Screening and thoughts

Hi,

This post is just to say how disappointed I am in the fact that we didn't get to see our finished product at the screening. We no information that it was on, so unfortunately our group will not have a chance to watch what everyone else created. Hopefully they all upload them to YouTube!!

Also, I got the hard drive off one of the other group members who did the editing. There was no opening sequence, the title of the film didn't make sense and the story overall didn't look good. I just don't know how to feel about it. We all worked really hard, so how is it that the finished product is such a let down? All semester Josh was saying the most important thing was story and the story got lost in the editing and effects of the film.

I hope I get good marks on the blog and the pre-production because those were the two things I worked hardest on and I'm really proud of them. The film itself, I left the editing up to other people and the control freak inside of me wishes I hadn't. Everything I did edit was removed from the final film. It was a totally different film then when I left it in their capable hands. The one good thing I can say is, generally, the editing is really good and he did a really good job with the special effects. I hope that will make up for some of the lost marks.

The end.

The end

Hi,

So this is my last post. Our video has been edited and handed in! 3 minutes before it was due PHEW!!! After Kylie and I edited, we gave the hard drive to Mike and Conrad who smashed it, with Mike doing most of the editing in the end. We all did different things to make the movie come together, so I'm putting together a summary of what everyone did.

Kylie:
Wrote script
Found location
Acted

Mike:
Directed
Wrote script
Edited

Conrad:
Acted
Boom mic operator
Edited

Me:
Pre-production
Time codes

We all did things that play to our strengths, and I'm so happy that I got the group I did. I've made new friends and learnt A LOT!!!

Thanks Josh and Rotten Apple for an awesome semester!!!

LOVE EMILY

Week 13 - Workshop 5

Hi,

This week we started editing our movie, YAY! On the tuesday I booked an editing suite but unfortunately we didn't get much done. On wednesday (today) we came into class for the workshop and remained until 3pm. Conrad stayed until six which was so dedicated of him, I'm so grateful!

We started by picking the shots we know we definitely want to use, and deleting the ones we definitely don't want to use. The ones left over we put in a folder of spare shots to use later if we need to. We've started cutting it together but I'm a bit worried it's going to go for too long! The story is fairly complicated and I don't want the viewers to get confused.

We've cut together about a minute and a half of stuff, and Conrad told me he's started to colour correct. It's really time consuming, and I really hope we get it all done in time!

In case we don't get it all done in time here is exactly what happens in our film (which I think I outlined in a previous blog).

Boy gets ready for a date and heads to the restaurant. The waitress is a bit odd. Grant (the boy) waits for his date (Kirsty). She arrives late and the date is quite awkward. The waitress takes their orders and appears to hate Kirsty. Kirsty goes to the bathroom and Grant realises he doesn't have any money and starts to stress out. As soon as Kirsty returns, he runs to the bathroom and starts throwing up coins. Then another Grant appears (he has bipolar) and collects the coins. He is calm and collected, goes back outside and succeeds with the date. Kirsty and Grant leave together happily, with the stressed Grant still in the bathroom.

We have a lot of work to do, and I hope we haven't deleted any material we need. The film may even change a bit as editing goes on, but I guess that isn't surprising.

Editing is quite a difficult progress considering some of us have never used the program before but it's been really fun learning about it! I'm loving seeing the shots turn into scenes, I just hope we can get the story across.

I'll have one more blog post after this in Week 15 probably, with everything that happens between now and then.

The end.

Week 12 - Workshop 4

Hi,

Unfortunately today the person who had the hard drive didn't come to class so we couldn't do any editing. It makes me wish I had a Mac computer so I could have kept the hard drive with me! Conrad, Kylie and I sat in class and did a bit of work on our blogs and that's it.

Mike said that he did some editing at home, and tomorrow we're all getting together to edit in one of the editing suites. I think we'll get a lot done even though it's only four hours, and once we know when we're free for the rest of the week I'll try and book in some more time.

This class has been such a learning experience for me and it's really made me want to become a producer in the future...it's hard work but I love seeing everything come together!

The end.

Week 11 - Workshop 3 and filming

Hi,

This week in the workshop we learnt about colour grading and a few other editing techniques. I was an hour late (8am starts don't agree with me) so I'm not sure what happened when I wasn't there.
Josh showed us how to adjust the colour grading so each shot turns to the next smoothly without differences in colour and light. He also showed us how to use basic effects (making a photo look like it moves, adding a cartoon image to the shot etc.)

On tuesday we had our last day of filming. We started off in my room where we filmed the opening sequence, where the character 'Grant' is trying on different outfits in preparation for his date. Then we headed to uni to film in the bathrooms for one of the most important scenes. My evil teacher didn't let me out of class so I had to miss out on helping out for that scene. I hope I've done enough in pre-production and during the first day and a half of shooting to make up for it. If not I'll help out heaps with the editing!

I'm so happy with my group and I think we've all worked hard and brought different things to the table, but only time will tell if it will all come together in the end.

The end.

Week 10 - Workshop 2

Hi,

This week we learnt the theory of editing and some techniques to help. 

One of the first things Josh told us to do was try to use 99% straight cuts between shots (without transition effects). The whole idea is for the audience not to notice the cutting between shots. It's much less noticeable if the character is moving. Another good time to cut is when there is motivation (for example if a characters eyeline moves or there is an unexpected sound). This is called expected continuity.

We also learnt about continuity editing. 95% of the movies we see in cinemas are edited in the classical Hollywood way. Most films screen time are between 90 minutes to 180 minutes long, while the actual story goes for much longer (not so in films like Devil). The tricky bit for filmmakers is to cut out the unnecessary stuff (like people sleeping etc.) while still making the story understandable. Josh used the second Transformers movie as an example of telling too much, and not showing enough. In our film, we don't have Grant driving to the restaurant for his date as that would just be an unnecessary waste of time.

Another form of editing which was popularised by the Soviet Union is montage editing. This is a way to show time passing with a variety of different things happening without taking up a lot of screen time. In our short film we won't be doing this. 

Josh also encouraged us to use establishing shots, insert shots and cutaways to provide the audience with extra information.

Josh warned us that often when people start editing they try and finish the piece straight away. He recommended that we should do a rough cut first of the whole thing and then edit each scene on its own. We should make sure all the easy things are done right first, and make sure shots don't hang around too long after the main point has passed. This concept is 3 point editing: the inpoint setting, inpoint and outpoint of shots. Then we have to watch the whole thing and see what the timing and the pacing is like. Colour correction comes after this, and then we can let other people watch it and tell us what they think. Finally we make sure the sound and audio is perfect.

It's a lot of work and I hope we get it done in time!! I'm confident in my group though so I'm expecting the best!

The end.

Week 9 - Workshop 1

Hi,

In week 9 we didn't film anything (much to my chagrin), but we did have a three hour workshop where Josh outlined how to organise our post-production.

He talked about four main points, and broke them down:
1. Technical considerations (like file management, ingesting etc.)
2. Workflow (like naming conventions, music formats to use etc.)
3. Organisation (which is largely group orientated, but also incorporates the workflow)
4. Finalcut Pro (which we are using to edit our films)

I don't have a Mac computer at home, so this workshop was really helpful for me. I remember trying to use Finalcut Pro (or something like that) in highschool....our film somehow ended up with no sound, and even our teacher couldn't teach us how to use it. It was good learning different techniques to use even though at least half of my group have Macs. I don't think we're using any still images in our film, but I wish we were! I love playing around on Photoshop.

When we were filming, we shot a couple scenes with really long takes, from multiple angles, which we plan to cut up later. I think this is going to be a massive challenge, but hopefully it works out for us. On the filming day I thought it would be fine but the more I learnt about Finalcut Pro the more I realise this could be a challenge for us. Hopefully it will work out well for us because I think we have a really different story, I just hope our film making skills can exhibit it!

The end.

Week 8, Part 2 - First day of filming

Hi,

Yesterday we had our first filming day. We got there (our first filming location, Sun'E'Side restaurant in Merrimac) around ten in the morning to start setting up. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but I will admit I wasn't very helpful in the setting up of shots. Mike and Conrad knew exactly how to set the lights and the camera up, so it happened really fast.

First we filmed shots of Kylie's dad playing the 'Scruffy Man' as he wasn't available all day. Then we filmed the bulk of the film from a long shot, then moved the camera and did it again with a mid shot. This is going to be really good when we cut it all together, us being able to cut between the two shots. The mid shot we filmed with two cameras, one focusing on each character.

We filmed a variety of other shots, some focusing on audio especially so we can have it in the background while the protagonist is eating with his date.

For most of the day I was writing down the shot log, keeping track of what shots were being taken and the time code for them. My hand writing is a bit messy so I want to get it all typed up and organised this weekend before I forget what I wrote! It's going to be a massive help when we're editing, so we know what shots are good and what ones to ditch.

We had about an hour break, and still managed to be all packed up and gone by 4:30 pm. It took the whole day, but some how didn't take as long as I expected. Everything ran really smoothly, and our actors (Kirsty Macleod and Grant Grierson) did a really amazing job!

Josh said we would all hate each other by the end of the day but that hasn't happened yet....we still have another day of filming though! On Monday Rotten Apple and Grant are coming to my apartment to film the opening sequence in my bedroom, then we're going to head to the uni and film the bathroom scene. It's going to be hard doing this as Grant is supposed to throw up coins, and we still haven't really figured out the logistics of it yet. We were hoping to use the green screen at uni but I don't we'll be able to. I wonder how Rupert Grint threw up slugs in the Harry Potter?

Well that was the first filming day, and it went better than I could have imagined.

The end.

Week 8 - Audio

Hi,

In the lecture this week Josh talked about some general housekeeping things to do with filming, but I didn't take any notes. In the tutorial we learnt about audio. He taught us to put together the boom mic, and all the different kinds of microphones we can use. For most of our scenes we're using the boom mic, except when we're using a different camera (which we're using for shots where we shift the focus).

I didn't have a go at using the boom mic in class, Rotten Apple (our group name) was busy putting the finishing touches on our production schedule which was due. One of my main issues will be (when I'm holding the mic) trying to keep it out of the shot. I'm not the strongest of people and my job as a cocktail waitress crashed and burned due to my upper arm strength (or lack there of).

Straight after class we got the light, camera and audio equipment. We're one of the first groups to start filming so I'm really proud of how organised we are.

The end.

Week 7, Part 2- Lighting in films

Hi,

This week we learnt about lighting in films so I'm going to talk about a couple films where the lighting and colour really effected the piece.

The first one that comes to mind is 'Thirteen' directed by Catherine Hardwicke (she also did the Twilight films - muted colour seems to be her thin). In the film, as Tracy's (the protagonist) life becomes darker the colour of the film becomes muted until it is almost black and white. The last shot of the film as in colour to symbolise her recovery. It is done very smoothly and I actually had to read about it before I noticed it, then I went back and watched it again.

Another movie that comes to mind is 'V for Vendetta' directed by James McTeigue. At times the lighting is quite bright in certain areas, and extremely dark in others. One example is when the totalitarian head of state is addressing the other leaders. Each one of the leaders is well lit, but all around them is darkness. This lighting makes them seem mysterious and frightening.

When I was in school, they told us that the highest paid people in early Hollywood were the hairdressers. This was because the light would be behind the actor or actress and highlight every single flyaway hair. So for that reason I think I should mention Michael Curtiz's film 'Casablanca' as Ingrid Bergmans hair looks impeccable throughout the whole thing. The lighting people and the hairdressers worked excellently together on that one!

Mockumentaries should also be noted, I think. Although Oren Peli's 'Paranormal Activity' movies aren't the first horror films to be made in the recovered-footage style, they are the most recent. This required a lot of natural light, and night vision. We had to be able to see enough but not too much or else it wouldn't have looked realistic. The night vision I think is an excellent technique for this. It keeps some things in the shadows, which makes it really scary, while giving the viewer enough light to watch what the characters are doing while still maintaining a realistic night time feel. This way of lighting became hugely popular with the film 'The Blair Witch Project' directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. People still think that movie is actually real!

Lighting is extremely difficult and I never thought about it until I did this course. To make something look realistic but interesting as well as being consistent....that's tough!

The end.

Week 7 - Production Schedule and Lighting

Hi,

This week in the lecture we learnt about how to put a production schedule together. It's a lot more complicated than I thought. Even though it is complicated, as the producer, I've been putting it together and it is making everything so organised! It is extremely necessary I think so we make sure the set is ready, the costumes and props are ready, the cast are ready and the crew are ready. It also helps to make sure that we know that all the crew that are needed on set are ready. For example, our opening scene has no dialogue so a boom operator isn't as necessary.

In the tutorial we were in the drama theatre rather than the computer lab and learnt about red head lights. Josh taught us about the Red-Head lighting kits and how to set up the '3 Point Set Up'. Before we do this however we need to maximise the already available light (eg. lights in the room, natural light etc.), and analyse where the logical source of light would come from. It's good to reflect light on something else to light the subject, rather than shine a light right on them. It makes it seem more natural and less harsh. Josh recommended that if we are shooting in a small space to try and only use one Red-Head as they get REALLY hot.

The three aspects of a '3 Point Set Up' are the back light (hair light, corona), the fill light and most importantly the key light. The key light is the one we should always set up first, and use the other two lights to support the first.

The end.

Week 6, Part 2 - Homework

Hi,

For this weeks homework we had to watch the first five minutes of a movie and write down every single shot. I chose 'Bedtime Stories' because it fits in with the theme of our story (at first appears realistic, but you realise very quickly it is a bit fantastical). It took ages for me to do, and I can't imagine doing it for the whole film! It was a good exercise though, even if it did take me a long time to actually do it.

The end.

Week 6 - Crew Roles

Hi,

This week in the lecture we learnt about various crew roles in the movie and whether they fall above or below the line.

Above the line crew roles are as follows:

• executive producer
• producer
• associate producer
• director
• writer
• production designer

Below the line crew roles are:

• camera operator
• camera assistant
• sound monitor
• sound mixer
• boom operator
• line producer
• script supervisor
• assistant director
• art director

The director of cinematography (aka cinematographer) falls under both of these categories.

For our film we're making this semester, Josh has recommended that we choose a producer, a director and a production designer just to make the pre-production and production run a lot smoother. He also recommended that the camera assistant also double as the sound monitor and keep a shot log.

I never really realised how many different roles there were in film making, and how much of a team effort it is. You only ever really hear about the actors and the directors, but each of the above crew roles are essential for the making of a movie. 

In the lecture we watched some of The Mechanic starring Jason Statham (Marry me please?). We didn't get to watch all of it but I did notice a little flickering of foil or something (I can't remember its actual name) at the top of the shot. Apparently throughout the movie this happens often, as well as the boom mike being visible. I'm definitely going to download rent it and try and pick up on these mistakes.

In the tutorial we learnt how to use the cameras that we'll be using for our films. We were given a filming activity to do, but we spent too much time trying to decide what to film that we didn't actually film anything. This has just confirmed with me that we need to make sure our shot list is really organised so we don't waste any time on the days of filming

The end.

Week 5, Part 2 - Tutorial activities

Hi,

This week in the tutorial we discussed different ways we could begin our films, and also talked a bit more about our characters and where we want to go with the story.

Right now we're thinking of having it as a date scenario. The guy is trying to impress this super sexy girl, but at some point during the date he realizes he left his money at home. OH NO! So the main part of the story would be him thinking of various ways to get out of the situation he is now in. For the opening sequence we had two main ideas:

1. Split between the two main characters getting ready and use extreme close-ups to highlight their differences. The girl being clean, organised, and putting her make up on tidily. We hadn't really decided what we would do for the guy. He could either be a nerdy guy, or just really unorganised and messy, living in a party house.

2. We were thinking we could have the opening sequence just of the girl getting out of a car and walking into the restaurant, and a waiter being really confused as to why she is on a date with the protagonist.

We didn't try film any of this, it was all just brainstorming so we'll see what happens.

The end.

Week 5 - Opening sequences

Hi,

This week we watched three opening sequences from Se7en, Arlington Road and True Blood.

The only one of these I haven't seen is Se7en, so I can look at it from a different perspective that the other two sequences. The opening sequence of Se7en made me think it was about something creepy. The extreme close ups of writing, words and pictures freaked me out! The names of the actors as well were scribbly and wonky and that was kinda scary too. It made me think it was about someone reclusive and obsessed...I just don't know what aforementioned person is obsessed about!! I went to JB HI-FI last night and saw it there so I read the back. It's about a serial killer!!! I'm actually gonna go rent it I'm curious to see what it's like.

Arlington Road is such a good movie. It creeped me out to no end when I was younger, and I haven't seen it for a while. I think the opening sequence is an accurate representation of what is coming in the film. It shows distorted, negative images of suburban life. Just putting the shots into negative makes it seem so scary, as if all these comfortable images are not what they seem. What lies beneath the surface?

True Blood is a good show, but it totally wasn't what I was expecting. Mind-reading, friendly vampires, miserable town. I thought it was just going to be like Twilight. It's actually way darker, and sexier, and scarier, and cooler! The opening sequence freaks me out a bit, it makes me think of the southern states of America... the bayou and Louisiana. I don't know if that's actually where True Blood is set, but Louisiana is the state I think of when I think south. It has lots of opposites, like the Christians dancing in church and the stripper. Like Josh said, it's about the circle of life. Birth, death and rebirth.

After watching the opening sequences this week I'm inspired to watch more of True Blood and to rewatch Arlington Road!

The end.

Week 4, Part 2 - A Serious Man, The Fighter, Memento

Hi,

This week in the tutorial we watched a few minutes of three films: A Serious Man, The Fighter and Memento.

A Serious Man started off in the olden days, then jumped forward to the sixties. The scenes were set out with very little movement, and this is similar to films of the 1960's. It is interesting because it is set in the 60's, so every aspect of the film aimed to reflect that era.

Fighter began like a documentary, however the quality of the camera in the documentary is quite similar to the quality of the camera for the rest of the film. I think this is so we feel like we are actually there, experiencing it all with the characters.

Memento is an example of a simple story told in a complicated way. Different scenes are shot either in black and white or colour. The black and white is shown in order of how things happened in the story, and the colour scenes show the same story in reverse. It's so confusing and I really want to watch the whole movie to see if it becomes clearer the more you watch it.

This week Josh wanted us to watch 2 or 3 movies of a particular genre. I chose horror, partly because I love it and party because this week I've already watched two horror movies. The ones I've picked are Teeth, Devil and The Omen (2006 version). It is arguable whether Teeth is actually a horror movie, seeing as we were seeing the film from the killers perspective... however there are a lot of gory and painful murders which are common in modern horror films. I picked The Omen remake because horror in the 1970's is very different to horror today.

Teeth is about a girl with something known as 'vagina dentata' which bites off anything that goes into her box without her wanting it to. Devil is about strangers who get stuck in an elevator together and slowly get killed off by the devil who is among them. The Omen is about the original devil child. It seems like the devil is a recurring theme in horror films!

In horror films the colour red is a recurring theme. In the film Devil, all characters are wearing something red be it a handbag or a tie. In the security room the walls also seem to be bleeding in a way (though this could be just the bad quality of my TV making me think that). In The Omen, the evil nanny feeds Damian red fruit, and red petals fall around Katherine Thorn (Damian's mother) as she falls three stories onto tiles. Teeth is an exception, so I'll throw in the 1979 version of The Amityville Horror just to support my argument (there is a room all painted red that the family dog refuses to go near). I suppose red is a common theme because it's the same colour as blood.

In The Omen and Teeth, the film ends with a shot of Damian and Dawn's faces both with evil in their eyes. Damian because he has successfully killed his parents and is looking forward to doing it all again with his new ones. Dawn because she has finally come to terms with  her..gift... and is going to use it as a weapon. 

The Devil and The Omen both have scenes where characters look directly into the camera. In The Omen this is the aforementioned scene where the film ends with Damian looking evil. In the Devil this is a recurring element, it's as if we are looking into each characters eyes and trying to figure out which one is the devil. It also helps us feel like we are in the elevator with the characters.

Often in horror films, there is a resolution however right at the end there is something to tell the audience that it is not over yet. This is seen in The Omen with the above scene I've mentioned twice already, and in Teeth when Dawn smiles seductively at the creep who locked her in his car. This is also seen in other horror movies like House of Wax and Piranha 3D (not the best horror films, but I'm just making a point).

One thing that Americans seem to looooooooooove in their horror films is to put the setting of the film right on top of an ancient Indian burial ground. The Amityville Horror, Pet Cematary, The Shining (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IndianBurialGround). The list goes on!

Those are the main recurring themes I've picked up in horror films.

The end.

Week 4 - Rubber

Hi,

This week in the lecture I was ten minutes late so thank goodness it was about stuff we learnt last year. Shot sizes, head room, the rule of thirds and the 180 degrees rule.

I never thought about those rules while watching movies, and really I still don't, however the first three seem quite obvious when framing a shot (this could possibly be due to the fact that I did photography in high school). The 180 degree rule however makes so much sense, yet I never even thought about it. If I made a film before I knew this rule I probably would have broken it without noticing, only realizing how silly it looks in post-production.

In the lecture we watched some of the film Rubber, which is interesting because it's not a new concept however it is done in a totally different way. The idea of a psychokinetic person going on a killing spree (à la Carrie) is not an original topic for a film. This movie makes this mass murderer a tire. The film, therefore, is totally different to any other film in the genre of super-mentally-powerful-murder-horror. Yes, that's a genre. No, I didn't make it up (I did). I personally got bored watch the movie but laughed when things exploded, and I really liked the opening scene with the police officer talking about how movies are really about nothing. It was filmed nicely I think, and it was cleverly made. The tire really did seem to have a mind of it's own!

The end.

Week 3, Part 2 - Repo! The Genetic Opera

I know this film has nothing at all to do with the short films we watched in class, but I watched it last night so I thought it would be a good one to analyse this week.

This week was all about going from A to B, and Repo! isn't a film like that (in the same sense as the first two BMW films we watched anyway). It's about a sick girl named Shiloh and her journey to be cured from an illness she's had all her life. It's a dark future where there have been hundreds of thousands of organ failures. GeneCo, an organ transplant company, loans out organs to people in need however if a recipient misses a payment a RepoMan will come and collect the loaned organ.

As it is an opera and was originally a stage production the characters are quite melodramatic and don't have the same realism you might see in some other films. That doesn't mean the film makers didn't know their characters extremely well however, and they are consistent and most of them do not grow or change at all. As it is a stage production the characters are quite simple so keeping up some level of consistently isn't that difficult. Luigi, eldest son to GeneCo's founder, is violent. That's it. Amber Sweet, daughter of GeneCo's founder, is addicted to plastic surgery. That's it. Many of the other characters are just as simple, especially the antagonists.

It has a solid structure and is consistent. To describe the past of various characters a comic book montage is shown on screen. This comic book style is used at various points throughout the movie so it doesn't feel odd when it happens again, actually it would be strange if it only happened once (like the scene where Hugo Stiglitz is introduced in Inglourious Basterds).

The film makers did write what they know in a way. They obviously don't know the future, and I don't think they know much about organ transplants and organ repossessions, however they do know opera and they do know horror. Darren Lynn Bousman directed the film, having also directed Saw 2, 3 and 4.

That's all I can think about for this movie, the end.

Week 3 - Short films

Hi,

This week in the lecture Josh taught us about the three most important things to remember when writing our scripts and making our films:
- Write what you know
- Know your character
- Have a solid structure

The first two short films we watched this week were for BMW and made by a variety of successful directors. The running theme in all the short films was a car chase, getting from A to B. I'm not sure if the filmmaker of Powder Keg has much experience in this situation, but the second film starring Madonna was made by her then-husband so I imagine he is writing exactly what he knows.

Film 1 - Powder Keg (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285930/)

Stellan Skarsgard,  Clive Owen

As is common with short films there is one obstacle, one confrontation and one resolution. The film jumps right into the action, with the audience witnessing the exact same thing as the central character (a war photographer played by Stellan Skarsgard). As the movie is short, the conversations and monologues in the film teach us about the characters and show the audience what the character has learnt about himself. The opening dialogue is in Spanish so the audience knows roughly where the film is set (though it is one of the most common languages in the world and I had and still have difficulty figuring out what country it is in. IMDB tells me it's Neuvo Colon. Okay that doesn't help.) At the end of the film the audience finds out that Skarsgard's character won the Pulitzer Prize (presumably post-homously). Although the audience, and the stars appear to be quite proud of him the film maker manages to convey to the audience that life isn't about career success and material things but about the choices you make along the way.

I thought it was really moving and really sad, and now I'm going to go google the Braille that was on the dog tag.

Film 2 - Star (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286151/)

Madonna, Clive Owen

This is one of those films where the lead character isn't decent, and you really want something bad to happen to them. Madonna's character is described by Clive Owen, and then her behaviour backs up his description. As it is a really short film this saves time so they can jump right into the action.

The film is resolved when Madonna gets to the venue of her concert, not before she is thrown all through the car and falls onto the red carpet and pees herself in front of the paparazzi.

The audience is satisfied as this evil character is taken down a notch. I liked Powder Keg better, I'm not a fan of Madonna and Powder Keg was a lot more powerful I believe. Star did seem a lot more like an ad though, so I think Guy Ritchie took the brief a bit more literally when directing it.


Film 3 - The Last Three Minutes

This was my favourite of the films we watched this week. It showed a man's life through his dying eyes, and it was extremely touching. It begins with a young energetic man leaving a building, then cuts to the janitor who suddenly has a heart attack. He drops a crystal (this reminded me so much of Citizen Kane) and holds it up to his eyes. It travels back in time. His wife leaving him, him and his wife in bed, him and his wife on the beach, him in war with a friend dying, him playing baseball as a child and various memories as an infant and baby. The flash back ends with his father giving him the crystal just after birth.

It cuts back to modern times as the old man dies.

Films like this always make me sad. It is showing us that life is so fast and over so quickly but we manage to fit so much into our lives. I'm not sure if the film maker intended me to feel this way, but it showed me that everyone has a story. I always wonder about old people and people working in solitary jobs (like a janitor) and I wonder where they come from and how they go to where they are.

Overall I really enjoyed the three short films this week and like Josh's lectures I remember the awesome beginning, the awesome end and not much about the boring bit in the middle.

The end.

Week 2, Part 2 - The Challenge

Hi,

Another movie I watched this week is The Challenge, starring the Olsen Twins. Very different to Three Kings. As with most Mary Kate and Ashley films, the two main characters are very different but they used their respective differences to their advantage.

Both lead characters have their good and bad points, and are stereotypes pushed to the limit. As usual, Ashley Olsen's character is up tight and dresses like a librarian, while Mary Kate's character is relaxed and almost hippy-like. Although they aren't really believable, they are still sympathetic and you want them to do well.

The urgent and difficult problem in the film is to win a college scholarship, on a TV show called 'The Challenge'. It becomes more difficult as the twins characters are estranged and do not get on well at all. The good thing about having a TV show as the premise for the film is they don't need to show the audience how the characters behave, they can tell them. The film has moments where it is exactly what would be seen on TV if it was a real television show, and this includes when they describe all the lead characters competing for a scholarship.

At first it doesn't seem like the twins are trying very hard at all to win the show as they're letting their differences divide their team.This leads to humiliating moments for the twins, and success for the stereotypically nasty and self-absorbed other team. More challenges pop up when Mary-Kate's character and a boy from the rival team are caught kissing. Towards the end of the movie the shows creator uses the twins greatest fears to make the final episode that much more exciting, but they use their newfound friendship to support eachother and win the scholarship. Surprise! I know as you were reading this you were sitting on the edge of you're seat wondering if a Mary-Kate and Ashley film would have a happy ending (hint: they all do). They learnt about themselves and how being different isn't always bad. Other peoples views are important too. Such good morals!

In the resolution the evil team doesn't seem as evil as before, the romances are solidified and all the past love interests from various Mary-Kate and Ashley films cameo. This was their last direct to video movie, and it was a cute way of ending it.

It's a silly movie, and it's similair to all the other Mary-Kate and Ashely movies, but I'm a sucker for them so I enjoyed it.

The end.

Week 2 - Three Kings

Hi,

In this weeks tutorial we watched Three Kings (1999) starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube. In the lecture this week we focused on the themes and plots in films, and so I'll do this for Three Kings as well.

There are five essential elements of plot:
- Believable/sympathetic character
- Urgent and difficult problem
- Attempts to overcome aforementioned problem
- The last chance/final stand
- The resolution

In this film Mark Wahlberg plays the sympathetic character Troy Barlow, with a wife and baby waiting for him at home. George Clooney's character is Archie Gates, and he is older and disillusioned with the war (I think there's one of those characters in every war movie). Luckily Gates is special forces, if anyone has a question he knows the answer!

At first it seems the urgent problem is the treasure hunt and stealing the gold, however this leads into the protagonists trying to save some prisoners from Iraqi soldiers. Barlow is then kidnapped, and Gates and the other protagonists decide to rescue him as well as aid the rebel prisoners in reaching the border.

 It doesn't seem like there are multiple attempts to overcome one problem, it's just every time they solve a problem, a few more pop up.

During the last stand the protagonists storm the bunker where Barlow is held, rescue him and save the prisoners (however Conrad Vig played by Spike Jonze is killed). Barlow is shot and injured but Gates uses his knowledge to save him.

I didn't see the end of the movie, but Wikipedia tells me that Gates and Ice Cube's character Chief Elgin are now advisors on war films, and Troy is the owner of a carpet store. The gold was returned to its rightful owners however there was some missing.


According to Syd Field's 'Screen Play Structure', the first act should be the set up and last about thirty minutes. Very quickly into the movie most of the 'W' questions were answered. At first it seems as if the 'What' is answsered quickly too, however as the film progresses the goals and problems change and so does the 'What'. It's hard for me to quess which were the pinches and mid-points of the film, however the Iraqi woman being shot is one thing that stood out for me, as is when Barlow is kidnapped, and again when he is rescued. The resolution of the film was pretty straight forward, but unfortunately I didn't see the end so I can only guess!

The end.

Week 1 - About me

Hi,

I'm Emily and I'm studying a BA and doing a double major in Film and History. I like films because they make you laugh, cry, angry, sad, happy, excited and every other possible feeling. And it's all fake. I want to learn about all the different aspects of filmmaking and how they elicit such strong emotions from us. Plus I'm obsessed with celebrities and seeing them play different characters.

I don't have any favourite movies but my favourite book and musical is Les Mis, so when they make that into a musical film it'll be my favourite. Unless Lea Michele is in it.

The End.