Mini-Reviews

I've not been able to watch many films recently, but I've certainly been active in my TV watching. I will soon do a set of TV reviews, speaking about shows I like, and possibly looking at new shows in the US. But, for now, here are the films I've seen in the past while.

The Searchers - I'm still not a massive fan of Westerns (sorry, Andy!), but this was a pretty good film nonetheless. It was a little slow-moving for my liking, but the pace at least suited the film. Having been shown the first few minutes in a previous class, I was more than a little surprised to see the family killed off at the start. However, it is interesting that there is a whole family history that one can read from the scene that is not of massive importance to the rest of the story. Normally such a perfectly executed scene of subtle exposition would only be present when a necessity to the story. Whilst it wasn't, it gave the film's world a sense of history, and it gave us some indication to Ethan's past. One minor let-down was the strange conclusion when Ethan finds Debbie and has a sudden and unprompted change of heart about her.

Saw - Paul decided that he should introduce me to Saw, and so we sat and watched it the night before reshoots on The Golden Rule. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a very watchable and enjoyable thriller; not a horror like I had presumed - and I don't think I can be blamed for that presumption! The psychological tomfoolery (if the term is not too tame) is really interesting, and the dilemmas and tricks were well-played. A part of me thinks that coincidence plays a big part, because if anything had played out differently in that room then perhaps the game would have been rather less interesting. But, to be honest, that was an afterthought, and it didn't intrude on my enjoyment of the film. So I now join Paul in recommending that you see Saw. And then try the slide. It's delightful.

Zombieland - My favourite zombie films are Shaun of the Dead and Dead Set (okay, not really a film). Both mock the zombie-genre, and both are very funny, but they do it in very different ways. In Zombieland, we find yet another unique zombie-comedy: a zom-com, I believe. Much less of the comedy comes from the zombies or the genre itself. A lot of the humour comes from the characters and the dialogue. I would lie if I said it was witty, but it was certainly funny and enjoyable. The characters were pretty expanded, which is always a plus, and I found that Jesse Eisenberg had one of the few characterisations of the awkward-teenager that I actually liked. Additionally, I really liked the road-trip structure of the film, and the device of the rules coming up on screen - which I don't think I would have normally liked.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - As I had expected, this was a curiously fun and strange film. Heath Ledger's performance was good, but it certainly wasn't the strongest part of the film. I was far more interested in the story, and I really wish we had found out more about the fantasy world. I'd like to highlight that I was quite impressed by the young'uns in the film. Both Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield really captivated me, and I found similarities in the latter's character to Tristan in Stardust (which is only a good thing). I really like this young, noble and British archetypal character that is developing in new fantasy films.

The Battle of Algiers - Whilst I did find myself getting into and enjoying The Battle of Algiers, I now find that I've forgotten almost everything about it. I'm quite surprised by this, and a little bemused too, particularly because it makes reflection on the film rather difficult. I can't quite explain or justify my lack of memory, though it could have been an overwhelming sense of excitement about an impending episode of Doctor Who which just made it all fall right out of my head, or possibly a lack of connection to the film itself. Either way, I enjoyed the film whilst it was on. I didn't quite buy into it being like a documentary (and Andy isn't the only source that I've heard the comparison from, either) but it did feel very realistic in its depiction of the circumstances and events of the time.

2012 - Fun Day-After-Tomorrow-like destruction, and in more ways than one. So much so that I'm actually saving my thoughts on the film for a post about the similarities between the two, and the defined structure used in all films of the disaster genre. I know; you just can't wait!

Visuals vs Dialogue

Still shiny? Good. Now, where was I? Ah yes, I was about to post about 12 Angry Men when I... well, didn't. Yes, extraciricular work has yet again prevented me from blogging like it's 2004. But fear not - I will make up for it with numerous extra posts. Like this one.

So, first on my agenda, I think I had better discuss my response to 12 Angry Men, which was a pretty unusual film. It was certainly well-directed, and the performances were far more intricate than those in most films of that time, but it did suffer from a looming sense that it was based on a stage-play. Nothing wrong with that, plays are good. But this brings up an interesting argument which I've been having with myself for a while. And, as most of you know, I can argue both sides of an argument pretty well. 'Tis a curse.

Does a film necessarily have to be led by visuals, or can the visuals supplement the dialogue-driven story? What I mean is, do films need to be told almost exclusively through visuals, as Richard pushes for? Often when I pitch ideas, they can be put to one side as either for theatre or radio. The trouble is I've no interest in writing for these platforms at the moment, so that ever-growing "stage pile" is just a nuisance. And, in fairness, I think a few of these ideas would make good short films. Okay, they require dialogue to be told, and some lack a strong visual drive, but that doesn't stop them from working as films. Very few films, and even fewer TV shows, take advantage of the visual medium in the same way that is expected of short films.

I would argue that films should use a healthy balance of visuals and dialogue (or sound, in general) to tell their story. Richard always says that if you can shut your eyes and still follow the story, then it isn't visual enough. I agree, but I also think that if you can cover your ears and still follow the story, then it's possibly too visual. Unlike radio, which is exclusively sound, film has both visuals and sound, and it should use both. And, unlike theatre, film and TV can reach much wider audiences, and are far more diverse in their ability to tell a story. That's why stage adaptations are okay - they may not be visually driven, but if it's a good story, told well, then the film will reach a much wider audience than the play could.

Since I'm more interested in writing for TV than film, this applies even more. A show like House is driven entirely by its dialogue. You'll have visual moments, but the show depends on the interaction of the characters, and the result of such interaction is dialogue. I'm currently looking forward to watching In Treatment after having it recommended by several different parties, and from what I've heard, this is even more like a play. One location, two characters, all dialogue. But that's okay. As I've said, TV can reach a much wider audience. And In Treatment seems to have been well received, proving that there is a place for such work.

To further my comparison of the two mediums, I'd add that both film and TV seem limited to Stanislavski's approach to theatre - realism. I don't think I've ever seen a film where it tries to remind you it's a work of fiction, or draw attention to the artifice, much like the theatre of Brecht. I've not seen it, but I think Dogville may be an example of this. But this approach doesn't seem to work in our industry. It can come across as cheap, and doesn't fit in with the escapism attached to film and TV.

Anyway, that was quite probably a long post which lost its way, but I hope some sense is presented. I may return to these thoughts to clarify them at some point, particularly because I don't want to be seen to oppose visual film-making. I'm merely trying to acknowledge that it's not actually as common in mainstream work as we may think.

"Hi Honey - it's Thursday night!"

In an attempt to stay on top of blogging, here's my post about the past week - the week beginning the 19th of October.

On Monday we played party games with Andy, as we dove into discussion about sound design. I'm surprised to see that it was such a recent development - talkies were introduced in the late 1920's, production design in the 1930's, but yet sound design took until the 1970's. It would have required necessary technological advancements to fully realise the potential, I suppose, and other such advancements (such as colour grading) have only been possible lately due to technology. Nonetheless, it was a very important step.

Monday afternoon was spent with Richard, as we explored more ideas regarding film structure. An assignment to write a story that was stronger because is disobeyed the structure was seemingly less important than I had assumed it would be. I thought we would exchange the ideas in groups, and then try to work out why they didn't work. Nope. We handed them in. Since my idea wasn't great, I'm guessing it will be a brief point of discussion in a tutorial, and then we'll go straight back to my other continuing work.

On Tuesday, Andy taught us how to deal with interviews and surveys, with some top-tips from his own experiences. I loved the story about Liza Minnelli. That's the most exciting name-drop we've heard so far! Well, for me at least! Again, a lot of the Factual Programme classes on research cover things I have done before, but at least I'm considerably more interested in them in a filmmaking context, and it's good to hear it from the perspective of someone who has conducted many interviews.

After a delightful day off on Wednesday, we had an all-day session with Gav. I must give him credit - he has taught me more about AVID in 6 hours than I have ever learnt when using it before. I used to claim I hated AVID (purely because it makes less sense than Final Cut Pro, or the similar Premiere Pro), but now that I understand it better, I'm looking forward to using it properly. I also must credit this class, along with Andy's class on editing, for making me seriously consider editing as a specialism. Currently, I'm loving screenwriting, the core of which is storytelling. None of the specialisms, apart from editing, really focus on this. I'll just stay open to all the options at the moment, and see what takes me.

On Friday we continued with Adam, looking at shared themes in popular TV shows. I did a similar thing once in Higher Drama, where we tried to find the common themes in Contemporary Scottish Plays. If I remember rightly, sexism and poverty were the two most common. But at least now it's about exciting TV drama which appeals to me (like Life on Mars and Shameless) - though there will always be a place in my heart for The Steamie, and Men Should Weep. I've never thought about the themes of my work before, really. Obviously I mean "theme" in the Adam-sense of a topic, not in the Richard-sense of what a film is trying to say. I have a tendency to write about outsiders, and I often have strong female protagonists, but I really should try to actively incorporate themes that appeal to me, and ones that would be successful with an audience.

The week ended with a screening of Twelve Angry Men, which I have decided deserves its own post later in the week. Until then, stay shiny.

"... Top Right."

The weekend is upon us, and that means blogging. So here is my post about the week beginning 12th of October!

On Monday we started with a class about editing with Andy, which followed on from the screening of Strike. The class looked at the theories of Sergei Eisenstein and Walter Murch, and I really enjoyed learning about the different theologies behind a cut. Their shared philosophy that the cut between two images creates a new idea is one I quite agree with. Additionally, we discussed how editing links with blinking. Strangely enough, I had been reading about why people blink the evening before, in a chapter of Derren Brown's book (which I wish I could find time to finish). What I found most interesting about this idea was that I was once mentored by a man who had the catchphrase, "Never cut on a blink," whilst editing. I don't think he is wrong. A cut on a character blinking may seem jarring. The cut should synchronise with where the audience might blink, in response to a piece of information.

Tuesday saw us in class with Zam for a full day. First, we read one another's treatments out loud. This was an interesting idea, as a huge part of directing is communicating your vision to a group of people who then have to recreate it. As other people have noted, it was strange hearing the words of one class-member coming from the mouth of another. But this perfectly illustrated Zam's point that you must be clear and understandable in a treatment. The treatments themselves were really good. They varied from being about the style and tone of the scene, to technical aspects of production, to the emotional impact necessary. Following this, Zam went over the structure of storytelling. As I had said after our session with John Yorke, though we have done this many times with Richard, it is great to have it rearticulated and explained in a new way. It is important, after all.

After a day off on Wednesday, we had our first lesson with Cammy on Thursday. I missed the first few hours of the lesson (thanks, NHS24) but Cammy had only been going over everything we should have learnt the previous year. My retention of the knowledge has been okay, and I took notes from Cammy's class to hopefully help me fill in any gaps in my knowledge. It's fair enough to say that I won't probably be specialising in sound, but I still want to know as much as I can. After this class, a few of us were fortunate enough to go and see the TPA pyrotechnics display. I must remember to pitch a film with explosions...

I've already reviewed Friday's screening of The Conversation, so I think that's this week covered!

Return of the Mini-Reviews

This has been a slightly hard post to write, just because I've been struggling to find the right words to describe my thoughts about a few of these. So instead of finding the right words, I've just written some other ones. Enjoy.

Fame - Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, as I had worried that it was only going to be bearable. It was above bearable, certainly watchable, and was actually nearing enjoyable. The songs were a bit rubbish, the best ones being songs from the original film with a little rapping thrown in. The story of the film was, urm, slightly non-existent, and I was disappointed to see that it was all very friendly and suitable for kids. Whilst I have not seen the original, I hear that it had themes which were slightly more mature, and I think that’s what was missing from this. Additionally, I wouldn't actually class this as a musical, as it wasn't set in a "musical-world" where people burst into spontaneous songs. A lot of praise is deserved for the dancing, though, which was pretty impressive.

Strike - Okay, this one was slightly off the bottom of my scale, below bearable. As much as I appreciate Eisenstein's contributions to editing, I wanted to hang myself like one of those cats. This film did nothing for me. Looking back at a previous review, it appears that Eisenstein also failed to enthral me with Battleship Pokémon. I know that these films are very old and were made with a particular audience in mind, but I just wish they were a little more accessible to a modern audience. The only redeeming feature of Strike was the completely-unintentional hilarity that we found in the scenes with the firemen soaking the people, and the young child being thrown from the balcony. This came just as I was giving up on life, because of the crazy narrative, and cheered me up a little.

UP - Awesome, brilliant, heart-warming, and most importantly, enjoyable... Marry me, Pixar! And even though I don't think anyone would have bet against me liking this, I'm still going to rave about it for a bit. It's up there with Wall-E and Finding Nemo, for me. I thought the opening ten-minutes were perfect, and I really loved the story. I had slight problems with the "baddie" - which felt more Classic-Disney than Pixar - and I wasn't in love with the music, but I loved the characters, the visuals, and almost everything else. Particularly Dug. If you haven’t already (in fact, even in you have), go and see it!

The Conversation - This was at least bearable, and for the most part I could follow what was going on, but near the end I just lost the plot – literally! Was someone actually murdered? Was he there? Did he witness it? Or did he only see the aftermath? Or was it all in his head? Plus, why was someone tapping him? I just couldn't follow... The one thing I did like, however, was the clever play with the phrase "He'd kill us if he got the chance." Nothing terribly amazing, but a simple misinterpretation changing the entire meaning was clever. I look forward to finding out more about the sound-design of The Conversation, and its importance to field.

Kinky Boots - On the advice of Richard, I decided to watch this film. It has similar ideas and themes to an idea that I am working on, and it felt necessary to see it. I found myself a little worried at the very beginning, as there was a flashback not too dissimilar from one I was planning on writing, but after that it was all very different. I really enjoyed the film, but it didn’t feel hugely original. I think it was slightly formulaic, and it was very similar in tone to Billy Elliot, with a lot of the same themes. I really enjoyed Chiwetel Ejiofor’s performance, however, which was both touching and hilarious. Thankfully, I am now far less worried about comparisons. So long as I stay true to the central idea of my script, then I think comparisons will be limited to the fact that both are about shoes. But shoes were never really central in the story of Kinky Boots; it was about a drag queen being accepted in a conservative village. In my idea, the shoes are central - a whole other character in fact – and it’s about the shoes fitting into that world, not the person in them. Hopefully, having now seen Kinky Boots, I can try to purposefully avoid any more similarities. But I think comparisons will still be unavoidable.

"Oh my gosh, Nemo's swimming out to sea!"

Oh my, blogging twice a week is already becoming slightly troublesome, it would appear. I think I need to get into a routine.

On Monday morning of last week, we had a class with Andy about Production Design, which followed on from watching Metropolis. This was a very interesting class, and whilst I've never been big on production design myself, I appreciate the value it adds, and I understand its importance. I do hope we get the chance to work on more films in which the production design plays a big part. Little Clown was a great experience, and I'd love to do something with more design challenges.

Following this, we had a class with Richard, which was a nice screenwriting-refresher. Having been in screenwriting tutorials for the past while, it was good to find ourselves in the class environment again. Whilst having one-on-one time is great for individual stories and troubleshooting particular scripts, it is nice to have discussions about themes and issues, and to fabricate examples purely so that we can then deconstruct them. This can be useful, as sometimes you can be so close to a story or an idea that you can't see what is wrong with it, but working on a very simple outline of something else can make you realise.

On Tuesday we watched the first episode of Teachers as we started on our mission to come up with ideas that could be the perfect thing for Channel 4's comedy-drama slot. I do find the brief funny, however. They want a "young-skewing" comedy-drama, like Teachers or Shameless, which wouldn't look out of place on HBO. That's a very specific brief, and I think that if people focus too much on that, then they may miss out on some amazingly original and challenging ideas, which is exactly what Channel 4 really need.

On Tuesday afternoon, we continued with Zam. It was good to see the remaining film scenes that people had chosen, and to then start on some work for the next lesson; writing a treatment for the scene as the director. I really thought it was a good assignment, and I was happy that I had chosen such an enjoyable scene!

On Wednesday we had a short class about the Internet. Having had to do a lot of research for my dissertation in Advanced Higher Modern Studies, I've been through all the Wikipedia-warnings and the "how to get good search results" stuff before, but Andy was a lot more honest and fair about it, particularly with respect to Wikipedia. Generally it is a good idea to check the sources listed on Wikipedia, and they can often lead you to more specialised information anyway. Oh, and just a random fact I know: Andy explained the various internet suffixes (.com = commercial, .org = organisation), and a few years ago there was a big push for there to be a new extension for the porn industry, ".xxx", which would have allowed better regulation of the web, particularly in helping to protect minors. It never came to fruition, but it was an interesting idea.

On Thursday we had a full day with Ray, which started with a little Moodle-madness, and a short quiz. I found that a few of the questions were quite tricky (mostly about things we were never taught), but I think I remembered the most important and relevant work from last year. I'm looking forward to the feedback, just to confirm that's actually true. In the afternoon, we broke out the tripods and new heads, and then some lamps. I can't help but feel slightly responsible for the fact we now have gloves, as I was the one who reported Paul's accident officially. However, I was only doing what I was being assessed on: carrying out my work with due respect to the Official Health and Safety guidelines of the Academy. And as that rule still exists, and always will, we should use the gloves.

And concluding the week, we had our screening of Strike, which I will discuss in my next post, and then I had a tutorial with Richard. It was fun, and I'm far happier with where my ideas are at the moment. I'm trying to keep more time aside for writing, and so far it's been working out, but we're getting a lot of small assignments at the moment, so I'll need to carefully balance everything.

"If I were a milkshake..."

And so we returned. And to welcome us, we had a School of Drama [and Dance] assembly, in which people were typically enthusiastic about the year to come and the exciting creative lives we have ahead of us. Following this we had a full DFTV meeting, in which we would find out about the year to come. Adam's emphasis on keeping free from stress sounds good, if not entirely fictional at the Academy, but I will do my best to try and be a little more chilled this year. I've always been a little over-conscientious, which has had a tendency to make me worry about getting things done. Though Adam's suggestion that we might not be making many films this year wasn't the most inspiring news. I understand that things do get out of hand when too many shoots are going ahead - and I suppose to create a stress-free work environment for the lecturers, less shoots is better - but a lot of learning goes on on-set.

Following this re-introductory morning, we had a class with Andy, and were sent out on a mission to find out all we can about him. As other people have blogged, this personal touch was really clever to make us interested. What can we discover about Andy Dougan in half-an-hour? Quite a fun task, and I hope that nothing that was "reported" was too intrusive. Following the lesson, I had an interesting thought: Andy said that works of art are good primary sources. However, you can only draw conclusions from artwork by interpreting it, and that interpretation is a secondary source. If an artist used red-paint, then the statement "The red paint shows his anger at this stage in his life" is a secondary source interpretation, based on the art. The only primary source conclusion that can be made is "He used red paint".

On Wednesday we had our first class with Zam Salim, which was good fun. When watching clips from our most influential films, Zam was very good at articulating what he thought, and would often pin-point exactly what made the scene strong or what let it down. I think these lessons will prove really useful with the new emphasis on performance in our films, something which I agree could be stronger. I blame a mix of inexperience of the actors in working for screen, and our own inexperience in directing actors. Thankfully this class addresses the latter!

Thursday was a day off, and so that leaves Friday's screening of Metropolis. I found myself surprised at the strong narrative, which others have pointed out as being incredibly clear. This is particularly impressive given the missing reels. As Andy noted, some more footage has been discovered; apparently it was mislabelled on purpose to prevent people from destroying it during the Second World War. But I do wonder how much footage will be lost digitally over time. No one could ever back-up all the content on YouTube, but the problem doesn't end there. I read that 20% of the original Toy Story animation files were corrupted when they went to make the 10th Anniversary DVD. Obviously they restored them somehow, but it proves that digital storage isn't a viable option for preserving film. Anyway, I digress. Metropolis was a really good film, and it had a clear look for the future. The strong production design really has shaped our vision of the future, at least in media. To quote Charlotte, looking at the city-scape, "It's like Futurama!"

Yes, Charlotte. Yes it is.

A Summer of Stuff

Wowzers. It's October now. That's weird. Weird and annoying. That means we're already three quarters of the way into 2009. That's just bizarre.

The good news is that it's great to be back. This is the first time after any summer break when I've wanted to get back to work. At both primary school and high school, you never wanted the summer to end. And last year I was just so nervous about moving away from home, and starting on what was essentially a "new" course, that I again wanted more time to prepare. But this year, knowing that being away from home ain't too shabby, and knowing that the course is awesome, I was excited. Plus, there were all the lovely people I couldn't wait to see again.

Now, given that we've only had two classes so far, I think I'll leave discussion of Academy things for my next post. Why? Well, because I know you're all super-desperate to know what I did in my summer!

Just days after moving out of halls, I found myself on a train to London to attend an event known as Talent Matters. A community film company I've worked with before selected my friend Jen and I to represent Scotland's young film-makers at this event. Quite why they had that power is beyond me. Various different young "talented" groups across the whole of the UK were going: athletes, chefs, future-politicians, dancers, musicians, entrepreneurs. So Jen and I, along with some friendly chaps from Liverpool, and four nice folk from Wales, had to represent young film-makers of the UK. I also had the added responsibility to ensure I didn't impersonate either the Liverpudlian or Welsh accent. Well, at least not in their presence.

To skip a ridiculously long explanation of just how tedious the event was, I shall summarise briefly. The event was all about praising talent, not nurturing it as I had expected. Therefore, the event consisted of the people in charge talking at us about how talented we all are. It was one big day of massaging egos and patting each other on the back. Thing is, other events were about helping people discover their talents - but all the people there were selected because of their known talents in a particular field! The worst part was when listening to a questionable political journalist, and I looked around to see so many of the young people listening attentively, hanging on his every word. A particularly racist statement about the Chinese left many of us shocked, and went entirely unchallenged. Bastard.

The only good thing about the event was that I got a free trip to London! And with two nights paid for, Jen and I made use of the time to go and see Sister Act The Musical (pretty good), and Derren Brown's live stage-show, ENIGMA (awesome!). As you may recall, I have a lot of admiration and respect for Derren Brown, and I love what he does. Following this truly amazing show, I finally purchased his book, and I've been reading it over the summer. It's really interesting and impressive stuff. A lot of it builds on my prior knowledge of hypnosis and psychology, and I'm really passionate about using some of his techniques in film sometime. And just to make the summer even more Derren-Brown-centric, his new show started on Channel 4. I love him too much to be objective, but I do admit that this show seems to be an attempt at more commercial entertainment, which is shifting his audience from those interested in psychology to those who want to be entertained. He has also taken some major risks with this show, which I think would have paid-off more had there been no format change.

I also started work on a webseries this summer, called Me & My Fairy. It's a silly, formulaic sitcom in mini, 5-minute episodes. So far we've filmed two episodes, but we want to complete a series of six before we start uploading them. So don't expect to see any online until next year. But I did use one of the completed episodes as an example of my screenwriting in a BBC Blast/BAFTA competition that I've entered. The prize is a bursary to create a new piece of work with either the BBC or an external production company. If I'm successful, I may get even more free trips to London! I should find out if I'm selected in two weeks time, so just ignore me then if I seem distant.

The rest of my summer included a trip to Alton Towers, an awful lot of flat-hunting, a Lord-of-the-Rings-athon, designing a website for a restaurant, and seeing various shows in the Fringe. So, all-in-all, a pretty good summer. But it's exciting to be back, and I can't wait to see what we'll be getting up to!

EIFF

All the recently reviews for Antichrist reminded me that I didn't hit the publish button on this post! So here, rather delayed, is my summary of what we saw at the EIFF.

Adventureland

Quite a humorous film, and I was particularly impressed with the performances. I was less sure about the story - another of those "coming-of-age" stories. I was also concerned that it's about the fifth film in the past year from the guys that brought us Superbad, but this proved to be unfounded. They're not quite out of steam. But at this rate, they will be soon!

London Film Academy: Breaking Down a Scene

At first I thought the London Film Academy sounded like a more advanced training institute than the RSAMD, potentially for post-grad courses. As it turns out, I think they're more like a foundation course, with courses equivalent to college. But the session was interesting. The director just rehearsed a scene with actors, and then shot it. Watching the rehearsal process, in-which they blocked out the scene and discussed the characters, was really useful. Then, however, it was locked-off as soon as they did their first take, and then the process of doing different angles and multiple takes became laborious and boring to watch.

International Shorts: Animation 2

An interesting mix of animations; some 2D, some hand-drawn, some stop-motion, and some 3D. I was really fond of a few of them. There were some really nice, simple stories in there - and generally these were the ones with strogner animation. Several of these were foreign language, but given the very visual story-telling often seen in animation there wasn't a lot of subtitling.

Running in Traffic

I was one of the people who thought that it would be good to see Running in Traffic, as not only would it count as our British Film, but it was also produced by Abigail. I did find that it was a rather complicated story to follow, and it doesn't help the reputation of Scottish films as depressing, cold and drug-themed. However, it does prove a point about the Scottish film industry - it is possible to produce a feature. Now we just need to do the same again with stronger script.

Outrage
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, which was about closeted politicians who vote against gay rights in order to cover up their secret lives. It was really well-made, and it's a very appropriate time for such an exposé, given the current shenanigans in the US (particularly the retraction of civil-partnership rights in LA). I found it interesting that they didn't try to make you hate the politicians involved, but in some cases feel sympathetic for them.

Vinyan
I didn't really enjoy this film. It was well-made, but it was very slow and not hugely engaging. I couldn't really see anything unique about it. The characters were hard to like, the story was hard to engage with, and I just didn't enjoy it. Plus, rushing to see it meant that we missed a Q&A with the director of Outrage - which I think would have been far more interesting.

The Girlfriend Experience
I think that the ITV2 series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl did a better job at this story; essentially showing the life of a high-class call-girl, and their extravagant life, whilst dealing with their own personal relationships too. I didn't like the style it was shot in though, and I didn't really see a story.

Antichrist

Another film about dealing with the loss of a child which ends with a shocking scene "exposing the depths of the human condition". Well, that's what some people say. In reality, I think it was an excuse to create one of the most visually explicit and disturbing scenes in cinematic history. I'm not particularly squeamish or disturbed by blood (unless I know that it's genuine), but I did feel that - given the reaction of the audience - it may have been a step too far. People always say less is more; the Jaws-technique of not actually showing everything and letting the audiences' imaginations create something scarier than could actually be shown. Antichrist, however, showed everything in those moments, and I think this is far more effective than what the audience could imagine. They're faced with a real image, undeniably a part of the film's world. I think that's worse. In fact, I now know that's worse... The one good thing about Antichrist is how it's allowed critics to become far more inventive and humorous in their attempts to tell people not to see it. Some of them have been quite amusing!

Little Clown, Big Post

Oh my. Where to start? Again, it's been too long since I last blogged. Once a week is just impossible when you're in production. I clear my calendar when I'm in production; no social-life, no Academy-life, no other-projects. Just production. No time to dilly-dally online!

Pre Pre-Production

I had decided that I would not be a Producer on either of the two films that we would be making at the end of term. I had other projects in my head, and I really wanted a lighter-role. Perhaps Editing. It was only when we found out that we would be making one single film, with double the budget, a bigger crew, and full-support from above that I impulsively changed my mind. The main factor was the strength of Charlotte's script, coupled with the wondrous production nightmares it presented. I knew that it was a big challenge, and I wanted to be a part of the team that met that challenge head-on!

Pre-Production

Moments after the announcement of the film, and an initial read-through, off we went. Murdo sourced break-down sheets, Galina broke the script down into eighths, and I started to look at the bigger picture: "What do we prioritise?" "Where do we start?" "Who will be responsible for each aspect of the production?"

Looking back at the first production-day update, it's amazing how much we started doing. I think, in retrospect, focusing on one thing and completing it - rather than jumping between loads of different tasks - might be a better idea. We started looking at locations, child-licensing laws, casting through agencies, prices for kit to hire-in, the need for a costume designer and make-up artists all within the first few hours. A little mental.

As classes began to wind down we had solid production-time in which we were really able to get to work. Our production classes with Abigail were useful in pushing us in the right direction and helping us with any issues. They were normally attended by the whole class, though with a notable lack of enthusiasm. It seemed that people felt it was all irrelevant to them. Which, on this production, it may be - but who's to say that you won't be made to produce at some stage? I think that a compulsory swapping of roles may benefit our own development and prevent any narrow-mindedness... but considering how well we slipped into our roles this time, I would worry what the final product of this experiment would be.

In general, the pre-production of the film went really well. Given our lack of knowledge of even some of the more simple things (like Call Sheets, or the Academy's Van Booking system) it's quite impressive that we were able to deal with some of the more unique issues. Particularly because we worked on mobiles and those stand-up internet terminals, as the Production Office was never free for our use. Too many films, too few desks/computers/phones/chairs. It's all a balance: bigger kit room = smaller production office. But my phone-bill for that month was considerably higher than previous months...

And, in the last moments we could really still class as Pre-Production, Paul decided it was about time I was introduced to the Accident Report Form. Which I dealt with, as promptly as one can when away from the building. Following this, however, I was asked to fill-out an accident investigation form. I thought this to be standard practice, but Adam remained unsure. For such a minor accident as a cut to a finger, the accident investigation form could unfairly implicate a number of people (simply depending on which of the many-applicable boxes is ticked). Adam said he would investigate the investigation to find out why it was thought necessary.

Post Pre-Production (AKA, Pre Post-Production... or just "Production")

My on-set job was far less important than those of pretty much everyone else, but I do think that it was useful having someone to deal with the welfare of the cast, make-up artist and chaperone (and, sometimes, the crew too). Mostly making teas and coffees, preparing meals, and such. I was also monitoring Robert's workload to ensure that we were functioning within the law, and I could also be found working on the schedule for the next day. It wasn't the hardest job, but I was on-hand to deal with any issues, had there been any!

I do have to say, though, that I was very impressed by everyone's effort on-set. A couple of times in Pre-Production I was concerned by a lack of progress (and in fairness, the lack of preparation did show at times) but everyone settled into their roles very quickly, and we started working like a well-oiled train. Charlotte set the destination, Galina shouted orders, the Crew got to work, and I wandered around with a trolley; "Tea? Coffee? Any refreshments?"

Of course, not everything went as we had hoped. We did have a small issue with Blu-Tak removing a section of paint from the wall. As this issue is still being dealt with, however, I will refrain from saying how insanely out-of-hand I feel it is getting. However, I appreciate the help from above in dealing with it.

Post-Production

Okay, whilst the editing is still on-going, my role as a producer has began to wind down. I dealt with the receipts shortly after returning from the Edinburgh Film Festival, and I've only a little petty cash left to claim to repay some small expenses. Galina, Murdo and myself have nearly finished compiling the production folder. It contains all our unique paperwork now, and simply needs a few print outs added. Other than that, there's very little we need to do.

Having said that, there are still the two floating issues: the accident investigation and the paint-issue. Both are currently out of our hands, and I'm hoping that they are resolved shortly.



So, here we are. 39 days ago we were told 'Little Clown' was going to be made. 208 emails later (for me, at least) and we're almost there. I saw the first rough-cut today, and I'm really excited to see where it goes. It's looking good, and whilst there's very limited time left until we screen it, I have every faith that Michael and Phil will be able to make it even better!

One Tardis Please

Time. There isn't enough of it. Or perhaps there is, and I just have an unreasonable number of things to do. Not that I'm complaining - I do enjoy a busy period every now and then - but I'm afraid that it has left my blogging at a less-than-satisfactory level. I'll try to rectify this, but even now I can think of numerous things that my time might be better spent on. Like finishing the music video, preparing script outlines for Richard, working on Adam's online-content idea, working on Andy's 1970's film assignment, or working on Little Clown's numerous production challenges, to name but a few. With all this going on, I'm sure you can't blame me for not thinking straight. Not that I ever really think straight...

So, with my moaning out the road, I'm going to take a stroll through some of my more interesting thoughts over the past while. No point in trying to go back several weeks and remember everything from classes. Right now I can't even remember what I had for dinner... 20 minutes ago!

I like structure. Not just in my day-to-day life (though sometimes a change is welcome), but in screenwriting. The lesson with John Yorke was of particular use to me. Not only did it articulate really well with work we have covered with Richard, but it also clarified areas which I have struggled to grasp (particularly creating a compelling 2nd-act). The use of archetypal examples and the supplementary information on the history of the theories just cemented to me the importance of understanding and learning the structure. Right now I'm still weary of "painting by numbers" when writing, but it's always good to remember that creativity comes first, and the structure is there to support it!

Another issue I'm finding is my annoyingly producer-minded brain. Okay, it's great for producing, but I'm finding it a hindrance when it comes to writing. For instance, if I decide to set a scene in a new location, or introduce something perhaps a little complicated, I'll always ask first if it would be too much hassle for the production-team and decide based on that. I really need to force myself to ignore that and write what's best for the story. For instance, I would never have been able to write Little Clown. It's a brilliant script, but the producer-side of me would have had a heat-attack, with juggling children and what-not. (And, in fairness, that same side is having a heart-attack now that it's being made! But challenges are always good.) I need to fully separate my creative-side from my producing-side when writing, but have them both work together when producing. Electrolysis, anyone?

Something else... let's see... Oh yes, a while back Andy asked us to mention what we are currently reading on our blogs. Well, in truth, I'm not a very well-read person. It's perhaps one of my own tragic-flaws. I've never read a novel through my own choice; only when it has been compulsory for school. I do read, just not fiction. I read Russell T Davies' The Writer's Tale (a book about writing Doctor Who) near the end of last year, which I really enjoyed. Along the exact same lines, I'm still working my way through Graeme Harper's Calling the Shots (a book about directing Doctor Who). And, with regards to publications, I'm also a fond reader of the Doctor Who Magazine. Hmm, I think I've just uncovered a slightly larger tragic-flaw. And the worst thing? I'm 5 issues behind on reading the magazine because I've just been so busy! However, I am planning on getting a copy of Save The Cat by Blake Snyder, following John Yorke's recommendation. I'm also going to force myself to getting into the habit of reading fiction during the summer. Any suggestions? (Maybe I should start from a kids book, and work my way up?) I did actually go through a massive stage of listening to fiction audio books, which I really did enjoy. I could go down that route again, perhaps. Y'know, to kick-start me!

I am, however, also really interested in getting some books by Derren Brown (the well-known psychological illusionist). Not only am I interested in his work, but I'm also interested in seeing if there's any way to use similar techniques in film to - for example - make the audience know the next line of dialogue before it's spoken, or make them really emotionally invest in the story. I imagine there could be a question of legality, particularly with regards to subliminal messaging. Not that I think flash-frames would be wise. Really using psychology to make the audience go on a journey, not just the characters. I suppose all film-making is about that, really. But I'm talking about going beyond using certain colours to play with emotion. I do need to read about it to learn what these other techniques could be, but it's certainly something I want to explore. I would just hope I'm not burnt at the stake for witchcraft.

Anyway, that's enough rubbish. Here's some important news: I like Nutri-Grain Elevenses. Tell your friends.

Paradise Now

Here's my post for today's assignment on representation in Paradise Now.

Going into the film I was under the impression that suicide-bombing attacks were often directly a result of religious beliefs. Whilst this was a part of the reason in Paradise Now, the attacks were more clearly a form of retaliation (or, I suppose, revenge). That by no means makes these attacks more justified, but it certainly opened up the oppression that they feel - including the pressure from their own side to make a sacrifice for their cause.

I couldn't say if the two main characters, Said and Khaled, were fairly representative in the film. They were, however, very human characters and very believable, which is an important step in accurately portraying any group. The film did a good job of making their oppression and circumstances become apparent, and you whilst you might not have agreed with the actions eventually taken by Said, you could understand why he thought he had to do it. The film gave a perspective on suicide-bombers which I hadn't seen before. It gave them a conscience, including questioning if their actions were for the greater-good. In that sense, I felt sympathetic for them, which I suppose has changed my opinion somewhat: I now recognise that there are greater motivations for these attacks. Not ones that I agree warrant these extreme responses, but ones I can understand better.

It Died...

Okay, I've learned my lesson. Whilst video-blogging was fun, I'm finding it impossible to find the time to sit down and do it. Given that I've not posted in far too long, and that I'm rather busy at the moment, I'm returning to the good old written blog.

Monday started with a tutorial with Richard. I wasn't too surprised by the premises Richard was less fond of, but I'll admit that Richard's favourite was one I was less keen on. However, we discussed it, and I'm now more confident in the idea, and I'll certainly try developing it. Richard also had a lot of helpful comments for the others that he liked, or thought had potential. It did become apparent that often the core idea, normally my starting-point, was stronger than the premise that went with it. So I'm rethinking several from that initial point. I've also been thinking of a few new ones, but so far I don't think there's anything spectacular.

Following this, we reviewed the rushes with Gav in the DTU. It was a shame that we had already seen an edit of Love, Mugs & Stickmen, as it would have been nice to see the footage out of context first. Then we moved onto the tapes for Melissa's Mail. I kept feeling the need to speak out and justify each shot, or at least acknowledge the imperfections so that people knew I was aware of them. But I tried not to, if I could resist.

Gav continued with us on Tuesday with a simple Logging and Capturing assessment. John and I had already logged all of the footage for Melissa's Mail, so I was confident I knew what to do. Then Paul and I, along with Graeme who we found in a booth, went to see In The Loop. Following a pause for food, we went to see an advanced screening of Coraline, courtesy of Paul and his free tickets.

On Wednesday morning, Paul and I continued on our quest to sit in every seat in Cineworld by going to see Wolverine. Following this we had a screening with Andy, in which we watched In the Heat of the Night. Both of these will appear when I finally return to writing my reviews, I promise.

The themes raised in In the Heat of the Night continued in Andy's first class on Thursday, which was on representation. I couldn't help but feel that it was a little ironic that after we had discussed the objectification of women the slides were rolled back to show Megan Fox again - but it proves it's a more common issue than some would care to admit. We then discussed the representation of race in films, which proved rather interesting. I find the change in attitudes over the past few decades to be very inspiring, and I hope that these attitudes continue growing into other areas of acceptance, as there is still a ridiculous amount of discrimination out there. I'm looking forward to see who will be represented in our next class on representation.

On Friday morning, Adam explained what many familiar acronyms actually stood for, as we discussed Mobile and Web content. I'm really interested in web-content, particularly the different attempts at creating a working business-model, which doesn't seem to be going too well. I'm currently working on a web-series which I'm planning to make with my friends in Edinburgh over the Summer, and so I'm hoping to pick-up useful information from the remaining mobile-content classes!

On Friday afternoon, Andy and Adam kindly agreed to let me attend a meeting in Edinburgh for a new film-making organisation, and so I missed Abigail's class. I'll be getting the notes and finding out what is to be done soon, so that I can catch up and get it done for Friday.

It's Still Alive!

Second video post. Do enjoy!

It's Alive!

The internet was down at the halls for a bit, but now that it's back I can post this; my first video blog!



I'm not sure that I'll make a habit of this, though making this didn't take any longer than my standard written post. But, since this blog is actually used for assessment, I suppose that written is probably prefered. I may just do the odd video special!

Sound Sandwhich

Since returning after Christmas the course has yet to return to its previous balance of classes per week. We used to have several full-days each week and lots going on. Whilst there's still a lot going on, with the next two weeks being quite busy with deadlines (Richard's script, Andy's Moodle assignment, The Arches music video and the incoming assignment from Barbara and Kim), I'm quite ready to have a busy week: I use my time better when there's less of it. Weird, innit?

But last week wasn't too bad. Sound was a little repetitive - in that it was a repetition of previous lessons and we had it twice in the same week. But this helped me. I'm not great with the sound stuff, so a little repetition helps. It's just getting used to setting it up. I think I'll need to take it out at some point to practice before the assessment, though.

I missed Richard's class on Tuesday as I was at the Arches with Charlotte and Benoit watching music videos. Not the most constructive use of time, but the bit where we discussed what the project is was useful. I think what Charlotte and I are discussing will work for our song. But it's long and quite repetitive, and we've got to create interesting content for it. A bit challenging, but that's always good. And that evening Paul updated us on what we missed in Richard's class, and I was a little worried to hear that we only had two weeks to write our next 3-min script. But again, challenging is always good.

Andy's classes were insightful, as usual. I realise that sounds like I'm sucking up, because Andy is no doubt [amongst my readers/my only reader], but I genuinely do gain insight from them. I was a little shocked to realise that I follow [a lot/all] of the shows that Andy used as examples of US Network Shows. But, then again, with the volume that I follow it would be hard not to touch on a few. The documentary on The Wire has reignited my interest in watching that show, but I'm seriously so far behind with some shows at the moment that I'm better saving it until the dry-spell which comes in US TV during the summer. That way I'll have something worth watching.

Oh, and my Back to the Future review is coming soon.

Fin.

Mini-Reviews: Oscar Special

These past weeks I've tried to see as many of the big Oscar Nominated films as possible, and here are my thoughts:

Slumdog Millionaire - Don't get me wrong, this was a really good film, but to me it just isn't quite the big-deal that people seem to be making it out to be. It's certainly a very compelling story, and I really liked the narrative, particularly when it stops being flashback and becomes present. The acting was great and it was well-directed. I don't have any major criticisms that I can throw at it (beyond it's unimpressive advertising) - I connected with the film well - it's just that I've seen better films that I've enjoyed far more. It wasn't quite my bottle-of-Ribena.

The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke was awesome, certainly, as was Marisa Tomei, and again it was a really strong story. There were aspects which I wasn't so happy about, particularly the ending. I know a lot of people love it, and I'm not wanting a happier ending, just one with a little more closure for the other characters. Okay, it was about The Ram's life, and you know what probably happens to the other characters after... It's just that I would have liked to see it.


Frost/Nixon - I liked this film more than I thought I might. The strength of the acting is one reason, but the actual story was also really interesting. I still know little about the Watergate Scandal, because there was very little exposition, and being a child of the 90's I don't really know exactly what happened. But that didn't hinder the film, really, as it was about seeing these characters go head-to-head. I was slightly annoyed that everything just worked-out for Frost without him working particularly hard for it, so it felt anyway, but it may be an accurate retelling of the events.

The Reader - I saw this with an audience of OAPs. I thought it was awkward when the STDs/Use-a-condom advert came on... then the film started. I'm not afraid of nudity in cinema, but it was uncomfortable when I was the only one younger than 60, and the scenes involve a character who is 16 with an older woman. Getting over that, which I had to do fast due to the volume of nudity, I enjoyed the film. I really liked the twist (well, not a twist, but the revelation), and how the story changed dramatically twice, leaping over periods of time. Winslet was very strong, as was the younger actor, David Kross.

Milk - When film like Changeling can make me angry about injustice, you'd think that a film like Milk would be able to achieve that no-problem. But it didn't. And that annoyed me. I thought the acting was fine - and I do think that Josh Brolin is good competition for Heath Ledger for Best-Supporting Actor - and it was really well written. I'd heard Milk's story previously, but the ending was far more tense than I thought it would be when I knew what would happen. Perhaps I wasn't angry because Milk's murder wasn't really a hate-crime but an act of revenge. But still, the whole Proposition 6 issue in the movie has been mirrored recently, with Proposition 8 recently re-banning gay marriage in California. Surely, when it's dealing with an on-going issue, it could have made a bigger point.

Of the Best-Picture nominated films I've still to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is out this coming Friday. I'll try and catch it... but Bolt is also opening, and I do love me some Disney - particularly in Disney Digital 3D. Which is the same as any other 3D, it's just that Disney love to brand things. Like Disney DVDs, which (apart from being of Disney films) are no different from your standard DVD.

Morte Vampir Luminarium

Lighting on Monday last week was good. I've known the principles of three-point lighting, but this is the first time I've had a chance to see the difference it can make and play around with it. Slightly annoying that we had limited kit to play with, but I got a lot from the lesson none-the-less.

The less said about the Screenwriting stories on Tuesday perhaps the better. Some worked out, whilst others fell apart like the Frankensteined stories they were. The sheet that we used for this exercise, though, is very useful to me in trying to understand the structure better. I think I may use that format when I'm planning scripts.

Wednesday's class on Coronation Street was interesting. From my time at The Network I am surprisingly well-informed by the inner-workings of soaps; particularly Corrie and Hollyoaks. So I was aware about the tedious planning and storylining that goes on. Still, there was plenty that was fresh to me. I'm becoming aware that I'd actually happily work on a soap. I'd probably enjoy it, and it's certainly a place to be seen in the industry. I know that a lot of my own favourite television writers and producers started out on soaps. Soaps, or Children's TV; which would also be awesome. I do hope that we get an assignment to go and watch CBBC at some point.

Thursday's lesson carried on from our viewing of Battleship Pokemon, and it was fun to look at a scene for a second time. I think that it was necessary, certainly, to look at it more objectively. For instance, there's not much I could say about the way in which Nosferatu was put together without rewatching a scene or two, as I was too involved with the film's story whilst watching it the first time.

Speaking of Nosferatu, that's what we watched on Friday morning. But I've spoken about that before. After that we had a Production class, which I really enjoyed. It was nice that Abigail recognised that the first lesson was very management-and-responsibilities heavy, and so hit us with the creative side of producing. Producing is certainly on the cards for me, as I've always been the sort to do both creative things and the logic-based things. I'm one of those people who is both left and right brained, and - to keep myself sane - I need to have a bit of both in my life. And I'm certainly getting both from this course!

And that cheesy-line, dear friends, is the end of this post.

Coronation Street Party Madness

Well, I certainly enjoyed our little Corrie-Shindig. Different; and I like that. Here follows my version of events.

Two Synopsises. Or synopsi. No, synopsises:

7.30 Episode

• Sally tries to fix things with Sophie, and help her get along with Rosie.
• Audrey asks Maria not to return to work for a while. Maria, offended, argues with her and then throws her out.
• Blanche tells Leanne that Peter is returning that day with Ken.
  
• Anna is suspicious that Eddie and Gary had something to do with the robbery from the building site, and warns them that she had better not find out they were involved.
• Ad-Break Hook: Carla has called the police about Maria attacking Tony.
• Maria goes to the Police Station about Tony, and asks to speak to the relevant officer.
• Ken returns without Peter, and reveals to Leanne that Peter is in rehab.
• Gail confronts Eddie and Anna in the street.
• It is revealed to Maria that Carla had called the police on her. She is taken out of the station.
• In the car, Maria sees a happy family and breaks down crying.
• At the pub, Gary and Len believe that their robbery was a success.
• End-of-Episode Hook: Maria hits Tony with her car, and then crashes into a wall.

8.30 Episode

• The reaction to the crash, as people rush out onto the street to see if Tony and Maria are okay.
• Carla tells the police that Maria had deliberately driven at Tony, and that she should be locked-up.
• Gary tells Tina that David has set him up because he's jealous that Tina likes him.
• Ad-Break Hook: Ken's dog falls into the canal, but is rescued by Martha. He is invited onto her boat.
• Ken and Martha "eat soup"...
• Audrey and Kirk encounter Tony at the hospital, who wants to hear how Maria is doing. He finds out that her baby will be okay.
• Ken and Martha "drink wine"... and Ken reveals his family issues, but not that he is remarried.
  
• Kevin tells Sophie that they can talk openly, if she ever needs to.
• Ken returns home, and - not revealing that he's been on Martha's boat - has to have some of Deirdre's bland soup, to cover-up where he's been.
• David overhears Tina say that she think Gary might be innocent.
• End-of-Episode Hook: Maria is told that she could be charged for attempted murder.

Character statuses. Or stati. No, statuses:
Sally: Mother
Rosie: Mean sister and a little bit promiscuous
Sophie: Sweet girl, single (but with a love-interest)
Audrey: Whilst Maria's boss, she appeals to her as a friend
Maria: "Implacable Avenger" (thanks Andy)
Tony: Murderer, Respected boss
Carla: Tony's partner, defender
Eddie: Dodgy Geezer
Gary: Young Dodgy Geezer and Manipulative to boot
Anna: Suspicious mother/wife
Ken: Unhappily married
Martha: Unhappily lonely

The others had too little screen time to define their status, in my opinion. But, if I'm wrong, I'll happily add those others!

A Not-So-Mini Mini-Reviews

Right, this has sat unfinished in my blog-writing-bit for far too long! I've added in the two recent films from History of Cinema, just so I don't fall too behind with my blogging.

Twilight - I didn't know what to expect with this. I had heard there were complaints about it from people who adore the books, just as there were complaints that the book sucked, therefore the film will also suck. But, for what it's worth, there was little that sucked - apart from the vampires. In fairness to the team behind the film, it was quite a sweet romance. I did find that I hated the two main characters for the first two minutes of their respective introductions, but then I really liked them: perhaps a statement about books and covers? Oh, and there was clever use of dramatic-irony, playing on the fact that we know he's a vampire, so they needn't explain it to us. Again, a film which felt very non-commercial for all the franchise-exploitation that accompanies it.

LOTR Extended - Okay, so I did need to give this another chance. So much happens in the films and I wasn't even a teenager when the first came out: there was quite a lot that flew over my head! Even now, there's a lot of Kings, rings and things to make sense of. But with the confusion removed, and the extra footage added, I can really appreciate this trilogy properly now. I watched it in 6-parts, as that is how the film is split onto discs (with a change in the middle of each), and I think that worked out for the best. I know I would get bored if I watched any of them all in one go.

Merlin - I really, really enjoyed this series. Okay, argue that Guienivere isn't meant to be black; argue that the castle is from the from century; argue that Merlin should be much older than Arthur; but two things: (1) It's fiction. (2) There's a dragon. A talking dragon. Colin Morgan stands out as a very gifted young actor, but the rest of the cast is strong too. I did find that the plots became very formulaic in the middle of the series, and the CGI was often mis-used. I look forward to the Second Series, though, because it became quite good in its final episodes (excluding the slight cop-out in the last episode, which annoyed me greatly).

Survivors - For a show that royally pee'd me off with it's first episode (by killing off two characters played by actors I like when I was led to believe they would be in the entire series) it actually turned itself around. For a start, I really disliked the main character - Aby Grant. Over time, however, I did become attached to her. I also really like Nikki Amuka-Bird who played Samantha Willis. I've seen her in Torchwood and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (which is coming back as a series!) and I've been really impressed with her. Not so much in Survivors, but hopefully she can shine in the Second Series.

The Diary of Anne Frank - Not the sort of show I normally watch, but the casting of Tasmin Greig and Lesley Sharp intrigued me enough. I really enjoyed the series. I've read the play before - in fact, I remember reading in as Peter Van Daan - but this version made Anne less of a hero and more of the teenager she actually was. What made this version particularly touching was the very distanced relationship between Anne and her mother. Her mother tried so hard, and yet Anne still treated her appallingly. A very visual show, and it was a wise choice to play it out over a single week.

The Battleship Potemkin - I enjoyed seeing this from a film-maker viewpoint, but not so much as an audience member. It was very unique, and it did establish some brilliant things for Cinema. The construction of scenes was very impressive, but occasionally things didn't feel right to me. But it's unfair to look at this film in the same way one look's at the latest Oscar contenders. It would have been a very powerful film at its time, and I can see its importance.

Nosferatu - This I did enjoy. Whilst I'm not a big fan of scary movies (not because I'm scared of them, but because they often fail to scare me) I did find moments in this creepy, which is impressive. Count Orlok was rather intimidating, particularly when he just stood still, watching. I found this harder to deconstruct as we went along because I was more involved with watching it. I look forward to the discussion that will no doubt ensue this week.

Corr, Blimey

Here's my synopsis of the 20:30 episode of Coronation Street broadcast on 19th of January, 2009:

After finding out Joe is staying with Gail, Audrey tells Gail that he is a labourer. Gail asks him about it, and he gets mad and leaves.

Steve claims to have left Michelle for Becky, but she says she is committed to Jason.

Gary and his Uncle Len plan to steal from the building site. They do, and are later seen driving away by David.

John has been sentenced to two years in prison. Fiz is somewhat upset, whilst Rosie celebrates with her family.

Tara and Amber try to convince Dev to let Amber learn to drive.

A Rousing Return

Wow. This past week has been pretty good. Really good, in fact. Lots of enjoyable classes, and certainly a really nice way to return after a holiday. There's always that slight dreading about going back - less so now than those times at High School - but it was completely unjustified!

Firstly, on Tuesday we had a Technical Class with Ray in which we moved onto lighting. It was an enjoyable class for me. Some of the terms which are also used in theatrical lighting were familiar, and a lot of the "how-they-work" I've covered in Physics. After that, playing with manual white-balance with the lighting was quite interesting. I agree with Ray that when something is perfectly white-balanced it doesn't always look right, so it can be an idea to adjust it to where you like it's look.

Next on Tuesday was Richard's screenwriting class. This was actually more tiring in the afternoon than first thing on Monday morning. Strange, huh? But it was a good lesson. I'm now far less happy with my script because I felt we covered some things which helped me realise where I could improve it. But I quite like the assignment of confidentially sharing our secrets. Some people have claimed to have no secrets. Okay, maybe you have nothing that you've never told anyone, but there must be something. Everyone has something.

Wednesday. Squeee. Wednesday was fun, because not only do I have a potentially-unhealthy obsession with Doctor Who, but the area of TV I'm most interested in is that BBC1 Saturday 7pm Drama slot. I'd love to work on Doctor Who, or Merlin, or maybe even the new Sherlock Holmes (which I think is going for that slot). I really like those types of show. So this lesson was nice and relevant in every way.

Thursday's class was good, too. I quite enjoy the history of cinema. The inventing, and then the evolution of a new art form are both really interesting. It's particularly strange looking at the original ways that film-reels were shown.

I'll cover The Battleship Potemkin in the next post, so I'll talk about Friday's second class - Introduction to Production. Abigail was really nice and she was particularly clear in setting out the role of a Producer, and the producerly things they do. That's a tough job, because the role of a producer is not only hard to define, but it can differ for each production, depending on what is required. I'm still open towards producing - the big list didn't scare me off - but I'll need to see how I feel after a few more classes!

I certainly hope that we have a few more weeks like this in our time here!