Scream review

So here comes another Wednesday morning watching another movie after an insightful look into Phil's play on the subject of Postmodernism. In a similar fashion to a previous film we saw, Kill Bill, this film divulges into a similar trend of blood splattered madness. The bloodshed in this film may be enough to fill a swimming pool, but its spilled in vast quantities carefully, at precise moments in the film to help build the tension and storyline to its closure.

The film opens with Drew Barrymore playing a girl named Casey getting random phone calls from a scary caller. The caller plays around with her by phoning her a few times, then starts to show his true colours. This builds the tension of the film and allows the audience to understand what to expect from it. The fear invoked into the audience at the moment we see Drew Barrymore's hanging dead body from a tree is when we realise the somewhat corny, yet frightening attitude that this film portrays. Theres many occasions within this movie that can be compared to classic horror movies, it weaves in and out of stories already told, which is in a sense what creates its success. We even experience the killer "Billy" himself reciting lines from movies, the lead character "Sidney" commenting on the subject of horror films and we watch as they play out these stereotypes throughout the movie.

The film rolls on to the main story and we are introduced to the characters which set up the next 1hr 50 minutes of pure edgy teen horror. Sidney Prescott's (Neve Campbell) Mother was murdered in a violently almost a year ago to when the plot is set. She believes the killer is caught and safely being held in prison, however we later on come to find its more than likely this is not the case. Sidney's Mum was seeing Billy's father, which caused Billy's Mother to run away. A TV news reporter who covered the case, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), is in on getting a slice of the action. She wants it so she can gain attention for her new book, which gives mention on the murder case of Sidney's Mum. Gale wants to prove that the real killer is still out there, so she relentlessly harasses the people in question.

Were put on a spinning roller coaster of a ride as the suspects in the film become less obvious just as they seem to be staring you in the face. Things start to unfold and the killers begin to appear. When the killers become known your left with a dizzy sense of euphoria as you feel like you've known who it was all along, shouting out to the characters to mind their backs, or, in true horror movie fashion, to "look behind you".

 
Theres one thing to note, the end of this film gets bloody. I cant help to think though that some aspects of gruesomeness were toned down, as ive seen much worse. For a slasher style movie this definitely is driven more by angst and anxiety created by the scenes themselves, as opposed to the shock and horror of watching someone being stabbed a few times. Its a brilliant film to watch and has some amusing acting, definitely setting in the feelings of a psychopathic nature. Definitely one to watch if your into horror!
 
Chris

Ed Wood review

We sat down to watch our weekly film with Alan on a Tuesday, not too sure what to expect but what manifested infront of us was the wonderful world of a man named Ed Wood.

Directed by the slightly insane, yet amazing creative genius Tim Burton, this film embarks on the ups and downs of Ed Woods career in film. The first thing I noticed about this film was it was entirely in black and white, a contrast to the film used in Ed's period of cinema. It also suggests the lack of interest in trying to make money off of the man, being somewhat more of a tribute to Ed Wood. I guess Tim Burton has somewhat of an admiration for Ed's strange behaviour and film making, due to his own stylistic choices.

I see this man far too much and hear his name far too much... Johnny Depp. That being said, however, he does a brilliant job at playing the somewhat quirky roles that Burton offers him. I wont deny it, hes a very talented actor. Somehow catching glimpses of Depps usual mannerisms, yet amazingly becoming lost into the character. He is a man of many faces!

It's quite a humorous film, as Ed's inabilities to do his job properly are put on display. It comes to us that Ed was a movie maker of budget, always being careful with how much he spent on a film and using every resource he could. With Martin Landau playing the late Bela Lugosi splashing around in a dirty river wrestling a prop in the form of an Octopus we see Ed's failures come to life. It's kind of awkward to know that you're laughing at him and not with him.

I feel sorry for Ed, as he seems to cling onto his Gold, Bela Lugosi (Dracula 1931). The amount of times Ed would proudly announce Bela's name in this film is enough to drive you insane if you notice he's doing it. Then your reminded of just how much this man meant to Ed, how he was an inspiration and a key to his much wanted success.

Ed Wood may not be remembered in the way he would've liked but he definitely made an impression on the history of film making. This light hearted look on his life shows how he is his own success in being bad at his art, however the fighting spirit he shows in this film makes him beloved by many around the world. In a sense, Ed Wood always tried to achieve a masterpiece, or a great film. If this film has anything to go by, what he didn't realise was, he was writing it all along.

Chris

Bad kids go to hell review

I run my hands over the glossy front cover, immediately from the artwork the title "Bad kids go to hell" makes some sense. A group of six angsty looking adolescents stare back at me with a mix of attitude and anxiousness. Their definitely up to no good, with some of the characters appearing less confident than others, living up to the name "bad kids" as the title suggests.

As I turn to read the first page I'm hit instantly by the fact the story starts out to Black Sabbaths "The Wizard". The sounds of Ozzy's harmonica and howling vocal plays in the back of my mind, and I think if theres anything to fix me to read on in a first page then this certainly does the trick! So the Author has good taste in music? Or is this a reflection on the nature of the characters involved, or the dark settings that this comic strip provides? I can say from this analysis that the book already stands out as something aimed at the more alternative mind.

There I am flicking through the pages, already the story grabbing me with twists and turns in every direction. The artwork in this Comic is brilliant, some serious efforts been put into this. The characters are a cross between typical cartoon and realism, which keeps the audience reminded that its fictional, giving the reader that edge of creativity to work on in their minds. I'm smacked by one character, whoever designed this deserves a medal. Veronica Harmon, God Dayum! The edgy witchcraft loving, skimpy skirted rocker chick always with something to say, definitely one of the best characters in here! Unfortunately, she dies at the end when revealing shes actually someone else. Shame that.

What I find interesting about this comic is how it seems to be drawn out in a way in which you can imagine it being animated. Each page is full of directional hints to how things would be moving, how it would be sounding. The colour schemes show a brilliant technique of setting the tone for a scene.

Overall I love the edgy twists, the settings and moods portrayed, and how each time the story seems to take you one way something happens to submerge the characters into more action. A good read!

Chris

Character design - Viking superhero

I have been given a randomised character that is to be starred in a fictional cartoon series, of which I have to create a character bible for. In this bible I must include a suitable synopsis of which explains the backstory of the cartoon, an example of three characters, all my research and development. I have been given Viking Superheroes.
These characters must be of the three main roles usually found in a cartoon series. These are the following, plus a few examples of well known characters in the cartoon world under these titles.

A Hero

Examples: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Bucky O'Hare, Peter Pan, Sulley (Monsters Inc)

A Sidekick

Examples: Brian from Family guy, Robin of Batman, The Dragon in Mulan, Gnasher in Dennis the Menace, Stimpy from Ren and Stimpy

A Villain

Examples: Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations, Skeletor from Masters of the Universe, Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


I must create a character out of each of these titles and then develop them into the final designs ready to be used for an animation.

Chris

Generi guy lip sync part 2

Here we have the second part to my lip sync using the infamous Generi guy!

Its alright, but could do with some tweaking with the jaw roll to prevent geometrry collapsing on itself when animated. There is definate room for improvement in creating mouth shapes when the character is talking, however for a first attempt this isnt too bad I guess.

Here are a few examples of how I formed some of the shapes to manipulate talking.

Chris

Generi guy lip sync part 1

Heres the first part of making a character talk, the jaw roll. Geting this in time with the dialogue will help to ensure that the character appears like he is moving in time with the sound. After this we shall be applying mouth shapes to manipulate the way in which words are projected.

Chris

Character design - The henchman

Hey there! Todays lesson was focused on the understanding that shapes can be used to define certain characteristics about a certain individual. We was asked to draw a henchman, therefore designing them with the concept of his role in mind and using distinctive shapes to construct their appearance. Notice my favourite being the rather simple yet sly evil ninja like character, who is hunched over and somewhat intimidating. He however, has a cup of coffee due to keeping gaurd of his boss all day, and therefore appears to be needing the loo rather badly.

Chris