Plans for my Friday....!

Well, Iv decided that tomorrow I will be experimenting with the designs for my Avatars. The first designs will be sketched from a number of views. This will allow me to gather a number of ideas, which will suit my personality, and portray me in the best possible way. This will also set me up for putting my ideas into 3DS Max. As Andy said early..."we need something to look at to sculp a model in 3DS Max."

Philadelphia...

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Produced by Jonathan Demme
Edward Saxon
Written by Ron Nyswaner
Starring Tom Hanks
Denzel Washington
Jason Robards
Antonio Banderas
Joanne Woodward
Music by Howard Shore
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date(s) December 23, 1993
Running time 125 min.
Language English
Budget $26,000,000 US (est.)

Bit of linkage here. Yet another film Tom Hanks plays the lead role in, but also directed and produced by Jonathon Demme. The film stars another great actor Denzel Washington. Legend.

The story begins with Tom Hanks, a successful worker, whos character develops a serious strain of AIDS. His job is lost, and he seeks help from a homophobic lawyer, who at first refuses to take his case on. The filming is well suited to sympathise for Tom Hank's character, who is portrayed to have suffered greatly from his job loss.



My favourite scene, is the first meet between Mr Beckett (Tom Hanks) and Councilor (Denzel Washington). The use of zooms within the objects the infected Mr Beckett touches, shows Washingtons charaters discomfort in the matter. I also like the scenes in court, where the lawyers talk directly to the jury. The proximity of the characters to the camera and the focus upon single characters, shows thier importance in this specific scene.



The film is inspired by the homophobic behaviour within society not only at the time of the film, but in the past and future years. People against homosexual behaviour may have been opened up to the effects of AIDS on the gay cumminity. A powerful scene shown above, where the sufferer being watched by the initial homophobe, with powerful music, works well to relate the audience to the scene. The red lighting also shows his suffering well.

Prrrrrrrrrropa sad ending. I hate them :)

Images that scream light and colour....

hmmmm interesting. Well I decided to use one of the photos created using the technique me and a friend use often, known as light art. By turning the shutter on a camera to a long exposure, allows us to create some fantastic and eye grabbing images, that look as if they've come straight out of photoshop. Clever and fun. Some are shown below.









The photos, I think you will agree both incorporate light and colour in their content. I like the first photo best, taken proper late on my loaded friends back garden :). Set the shutter on propa low speed and then ran round like nutters with LED lights, torches and whatever light emiting we could get our hands on. The effect is ace...!



I chose Diana's image to talk about, because it uses a similar method to me, in that the shutter has taken longer because of the removal of Flash. Her use of glow sticks is a mint idea for light art, and I will definetly consider using these in future light art work me and my friends create.



My favourite image found though, would have to be Will's which uses colour amazingly to create a professional, well thought out image. The light in the image jumps from the screen, and the coluors are both vivid and exciting to the eye, giving us plenty to look at, as well as creating a story of events within the picture, something I remember Andy vaguely mentioning during a lecture this term.

Second life...making friends

Making friends in second life is simple, approach the person you wish to request friendship with, right click on them, send a request and if they accept, you can track these friends down within secondlife.

One of the people I met in secondlife, I attempted to converse with, but found they didnt actually speak a word of English, bizaare on an english game really. But after adding a few friends, I found that my avaitor became increasingly popular, and more people attempted making friendship offers towards me. This allowed a group of us to go out to another area of second life, share drinks, have a dance and do basically what people tend to do in reality. I was amazed at how similar parts actually became.

3d max...blueprints:)

Been playing around at modelling using blueprints, cars to be precise. I must admit its getting rather fun creating some realistic objects. Some scrrenshots below of some things I've been playing with :)

I've started playing with some blueprints of a ford mustang.:)

I got the blueprints from another source, because i could'nt be bothered to draw them myself, and decided to go straight into 3D max with them, to make it more beneficial:D



Today I started to make a bonnet in 3dmax. doesnt look too good to be fair :), but the use of the blueprints, helped me to make it accurate and in scale with the rest of the car. Using some tutorials online, showed me how to sculp the bonnet, using the editable polygon option. This allowed me to create a shape by editing the specific areas of a cube (the shape I started with). Below are some screenshots of this process:)

This is the final rendered image of the bonnet, along with the blueprints, that I dont want to loose, and havent figured out how to hide in my shot :).

My next 3dmax task....

I'm currently working on a tutorial, which helps me use blueprints to design 3d objects. Its well good. I shall have a go, might take me a few days but the results should be awesome.

x x x

Second life diary 2

Over the last few days I've been playing with Second life, and frankly its getting a little draining. It seems theres only so much you can do without investing money to the company, and I certainly dont have the funds to do that. Sop I decided today, to go looking around for different objects, items and interesting things I could interact with.



The first thing I was to do was to start using the interaction menu by right clicking on vasrious objects. This allows the user to stand, sit, or interact in a way that suits the object. When walking around one particular site, I found a stage with a drum kit, in whcih the user could interact with each individual drum, something I want to encorporate into my design for the 3d interactive box.



I have also found that pretty much anything in second life can be played around with in some form, which is atonishing with the size of the environment. For example I found a small shack, in which the user could close the doors and open them as they felt sutied what they wished to do, then stay in here for as long as they wanted.



I also found some rather fun stuff to doin this section of second life. For example when travelling up the river, I found some white water rapids, in whcih wou could purchase a rubber ring and ride on them whenever you wished. I did not purchase a ring, but it may have been a fun excersise to interact with.



Also today, I found a relaxation place, where your second life character could sit and relax on seats and cushions, watching the waves in the sea.:)



I managed also today to find a port, where if paid, your second life characters can take a cruise around the island, stopping at numerous places.

Finally, I found some crazy textured flooring, in an unsecured house today. The flooring was opaque, and bright green, intersting indeed.



Ha ha and almost forgot. I sat on a cows head:D

Sweeney Todd - The demon barber of Fleet Street :D

Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Richard D. Zanuck
Walter F. Parkes
Laurie MacDonald
John Logan
Written by Christopher Bond (story)
Stephen Sondheim (lyrics)
Hugh Wheeler (play)
John Logan (script)
Starring Johnny Depp
Helena Bonham Carter
Alan Rickman
Timothy Spall
Jamie Campbell Bower
Ed Sanders
Jayne Wisener
Laura Michelle Kelly
and
Sacha Baron Cohen
Music by Stephen Sondheim
Jonathan Tunick (underscore)
Cinematography Dariusz Wolski
Editing by Chris Lebenzon
Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures(USA)
Warner Bros. (Non-USA)
Release date(s) December 21, 2007 (US)
January 25, 2008 (UK)
Running time 117 min.
Country United States/ United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $50 million




My favourite clip shown above. The fast following camera that traces Sweeney and focuses on him at all times is a clever effect. The camera movement is also linked with the tempo of the music to give the dramatic effect. Sweeneys clothing is brighter, more vivid, so showing that this i a dull community. This can especially be seen when the camera pans out at the end of this scene.

Depp is a legend :)



Another awesome scene, in which we can see the contrast between the rival barbers clothing and hair sheet, compared to Sweeney's. The focus on the rival barber is a clever technique at drawing the attention of the audience and introducing the first of Sweeney's victims in the film.

Notes teken during film.

beautiful start with effects to create running blood don ornaments in Sweeney's barber shop - use of saturated colours with the vivid reds show harshness of blood, as well as the darkness of the killer

very dark when sweeney is around. dark on the boat and in the outskirts of london

clevber use of camera in the shots of london in first person fast tour like fashion

very colourful flashbacks warm tones

additional light when he holds his knives for the first time

light world shown around his daughter, to show she is still bright and gleaming

musical parts, panning camera togive impression of a musical.

Disasterous ending shown very darkly, very vivid reds in the blood

No light, even in the end

second life....

I'm going to be honest. I'm writing this blog hammered off my face so it may well be abit sketchy like:).

So second life. I began second life a few weeks back, and it became apparent to me that it was a really great piece of online entertainment, in which people could create parraells to their normal selves or change their lives completely to become something wayout from what their ordinary life consited of.

For example, I met some guy that owned £330 of land on second life. Something whcih shocked me as he was only 22 years of age. Money to burn :).

But yeh to be honest i'm not sure where to go from here. I'm some random looking guy, with long hair, a guitar and some rather dashing clothes, of which i've dragged the jeans down and made the shirt a tad tighter. But what do I do now, get a job? I guess so :) lets give it a whirl drunken scotty:)

Heres some screenshots:)

Charlie Wilsons War.

Directed by Mike Nichols
Produced by Tom Hanks
Written by George Crile (novel)
Aaron Sorkin (screenplay)
Starring Tom Hanks
Julia Roberts
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Amy Adams
Ned Beatty
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by John Bloom
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Playtone
Release date(s) December 21, 2007
Running time 100 min.
Country United States
Language English
Dari
Urdu
Budget $75 million

Tonight I went to watch the newly released Charlie Wilson's war, based on a true story of a congressman whom supplies money to the Afghans to fight the Solviet Union in the time of the Cold war.

The film was interesting, as it combined real footage, with the actual film, to give the audience more of a feel for the truth behind the narrative.

Mike Nichols is the director, someone who before this movie, I had not been aware of his work. I remember faintly a film called Closer, released in 2004, which I will be watching sometime later this week to see if I can see a style portrayed in his work. From the film I watched tonight, he is a talented director, who adds something to what could be a grey area in film. For example if there was little humour in this film it would come across too dry for viewing in my opinion.

Narrative: The narrative was well structured throughout the film, however contained alot of political confusion which made it difficult for easy viewing. For example the main narrative in the story seems to be the raising of funds to help the Afghans at war, with help from a rich female anti-communist played by Julia Roberts. The main actor is Tom Hanks, who as always, makes the film brilliant to watch. Without the humour the film would be dull and rather worthless as a piece.

Visual Style: Throughout the film, full vivid colour is used to show this highly succesful man in the light that others percieve him as in the film. Thi works very well in introducing us as an audience to the main character. The style used towards the end of the film is different, and it becomes very clear that this man is actually lonely or perhaps full of pride. At the end the start is played again, and we see why he is standing in front of so many people, being awardfed a prize for his achievement. However, when we see him in tears, we see a darker style being used. The film is mainly scened in the offices of the congressman, as well as hotels, and middle eastern countries. There is a good part of the film where he is standing on a large hill, unsure whether to aid the people of Afghnistan, with the refugee camps filled with thousands of people in the distance. The use of focus on him and those in the background, as well as the use of space shows that seeing the people has a huge effect on his decision.

I feel it important to mention the character played by Phillip seymour Hoffman, as the character is used well to break out the seriousness of the film, to create a sense of humour within it. A clever technique. However, I dont know how the start is relevant where he shouts at his superiour, a rather bizaare introduction to a character I'm sure would be agreed.

3D max....

Been playing around with this software a fair bit this week, just to familiarise myself with its interface, and build an understanding of what its designed to produce. I found these videos below, that people had made using 3d studio max.I also found a couple of other pieces of software when looking at 3d studio max, including a modelling program called poser. This software, would be highly useful for when I start creating my identity piece, as it would allow me to create a 3d character, which could be interacted with by the user, without takin too much time manually moulding it. Below, is a head, I created using 3DS Max and Mudbox.






The head was designed to have a similar shape to those of the Lloyds TSB advert. After finding some 3d painting software, I will hopefully be able to colour and add features to the 3d object already created. This is good practice for future ideas and research into 3d max and other software.

I have also been on SecondLife, which I will talk about in my next blog as I'm off to the cinema tonight to watch yet another film, which I will also be blogging about :)

Scotty x x x

The silence of the lambs....

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Produced by Kenneth Utt
Edward Saxon
Ron Bozman
Written by Ted Tally
Starring Jodie Foster
Anthony Hopkins
Scott Glenn
Ted Levine
Music by Howard Shore
Cinematography Tak Fujimoto
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date
United Kingdom:
May 31, 1991
Running time 118 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $19,000,000
Preceded by Manhunter (1986)
Followed by Hannibal (2001)



I've made a resolution...to widen my knowledge in the area of Audio visual multimedia, so when it comes to the choice week, I have a full understanding in the area.

I have set my self the task of a director, per week, up until the choice week.

My first is, Jonathon Demme , director of the silence of the lambs. The other films chosen by this director are...

The Agronomist, Married to the Mob and Philadelphia

My first impressions of the silence of the lmabs, was that its a deep, psychological thrilling story, packed with moments of suspense. The acting on Anthony Hopkins part, in my opinion was superb. The difficulty in playing an intelliegent, mid-aged male turned psychopath, must have been a difficult task, however although he is'nt actually the main "villain" in this film, it leads us into the later films. He is in fact only in the film for around 15mins!



I have never read the novel by Thomas Harris, and in ways I'm glad, as the content of the film, in my eyes, reveals enough about the basic plot, to give me insight into how the next films will be shown. It will be interesting to see the difference in each of the films, with different screenwriters, actors and directors.

When considering the film in a more media form, as Bruce Block would perhaps do, we see some good quality filming techniques. Filming from first person, for example when the serial killer Buffalo Bill has the night vision goggles on, helps to create suspense within the audience, as well as a feeling of anxiety.

I feel that some parts of the film, were weak. For example, I really did not enjoy having to listen to the full annoying american accent of Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster. Her acting at some parts was also a little farfetched, mainly in the parts of true suspense, i.e. when she was in the house with Buffalo Bill.

Narrative: Because the narrative ws taken from an extremelly popular book, it was clearly going to be a popular film. The narrative flows well, and although very deep, allows the viewer, to become aquainted with characters and their stories. There are actually two main stories linked into one in this film. First, the escape of hannibal lecture and his aid to the finding of Buffalo Bill. Second, the story of Buffalo Bill as a transexual serial killer, and the tracing down of him.

Visual Style: The visual style of the Silence of the Lambs, is dark and deep. Although a psychopath, the sections with Hanibal Lecture, are considerably light and lively. For example when he kills the two guards in his cage, only after Hannibal has left is darkness portrayed. Another section where lighting is used to effect the mood is when Agent Starling is despereate to get to the killer, and Hannibals body is in the light, but his face is not visible.

Our first view of Hannibal, is shown that he is a rather normal man in appearence. His visual shows an ageing man, intelligent, but deeply disturbed.

Camera: The camera effects used, come across as being very 80's to me. The filming at the beginnning of the movie for example, is very simple and not too enthralling, something which helps me to get into a film straight away. However, the use of first person camera, specifically in the first meeting of Hannibal, as we see him in the eyes if Agent Starling, is an effective one.

The chaos-like camera in the night vision scenes are also well produced and add to the tension and suspense of the film.

Favourite scene:



The screaming of the lambs scene, shows the developed relationship between Hannibal and Clarice. The lighting used on his face when he is in the cage, and the darkness of his face, shows he has got deep into Clarice, and his evil side is beginning to show. All the filming is done from either within or out of the cage, the bars are always visible. The camera comes closer into Hannibals face, as he begins to get into Clarice's thoughts and her mind. The same happens as Clarice's thoughts and story develops. When she is telling the story, Hannibals comments on the story and questions are said without moving the camera to his face. When he has finally got to her, the music kicks in to create suspense and also show Hannibal's clever psychological knowledge. The final zoom, into his finger stroking hers, shows that Hannibal has a sensitive side towards Clarice's character.

Two films I will clearly need to watch to now are Manhunter and Hannibal, as well as the new Hannibal Rising film.

A good website for linking films to filming techniques : http://users.design.ucla.edu/~cariesta/MayaCourseNotes/html/body_ucla160_fx.html