German filmmaker Werner Herzog is becoming an internet maven. The director and documentarian has just released Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World.
His latest effort dissects the ways we live online for good, bad, and strange. He's given his take on Pokémon Go ("When two persons in search of a pokémon clash at the corner of Sunset and San Vicente is there violence? Is there murder?") and rescued Joaquin Phoenix from lighting a deadly cigarette. Now, he's dissecting Kanye West's "Famous" video. Here's just a small sample of Herzog's commentary. “Now is that real Donald Trump or is it fake Donald Trump?" Herzog narrates. "That's an interesting thing that the internet can create doppelgangers easily. The most interesting thing for me as a storyteller is, something that I always keep saying: In a movie, yes, you do have a story and you develop a story, but at the same time you have to be very careful and think about and organise a parallel story. A separate independent story that only occurs in the collective mind of the audience." Herzog says Kanye's rap is key to creating that story. "When you hear the rap, which is very well done, all of a sudden it gives him more time than anything else just to reflect on it. This video gives you space for creating your separate parallel story and you keep thinking. Are these people for real? Are they doppelgangers? What could be the story of them? What are they doing? How have they partied? What brought them together?" If you like this, Herzog offers a six-hour online filmmaking course at Rogue Film School. Watch below.
His latest effort dissects the ways we live online for good, bad, and strange. He's given his take on Pokémon Go ("When two persons in search of a pokémon clash at the corner of Sunset and San Vicente is there violence? Is there murder?") and rescued Joaquin Phoenix from lighting a deadly cigarette. Now, he's dissecting Kanye West's "Famous" video. Here's just a small sample of Herzog's commentary. “Now is that real Donald Trump or is it fake Donald Trump?" Herzog narrates. "That's an interesting thing that the internet can create doppelgangers easily. The most interesting thing for me as a storyteller is, something that I always keep saying: In a movie, yes, you do have a story and you develop a story, but at the same time you have to be very careful and think about and organise a parallel story. A separate independent story that only occurs in the collective mind of the audience." Herzog says Kanye's rap is key to creating that story. "When you hear the rap, which is very well done, all of a sudden it gives him more time than anything else just to reflect on it. This video gives you space for creating your separate parallel story and you keep thinking. Are these people for real? Are they doppelgangers? What could be the story of them? What are they doing? How have they partied? What brought them together?" If you like this, Herzog offers a six-hour online filmmaking course at Rogue Film School. Watch below.