Blow up is what I would call a interesting film not because it was bad or good but it was just plain interesting. At first when it began with the cart full of mimes in the jeep. While personally when I saw this I had absolutely no idea where this film was going however for some odd reason it was visually interesting. This aspect of visuals making the movie visually interesting I found to be great. For instance, when the photographer goes onto the public land and follow the old man and young woman the stark difference is appealing. Also with the way the storyline unfolded it makes this whole story very interesting. For instance directly after the pictures are taken the woman notices and begins to follow the photographer and attempts to take his camera away from him. At first the viewer is supposed to believe that this is occurring because it could ruin the old mans future. But as we find out later the reason that she is attempting to take his camera away is because the film that is in it shows the murder that took place unnoticed by the photographer. As stated before this film in my opinion is visually interesting because it has ways of telling its story in a indirect fashion and has subtle plot twists that rely on the viewer to stay focused. For instance, as stated the photographer takes a picture of a murder however, it isn’t known the viewer of the photographer himself until he has begun to develop the film. Also, the way that he discovers it is that he begins to examine the negatives and sees something odd about them. The scene the follows is that he rushes the film over to make large pictures of them and then takes them to another level in his apartment where he begins searching with a magnifying glass again. It is then revealed to the viewer that the man was murdered while kissing the girl behind the bush. Needless to say that the story line continues and that the film gets taken and the photographer looses his hopes of finishing his photography book because his final pictures are gone.
But once again how is this interesting? What is interesting about this entire movie is that nothing is exactly what it seems to be. It has plot twists, murder, and sexual interaction but yet unlike most action movies in today there are no explosions, shootings, or major car chase scenes. In a sense this is a action movie with all of the “action” being taken out of it. Simply put that is what makes this movie interesting because in order to do this you really have to think through the entire film. Would I ever say that this movie is in my top 10 best films to watch, no I wouldn’t but I would say that if you are looking for a movie that shows a story that twists and turns multiple times this is a movie to watch.
For the most part, I believe that the project over all went really well. At first, we had a general idea of what we wanted to do and it was interesting over time to see how the entire scene evolved. Personally I have made films before and not being able to use any cuts, color correcting, or sound really was a fun challenge. The video is about a character doing a crossword puzzle however, when she becomes stuck on a answer, she asks the person sitting next to her only to have the puzzle taken away from her and finished by the person she asked for help. Overall it was a interesting project however, I still want to stick with my cuts, color correcting, effects, and sound.
For this assignment I decided to do Coldplay’s song Viva La Vida. This video starts out with a rose opening up, and right away the video is heavily color corrected and filtered. The filter that is used almost completely though out the entire video is that of a cracked wall or wrinkled paper. This along with the cameras in certain areas recording in fewer frames and a color correction that emphasizes heavily on dark reds with tans and browns portray the feeling of being ancient and worn out. Along with this, the music video also is a montage of many different extreme angles and close ups to give emphasis not only on the instruments in the background but to keep your eyes glued to the screen. Another interesting aspect of the video is the attention to lighting throughout the entire song. The lighting in certain areas comes either from the left or the right and this is copied and placed on the background image as well. For instance at 1:38 in the video, the light is coming in from the right and the background is using lighting from the right as well. Even though the backgrounds are animated, they are moving slowly as to not gain too much attention while at the same time maintaining the lighting effects.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this video however, I still prefer to listen to this song rather then see it preformed in a video. What works in this video is that there is a consistency in the video being switched on beats and a consistency in the filters and effects. By doing this it creates a atmosphere within the video that is powerful and interesting. Also, another aspect of the video that I like is the angles at which they show the instruments. For instance in the video there is a small clip where they are showing the drums being hit from a angle that makes these drums look massive and which has the drummer at a angle which makes him look small. This is also done with a violin in which there is a emphasis on the strings which grabs the viewers attention. This emphasis on instruments not only allows them to get a multitude of shots that allows them not to have to do repeat shots but it once again draws attention to the song and the message within it which, is the main point of the video.
This by no means makes this video perfect, there are two main objections that I have about this video. The first being that this video is very bland for Coldplay, from their Speed Of Sound video with an amazing LED background, to Talk where they visit a alien planet with a robot. This video has no story in it and does not offer a interesting background. The second objection I had to this video is the portions of the movie that drops frames. While some people might claim that it’s a artsy touch I feel that it doesn’t add anything to the video and really seems to almost be a filler.
The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was originally released in 1951, is an amazing video not because of the special effects but because of the storyline that is behind it. The story revolves around a alien who lands on earth from another world and needs to warn Earth about their impending doom. Basically what is happening is that humans on Earth are threatening to disrupt peace in the universe by taking nuclear weapons into space. The alien whose name is Klaatu is there simply to gather up the world leaders in order to tell them that if they do not stop what they are doing they will be destroyed in order to maintain peace in the galaxy.
Over all, I really enjoyed this movie because its not necessarily the best movie of all time but it is more plot driven then action driven as many of today’s films are. This is something that I really wish would drive more of today’s films. Granted while explosions and special effects are great, if they do not have a compelling storyline then what is the point. For instance look at the movie Avatar, needless to say there are a few special effects in this movie however, it is driven by a storyline, which just so happens to be similar to Pocahontas. I also liked how this movie shows what the world was like at that time. For instance, in the opening sequence of the movie you are treated to a slew of shots from multiple military and news media places that set up the storyline. Also, after Klaatu, the alien, had been shot by a soldier he is taken to a hospital where he meets with the secretary of defense. He asks wither or not he can talk to the president and ask him to gather the world’s leader. What ensues is the standard political procedure of the time where the Russians want to talk in Moscow and places such as England, which is the only other response you hear, wants the summit to be held in Washington DC, with both parties stating if the conference isn’t held there that they would not attend.
This isn’t to say that there are some parts of the movie that I did not enjoy. While I realize that this movie was made when the studies were still relatively young, there were three things that really got to me throughout the entire movie. The first thing that got to me was that when the spaceship flew it glowed. While this may seem like a small complaint, it was really odd because it seemed that everything Klaatu did or was involved with glowed. Personally I would just have the spaceship fly in and keep it simple because the glow in my opinion ruined the effect. The second negative aspect of the video that really bugged me was that the robot that came with Klaatu named Gort, had the back of his legs bend in when he walked. While this really is a minor complaint, it simply confused me because why would you make a costume that is solid in the legs and then attempt to bend them. The third and final aspect of the film that bugged me was that they developed the character Bobby, a boy that is in the house Klaatu stays in, but in the end they completely ignore him and it wouldn’t be as bad as long as they didn’t develop his character so much. Over all, I really enjoyed this movie and I would highly recommend it to anyone that can rent it!
Hey everyone that reads this, above is the poster that I created for my visual literacy class. For this assignment we were asked to make a photoshop poster for a upcoming dance club night. When it came to actually making this I wasn’t quite sure what I exactly wanted to do. So, I do what I usually do which is to create the background first. The reason that I always make the background first is because the background is like a canvas that you are then going to paint on. By making a compelling background that catches your own eye you know what color scheme you are going to use, what type of pictures you want, and you just have a general sense of direction.
Granted, if you look at the psd file that was made from this project you will notice that there are about 20 or so layers while only 11 are used. When I make a document especially a poster document in photoshop I personally believe that it is better to have too much material rather than not enough. By having more material than you need already in the document, you do not have to waste time looking at a bunch of pictures you simply do and play with them.
Over all the total estimate time it took me to make this (including when my computer cashed f@#$ you apple) was about four and a half hours. In general I am really happy in how it turned out however, the only complaint I personally have with it is that the eye (which is the part of the poster that I created by myself) really doesn’t work to me. However, because of the requirement of the assignment I decided to go ahead and put it in not matter what my opinion of it was and just tried to make it look decent. Well I hope you enjoy!
For this weeks project, I decided to review the Terry Tate Linebacker commercial created by Reebok. In this commercial Terry Tate, an office linebacker, is responsible for keeping the office in step and on track. He accomplishes this by doing what linebackers do best, tackling people. Throughout this three minute and forty two second commercial if any employee at Felcher & Sons does something wrong the can expect a massive linebacker tackle a second later.
There are multiple aspects about this ad that I really enjoy. For instance, I really like how the use of colors is used in this advertisement in order to enforce the image of Terry Tate. For instance, all of the office colors including all of the clothes that are worn are grey or other grey blah colors such as light blue and a dark green. In other words they are bland colors to begin with but they are then desaturated while Terry Tate’s bright red jersey is saturated and stands out. But there is more than one single reason for doing this coloring effect. Besides the previously mentioned aspect, by doing this it draws the viewer’s eyes to his uniform, and the Reebok logo that is on it. By doing this, the viewer is receiving the advertising while not even noticing it. After watching it, I counted seeing the logo 43 times throughout the entire commercial. Another interesting aspect if you watch closely is that the logo always appears clearly and near the center of the camera unless it would be obvious for instance in the interview shot.
If you look at it from a design perspective you will also know that each of these shots has been perfectly throughout, edited, and prepped to be appealing. One of the most common design aspects, besides color, is the use of thirds. In many of the shots, especially the ones where a employee is tackled you will notice that they are on the lines that would divide the commercial into thirds. Then the other line and corresponding two thirds of the shot is usually the direction where Terry Tate will tackle from.
This is not to say that there are some aspect of this commercial that I do not like. For instance, I believe that the commercial is drawn out too much especially in the final sequence of action. In this sequence Terry Tate is chasing a employee in slow motion down a corridor in order to tackle him for messing with some pens. I realize that this is supposed to be the final climax with the commercial winding down afterwards but it just doesn’t seem to fit right with the rest of the commercial. What I would of recommended doing instead would be something along the line of Terry Tate standing with his boss. By doing this it would give us a bit more reference to the boss, who is only seen alone in his office, and would allow for the characters to reach the same plane. Beyond that, I love this commercial and most of the subsequent ones that follow it
The first photo is a combination of multiple layers with different effects that are then lowed in occupancy to create interesting effects. The effects that were used in this photoshop are glowing edges as well as hue and saturation, and brightness and contrast.
In photo number 2 there is a combination of multiple blurs including smart blur, average blur and more blur. Bluring can come in handy if you are trying to use the filter Cut Out Also the photo of me was cut out and pasted in the photo using a combination of the lasso tool and the eraser. Also, the picture was desaturated and then given one single color by making a solid color shape in front of all of the layers and then lowering the occupancy of the shape. Then finally I used the filter Cut out to give it its final form. Beyond that I just attempted to keep everything to the correct scale.
In the final third photo, I used the color replacement tool to change all of the blues in the picture to pink. I then proceeded to add a artistic effect called plastic wrap followed by rendering a lens flare across the top of the sky which had a sun in it anyways.
This week we were asked to review a title sequence and at first I was convinced that I would review the intro to the Colbert Report which is my favorite TV show. But then while looking at some random title sequences online I came across one that I absolutely fell in love with. The opening title sequence is from the movie Lord of War. In short this opening sequence follows the life a bullet from the time that it is created till it kills a African child soldier. While I have never seen this movie this title sequence is amazing and is very creative.
There are a few aspects of the title sequence that I like, for instance I really like how the view point of the camera never changes from the top of the bullet. By doing this the designers give you the feeling that you are the actual bullet. It also gives you a dizzying effect and is something that gives a more in depth feeling then intro sequences like ones most commonly found in James Bond movies. Another interesting aspect of the title sequence that I like is how it uses color tones to show where the bullets are. For instance in the beginning the bullets are being made in what appears to be Russia and the colors are dark shades of blue which then change to shades of brown and orange when the bullets arrive in Africa. By doing this the designer can tell a audience that the place and scenery has changed easily. Another aspect of the trailer that I picked up on is how when the bullets are in what appears to be Russia they are bland and uninteresting as if no one cares about them. However, once the get to Africa they brighten up and with the orange hues they appear to have a golden tint. I believe that this is was done on purpose to show that something which was boring and normal in one area can be precious gold in another. I also like the song which is in the background which is “What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. This song goes with the sequence very nicely however because there are few lyrics and it does not distract from what is going on in the background.
This isn’t to say that there are not some aspects of the trailer that I don’t like. For instance, there are certain parts of the trailer where the camera angle repeats when in the crate going to its final destination. While this may be a small and seemingly unimportant it detracts from the over all effect which is a negative. Also, another aspect of the sequence that I personally don’t like is how fake and cheesy the bullet which you follow in the sequence looks in the sequence. While I have personally seen worse these do not appear to be what I would consider grade A. However, it is nice that they at least try to make everything appear the same by cheesifying the other bullets. Over all though this sequence is really well done and I would give it a A.
The book of Eli which wasn’t the best or worst movie of all time was a resounding meh in my book. However, because this is the most recent movie that I have seen and I couldn’t bring myself to do the latest Indiana Jones (cries inside) I decided that this poster was what I was going to review.
This poster has a lot of the concepts that we discussed in class in it. For instance, this poster observes the rule of thirds with, starting from the left, the first third containing the text and the title name. The second third aka the middle contains the first half of Eli’s face which is darker than the third section which is lighter. Another design concept that this poster uses is the text design. By giving the text the look of a book which is rugged and worn down, by doing this is adds to the effect that the world that this movie takes place in is worn down and rugged. Another design concept that is displayed in this poster is the rule of three colors. While there are more than three colors in the over all poster in general there are three colors that dominate most of it. Those colors are black red and white and by using only three colors it allow for the poster to be more simplistic and easier on the eyes.
What I like about this poster is that it is simple and you can easily tell what it is for. For instance the word Eli stands out in a way that it immediately draws your attention to it. I also like how the main character in this poster, which is Eli, stands out and is big so that you know exactly who Eli is. I also like how they use the red in believe to show the word eli which is in believe. I also like how this poster follows many different graphic design themes. Because of this complicated action and bit of extra work the movie poster stands out among others.
But this does not mean that there are not parts of the post that I do not enjoy. For instance, there is the sky in the background. While I personally don’t know how I would have done the sky myself I find that the sky seems a bit out of place and is on the verge of being odd. If I did have to do the sky I would have done something along the line of a single cloud which would give it a more ominous look and would allow for more of a concentration on the text and on the face of Eli.
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