Frankenweenie

Recently I saw the new Tim Burton movie Frankenweenie and before I even start to say anything I want to say this; I did enjoy the movie. I thought that it was a delightful homage to the old monster movies of the 30's and 40's and I loved the feel of the movie. However, I couldn't help but feel a little let down when I left the theatre.

Now I'm a huge Tim Burton fan. Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow are among my favorite movies of all time and it was nice seeing him return to form for Frankenweenie, especially after Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows. It was nice seeing a more gothic movie more in the vain of Corpse Bride which is also a movie that I really enjoyed.

The movie is about Victor Frankenstein. A young kid who spends all of his time in his attic making various inventions and gadgets all in the name of science. His only real friend is his dog Sparky. One day however Sparky gets hit by a car and he dies. Victor becomes absolutely devastated and decides that there must be some sort of way to bring his dog back. So after a very Frankenstein like experiment sequence, Sparky is back from the dead and from here the movie really begins.

Now like I said before, I did enjoy this movie but I did have some problems with it. The first being that I really don't feel like I connected to any of the characters. With the exception of Victor none of the other characters really stood out for me. It seemed like their only purpose in the movie was to do something dumb that progressed the story further, that was about it. Another problem I had was that I felt like it was a little too preachy in certain parts. The movie is about science and how people view it. The town is represented as a very sheltered town that is absolutely terrified of science and all of the questions science raises. Typically I wouldn't mind something like this but there is one scene involving the town at a PTA meeting and they demand that the new science teacher explain his teaching methods. The following speech seemed a little too preachy for me and I felt that Burton was definitely hinting at a lot of other things with it. My final issue with the movie was that I honestly felt like it wasn't Tim Burton enough. Burton is the kind of guy who really understands character. He loves to do movies that involve a crazy or eccentric type of character because he understands them and portrays them so well. In this movie however I felt like he didn't do that enough. I think that with the character of Victor he did a pretty good job but like I mentioned before, the other characters just seemed too boring for my taste and because I know it's a Burton movie, I know that he could have done a better job with it.

Ok, so I'm sure that seemed like a decent amount of criticism but I would still highly recommend this movie. The atmosphere is great, the black and white adds so much to the movie and I mean, it's very enjoyable. There are funny moments, quirky ones and touching ones. Even though I think that all the other characters were forgettable, Victor isn't. This is the one character that Burton really put a lot of heart into and it shows. When it comes down to it, this movie is really about a boy and his dog. It brings you back to a time when that's really all you needed in your life to be completely happy and the movie leaves you feeling like that again.

So when everything is all said and done, I would say go see the movie. It's a wonderful homage to all of the old monster movies of the 30's and 40's, it's enjoyable and it's a lot of fun. Also just in case anyone hasn't seen anything for this movie, here's the trailer. Enjoy.

Novels vs. Screenplays

I love reading books. All kinds of books. I have had this passion for since I was probably 9 or 10, but it wasn't until tenth grade that I discovered a passion for creative writing. One of my closest friends in High School did a lot of fan fiction and wrote her own short stories, and because I love to read, I was her captivated audience whenever she wrote something new. It was during this time that I thought, "Hey! I should try to do this!" And so I did... only I wasn't as successful at first. I think I have around five or six stories that I started writing or have notes on that I just never finished. I guess I just never realized how much went in to telling a story: Characters have to be discovered and developed, the plot should twist and turn in ways that are both unexpected, yet make sense, research has to be done in period pieces, etc. This is true for novels, non-fiction, screenplays, and theatrical pieces. 

I tried to write my first mini-script for the stage just before my sophomore year in high school. Let's just say it wasn't the best piece of writing I have ever done, and I didn't really enjoy it. I have taken several creative writing classes in both high school and college that I have absolutely loved. Right now I am even working on a novel that I started in a class that I took last fall. It will probably be a long time until it is finished, because the more I write the more I find out that I need to still do more research. Since I was so unsuccessful in playwriting, and I loved creative writing for novels, I thought that was the only writing I would or could ever do. Hence why I was so nervous for the course Developing Story Narratives that I took last semester. 

It seemed a little rocky in the beginning of the semester. The first couple practice scripts seemed to be going okay; they weren't great, but at least they were ten times better than the "play" I tried to write when I was a part of the Hanger Theatre summer camp. For the course we had three major scripts to write: a story based around an important event in our own lives, a story based on a character that we create, and a story centered around a theme. The first one was okay. I based it on the events that took place during and after my grandfather's death. The second one, I fell in love with. It is a story based on an orphan named Henry who is, in many ways, searching for a place where he belongs. I won't go into too many details, but this piece turned out fairly well, to the point where I would LOVE to film this here at Ithaca College. I want to do it right though, and the first step is making sure the script makes sense. Currently, I'm in the process of changing around a couple of scenes because the events that occur don't quite fit. The interesting thing about writing a script versus a novel is that you have to keep in mind that you are writing for a visual medium. Every emotion or internal dilemma has to be able to be seen in some way. It would be easier for a writer if subtext could scroll across the bottom of the screen, but then it wouldn't be much fun for the audience. Besides, sometimes there aren't words for certain emotions. On top of all this, the character has to move or flow from one point to another in a way that makes common sense. This means looking internally into the character to decide what is exactly going on there, so that the actions don't seem forced. 

Details, details, details. They are so important in creative writing for novels. Not so much, or at least not in the same way, for screenwriting. My professor said that you have to imagine each line as a shot in the film. That is a lot harder than it sounds. Well, I will keep plugging away at it and hopefully I will find the best way to tell Henry's story. 

~Amber Capogrossi

Success on Youtube

Freddie Wong and Brandon Latsch are one of the giant success stories of youtube with their channel "Freddiew".  By uploading weekly, quality content, these guys make a decent living in the harsh playing field of the internet. Averaging around three million views per video, they manage to reach a huge audience of both subscribers and random internet viewers. But, how do they reach such a large audience?

Well, through this article they discuss exactly what it takes to become successful on youtube. It discusses what content becomes successful and the importance of consistency. Along with these main points, it also brings up several other reasons why it is so important to upload on a consistent schedule. Overall, this article is an invaluable resource to anyone considering a career in online filmmaking.

Advice From Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I recently started watching interviews on makingof.com, a website I didn't know about until Arturo mentioned it in class. In an interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he is asked about his company hitrecord.com and gives advice that I believe is the main focus and goal for Park students and should be my mindset. JGL says his advice starting at the 2:50 mark. He basically says that in order to be known, you don't have to move to LA, get an agent, and know people. He believes that you need to create an idea, go out and make something, and try to get it out to people. He uses the example of someone who had no agents, created a film, and was able to show it at Sundance. I think this interview with JGL is extremely valuable in terms of advice and insight into the movie industry. I've been saving up for a camera, possibly the Canon T2i, and I've been writing short skits and stories that I plan to create. Honestly, I've been slacking and like Arturo said, there's no reason why we shouldn't be creating something new every week or so. I'm also working on a script for a mockumentary that I want to film over Thanksgiving or Winter break. I used to make movies every week when I was younger with my friend Jason, a BU communications student, and we're collaborating again and hope to create the mockumentary.

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH JGL'S MAKINGOF.COM INTERVIEW


Also, check out www.hitrecord.org; JGL's website that features work from artists, filmmakers, and beyond. Maybe you can sign up and share your work there.
(P.S: Go out and see Looper. It's one of the better movies I've seen in years.)

Making South Park

6 Days to Air documents the making of a South Park episode from start to finish. This hour long documentary produced by Comedy Central on the animated cartoon introduces us to creators (and voice talent) Trey Parker and Matt Stone as well, detailing their creative habits.

First animated with cardboard cutouts in stop frame, South Park took sometimes weeks to produce in its early days. Shows like The Simpsons and American Dad take months in production. South Park now takes as little as 6 days to produce, now using the power of computers to speed up the animation. It's how South Park remains the most relevant and topical animated show on air.

Even though it's done in a 2D style, it looks like they are using AutoDesk Maya to accelerate the production process.

The documentary takes us through the writers' meeting. SNL's Bill Hader, a couple of other writers help out Parker and Stone develop ideas and a story. Trey Parker is then responsible for the bulk of the script. Co-Executive Producer Anne Garefino also sits in during the writers' meeting to help communicate ideas to animators and to serve as a gauge of ridiculousness/offensiveness.

It's really very interesting watching such a stressful weekly production schedule produce such quality shows. It's the industry we are going into and it's nice to see actual production, instead of just the glossy end-product.

The Siege (film)

Last night I watched the film The Siege starring Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and Annette Bening and it was ok.  In a nutshell Denzel is on his A game (as usual), the supporting cast was alright, and the story was creative and fueled by action and conspiracy theories.  Unfortunately, The Siege's plot was let down by poor writers as the dialogue did not do the story justice. Also, after Wednesday's class I found a flash drive on the floor! So if you're freaking out don't worry, it's in good hands.
- Kofi  

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Last night I watched the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It had been on my list of movies to watch for a while but I have been so busy that I never got around to watching it till now. I wasn't really sure what I was going to think about it but I knew it was going to be a somber story because of its ties to 9/11. There's never really a "right time" to watch those kinds of movies. You can't really avoid getting emotionally attached to characters or stories involved in it.

I don't want to give anything away but it is about a boy who is looking for clues left by his father who died when the World Trade Center collapsed in 2001. It is a very simple story, yet it all seems real. All of it could happen in real life, and for all I know it could have happened. There are so many small things that just add to the story and details that make it that much better. I thought the acting by Thomas Horn (who plays the boy, Oskar) was phenomenal. I looked him up and he has not done much acting previous to this and he just played the part perfectly and got into everything and actually lived the life of the boy whose story was being told. 

I would highly recommend watching this movie at some point. It really hits home because all of us were alive during 9/11 and we all have our own vivid memories of what happened that day. Even if we weren't directly affected, we know someone who was and we know how it all feels. So it is definitely worth a watch. 

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Earlier in the year I wrote a post about Game of Thrones as a television series. In it, I mentioned my general dissatisfaction with books and their movie adaptations. After reading Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky this summer, I was excited for the movie, but I was also preparing myself for the inevitable letdown afterward. The movie has a few of my favorite actresses, from my guilty pleasure, Nina Dobrev, to in my opinion, one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood right now, Mae Whitman. The movie also totes the name of Emma Watson.


The movie was released to select theaters, so I had to wait a while to get the chance to see it until I went to Boston for fall break. Within the first minutes of the film, all my fears had been wiped away.

The author of the book, Stephen Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the film, as well as directed it. This meant it was his vision through and through, something that is so rare in book to movie adaptations. If there was ever a doubt that someone could do all three, it was squashed. Chbosky wrote Perks of Being a Wallflower through the main character's letters to an anonomous person. I really liked that Chbosky kept that in the film with pieces of narration scattered throughout the moive. Narration in general is very hit or miss in movies, but in this case it worked seamlessly into the story, to the point where you forgot that it was even happening at some points. If you came out of reading the book, not quite knowing what to think or say, chances are it'll happen all over again...and if you are prone to being a bit of a sap, I'd recommend a box of tissues.

I loved that every ounce of the story was preserved, nothing was sacrificed for cinematic effect, and nothing was held back either. The heavy nature of the story was allowed to stay, and Charlie's blackouts were beautifully woven in. The film worked around a lot of the more gory scenes in the book by cutting out at just the right moment. You were never left wondering what just happened, but you also weren't overwhelmed with blood.

The acting was brilliant. Emma Watson's American accent left something to be desired, but you can tell she improved as filming for the movie occured, on account of her accent was better in some scenes than others. It was never bad, but if you were paying attention, it definitely wasn't perfect. Logan Lerman, who played Charlie, did a fantastic job at playing the quiet, thoughtful character. He did a great job at playing a thoroughly awkward character without being annoying about it or trying to hard. However, Ezra Miller who played Patrick was the standout performance. You believed every ounce of the character, and you couldn't help but love him. His chemistry with Watson was perfect for their brother/sister role, and watching him strut around as Dr. Frank 'N' Furter was just an added bonus.

While the movie itself is not the best movie I've ever seen, it's pretty close; it's definitely the best book adaptation I've ever seen. It does all the things a movie should make you do. It makes you think about things. It makes you appreciate what you have, while also making you feel just about every emotion you possibly could. I definitely recommend seeing it.

Commercials

No, this isn't about zombies. Sadly it's been a busy week so I haven't had time to find a new zombie movie to watch.

I'm one of those weird people that can say I love commercials. I want to help make commercials, whether it be for television, internet, or ads placed in magazines. Although my favorite is television commercials. I love the challenge of getting a message across in only 30 seconds, and trying to add humor into it if possible. One of my favorite commercials is for Toyota Tacoma, with World of Warcraft in it. I have never played World of Warcraft, nor do I understand it, but I still think it's hilarious how they incorporated a truck commercial into the game.

Another one of my favorites is the E Trade commercials. The way they are done is hilarious, gets the point across, and is one of those commercials you just enjoy watching.

A few weeks ago I posted about my favorite movies the Evil dead movies starring bruce campbell. well I stumbled upon information there was a remake on the way so I had to find a clip which I did.

                                             



it looks like the movie has taken a very serious turn and will no longer be the comically over the top film I have come to love. but I want to keep an open mind. maybe this trailer is just doing a really good job of making it look like it is a serious movie but it is so serious it is comical.

ill watch this movie the second I can more or less hoping for a Bruce Campbell cameo if he has a cameo in it and the rest of the movie is a disappointment I will still consider my time spent well.

Safety Last

Once upon a time when i was a senior in high school i decided to take a class called filmmaking. It was a full year course and for the first time in my high school career i could choose whichever class i wanted to take. Considering my chosen career path this choice was a no brainer. The way the class worked is the first half of the year was dedicated to film history and the second half was dedicated to actually making films. I thought the first half of the year was going to be awesome until we started watching really old movies. When i say old i mean it took us two months to finish watching the first moving images ever recorded. Then we moved on to silent films. I thought it was boring and i was not really that excited but then we watched Safety Last. Watching one of Harold Lloyds most well known works changed my feelings towards old movies forever. The entire film is great. What really did it for me though is the infamous clock tower scene. During that scene i was losing my mind. Watching him climb up the entire thing was extremely scary. The entire time i was watching that scene i was just thinking about how the hell did they actually film this? Harold Lloyd literally climbs the entire tower by himself and you can actually see how high up he is. I learned later the way that they accomplished this incredible shot. The way they did it was building different sections of the building and then having him climb up each individual section, never having to be more than 15-20 feet off the ground. The entire movie was incredible but this scene is what really did it for me. After watching that, i had a newfound appreciation for silent films. Anything that could evoke that kind of emotion in me while also not saying anything is incredible as far as im concerned. This isn't what started my love for movies but this started my new found love and appreciation for older/silent film era.

Why Am I In Media?

A lot of friends and family at home always used to ask me "What got you interested in radio and television?" or "Why are you a TVR major." Some people think it started in high school radio, others when I was honing my craft at a tiny bench in Brandywine Little League. It certainly wasn't the hours I spent speaking into a tape recorder in front of the television.

I haven't told a whole lot of people this, but I owe everything to Black Entertainment Television (BET.) I never had a ton of friends growing up in an inner city elementary school. I always heard the other kids talking about some new music video they saw on 106 and Park. One afternoon, in an attempt to be cool, I decided to switch over to Channel 33 to see what all the fuss was about.

Rather then pay attention to what everyone in my school thought was good music, I was completely blown away by the editing and choreography of the hip hop music videos. It got to a point where I was addicted. There are a few in particular that specifically blew my mind, which I posted below.

I personally think music videos are the hardest thing in media to produce. Most of them have a lot of quick cuts. The singers often have to double as actors, mouthing the words of the song at the exact pace it was recorded. Hip hop videos are especially tough, as there is often a lot of fast talking and interesting lighting techniques. I realize now that most of them aren't very well made and have obvious flaws, but I thank the BET channel for helping me choose a career path.

Here are my top five favorites from that era:

5. Tha Block is Hot- Lil Wayne featuring Juvenile and B.G. (1999)

4. Back That Azz Up- Juvenile featuring Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne (1999)

3. Neva Eva- Trillville featuring Lil Scrappy and Lil Jon (2003)

2. Number One Stunna- Big Tymers (2000)

1. (and most influential) Dipset (Santana's Town)- Juelz Santana featuring Cam'ron (2003)

An Idea

So a few months ago an idea came to me. It may not have been the best idea back then but after seeing all of these videos that Arturo has been showing us, I think that I may actually decide to put it to work. However, I know there are a lot of copy right stuff so that's why I was hoping I can get some input from all of you.

The idea that I came up with was to write the script to the second League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Now I know that this won't be easy what so ever, however, it's always been an idea of mine to write a script relating to another movie. Like, one idea I had happened to be to write the script of how the Joker became the Joker in the Dark Knight. But after thinking about that one, it would be too difficult only because of the fact that there would be different versions because of the comics that featured him as well as. After realizing that it would just be too hard, I scrapped the idea until now.

I have always loved the Joker since I saw him in The Dark Knight, but in order to do this script I want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong with the whole copyright stuff because if it's good enough maybe I would actually try to bring it to someone who would possibly want to do something with it. Now I know to some people this may sound ridiculous but I am willing to try and give it a shot because it's always been an idea of mine to do something like this.

So I either want to do the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen second movie or write a movie on how the Joker became the Joker. I know they are on total opposite ends of the spectrum but I want to try and I want some input from you guys to know what you think.

Mark Isham and Once Upon A Time

I know I've posted about the TV show Once Upon A Time before, but this time I want to talk about the musical score of the show, so it'll be different and really cool, I promise.

Mark Isham is a composer and musician in Hollywood, and he's been working for over twenty nine years in the industry. He has won both Grammy and Academy Awards for his score on the film Crash in 2004, and has both written and performed music for over 100 films to date, including most recently, The Lucky One starring Zac Efron.

In addition to his film work, Mr. Isham has also composed for television shows such as Once Upon A Time. The executive producers and creators of the new ABC series, Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis, were big fans of Mark Isham after hearing his work in so many films and asked him to be the composer for the show.

This past February, Mark Isham and ABC Studio released the Once Upon A Time (Music from the TV Series) EP. The soundtrack features the four main orchestral suites from the series, including the aptly named "Once Upon A Time Orchestral Suite" and "The Queen's Curse" which are two of my favorite scores used in the show.

If you haven't seen Once yet, you should definitely do that, it airs Sunday nights at 8pm on ABC! It's the best show ever and it's written by the guys who wrote for Lost, so you already know it's going to be good...

Mark Isham's Once Upon A Time Orchestral Suite

Adorama>PPECs

So for the project I was working on over fall break I needed to rent some equipment that PPECs did not have. I needed to rent a fast lens that would work on an EF mount. I’ve had my eye on the 50mm Prime in the L series, with an f-stop of 1.2. So I made a reservation online and was going to pick it up in the city on Thursday.

I got down to the building and from the outside it seemed to be like the stores that sell knock off electronics. They were very efficient when I got there, and were able to guide me to grey cards and I was out in five minutes to ride the elevator to pick up the lens.

Upon exiting the elevator I realized that this giant rental company was PPECs on steroids! They had about six people at the register, and at least a dozen people running around getting people’s orders ready. There were super 35s, cinema lenses, lighting, anything your heart could have desired, and it was better than Christmas. And then I just got the $1,500 lens. But it was amazing! They seemed slightly less organized than PPECs, but have more customers and way more equipment to go through.

Anyway, I don’t have anything to complain about, they were super efficient and got the job done at an extremely professional level and I will definitely use them in the future again.

The Pains of Production

Over the past several weeks I have been filming and editing a series of comedy videos with some friends of mine. We went into it certain that the ideas we had on paper would flawlessly transition into a finished product. They did not. First off, we learned that getting five college students to commit to and complete a multi day shoot is not so easy. There was even trouble in contacting all of the necessary parties to get the video done, as it turns out some people are very lazy and unreliable. Locating and getting the necessary permission to film at certain locations was also a hurdle we didn't think we'd have to leap over. Once we got everyone together and found where we were going to shoot, it was smooth sailing. Wrong. Once we got to the location we were plagued by questions like, "Did anyone pack the XLR cable?" "Are you sure this is a good place to shoot?" and "Do you guys still think this is funny?" We were also forced to improvise some shots when we discovered that some of the shots we planned out just didn't work for the flow of the sketch. We had to do things like work with practical lights and utilize a rolling table as a dolly, which was my favorite part. Despite the difficulties that we faced, I truly feel that we all learned a great deal about what has to go into a project to make it successful. To make anything of quality you must plan out each aspect of the process so you leave nothing up to chance. There is no room for "we'll figure it out when we get there", if you are serious about completing a project, you have to be in control. Moore's Law applies quite heavy handedly in any type of video production. Memory cards break, batteries die, mics stop working and people are unreliable. Now that we have experienced several "worst case scenarios" we know what to expect, and we know that when you exert as much control over the process as possible, things have a better chance of turning out in your favor.

Colors and other Elements in Requiem for a Dream

For the 89398th time, I watched Requiem for a Dream last night with a few of my friends. I’ve always admired this movie for it’s cinematography, whether it was the split screens, the extreme closeups, or for strapping the camera to the actor. However, while watching the film this time around I noticed something that really stood out to me; color. In a lot of my classes recently we’ve been learning about how important color is in any sort of media: photography, television etc. In this film 

In the beginning of the film, there is a strong use of cool colors, showing the calmness of all the protagonists who are not yet in any real trouble. However you start to begin to see the color red a lot more frequently when things begin to go down hill. For example, one of the films protagonist Sarah Goldfarb, has a recurring dream of herself on a television show in the same red dress. She becomes obsessive with this red dress, as she does with being on television. This obsessed begins her downfall and soon more reds show up. Next, she decides to dye her hair a similar shade of red.  These reds really stood out to me more than any other color. The reds played the role as a foreshadow for her losing her mind and symbolized danger in her life and mind. A scene that really portrays this is when she’s spinning around in her red dress and applying red lipstick on herself. This creepy slow motion scene is full of reds, and gives an eerie feeling. The bright red was the only color that would stand out in the scene, making you focus your attention on her and only her. 

Although the other character’s did not have colors that stood out, there was a strong use of cool colors when Harry Goldfarb another protagonist was fantasizing or drugged up. When he lays with his girlfriend doped out, the lighting has a blue tint to it and when he fantasizes about her, the blue sky stands out more then any other color. This represents the tranquility and calmness in his mind. 

This movie has a lot of amazing elements other then colors, the soundtrack adds to the plots mood and the camera shots as mentioned before differ from each other and really stand out. Although this movie has a sad ending and isn’t for the weak stomach, I recommend this film to anyone who loved Black Swan or The Fountain. 

The Sopranos and High Quality Television

Recently I began watching "The Sopranos". It's known as one of the shows that began the trend of more film and movie like TV shows being made. So far I'm about three episodes in, but I can already tell why this series was lauded as much as it was. The writing and acting are fantastic. The plot is at times complex, but that is mostly due to the fact that there are so many characters that it's hard to keep up with. I'm sure this issue will resolve itself in time. Most TV shows take a little time to teach you the characters.

I can see looking back now, that this show must have been a huge risk for HBO. A show that is as relevant and real as this being produced at the highest quality ever seen for TV must've made the investors on this show at least a little anxious. As seen by the huge success of the show, it was not. Now, the trend continues in the direction. HBO is not the only network making high quality television. AMC and Showtime have followed suit, even the major networks are starting to go along with this. Hopefully, this trend continues, and we'll see less reality shows and more beautifully crafted shows like "The Sopranos".

My Favorite Movie

Over my break thus far, I have sat down and watched my favorite movie Inception directed by one of the most notable directors in the industry: Christopher Nolan. I mean not only was this movie well written, but the special effects and visual effects were tremendously well done. The first time I went to watch this movie I wasn't to intrigued to see it after watching the trailers. However, when I saw the movie, I left the theater totally mind blown. LITERALLY. I was so confused about what happened, but the story kept me on my seat and each minute that passed through the last scenes was a total nail biter more me. I watched the movie again and again and began to understand more of it and the hidden messages through out. I thought the characters were well picked for these roles. Leonardo DiCaprio played Cobb, the dream extractor and played an excellent leader of the group. Learning about his life through the plot made it even better and the story entertaining. Ellen Page showed true maturation through this film. After seeing her in Juno, I didn't expect her to do as well as she did, but she pulled off the part well. What can I say about Tom Hardy? An amazing actor with a lot of talent. I found his acting to be tremendously well-done and thought he did well playing the "bad-ass" of the group. Finally what movie isn't complete today without Joseph Gordon-Levitt? I remember watching him as a kid in one of my favorite child-hood movies "Angels in the Outfield." He has also grown up to become a really mature actor with the potential to do many different parts. I've enjoyed his roles and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

After a few awards at the Oscars in 2011 including best achievement in Cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects. I have to agree on all these awards because this movie produced excellent sound that followed the movie well. One of my favorite effects from the movie was the rotating corridor scene when Joseph Gordon-Levitt was fighting off an assassin. The scene consisted of a 120 foot long by 30 foot wide revolving corridor. The corridor was constructed of wood and was backed by steel tubing. I-beam rings with roller wheels were placed every 16 feet along the length of the corridor. The wheels were connected to two 55-hp electric motors, which were synchronized by a computer. The corridor would rotate every 10 seconds clockwise and counter-clockwise. The cameras were placed on tracks that were placed in the corridor to shoot the fighting scene. 

  

Productions

Productions aren’t always fun, nor are they easy. This is fully hitting me during this one. Aside from going to bed at 1:30AM, waking up at 3:30, and going into the city at 5AM there have been some challenges along the way. The biggest one was getting into character. Forcing myself to get depressed is harder than I think, it’s pretty easy to do naturally, but when it’s needed, it doesn’t come. For two days I listened to the most hope sapping song I knew and tried to be in the dark as much as possible, and eat little, but I was so over joyed and excited about this project. So I probably wont be acting much anymore. Not that I can’t, but chances are I’d be acting my own projects and regardless I’d be overcritical of my work.

Day 2. Today finished the toughest part of the piece, I’m emotionally drained and can’t wait to get back to school and sleep late on Monday, if I sleep through class I’m sorry. While it was initially tough getting into character, it was rather easy getting into another one. I wasn’t too great at getting into depressed, but I was able to pull off annoyed/having a lot on the mind I’m sure. At least I know that is what I was feeling. This has been the roughest production on my body, mind and spirit yet and I would not be able to do this multiple times. Anyways I haven’t looked at the footage yet since we are still shooting, but I’m fairly confident that this will turn out to be a great piece. “Happy Birthday”

These Amazing Shadows

These Amazing Shadows is an inspiring PBS documentary about the select distinguished films that have made it to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. It uses interviews from film critics, scholars actors, directors, producers and anyone else related to film to discuss important ideas about the role of film in American culture.

The National Film Registry is a collection of 550 American films deemed, by the Library of Congress, to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Films like E.T., Cabaret, Casablanca, Cool Hand Luke, Fantasia, MASH or Vertigo have found a spot on this list of extraordinary films. These films, along with hundreds of other documentaries, blockbusters, or amateur home movies, have either documented, changed, defined, or challenged America in some way or another.

These Amazing Shadows talks to those close to those who decide each year which film will be included in the 25 picked. They provide insight into the thought-making process and the actual significance in their mind, made the films in particularly relevant to American society.

Film is discussed as a window into past generations. It highlights the alarming amount of lost/damaged film negatives destroyed since the silent era of films. Well over half of all movies produced before color, were lost over the years due to widespread industry neglect and shortsightedness, according to the documentary.

This is one of those movies that can really motivate young filmmakers, like ourselves. Whenever someone says that making movies is silly, I wish I could sit them down and tell them to watch a documentary like this, so they can see just how culturally and historically important the films we make today will be viewed as in the future.

Go to PBS's website to watch clips from the film.

When Reality Becomes Surreal

I'm very picky when it comes to watching television. A show has to be well written, funny, with actors who play the part. That being said, I have a secret shame:

I love Real Housewives of New Jersey. I think it's one of the greatest shows on television, possibly all time. It's horribly photographed trash TV at it's finest. The show takes five women who lead lives of luxury in the dirty Jers and follow the petty crap they argue about on a daily basis. I can't even begin to describe the suffering and emotional trauma these upper middle class citizens endure every episodes. Stolen recipes, book deals, recording careers. It's hard not to empathize with them.

I began watching Housewives when the show began following the lives of women from Orange County back in March 2006. Since then, there's been five spinoffs, three international versions, and a new executive producer, Andy Cohen.

When the show first premiered, the premise was simple: follow the everyday lives of five women who live lives of luxury. In the first season of the show, there wasn't a single fight, screaming match, or petty argument. Everyone got along and stood by each other. They actually had real people problems, such as bankruptcy, divorce, and relationships.

Six years later, the show has become a poster-child for a new genre recently coined "Docusoap." The only one I continue to watch, just because it's so ridiculous, are the women from New Jersey. The producers continue to do everything they can to pump drama into the show. Since the first season, the entire cast has just been in a cross-media war, each battle consisting of something stupid being blown completely out of proportion. It's like high school with money.

Just recently, I watched the reunion. These supposedly upstanding members of society, each worth millions of dollars, personally dug in and attacked each other for the entirety of three hours. It was something to behold. They argued about who's mom created a recipe, someone faking an Autistic child, people wearing the same dress to an event, liposuction, nose jobs, lip synching, the list goes on and on. This wouldn't seem so bad, but each reunion shoot takes fourteen hours to complete. What was previously a reflection on the season by the cast has become a therapy session.

It's no secret that these women don't like each other. They apparently hadn't spoken to each other for a year before the reunion show. At the same time, how can people who have everything let something so stupid tear apart previously strong bonds?

People don't watch reality TV to see how other people live normal lives. They don't want to see people sleeping, using the bathroom, cleaning, or eating. People want to see fighting, arguing, hair pulling, drama. The producers have to do something to stir drama. While that may be the case for most shows, there's something pure about Housewives.

These women are truly pure evil. They will do anything to make each other's lives horrible. They constantly attempt to start something through twitter, magazines, celeb websites, blogs. The fights make for great reality TV. One problem: real people don't go that far out of their way to mess up someone's life. Even if they wanted to, most are too busy. The housewives primary paycheck comes from the producers at Bravo to make good TV by any means possible. Everyone involved in the show is choosing money over friendship, family, and public impression.

If the average person was asked to do this and no TV show was involved, they would likely decline. But the women of Real Housewives are incredibly heartless bitches. Therefore, I propose that the "reality tv" moniker be replaced by the much more appropriate "surreal TV."

Something new

I want to talk about all of the new shows that I haven't had the time to watch while at school. I went home last week and as soon as I got home I sat down on my couch and started watching TV with my family. Here are some new shows (some are just new to me I guess) and my thoughts on them.

1. Revolution (NBC):

Revolution is five episodes into it's first season. I've only seen one episode (episode 4: The Plague Dogs) and I'm very intrigued. I'll have to find time to watch the other episodes online but it airs on NBC on Monday nights at 8 pm. The premise of the show is that all the electricity goes out in the world and what the world would be like 15 years after that. Its a really interesting concept. Think about it, almost everything we do revolves around electricity. We would be able to make films and television without it- we'd be out of luck. From that one episode I've gathered a "Lost" feel from the show already- and I loved Lost so I'm excited to see where this one goes. 

In later posts I'll talk about Go On and The Mindy Project.

Labyrinth

Being at home for fall break has put me in a nostalgic mood so I thought I'd write about Labyrinth. It was a favorite of mine when I was little and apparently it was the first non-animated film that I had watched as a child.

Labyrinth is a coming of age story about a girl, Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly, who wishes for her baby brother, Toby, to disappear. Jareth, the Goblin King, played by none other than my favorite artist: David Bowie, grants Sarah's wish by kidnapping the baby and taking him to the Goblin City. Once Toby is actually gone, Sarah realizes her mistake and wishes to have her brother back. However, in order to bring her brother home, she has to make her way through the Labyrinth and surpass all of the plots and schemes devised by the persuasive Goblin King who tries to distract her from her objective. Jareth does this by offering her a crystal ball which would show her her dreams, sending Hoggle to misguide her through the Labyrinth, making her solve logic puzzles, changing the Labyrinth's orientation, and trying to seduce her during a masquerade ball.
While on her quest, Sarah realizes very quickly that things are not always what they seem and advances through the Labyrinth until she storms the Goblin City with the help of her friends Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. At the end of the movie, Sarah must face Jareth herself and decide whether to return home with her baby brother or stay with the Goblin King who offers to give her everything she's ever dreamt of.
One of my favorite scenes of the movie is the scene leading up to the finale where Sarah is trying to retrieve her brother from a room that was closely based off a lithograph by M.C. Escher called 'Relativity,' shown below.

In this scene the set design, special effects, and camera angles completely disorient the viewer, which helps to show Jareth's wavering hold on Sarah and her persistent determination and frustration with wanting to retrieve her brother and finally return home.

Although Labyrinth only made about thirteen million in the box office from the U.S. theatrical release, it has become a cult classic that has been adored for decades. With Jim Henson as the director and the person who was responsible for the incredible puppeteering, George Lucas as the producer, Terry Jones, from Monty Python, as the head writer, and David Bowie as a lead actor, it is unfortunate that it did not have more success in the box office.
Labyrinth is a cute movie and I would recommend it if you like The Dark Crystal or Princess Bride.