Django Unchained THUMBS UP THUMBS DOWN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCmVwa-FDzs&feature=youtu.be

The Scifi Boys

The Scifi Boys is a documentary follow scifi filmmakers and the special effects that inspire them to work in science fiction. Peter Jackson and the guys from ILM talking about what they do? I'm down.


I have always loved documentaries. Any documentary related to show business is my favorite. I also have a great love of sci-fi, so this film was really perfect for me. As I said before, Star Wars was what inspired me to be an actor. I wanted to know how lightsabers were made and how I could fly a space ship like Han Solo. This documentary showed me that it wasn't easy.

Dredd

Based on the comic "2000 AD" and the Stalone film "Judge Dredd", Dredd was a wonderful update with less cheesy acting.

The camera movement was very fluid in the action sequences. I imagine dolly's were

In Dredd many of the characters use a drug know as "Slowmo" which makes the user think that time is going at one percent it's normal rate. The film went between slow motion affects in the perspective of the user and normal frame speed in the perspective of Judge Dredd.






This shot looks very much like it could be a frame on a comic page. Excellent effects.

5/5

Warm Bodies (Zombie Hipsters)

The film "Warm Bodies" is a romantic comedy twist on a genre of films that were originally boxed into horror. The zombie is an ideal Byronic hero, as it is usually feared and outcast. Obviously based on Romeo and Juliet with characters name "R" and "Julie". This film broke the fourth wall in the humorous dialogue. The main characters
are identifiable with youth today with their "hipster-like" clothing and love of vinyl records.


Action shots were shaky. The camera was unfocused in quite a few zoom and pan shots.
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The character relationships were well establish in dialogue and acting, even with the burden of having to act dead. Their interactions allowed us to see past the blood and rotting flesh to see them as humans.



Bony's, the main villain of the film, were very frightening and realistic.



If you're cynical about love and want to see a horror film full of gore, this is not the film for you. If you like romantic comedies, this might be a great step into undiscovered territory. I think it is very cute love story.

Doctor Who and the Snowmen. Spoilers.

Well folks, the TARDIS has changed and so did the Doctor Who Art Direction. The style and color pallet of the show has gone the direction of Sherlock. Even the Doctor's wardrobe is like Sherlock.



The is beautiful framing of the Doctor and Clara. This episode raised so many new questions about Clara. I feel that if I really discussed the plot I would ruin it for you.

WATCH DOCTOR WHO! IT'S SO GOOD!

A Colour Box (1935)

A Colour Box (1937) is in the experimental category. It is a film without narrative form. Without a narrative, the images become the important part of the work. It is more apparent in our minds that this is animation because viewers are not distracted by a narrative and the audience is unable to put the images into a realistic context. In place of dialogue is music, one of the attributes of experimental animation. If any sort of reality is shown by this avant-garde piece of cinema, it is a reality based in the emotion and psychological state of the viewer.

A Colour Box is an abstraction with no visual figure for an audience to relate to, at least none noticeable at first glance. The concern of experimental animation is to redefine the body or resists using it as an illustrative image. The shapes that are seen in A Colour Box certainly exist in our reality, but their movement is something we do not see in our own reality, not without the hand of the artist being involved. That being said, the presence of the artist, another characteristic of experimental animation, is something that takes A Colour Box out of the realm of reality. Knowing of Len Lye and his creation of this work, we put it in the context of a painting. It is now something outside of us and viewers have no reason to immerse themselves within that world.

 “Cinematography is currently the only instrument that records an event according to a system from four reference points.” Our human minds perceive reality as one stream of events. We have a single pair of eyes to take in the world around us. The world of cinema is able to present reality in a fashion that makes it almost more real than what the viewer would see on his average day.

With that, the discussion goes from understanding films relationship to reality to trying to understand our own through cinematography. Psychological time is something that cinematography has change through the use of multiple cameras and editing. Now we as spectators begin to realize that reality is near impossible to reproduce and that the goal of Hollywood film is all for naught.  

What I learned in video production

I've learned new techniques in shooting. I feel like I've really grown as a camera operator. Pans used to make me nervous. I don't always have a steady hand. I've realized that I should relax. Part of creating for me is having a relaxed environment. I've also learned to think outside of the box and that I really want to show people life in a way they have never seen. This class really energized me creatively. Director of Photography is now a career I am considering pursuing. 

I've begun drawing storyboards before each shoot so we can have an established visual beforehand rather than simply finding out what looks good on the spot.

I've learned that it is really all about team work. Film is definitely a collaborative art and if all participants are not giving 100% then the project is less likely to succeed. I was very lucky to have a team that I was familiar with.



Jessica and I had work on class projects before and had a shared sensibility

Christina wrote a wonderful script. Her background studying english was a great asset.


I look at film in a completely different way that I ever did before. I am much more critical of and inspired by films now that I have this knowledge.