The Commercial Effect

A lot of commercials we see on TV these days fall into two categories: really bad, or really funny. For the most part, we reserve commercial breaks for things like getting a snack or a bathroom break. Personally, the endless repetition of commercials that reappear constantly when you're watching something is really annoying, and I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I noticed while watching the Emmy's this past weekend how truly awful and ineffective most commercials are. I don't know if any of you have ever seen a commercial for the energy drink 5-Hour Energy, but every time I see one it never fails to make me want to hit myself over the head with the nearest object. They're terrible all around, and yet they're on constantly, which begs the question, "if you can obviously afford to constantly air this commercial, why can't you at least put effort into making a watchable commercial?"

However, some commercials are actually enjoyable to watch, and I find that those are always the funny ones. Not the ridiculous ones that are so far out there that you don't really understand the connection to their products (I'm talking to any commercial that has ever used a talking baby. Or talking animals. It's just creepy, at least I think so).

When I think about my favorite commercial, the first one that always comes to mind is by Volkswagen. It aired last year during the Superbowl, and I might be a little biased because I love Star Wars, but it's really a great commercial. It's funny, adorable, and it does a great job of advertising for the product.

Lastly, in terms of long-standing commercial themes, I think my favorite are probably the Progressive commercials featuring Flo. I know a lot of people think they're getting kind of old because they've been airing for so long, and I can see how they feel that way. But, at the same time, I feel like a lot of people really like Flo. She has 18,000 followers on twitter, and has made appearances on shows such as House and United States of Tara (she herself is an actress. Her real name is Stephanie Courtney. Sorry if I just bursted your bubble). Some of the progressive commercials aren't as good as others, but the one called Pants on Fire is my favorite. It aired about a year ago this November, and I just think it's really great. I like the subtle comedy and how it isn't over-the-top in the way it achieves its point.

I like the "80's Montage" one too because I love 80's movies and I thought it was hilarious. It's probably a little less effective then some of the other commercials for Progressive, including the "Pants on Fire" one, but I still like it, and I know almost everyone enjoys 80's movies (and if you don't, you need to seriously rethink your priorities. And then go rent The Goonies.)

 

It's kind of ridiculous, but I think it appeals to a lot of people.

Overall, a lot of commercials today are really bad. Usually the best part of commercials are seeing things like movie trailers (or other important things that interest you). 

If you have a favorite commercial that I didn't mention please add it to the comments! I might be writing a paper on this and I'd love to hear some more!

The Naked Gun

One of my favorite comedies of all time is The Naked Gun, from 1988. I think this movie is a perfect example of what we're talking about in class right now: acting.  Leslie Nielsen is a prime example of the example that actors should have a neutral face throughout a movie. For being such a hilarious comedy, Leslie is able to keep a neutral face constantly during the movie.

It's one of those comedies where the dialogue isn't always necessarily funny, but the things you normally wouldn't pay attention to is what's funny. People falling in the background, Leslie obviously walking past a crime, and many things that just draw you away from the main characters to look for it. I think the writing and dialogue is the best part of this film, because every time I re-watch it I catch something different from what Leslie says that makes me laugh even harder than the last time I saw it.

Oh yeah, and it has O.J. Simpson in it. That's pretty cool too.

Dear Photograph

     Right now I want to share a website with anyone who reads this post. The website is http://dearphotograph.com and what they do is creative and meaningful. What they do is have a picture in the foreground and take a picture of it. They take the picture in the same place and have the same orientation so they are lined up. One of the things this does is show how things change due to the passage of time. The way I stumbled across this is through this 9-11 picture a year ago.

     A lot of the pictures tend to be of family members, old houses, things along that line and as stated before it shows the passage of time. There is then a caption added to each picture, addressed like a letter often giving a back-story that you would not be able to tell just by looking at the picture. This project could be a cool concept if transposed to film. This is similar to the one shot project we are doing though. The point of the photographs is to tell a powerful story in a very brief amount of time and use generic or relatable moments, but with a slight twist.

     I find this project pretty amazing because it shows the meaning in objects or places where you wouldn’t see it at first by telling a story. While some people say that not everything needs a story, I am a firm believer that everything has a story. 

The Newsroom

HBO is known for churning out original television shows that are widely considered as the best on TV. Time after time they prove with each series, why they are a premium cable channel as opposed to just basic. I have watched many of these series in there entirety since i first got HBO in high school and i have loved every one. The most recent series i have started watching is The Newsroom. This is a show written by Aaron Sorkin about a news personality named Will McAvoy who is, in the world of the show, the most trusted name in news. The series is based off of the fact that for his entire career will has been very unbiased and rarely stated his actual opinion on anything and that has all changed. He has taken his show in a new direction aimed to help the american voters see what is really going on in modern news.

The show is brilliantly written, mixing real world events with incredible characters with very compelling subplots. The show is set roughly a year ago and each episode deals with the reporting of an event that has happened in real life. Certain news stories include the riots in Egypt and the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Most of the show is focused on how a story evolves in the news and how daily news show's like Will McAvoys are produced. However there is a good portion that shows the actual news coverage that they are producing and when Will is on the show i find a part of it a bit troubling.

Basically for me i am split between whether or not this show is cleverly written for the time it is being shown in or if it is being used as a means of social commentary. The reason why i say this is because a lot of Will McAvoys reporting deals with slamming of the conservative side of politics. In a recent episode i watched, one of the segments that they showed Will reporting was one designed to point out some of the hypocritical flaws in Rick Santorums campaign. Part of me believes that this is just cleverly written but the other part thinks there is something else going on here. I for one support the possible message i think might be there which is this. The show is trying to support better journalism designed to educate the masses, not scare them. That is one of Will's biggest values on the show. He doesnt lie about anything on air and stresses the importance of good, honest journalism designed to inform. While i am not entirely sure this is what the show is going for, i really hope it is because this is a message that would really help out our country right now.

Why do all the Great shows get canceled

 Over the past 5 years I have seen a trend. The networks have been spending money on shows that at their premiere are hailed as amazing shows but some how don't develop enough of a following to keep them on air. These shows are follow a similar formula they are visually stunning are well acted and are often directed by award winning directors, the same goes for the writers.

 Defying Gravity- Executive produced by Michael Edelstein who was a driving force behind Desperate House Wives a major hit for ABC. The show stared Ron Livingston, Christina Cox, and Peter Howitt, all with experience on many network shows like NCIS, Angel, Sex and the City, and most notably Office Space.  The Writer another Hollywood standout James D. Parriott has written for Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, The Six Million Dollar Man, and most recently Covert Affairs.  Jeff Woolnough, The shows Director has directed many shows on every network, Bones, NCIS, CSI, and Las Vegas, are a few of the highlights. so all of the pieces should be there for an amazing program and I thought it was, I watched every episode and now own them as well but some how it did not achieve the mass appeal that it needed. Here is the trailer for the premiere


Fox Premiered a show Drive a few years ago which met the same fate, an early and untimely demise. The show focused on an underground cross country race, ABC attempted to get a legal drama off the ground, The Deep End as the called it and another Fox show Standoff never made it to a 2nd season. I suppose this is the reality of television but when shows like Big Brother and Hells Kitchen are continually getting renewed and shows that are visually interesting and have a well thought out plot seem to die by the hounders i wonder what will be left of good drama on TV in 10 years.

Shooter Review

I watched the movie Shooter tonight, starring Mark Wahlberg, and like all movies I watch now-a-days, I can't help but analyze the crap out of them.  This movie was no acception. It is an action movie so you're going to get a ton of your cliche gun battles, walking away from fiery explosions, to good to be true combat moves and techniques, among many other things.  The basic premise of the movie if you haven't seen it is Mark Wahlberg's character plays an ex marine sniper who gets commissioned by the Government to track down and thwart a potential assassination attempt.  Without his knowledge, his acceptance to help is a death sentence and they end up framing him for the killing of a head of state in some god for saken african country instead of the President of the United States to cover up some greedy crap.  Long story short, Mark Wahlbergs character out runs them all, out smarts them, and kills them all, and manages to escape a free man and clear his name.

I know what you're thinking, "that sounds awful and super cliche" and it totally is cliche, but my god it is good.  Mark Wahlberg first and foremost is an incredible actor.  I have loved him in every movie I've seen him in, he always fits the character he is meant to play extremely well.  His acting is one of the major highlights of the film.

From a directing standpoint, the director does a fantastic job of creating suspense (kind of like we watched in The Fast and the Furious).  Everything from music, body language, to editing, slowing time down, all of the landmark things you expect, he does to a tee, but, he also does some other things that knock it out of the park.

The story is quite good to begin with.  Sure, it is cliche, but even though I've seen it before, I'm on the edge of my seat the entire time because you just don't know what is going to happen next or what badass thing Mark Wahlberg is going to do to the enemy.

I also enjoyed how the enemies in the movie are very well defined but are not your average movie enemies.  One is a senator, one is a high ranking military official, and others hold offices in different branches of government.  I personally love conspiracies and do think the government has a lot more power and does a lot of things behind our back that we will never know about or choose to ignore.  This movie does an awesome job of showing you how easily the government can sway a country to think one thing when it couldn't be further from the truth.  The movie does a great job of asking the question we all fear the most, "Can one trust the government that they choose to give power too?"

Overall, after watching shooter tonight, it has become one of my favorite action movies.  It also got a 4 and a half star rating on Netflix which is pretty good in my opinion. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it and are looking for a good action movie to watch.

Tyler Chadwick

The Insider

The Insider is a 1999, true story, movie directed by Michael Mann that was nominated for seven academy awards. Russell Crowe's performance in this movie is absolutely fantastic and he was nominated for an academy award for his role.  He would follow this role up with a best actor academy award for Gladiator.  Russell Crowe plays a employee for a tobacco company who starts to leak information to the journalist Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino despite the fact that it was in his contract not too.  Russell Crowe takes you on a wonderful ride and you really end up rooting for both Russell Crowe and Al Pacino.

Al Pacino also delivers a fantastic performance despite not being nominated.  He plays a journalist who has to fight with the upper news persons at CBS because they do not want to show the story on 60 minutes that would deal a huge blow to big tobacco.  What really brings these performances together is the fantastic directing by Michael Mann and the cinematography work by Dante Spinotti together they paint a beautiful picture of a thrilling story about two men.  I think this is one of the best news movies to ever be filmed.  I do have a bias because the movie is about my uncle Lowell Bergman who is played by Al Pacino.

It is a fantastic movie and Christopher Plummer as one of the CBS heads really rounds out the cast of a fantastic movie.  It is really worth seeing and you will not be disappointed

You do remind me a little of Hooch...

So, if I had to pick a favorite TV show of all time, it'd have to be Castle on ABC.  It's finished its fourth season and has already been picked up for syndication, much to my enjoyment, and will soon be airing its first episode of season five.  I don't know what exactly  about it draws me in so much, but there are plenty of things that I can point out in a heartbeat.

First, the plot.  Every TV viewer focuses first on the storyline first off, and this is no exception, despite the fact that being a TVR major should probably change that (old habits die hard, I guess).  Basically, a NYPD cop is followed by an award-winning novelist, and the typical shenanigans ensue as they follow criminals and a book series is born.  There's the will-they-or-won't-they-get-together aspect of it (spoiler alert: they do), but it isn't something overly romantic; the two are constantly back and forth at one another's throats.  It's part police procedural, part drama, part comedy, with a dash of romance tossed in.  I love it; the storylines vary between episodes, everything from serious murders to what appear to be alien abductions.  You can't get bored with that kind of surprise waiting every Monday night.

Then, there's the specifics of it.  The lighting is phenomenally done, and following one of the gaffers for the show on Instagram definitely adds to my appreciation of what they do.  It's filmed with some superb shots, always a variety used well, and they go the extra mile to make sure that everything looks authentic.  For example, after watching an interview with some crew members, I learned that they actually scuffed up the floor of the set, burned holes in it, and more, just to give it a real, aged police precinct look.

On top of that, the cast is an amazingly cohesive group, working well off of one another and truly convincing the viewers that they're the characters they portray.  Having gone on for five seasons now without losing the interest of their audience, I'd say that's not too shabby.  Now, there are the questions of whether or not the show will fall apart with the two main characters, Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, are together, but I have high hopes that it won't kill the series as it has in some other instances on television.  Any of the previews I've caught all look fantastic, so I'm very excited to start a new season.

David Lynch

One of the most interesting filmmakers that I know of has to be David Lynch. Out of all the main stream director's that I know of, his films are always the ones that seem the most out of the ordinary. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I really enjoy his films and yet I couldn't really tell you why. They're bizarre, weird, crazy and yet I love them. To start things off here's a short film of his called The Alphabet.

Yes I know that that video is pretty strange but that's who Lynch is.

The first movie I saw of Lynch's was his first; Eraserhead; which is...interesting to say the least. It's a movie that puts you into a very fragile state of mind and it psychologically messes with you. It's a movie that I would highly recommend though because it gives you the sense of who David Lynch is and if you enjoy that one, you'll definitely like all of his others.

Resident Evil: Retribution

So tonight I saw Resident Evil: Retribution. Now I may be biased, but I love these movies. This movie was fairly short however still good as always.

I was very impressed how they did things and how they set things up. Using clones and using the virus and set ups to see how it spread was very well put together and very well shown throughout the movie.

My favorite part was how the showed all of the people from previously is just to truly show that Umbrella is using clones to keep the corporation afloat and alive.

The ending ended up being not what I thought. However I do like that they will be coming up with a new movie in the future. I can definitely tell you ill be seeing that next movie.

Celeste and Jesse Forever

The last film I saw in theaters was an indie film called Celeste and Jesse Forever starring Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones. I decided to go see the film since I really like Rashida Jones and think that Andy Samberg can be funny, but I expected nothing more than a romantic comedy. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the film definitely has comedic elements, but also masterfully pulls at your heart strings as well. Celeste and Jesse Forever is one of those movies that actually surprises you with its plot elements. In the romantic genre, that's something I really commend. It's somewhat hard to shake the boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back formula. This film, on the other hand, was throwing wrenches left and right - there were so many things that I didn't see coming. The plot was great, the dialogue was both realistic, humorous, and touching, and the actors had great chemistry. Stylistically, the film was also very well done, especially the artsy opening credits. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone, especially people who like unconventional love stories.

Fall Preview: Argo, Moonrise Kingdom, Seven Psychopaths, Looper

Must See Movies For This Fall:
The following is a review of several movies coming out this Fall that already have buzz both with general audiences and critics.

Argo:
The declassified story of a CIA operative who has to infiltrate a hostile Iran in order to save six Americans seeking refuge in the house of a Canadian ambassador. The film is based off of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, which adds to the intensity of this political thriller.

Moonrise Kingdom:
This film is going to be a serious awards contender because of it's trueness to film form and cinema photography.  The plot is a classic style love story of a young boy and girl who meet, run away together, and fall in love.  However the spin on this movie is that both are begin chased by a ragtag team of campers and camp councilors.  The director Wes Anderson has been on a hot streak with his films and this film seems to continue his run.

Seven Psychopaths:
The story of a man who becomes wrapped up in the crime industry after accidentally kidnapping a dog belonging to gangster.  This star studded cast includes Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Sam Rockwell, Olga Kurylenko, and Tom Waits.  This dark comedy has such a solid cast and such an interesting plot it will be interesting to see how general audiences react to this new take on comedy.

 Looper:
This film so going to be a psychological thriller/action flick to remember.  Staring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt this movie has the star power and script to be a box office power house.  The story of a future mob that sends enemies into the past (our present) to be executed and eliminated is a fresh new idea with a lot of potential.  Such an interesting concept is sure to insight many plot twists and turns that will surely bring about a lot of buzz.

Interactive Filmmaking on the Internet

The Internet is revolutionary. We all know that. Look at YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter and imagine your daily life without them.

It's a new medium that opens up huge possibilities for filmmakers. However, the web is often an afterthought for many filmmakers and especially student filmmakers.

Pretty much every feature length film has a website. Some of them are standalone works of interactive art. ParaNorman, a recent animated film, has an amazing interactive website built in HTML5 that allows audiences to get a feel for its characters and animation.

ParaNorman's site lets audiences take a virtual tour of the movie even before it was released last month. It's built on HTML5, which is the new internet standard for replacing Adobe's Flash.

HTML5 is completely run inside of the browser and is therefore more stable than Flash, making it possible for better and faster interactive animations.

Flash still has its uses of course. It's also been used in the past by many websites that haven't updated.

Released in 2008, CrimeFace is an interactive movie built on Flash. It adds a new depth to the film using a controllable interface around the actual film to provide more information about characters, props, and other elements of the fim.

A new genre of interactive films has entered the market: interactive music videos. Bands and musicians like Arcade Fire, ABBY, Bobby Womback,  Chairlift, Ellie Goulding and Miranda Lambert have all released impressive interactive HTML5 songs. 

Old Spice teamed up with Vimeo to make an interactive short video where you can make music by moving Terry Crews's muscles in different ways.

If you're interested in creating an interactive film, a handy web script called Popcorn.js works wonders and is worth a checkout.

How Are Movie Ratings Determined??

This is a documentary about the process of how movies are rated. It features producers, directors, and actors, that have been part in making movies that most of us have never heard of. Why? Because they received an NC-17 rating and got little to no funding for advertising.

This documentary tries to uncover the mysteries of why some of these movies got that NC-17 rating, and just how the process works in general. As of the time this was filmed (2006) the whole process was 100% secret, and nobody knew the identities of those who rated films. This documentary hires a private investigator to find these identities, and also interviews producers, directors, and actors as mentioned above. It compares side-by-side scenes from movies that received an R, and those that received an NC-17; which are extremely similar in terms of content, camera angles, etc. It raises an obvious question as to why, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is very vague and confusing when they attempt to give answers.

The documentary also reveals that in the USA, violence is basically unlimited, while sexual situations are highly censored. However, in European countries, they are nearly the complete opposite, by being very liberal when it comes to sex, and very suppressive on violence. Again, why? The documentary answers the questions as best as it can, but in the end, the MPAA is still very secretive, confusing, and vague. But what it does a great job of is showing the major inconsistencies in the rating system and puts the right questions out there to hopefully change the system for the better. It is a tough topic though, since it does flirt with the boundaries of the First Amendment and censorship, as well as give a general indication of the content in the movies being rated so that parents can choose what they let their children watch. The latter was the original purpose for movie ratings, but does the MPAA do a good job at it? This documentary would say "no," and they do give convincing evidence of why.

This Film is not yet Rated is an award-winning documentary, that I feel is very valuable to Park students who aspire to be in the film industry later on in their careers. It even ends with quite a big f**k you to the MPAA, which I found quite hilarious, and definitely worth watching (you can find it on Netflix). However, I will end by saying that it does show the full uncensored scenes from the NC-17 movies as examples, but we're all adults and professionals here, right?

Halo 4

My schedule this semester is tough to describe, but on Monday through Wednesday I have about an hour to myself until 10PM. So in that hour there’s a forty percent chance that I’m playing Halo 3 on Xbox live. I’m hoping I can stop anytime I want, but I think it’s getting me hooked again. The last time I played this game would have been junior year of high school. After two years of not playing, as one can imagine, I was quite rusty. Was I specifically bad? No, but compared to how good I was one could say there was a lot of room for improvement.

I used to be amazing, the record on my old account was winning 881 out of 1009 games. Online you play against people that have the same "skill rank" on a scale from 1-50, 50 being the highest. The way you rank up is by continuously and consecutively winning games. Consequently if you lose, you rank down. To become a 50 you need to win roughly sixty games in a row. I would play with my best friend from home and I had a 50 in Team Doubles. In other playlists I had 48, 46, 42, 38 and 20 in a playlist I did not play much. So I enjoyed being able to not do homework in high school and constantly win games a majority of the time I played.  

So now the year is 2012, the year the world is supposedly going to end. And even though Halo 4 is coming out I feel as though the Halo franchise is officially over. A gameplay trailer of Halo 4 came out and it is no longer Halo. It lost many aspects of it that made Halo, well Halo. Throughout all of its life there was no ability to sprint in Halo, but they added it to this edition. On top of that they added gravity to sniper shots, to make it more realistic, but the thing about Halo was that there was nothing realistic about it in the first place. The main character is a six/seven foot tall man that can jump at least ten feet in the air. There are aliens, lasers, flying ships, you can get shot over fourteen times and still live, regenerate health quickly and you can flip tanks over with your bare hands.

On the release of Halo 3 they grossed over $300 million and millions of people played on Xbox live in the first few days. It had a lot to live up to the Legends of Halo, and Halo 2’s Xbox live experience, but they did deliver. My concern is if Halo 4 will be able to live up to the greatness of its predecessors. This is the first “Halo” game being made by a company other than Bungie. This will be made by 343 Industries. I hope that this franchise will continue to be great, but I am quite skeptical of if they have it in them to deliver a solid product.

Creating Suspense: Zombie Style

After Breaking Bad ended and before Dexter starts in a couple weeks I decided that I needed a new show to watch. Naturally I turned to my Netflix account to see what I could find. My housemate Pat, a self proclaimed TV buff, recommended that I check out The Walking Dead. This is a show on AMC that only has two seasons so I figured it would be easy to catch up and add to my collection of TV series that I follow. One thing that caught my eye about Walking Dead is the fact that it was created and developed by the critically acclaimed Frank Darabont. I wrote about Darabont before and his work on Shawshank (one of my favorite films).  This seemed like a no-brainer.

The pilot episode starts in a run down town in what appears to be hit by a Zombie Apocalypse. The main character of the show that was in a coma during this Apocalypse leaves the hospital hurt and stunned that no one is tending him in the hospital. From the start of the episode it is obvious that the director is trying to create suspense in the episode. The first scene was brilliant in not only creating suspense but also sustaining this suspense throughout the first couple of scenes.

The camera work was exceptional. Each shot created a mood that something was seriously wrong with this world and bad things were to come. One of the first shots was of the main character walking on to the streets alone. The camera was at the characters feet. The camera was focused only on the characters feet for about 10 steps. This was a great way to create suspense. By only showing part of his body raises questions about where this character is, where he is going, and what exactly is around him. As the scene continues it is obvious that this town has been deserted. There are various shots of run down houses and empty cars parked on the street. One of my favorite parts of this scene was the patience the director showed. It felt like 10 minutes until another character was in the scene. Obviously there was going to be Zombies at some point, but by showing how alone the main character was at this point, really developed the plot and suspense without any dialogue.

Not only did the camera work create suspense in the opening scene but the audio also played a major factor. The scene really focused on natural sound and no music. Hearing the footsteps of the main character created a more fitting mood than any music of sound effects could have. The audio selection made it feel as if you were the character.  By not using music suspense is created. The audience is waiting for something to happen. The relative silence in the scene creates a scary environment, which is exactly what the director wants.

Darabont’s work is usually visually stunning and the pilot episode of The Walking Dead did not disappoint. In a series about Zombies, creating suspense is essential and the directors and producers did this in a unique way. By using natural sounds and multitude of camera angles this show had me on the edge of my seat for the first 20 minutes. Especially for a pilot, getting the viewers attention is crucial. I am going to continue to watch this show and I will report back more thoughts in the future.

-Michael Vulcano

Midnight in Paris

A couple days ago I watched the film Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen, starring Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams. First off I want to say that this was my first Woody Allen movie and despite it being one of his later pieces, it did not disappoint.  The film was simply beautiful.  Being shot on location in, it's important for the film to capture the mystique that is Paris. In my opinion, Mr. Allen was able to do this wonderfully.  One of my favorite aspects of the movie was its story because it veered away from the typical love story. Trying not to give to much away, I will say that the resolution to the story is gratifying in that the story comes full circle. Something that doesn't always happen in film today.  After watching Midnight in Paris, I am more than excited to get started watching all of Woody Allen's classic projects!

The Hidden Magic: Music

Over the last week, my health has gotten worse. I hate to say it, but I think I am one of the lucky ones who caught the viral infection that is sneaking its way across campus. The wonderful thing about being sick though, is that my time for watching movies and TV shows has almost doubled. Inevitably, during my many viewings I would start to dose off. I may have been half conscious, but I could always tell what was going on in the films and shows, not based on what I could see, but on what I could hear.

I don't only mean the dialogue or the recorded sound effects, although those are obviously very important. No, I'm talking about the power of music. Think about your favorite movie, or your favorite scene. Now try to imagine that scene without the background music. Isn't that a strange thought? It is something that is almost always overlooked, yet without it, the context of the movie doesn't seem quite complete. 

Now, I danced for about nine years and I played piano for about five years. I love music. I think everyone does, but what I loved about music was how, when I was dancing or even playing piano, I was able to feel the music inside me and move me in a way that let me express the heart of the song. Something about music hits us in our core and allows us to feel emotions. Who would have thought that combining sounds, raising or lowering the levels, and tempo would allow us to feel so much? With music, we are giving almost a sixth sense, or a 4D quality to our visual or movie experience. I believe it is because we can relate to what is happening through the notes. We all have some kind of device that we use to listen to music. When do you listen to music? In the car? In the morning as you are getting ready? Walking to class? When you are doing homework? Music has become such a part of our lives that it is easily overlooked. Sometimes we even hear soundtracks to our own lives. So, if music is such a huge part of our everyday life, it only makes sense that it should also be present in the movies and shows we watch. 

Last week I wrote about Lord of the Rings, and I will use it as an example again. The music in that film is astounding. It was written in such a way that it literally brings you into Middle Earth and traps you there with its interweaving melodies and harmonies. Other movies like Avatar, Narnia, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games have similar qualities. Movies and shows that take place in our world and our times have more modern music performed by modern artists that fits the film genre. This extends even to books. I have read several commentaries from modern authors about the music that inspired their stories. When I sit down to write my own story I'm always playing some kind of celtic or other instrumental music that helps me to see or create the story that I am writing. 

Music is a part of the world, from the birds in the trees to the notes playing through your headphones. The next time you watch a movie or show, listen for the underlying music or film score. Sometimes that music can tell a story all on its own. 

~ Amber Capogrossi

Sound Design

Last night our group began to shoot our one shot stories, and even though we only got through one, I think it was definitely a good sign for things to come, not only for this project but for the rest of the shorts we do during the semester here. We got on location and immediately began the lighting plan and getting the set set up for the shot. Everything had to be perfect since the entire story relied on one single shot. The rest of our group's shots will be done next week so hopefully they run just as smoothly.

In between now and then we all have a lot going on and are unable to meet up. Lots of things get in the way; assignments, classes, plans, other film shoots. I myself am on a shoot this weekend that is shooting 6pm to 6am each night so that will be an interesting experience. I'm going to have to catch up on some sleep at some point in the day.

Anyways, my project, as well as many others in our class, relies heavily on the sound design. I recorded ADR a few days before shooting with some voice actors I found and then timed it all out when we shot it last night. My roommate is an audio major so I have learned a lot about audio from behind around him and being on set with him. Because of that, recording the ADR in the studio with the mixing board went relatively well and I think the sound design involved in my project will make it better than if I recorded it on location.

M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable

Recently, I revisited the movie Unbreakable (2000, M. Night Shyamalan). The movie is centered around David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). M. Night Shyamalan is not my favorite director due to some of his poorly executed works (ex. Devil) but some of his movies, such as The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002), are my favorite films. Samuel L. Jackson hasn't exactly been in the best movies but when he is in a well directed and well written movie, he does an amazing job (ex. Pulp Fiction). Bruce Willis has been in multiple movies that include Samuel L. Jackson but he is also an actor that seems to waste his talent in nonsensical blockbusters that include corny one liners and gratuitous explosions. Unbreakable highlights Willis's and Jackson's talents and is unlike any super hero movie I've ever seen.

The movie starts by showing the unusual birth of Mr. Glass, followed by the title sequence, and then shows Bruce Willis in a train. He removes his wedding ring as an attractive woman sits  in the open seat next to him, indicating that his relationship with his wife is disintegrating. He tries to seduce her but he says all the wrong things and she moves to another seat. The train starts to make strange noises and speed up and the scene cuts abruptly indicating a crash. The first shot is a one shot sequence and is about ten minutes long. The next shot is of Willis in the hospital and the doctor explains that he was the only one to survive on the entire train and walked away with no injuries at all. Willis leaves the hospital and passes all the families in the hospital mourning their lost ones. This sequence is one of my favorite shots ever.



The movie is about David Dunn (Willis) being indestructible and having super strength and Mr. Glass (Jackson) is extremely fragile and breaks bones often. Mr. Glass works in a comic gallery and when he hears about David Dunn surviving the train wreck, he finds him and explains that he believes he is a superhero. Dunn denies it and thinks that Mr. Glass is a freak. Dunn has the ability to sense what people have done wrong in the past by touching them and is able to bench press upwards of 600 pounds. He looks into his past and discovers that he was the only one to survive a car accident, a fire, a plane explosion, and has never been sick. The only incident where Dunn almost died is when he nearly drowned in a lake as a child. Dunn ends up saving a family from a murderer but almost dies when the murderer pushes him into the pool (water is his only weakness). Jackson's character is obsessed with Willis's. At the end of the movie, the audience learns that Mr. Glass (Jackson) has been following David Dunn (Willis) for his entire life and caused all the catastrophes to prove that David Dunn is truly "unbreakable."

Many shots in the film are long one shot scenes. Shyamalan also includes many indirect reflection shots such as a long shot pointed at a TV that shows the reflection of the characters in the room. Shyamalan also idolizes Alfred Hitchcock and pays homage to him by making a short appearance on screen. In Unbreakable, he plays a man that is suspected of selling drugs and says only three lines to Willis's character.

Unbreakable is by no means a traditional superhero movie and each character is unique and well developed. Shyamalan's cinematography is exceptional and unique and it is obvious, through each shot sequence, that he idolizes Hitchcock's style. There is no ridiculous action scenes and it focuses on the personal life of an unlikely superhero. Watch Unbreakable.

-Matthew Hadley

The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson has just released a new movie. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix has made quite the stir in the press as of late because of it's take on scientology. At first I was under the impression that this film would only be able to be seen in large urban areas due to it's limited release, but upon finding out that Cinemapolis would be showing the film this weekend I was ecstatic to say the least. My cousin was able to see an advanced screening of The Master about a month ago and has been raving about it, he kept talking about the sheer brilliance of the colors in the film. As a person who has the utmost admiration for cinematography, hearing about the aesthetic beauty of the film has made me even more excited. The only other Paul Thomas Anderson movie I have seen is Boogie Nights, which I truly enjoyed. This combination of Anderson and Phoenix should be a knockout, or at least that's what I'm hoping for. I am captivated by Joaquin Phoenix for a number of reasons, but most recently because of his  PR stunt to promote "I'm Still Here" his mockumentary/performance art piece about him pursuing a hip hop career. Despite the fact that the film was a flop I grew to respect his commitment to a role greatly, which is what I hope to see in "The Master." The trailer I have included is a good indication that my expectations will be met.

Spielberg's Lincoln

For many years as I can remember I have always been a fan of Steven Spielberg's films including Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, E.T, Indiana Jones, Artificial Intelligence, The Goonies, and many other great films. He has been a great inspiration to me as well as many other people. He has directed, and produced some of the greatest American films that most people watch today.

His newest movie "Lincoln" stars three Academy Award winners including Daniel-Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens.

One reason this movie was attractive to me was because it's about Abe Lincoln, one of America's most influential presidents and surely one of my favorites. I remember as a kid in high school loving to learn about Lincoln in the Civil War and what he did to abolish slavery. This movie takes place some time near the end of the Civil War which is sometime in 1865. As the movie progresses it explores Lincoln's tactics and techniques as he works with his cabinet attempts to abolish slavery.

I also chose to post about this movie because it is another movie that is based on a true story, movies I tend to watch more than others. Like I mentioned earlier, in school, i loved learning about wars, presidents, and other moments in history. One of my favorite topics was the Civil War and how our country worked to abolish slavery in the south.

From the love of this historical moment, I am interested to learn more from this film and see it on the big screen.