On the subject of movies...

Hee Hee

Win movie tickets

Quickflix - a mail order dvd company - has a blog where you can post movie reviews. They've put up a competition where you can post reviews and win movie tickets. Anyone who wins a movie ticket will automatically get full marks for their movie review section of the report :)

Link!

Movie actors as "signs"

Hi guys,

I'm at a seminar on Cyberbullying and the media. The presenter just put forward something you might be interested in (see what I'm doing? Learning stuff and passing it on - this is what you should be doing).

She is talking about stars versus movie actors.
There are actors who are just actors. And then there are actors that are stars.
A star is an actor who has become an icon, a symbol that represents something beyond their character. They might represent a set of actors. Or they might represent a certain genre.

So if I say Western, who are the actors you think of?
Horror?
Action?

Conversely, if I say Bruce Willis, what genre do you immediately leap to?
Robert Englund?
Brad Pitt?
George Clooney?
Angeline Jolie?
George Lucas?
Quentin Tarantino?

This is why i asked you to add in people into your genre presentation.

and changing conventions. Someone from twenty years ago would freak out

Fade out. Fade in.
Now:
Then: time has passed.

Technical Movie Review - Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog

Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog

It's really difficult to explain a movie that is part musical, part comedy, part science fiction comedy. Oh, hey. I just did it. Some history: Joss Whedon and his brother decided during the Hollywood writers' strike to try something new: create a movie and release it for free on the Internet. Gain a following and then sell it, cheap, on iTunes. The actors worked for share, there were no distributors or corporations to pay. It was an astounding success.

So, Dr Horrible is a failed super villain. His dream is to become a member of the ELE - the Evil League of Evil. He is thwarted by 3 things: some faulty inventions, a basic compassion and respect for human life... and the superhero Captain Hammer - "corporate tool". With Bad Horse (the Thoroughbred of Sin and leader of the ELE) watching him to evaluate him for membership, Dr Horrible has to decide whether he will break his moral code to achieve his goals.

Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog is so named because the super villain keeps an online blog to communicate with his fans. This is an original and clever device that links the story together brilliantly. The writing is inspired. The music is catchy. Neil Patrick Harris (from How I Met Your Mother), Felicia Day (from Buffy and her own show, The Guild) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly and Serenity) make a perfect threesome of protagonist, antagonist and love interest.

Interestingly, though, the protagonist is the super villain, the antagonist is the super hero, and the love interest is a mousey red head with very little luck in love. Look at Dr Horrible, dressed all in white, and Captain Hammer, with his black gloves and t-shirt. And take the hint.

Joss Whedon has always been a master of comedy and characters. He is also an innovator when it comes to unusual camera angles. Even though he works mainly with television, he stays away from the old three shot sequence (over his shoulder, over her shoulder, both together in mid-shot). This is most evident at the start of Act II in the song On The Rise.

Dr Horrible, as his alter ego Billy, is followed through the first verse, his face stark against the darkness. The camera leads him slightly, keeping space in front of him as he walks, turns and looks through the window. As the verse ends, he steps backwards into darkness, a fantastic ending to the scene. Later in the song as he sings a duet with Penny (who he is stalking), the camera frames the two of them carefully, to have them both in shot.

Dr Horrible fits the musical genre due to it telling the story through song. The random choreography is hilarious, a classic example being when Bad Horse rings Dr Horrible and three cowboys jump into frame to sing the message. And a massive group number with crowds of people singing in unison for no apparent reason.

From the superhero side of things, we have the classic good guy/bad guy/damsel in distress combination. The rule breaking with the good guy being the villain just goes to cement the cliche in the superhero flick genre. And of course the bad guy with the alter ego and the crazy gadgets.

The music really is catchy. It's light-hearted and really adds to the on-screen action. An excellent example here is when Dr Horrible snaps. Pushed to the edge by Captain Hammer, he realises that he has it in him to be a really bad guy. Behind him, the music thrums - a swell of music and a blast of guitar music rips through the scene as the ferocity of his anger towards his nemesis comes to the fore. Up until this time, Dr Horrible is a reasonably moral person. Check this:

"This appeared as a moral dilemma
Cause at first it was weird though I swore to eliminate
The worst of the plague that devoured humanity
It's true I was vague on the how, so how can it be that you
Have shown me the light.
It's a brand new day and the sun is high
All the birds are singing that you're gonna die!"

The lyrics, coupled with the electric guitar riffs, signify a change in tone in the story.

Music, camerawork, acting and dialogue combine to make this one of the best movies I've seen in the past five years. And at a budget of under a hundred thousand $US, it shows that you don't need huge special effects to create a world-class movie.

And as for the experiment? Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog was No. 1 on the iTunes download list for 3 months, and is selling like hotcakes on Amazon. So there's hope for you budding directors out there.

Thursday's class

You're watching a movie - HOORAY!

And then you're writing a review of the movie - BOO!


But, the idea is: you watch the movie. You enjoy the movie. Then write a *technical* movie review, covering the following areas:
- basic review - good parts, bad parts, acting, directing
- genre review - how does it fit into the genre? which genre is it? what are the rules that it follows? what are the rules that it breaks?
- shots and angles review - describe how angles and framing is used to enhance the movie. Pick out two different scenes that use this to good effect and explain. - music and sound effects - how does music affect the viewing experience. give an example of how music is used in the film to provoke and emotional response from the viewer.

I'll post a similar review soon to give you a basis for the amount of detail I'm expecting.

Enjoy,

Your first movie review. Guy movies!

OK. Here are a list of some movies that every young man should watch to be considered a man. Any others you think should be on the list?

The task: watch all of these movies... oh ok. Watch at least one of these movies before the 21st August and write a review of the movie on your blog.

Right: off the top of my head, without looking at any Internet lists:
1. Scarface
2. Godfather trilogy (counts as one, but if you're only watching one, watch the first one)
3. Platoon or Apocalypse Now
4. Rocky
5. Rambo
6. Terminator
7. Dirty Harry
8. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
9. Mad Max
10. Lethal Weapon
11. Die Hard (1 and 2)
12. Eddie Murphy's Delirious

Now for the professional's ideas:

• The Princess Bride - don't knock it til you've seen it!
• Animal House - in fact, any National Lampoon movie - they're made for men, but Animal House fer shure!
• Pulp Fiction
• Stand by Me
• Enter the Dragon - Bruce Lee! How could I have missed that one!?!
• Top Gun - One word: Iceman!
• Braveheart
• Caddyshack
• Dr No
• Fight Club
• The Usual Suspects
• Blade
• Easy Rider
• Fletch
• The Blues Brothers
• This is Spinal Tap
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• RoboCop
• True Romance
• Highlander
• Porky's

There are plenty more, but these are the ones that it should be a crime not to have seen. So get watching and start reviewing.

Added to links page.

Take a look on the right. There's a link for the top 20 horror movies of the last however many years. Check 'em out. Comment below if you think there are better that aren't on the list.

Aaaand… Back to the Pitch (The PItch part V)

You have a screenplay. It’s the best thing ever written. You want to find a producer who will help you make it. And so we’re back at the pitch.

Successfully pitching an idea to a producer is about starting up a conversation. You will send off a letter to a producer who makes films you think are similar to the one you want to make. You won’t give them the whole screenplay. You’re just getting them excited, getting them talking to you.

Remember:

• Sell yourself and your idea
• Persistence is everything
• We are all going to be rejected at least once.
• Look at the reaction to your pitch in this rejection and learn from it.
• Join the Australian Writer’s Guild. Register your scripts with them if you want (for safety’s sake).
• Check out the websites in my links section.

Write on McDuff. And damned be he who first cries “Hold, enough!”

Making a film (The Pitch part IV)

Everyone makes a bad film. Most filmmakers make a lot of bad films. Most films are bad. Think about all of the movies you’ve seen and heard about. And how many of those were great works of art? The US produces 400 films a year. And of that 400, you’ll probably be hard pressed to think of 10 that are truly good films.

The best writer/directors have written for years before directing a picture. They’ve honed their craft and know as much as they can about movies before they get control of one.

Here in Oz, we get a lot of first time writer/directors making films and being funded by the Australian Film Industry. And it’s crap! Because they haven’t honed their craft. Of course, this isn’t always the case. But it’s worth remembering that writing is a craft. Unless you’re a prodigy or a savant you have to work at it to make it work for you. Affleck and Damon are the exception, not the rule.

So what I’m saying is, you’re not necessarily going to be good straight off. Make a lot of movies. Enjoy yourself. Work hard, give it a shot.

The Internet is a great way to get started in the business. We have access to worldwide distribution that our parents didn’t have. Internet speeds are such that your audience can download your film without a great deal of inconvenience.

Make films. Make contacts. Talk to other people who are making films. Get in their movies. Get to know as many people in the business as possible. When they’re famous, you’ll be one of the people who was there at the start. When you get famous, you can help them out as well.

Collaboration (The Pitch, part III)

Writing a screenplay isn’t like writing a book. With a book, you write it, then the reader reads it. Your magic straight to their brain. Of course, they fill in some of the details from their own life, so every reader’s experience is slightly different, but on the whole, it’s a relationship between you and them, and you never have to meet them.

Writing a screenplay is a collaborative process. You write a fantastic screenplay, and then you give it to a producer, have it worked over by other writers, interpreted by directors and actors, even by costume and set designers.

You are not an island.

So start off that way. Read your screenplay aloud. More importantly, get friends and family to read through the script at a table reading. Listen for natural rhythms. People speak differently to the way they do in your head. People rarely express their feelings with words. Film is a visual medium. Don’t rely too much on your dialogue.

“Dialogue can be a weapon to get your message across.” – Harold Pinter.

Working with a producer is a lot like dating. You have to be with someone who understands you and understands your vision. You have to be able to take criticism from them. Be open to what others are saying. As writers, we are a bit precious. We have a tendency to be defensive. Be able to listen.

Your First Pitch (The Pitch, part II)

These days, if you get the chance to pitch to a producer, you usually only have five minutes to get your point across. They’ll have a chance to find out about the story later. During these five minutes, your job is to tell them why you think people will want to see it, not about what happens.

You have to be able to write a pitch in 300 words. Try to get a blurb-type thing. How do you want people to feel when they walk out of the cinema?

The Pitch – John Reeves and Jan Sardi

John Reeves is a TV writer. He has done shows like Holly’s Heroes, Saddle Club and the Flying Doctors.

Jan Sadi has written a number of movie screenplays. He won Oscars for Shine, wrote The Notebook and is currently working on Mao’s Last Dancer.

I went to the Victorian Writers’ Centre evening: The Pitch – writing for screen and TV. A Writers’ Centre employee asked Jan and John to explain how to pitch an idea to a producer or TV studio. It went for over an hour, so I don’t want to put it all in here. But I got a lot of excellent information and thought it was worth sharing some of the more useful points. So here ‘tis:

• If you want to write good scripts, you have to watch good scripts. Immerse yourself in films. And to get a feel for screenplays, download scripts from major movies from the ‘Net. They’re everywhere.
• Start editing film. Editing film gives you a good idea of how a film/script works.
• Start writing scripts. A completed script or scripts demonstrates that you want to do it, that you can string two words together and that you have the wit to learn the craft.

Storyboard for "Teacher Knows Best"

Real Life examples of what you could do

Sure, you might be just getting started in film. But if you have a real interest in filmmaking, you might be gratified to see some of the successes other amateur filmmakers have had.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8022623.stm

With a shoestring budget and a heap of imagination (and a lot of willing friends) you can get your start. I'm willing to bet these Hobbit people could get a job in Hollywood now that they've gained some attention.

Production Journal Example

Hey folks,

Here's an example of what we're expecting from your production journals, in case you need it! Your blogs should have the following subheadings (in bold) and AT LEAST a paragraph under each one.

Production Journal Example

Learning

This week I learned about different types of genres. A genre is a category of film, and in each genre there are common ‘rules’ or ‘cliches’ that appear. For example, in horror, there usually is a villain with supernatural powers threatening and killing a group of people. The group of people are usually young teenagers! And in action, the villains are sometimes criminals, bank robbers or terrorists, like in Die Hard, and the hero a cop.


Application

In our project, we are going to make a preview for an action film. We’re going to create a hero and villain based on the genre of action, so our hero is going to be a cop and our villain a bank robber. They are going to face off in a gun battle! But the cop’s best friend, his partner, is going to be killed off, like in so many action films from the 80’s!



Difficulties

I struggled with some of the genres because some appeared to have more than one attribute, like in Transformers. In Transformers it is an action film but also a sci-fi, and it also feels like a teen movie at the start, so what do I call it?

Also, I don’t know how we are going to film a gun battle when we haven’t got any replica guns to use! How are we going to make them look real?

Ideas/Reflections

Maybe some genres mix elements of others, like Transformers does! Perhaps we can mix a little sci-fi into our action preview, make the guns into weird looking laser pistols and that might solve our problem!

Year 10 Media.

You are going to create a preview for your blockbuster genre movie.

This site will contain all of the information you will need to do this, meaning that you can do some work at home :P