Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Monday, 20 June 2011
Evaluation of Video Profile - Sue
Evaluation for my Video Profile.
I was set a task to produce and edit a video profile about my goals, my aspirations and myself. I was very excited and enthusiastic to complete this task as I found it really challenging and because it was set during the end of the term, I figured that it was a really nice way of reflecting my two years at The City Of Westminster College.
What I think went well was the visual quality of the video and I think that the Sony SLR camera I used to film played a huge part in the quality. At first I pretty much doubted my editing skills. I knew that using any editing software was one of my weak points. However, I started using a new editing software called ‘Sony Vegas’ and I found It much more easier to use than ‘Final Cut Pro’. I think that the way I cut most of my shots went quite well however I could have added more insert shots of my lips or legs moving as I wrote in my script. What also went well were the timing and the location. I just about filmed it before the sun went down in my back garden and was worried that I would have had a few interruptions, however this didn’t happen and it was a successful 1 hour and a half of filming!
What pleased me about making the video was that it was enjoyable, which motivated me more to get it done. My friend also helped me film a few sections of the video profile which I was very pleased about because having to get up in every shot and sit back down in the same spot wasted a lot of time. The equipment I used pleased me too. When I first starting thinking about how to film my video profile I had an idea to do it on my webcam at home, but as I started to film I started to think that I could do a much better job. Therefore I took out an SLR and better equipment at the college.
The aspects of the final video that I am most pleased about is the feedback I had got from my classmates. Amir said ‘It made him want to cry’ when he saw his picture on my video profile. It made me smile; it will definitely be a video to look back on in a few years time.
Although I am very proud of my video profile I know that there is a lot I could improve on if I had another chance. There were a few shots towards the end that I was not pleased with at all and part of it was because the way I was sitting did not compliment the camera shot. Another thing that I know I could really improve on is the sound quality. I did not use the microphone to my full advantage and over estimated its ability and I could have also spoken a bit louder. Also, I could have improved on a lot I could proudly say that I am proud of what I have done and how I edited it.
I was set a task to produce and edit a video profile about my goals, my aspirations and myself. I was very excited and enthusiastic to complete this task as I found it really challenging and because it was set during the end of the term, I figured that it was a really nice way of reflecting my two years at The City Of Westminster College.
What I think went well was the visual quality of the video and I think that the Sony SLR camera I used to film played a huge part in the quality. At first I pretty much doubted my editing skills. I knew that using any editing software was one of my weak points. However, I started using a new editing software called ‘Sony Vegas’ and I found It much more easier to use than ‘Final Cut Pro’. I think that the way I cut most of my shots went quite well however I could have added more insert shots of my lips or legs moving as I wrote in my script. What also went well were the timing and the location. I just about filmed it before the sun went down in my back garden and was worried that I would have had a few interruptions, however this didn’t happen and it was a successful 1 hour and a half of filming!
What pleased me about making the video was that it was enjoyable, which motivated me more to get it done. My friend also helped me film a few sections of the video profile which I was very pleased about because having to get up in every shot and sit back down in the same spot wasted a lot of time. The equipment I used pleased me too. When I first starting thinking about how to film my video profile I had an idea to do it on my webcam at home, but as I started to film I started to think that I could do a much better job. Therefore I took out an SLR and better equipment at the college.
The aspects of the final video that I am most pleased about is the feedback I had got from my classmates. Amir said ‘It made him want to cry’ when he saw his picture on my video profile. It made me smile; it will definitely be a video to look back on in a few years time.
Although I am very proud of my video profile I know that there is a lot I could improve on if I had another chance. There were a few shots towards the end that I was not pleased with at all and part of it was because the way I was sitting did not compliment the camera shot. Another thing that I know I could really improve on is the sound quality. I did not use the microphone to my full advantage and over estimated its ability and I could have also spoken a bit louder. Also, I could have improved on a lot I could proudly say that I am proud of what I have done and how I edited it.
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Interactive video essay - Sue
Interactive video essay
Proy Varnichgorn
Interactive video usually refers to a technique used to blend interaction and linear film or video. History shows that the term Interactive Video is referred to a pioneering form of interactive multimedia. However, experts never agreed upon a certain definition of interactive video because they each had their own individual concepts. Though, what all these definitions had in common was that it all involved the use of a video delivery system that generally involved a videodisc or videotape.
In this essay I will be analysing 2 types of viral marketing advertisements and two user generated materials.
Viral marketing is an idea that spreads like a virus, and this idea that spreads helps market your business or cause. For example, hotmail and YouTube both use viral marketing and the more people see them, the more people use them.
The first viral video I will analyse is ‘Agent Provocateur’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b863P40WJU&feature=player_embedded
This video uses sex and celebrities combined. The celebrity they use here is Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. What happens throughout this video is her basically seducing the viewers. At the start of the video she says ‘ Agent Provocateur is the most erotic lingerie in the world, and with your help… we can prove it’ then she backs up her point by sitting on top of a velvet cow and dancing around in her underwear. Then concludes her point with ‘Can all the men in the audience stand up? The worlds most erotic lingerie… as proven by you’. The digital platform that this video appears on is Youtube.
I think that the target audience for this video is for Males and females from the age of 18+ because of its sex appeal… and the reason I say Males and Females is because men want it… and woman want to be it! I also think that it is aimed at the more upper class people because the price for this brand of lingerie starts off very expensive.
The video enhances the user experience by drawing attention from the first second of the video by using suspense, sexuality and beauty. The purpose of this video is to advertise the lingerie line ‘Agent Provocateur’.
As for the technical aspects of the video…. The lighting is very dim and everything in the background is mainly red which signifies love. The quality of the video is very good and it definitely shows that it was shot and directed by a professional. The editing was done well and the music was also chosen to suit the whole mood of the video.
The second Viral video that I will be analysing is ‘Dove evolution’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U&feature=player_embedded
The dove beauty campaign was a worldwide marketing campaign launched in 2004. The video starts of with a close up shot of a young woman around the age of 27-35 with no make up on and looking quite bland. When the lights turn on, the music starts and the transformation begins. Different make-up artists and hair stylists begin to give her a make-over. Towards the end of the video, you start to notice the difference. The subject then changes and then you see a photo shop screen. They start to alter her face even more by pulling up her neck, making her nose thinner and making her cheekbones stand out. It shows how much effort she has to go through to look ‘beautiful’ to the public eye in order to market the product.
The target audience for this campaign was for all women, of all ages and of all sizes. The digital platform for this viral marketing video is YouTube. The video enhances the user experience by relating to them. Statistics show that only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful. The majority (76%) wish female beauty was portrayed in the media as being made up of more than just physical attractiveness. 75% went on to say that they wish the media did a better job of portraying women of diverse physical attractiveness, including age, shape and size. The purpose of this viral marketing campaign was to raise awareness to woman about natural beauty whilst also increasing sales of dove beauty products. Another purpose was to attract national TV and print media coverage whilst also creating a call to action for consumers to join the movement through website pledge that activate a donation by dove for self-esteem awareness programs.
I think that the technical aspects for this video were very well produced although I think that the image quality could have been clearer. Taking into acknowledgment that this was filmed in 2004 and technology in 2011 has now improved, I think that if they were to remake this video I would recommend filming it in High definition (HD).
The most obvious similarity to the two viral marketing adverts are that they serve the same purpose which is to market a business or a cause by spreading it like a ‘virus’.
Another similarity is that they both use beauty to advertise. In a sense, you could say that the dove beauty campaign goes against the agent provocateur one. Another similarity is that they both have similar technical aspects. The lighting and sound effects both match the mood and the objective.
Differences between these two videos are that they both fight against each other. For example, the dove beauty campaign is to give woman a view of natural beauty, Whilst the agent provocateur one shows a beautiful, thin woman that prances around in a push up bra and is clearly covered by make up. In that video, one of the aims was to portrait the ‘perfect woman’ however the dove beauty video was the transformation for the making of ‘the perfect woman’ by even using Photoshop. Another difference is that the quality of the video in the agent provocateur advertisement is of a much better quality than the dove beauty one. They both serve different purposes, but you walk away with the same out come, which is to want something. Woman WANT to look like Kylie Monogue but they also WANT to look naturally beautiful.
Out of the two viral marketing videos I have to say that the dove beauty campaign was the most effective one for me as I feel that I as a woman can relate to it more and also it is much more affordable.
User generated material is different from viral marketing because User generated material often gets called ‘amateur’ where as viral marketing videos are generally produced by professional business. However, they tend to both have the same effect on their target audience.
The two user generated videos I will be analysing are ‘Bizkit the sleep walking dog’ and ‘Ukulele (Im Yours).
The first one I will analyse is ‘Bizkit the sleep walking dog’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BgjH_CtIA
This video is about a dog that is dreaming in his sleep. He starts to run without realising and then bumps into a wall. The video is 24seconds long. The target audience could be for anyone! There is no violence or any sexual reference and it is just enjoyable to watch. The video’s digital platform that it appears on is YouTube. It enhances the user’s experience because the title says ‘Sleep walking dog’ which automatically attracts the user because their first instinct would be that it is unusual to see and it is very funny at the same time.
The purpose of this video was to make people laugh and judging by comments on the video such as ‘LOL’ (laugh out loud) and the views (23,093,802) it achieved that well.
Keeping in mind that it is an amateur made video, the technical aspects are well produced. Judging by the quality, it was probably filmed on a camera phone or a digital camera used for everyday family use rather than professional filming. It still did the job and recorded everything significant.
The second user generated video that I will be analysing is ‘Ukulele (I’m yours)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErMWX--UJZ4
This video is a cover done by a 5 year old boy for the song ‘I’m yours’ by Jason Mraz. He plays the Ukulele and sings the lyrics wrong through the whole video whilst doing other cute things like attempting to itch his noise whilst playing at the same time. What makes it unique to the other cover videos is that he’s a child, so everything he does, he doesn’t realise he is doing. The target audience for this video could be anyone. The digital platform that it appears on is YouTube. It enhances the users experience because it is cute and funny and the video has the ability to make anyone smile. This video has 43,488,757 views all together and most of the feedback says that ‘its cute’. The technical aspects are really clear. Judging by the camera quality, they probably use an SLR. The camera focuses on the little boy whilst making the edges and the background quite blurry.
Similarities between the two videos is that they are both used for entertainment and they are both funny and they both have the same digital platform (YouTube). They both were also successful in achieving lots of views and have been shown on different television shows such as ‘RudeTube’ on E4. It also gave the audience the same experience. Another similarity is that it was filmed in one camera angle the whole time.
The differences were that they both had different filming qualities… The Sleepwalking Dog one had a lower filming quality because it wasn’t initially planned to be filmed and the owner of the dog probably decided to film it on there and then. Where as the Ukulele one… The person who filmed it probably set everything up for the boy to sing and they probably planned to put it on YouTube.
(1559 words)
Proy Varnichgorn
Interactive video usually refers to a technique used to blend interaction and linear film or video. History shows that the term Interactive Video is referred to a pioneering form of interactive multimedia. However, experts never agreed upon a certain definition of interactive video because they each had their own individual concepts. Though, what all these definitions had in common was that it all involved the use of a video delivery system that generally involved a videodisc or videotape.
In this essay I will be analysing 2 types of viral marketing advertisements and two user generated materials.
Viral marketing is an idea that spreads like a virus, and this idea that spreads helps market your business or cause. For example, hotmail and YouTube both use viral marketing and the more people see them, the more people use them.
The first viral video I will analyse is ‘Agent Provocateur’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b863P40WJU&feature=player_embedded
This video uses sex and celebrities combined. The celebrity they use here is Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. What happens throughout this video is her basically seducing the viewers. At the start of the video she says ‘ Agent Provocateur is the most erotic lingerie in the world, and with your help… we can prove it’ then she backs up her point by sitting on top of a velvet cow and dancing around in her underwear. Then concludes her point with ‘Can all the men in the audience stand up? The worlds most erotic lingerie… as proven by you’. The digital platform that this video appears on is Youtube.
I think that the target audience for this video is for Males and females from the age of 18+ because of its sex appeal… and the reason I say Males and Females is because men want it… and woman want to be it! I also think that it is aimed at the more upper class people because the price for this brand of lingerie starts off very expensive.
The video enhances the user experience by drawing attention from the first second of the video by using suspense, sexuality and beauty. The purpose of this video is to advertise the lingerie line ‘Agent Provocateur’.
As for the technical aspects of the video…. The lighting is very dim and everything in the background is mainly red which signifies love. The quality of the video is very good and it definitely shows that it was shot and directed by a professional. The editing was done well and the music was also chosen to suit the whole mood of the video.
The second Viral video that I will be analysing is ‘Dove evolution’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U&feature=player_embedded
The dove beauty campaign was a worldwide marketing campaign launched in 2004. The video starts of with a close up shot of a young woman around the age of 27-35 with no make up on and looking quite bland. When the lights turn on, the music starts and the transformation begins. Different make-up artists and hair stylists begin to give her a make-over. Towards the end of the video, you start to notice the difference. The subject then changes and then you see a photo shop screen. They start to alter her face even more by pulling up her neck, making her nose thinner and making her cheekbones stand out. It shows how much effort she has to go through to look ‘beautiful’ to the public eye in order to market the product.
The target audience for this campaign was for all women, of all ages and of all sizes. The digital platform for this viral marketing video is YouTube. The video enhances the user experience by relating to them. Statistics show that only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful. The majority (76%) wish female beauty was portrayed in the media as being made up of more than just physical attractiveness. 75% went on to say that they wish the media did a better job of portraying women of diverse physical attractiveness, including age, shape and size. The purpose of this viral marketing campaign was to raise awareness to woman about natural beauty whilst also increasing sales of dove beauty products. Another purpose was to attract national TV and print media coverage whilst also creating a call to action for consumers to join the movement through website pledge that activate a donation by dove for self-esteem awareness programs.
I think that the technical aspects for this video were very well produced although I think that the image quality could have been clearer. Taking into acknowledgment that this was filmed in 2004 and technology in 2011 has now improved, I think that if they were to remake this video I would recommend filming it in High definition (HD).
The most obvious similarity to the two viral marketing adverts are that they serve the same purpose which is to market a business or a cause by spreading it like a ‘virus’.
Another similarity is that they both use beauty to advertise. In a sense, you could say that the dove beauty campaign goes against the agent provocateur one. Another similarity is that they both have similar technical aspects. The lighting and sound effects both match the mood and the objective.
Differences between these two videos are that they both fight against each other. For example, the dove beauty campaign is to give woman a view of natural beauty, Whilst the agent provocateur one shows a beautiful, thin woman that prances around in a push up bra and is clearly covered by make up. In that video, one of the aims was to portrait the ‘perfect woman’ however the dove beauty video was the transformation for the making of ‘the perfect woman’ by even using Photoshop. Another difference is that the quality of the video in the agent provocateur advertisement is of a much better quality than the dove beauty one. They both serve different purposes, but you walk away with the same out come, which is to want something. Woman WANT to look like Kylie Monogue but they also WANT to look naturally beautiful.
Out of the two viral marketing videos I have to say that the dove beauty campaign was the most effective one for me as I feel that I as a woman can relate to it more and also it is much more affordable.
User generated material is different from viral marketing because User generated material often gets called ‘amateur’ where as viral marketing videos are generally produced by professional business. However, they tend to both have the same effect on their target audience.
The two user generated videos I will be analysing are ‘Bizkit the sleep walking dog’ and ‘Ukulele (Im Yours).
The first one I will analyse is ‘Bizkit the sleep walking dog’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BgjH_CtIA
This video is about a dog that is dreaming in his sleep. He starts to run without realising and then bumps into a wall. The video is 24seconds long. The target audience could be for anyone! There is no violence or any sexual reference and it is just enjoyable to watch. The video’s digital platform that it appears on is YouTube. It enhances the user’s experience because the title says ‘Sleep walking dog’ which automatically attracts the user because their first instinct would be that it is unusual to see and it is very funny at the same time.
The purpose of this video was to make people laugh and judging by comments on the video such as ‘LOL’ (laugh out loud) and the views (23,093,802) it achieved that well.
Keeping in mind that it is an amateur made video, the technical aspects are well produced. Judging by the quality, it was probably filmed on a camera phone or a digital camera used for everyday family use rather than professional filming. It still did the job and recorded everything significant.
The second user generated video that I will be analysing is ‘Ukulele (I’m yours)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErMWX--UJZ4
This video is a cover done by a 5 year old boy for the song ‘I’m yours’ by Jason Mraz. He plays the Ukulele and sings the lyrics wrong through the whole video whilst doing other cute things like attempting to itch his noise whilst playing at the same time. What makes it unique to the other cover videos is that he’s a child, so everything he does, he doesn’t realise he is doing. The target audience for this video could be anyone. The digital platform that it appears on is YouTube. It enhances the users experience because it is cute and funny and the video has the ability to make anyone smile. This video has 43,488,757 views all together and most of the feedback says that ‘its cute’. The technical aspects are really clear. Judging by the camera quality, they probably use an SLR. The camera focuses on the little boy whilst making the edges and the background quite blurry.
Similarities between the two videos is that they are both used for entertainment and they are both funny and they both have the same digital platform (YouTube). They both were also successful in achieving lots of views and have been shown on different television shows such as ‘RudeTube’ on E4. It also gave the audience the same experience. Another similarity is that it was filmed in one camera angle the whole time.
The differences were that they both had different filming qualities… The Sleepwalking Dog one had a lower filming quality because it wasn’t initially planned to be filmed and the owner of the dog probably decided to film it on there and then. Where as the Ukulele one… The person who filmed it probably set everything up for the boy to sing and they probably planned to put it on YouTube.
(1559 words)
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Proposal
Proposal
Production company: ZeeProductions.
Title: e4 snake
By line: snakes in a class room.
Synopsis:
The idea that me and Zack came up with was inspired by the original video arcade game ‘Snake’ which first blew up in the 1970’s and then the game was made famous on Nokia mobile phones.
A question that we had to ask ourselves whilst planning was; ‘how will we make the character’s come to life?’ Well, we were again inspired by other stop motion animations from YouTube such as ‘Deadline’ by Bang Yao Liu. The animation Deadline creatively used post it notes. We decided to also use post-it notes to create the snakes body and ‘food’. The software we will be using to create the e4 ident is 'iStop motion'
Our plan is to create a live game using ONLY post-it notes and a white board. The main line of appeal for our animation is the creativity that we will be trying to achieve. We want to be able to amaze the viewers of E4 with something unique and also leave them amazed as to how we made it. At the end of the Ident we will create a drawing of the E4 logo on the White board.
The E4 channel is a ‘younger’ sister to Channel 4. The main target audience for e4 is 13-26 which means that the ident will have to be quite fun and youthful.
My self and Zack decided to open up the animation straight away with no clear introduction to what the animation was for or what it was about.
Personnel
My production team includes myself and Zack. Zack’s strengths are his camera skills and his great attention to detail. In order to stay on top of our schedule, we both must take great responsibilities independently and together to make sure that all work is done to a standard and on time for the deadline.
Resources
- Camera
- Post it notes
- White board Markers
- iStop motion
Schedule
Production company: ZeeProductions.
Title: e4 snake
By line: snakes in a class room.
Synopsis:
The idea that me and Zack came up with was inspired by the original video arcade game ‘Snake’ which first blew up in the 1970’s and then the game was made famous on Nokia mobile phones.
A question that we had to ask ourselves whilst planning was; ‘how will we make the character’s come to life?’ Well, we were again inspired by other stop motion animations from YouTube such as ‘Deadline’ by Bang Yao Liu. The animation Deadline creatively used post it notes. We decided to also use post-it notes to create the snakes body and ‘food’. The software we will be using to create the e4 ident is 'iStop motion'
Our plan is to create a live game using ONLY post-it notes and a white board. The main line of appeal for our animation is the creativity that we will be trying to achieve. We want to be able to amaze the viewers of E4 with something unique and also leave them amazed as to how we made it. At the end of the Ident we will create a drawing of the E4 logo on the White board.
The E4 channel is a ‘younger’ sister to Channel 4. The main target audience for e4 is 13-26 which means that the ident will have to be quite fun and youthful.
My self and Zack decided to open up the animation straight away with no clear introduction to what the animation was for or what it was about.
Personnel
My production team includes myself and Zack. Zack’s strengths are his camera skills and his great attention to detail. In order to stay on top of our schedule, we both must take great responsibilities independently and together to make sure that all work is done to a standard and on time for the deadline.
Resources
- Camera
- Post it notes
- White board Markers
- iStop motion
Schedule
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Media & Audience. - for livia.
Over the years, media producers, advertisers, governments, pressure groups, anthropologists and sociologists have been absorbed in how the media can affect the behaviour and attitudes of their viewers through ways such as television, magazines and radio. The term ‘audience behaviour’ determines the acceptance or rejection of the messages that the media puts forward. It also implies the change of attitudes from voting patterns to how people react to violence.
There are many methods of the media effecting attitudes of their audience. An example of one is the hypodermic needle theory which suggests that the media are capable of mass manipulation. The theory suggests that we as an audience have been drugged by the media to believe the messages that they send to us and we as an audience are vulnerable to it. Examples that these theories are right for example are television soaps. Audiences who follow soaps believe that the characters are real and some actors who played villains have been ill-treated in the streets.
Propaganda is another method that is used in a careful method to manipulate audiences’ attitudes and beliefs. Many political parties, media industries and religious movements have all developed propaganda experts, including Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s.
Children are extremely vulnerable and not just to television but to adult behaviour. Children often learn to respond to certain ways but the way that the adults around them do. There is a belief that audiences can be badly influenced by music, films and games.
There are many methods of the media effecting attitudes of their audience. An example of one is the hypodermic needle theory which suggests that the media are capable of mass manipulation. The theory suggests that we as an audience have been drugged by the media to believe the messages that they send to us and we as an audience are vulnerable to it. Examples that these theories are right for example are television soaps. Audiences who follow soaps believe that the characters are real and some actors who played villains have been ill-treated in the streets.
Propaganda is another method that is used in a careful method to manipulate audiences’ attitudes and beliefs. Many political parties, media industries and religious movements have all developed propaganda experts, including Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s.
Children are extremely vulnerable and not just to television but to adult behaviour. Children often learn to respond to certain ways but the way that the adults around them do. There is a belief that audiences can be badly influenced by music, films and games.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Hotel Rwanda - For livia
Do you consider the ending of 'Hotel Rwanda' is realistic, or is it too happy? Has 'Hotel Rwanda' been 'Hollywoodized?'
The 2004 film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ directed by Terry George focuses on the cold truths and its disturbing account of the genocide. The film achieves the ability to simultaneously shock viewers. In order to produce the film, joint collective efforts were made by Hollywood companies such as United Artists and Lions Gate Films. It was made an independent film which means that initially it was only released in some theatres. The film successfully won awards including Academy Award nominations for best actor, best supporting actress and best Original screenplay.
In 1994 in Rwanda, a million members of the Tutsi tribe were killed by members of the Hutu tribe in a massacre that took place. During the course of the 100 days that this shocking incident occurred, at least 800,000 people were killed In Rwanda and other countries did nothing to stop it. Belgian occupants established the entire social separation of the Rwandan people that helped provoke the massacre and added more shame to the situation. What’s more is that whilst the rest of the world was debating the difference between ‘genocide’ and the ‘acts of genocide’, innocent lives were being put in danger and the Rwandan people were dying for no reason.
Paul Rusesabaina (Don Cheadle) has played in many Hollywood films as a leading role such as the film ‘2012’ which was released in early 2010. His character in Hotel Rwanda is the manager of the ‘Sabena Hotel des Mille Collines and he is part of the Hutu. However his wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) is Tutsi. This obviously causes controversy with the Hutu extremists. As the political situation in the country worsens, Paul and his family witness friends, family and neighbours being killed in the terrifying ethnic violence. In order to rescue these people Paul asks for favours from people with influence so that his family were kept safe. He bribed them with money and alcohol.
As the civil war erupted, Rwandan Army officers threatened Paul and his neighbours however he barely negotiates and brings everyone back to the hotel. Word gets out and more refugees come to the hotel from the exploited United Nations camp, the Red Cross and the orphanages. Paul has now been put under so much responsibility to take care of these people, being the source of strength to his family whilst also continuing the appearance of a functioning high-class hotel.
The UN Peacekeeping forces are led by Canadian Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte -who has played in other leading Hollywood films such as 48 hours with co-star Eddie Murphy) was powerless to take assertive action towards the Interhamwe because they are outlawed to intervene in the genocide. Then the foreign Nationals are evacuated, but the Rwandans are left behind. I remember during this point in the film I became quite teary and I captured the emotions of the characters. When the UN forces try to evacuate a group of refugees, which included Paul’s family they were turned back. Just as I was beginning to think that all hope was gone and the film was about to have an unhappy ending, Paul pleads with the Rwandan Army General for some help but the bribes no longer worked. Paul refuses to give up, so he did something risky and blackmails the General with threats of being strained as a war criminal. Success! As the family and hotel refugees are finally able to leave the hotel and travel through retreating crowds of refugees and militia to reach safety behind the Tutsi rebel lines.
Do I think Hotel Rwanda is ‘Too Happy’? I would say no because I did shed a few tears in some parts of the film even though I am extremely soppy when it comes to films like this anyway! However it also made me feel good towards the end that the people in Rwanda were rescued by a man with not too much power. As the film was based on a true story that occurred in 1994 I was oblivious to any of this happening as I had only just been born that year. Whilst writing this review I stated that ‘at least 800,000 people were killed In Rwanda and other countries did nothing to stop it’. Whilst my family was celebrating my birth and other families were celebrating the birth of their child, there was a civil war going on that killed over 800,000 innocent lives.
Hollywood is known as a sunny, glossy, plastic and Upper Class City. However the films defer depending on the Genre. Hotel Rwanda being a drama film fit its genre perfectly. So do I think that ‘Hotel Rwanda’ been ‘Hollywoodized’? I would say that it was a great film, with exceptional A List Actors and Actresses’ and high-quality effects so in that way it was perfectly hollywoodized. The producers chose Don Cheadle as the lead role and he played it perfectly, they could have picked more of a well known actor or one who has a body of a supermodel but they obviously picked the one that fit the role perfectly, and there was no mistake made there.
The 2004 film ‘Hotel Rwanda’ directed by Terry George focuses on the cold truths and its disturbing account of the genocide. The film achieves the ability to simultaneously shock viewers. In order to produce the film, joint collective efforts were made by Hollywood companies such as United Artists and Lions Gate Films. It was made an independent film which means that initially it was only released in some theatres. The film successfully won awards including Academy Award nominations for best actor, best supporting actress and best Original screenplay.
In 1994 in Rwanda, a million members of the Tutsi tribe were killed by members of the Hutu tribe in a massacre that took place. During the course of the 100 days that this shocking incident occurred, at least 800,000 people were killed In Rwanda and other countries did nothing to stop it. Belgian occupants established the entire social separation of the Rwandan people that helped provoke the massacre and added more shame to the situation. What’s more is that whilst the rest of the world was debating the difference between ‘genocide’ and the ‘acts of genocide’, innocent lives were being put in danger and the Rwandan people were dying for no reason.
Paul Rusesabaina (Don Cheadle) has played in many Hollywood films as a leading role such as the film ‘2012’ which was released in early 2010. His character in Hotel Rwanda is the manager of the ‘Sabena Hotel des Mille Collines and he is part of the Hutu. However his wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) is Tutsi. This obviously causes controversy with the Hutu extremists. As the political situation in the country worsens, Paul and his family witness friends, family and neighbours being killed in the terrifying ethnic violence. In order to rescue these people Paul asks for favours from people with influence so that his family were kept safe. He bribed them with money and alcohol.
As the civil war erupted, Rwandan Army officers threatened Paul and his neighbours however he barely negotiates and brings everyone back to the hotel. Word gets out and more refugees come to the hotel from the exploited United Nations camp, the Red Cross and the orphanages. Paul has now been put under so much responsibility to take care of these people, being the source of strength to his family whilst also continuing the appearance of a functioning high-class hotel.
The UN Peacekeeping forces are led by Canadian Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte -who has played in other leading Hollywood films such as 48 hours with co-star Eddie Murphy) was powerless to take assertive action towards the Interhamwe because they are outlawed to intervene in the genocide. Then the foreign Nationals are evacuated, but the Rwandans are left behind. I remember during this point in the film I became quite teary and I captured the emotions of the characters. When the UN forces try to evacuate a group of refugees, which included Paul’s family they were turned back. Just as I was beginning to think that all hope was gone and the film was about to have an unhappy ending, Paul pleads with the Rwandan Army General for some help but the bribes no longer worked. Paul refuses to give up, so he did something risky and blackmails the General with threats of being strained as a war criminal. Success! As the family and hotel refugees are finally able to leave the hotel and travel through retreating crowds of refugees and militia to reach safety behind the Tutsi rebel lines.
Do I think Hotel Rwanda is ‘Too Happy’? I would say no because I did shed a few tears in some parts of the film even though I am extremely soppy when it comes to films like this anyway! However it also made me feel good towards the end that the people in Rwanda were rescued by a man with not too much power. As the film was based on a true story that occurred in 1994 I was oblivious to any of this happening as I had only just been born that year. Whilst writing this review I stated that ‘at least 800,000 people were killed In Rwanda and other countries did nothing to stop it’. Whilst my family was celebrating my birth and other families were celebrating the birth of their child, there was a civil war going on that killed over 800,000 innocent lives.
Hollywood is known as a sunny, glossy, plastic and Upper Class City. However the films defer depending on the Genre. Hotel Rwanda being a drama film fit its genre perfectly. So do I think that ‘Hotel Rwanda’ been ‘Hollywoodized’? I would say that it was a great film, with exceptional A List Actors and Actresses’ and high-quality effects so in that way it was perfectly hollywoodized. The producers chose Don Cheadle as the lead role and he played it perfectly, they could have picked more of a well known actor or one who has a body of a supermodel but they obviously picked the one that fit the role perfectly, and there was no mistake made there.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Clay animation
How is Clay Motion created? - Well, you create your characters with clay and place them in position and in the background that you want. You then shoot an image of that and make a tiny adjustment and then..... shot an image of that & so on... :). Usually claymation runs at about 10-12 frames per second instead of the more usual 24 frames per second used in films.
The video below is a clay animation film for a sports advertisement for 'Buffalo Bills' which is an american Football team.
In the future i would definitely want to achieve something similar to this. The creators used clay to create every single one of the props which i can imagine would have been very time consuming to make and then film.
The first clay animation film was 1933's film 'King Kong' The fight scene between the giant ape and a tyrannosaurus rex was achieved using claymation, or stop-motion, animation techniques.
The most famous exponent of these films nowadays is Nick Park of Aardman Animation, the creator of the infamous Wallace and Gromit characters.
Heres an example of clay animation that me and some classmates created in one of our lessons!
There are a lot of differences in comparison from the film i created and the film that in the above video. No, we did make all of our props out of clay and we only had 2 characters that move unlike the other video where most of the props moved! even the plant! (Which were fully made out of clay ^^). The buffalo bills commercial also used better sound effects and they added much more detail to their characters and props to make it look a bit more realistic.
It was pretty hard to tell that the objects were made by clay in the first video and you have had to have a real eye for the different types of animation techniques to be able to tell that it was a clay animation.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)