Sound Motif:
A sound motif is a recurring sound effect or group of effects that are associated with a particular character. Viewers can then tell when a certain character, event or situation is going to arrive as it is sustained throughout the episode or series.
For example, in Doctor Who, whenever the TARDIS materialization sound is heard you know that The Doctor has arrived: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/sounds/tardis.mp3
Paralleled sound:
Parallel sound adds to the effect of the show or film by contributing to the mood and atmosphere. The audio and visual effects match the mood and atmosphere, like you would expect them to.
In this clip of Merlin, Sir Gwaine and Prince Arthur are made to fight, and exciting, dramatic non-diegetic sound is playing in the background. This adds to the battle and drama of the scene, as the drums and crescendos play in time with the clanging of the swords:
Contrapuntal sound:
Sound that goes against what the viewer would expect and contrasts with the mood or atmosphere. It is the opposite of Paralleled sounds and creates a unique effect when watching the film; it sets viewers on edge as the music and images clash. This clip comes from the film Mr & Mrs Smith, and it shows the two main characters Jane and John having a fight, yet the music is quite jolly and this makes the scene far from real and gives it a comical feel.
Another example within this film would be the fight scene at the end of the film between the couple and the companies they work for. The action, gun power and well choreographed moves are contrasted with a tango song that was also featured earlier on.
Direct Address:
"Breaking the 4th wall" where an actor or actress addresses the audience by looking at the camera and/or talking to them, not another cast member. For example, in Miranda, she often looks at the camera to show her inner feelings to the audience, and the other cast member cannot see what she is saying or doing, as she is talking only to the audience. This clip involves a few examples of how Miranda looks at the camera during the scene:
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Friday, 28 September 2012
KICK-ASS
Idea:
The idea for the Kick-Ass movie came from the comic book series written by Mark Millar. It was published by Marvel Comics and illustrated by John Romita Jr. The comic-book series is about Dave Lizewski, a teenager who sets out to become a real-life superhero and ends up by being internet famous.
Finance:
Budget: $30 million
Total income: $96,188,903
Matthew Vaughn went around, securing independent financing. But now that it’s received a positive response at Comic Con; Lionsgate, Paramount, and Universal are all making bids for distribution. The rights to a film version of the comic book were sold before the first issue of the comic book was published.Script Development:
Jane Goldman one of the screenwriters, said that when she works with Vaughn she does the "construction work" and the "interior designing" while Vaughn acts as the "architect."Vaughn: "We wrote the script and the comic at the same time so it was a very sort of collaborative, organic process. I met [Millar] at the premiere of Stardust. We got on really well. I knew who he was and what he had done but I didn't know him. He pitched me the idea. I said, 'That's great!' He then wrote a synopsis. I went, 'That's great, let's go do it now! You write the comic, I'll write the script.'"
Seven American film studios turned down the script before Vaughn released it through his own production company. Vaughn initially went to Sony, but he rejected calls to tone down the violence.
Other studios expressed interest but wanted to make the characters - in particular studios Hit-Girl's character - into adults. Whilst studio executives said that it would be less offensive to portray Hit-Girl as a teenager, Goldman argued that it would have been more offensive since, as a teenager, Hit-Girl would have been sexualized. Goldman said that Hit-Girl was not supposed to be sexualized.
Aaron Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz were cast as Kick-ass and Hit-Girl and a cameo from Nicholas Cage was included as the character Big Daddy.
Production:
The big studios doubted the success of an adaptation as a violent superhero, which made the film be independently financed, but this gave him the freedom to make the film the way he imagined, without having to worry about high-censorship. Vaughn believed enough in the project to raise the money himself, with the help of co-producer Brad Pitt. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, (Red Mist), said that the creators of the film were wondering whether a distributor would pick up the movie. On the set Vaughn jokingly referred to Kick-Ass as something that was going to be "the most expensive home movie I ever made."
Filming locations include Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Dip 'N' Sip Donuts on Kingston Road in Toronto, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary Schooland "many Toronto landmarks that play cameos"; and various locations in the UK, including Elstree Studios. The opening sequence with Nicolas Cage was filmed in a sewage plant in East London.
The 2D/3D animated comic book sequence in the film took almost two years to finish. Romita created the pencils, Tom Palmer did the inks, and Dean White did the colours.
In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic book series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence. It received a 15 rating from the BBFC. Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a "PG rating" in France.
Production companies involved in making the film were Marv films and Plan B entertainment. Distributors then included institutes such as Universal pictures, Paramount and Warner pictures.
Production companies involved in making the film were Marv films and Plan B entertainment. Distributors then included institutes such as Universal pictures, Paramount and Warner pictures.
A full company involvement list can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/companycredits
Sales:
A teaser trailer was shown and this caused some controversy because of the explicit language used by Chloe (Hit-girl). An international trailer was then released and shown around the world.
Marketing:
Posters were put up in bus stations, magazines and and trailers were shown on TV. Empire and Total Film magazine covered the film and it's journey from page to screen and film reviews are on their websites also. The film was also pitched at San Diego Comic-con and the Empire magazine Movie-Con.
Exhibition:
A premier was held in London for the film and the cast plus other guests - including Brad Pitt- arrived to promote the movie.
Kick-Ass made £3,881,704 (UK) on the opening weekend (4 April 2010) and it was shown on 402 Screens across the country.
It was shown on 5778 screens across the world on the opening weekend alone.
| All Critics | Top Critics | Audience | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76% (235 reviews) | 67% (39 reviews) | 83% (211,361 reviews) | ||
(Taken from Rotten Tomatoes/ wikipedia)
Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine gave the film 5/5 and declared it, "A ridiculously entertaining, perfectly paced, ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach.The film's violence is clearly fantastical and cartoonish and not to be taken seriously."
In an interview, Matthew Vaughn said, "There is about 18 minutes of deleted footage, which is really good stuff." The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 3 August 2010 in North America, selling 1.4 million copies within its first week, one-third of these in Blu-ray format. Kick-Ass debuted at number one on the DVD sales chart and the discs were released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2010.
Other Windows:
A video game produced by WHA Entertainment and Frozen Codebase was released through the App Store on 15 April 2010. The game was released on PlayStation Network on 29 April 2010.
The film has been nominated and has won several awards for Best British film, Best newcomer and more, with Chloe Moretz winning four of them for her performance.
Kick-Ass 2
It was reported that Universal will be distributing Kick-Ass 2.
"The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows." -Synopsis
The same cast will be returning, plus a few new faces. Matthew Vaughn had chosen Jeff Wadlow, who also co-wrote the script along with Vaughn, to direct the sequel with filming planned to begin in September 2012.
Sunday, 23 September 2012
American Beauty // Lester Burnham
Todorov's narrative structure
Equilibrium
At the beginning of American Beauty, the normal 'household' contains fighting, unhappy family members and a dysfunctional marriage. The main characters Carolyn, Lester and Jane are having family problems as both women think Lester is a loser and not good for anything. Lester himself is having to face losing his job and he also has no male dominance in the house.
Disruption (disequilibrium)
Lester starts to lust after Jane's friend Angela and fantasizes about sleeping with her. New next-door neighbors move in and the son of the family, Ricky, is seen as a freak as he videos everything because he thinks it's 'beautiful'. Ricky's dad is a homophobic, military based man who drilled discipline into Rickey's mind by putting him in a metal hospital.
Recognition of disruption
Jane finds out Lester wants to sleep with Angela and Jane warns Angela not to sleep with him because is her dad and he's a loser. Jane finds out more about Ricky and see's that he isn't as weird as she first thought, and she finds befriends him. Ricky is accused of being gay by his dad.
Attempt to repair disruption
To get away from his controlling dad, Ricky says he is in fact gay and his dad throws him out of the house. Ricky then asks Jane to run away to New York with him and she says yes. Lester chooses not to have sex with Angela as she is a virgin and then asks about how Jane is doing, because he cares about his daughter. We also find out Ricky's dad is gay and that's why he is so homophobic; he's hiding a secret that is released when he tries to kiss Lester.
New Equilibrium
After being rejected by Lester, Ricky's dad shoots him and the family is forced to live in a world without Lester. The old equilibrium isn't restored as Lester is dead, but the film ends so we can't see how the other characters cope with the loss.
Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham is the male role lead in American Beauty and despises life at the beginning of the film.
He is seen as the victim in this film as everyone hates him, but he's just trying to get on with life and do the best he can. We feel sorry for him as he is sexually frustrated, seen as lazy at work and his daughter plans to kill him in the establishing shot. It seems the only thing he enjoys in life is getting high, until he meets his daughters friend, Angela and starts to fantasize about her. This represents him as a slightly deranged man, but desperate for love and intimacy.
In the end we feel sorry for him, as he is shot by his next-door neighbour because he rejected him, due to the fact he wasn't gay.
Equilibrium
At the beginning of American Beauty, the normal 'household' contains fighting, unhappy family members and a dysfunctional marriage. The main characters Carolyn, Lester and Jane are having family problems as both women think Lester is a loser and not good for anything. Lester himself is having to face losing his job and he also has no male dominance in the house.
Disruption (disequilibrium)
Lester starts to lust after Jane's friend Angela and fantasizes about sleeping with her. New next-door neighbors move in and the son of the family, Ricky, is seen as a freak as he videos everything because he thinks it's 'beautiful'. Ricky's dad is a homophobic, military based man who drilled discipline into Rickey's mind by putting him in a metal hospital.
Recognition of disruption
Jane finds out Lester wants to sleep with Angela and Jane warns Angela not to sleep with him because is her dad and he's a loser. Jane finds out more about Ricky and see's that he isn't as weird as she first thought, and she finds befriends him. Ricky is accused of being gay by his dad.
Attempt to repair disruption
To get away from his controlling dad, Ricky says he is in fact gay and his dad throws him out of the house. Ricky then asks Jane to run away to New York with him and she says yes. Lester chooses not to have sex with Angela as she is a virgin and then asks about how Jane is doing, because he cares about his daughter. We also find out Ricky's dad is gay and that's why he is so homophobic; he's hiding a secret that is released when he tries to kiss Lester.
New Equilibrium
After being rejected by Lester, Ricky's dad shoots him and the family is forced to live in a world without Lester. The old equilibrium isn't restored as Lester is dead, but the film ends so we can't see how the other characters cope with the loss.
Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham is the male role lead in American Beauty and despises life at the beginning of the film.
He is seen as a loser by his wife and daughter, and we can see he feels trapped in his body and life, due to his actions and the things he says.
In this film he is represented as a middle aged man in difficult circumstances who is passive aggressive and then finds his voice.
He is seen as the victim in this film as everyone hates him, but he's just trying to get on with life and do the best he can. We feel sorry for him as he is sexually frustrated, seen as lazy at work and his daughter plans to kill him in the establishing shot. It seems the only thing he enjoys in life is getting high, until he meets his daughters friend, Angela and starts to fantasize about her. This represents him as a slightly deranged man, but desperate for love and intimacy. In the end we feel sorry for him, as he is shot by his next-door neighbour because he rejected him, due to the fact he wasn't gay.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Attack the Block
Director and writer: Joe Cornish
Rating: 15
Genres: Action/ Comedy/ Horror/ Sci-Fi
Release Date: 13th May 2011
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail.
Budget: £9 million
How it was produced:
It was produced by Big Talk Productions who are known for filming, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The world and Shaun of the dead. They produced the film with the UK film council, Film4 and Studio Canal.
The 'block' was a mixture of council estates across London.
What it was based on:
Cornish was once mugged outside his home in South London and investigated the kind of kids that robbed him. He then took thay stereotype and turned it into an Alien/ Sci-Fi.
Promotion:
Posters were posted on bus stops, billboards etc. promoting the films release.
A premier was also held for the film in Leiceter Square London.
Attack the block has a website that promotes the trailer, screencaps from the film itself, and interviews with the cast and directors. http://attacktheblock.com/
The Film:
There wasn't any controversy surrounding the film as it is a comedy-horror and appealed to a "geek-friendly" crowd. It was the debut film of director Joe cornish and the cast said they enjoyed working with him.
My Review:
When i read the critic reviews of Attack The Block, i thought 'finally, another good comedy/horror to look forward to' but after watching the film i was disappointed. The reviews had told me it was 'genius' and i would 'regret not seeing it in the theater', however when i watched the film i wondered what all of the fuss was about.
I usually love Sci-Fi/Comedy/Alien films - Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are two of the best in my opinion - so i expected to really enjoy and love this film.
To begin with i felt that the film had a weak plot line as there wasn't much explanation of the events or characters. I found it hard to watch the actors on screen because i find the way they spoke to be quite cringey as i felt they were overdoing the "block" talk at times.
Throughout the film the character of Brewis (played by Luke Treadaway) made me laugh as he was so out of place with his well spoken accent and the fact he sought approval from the "block" gang.
Another aspect that made me laugh was the cameo of Nick Frost as the drug dealer, Ron. His one liners like: "Well, 'ere lads, you've discovered a species hitherto unknown to science, quite possibly non-terrestrial in origin, and you kicked it's fuckin' head in!", made me laugh, as did others throughout the film.
Rating: 15
Genres: Action/ Comedy/ Horror/ Sci-Fi
Release Date: 13th May 2011
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail.
Budget: £9 million
How it was produced:
It was produced by Big Talk Productions who are known for filming, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The world and Shaun of the dead. They produced the film with the UK film council, Film4 and Studio Canal.
The 'block' was a mixture of council estates across London.
"We wanted to stamp a clear layout on the audience's minds early, and since we couldn't afford to show an aerial shot of the estate as it doesn't exist, the way to show it was by showing this top shot of the map at the very beginning of the film." - Director Joe Cornish.The film was shot across London from March to May 2010, with six weeks of night shoots on the Heygate Estate and various other places. Interior scene were filmed at Three Mills Studios in east London.
What it was based on:
Cornish was once mugged outside his home in South London and investigated the kind of kids that robbed him. He then took thay stereotype and turned it into an Alien/ Sci-Fi.
"Children make mistakes; they test the boundaries of the world."
Soundtrack:
The soundtrack for the film was an original score composed by Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton of the popular electronic dance music group Basement Jaxx.
Promotion:
Posters were posted on bus stops, billboards etc. promoting the films release.
A premier was also held for the film in Leiceter Square London.
Attack the block has a website that promotes the trailer, screencaps from the film itself, and interviews with the cast and directors. http://attacktheblock.com/
The Film:
There wasn't any controversy surrounding the film as it is a comedy-horror and appealed to a "geek-friendly" crowd. It was the debut film of director Joe cornish and the cast said they enjoyed working with him.
My Review:
When i read the critic reviews of Attack The Block, i thought 'finally, another good comedy/horror to look forward to' but after watching the film i was disappointed. The reviews had told me it was 'genius' and i would 'regret not seeing it in the theater', however when i watched the film i wondered what all of the fuss was about.
I usually love Sci-Fi/Comedy/Alien films - Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are two of the best in my opinion - so i expected to really enjoy and love this film.
To begin with i felt that the film had a weak plot line as there wasn't much explanation of the events or characters. I found it hard to watch the actors on screen because i find the way they spoke to be quite cringey as i felt they were overdoing the "block" talk at times.
Throughout the film the character of Brewis (played by Luke Treadaway) made me laugh as he was so out of place with his well spoken accent and the fact he sought approval from the "block" gang.
Another aspect that made me laugh was the cameo of Nick Frost as the drug dealer, Ron. His one liners like: "Well, 'ere lads, you've discovered a species hitherto unknown to science, quite possibly non-terrestrial in origin, and you kicked it's fuckin' head in!", made me laugh, as did others throughout the film.
I thought the second half of the film was better than the first as I found myself getting into it more and I found myself wanting to see how it turned out in the end.
The slow motion sequence, when Moses is being chased by the aliens was good as, we could everything that was happening without it being a blur and different camera angles allowed for an exciting way to view the events. I enjoyed the on-going battle between the aliens and the kids.
Overall I would rate this film ★★★ as it is enjoyable enough but not as good as the critics had said.
The slow motion sequence, when Moses is being chased by the aliens was good as, we could everything that was happening without it being a blur and different camera angles allowed for an exciting way to view the events. I enjoyed the on-going battle between the aliens and the kids.
Overall I would rate this film ★★★ as it is enjoyable enough but not as good as the critics had said.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
5 X 5
Top 5 Magazines
Empire - They always have good film reviews inside.
SFX - Allows me to find out about upcoming sci-fi films.
Total Film - Enjoyable to read, always have my favourite actors inside.
NME - They often cover bands i like.
Doctor Who magazine - (not Doctor who Adventures) contains all the info on episodes and characters.
Top 5 Marvel Characters
Wolverine - "Wow. Koo-koo-ka-choo got screwed." - comedy value, badass, has adamantium claws.
Charles Xavier - Played by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy.
Iron Man/ Tony Stark - Robert Downey Jr. Stan Lee created him so we shouldn't love him, but do.
Iron Man/ Tony Stark - Robert Downey Jr. Stan Lee created him so we shouldn't love him, but do.
The Human Torch - Comedy Value, his power is quite unique.
Loki - "Kneel before me"
Top 5 TV shows
Doctor Who - "All of time and space; everywhere and anywhere; every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?"
The Vampire Diaries - Amazing plot lines and is full of beautiful people.
New Girl - Best comedy on TV.
Sherlock - Refreshing take on the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sherlock - Refreshing take on the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
How i Met your Mother - Barney Stintson is one of the best people ever.
5 Favourite Book series
The Hunger Games -Original, good reads, can't wait for all of the films to be released.
Divergent Trilogy - Heart-breaking but excellent Dystopian novels.
Delirium Trilogy - Heart-breaking but excellent Dystopian novels.
House of Night Saga - Fresh take on "Vampyres"
Harry Potter Series - One of the best series' around.
Top 5 bands
The Vaccines - "For goodness sake, let us be young. 'Cause time gets harder to out run"
Two Door Cinema Club - "There's a spanner in the works you know, You gotta step up your game to make to the top."
Florence + The Machine - "I must become a lion hearted girl, ready for a fight."
Panic! at the Disco - "Velvet lips and the eyes to pull me in, we both know you'd already win"
Little Comets - "I love your hands, i love your face and eyes, i love the way she only ever tells me lies."
Monday, 10 September 2012
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Good Cop
The character of Sav is first introduced to the audience at the beginning of the episode when he is walking down the dimly lit street. The surroundings are dark in the establishing shot and there is a faint orange glow from street lights which hints at a light/dark contrast within the character. It is also raining which adds to the dark, miserable atmosphere of the scene and gives the impression that Sav could be quite a negative person.
He is then seen in his room with blood on his hands and a gun on his bed which makes it look like he has committed a crime and possibly shot someone. We begin to question his mental state as he rushes around frantically trying to clean everything up. He also has ripped wallpaper that could have been placed there to represent the way the character behaves and feels.
When he meets Cassie and Libby on the beach we see a different side to him, like the contrast in the street lighting suggests. We can see he has had some previous history with the woman as he is interested in what she has to say, even though she is quite rude towards him. He keeps calm and looks upset when she walks away, which suggests he might have feelings for her. This scene represents him as a man who has made mistakes but feels bad about how things have turned out.
Sav seems like a concerned member of the public as he goes to check she is okay, only to find the man in the toilets harassing her. We then find out Sav is actually a police officer and his badge represents the law and being a good person, so we start to think the gun and blood are all tied into his job.
He seems genuinely concerned for the Waitress' well-being and this shows he is a nice person who is good at his job. Instead of rising to the mans threats and taunts he says "have a nice day sir" and this shows us he is smart and thinks about his actions. Although, this then makes us think about why he was so panicked in the opening scene.
The relationship between Sav and Andy seems like a friendly one as they makes jokes and laugh with each other when they are in the cafe/diner. When he is at work in the locker rooms, he seems to have a good relationship with his co-workers as he tells them about his meeting with Cassie on the beach. They seem to know about his situation so that makes us think they are friends. In the locker scene Sav is represented as a caring, friendly person which makes us like him more.
When dealing with the Victims and the dead baby he uses hushed voices to be considerate and doesn't know how to react because it's a terrible tragedy. He doesn't know how the baby died so he doesn't accuse anyone and tries to be rational in the situation whilst Andy, his partner, is a little bit more shocked. Sav talks to the brother of the dead baby and is represented as a helpful police officer who is just doing his job and making them feel more relaxed and less hysterical.
He is then seen in his room with blood on his hands and a gun on his bed which makes it look like he has committed a crime and possibly shot someone. We begin to question his mental state as he rushes around frantically trying to clean everything up. He also has ripped wallpaper that could have been placed there to represent the way the character behaves and feels.
When he meets Cassie and Libby on the beach we see a different side to him, like the contrast in the street lighting suggests. We can see he has had some previous history with the woman as he is interested in what she has to say, even though she is quite rude towards him. He keeps calm and looks upset when she walks away, which suggests he might have feelings for her. This scene represents him as a man who has made mistakes but feels bad about how things have turned out.
Sav seems like a concerned member of the public as he goes to check she is okay, only to find the man in the toilets harassing her. We then find out Sav is actually a police officer and his badge represents the law and being a good person, so we start to think the gun and blood are all tied into his job.
He seems genuinely concerned for the Waitress' well-being and this shows he is a nice person who is good at his job. Instead of rising to the mans threats and taunts he says "have a nice day sir" and this shows us he is smart and thinks about his actions. Although, this then makes us think about why he was so panicked in the opening scene.
The relationship between Sav and Andy seems like a friendly one as they makes jokes and laugh with each other when they are in the cafe/diner. When he is at work in the locker rooms, he seems to have a good relationship with his co-workers as he tells them about his meeting with Cassie on the beach. They seem to know about his situation so that makes us think they are friends. In the locker scene Sav is represented as a caring, friendly person which makes us like him more.
When dealing with the Victims and the dead baby he uses hushed voices to be considerate and doesn't know how to react because it's a terrible tragedy. He doesn't know how the baby died so he doesn't accuse anyone and tries to be rational in the situation whilst Andy, his partner, is a little bit more shocked. Sav talks to the brother of the dead baby and is represented as a helpful police officer who is just doing his job and making them feel more relaxed and less hysterical.
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