OPENED FACE, CLOSED FACE...

I thought I’d take a break from my cooking escapades and talk about something that I enjoy more than cooking. Film. I had planned to make this post earlier, but I had wanted to include video clips to prove my point, but that will not be possible, since you can only post links and pictures, not video. So… I will do my best to state my case without the aid of video.

There is a film term that refers to actors, who either have an “open face” or a “closed face.” This term simply refers to whether you can place a camera in front of the actor’s face and see them think while they are acting. Some people have very expressive eyes that dance, glisten and are very active and ’alive’ for the benefit of the camera. This is somewhat unnecessary in theatre, but in film, it becomes very important. Most of the famous actors you know have this. A lot of the actors you know and like pull you into the story because of their eyes. They are the windows to the soul as they say.

There are some actors however, who manage to be very successful, even though they don’t have opened faces. This is not to say that they aren’t good actors, but because the eyes are so important to film, they are better suited to theatre. In theatre, the eyes are almost unimportant, because most audience members are going to be sitting too far away to clearly see them, at least not as closely as in film.

It’s easy to see why some actors can be so successful even though they lack the ability to leap off the screen. Most of you have heard of the 1920’s experiment by Russian filmmakers Pudovkin and Kuleshov where they filmed a man staring blankly into the camera, and intercut the footage with other images, like a bowl of soup, a coffin, a dead woman, a little girl. Everyone who saw the footage were amazed by the acting of the man, even though he was doing absolutely nothing but looking into the camera blankly. Some actors may go through the motions and gestures of acting, but without the expression in their eyes, on film, they look like they are lying. Most people don’t see this because of the incredible power of editing.

The next time you see a movie, or TV show, ask yourself, “how much am I bringing to the performance?”

Don’t believe me? Fine, but try this… Cup your hands around your eyes, or cut out a hole in a piece of paper or cardboard so that you can only see the eyes of the actor you see on TV. Pay attention to what you see or don’t see in their eyes. Can you see what they are thinking? Better still. Turn the volume off, and see if the actor is communicating to you with their eyes. Can they get across complicated emotions to you? Are they telling the story just with their eyes?

Now I’m not suggesting that having expressive eyes make a good actor, but it is one of the most important tools a film actor has. If an actor doesn’t have it, they have a handicap that prevents them from being truly great in that medium. In film it is so important that some actors can get by without any acting skills at all, because of their eyes.

What actors am I talking about? The most famous actors that I can think of that have closed faces, are Johnny Depp, and Orlando Bloom. I don’t care how popular they are, most people get something out of their performances because of what the audience brings to the table. Their eyes tell us nothing. Try the experiment I mentioned above and you will see. Their acting skills go part of the distance, and the viewer goes the rest.

Take a look at the film Kingdom of Heaven. I actually liked the movie, but the film’s greatest flaw is Orlando Bloom. There is a scene in the beginning of the film where the camera is up close on his face as he thinks about his dead wife and son. He’s supposed to be so overcome with grief that he feels dead inside, but does he look it? Nope. If you look into his eyes, he may be thinking about what groceries he needs to buy later, or wondering what he’s having for lunch. Who knows, but the point is, is that as an actor, his eyes can’t tell us.

On the flipside, there is Lawrence of Arabia. I mention this film because it is the kind of film that Kingdom of Heaven tried to be. There is a scene near the end where the Arabian army led by Peter O’Toole comes across a detachment of the Turkish army. The Arabs want to slaughter them, but they are trying to reach Damascus before the British, and to stop and fight would mean disaster. So the scene is very simply shot. We have Peter O’Toole in the foreground with Omar Sharif beside him. Omar, the only man with any sense, is trying to convince Peter not to attack. Peter’s face is alive and moving. He is just standing there, but his emotions are taking over to an extent that he looks like he is going to explode. You can see his bloodlust rising, his revulsion for it, and his hesitation to give into it. Omar is just as alive in the scene, as he greatly admires Lawrence, and doesn’t want to see him sink so low. This is one if the most powerful scenes in film history for a reason. There is so much more than I mentioned going on in the frame here, but for a great part, most of the emotion we see, and feel in the scene depends on what we see in their eyes. Have a look at the picture above. It’s from that scene. Better yet, go see that movie now.

Who has an opened face? Peter O’Toole, Michael Cain, Nicole Kidman, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Omar Sharif… You know, I think I’ll stop here, because it is the exception that a film actor doesn’t have an ‘open face’ and I could go on forever.

Filmmaking is a collaborative process. It’s more than the stunt-people, make-up, and wardrobe that makes an actor look good. You mustn’t forget the director, editor, and the cast that surrounds them. Often they are more important.

GRAINS, WHEAT, AND RICE...

Someone made a posting regarding my Pizza, asking if there was a low fat version of the recipe. This is something that I felt I had to comment on because there are some very basic things that people do not realize about the whole eating healthy thing.

To put it simply, there is no such thing as a low fat pizza. Don’t think you can slap on some tofu cheese and think it’s going to be healthy I’m afraid. Why? Because no matter what toppings you put on a pizza it’s still a huge portion of bread, and the bread is going to add weight to your body more than the cheese will.

Now before you switch to another website and ignore this posting, thinking that I’m one of those anti-carb fanatics, because I’m not. Our brain needs glucose to burn in order for it to survive, so it’s not a good thing to cut out of your diet. There are also some very healthy things in a lot of grains that the body needs as well.

Now having said this, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t understand two very true and factual things that any nutritionist or diet planner with more than two brain cells will tell you:

1 Everybody processes energy differently. Some people pack on the pounds easier than others, and if this is the case, than you are going to have to adjust your eating habits if you want to lose weight. You will have to eat less of certain things than others, and balance health vs. portions.

2 Carbs are sugar! Carbs are very simple molecule structures that get digested and broken down into the body very quickly. They are made of monosaccharides, like glucose, galactose, and fructose. You know, those ose’s. Sugar!!!

So no matter how healthy that slice of 47 grain whole wheat bread you plan to eat is, and they are healthy, when your body breaks it down, it is still sugar! It’s just not as refined a sugar as the white stuff we buy in stores. But in the end, what’s the difference. If you eat enough of the stuff, you might as well be eating a candy bar, which would be the case if you eat a lot of pizza.

So I’m not saying people should stop eating carbs, what I’m saying is that the more refined the carb is (like white flour, even whole wheat flour or any kind of starch) you might as well consider it a sugar portion.

So eat brown rice, whole grains, but in moderation, because the body will turn it into sugar. Now if you don’t exercise, you should be eating even less of the stuff. Pasta, bread, and even high starch potatoes, carrots, beets are all things that are great if you’re a marathon runner or doing something where your body runs like a sports car, but if you’re like the most of us, you don’t need too many carbohydrates. Remember, the stuff is solid rocket fuel in the human body, and unless you are very active, the excess energy will be turned to fat.

So I’m not an anti-carb fanatic. I think people just need to understand the science of the human body more. Whole grains are still sugar, but a healthy sugar, just like olive oil is a healthy oil. But anything in excess is a bad thing.

Don’t believe me? Don’t. Go look for yourself, and learn that carbs in all its forms, no matter how healthy the delivery system is, is still a sugar.

HOME MADE PIZZA

I had a pizza party on Monday, which was fun, but I was trying out a new pizza dough recipe I learned from the TV show Good Eats. It was fun trying out the new recipe, and my table top mixer. Despite how much fun it was, the recipe turned out to be a thin crust pizza, which I'm not fond of, and it was really salty. So I had to come up with my own. Having experimented with several pizza dough recipes, I have settled on my own version which I have put out here for you all to enjoy.

So you have two choices, if you plan to make home made pizza. Try out this recipe, or invite me over for dinner, and I will bring my own dough balls.

I will resist the temptation to turn that into something dirty.


Pizza Dough

Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups of Bread Flour
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
1/2 Tablespoon of Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 1/2 Teaspoons of Quick Rise Instant Yeast
1 1/2 cups of hot ( no warmer than 140 degrees centigrade) Filtered or Mineral Water. (Why mineral or filtered? Because tap water has chlorine in it and that will kill the yeast!)

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Making good pizza dough takes time. This recipe should be started 24 hours before you plan to actually make the pizza!

1 In a table mixer, add the sugar, water and then the yeast. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the yeast has foamed up.

2 Add the flour (3 1/2 cups using the scoop and sweep method), olive oil and then the salt. Mix until combined.

3 Change the mixer to the dough hook, and knead for 15 minutes, or until a small piece of dough can be flattened out and stretched into a very thin membrane.

4 Take the dough ball and place it onto a clean work surface, and flatten it out. Turn the edges in on themselves as if you are making a jellyfish and keep pulling tight on that side until the rounded end becomes tight as a drum.

5 Take the dough ball and place it onto a clean work surface with the tight, rounded end facing up. Wrap your hands around the sides of the dough ball and roll it between your hands, without moving your fingers. The act of moving the ball around in a circular pattern will further pull the ball tighter. Once done, cover it with a tea towel, and let it sit for 1 hour.

5 Divide the dough into two equal portions, and repeat steps 4 and 5 with each portion of the dough.

6 Place each dough ball in a metal or plastic bowl, and add a bit of olive oil to and toss to coat (don’t add more than 1 tablespoon of oil). Place the dough in the fridge for 24 hours. The dough will probably double in size, and that is a good thing.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Do not attempt to try to form and cook the dough without waiting the 24 hours. The dough will be so tight and mealy that you won’t be able to evenly flatten it out and flip it to the desired size. Trust me, I know, because I’ve tried. Waiting the 24 hours radically changes the chemical composition of the dough and makes it much easier to work with.

7 After 24 hours, flatten out each ball of dough, one at a time, and toss it between each of your hands, holding it by the edges, rotating the dough as you go. This will spread the dough out evenly around, while keeping about an inch of the outer edge of the dough much thicker. This becomes the crust, and assists in flipping. Flip the dough in the air, like you’ve seen done at fancy restaurants or TV. There really is a good reason for doing this; it’s not just for show. The thicker, outer edges of the dough, gets pulled from the center axis when it is spinning in the air, and this action spreads the dough out to the desired shape. If you use a rolling pin to shape your dough, you loose the thick crust edge, because the dough will be uniform in thickness. Sometimes science tastes good!

8 Sprinkle some cornmeal out on your pizza pan and place your dough on it, and put on whatever toppings you want.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Don’t put a lot of sauce down, or your toppings will slide off, but if you like a messy pizza… If you go over 3 toppings + cheese, you may be overloading your pizza, but if you like a messy pizza…

9 Put your pizza in a preheated oven at 450 degrees, for 15 minutes, or until the cheese has begun to brown.

Once all this is done, you might end up with a nice pizza like the one I made today (see the above picture).

DINNER IN 8 MINUTES...

Okay, you’ve just got home from work, and you are not only really tired, but also very hungry. We’ve all been there, and I have here a recipe for a dinner that only takes 8 minutes to make, including preparation and cooking time. The only problem with the recipe is that it isn’t good for dieters, because it includes a Ramen Noodle package.

On the plus side, it’s incredibly fast, and very cheap.

What do you need?

1 Ramen Noodle Package (I usually go with the Shrimp flavour. ‘Cause it goes with the Shrimp or seafood I put into it.)

1/4 cup of frozen Shrimp, fake Crab meat, or firm Tofu

1/2 Green Onion, chopped

1/2 cup of Snow Peas, or maybe Napa Cabbage, or Carrots (chopped finely). You can use any vegetable you like, really. This is a very forgiving recipe.

1 very small saucepot. You want one that is so small that the bundle of noodles barely fit in it. If the corners of the noodles get crunched a bit trying to get it in, you have the right size.


How do you make it?

1 Start by filling the saucepot with 1 full cup of water, and place it on the stove element on the highest heat your stove has.

2 While the water is heating, cut off the stem ends of the Snow Peas, or chop up whatever vegetables you are using. Also chop up the Green Onion.

3 You don’t need to do anything with the Shrimp, but if you are using Crab meat or Tofu, chop that up as well.

4 By the time all the chopping is done, the water is usually boiling by now.

5 Once the water begins to boil. Add the whole flavour package and stir to combine, but do this quickly! With every second you are losing water! Then add the Ramen Noodle bundle, and set your timer for 3 minutes (or whatever recommended cooking time is written on the noodle packaging).

6 As soon as the noodles are in the pot dump your Shrimp, Crab, or Tofu in and then pour the vegetables over top of that. Keep the pot boiling on the highest heat your stove top can muster, and let it sit for 3 minutes!

7 Once the cooking time is over, just turn the pot over into a big bowl and sprinkle some fresh cracked pepper (or regular if that’s all you have), and the Green Onion. Adding a dash of Sesame Oil if you have any is good too.

I hope you try this out and enjoy it. Not many dinners can be made in the time it takes for water to boil (plus 3 minutes)

Tips:

Do you balk at the thought of cooking with Shrimp! You say, “Shrimp is too expensive?” Believe me I agree. So what I do is get the frozen Salad Shrimp when it’s on sale. One small bag of the stuff will make plenty of this. Still too expensive? Try Giant Tiger; they sell Shrimp rings for $3 to $4. The only problem is that you have to take the tails off, or not if you don’t mind taking them off in you bowl. That can work just as well, and it’s less time consuming.