted for their customers. The second one, that of the customers, what exactly would they experience by going to these salons. Overall, I liked this video very much. It was very creative and interesting.