Digital vs Practical

Digital vs Practical effects is one of those really epic questions, i thought about this a little more after watching a film called Splice by Cube director Vincenzo Natali. this was a really bizarre film which was really quite impressive visually. which i really feel was down to the amazing blend of practical and digital effects they used to create the creature. Which resulted in a really believable creation, which was pretty seamless due to the correct mix of these effects also some impressive acting which really knitted the whole concept together. The creature story in this film had been heavily influenced by a Frankenstein style back story with a sort of Cronenberg style twist, the whole complex science, DNA manipulation and the results.

 A creature that starts of quite beautiful influencing the creators on many levels until it is finally seen for the monster it actually is. overall i was really quite impressed with the results the film was quite weird but really very interesting to have such a detailed monster which was comprised of generally harmless DNA but the side that made it so dangerous was throwing human DNA into the mix almost ironic in a way. The final spiral into chaos was that the creator deprived the human side and it broke through the barriers and really stood out, the film did also remind me of the Species series but was allot more subtle and very tense which is typical of the directors style. the film really stood out and really did play on the modern fears of just exactly what are scientists doing with gene and DNA manipulation in their so called quest to cure the world.

A few thoughts

To be totally honest the last two lectures have been about animation and i have never really had any great interest in this area, i appreciate it, but it just doesn't entertain me to the level that i would go out of my way to see it. For example i can appreciate Bambi as a beautiful piece of animation that broke through some barriers but it bores the hell out of me. i enjoy some 3d animation but its generally something i stay away from,but if you do get the chance watch

 How to train your Dragon is actually quite brilliant for an animation the level of detail was really quite impressive and the film was quite amusing. put overall it was the effects in the film the fly sequence were really impressive how they really gave the animation a real sense of flight and tremendous power. i also found the dragons well thought out even down to each species had a different fire to breath, which certainly was an interesting touch. the animation of the fire was very impressive, it seem to really flow almost like a liquid, napalm so to speak, and the way it enveloped the scenery was really impressive.

violence is it need in film

I feel violence can be useful in film when its used correctly, it works well to heighten a situation or create a large impact in a scene, because action really do speak larger than words. i do feel though if the boundaries can be pushed to the point were violence becomes pointless and almost totally gratuitous, violence for the sake of violence which i think is pointless, sometimes seeing less is more.

I feel horror movies need violence and gore but it has to be in the right context to accentuate the scene and really enhance the shock. one of my favourite scenes that use this kind of impact is in Predator, the creature rips out the spinal column of the character Billy just before the final show down its a quick scene with great impact it really shows the creatures strength and brutality and really sets up the next scene the show down. it really makes you think the hero character is in big trouble, how could he beat such a strong character that seems to have very few weaknesses. Predator is one of those quite gory films which uses gore effectively to shock but not totally overwhelm the audiences, skinning, trophy taking, cutting these are all things we all associate with hunters but it flips totally on its head when its a creature doing it to us.

sci-fi

after having the science fiction lecture, i found it greatly interesting that Metropolis was the blue print for every science fiction film todate, which really makes it a bench mark in film history, which means i am now going to have to track down a copy and watch it, because i really have alot to thank this film for as it was most likely inspiration for some of my favourite films, examples Alien, Predator, Terminator, Blade runnner, Robocop.
I can certainly thank Metropolis for every android and robot movie which inturn went on to the creation of movies that had cyborgs in which i always find greatly interesting and very entertaining especially in 80s where really enjoyed the use of live effects, which is one of the many reasons i want to pursue this kind of career.

reflection

looking back at the last lecture i get the feeling it wasn't aimed at us that much, it was a good lecture quite interesting. especially the parts looking back at the evolution of camera angles that was interesting, to thing films use to have one set solid angle and now they can come from anywhere. First person, third person above, below, eagle eye and the list continues. their really have been some bizarre camera angles in film i think one of my favourite angles would be from Jaws i love that first person angle of the shark looking up at the girl swimming in the very beguinning and it gets closer and closer till....... the bite thats a really impressive shot.
I've always really enjoyed camera angles in horror films, especially ones by John Carpenter he has such away with angles like in halloween how he makes Michael Meyers even more intimidating with the use of high and low angles, it really gives a sense of power, making him larger than life and it really works and horror movies still mimic the technique.

structuralism

after having some time to think about the structuralism lecture i was considering the grey area and how this effected certain aspects like cyborgs how they are men, women etc with modifications but then i thought this is maybe how the Terminator was so effective it really has a large impact from the grey area. a cybernetic organism is how its described, something that appears completely human but is a walking death machine underneath, i can see why this was so effective its take's something we take for granted, humanity, the human form and makes you think what if this man was machine underneath and i would have no way of stopping it or reasoning with it. this concept is made by considering the grey area, something that is among us but we can't tell its a danger until its to late, unnerving.