Sowter's Space

2009-12-13T03:50:00.001-08:00

A new beginning.

2009-10-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

Back to Nottingham, back to friends, back to responsibilities, How will I handle this term? I do not know. Hopefully with a keen and up beat attitude, one which will allow me to take on board the briefs with an ease and understanding that I have not done so easily with my previous years.

Week one and already were knee deep in a thick pile of confusion as to which brief is which :( before going to my tutorial on Friday I had a big freak out, I thought our real client project was underway and I was severely lacking a real life client of my own. Safe to say this was my own minds doing, having forgotten all about the 6 week simulated project that they had breezed across in our introduction to year three lecture earlier in the week.

However the tutorial with Danny really cleared things up and now I feel I can begin a new week with a strong sense of drive and dedication to my work. Now do apply myself to my proposal for my simulated project which is due this time next weel.

Thursday, filming of myself in Nottingham

2008-12-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

Well seeing as we had captured an abundance of footage of Edward it only seemed fair to give me a little of the limelight. We filmed a sequence of scenes in my flat on the mansfield road and in the arboretum which is an area of park across the road from my flat, this will be used allongside similare shots taken of Edward. We intend this to show the slight similarities and differences between the two of us. One of my favourites out of these comparitive shots is the guitar scene, where we have filmed Edward practicing during his lesson and back in Nottingham we were able to film me trying to play on the guitar hero, very poorly may I add but this is only because my amazing skills were slightly camera shy lol. When watching these two sequences together it will show the audience that edward is capable of learning a skill like any one else, although perhaps not to the same level.
I've so enjoyed my role as director, in the sense that I've had alot of control over the shots and the way the film day was conducted. This was such a personal project and I've definately found it difficult at times, as it really drew on my emotions but at the end of the day the emotion within it is the essense and the overall heart of the documentary.

I've learnt more about my relationship with Edward over the course of the first term than I could have imagined, primarily through crew members observations and comments and seconderily from reviewing the footage itself and seeing first hand how it appears from anothers perspective.

The underlying workings of the group

2008-11-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

So far allong the journey that has turned out to be our documentary we have dicovered the potential roles within one another, the limitations which are undoubtedly going to occur and the frustration of working with six members in a group. It is unlikely that within a group each member will share and pull an equal part in the planning, production, filming and organisation of a documentary fillm. Even with these initial set backs such as the lack of organisation with the equipment and the health and safety form we were still able to work cohesively as a unit and crew under the pressures of the filming day. When it came down to the pre-filming role allocation I seemed to take on the brunt of the preparartion phase. Such as organising all the equipment, even though I was supposed to be the director and the organisational jobs are not part of my role. I need to learn to communicate to group members exactly what I want people to do for me and emphasise the things that need to be done and that this is solely their job. We encountered so many new experiences and ultimately learnt so much about the audio visual field.

Tuesday, a day in the life of the two of them.

2008-11-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

Well we managed to set off at around 9.30 soon to be held in the sticky jam of the traffic. It was a three way ride to Rutland, Hollie and cindy on the bus, Stephanie, Anne n I in the corsa and Hitsi in his bad boy car with the big wheels. We all made it in one piece and headed straight out to Edwards work location, Barnsdale Lodge. It didn't take us long to talk our way in to letting us film in the kitchen. Soon we were in the kitchen taking up far to much space so I minimalised the crew and sent them for a strole around the grounds, which resulted in being a very useful task in capturing photos of the surrounding, I have to say their were some extreemley photogenic chicken and sheep out there. Good work Hollie.

We gathered a few more shots around the lodge and practiced some 100% risk approved road safety, I was very proud.

Back at the House we gathered our thoughts and began to film a sequence of everyday day chours that Edward would normally be doing, aswell as playing around with the dog in the garden and biking in the field. The trampolene was quite a difficult shot to capture and there were numerous takes involved, resulting in a very breathless and slightly injured set of twins.

Later at basketball we followed the action from the side line and were able to catch an energetic mood and team spirit from the practice. Unfortunately the camera ran out of battery after filming for around 15 minutes in the sports hall. However luckily there was a powerpoint near by and we briefly charged the camera.

Alls well that ends well! and towards the end of the evening when we'd finished filming everything we had intented, there was a general sense of satisfaction as we headed back to nottingham. Although I was very infortunate to step in a dog poo as I got dropped off at my flat on the mansfield road which was then obliviously troden all up the stairs and into the hall way of my flat. What a great end to my day.

In our Kitchen there was an actual directors chair which was very fitting for the occasion except when hitsi decided to slouch upon it, I was very unimpressed lol.

My hands were some what occupied and there was no other place for the boom to go. lol.

Basket ball was so much fun although a little scary to film with hundreads of balls fying in all direction. We ended having a camera body guard which saved its life on a few occassions.

Image of the two of us

2008-11-17T03:56:00.001-08:00

With this image I don't feel I need to speak about

Opening scene

2008-11-17T03:33:00.000-08:00

As a group Dotty Doc's feel that the opening and closing scene will potentially be the most important part of the documentary. We intend to attract and pull the audience in at the start and by the end we hope that our story remains with the viewer long after it has ended. We want the audience to take away a new perception on the area of down syndrome.

Image breakdown and analysis of shots from "Hunger".

2008-11-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

Shot 1

The individual appears to be held captive behind the caged windows, his expression lacks enthusiasm and hope as he stands in the dark but looks towards the light. I feel that there is an underlying religious message, not only because the character look slightly like Jesus but when we deconstruct the composition the dark area could be seen as the sin and evil in the world. Whereas the light could reflect the religious faith that people are drawn towards. The broken area of cage resembles an unatainable freedom, however gives a small glimpse of hope none the less.

Shot 2

This shot strikes me as being very aggressive, it reveals an overall dominance that is forced upon the prisoners. It raises the question "What have they done wrong?" Their state of undress emphasizes how weak and vulnerable they look compaired to the officers who appear larger and more dominant. The shot is on the same level as the character who is being restrained by the two men in the foreground, this allows us as the audience to feel the same sense of vulnerabilty. The harsh lighting casts light on the the two prisioners but doesn't shed any identity on the guards who all have caps on which throws a shadow over their features.

Shot 3

Its important to take into account the characters interaction in the background of the shot, even though they may not appear as an integral part of the composion, they can provide us with a valid overall perspective of the surrounding situation.

The character in the foreground stikes me, his expression is so blank and he doesn't appear to be interacting with anyone around him. Perhaps something negative dwells in this thoughts causing him to give off this distanceed and saddened way about him.

Shot 4

I can see a clear contrast between the two men in this shot. The man on the left appears more masculine and dominant, I have read this through his body language, for example. The way he sits with his legs spread wide apart, his posture. Whereas the man on the right is far more feminin and passive as his body takes up less space and somthing about him seems less aggressive.

I get the impresion that their meeting is compulsory and that the space between the two of them is a clear indication of how they both feel, subconciuosly wanting a space, divide between them. They are clearly not friends but possible lawyer and client.

Shot 5

Protagonist in the foreground whereas character is out of focus.

Their attention is off the screen to the right, the expression is so unanimated it doesn't make me interested at what they could be looking at.

Shot 6

There is a strong sense of connection through his eyes which are fixed on the character who is out of focus with his back to the camera. The way in which his head is tilted reveals some kind of acknowledgment. This shot develops alot of mystery at what this character is saying or what expression he is showing towards the other character.

Which image out the 6 was your favourite?
Shot 1

Why do I like this image?

I really like the composition of this shot, from the way the light cascades in through the spaces of the caged windows to the way his hair falls serenely over his shoulders. There is a real sense of calm in the characters expression although there is an underlying sense of reluctance as he is held captive.
I love the feeling that the light sheds upon the dark scene, it reveals a sense of hope and allows the audience to beleive the character will persevere through the darkness.

The memory keepers daughter

2008-11-10T07:23:00.001-08:00

his stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a brilliantly crafted story of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the redemptive power of love.

I found it such an intriguing although rather close to the bone read. As I'm a fraternal twin myself and have a fascination by any books, films and documentaries that are based on the subject of Down syndrome, especially when considering meeting individual characters themselves. When Edward and I were growing up I was always around others with different disabilities as Edward was part of a special needs pre-school, over the last 5 or so years I've developed more of an understanding, one could say I've gained a natural report from this upbringing.

What is Down Syndrome?

2008-11-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

It is a chromosomal disorder caused by an extra 21st chromosone. The condition is characterised by a combination of major and minor differences in structure. Oftne Down Syndrome is associated with some impairment of the mental/Cognitive ability and physical growth as well as facial appearence.
The incidence of Down Syndrome istimated at 1 per 800-1000 births, although these statistics are heavily influenced by the age of the mother.

Dakota's Pride

2008-11-10T06:38:00.000-08:00

This is a film I came across whilst researching for other documentaries on individuals with disabilities.

"One fathers search for the truth about Down Syndrome"

It poses tough questions that are answered by a Harvard physician, and parents of the children with Down Sydrome. In addition to being informative, this documentary celebrates the successes that have been achieved by individuals with Down syndrome.
I want to put across a strong sense of positivety through our documentary as I feel there is so much to celebrate in my brother, I also feel the audience will be drawn to Edwards warm hearted and delightdul character and charm .

The Goals of the Dakotas Pride film was to increase the understanding of individuals with Down Syndrome, reduce inemployment for people with Down Syndrome, and reduce post depression for the new parents of children with Downs.

Two of a kind

2008-11-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

What life is like when there's an extra chromosome in the picture.

A unique documentary that shows the differences between a set of fraternal twins, Edward and Diana, one of which has Down Syndrome.

Edward and Diana above and below.

Where are we going to film?

We shall be filming in the twins hometown of Rutland in the following places:

At Home
At Edwards place of work.
At Edwards basketball practise.
At Diana's universtity in Nottingham.

When its going to take place?

We will be filming on the 18th and the 19th of November 2008.

Structure.

Beginning - Looking back at the past and photo montages of the twins childhood and outline the facts of down syndrome.

Middle - Comparing the current lifestyles.

End - Looking into the future and what it will bring for Edward and Diana.

Audio.

We got in contact with two muscians from Bournemouth university who have agreed to compose and record our soundtrack.

Visual Elements.

Split screen interview.
Photomontage.
Combination of wide shots, close ups,mid shots, over the shoulder and ecperimental.

2008-11-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

Christopher Lee Donovan.
I chose this image because I feel there is an underlying message that speaks to me. In my opinion the body parts in the box resemble the unrealistic ideals of which woman are expected and encouraged to be like. I like the way it takes this idealistic way of wanting to be seen as something that is worthless and simply discarded into an shabby cardboard box. It speaks about not conforming to the unrealistic ways and

2008-11-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

Gremlins.

2008-05-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

I was researching advertising on google as I wanted to find which companies are at the top and so on, when I came across this link to the guradian's website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/19/asa.advertising
Where i found some really interesting information about adverts that have been on the Television recently.

This specific subject caught my eye basically the ad watchdog has received several complaints that BT's TV ad featuring Dragons' Den star Peter Jones being harassed by the Gremlins is frightening and distressing to young children.
The Advertising Standards Authority has received five complaints from parents that the TV ad is distressing, frightening, disturbing and scary for children.

Viewers who have seen the BT Gremlins commercial running during the day and in the early evening have complained and the ASA will now decide if a full investigation is warranted.

The TV ad, which was created by ad agency Swarm, already carries an "ex-kids" restriction.

This means that the TV ad cannot be shown in or around programmes targeted at children or that have a specific appeal to them.

Cream Eggs get twisted advert.

2008-05-20T04:36:00.001-07:00

I think it's a really fun advert, I've always liked the "How do you eat your's" which were some of the first cream egg adverts.
Cadbury is breaking with almost 90 years of tradition by launching a chocolate bar spin-off of the Creme Egg, backed by a TV ad campaign portraying it as the "evil" offspring of the much-loved Easter treat.

Olly Howe

2008-05-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Here is an artist I discovered whilst browsing on this website, his name is Olly Howe, and the piece is called "Fused"
This type of art work really inspires me and I feel a strong connection with the beautiful and vivid array of colours used, combined with the integration of random images and text that are bursting with life.
I would describe this piece as having quite a loud ambiance to it, as taking a glance at it I can imagine the sound of the objects crashing into one another.
Bringing together all these quirky images gives a sense of drama and excitement.
As his type of work is predominantly orientated around graphic design you may think why I'm looking at him and not a multimedia practiontioner, however graphic design is what I specialised in when I took my foundation year at Loughborough.

Memoirs of a Geisha.

2008-05-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

After about four months of on and off reading due to distractions at university and what have you I've finally managed to complete memoirs of a geisha. It was such an intense and ivolving read, I fell in love with the storey line and become attached to the characters allong the way. If you are not familiar with the story it's about a young girl sold into servitude by her parents, Chiyo is taken to a geisha house in Gion and has to work to pay off the debt of her purchase allong with the Kimono she was tricked into ruining by Hatsumomo.

The pivotal point of the book is when one day she meets the chairman who finds her crying by the river and buys her sweets to cheer her up, after this open act of kindness chiyo is inspired to become geisha so that she way one day become part of the charimans life. From this point on she is taken under the wing of Mameha, head of a rival geisha house. Under Mameha's tutaledge chiyo becomes sayuri, the most famouse geisha in all of Gion, kyoto. It's a tale of hardships and destiny that

Prior to reading this increadible novel I had already watched the film which was produced by Steven Spielburg. It is a beautiful adaptation to the book and the visual aspects are stunning.

Photo mood boards

2008-03-10T06:10:00.001-07:00

A few examples of my photography of light and colour, I really enjoyed experimenting with this theme and have more ideas that could be used. For example, Over easter I intend to either wake up and arrive at my village church before sunrise or rahter at sunset which is probably more likely as we as students are of a nocturnal nature. Anyway I want to photogragh the light through the stain glass windows, hence light and multiple colour. I think this will be a real success. Watch this space.

Here's a mood board I put together that I feel portrays an insight into part of my identity. For example, I have used photographs that are of intrinsic value to myself. Whether it be in showing a place I've visited, friends i've made or work i've produced. They all contribute to my personal identity.

Ideas for my enviroment!

2008-03-05T05:01:00.000-08:00

There is a clear contrast between this photograph I have taken of the sunset out of my room at Norton and the others below. Firstly I feel that the colours evoke totally different feelings and the focal points are different. The subtle sky blue colour portrays the feeling of peace and relaxation whereas the deeper orange colours are more moody and upfront. The focal points of the photos are also different as the dark sunset lead the eye into the distance and gives a sense of depth and meaning. Whereas the lighter photos taken at midday don't particuarly have a specific focal point as it is of neutral coulour.

This was taken In Nakuru national reserve whilst I was in Kenya over the summer. For me its one of the most breathtaking views I had ever laid my eyes upon. Its one of those places that if you could you would wish your self back to. Regarding my passion for the outdoors I think it be the most appropriate environment for avatar. Since I've lived in Nottingham I've certainly missed living in the countryside.

This photo was taking from our house where we were staying in Uganda that overlooked the rive Nile.

The Sharkman, Thursday, February 28, Channel 5, 9pm.

2008-02-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh I'm so excited am I'm currently waiting for a channel 5 documentary to come on about a man that works along side great white sharks. Im abit of an animal fanatic so this is right up my street. The Sharkman is renowned worldwide for swimming with these predators without a cage. He was a former fisherman and is on a crusade to show that the huge fish are not bloodthirsty killers but are intelligent and sensitive creatures.
That was the most nerve racking documentary I have ever watched. Now I'll tell a little abit about it.
He swims with these sharks by mimicking their movements and is seen as neither prey or predator, so they happily glide past. It was absolutely amazing watching him swim calmly alongside these great sharks. He has a phenomenal ability to read sharks and doesn't jump straight in the water with any great white, instead he waits for the less agressive females to turn up.

His mission was to immobilize the great white through the process of tonic immobility, this is a natural state of paralysis induced in sharks by massaging their snouts, close to the eyes. The effects last for about 15 minutes. This was one of the best documentary programs I have watched, as It revealed that these mysterious and misunderstood creatures aren't just mind less man eaters and that they actually have a gentler side. This was evident when a female great white allowed Mike to catch a ride on her dorsal fin...wow! It hasn't quite persuaded me to willingly jump in the deep end with them but ill always want to cage dive.

More ideas for my identity.

2008-02-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Above I've put in a drawing of my idea of representing my shared identity in being a twin.

Above is a photo of my twin and I when we were around the age of one or two. I suppose this is also an important part of my life. In a way he's like my other half. So at the moment I'm thinking half an identity on myself and the other on my twin, I think this would be a interesting and different idea.

A great deal of my personal interest and identity in day to day life is to do with photography. Its something I love doing and I also feel dependent upon it as a form of comfort in the way it shows me a past memory. It is a quality that no other piece of technology or object can offer us, it has the unique ability to trigger past events that wold have been forgotten without this visual record.
I feel that my second self wouldn't be complete without photographs of my fond memories as these are the one thing I wouldn't change for anything in the world. I will go about narrowing down a few favorites that would work well with my indent.
More to come...

Cool colour accented photos I took.

2008-02-20T04:43:00.000-08:00

I have a Canon IXUS 900 Ti, which has a brilliant setting where by I can take a photo and highlight one colour out of the frame. The rest of the colours are dulled down into a black and white theme. This is what I have used to take these photos above.

After looking at artists insight by Philip Straub about colour theory

More light and colour shots

2008-02-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

After my recent attempt at taking a photo that screams of colour and light, I felt I needed to experiment further with different techniques so here are some of my more recent attempts. I really like the photos where I have focused on using only one colour, the colours quality is far clearer as it doesnt merge with the rest.

A few more examples of what kind of wings I would have.

2008-02-18T04:28:00.001-08:00

I browsed the corbis website and found these rather beautiful images. Looking at the image above I think I would now consider being a child in the alternate life as there are far less impications and pressures. To me my memories are of pure joy and happiness, although it was a time when one is most vulnerable and naive it was also a time where our parents would do anything to proctect us from harms way.

My personal Identity.

2008-02-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

What would I be in an alternative life? From a very young age I've always dreamed of being able to fly. At times when I have watch birds gliding gracefully through the blue sky I have wished I could have no worries and also fly away. However what use are feathers when we want to be accepted into society, so In this case I would prefer to take on a human form. I suppose I'd want to be similar to tinkabelle as I would have the abitlity to share my flying abilities with others just the same as in Peter Pan. Although these thoughts do appear very childlike, as a twenty year old I still honestly hold these wishful thoughts. Now on to my wings, Im going to be very particular about what they would look like. They wouldn't be like the glittery plastic ones we might wear when going to a fancy dress party. They would be Large and angelic and as white as snow. I was watching the modern adaptation of Romeo and Juiliet a week or so ago, above I've shown a photo from the party scene in the film I really love the wings she wears.

Checking out the channel four Ident.

2008-02-17T13:01:00.000-08:00

Website design.

We were told to have a look at a few web designs.

In the recent lecture on tuesday which was to do with navigating our Identities we looked at company logos and channel idents which really intrigued me as this is where alot of my interests lie in this course. Before this lecture I never knew that the BMW logo was symbolic of a white propeller blade against a blue sky background, it reflects the origins of BMW as the maker of the military aircraft engines during the first world war. Now that I know the meaning of this logo, I want to find out more about other cooperate logos and their history.

V-side the beginning and diary of my new virtual life.

2008-02-13T13:41:00.001-08:00

Finally Im on V-side. I encountered problems with second life so this is an alternative resort which was recommended by a friend and my tutor. Quite a fun start redesigning myself, didn't feel the need to change my hair colour etc, just my height. As ive always wanted to be a tad taller.

At first I didn't know what to do and just wondered around getting used to the action keys. Then after a short while I decided to start a conversation, I found it really strange interacting with complete strangers but it was rather amusing. I think I met a girl from New York called wanda, but then again how can we trust someone we don't know to be telling the truth. Talked firstly about music as you do on these virtual realities games lol. Then abit about New York as I went there this summer just gone. Quite embarrassing as she tried to show me around, and we were climbing on the roof tops but I couldn't jump as high as her, I kept trying but then the jump action button got stuck and I couldn't stop jumping. So in the end I Just logged off, oh dear what a great start. At least I had someone friendly to help me out seeing as it was my first time on the game.
I really enjoyed the music element to V-side and heard loads of great tunes. Ill be back on again tomorrow.

Before going back onto V-side again I thought It would be helpful to do a tutorial that was recommended on the V-side website. It was really good at familiarizing myself with the basics keys and to do's and not to do's of V-side. It showed me how I could change my profile photo and choose different poses and backgrounds. It taught me how to get rid of someone as a friend if they were to start bothering me. Hopefully I won't have to have that experience, however alot of my real life friends that also do Multimedia have complained about being hassled.
I also discovered that there are secret places hidden within V-side that you can find and explore. With this in mind I decided to revisit the sites and explore them more thoroughly than before. I found my self on a rooftop bar overlooking the sea which was actually really relaxing. Its easy to become absorbed in V-side and I wondered around for an hour or so stopping occassionly to take some notes.

Location- New Venezia North.
Had quite a repeated number of problems with my view option today, I think it got stuck and subsequently where ever I would move the mouse my gaze would follow and this also prevented me from being able to click on links and action buttons. Therefore I was forced to log out twice. Apart from these minor hickups I enjoyed discovering some other activities you can get up to, like being able to dance. I think I honestly went through all of the available moves, may have made a slight fool of my avatar but apart from that its really wicked.
Visited the All American Rejects apartment which was interesting as it had a information screen that provided links to relevent websites.

A while later I realised I was being followed by a young girl which strangely made me feel uncomfortable, even though its not real. I sat down in a bar and she came to talk to me and immediately asked "can you be my mommy" we can assume by their spelling that they're american. This strange approach threw me slighlty and I didn't know what to say apart from a big NO. Now I've experienced some of the stranger characters that use V-side it's put me off slightly as I don't particularly want to be chatting with them. I recently watched a story on the news about how paedophiles play out their sworded fantasies on second life, which is disturbing to know as It makes me feel vulnerable. The girl who spoke to me today claimed she was only 11 but who knows whether she was being truthful, as I was with my age. I don't like this whole virtual world where we aren't familiar with these friends we make

My recent attempt at socializing with other members of v-side failed misreably as noone seemed to respond. Which I thought was rather strange however I kept receiving friend requests off a few people.

A recent tearjerker.

2008-01-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

PS I Love You was very tear evoking chick flick but somehow It didnt quite live up to the books standards. I couldnt quite put my finger on it as I enjoyed it but quite alot was changed as to how it was origionally written in the book. Maybe its not always a good idea to watch the film after reading the books as more often than not they're a bit of an anticlimax. A better example of this would have been "The Da Vinci Code". When we read books before having seen characters visually in a film we create how they look in our own minds, very often or not they are not as we had imagined them in the film as we had done in the book. When reading the Da Vinci code I pictured Robert Langdon as a very handsome and athletic man, and who did they give me in the film Tom Hanks which was abit of a let down as he didn't fulfill the role for me. Maybe (hopefully) they'll change him for someone else if they decide to do Angels and Demons.

Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet.

A story of love, of how to love and be loved in return.
Set in the village of Montmartre, near Paris at the height of the Bohemian movement. It is a heart wrentching tale of a secret love affair between Satine a beautiful courtesan and Christian a penniless but amazingly talented writer.

A few of my favourite adverts.

2008-01-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

I have to say this is ultimately one of my favourite adverts at the moment, its amazing what they've done and the 300 theme fits in so perfectly. It was went to be.

I think this was one of the best of the Orange adverts. Never fails to make me laugh. And thank goodness for orange wednesdays, allows us students to be able to afford the cineama.

2008-01-28T05:55:00.000-08:00

I have quite an obseesion with adverts, I'm always the one disaproving at people who fastforward during them. Thats the purpose of adverts though, to attract the viewer in such a short space of time. Above is an example of what I feel portrays a visually aesthetic and successful advert.

Film review

2008-01-28T03:41:00.000-08:00

Ive decided that an important step towards creating an interesting blog is to put across my personal opinion about such things as films, adverts and books. Not so much that I have come across recently but in the past also.
One of my all time favourites is the outstanding film Gladiator which was directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Russell Crowe who portrays General Maximus Decimus Meridius, friend of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who is betrayed and murdered by his ambitious son, Commodus who is played by Joaquin Phoenix. Captured and enslaved along the outer fringes of the Roman empire, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his Emperor. The recreation of ancient rome is amazing, especially the replica of a third of the Colosseum which is the main set for the majority of the film. The rest of the colosseum was added digitally.
I feel the soundtrack gives the most beautiful atmosphere and is so well suited to the mood of the film.

One of the most renowned quotes from the film where the once mysterious Gladiator reveals himself to Commodus as the very infamous General Maximus Decimus Meridius.

This is my favourite soundtrrack of all time.
The music evokes such passion and feeling that its hard not to be captured in it.

2008-01-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

2008-01-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

The brightness that I have achieved in this shot was created by repeatedly waving the glow sticks over a smaller area, It almost looks asthough I'm holding a fan of light.

2008-01-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

I love the way the colours fan out and sweep across the photo.
On the left hand side of the photo, I like the stronger contrast between the intensity of the light and colour compaired to the dark backgroud. Whereas on the right the colours are faded as this is where they glow sticks moved more quickly.

2008-01-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

With each of my photographs I feel they give a slightly different sense of colour and light, whether it is in the way I have moved them across the camera lens or the order in which they were arranged in my hand as some show different colours from the rest.
This particular one above was taken up close on a macro setting, unlike the others I kept the glow sticks perfectly still as I wanted it to show clear detail with no blurring of the colours which was caused by rapid movement in the rest.

Pixelation.

2007-12-05T03:26:00.001-08:00

We worked in a group of four girls myself, Beth, Stephanie and Gemma.
When we were assigned our project, we were given 300 or so photos to take that would create 20 seconds of seemless film.
So we began, when thinking of a narrative as a group we came up with a few ideas, however they all seemed fairly small subjects so we produced a concuction of a few of them. I think its a rather random mix but in parts I feel it does relate to student living. Especially as we filmed in university halls.
In our shots we wanted to portray a sense of unusual behaviour that is often related to the student life. In the first few shots I appear to be making a cup of tea but afterwards I begin to behave in a strange manner, for example taking copius layers of clothes off and falling down the stair case. It raises the question, Was it really tea i drank? Maybe someone spiked the water in the kettle.
The idea of wearing multiple layers was to resemble the issues women have with deciding upon what to wear, especially during freshers week as we had so many fancy dress outfits to get sorted. The way I have edited it gives it a sense of confusion with the two images overlapping, this was achieved by copying and pasting some of the photos above the origionals and then bringing the opacity of them both down to 50%. Also when reversing the sequence it looked quite unique as the clothes seem to be put back on effortlessly almost as if their was a magnetism between myself and the items.
I think it looks really effective when I'm falling down the stairs, as what would of normally been quite a painful accident we made into a controlled but still natural looking fall. Although at one point I did actually fall but the end result was worth the bruise. The inspiration for this came from the video below which we were shown earlier on before this project.

Unedited footage.

2007-11-20T14:59:00.001-08:00

As cringe worthy as it may have been to post this on my very own blog, seeing as I am the clumsy one running, tripping and falling repeatedly over in these unedited shots. I feel It is important to show the viewer the making of our eventually (I feel) successful film. Also I suppose it does gives us something to laugh at.

All these different takes proves we tried filming from a variety of angles, we discovered the best position and angle for our film through experimenting, although it took alot of time I think it definatley shows in the quality of our finished edit version. In the early practice runs I run away from the camera which we felt didn't work well enough. We thought that positioning the characters further back gives a sense of hidden identity which we had intended, especially with the brightness of the sunrise casting shadows over our figures. Also If I had fallen in the distance I would have been hidden by the thick layer of plants that covered most of the hillside, it proved more successful to fall only a few metres from the camera where I would be highly visible.
Having the two characters moving directly towards the camera gives the film more professional feel as it is steady and the attention of the audience can remain solely on the movement of the two figures.

Audio whispering

2007-11-20T14:57:00.001-08:00

We recorded the sound on an ordinary video recorder instead of in the sound booths, as we haven't been instructed how to use the equipment in them properly. We all had an individual statements which were "How could he do this" "Just leave me alone" "Don't look back" and "Let me help you" The first three examples are the thoughts of the women and the last is of the man. It provides insight into the relationship these two may have shaired before the incident, but due to the repetition of the phrases the meaning somehow becomes distorted as we begin to speak over one another. Although there are clearly mistakes in the recordings (eg:uncontrollable giggling) I think it gives a good example of what we intended to produce.

Single shot video

2007-11-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

So here's the group video, I feel the editing has really worked wonders. I love the way the film is black and white until the very end when the light is gradually filtered back in reemphasising the sunrising. Also the colour brightens the scene and portrays a sense of relief when the couple embrace. This isn't our end result as we have an alternative audio track, which will consist of each member of the group whispering a phrase that resembles the thoughts of the actress and actor.

2007-11-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

What do I find Visually Aesthetic?

Looking around my room at university I wouldn't say they were many worthy objects that I would call visually aesthetic apart from my MacBook but that's too much of an obvious everyday commodity. So I thought I'd choose something that's totally different to that in a technological sense. For example I have a white candle that when lite drips coloured wax, as the flame flickers in the dark I would say it was the most visually aesthetic and therapeutic object to watch. Not only does this object nuture the flame but it creates a visual warmth that is purely natural

However I also want to talk about something more personal to myself that I feel defines the words visually aesthetic and these are the printed photographic images that cover my notice board. They each tell their very own story and have qualities far beyond aesthetic value. They record a moment in time that was worthwhile and looking back at these visual records gives me the best feeling. In the end good feelings have everything to do with aesthetic value.

A day at Chatsworth

2007-11-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

On the tuesday the day before our film was shot we spent the day trapsing around Chatsworth. Here are some photographs I took to give an idea of the scenary of our location. I especially like my photo of the cow as it gives it a real sense of being in the country.

When considering a location for a single shot film, we wanted it to be origional and as far from any aspect of student life as possible. Somewhere remote and quiet, a place one would feel at peace with their surroundings. We went to check out the grounds of Chatsworth House on Tuesday the 13th of november and it seemed perfect for what we wanted from the film. Whilst walking through the countryside around Chatsworth it reminded me of the BBC production of Jane Eyre I had watched a year or so ago which is a romance novel by Charlotte Bronte. I thought of a specific scene where Jane has come to discover that Mr Rochester (her soon to be husband) is already married and has hidden his mentally ill wife from her until now. In her confusion and emotional state she runs away from Thornfield Manor and becomes lost and begins to hallucinate, loosing grip of who she really is. The scene is one of destress and I feel we can cooperate this into our short film.
Obviously there was alot of different locations we could have chosen around Chatsworths many aches, but we specifically decided upon an open area of ground away from any woodland that would cast shadow into our shot. We have decided that we want to film during sunrise so it will intensify the atmosphere of the landscape and will show more emotion. During the day we really came together as a group and I feel we have all contributed and hopefully the shoot will be successful tomorrow morning.

On Wednesday morning at 5.00 am after an eventful night out at oceana we all clambered into the car half asleep and began our second journey to Chatsworth to shoot our film. We arrived an hour or so later and trecked to our filming location, however in the dark we were unsure as to where exactly that was but eventually we found it. It went from pitched black to light quicker than I would have imagined it to and we had to get into gear quickly if we were going to catch our sunset on camera, The first few attempts fell through due to obvious problems accuring, for example the clumsiness of myself running through the hillside knee high in shrubs and thistles. It was very amusing at first as I wouldn't really say Im a natural on camera but I soon got into the role. We shot from a number of angles but found that it was best if I ran directly towards the camera with the sun rising in the background. It meant our figures became silhouettes and I think it works more effectively as the sunrise appears more intense. Also when the audience see the figures appearing as silhouettes without an identity it will resemble a sense of confusion which is what we wanted to portray.

This is a short clip I found on utube that I thought would give a idea of the relationship between Jane and Mr Rochester that eventually leads to her abandoning thornield manor. Athough it does not have the specific scene that I took inspiration from it still helps in our perception of the storyline.

We also gathered inspiration for our film from the last scene in Pride and Prejudice, where the couple meet together, confessing their love for one another as the day breaks and the sun rises in the background. It a stunningly beautiful scene.

Review of The language of new media. Chapter 6, What is cinema?

2007-11-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Chapter 6 is a very intense and hearty read. Full off important and useful information, such as the history and development of cinema, for example the digital image and the history of the moving image which follows a historical trajectory from 19th century techniques for creating moving images to 20th century cinema and animation. In this last chapter of the book It covers the followig questions. How does computerisation affect our very own concept of the moving image? Does it offer new possibilities for film language? Did it lead to the development of totally new films in cinema?

An important part I took from the chapter was to do with the principles behind new media and that this image we create becomes an image interface and as computer users we oursleves become Lewis Carroll's Alice in our very own wonderland.
Personally I found it abit overwhelming and in some parts quite alot to take in, as i'm rather new to multimedia my self, therefore I would encourage others like me to take their time with it in order to fully understand the concept behind the subject. Maybe reading the last chapter of the book was the reason for me not being able to understand it completely in parts. If i had progressed through the book chapter by chapter it possibly would have made more sense.

This is a sentence i felt somed up the chaptper "Cinema works hard to erase any traces of its own production proccess, including any indication that the images which we see could have been constructed rather than recorded."

2007-10-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

i think the whiteboard session worked well but as a group we struggled to produce the number of photos required because we had made the drawings too complicated. We managed to take 130 photos in the end, next time we need to plan out more thoroughly.

2007-10-17T08:36:00.001-07:00

In our first week we were split into groups of 4 and given a white board some board pens and a camera and this is what we produced. The project was about how we would transport a box over a tree. I think the whiteboard session worked well but as a group we struggled to produce the number of photos required because we had made the drawings too complicated. We managed to take 130 photos in the end although we did exceed our time limit, next time we need to plan it our more thoroughly. I like the interaction we had with of board, for example when I wiped away three of the birds and then flicked the fourth out of scene. It was a great initiation into multimedia.

2007-10-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

2007-10-05T03:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to sowters space...Im currently studying Multimedia at Nottingham trent and have just managed to survive freshers week, which was insane. In the first week we practised pin hole photography which was very new to me. The looks people gave us when we were croached on the street corner beer can in hand, oblivious to what we were actually doing. Apart from looking like druken students was amusing enough for me. It was a very tricky technique attemping to keep the can perfectly still and steady on the floor but all three of my photos seemed to have come out quite well, although they were abit blurd due to my inability to keep still.