University Projects:

Hello People of the Internet,

Once again I have been terrible at multi-tasking! How anyone manages to keep a blog running, alongside university work, I do not know....they must be magic!

Despite my incompetence, this is just a quick post to share some of the work I have created whilst at University. All the work was created, thus belongs to, my respective groups and I. It has been a great experience, working with new technology and new people, both to build the skills I need for a future career in the media industry, as well as developing new friendships along the way. Some of the people I have worked with, on these respective projects, have come to be my closest university friends. I am thankful for their individual talents and ability to handle my stress....and believe me there was a lot of stress.

Anyway, I hope everyone reading this enjoys the things I have/am creating. I know I have a long way to go, many more skills to learn, to develop my abilities. However, if this post makes at least one person smile, enjoy themselves, then I can rest easy knowing I am on the correct path to the future I desire.

For now, I hope you enjoy my little corner of the Internet.

Thank you and until next time...keep on watching random stuff...go for all opportunities offered to you...and just keep smiling!

P.S. I have had to compress the videos in order to upload them to the blog, so excuse the video quality. I still have many skills to learn, there is much room for improvement, but I believe I have made a respectable start. So I hope I have uploaded these correctly, and that people are capable of accessing them!

These pieces are perfectly imperfect! I had such a great time creating both, and l have learnt so much already. 

Film Adaptation of Max Ophüls Caught (1949) using modern context:

Higher Quality:https://plus.google.com/u/0/100186413869660150185/posts/J1Q4X9CN1kc 

Through reinventing Max Ophüls’ opening, we intended to not only address the psychological association of appearance and wealth in modern fashion and advertisement, but also wished to extend the themes and exploration of human aspiration, which Ophüls raises in the film Caught (1949).

By including a male character, we hoped to suggest that unlike the contemporary 1940's society of Caught, men are not exempt from the desire for a ideal appearance; men now worry about living up to societal expectation as much as women do.

Whilst Ophüls' long takes and certain lines of dialogue  were useful to us in mapping a parallel scene, we decided to introduce modern technology and a male character, to ensure that modern context was present to rejuvenate the opening. Modern technology, using and shooting headphones and an ‘iPad’ throughout our scene, allowed us to comment on the growing abundance of media outlets and consequent reinforcement of an ‘ideal’ image and lifestyle. This permitted us the chance to explore ‘equivalents’. We embraced Ophüls’ close ups of the female figure in magazines, by using similar fashion advertisement, but also extended this by showing audiences how the internet has exacerbated the need for consumers to achieve an expected material happiness.

As cinematographer for this project, lighting became one of the most important aspects for me to exploit. Adhering to V.F  PERKINS’ theory, I sought to ‘conquer the visible world’, using light to fulfil two objectives. I wanted to ‘possess the real world’s appearance’, positioning our artificial lighting near windows, for example, to enhance the expected natural light sources. More importantly, following Ophuls’ own choices, I sought to conform to a ‘traditional aesthetic’ by ‘presenting the ideal’. I used lighting to softly light actors, ensuring they ‘glowed’ to connote our themes, and the narrative driving force behind Caught, of characters seeking happiness through ascending socially or via unrealistic appearance.

Television Project: Constructing a scene for British Soap Opera Eastenders with a focus on CLASS:

Higher Quality: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100186413869660150185/posts/2rjKB1NmowX?pid=6262628724711939074&oid=100186413869660150185

Christine Geraghty comments, “British soaps offer the notion of a harmonious community, but the chimera is rarely pinned down. Soap opera format denies the final ending…the community can never therefore be finally and securely established, which would be implausible, thus threaten the soaps commitment to realism” 

By introducing a visual conflict between middle class and working class, between Martin and the social worker, we intentionally ensured that a sense of ‘community’ was present but unstable. There was a relationship between these two classes in the characters, as is realistic because modern society is an amalgamation of many classes, but in being juxtaposed against one another, our drama was evident and our scene’s dialogue was propelled forward.

NOTE: Music used in the clips...unfortunately not mine and is owned by the respective artists (Aloe Blacc and Paramore respectively)

Books Used: 

Geraghty in Buscombe, Edward. 2000. 'British Television: A Reader'. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

•Perkins, V. F. 1993. ‘Film As Film’ (London: Perseus Books Group)

University...is something that is currently happening.

Hello People of the Internet,

It has been a long time and much has changed. I am now a fully-fledged Film student, with one University term complete and under my belt. It has flown by so quickly yet at the same time it seems like a lifetime ago since I was a college student living at home; it is a rather confusing contradiction.

I have enjoyed myself thus far but must admit that University has failed to live up to my expectations. Whilst I admit that my expectations were unreasonably high, I still argue that University is something weird and possibly inexplainable. Living on campus is like living in a bubble; the outside world perhaps invades once in a while but a lot of the time it can feel quite isolating. Despite this, I have made some amazing new friends, many that share the same interests and humour, and I have grasped many opportunities that I hope to have far into the future. 

Undeniably, I am a socially anxious person and this accounts for some of my feelings but University is already changing me for the better. I feel more confident when out and about, if only slightly, and by studying film full-time it has been undoubtedly confirmed to me that this is the industry I want to be in. Even within the department, so many different and interesting people have been brought together. People with captivating opinions and unique viewpoints about the world.

I guess I just wanted to write this post, for myself, to reassure myself that going to University was the best choice. I have had struggles but I feel that it was the best step to take, not only to better myself personally but also gain the skills needed to survive in the industry. I know I will probably enjoy my second year more, with the wider choice of modules that will be available to me, but I am definitely content right now with the University and people I have met there. Frequent trips too London's theatres and amazing new friends doesn't sound too bad at all, does it?

The Best Of My Holiday's Viewing:

Having had a month off from University for Christmas, trust me it came to a shock to me as well, I have had the chance to watch plenty of films and television. I know everyone is just dying to know what I thought was the best...so here are my thoughts!

JOY:

I finally made it to the cinema to see David O. Russell's latest film, after having waited nearly a year to see it, and I was largely impressed. For a film about the creation of the 'Miracle Mop', it was surprisingly entertaining. I am undeniably an enthusiast of large franchise films; I will always be most attracted to the spectacle of fantasy and action genres. However, Russell once again makes the mundane captivating. The narratives of 'real people', again seen within 'Joy', have the power to awaken emotion and identification in even the most detached audience member. I will admit that I found the family dynamics in 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012) more convincing but 'Joy' still manages to hook its audience members from the beginning. It is Jennifer Lawrence's 'special power', breathing energy into the character of real-life Joy Mangano, that holds the narrative together; becoming the calm centre of an emotional storm, it is Lawrence that the audience follows and 'roots' for. 

I would give this film 4/5, until I create a more exciting rating process. It is a great watch, if only failing in the slightest sense of not living up to Russell's previous films, although I only believe it failed to do so because my expectations were so high after waiting for so long for the film. 

SHERLOCK: The Abominable Bride

WOW!!! 'Sherlock' returned with a spectacular one-off special. Watching this, I was immediately amazed at the captivating, complex narrative as well as the sheer perfect 'Televisuality'. There are probably very few people who have not discovered the 'joy' of the series 'Sherlock', but if you haven't given it a chance yet, do it...now! 'The Abominable Bride' offered everything I want out of any film, let alone any television episode. The creators managed to seamlessly intertwine the narratives of two time periods in a whirlwind of thrills and action. I do not want to say too much about this special, my writing would fail to do it true justice and I do not want to spoil anything, so all I will say is take the time to really watch this and soak it in.

I definitely give this special a 5/5! The show had a lot to live up to, considering fans have been waiting so long for new material. Personally, the episode did not only live up to my expectations but surpassed them. Watching this episode on New Year's Day, not only rounded off some great christmas holiday viewing, but very nearly became one of the best things I watched all year. 

So...I hope you enjoyed this post and I will hopefully write again when I have settled back into University. It has been a difficult break for me, despite the great viewing, and I will not go into details but writing and various media has helped me to escape. Despite recent difficulties, I go into this year with clear personal goals on what I wish to achieve personally and academically. This blog provides and outlet for both areas and will help me to document my University life. This little corner of the internet is my escape and I only hope other people can enjoy my writing and opinions.

Thank you and until next time...keep on watching random stuff...go for all opportunities offered to you...and just keep smiling!

Note: Images not mine...except the natural photography and Globe Theatre :)