Comments on: michal luczak – the white house

By: bear cieri

bear cieri — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:44:34 +0000

Michal.

Well done. All the elements work very nicely together, video, still and audio.

While the tone is cold and slightly depressed, I didn’t sense any self pity or sadness. I could use a healthy portion of a school lunch tainted with food poisoning. There might be a bit of humor in there.

peace

By: neven

neven — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:38:56 +0000

Una estoria muy buena . Personalmente prefeiero solomente las fotos sin audio pero..
En hora buena por la publicacion.
Un saludo
p.s. me gustan las fotos de tu pagina web. tienes un gran talento.
sigue adelante

By: Przemek Struski

Przemek Struski — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:59:17 +0000

fantastic work. gratsy michał.
przemek

By: Haik

Haik — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:40:01 +0000

Thanks Michal !
Again – great work.

By: Michal Luczak

Michal Luczak — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:42:28 +0000

Thank you very much for so many coments!
@bob black I have many extras (videos especially) if you like :)
@Haik at that time Yushchenko was the president and the students wrote earlier to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. I think this story is not so much about the money for the renovation but more about the believe that the people from Czarnomin have something special that connects them with the “great world” and they are proud of it. It’s just this.
@mimi mollica, I know this feeling – its always a big problem in multimedia when the pictures disappear to fast but on the other side you can have more from the people, you hear their voice, see how they behave, i like this possibility.

By: Jim Powers

Jim Powers — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:40:11 +0000

The think that’s missing is how would you contribute to the school? I know they wrote to the President, but what if individuals wanted to help. The message is compelling and a little sad. But the photographer could have indicated if and how it is possible to help them.

By: eva

eva — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:58:38 +0000

Bill, you can have that here:

http://michal-luczak.com/index.php?category=essays&url=the-white-house

I, too, prefer to have my own pace.. but then, it’s nice to hear their voices..

By: mimi mollica

mimi mollica — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:12:55 +0000

Beautiful piece, and you seem to be quite young!!!!
My only concern is how you go from photos to video keeping the ambient sound and interview going….
I would have prefer a quieter soundtrack and a longer pause on some of your powerful portraits.

Anyway, I must say this was really enjoyable and the story as a whole interesting and sweet but not cheesy.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Mimi

By: marcin luczkowski

marcin luczkowski — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:48:10 +0000

super

By: Haik

Haik — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:33:53 +0000

Very good photography however …

Did the school write to their president Yanukovich? Ukraine is a rich country, rich enough to keep its monuments up to the standard.

The story seems like an absurd based on a frivolous request just because of a look alike. What about other schools that do not share the look? Can they ask the president of Nigeria for some money? I’m sure there are schools elsewhere in Ukraine that look just like http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lagos_city_hall.jpg

By: bob black

bob black — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:51:23 +0000

loved it!….

reminded me of so many of my favorite films….from Freeze,Die, Come to Life to 400 blows to L’enfance nue to zero for conduct….

the portraits, the environmental portraits are gorgeous….and the pics of the activities, ditto…..

i also love, the odd, strange abrupt ending, lingering….the story as if very much it looks: a ghostly, nether world place in time….and this odd, fascinating connection between this White House (though golden) in Urkaine and the White House in DC, is so curious that it has immediately forced me to do a bit of homework as well…I love that you didn’t tell us anything historical, simply gave us this strange, ghostly, odd 4 minutes of this thread…a kind of curious butterfly effect….the brilliant life of life’s doppelgangers…..

and their haunted/haunting music…

above all, a world was opened to me, a place about which i knew nothing…and those cool, winter-fever colors and sadness….

how little we know of one another…how grand we imagine ourselves, how small and frail, in truth…

thanks so much…want to see the 68 minute film version next :)))

By: tomek wiech

tomek wiech — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:37:35 +0000

Congratulations Michal!!!!
Your story is well made and addictive. It was nice to see it in Krakow and now here.

Ania i Tomek

By: Frostfrog

Frostfrog — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:25:00 +0000

I like it. Very nice and evocative. I have some trouble getting trapped into the time frame and in many ways would prefer to just have the pictures and the written words and to be able to browse at my own pace and not have the video at all.

Still, the video and the audio do add a nice touch in their way.

The artist must do what the artist must do and you did it well.

By: eloradaphne

eloradaphne — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:00:23 +0000

This is really lovely, very sad though. It is incredible to think about how schools are in other countries, after growing up in one that was so comfortable! Great job presenting this to the world at large – I hope they DO get the money to renovate it!

By: madeleinestevens

madeleinestevens — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:33:38 +0000

I really enjoyed your essay Michal, nice work on sequencing the video and stills.

By: Gordon Lafleur

Gordon Lafleur — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:26:30 +0000

Beautifully done Michal, congratulations.

I love your use of the video clips, the recorder music, it all works. I especially love the portraits, the quiet simple look you in the eye approach.

Nice, it leaves me with a good feeling.

By: Diego Fabro

Diego Fabro — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:19:47 +0000

I really enjoyed the whole piece, the text added a lot to the multimedia and everything works well together. Good story and pace for the multimedia. Like the website also.
Congrats.

By: Andrea Gjestvang

Andrea Gjestvang — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:23:24 +0000

What a nice little story. Both a bit sad, but also cute, I really liked it. I did not know there was a white house in Ukraine, so I learned something new. Nice photos. Looking forward to follow your work!
Best Andrea