Naqoyqatsi

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Undetermined Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Naqoyqatsi Similar Undetermined Music Search Artistopia

Biography

Naqoyqatsi ( ), also known as Naqoyqatsi: Life as War , is a 2002 documentary film directed by Godfrey Reggio and edited by Jon Kane , with music composed by Philip Glass . It is the third and final film in the Qatsi trilogy .

Naqoyqatsi is a Hopi language|Hopi word (more correctly written naqö`yqatsi ) meaning "life as war". While Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi examine modern life in industrial countries and the conflict between encroaching industrialization and traditional ways of life, using slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and natural landscapes, about eighty percent of Naqoyqatsi uses archive footage and stock images manipulated and processed digitally on non-linear editing (non-sequential) Computer workstation|workstations and intercut with specially-produced computer generated imagery to demonstrate society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based one. Reggio described the process as " Virtuality|virtual cinema".

Synopsis

According to Reggio, the film has no screenplay per se, but three movements (like movement (music)|those of a symphony ) with different themes:: Reviews and long article on Naqoyqatsi, with input and quotations from Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass:

# Numerica.com: Language and place gives way to numerical code and virtual reality.
# Circus maximus: Competition, winning, records, fame, “fair play” and the love of money are elevated to the prime values of life. Life becomes a game.
# Rocketship twentieth century: A world that language can no longer describe. The resulting explosive tempo of technology is war, civilized violence.

Production

The September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center took place very close to the film's production studio, impacting the content of the film and further convincing the crew of the importance of its subject.

Music

The music is more in the traditional orchestra l tradition than much of Glass's work as a familiar doorway to images so disconnected from the familiar world. One musical instrument|instrument , the cello played by Yo-Yo Ma , plays through much of the piece. Some unconventional instruments are used in addition to traditional ones, including a didgeridoo and an electronic music|electronically-created jaw harp .

Release

There was some controversy over the production process after the film was released on DVD . Since most of the archive and stock footage used in the film were shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio , most of the film was horizontally stretched to accommodate the wider aspect ratio used in the cinema and in the DVD transfer.

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Naqoyqatsi


1. Maya Beiser

Undetermined Music Artists