Photography Excersise [Plane Crash]

To help us improve our camera operating skills and photography ability, we were given the opportunity of working in small groups to produce a animation by taking pictures of a moving object to create as video.

This was a great exercise to carry out as it allowed us to improve our experience with the equipment and also to experiment using different lighting settings, camera angels, either low angle or high angle shots. But also to encourage good team working skills. At the end of the task we watched the animations and gave feedback in areas in which the group did well as well as areas in which they could improve.

Likes and Loves [Football]

We were given the task of carrying out Vox Pops to a interviewee on their likes and their loves which in this case was football. We asked why they were passionate about the topic and how they were introduced to it. Also we asked the interviewee if there were any highlights or specific moments that was important and stood out for them, for example goals they scored, any injuries they sustained.

This exercise was good because it encouraged team working skills by the use of someone being the interviewer and someone being the interviewee, also known as a 1+1, also someone was in charge of the equipment, making sure that the piece was recording by carrying out frequent sport checks. This was also good as it allowed us to have more experience with using the equipment and also to gain more confidence when speaking in front of an audience.

Star Trek

Since the introduction of the television series, 1987's Star Trek Generation, followed by Deep Space Nine, and Finally Starship Enterprise. Fans have grown and have been loyal to the franchise. But it wasn't until 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis that failed at the box office and received poor reviews from critics and fans alike the franchise then went into hibernation. It wasn't until J.J Abrams [Lost, Alias, Mission:Impossible 3 and Cloverfield], decided to come on board and try to rediscover and try to give the franchise the revamp it needed.

J.J Abrams vision sees the birth of the Starship Enterprise and how the crew met for the first time and who come face-to-face with the Romulan Nero played by Eric Bana [Funny People, Hulk, Chopper]. Chris Pine plays Kirk and brings to the character a fresh sense of emotion and comedy to the role, but it is Zachary Quinto's [Hero's Sylar] Spock, that impresses and stands out as the characters battle- the logic versus the emotion, the human versus the alien [half human, half Vulcan], which is the main focus of the film. Other characters include, Chechov [played by Anton Yelchin [Alpha Dog, Terminator Salvation], there is comedy relief, Scotty [played by Simon Pegg [Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz], karl Urban's [The Lord of the Rings, Doom], McCoy, Sulu John Cho [Flashforward], and Zoe Saldana as Uhura.

J.J Abram's new vision is both cool and exciting and focuses on the concept of teamwork and friendship and for those who have never seen Star Trek are in for a treat as it is a fantastic introduction to the franchise and the characters [from the cool, classic blue starfleet uniform that Spock wears not seen since the 1960s]. There is also breathtaking action that is thrilling and will leave the audience wanting more. for hardcore fans of the franchise this is the welcome back they have been waiting for and the franchise receives the revamp it needs and deserves.

Friday 13th Edit

We were given the task of editing film to music by using the software final cut. This was a useful exercise as it allowed me to have more practice using the software and allow me to experiment with effects, for example speeding up certain scenes and copying and pasting images.

I changed the speed in some cases during the edit that allowed me to either speed up or slow down specific parts of the video as I wanted to create an atmosphere of anxiety. I was also able to copy images more than once that allowed me to repeat the process, for example if there was a certain moment which I thought would be effective. I was also able to create subclips which was usueful in the sense that I was able to choose and separate specific clips that I wanted to use into folders.

Untitled from Ross Weir on Vimeo.

Vox Pop Activity

We were given the task of working in groups and carrying out a series of Vox Pop questions about poetry to a variety of people that needed to last for 90 seconds.

We were all given the same question and therefore we had to record different people to get a variety of responses. I felt that doing this activity was good as it helped us to work well as a team and improve team working skills, also it helped us to feel more confident when approaching people and asking questions.

Soviet Montage

Dziga Vertov

Dziga vertov [born 2 January 1896, died February 1954] was a soviet pioneer documaentary film, newsreel director and cinema theorist. His filmmaking practicies and theories paved the way to Cinema style of documentary moviemaking.

vertov's brothers Boris Kaufman and Mikhail Kaufman wee also notable filmmakers, as was his wife, Elizaveta Svilova. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, at the age of 22, Vertov began editing for Kino-Nedelya [Moscow Cinema Communities film series, and the first newereel series in Russia]. He bagan as an editor and an assisstant co-director for films such as Man with a Movie camera [1929], and Three songs About Lenin.

Kuleshov

The Kuleshov Effect is a film editing [montage] effect demonstated by russian filmmaker lev Kuleshov in the 1910's and 1920s.

Kuleshov edited together a short film in which he shot of the expressionless face of Tsarist matinee idol Ivan Moozzhukin was alternated with various other shots that included, a plate of soup,a girl and a litle girl's coffin.

Sergi Eisenstein

Sergi Mikhailovich Eisenstein [born 23rd january, 1898 and died 11th Feruary, 1948], he was a revolutionary film director and film theorist. He was noted in particular for his silent films that included, Strike, Battleship Potemkin , and October. As well as historicaal epics Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. His work was influenced early filmmakers owing to his use of and writings about montage.

Public Enemies

Michael Mann turns up the "Heat" in Public Enemies

Michael mann has directed a number of action thrillers over the years that include, Heat, Collateral, Miami vice and now Public Enemies which has to be his best movie to date. As with Ridley Scotts American Gangster, Public Enemies is a character piece.

As with Heat the film features the concept of good and bad and explores the last few months of the life of the infamous American outlaw John Dillinger [played by Johnny Depp], who carries out a highly publicised eight week crime spree and who is hunted down ruthlessly by FBI Agent Melvin Purvis [played by Christain Bale.

The film's main success are the explicit and compelling actions scenes that make you feel like you are in the middle of the action. Michael mann's choice of using digital cameras to show a gritty and realistic feel to it. Another one of the film's highlights are the performances btween stars Johnny Depp and Chritian Bale who share fantastic on screen chemistry [see the confrontation scene between Dillinger and Pulvis.

This is one of Michael mann's most compelling and accomplished films to date which shares both in the way of intellengence as it does action.

Drag me to Hell

After watching the pre-credits opening of Sam Raimi's Drag me to Hell the use of the old Universal Studios logo, reference to old horror movies, Like Dracula and The Wolfman, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat, biting the end of your fingernails and welcoming back the director of th Evil Dead Trilogy and Spiderman to the schlock-comedy genre that he created.

The story sees Christine Brown played by Alison Lohan [Gamer], a normal, decent person hoping to get a promotion at work and further her career. She has a wonderful husband Professor Clay Dalton played by Justin Long [Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Die Hard 4.0]. But when an old lady called Mrs. Ganush played by Lorna Raver, asks for an extension on her loan, Christine refuses as she wants to prove to her boss that she can make the tough decisions, all hell breaks loose as she is cursed and will be tormented for three days before she is literally dragged to hell.

Sam Raimi does not have the usuall case of jumping cats, or doors slaming shut. Instead he focuses more on shadows and images that would be hard to forget [see the shadow on the wall as it a homage to Nosferatu which is Murnan's silent classic].

The film itself is fantastic and looks like a classic. It cleary refers Alfred Hitchcock by the use of shadow and camera angles that are low angles shots and the use of tilted frames. But the films main success is the use of sound that is absolutely exquisite, from creaking floorboards, to blown fuses and bilowing curtains. Raimi cranks up the tension with music to allow the audience to engage with the characters and feel like they are going along for the ride.

The film mixes a fantastic blend of comedy and horror, where as most of the scary monents are compensated by the use of comedy and cartoonish action that suggests that after directing the Spiderman Triology, Sam Raimi has not forgotton how to do cult.

Its a refreshing take on the genre and is the best horror film I have seen for a long time that has an original story and has an original feel to it. It is not just another remake. Future horror fimakers should watch this film to see how it is done. A must see for any horror fan.