I accidentally stood up Paul and missed our scheduled meeting due to my lack of scheduling skills. Due this error on my behalf, I arrived at the editing suits at the same time as Cassie, so I sat in on her meeting and listened to her and Paul’s ideas and discussion.

Paul identified the term consciousness that I talked about briefly in a previous post. I think that this is refines my original goals and sets up are more clear path for me this semester. Consciousness is something I want to explore more thoroughly and look towards it as inspiration for the next assessment and explorations we conduct through our coursework.

Paul also spoke about Ko, listed on my character list. I have thought about him thoroughly as an interesting person to explore through filmmaking, particularly when looking at his past refuge status. For a short film I previously made for school, I used Ko as an actor and he was really good, particularly in exploring ethnicity and Burma. My short film was set during the Saffron revolution and was:

A Burmese monk walks along a quiet path carrying a bucket of water but met by the Junta military in the height of the 2007 uprising. They barricade themselves along the path and warn the monk to turn away immediately of face persecution. The monk states he is merely passing through and means no harm. One soldier looks more fearful than the others; his rifle begins to slightly tremor. He is clearing uncomfortable with the situation directly ahead of him. The soldier, mustering courage, walks away from his troops towards the monk who remains on the path. After removing his helmet and surrounding it along with his rifle to the ground, he washes his face with the monk’s water. He then precedes to pickup the buckets and helps the monk along the path. The two walk beyond the soldiers who watch in silence, though as they continue further, a gunshot is heard. The soldier, along with the viewer, returns to reality. He is standing in the military line; the monk is lying of the ground deceased.

Ko played the monk in the situation. Paul spoke about the possibility of viewing Ko as something beyond the Burmese history, and stepping away from the obvious. I think that this can tie itself around the idea of consciousness, removing myself from the apparent and creating something that is more inherent. This task would allow me to deepen my thoughts and my development of ideas. I think that stepping away from the noble cause in this situation would be challenging, but critical to my progress of consciousness.