Hey Everyone,
Recently in class we watched the movie Manufactured Landscapes. This movie was created by world renown photographer Edward Burtynsky. He is from Canada and has worked with many museums such as the National Gallery of Canada or Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., to display his work. He is a very good photographer, but also conscious of what is happening around the world. His photography and film comment on the world today as it is effected by industry. This commentary that has been left open to viewers opinions, good or bad, bring up many questions. Are the world's new landscapes beautiful? Is it a tragedy that nature is being altered in this way?
Check out this short video interview of Burtynsky discussing his work:
Personally, I find his images to be very informative as well as impactive. I felt that the movie was very interesting as you got to see what really goes on in landfills and workplaces in China (among other places). It was also very depressing. It was hard to watch at moments because it just made you think the planet is hopeless. This was a really good subject for Burtynsky to publicize. I would imagine that bringing so much attention to the issue at hand would in fact start a reaction to change.
If you can, take a look at the video or at his website, to see some of his work.
Tell me what you think,
~K
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Movie Trailers
Hey everyone,
And here is my version:
I tried to play up the connection between some of the characters as well as change the mood to a more light hearted action film. The original trailer gives off thriller type mood so going for a more light mood drastically changed it. I had a bit of trouble finding a song to go along with mood I wanted to portray, but in the end I think it worked out nicely. I used one of Beethoven's musical pieces to match my trailer as well as keep it legal. It is illegal to use current artist's songs without their consent. Although this is only a school project, I wanted to honor that industry rule. All the sound effects I used were also royalty free or made through foley. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to give any constructive criticism!
~K
I completed my movie trailer assignment so here is the original:
And here is my version:
I tried to play up the connection between some of the characters as well as change the mood to a more light hearted action film. The original trailer gives off thriller type mood so going for a more light mood drastically changed it. I had a bit of trouble finding a song to go along with mood I wanted to portray, but in the end I think it worked out nicely. I used one of Beethoven's musical pieces to match my trailer as well as keep it legal. It is illegal to use current artist's songs without their consent. Although this is only a school project, I wanted to honor that industry rule. All the sound effects I used were also royalty free or made through foley. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to give any constructive criticism!
~K
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sprockets Film Festival
Hey Everyone,
On Tuesday April 20th my class attended the 2010 Sprockets Film Festival. We spent the day at a movie theatre watching an assortment of small shorts and one full length film. The age range was vast throughout the event and many had the opportunity to talk to those who had a role in creating the films. Directors, writers and artists were all available for a Q and A session.
As for my favourite film, I liked one of the short films best. It was called 'Iran: A Nation of Bloggers'. This was may favourite for a few simple reasons with the first and most important being that it made me think. The film was just a short animation about new technologies, in specific blogging, that allow opinions to be formed and presented to the world in a place that you could die for having an alternative opinion. According to this film Iran has the 3rd largest collection of bloggers. Can't they die if caught? Why risk your life to state an opinion? What sort of opinion is so important? How will figures in power handle this? How are figures in power handling this? ... These were some thoughts that were brought up in my mind as I watched. The animation seemed to fit the mood. Fast flashing images formed an intense visual to go with the facts being told. I found them very effective as well as the colours and artist choices made.
If you look at this still frame taken from the film you can see many things. The lighting is dim and the colours dark perhaps showing the darkened times Iran is facing. The thing though that I love so much artistically in this still in particular is the wall paper. It is damask wall paper which was used in powerful, rich , well respected homes in the past. It was a traditional wallpaper and still is today. I think this could contrast against the blogging as writing a blog is not traditional or considered 'proper' there. Are these blogger's opinions breaking the traditions found in Iran? The computer screen does split the wallpaper in half and cover most of it up. What do you think?
As I mentioned earlier we watch a full length film as well. It was call 'U' (pronounced "ooo" like ooo la la) and made in France. It was interesting to watch as it was in french and so different from any animation I've seen in North America. Even the drawings were weird to me (Picture of U on the left and Lazare on the right). The story was about a dog princess that is lonely and lives with two rats who are her guardians. She then meets U a unicorn who makes her very happy until Lazare (a lizard) and his family come to live in a nearby tree. The princess falls in love with Lazare's brother which causes U to shrink because she no longer in need. I found the story a little too jumpy in the film and way over sexualized for a children's film. It seemed like every few minutes a hidden sexual comment was being told and almost every character was naked in the film. These two things sort of bothered me as I am not sure I would want young kids watching it. Maybe in France this is normal to watch but living in North America it is not so obvious in children's films. With that beings said, Disney animations do have sexual jokes hidden in some of their films but I find them to be much more discrete and the characters are not obviously naked. I also enjoy the style of cartoon drawing Disney films rather than the style of 'U'. This may be a bit biased as I grew up on North American films rather than European ones. It was a good experience to see different perspectives on animation and film though. It was a good learning experience.
Katelynn
On Tuesday April 20th my class attended the 2010 Sprockets Film Festival. We spent the day at a movie theatre watching an assortment of small shorts and one full length film. The age range was vast throughout the event and many had the opportunity to talk to those who had a role in creating the films. Directors, writers and artists were all available for a Q and A session.
As for my favourite film, I liked one of the short films best. It was called 'Iran: A Nation of Bloggers'. This was may favourite for a few simple reasons with the first and most important being that it made me think. The film was just a short animation about new technologies, in specific blogging, that allow opinions to be formed and presented to the world in a place that you could die for having an alternative opinion. According to this film Iran has the 3rd largest collection of bloggers. Can't they die if caught? Why risk your life to state an opinion? What sort of opinion is so important? How will figures in power handle this? How are figures in power handling this? ... These were some thoughts that were brought up in my mind as I watched. The animation seemed to fit the mood. Fast flashing images formed an intense visual to go with the facts being told. I found them very effective as well as the colours and artist choices made.
If you look at this still frame taken from the film you can see many things. The lighting is dim and the colours dark perhaps showing the darkened times Iran is facing. The thing though that I love so much artistically in this still in particular is the wall paper. It is damask wall paper which was used in powerful, rich , well respected homes in the past. It was a traditional wallpaper and still is today. I think this could contrast against the blogging as writing a blog is not traditional or considered 'proper' there. Are these blogger's opinions breaking the traditions found in Iran? The computer screen does split the wallpaper in half and cover most of it up. What do you think?
As I mentioned earlier we watch a full length film as well. It was call 'U' (pronounced "ooo" like ooo la la) and made in France. It was interesting to watch as it was in french and so different from any animation I've seen in North America. Even the drawings were weird to me (Picture of U on the left and Lazare on the right). The story was about a dog princess that is lonely and lives with two rats who are her guardians. She then meets U a unicorn who makes her very happy until Lazare (a lizard) and his family come to live in a nearby tree. The princess falls in love with Lazare's brother which causes U to shrink because she no longer in need. I found the story a little too jumpy in the film and way over sexualized for a children's film. It seemed like every few minutes a hidden sexual comment was being told and almost every character was naked in the film. These two things sort of bothered me as I am not sure I would want young kids watching it. Maybe in France this is normal to watch but living in North America it is not so obvious in children's films. With that beings said, Disney animations do have sexual jokes hidden in some of their films but I find them to be much more discrete and the characters are not obviously naked. I also enjoy the style of cartoon drawing Disney films rather than the style of 'U'. This may be a bit biased as I grew up on North American films rather than European ones. It was a good experience to see different perspectives on animation and film though. It was a good learning experience.
Katelynn
Friday, February 26, 2010
Alice in Wonderland: Through The Looking Glass
ALICE IN WONDERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was beyond excited for this movie. It looks so awesome. From the theatrical trailers and photos I saw, the graphics look utterly amazing. I love the Cheshire cat most of all!
It is something I never expected. I remember as a child watching the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and thinking the cat looked sort of scary with its giant grin. The Tim Burton Cheshire Cat scares me to death. For an artist, this is a good thing. Imagine your work being so powerful that it could frighten people! After reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I'm happy to see the characters and creatures come to life in the way I think they could most accurately be.
Here is a trailer for the movie.
The movie was great! I saw it in 3D and I could not believe the quality of the animations and special effects. If there is one thing I know from experiencing mini-animation assignments, it is that I have a lot of respect for those who create movies like these. The time and the effort involved is enormous and it really pays off. I love all Tim Burton's movies and cannot wait for his next film. He ventures into so many art mediums, it always keeps things fresh. He has done graphic animation, clay animation, straight up acting films, everything! I cannot wait for his follow up to this beauty.
Katelynn
I was beyond excited for this movie. It looks so awesome. From the theatrical trailers and photos I saw, the graphics look utterly amazing. I love the Cheshire cat most of all!
It is something I never expected. I remember as a child watching the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and thinking the cat looked sort of scary with its giant grin. The Tim Burton Cheshire Cat scares me to death. For an artist, this is a good thing. Imagine your work being so powerful that it could frighten people! After reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I'm happy to see the characters and creatures come to life in the way I think they could most accurately be.
Here is a trailer for the movie.
The movie was great! I saw it in 3D and I could not believe the quality of the animations and special effects. If there is one thing I know from experiencing mini-animation assignments, it is that I have a lot of respect for those who create movies like these. The time and the effort involved is enormous and it really pays off. I love all Tim Burton's movies and cannot wait for his next film. He ventures into so many art mediums, it always keeps things fresh. He has done graphic animation, clay animation, straight up acting films, everything! I cannot wait for his follow up to this beauty.
Katelynn
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