Rhine and Dine

The Rhine Cruise morning began like all mornings seem to begin here in Germany: frigid and early. Our bus dropped us off in a tiny village along the Rhine River that resembled the Eiffel in a lot of ways with its medieval style buildings and cobble stone streets. We stopped at a little bakery before embarking on the boat, and our Professor Mikael Kreuzriegler generously bought our group a bunch of jelly filled donuts, that we gorged on. By the time we stepped on the boat we looked like a group of jelly donuts ourselves with the amount of sugar we had coating our clothing and faces.

The Rhine cruise, was worth it despite the torrid weather and provided us with a picturesque view of the rustic castles, vineyards, churches, and medieval homes dotting the hills along the river. Our group sat in lawn chairs on the deck of the cruise and taught each other how to use the different settings of our camera to achieve the ultimate photo. We talked about our documentary plans and the amount of unexpected cultural differences we had experienced in Germany so far. Everything felt surreal as we glided past castles and archaic buildings on the Rhine, which looked like a ribbon of sky next to the green hills. We got off at our “port” in another little village, where we ate lunch. We enjoyed a traditional German meal of Schnitzel and fries, which we’ve all grown quite accustomed to. We were feeling rather lethargic after the relaxing meal and amiable conversation. However, this feeling lasted only a short while, after all what is a German excursion without a treacherous hike up to the top of a castle?

After lunch Olaf Brodersen rounded us up and marched us up an endless set up steep stone stairs. When I say marched, I do mean he marched to the top, while others of us dwindled along and used the “picture taking excuse” to catch our breath along the way. When we got to the top of the hill, the castle very much resembled the castle from our excursion to the Eiffel except this one was particularly striking because you could look over the wall of the castle and see a view of the Rhine River and all the buildings scattered around it. Our group took this opportunity to take a plethora of Gopro selfies with the epic background behind us, which made for some like worthy profile pictures later. We then toured the castle lead by our very knowledgeable tour guide who once again reaffirmed us in our belief that living in 2014 is far better than living in 1514. We were taken to the torture chamber where we learned about some of the atrocious torture and punishment techniques used on people who broke laws in and around the castle. One punishment, for example, was when a woman was caught committing adultery she would have to wear a metal mask that resembled the snout of a pig. When she would put it on it would pull her head down forcing her to crawl on all fours like a pig would. Ironically after most of the girls in our group heard this form of punishment we snorted, like pigs, with disgust. After browsing the gift shop we made our way back down to the bus, feeling a bit conflicted about our next activity, which involved cheese tasting. It felt a little strange to be on our way to celebrate Germany’s cheese after seeing images of people being stretched to death.



Nevertheless we made our way back down and loaded back on to the bus. To a couple of the students dismay, myself and some other girls in our group decided to convert our bus into a musical theater production on wheels by singing the entire soundtrack from Wicked all the way to the cheese dairy.
When we reached the cheese dairy we got off the bus buzzing with noise, half of us humming to Wicked, the other half groaning at the humming. Our tour of the cheese dariy was very interesting we were lead through the basement past barrels and barrels filled with cheese that was far older than us. We learned about the tradition of German Cheese Princesses.
This is a German tradition similar to Miss America, only the Cheese Princesses actually knows how to find Africa on a map and not only that but they have to be extremely educated on the subject of their region’s cheese. Once a Cheese Princess is elected from each one of the regions along the Rhine River, one will become the German Cheese Queen through a series of competitions. If a princess is crowned Queen she will travel all over the world and try and educate people about German cheese, so lets hope she can find Africa on a map! We learned about the process of making cheese and that German cheese is so unique, because the soil by the Rhine contains certain nutrients that give German cheese its exclusive flavor. German cheese making and German cheese festivals are a huge part of the German culture and have been prevalent in Germany since the days of castles and metal pig masks as a form of torture. People used to eat more cheese than water back in the early centuries because the water was dirty and the cheese was delicious. They would go through several kilos per person a day. We left the cheese diary and got back on the bus and made our way down the street to another cheese diary.

Here we enjoyed a delicious, and romantically lit meal, surrounded by candles in a quaint stone room. Laughing and conversing was a great way to end the day.

On the bus ride home we were a full-fledged Broadway musical.
We arrived back in Bonn slightly buzzed and exhausted, but it was the good kind of tired, the kind of tired one feels after a productive day.

By Kendall Milton

The IBC in Amsterdam

On Saturday September 13th, the group woke, met at the Bonn Hauptbahnhof and boarded an early train to Amsterdam - all in the name of film.
While this city is known as the party capital of Europe, our group had much more important intentions. We were there to see, “the essential global meeting place for everyone engaged in creating, managing and delivering the future of electronic media and entertainment technology and content,” or the IBC.

This quote, taken directly from the International Broadcasting Convention website is the best way to compass the tradeshow that IBC is. Companies, businessmen, students, and technology lovers from all over the world flock to the RAI convention center to showcase and learn about the latest and greatest technology, and we were a part of the crowd! Specializing in technology ranging from cameras, to video chat services, to software, to projections, to satellites and everything in between, the IBC is extremely popular and brings very well known companies like GoPro, Cannon, Red, Sony, Adobe and many, many more together. This was an absolute heaven for us film lovers and industry aspirers.



At the convention we were able to attend seminars on things like the latest editing software, learn from the company’s representatives themselves in detail about the technology, and hands on try out and experiment with all of the products!

The last aspect was probably the most exciting part about the entire visit. We were able to explore the tradeshow, find exhibits of some of our favorite technologies and then actually use them. We got to try on steady cams, operate drones, and even practice on Red and ARRI cameras that movies like The Social Network, Gravity, and Gone Girl have all been shot on.
One of the most memorable experiences was after the ARRI presentation, we ran into guest speaker Phedon Papamichael. Now to many people, a name like “Papamichael” sounds like a fictional character; however, to us he is very, a very important person! Papamichael is an incredibly talented and renowned cinematographer known for films like “The Pursuit of Happiness” and “Sideways.” This was the cherry on top of an already amazing experience! We were completely starstruck when we got to meet him, but he was a really awesome guy and took some time to talk to us about his methods for lighting, setting up shots and his opinions on cinematography related topics. We even got some pictures with him, too!



Attending the IBC was a once in a lifetime experience and it really let all of us “nerd out” about the equipment that makes our passions come to life. We came back to Bonn the next evening with so much experience and knowledge about the industry, the products, and the direction the future of technology is heading; also with a great story of meeting one of the top cinematographers of our time.
Not only did we have an unforgettable experience that made us realize how incredibly lucky we are, but it made us very excited for our futures in the film field.

By Jocelyn Cooper

The Narratives

The first major keystone of our experience here in Bonn is without a doubt the Narrative Projects.
Within the first weeks in Germany, we as a group decided on four scripts, written by four of our own students to be made into films. After several weeks of instruction on directing, lighting, cinematography, we were ready to begin the process of turning these screenplays into reality.
Castings were exciting days for everyone. Dozens of German actors revel at the fact that they have the chance to be in a film made by a “Los Angeles Filmmaker”.
As the casting calls were set up, the four separate teams of filmmakers ready themselves for a series of auditions. One performer after another gave their rendition of the characters that we had laid out on paper. An experience that would normally be very stressful was surprisingly exciting and educational. Most of us had never experienced a casting call with so many options and with actors so motivated to become the character you created. By the end of the week, the choices were made, and it was time to move on to shooting.
The next few weeks were stressful. The various group’s producers were frantically trying to organize call sheets, props, and transportation for the shooting days. Meanwhile, the directors and cinematographers worked out a shot list and style for the film. Everyone’s job was important. Some people were prepared for their duties; others had never done them before.



I was the director of the film called “Sight Seeing”. This was a charming story about a clever food stand owner who beguiles a group of tourists into buying his food. The objective was simple enough, but the actuality of shooting this film was astounding. There are always going to be problems that you can never predict will happen on a film shoot, and this project was no exception. We had only one filming location, but this may have already been a grave mistake. The Bonn University building, our establishing shot, had a beautiful cinematic look to it; however, the amount of foot traffic it received was infuriating to say the least. While I struggled to get the shots I needed, my sound guy was getting a headache from all the bikes, planes and sirens ruining our takes. My script supervisor was acting as a human barrier to prevent people from walking into the scene, and my very pale actor was beginning to look like a lobster in the scorching sun. Some people were saying that it was the hottest day Germany ever had in September. By the end of the first shooting day, everyone was exhausted. Personally, I thought it went rather well.

The second day proved to be more efficient. The “first day jitters” were gone and the crew was much more acclimated to their roles. The hard part was over, now we could start being real filmmakers. Despite completely different lighting conditions, broken props, and a lack of extras, the crew was able to pull together and get the shots we needed. At one point, we had the producers, the cameraman, and even the director acting as extras in the film.
Perhaps we could have done things a little differently or planned a little better, but everyone there that day learned what it takes to be on a film set and the challenges you face. Now all that’s left was to bring the film to the big screen.

By Casey Chavarria

MY BERLIN

Berlin. A city so dense with history it worried most of us. How were we to take in all of the information that was about to be presented?
In a short period of four days we would learn more about the Nazi era, Cold War Germany, and Reunification than we thought we ever could. The nature of our trip to Berlin was based on independence. Rather than sit in a class room and listen to a professor drone on and on about seemingly the same thing it was on us to go out and learn something. Thankfully, the AIB gave us the tools we needed to get the best possible learning experience.
There were many wonderful pieces to our Berlin excursion, but the keystone day was our individual cultural learning days. We divided into four groups and were given a location, a person, and a time. We just had to get there. The four categories all combine to create a portrait of Berlin. The first was a multicultural tour. Here students met with a Turkish guide who lent her knowledge of immigration to Germany and the issues surrounding the influx of Turkish and other Arabic men, women and children. Next was the Cold War and the division of Germany after the second World War. One group had the opportunity to learn about Berlin street art and how influential those pieces are in the culture not only of the present but of the past. However, the group I was a part of was tasked with finding out about what life was like in the GDR. Our instructions were few: find place, visit place, meet guide, present what we learned.



Ultimately, it was on us to rally our minds and focus on what we were witnessing because each of the places we visited and each of the guides we talked with had very important places in German history.
Fast forward past the bus and public transport mishaps and you find us staring up at the daunting sign “You are now leaving the American Sector.” This imposing symbol marks the border of West Berlin to East Berlin where various United States and Allied guards, diplomats, and of course a strapping John F. Kennedy were all received into East Germany. The remains of the actual checkpoint are few. McDonalds, department stores, and Pommes stands dot the site where Allied and Soviet tanks met at a standstill. Some Germans dressed as Americans posed with tourists in front of the lone checkpoint. That was a little strange. Our day was beginning to look like a tourist’s dream, until we met Rolf.
A wild-eyed toothless man waddles up to our group of four. Startling us with his enthusiasm, he ushers inside, assuring us that we are about to get the inside tour. Little did we know... Rolf began by giving us an explanation of the GDR and the history of the division of Germany; largely information we already knew. His speech begins to turn into a ran about current German politics. Oh brother. How long will this last? Fortunately, he casually throws in a bit of information that throws off the group.






“I smuggled 129 East Germans into West Germany.”
Woah, woah, Rolf. Hold on a second. Our group of four simultaneously dropped our jaws. We ask him to repeat that. And sure enough, he leads us to his photo inside the museum confirming exactly what he had just said. Following that, he talks about how he was imprisoned by the secret police, the Stasi. For nine years, they beat him and interrogated him. His teeth now made perfect sense. Rolf explains that his wife always asks him to fix up his mouth. But he refuses. His gums are a symbol for the trials of East Germans. He was sentenced to fifteen years, but fortunately for him and everyone the wall came down sooner rather than later.
The tour went on, and Rolf continued to wow us with the amount of political heroes he knew and his seemingly endless knowledge of not just the GDR, but the whole of Germany and its history.
Our time with Rolf sped by. But, I can say with a cross on my heart, that I have never learned more at a museum that day. We were forced to engage and learn. We were given the hammer, all that was left was hitting the nail on the head.

By Nick Logsdon