North Sea Texas

After reading the article 'New-wave queer cinema' I decided to actually watch a 'gay' film, and i stumbled across a film called 'North Sea Texas' (Noordzee, Texas) directed by Bravo Defurne, language being Dutch i watched with English subtitles which didn't bother me in the slightest it didn't take away the realism of the film if anything it added to it,with little dialog with most of the main characters emotions being displayed via his facial expressions making the subtitles a minor setback, but i like watching foreign films English subbed not dubbed since i think that takes away some of its authenticity (in my eyes.)

A short insight on what the movie is about, we're following a teenage boy's (Pim) search for love find himself fixated on the boy next door.

i'm really glad i found this film by chance and watched it. i found it a very sweet gay coming of age film. i liked the fact that there was no violence in this film, no one gets hurt or bullied... it also had an nice ending!  i thought the lead character (Pim) actor acted really well, having not to say much to convey what he was thinking with a look.

Overall i really enjoyed this film, loved every moment and would love to watch more films like this. Great drama.

giving it a 5 star rating...

5 stars!
                             
                                                          Here's the trailer of the film...

 i also posted on the guardian expressing my enjoyment of the movie http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/146684/north-sea-texas/review?commentpage=1#comment-18848236

New-wave queer cinema: 'Gay experience in all its complexity'

So I've recently read the article New-wave queer cinema: 'Gay experience in all its complexity' by Ben Walters... 

I found the article quite insightful, already knowing that gay cinema existed but not to this extent or contextual background.  While reading i noticed Ben talking about gay directors and their previous films, none of which i had ever heard of, but why would i? which also made me realize just how much gay cinema has been overshadowed and in some ways stereotyped, with this article expanding more from the point with break out directors raising the bar further and producing films with story-line with more than the typical bullied, shunned from society plot. 

Starting off with an insight of Ira Sach's new film 'Keep the Lights On' and a little insight into it; apparently it follows the decade-long relationship between two men who meet on a New York phone-sex line in 1998.  Showing everything in the same fluid, elegant transparency.   

'i feel very few films convey the communal nature of urban life these days, the lack of boundaries,"  Sachs says. "Those are the gays over there' - that's not how we live any more."

i felt that this statement was a revelation on how people's views has changed and how even though some people still do stereotype homosexuals we on a community on a whole have some what developed  from our prejudice thoughts.

Following on, Ben goes on to talk about Keep the Lights On... describing the recent features of gay film characters by gay directors, deploying naturalism (which i felt meant after researching the word that in this context meant a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail.) using examples such as - shooting handheld in found locations and using performances that smack of improvisation - to tell a story rooted in psychological specificity? (confused on this clause, i felt that it might mean the mentally and emotional state of a person / that solves the psychological part but the specificity? could be the planned out state of the mind arising or affecting it?? ) 
   Continuing on, he introduces another director Andrew Haigh and his film 'Weekend' and how he too used a similar approach with it's story of two guys hanging out after meeting in a club.  Also introducing Travis Matthews and is upcoming 'I Want Your Love ' that explores an artist's social group, describing it a powerful mode that represents a welcome shift in queer cinema - an embrace of the real. (mode? movie perhaps? that's how i took it in.)

I found that the article offered insight into how changing social contexts impact on the content of films today. Indeed achieving the goal of 'Expanding my mind.'


Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/oct/04/new-wave-gay-cinema

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 so for my birthday me and my friend decided to see the movie 'the perks of being a wallflower' with no real idea of what the movie was about apart from the simple fact that Emma Watson was starring in it, yes a poor choice to pick a movie but i didn't feel like seeing a cartoon or horror/thriller so perks it was.

and after blindly finding our seats in the dark, watching adverts for movies we have now decided we'll also being seeing once they're out it finally started...

Turns out it's a (and was) funny and touching coming of age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosy (which i plan on reading) a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. The Perks of being a Wallflower is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope and the unforgettable friends that help you through life.

To say the least i was surprised. pleasantly surprised having my expectations low from the start it was shocking to have them risen at the first site of humor and emotion admitted from me, there were scenes that made the whole cinema including me giggle, chuckle and full out snicker, there were aw worthy scenes (and trust me there were a few) which also meant it had it's fair share of cringe worthy scenes which had me and my friend hiding our faces behind our hands till it was over (sorry can't handle embarrassing scenes even if it's not me on scene, i'm emphatic like that.)

All in all i truly enjoyed the movie, with it's touching story line and amazing actors/actresses that really brought the characters and their emotions to life on the big screen, made the movie watching experience that much better making me feel like my money wasn't wasted and indeed buy the movie once it hits stores on DVD.

I also recommend it to watch as a feel a good drama/romance, giving it a rating of five stars and a review/comment which can be found here http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/147832/perks-of-being-a-wallflower/review?commentpage=last#end-of-comments a shorter praising than this one here...

 5 stars!


finishing this up with the trailer...

Long take, Pleonastic and Foley Sound

First attempt at a long take...

below is my groups first attempt at a 'long take' the irony of the matter is that it is indeed a short... very short attempt at a continuous shot which should of been longer but... well there is no excuse for lack of imagination. Any-who since we did not feel this was a good enough video for the class, i feel it was good enough for my blog (so you should feel very honored) and hopefully future projects shall show progress from what we started with, this being living proof.

Without further ado enjoy....

THE beauty INSIDE Review

In film studies we watched this short film on youtube called 'THE beauty INSIDE' which is a story of a guy named Alex who wakes up every day as a different person. He is always the same person on the inside but on the outside he is somebody else. When he meets Leah and falls in love everything changes for him. He knows he will see her again but she will never see him.

While some background this movie it was actually a 'social' movie having premiered on facebook and getting the audience involved in that happened this is and was a very unique and interactive film where the viewers also able to submit videos saying certain lines and be in the film too. That i thought was clever and a good idea getting them more involved. Having viewers audition and send videos of themselves being Alex since he kept a video diary.

So having never seen this film before or even heard of it before my lesson, i'm happy... glad even that i was introduced to it, having been in partnership with Intel and Toshiba who produced this having their products used throughout the film,  which i thought was a really smart marketing scheme. (it doesn't feel like their selling their products when really in retro spec they are.)

Broken up into a series of episodes, the story follows Alex (voiced by Topher Grace) who has a unique condition; every time he wakes up his appearance changes. He could wake up a man or woman short or tall, skinny or fat, black or white (any other ethnicity), attractive or not. This got me wondering what if this was a real condition, and how did his parents deal with it? Was it recent? Born this way? (Lady Gaga) Just made a bunch of rhetorical questions stampede into my brain and a heard of nonsense answers wash them away.

Following Alex as he tries to deal with his situation and connect with women the only way he knows how through one-night stands. Which all changes when he meets the girl of his dreams 'Leah' only after meeting her does he find himself wishing he could have a normal life, a relationship. Finding it morally interesting as how he deals with this and takes it among himself to take action to get to know her by visiting her at work, seeing people connecting through more than just 'looks' is definitely a series worth watching.

I found this film a learning curve in society, showing how Alex deals with his condition and how it changes when he meets someone, and is suddenly at fault with his 'condition' after gradually being able to accept it. With that he becomes not only the protagonist but the antagonist as well having an ongoing fight with his conflict being his 'condition' having no control over who he wakes up as, yet having the elaboration of meeting Leah thinking differently about his 'relationships' and getting close someone and inviting them home, while watching that i saw the more vulnerable side to Alex, him actually wanting to open up to Leah showing a big step in his life. Having stated before he's never had any in his home before, he includes us the viewer on his journey. Coming to the climax and resolution i was indeed glad to see Leah back and how she hadn't abandoned Alex when he told her the truth that was a very emotional part of the story for me, if she hadn't accepted him i would of had cried! In giving him a chance we see the CODA take effect ending with Alex having his fairy-tale ending (getting the girl) and eventually stopped changing. (Awww)

With the moral of the story being... Buy Toshiba and Intel computing products!

No. That as the saying goes... 'It's what's on the inside that counts.' (which was pretty hard to count when no one can see your insides.') (deep.)

I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to watch as a feel good short. Giving it a rating of 6/10
(it's more than halfway pretty good)

Homework task #3

Tilt up -  Camera angle that looks up at the object instead of being on the same level. A movement which scans a scene vertically.
Tilt down -Camera angle that looks down at an object instead of being on the same level. A movement which scans a scene vertically, rotating around the axis that runs from left to right through the camera head.
Tracking - When the camera is being moved by wheels. The movement is normally quite fluid and the tracking can be either fast or slow, depending of speed.
Dolly - Sometimes called TRUCKING or TRACKING shots. The camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object. Complicated dolly shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to follow, hence the name. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane, or even a shopping trolley.... A dolly shot may be a good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.
Crane - Basically, dolly-shots-in-the-air. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.
Handheld - The Steadicam (a heavy contraption which is attached a camera to an operator by a harness. Hand held cameras denote a certain kind of gritty realism, and they can make the audience feel as though they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen position.
Ariel/ Birdseye - An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually taken from a helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and exhilaration — so long as you don't need to get too close to your actors or use location sound with the shots.
Zoom - A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the magnification of an image. On a still camera, this means that the photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still being some distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the position of the audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus saving a lot of time and trouble. The drawbacks to zoom use include the fact that while a dolly shot involves a steady movement similar to the focusing change in the human eye, the zoom lens tends to be jerky (unless used very slowly) and to distort an image, making objects appear closer together than they really are. Giving the impression of movement and excitement in a scene where it does not exist. 

Homework task #2

Medium shot - Is a shot intermediate between a close up and full shot.



Used to create normalcy throughout the movie making it easier to switch from long shots to medium shots with fluency.

Long shot - Is a shot from a considerable distance.


Used to get the audiences attention, creating tension or concern capturing shots for believability. Usually introduces the beginning of a scene, setting in motion the audience's perception.

Extreme long shot/ Establishing shot - Is a shot taken from an even greater distance.


Used to make the background seem more dominant and get the audience to focus more on the landscape than the characters.

Medium long shot - Is a framing at a distance making objects appear 4 or 5 feet high appear to fill most of the screen vertically.


Allows to show the audience some of the environment, but also allows the characters to interact easily.

Canted/ Dutch Tilt - Is the tilting of the camera.


To create disorientation or illusion gets the audience thinking or confused.