Anatomy of Kerala tourism video

Thanks to Justin for sharing the video and his interesting post can be read here - http://the-quintessential-justin.blogspot.com/2010/10/kerala-tourism-video.html

I just cant seem to get over the visual imagery in the video. I think its time for me to watch another Kim Ki Duk's film, its been a long time.

A few thoughts before i begin my analysis -
Thanks to the video makers / kerala govt for making this. With the video so surreal, i am not sure how it got approved. This video has some elements that are non-trivial, and they are not visible immediately but they add to the experience. It is videos like these which are made for repeated viewing, mainly to understand how one's brain works. If we like the video, if it clicks to us, then what is it. This post is my attempt to understand this 3 min video.

Start scene - Man fishing. ( 0 to 26 sec)
Firstly, it is an animation but very well done, so my mind is always trying to fiigure out, is this real? This creates intense concentration. Next, the camera is fixed but it is the water that is moving which gives life to the scene (as opposed to a static postcard). The man is still for the first half of this clip, and during that time, the eyes are looking at the imagery which is too good to be true. And then at 11 second mark, the man moves, but just observe his style of movement, and when i see his posture with legs crossed, my facial microexpression says - "yeah! thats correct".

Woman on massage table scene - (27 sec - 57 sec)
Camera is upside down, but that should have been ok, but it is the lateral movement of the camera which keeps us engaged. Since it is handheld, it is not entirely linear, so it gives us a perception that we are looking by our own eyes. And ofcourse the model is very beautiful too! Next, the camera jumps to show her in full, but again the lateral camera motion is still there. The camera just becomes our eyes and we feel as if we are there. And look at the next clip, the camera cuts to her face but this time, the camera is static and the actress is the one who moves, still giving us the same feeling of being physically observing it. The next two scenes just gives us the visual beauty of the landscape and what speaks is the calm, serene, and beautiful backdrop.

Man practicing Kathakali at his home (58 seconds - 1min 18 seconds)
This one is the best as per me. Look at how the video starts - the camera is outside the man's boundary, just above the mud wall, as if it is sneakily peeking to someone's house. It looks like we are the ones who are sneakily peeking, this goes for 6 seconds (just enough time for the brain to register this feeling) and then camera goes to the closeup. In all kathakali / tourist promotion viodeos, we always see the final imagery, man with paintings making facial expressions, but very rarely we have witnessed a man practicing the art, without the makeup, in its pure raw form, and while sitting at his home. We can see what actually happens, beyond the makeup. And then the last part, the camera is now inside the house, just above the wall boundary and we see the lady walking outside. This completes the story here, it was she who was peeking. It took 20 seconds to narrate a complete story and people experiencing atleast 5 different emotions in this time period.

Lady in boat scene (1min 19 seconds - 1 min 39 seconds)
Again, a very deep 20 second clip. What should you do if you are in the most peaceful place in the world - you think, introspect and reflect upon yourself. The 20 second clip describes those three adjectives in that order. It starts with the lady deep in thought and her reflection approaching her. Again, kudos to the way it is done, same clothes, almost same expression. But notice carefully, they two ladies are looking i different directions, it is not entirely a mirror image. And as the boats cross, the lady directly stares in the camera. At this point the viewer is convinced that the two are looking into each other, the camera position just adds that effect so silently. "Reflect upon oneself" if you ever have to portray this idea, how will you do it? Just think about it, its very hard! But the way this scene captures it, :) . Also there is some effect by the fact that the boats are moving, it does give some subconscious signal of time, passing thoughts and the slowness of the boat, just registers the fact that time slows down in this world.

Lady with long hair ( 1min 40 to 1 min 59 seconds)
We start by looking at the lady through a tree's branch. And the camera is moving backwards. I am not sure about the significance of the scene, to me there are two possibilities - on one side, it tells about Kerals's traditional practices portraying the myth and the mysticism in it or the other possibility is that you can be as insane as you want to be here :) . But cut to the next clip, now we are looking in the opposite direction and instantly we see the big tree with its convoluted branches and children sitting on them. The camera, again from this angle, moves backwards. We see the lady coming out of herself and looking at the people.

Dance form scene ( 2min to 2min 13 seconds)
I believe those are different dance forms in Kerala and they are just shown in an artisitic manner. The scene where we see the man arbit lip faces and the lady relaxing enjoying it, its actually the lady looking at the dance and enjoying it. The lip movements are not directed towards her, it is a art trick to show both the player and viewer in the same frame. And there are many things that are beyond my art interpretation, like why there is a dog in the long shot scene in this clip?

Lady and the elephant ( 2min 14 seconds to 2 min 50 seconds)
What is the end feeling that the maker wants us to leave with ? This scene captures that in a very indirect manner. The final emotions are natural beauty, wildlife, peace and being one with yourself and nature. Notice how the camera moves laterally here, just showing that there is so much silence in the backdrop. In the closeup frame, the expression on her face is of peace And in the last part, the camera moves backwards, as if it is leaving the two together .... in inner bliss. In the moment.

Your moment is waiting.
Which moment is talking about? Justin Cherian in his blog writes that it could mean anything but i beg to differ. I believe that there is only one moment that is being referred and that moment is the moment of inner bliss. The same moment with which the camera signs of that visual imagery. Admire the articulation "Your moment is waiting" here - It is not you who is waiting, it is your moment that is waiting. You can achieve the moment, it is within your reach, infact it is waiting for you to come.

Wow! It will take some time to settle it. The application of the whole to Kerala tourism is just a brilliant idea. Kudos!

Lastly, if you liked the video, may i recommend the movie - The vertical ray of Sun