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.   



DEJAVU

The new Predator movie was released yesterday, i really like it, its an enjoyable film which really works but the reason i feel it work is because it is so much like the first movie. Their are just so many intertextual connections and similarities to the first movie, the musics almost identical, they in similar looking jungle, their are certain character which seem to mirror characters from the first movie, the Russian also use the same chain/mini gun from the first movie, the Yakuza character speaks virtually no lines and has a one on one stand off with a predator just like Billy the Navajo Indian from the first movie.
Their are so many lines of dialog which has been literally lifted of the original " common kill me, what are you waiting for" you do get a real sense of dejavu whilst watching this movie. in some respects it really works, it takes the best parts of the first and takes it a step forward, the director has real love for the first movie and it really shows, and its this love of the movie which really reflects the director and gives me great respect for the movie, especially the mirrored scene of the predator in camouflage when their eyes flash green that's truly awesome, and something that has never made it into any other sequel, and predator's still look totally amazing in the jungle its the best scenery for this creature, it just works so well the look and colours truly iconic.

INTERTEXTUALITY

I really enjoyed this weeks lecture on intertextuality, it was really interesting and finally put a name to something i knew about, i understood most of the lecture, how directors, artists, writers, and even model makers reference and take inspiration from exterior sources whether consciously or unconsciously. which happens even more in today's trend of remake frenzy.

The most recent source of intertextual film i have watched would be the Nightmare On Elm Street remake which is full of intertextuality, you have the token hat the striped jumper and the iconic bladed fingers, he is also burned but the new make up is more realistic. Also the film has alot of exactly the same scenes in it, the boiler scenes, the body bag sliding down the hall way, the claw coming out of the bath and various others they have been consciously tweaked but they still both trying to achieve the same impact, which is to please the fans but also deliver their own story when added to the rest of the content.

not another remake

just watched the new Nightmare on Elm Street and was actually quite impressed considering its another re imagining (remake) but in some ways they pulled it of really quite well, i was really quite surprised. Its allot darker than the original the Freddy character has been made more serious and rather quite sadistic which work really quite and was played brilliantly by actor Jackie Earle Haley, he really gave the character allot of depth and even more life and expression. he's not better than Robert Englund just different. 

The make up really was effective, allot more effective than the over flamboyant 80s Kruger, mainly because the make up was actually based on real burn victims which really gave the character a greater sense of realism and certainly enhanced the eerie feel of the character, they really managed to stamp a new mark on the Kruger myth and its not a bad one.

Their was allot of weakness in the film like reshuffling plot sequences from the original and filling in gaps with some attempts at jumpy bits, they then finally went their own way with the story and that worked quite well, they should of totally done this to begin with and stopped boring from the original which would have made a much more interesting film but overall it was quite enjoyable.  

realism sculpting

recently while surfing YouTube i discovered some videos on sculpting almost to a hyper realistic standard and was amazed. The videos were made by a company called Creager studios an American couple who do some really impressive sculptures to check the videos out go to...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo4COOhPk3k

They also have a really interesting website with some really impressive links which i have found very useful for sculpting ideas.

http://www.creagers.com

HAMMERED

I have basically spent my weekend on the good side of a bottle of Ouzo whilst watching a load of Hammer horror movies mainly one's about Dracula, which i actually found really enjoyable, considering the last time i had seen them i was about ten years old. Even though they felt really cheesy their wasn't really that much difference in the story ideas then compared to the 80s and 90s, the only difference was the special effects and level of gore which increased, which just enhanced the level of realism making the films i enjoy to this day.

MORTAL KOMBAT REBIRTH Teaser full

YouTube - MORTAL KOMBAT REBIRTH Teaser full [HD] - 2010

for any Mortal Kombat fan this preview really needs are support because this looks F**king awesome and has the amazing Michael jay White, who is an outstanding martial artist, also watch Blood and Bone and Undisputed 2 for some really good action sequences, especially between Scott Adkins and Michael jay white, the choreography is phenomenal

This trailer is a pitch, the more support we give it the more chance it will be become a film, it really is the movie that the mortal kombat saga needs, truly awesome.

just seen this amazing new predator sculpt by Narin looks totally awesome, can't wait till he posts more on the up and coming beserker sculpt

Can't get this out of my head

Ever since the semiotics lecture i find myself analysing every character under these three headings, denotation, connotation and myth, Ivan was right its actually quite annoying.

realism can it be to real

After having some time to consider last weeks lecture, i keep considering even though we all want films,no matter what genre, to be as real as possible is this crossing a line into the real world. their are more horror movies which are dealing with real events, rape, gang violence, sadistic torture, we watch films to escape reality is this direction of film making bring these aspects, to realistically to the viewer. Don't get me wrong i love horror and i like it to be as realistic as possible but are these latest trends starting to take the imagination and creativity out of the genre.

nothing of great interest

currently watching American Chopper, quality episode with Bill Murray in it " who you gonna call" i really don't have anything interesting to say, oh well i'm sure something will hit me at some point, most likely a bus, oh well over and out.

In the begining their was?

My first thoughts are still stuck on the first seminar, who thought a question i thought was so simple could truly be so complex, so really what is a model? nah just kidding it actually did sink in, but the point that really had an impact was "a model is some thing that communicates to the audience" so it made me look back at some of my favourite films just trying to consider what the model, (which is usually a creature,machine, cyborg, monster,etc)  is trying to communicate.

Firstly i considered the Xenomorph in Alien, i feel with this creature its the lack of communication, it has no eyes we can't see what it is thinking, its actions and overall hostility do all its communication for it, but i feel its that lack of communication which really made this character come to life and really terrify audiences.

Then i pondered over my favourite screen icon the alien species Yautja, from the predator movies, which has a much more humanoid appearance, because it has eyes. At the end of the film when you look into its eyes you know what he's thinking Dutch I'm going to tear you a new one, I'm going to enjoy it and then bits of you are going to look really pretty on my wall. Its this element of communication which made the creature so successful. i really now think communication to the viewer is a very important part of setting up the illusion you intend to loose them in.