I assume almost everyone has seen the new NBA promotions, with the dramatic freeze frame shots and the classy font popping up everywhere, proclaiming NBA basketball to be everything from an ancient Indian burial ground to the place where babies come from. I must say, they're a tad bit melodramatic (which in itself is sort of a homophonic oxymoron; when was the last time anyone was mellow and dramatic at the same time?) but they work for one reason: the music.
It's a solo piano piece that is quiet, understated and absolutely heart-wrenching. It actually can make you feel, if just for a second, that watching Rasheed and Ben Wallace post up on each other in freeze frame is akin to brothers fighting across the lines of the Civil War. Assuming they wore sweatbands back then, of course.
My roommate and I have discussed this a few times. He, though he is nothing of a basketball fan, was also captivated by the piece. He researched it, and found out it was originally the score behind an artsy viral video that came out a few years ago (Which one, you say? This one.) The video catalogs photographs of one man, every day, for over 6 years. His then-girlfriend composed the piece especially for the video. However, he was such an ass that once the work started receiving critical acclaim, he shoved her out of the spotlight. Hence, then-girlfriend.
My roommate's opinion is that this was totally unjust, as the video is worthless without the music. I finally got around to watching it, and though I do agree that it is not the same without it, the pictures are probably what moved me the most.
The first thing that catches your eye is that despite different locations, lighting or status of bed-head, he frames the photos such that his face, the center of the picture, remains essentially the same. This creates an interesting sort of strobe affect on the background while still giving you something to look at; cool, yes, but hardly moving.
What really gets me, though, is the fact that his face is changing. He's not a child at first, and by no means is he an old man at the end, but after a while, you start to see him weathering. His eyes get darker, he face gets wider, even his generally plain facial express starts to fall. If you skip from the beginning straight to the end, it's even more pronounced. The clip ends with the statement "A Work in Progress", which, to be honest, comes off as really stupid. Still, it's true. Time isn't done with him yet.
In short, the world is continually reminding me that I am only getting older.
Alas.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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