friday 28th screening day.

Well today we watched 3 things! what a treat.

We had a short documentary on the rise and fall of left wing drama on british telly called left of frame- in conjunction with that we had the ' boys from the black stuff' which i enjoyed very much. And we topped that all of with M.A.S.H

So to start with the 6 parter the boys from the black stuff was an instant hit for me as i love things to do with the 'trade industry' (i'm a nosy we girl friend and i like to see what they get up to) this is a very provocative / political piece of work , it comments on both the people at the time and the social climate. social realism but not to the extent of cathy come home, this is a drama and works well in that format but it is

also very relevant and important to its time.

interestingly enough there are some people who believe its still relevant today and have even started a Facebook group up about it : link- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boys-from-the-Blackstuff .

Andy brought up a hard question to answer, who is making drama like this today ? Who is actually saying something and making a political statement ? For me it seems like there are lots of things because i only watch what chose to online. There have been several documentaries about women in society which even thought its glossed over nowadays there are still so many problems. however , if you look at when they are broadcast and to the audience size it is pretty dismal in comparison. Is it the place for short films now to make an impact, are people not interested in documentary / drama which makes a political statement? I felt that when the question was asked the topic for my short was important( prison wife's: the forgotten) and that even though its an extremely common thing in britain there is not allot of coverage dramatically or documentary. hence : forgotten wife's. I think that this is not something to keep in class notes but a question to always ask when we are coming up with ideas for television - like i said about cathy come home, this is really up to us to change.

So to the afternoon were we watched M.A.S.H , this is the original Vietnam war film.

Even though you never really see fighting ( almost like jar head) you still get the feeling of exactly what it would have been like to have been there. the confusion and the laughs mingled with the terror.

For watching the film there were defiantly more laughs than terror. in-fact even the grotesque at times operation scenes were made to be a comical.

In all honesty when i wasn't laughing i was board by this film , there was a noticeable lack of plot which would work in a TV program but not on such a large scale. The fact that it was so funny really saved this film for me and with a pretty cool sound track it became overall not a bad one to watch .

peace

easy rider

Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.

George Hanson: They'll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.

I was so exited to watch easy rider after the emphasis put on it in the documentary , "a decade under the influence" it seemed to encapsulate what this new wave of film was trying to say , they wanted freedom , and were always looking forward, out of the old ways and into this new society which was sexually and spiritually liberated and full of new experiences waiting for everybody. This was a time for the young to take charge as the old hollywood was dying out. ( quite literally ) known widely as a landmark in film history this is a great example of what and how film making became in the 70. ( even though this was a sneaky 60's film) As Andy commented this film hasn't aged as well as the others. I found this to be true there were parts that didn't sit right for my movie watching eyes, it was very stylised and the edit was interesting but ultimately a little bit irritating as it jumped back and forth back and forth, something which it was praised for at the time. The road movie style was very beautifully captured however and the wide sweeping shots really carried the film along like a beautiful music video, everyone knowing 'born to be wild' as the first instrumental beat raised up.

The film was brave in many ways and i can imagine how it must have been refreshing and shocking at the time for me the thing that stays refreshing in the film is the little diamond lines of dialog which sum up the whole feeling at the time and also the bravery of keeping it so simple, driven by its beautiful cinematography and ideas rather than action.

"An indie film that became the spokesperson for a decade when Hollywood was preoccupied

with other concerns"

The public embraced this film, they liked it because it was something real. People wanted something they recognised, they wanted something that was apart of them .

Overall i think that this film is a grower and has power in its social context at the time, for me now its just a cool road movie but for many it was a beacon that there was change coming. Watching it with those eyes makes it pretty special .

xx peace. xx

the killer inside me

"bleak, blacker than noir."

Just thought i would bring this to everyones attention as i have just seen the trailer for the first time : Relating to the films we are watching at the moment it has a very 1960/70 feel about it and i'm very exited to see it . you should check out the trailer on youtube .

peace

Filming Sams film and grad shoot

It would have to be on the hottest day of the year so far that we decide to film in doors. not only indoors but in the Ath were there are no windows and no natural light.

However, each bit of experience i feel leads me further and further into a comfort zone with the camera and my friend the boom pole. i'm not sure what it is but my hight and willingness seems to give me the job of boom op-ping quite frequently. I enjoy doing this job because it important and you feel as if you are helping allot, when i'm 'running' on set i feel a little like a headless chicken but when i'm asked to do sound i feel like i have a specific role in the crew. It will be nice when i get my chance to do camera which is the specific role i would like to pursue.

It was nice to be filming with such a talented dancer but i felt there was more awe than laughs when he started dancing, we will have to see how this comes out in the final edit.

So there has been quite a nasty undercurrent in the class i feel over the grad film/2nd year films. The people who were asked to do it - fine , but there was little information about why and who were picked and left us all feeling a little left out and isolated. so , after finding out the facts from adam on the subject and making myself feel better i jumped on the chance of having a day filming 'paper skin' even if it was to boom op!

My initial worries were , was i going to be able to hold the boom up for long periods of time , and mostly, i worried that i would just get it wrong and cause delays for filming.

well , i got up bright and early and was first there on the steps of the academy on saturday morning. I knew i could get time keeping right and i did. With that under my belt i felt a little more confident that i could be reliable on set to , we traveled with the actors to the set which was nice, as it gave us a chance to get to know each other .

I was well prepared for the day with coffee on tap and chocolate to keep me going : a note for my bag essentials next time would be a sandwich as sweet things get boring quite quickly.

Lani introduced himself straight away and was so cheery and helpful that it put me in the right attitude mode and got me exited to start filming. At first i was a little shaky but i quickly learnt how to find the edge and stay above it! This was my first time seeing the red camera as well and i was very impressed, it was just like setting up a large format film camera but without bellows i'm confident that ill be able to apply the skills i already have and learn the camera very fast in second year.

overall i felt very drained after each experience but was very glad and willing to give up my weekends for it. The more the better.

peace

a bit of reflection

ah summer is defanetly on its way , this week has seen dftv flurish into little brightly colouerd summer creatures, who new we could embrace this month so well.

oliver stone :

As a class we all enjoyed the charm oliver stone adorned on us, who knew ada looked like lady gaga? well now its been pointed out we obviously can all recognise it .

If i'm honest i have only ever seen one of his films and that is - natural born killers- and i fell asleep watching it even though it has such a fast pace at the end. Yes , i did enjoy it and loved how it harked back to bonnie and clyde and how it interviewed different film formats etc. I must say watching the clips of the films with the beautiful string ensemble was really tear jerking. It did make me want to watch platoon - a film i have never considered before.

the highlight of the day however was the amazing free food and the champaigne bar toped of like a cherry on the cake with a rosy cheeked and overly friendly photograph with our old friend Olive stone.

A really excellent experience and Andy was right,

" theres nothing like having an oscar winner around the place to raise the tone. " A Dougan

production classes with abigail:

Well this class should of been a bit of a nightmare for me as it was all about paper and lists and organising times etc. not.my.speciality. but i decided to go for it and try my best, we were split into groups to work ogether and we stayed in the same groups till the end. i think that the members of my group all felt similarly that producing wasnt really there fortay however, we ralied and even thouhgh we had to stay behind for what seemed like hours after the rest had left i think that we got the knack of it. This class for me was about gritting my teeth and just taking things a bit at a time, we got there in the end and funnily enough it was my group members and i who were left finishing the test last on the monday.

it was the first bit of revision i had done in ages and i felt that the test went well.

fingers crossed

the disappearance of alice creed.

well this one is flying some what under the ray dar at the moment but if you have the time you should defiantly check it out. If the fact that the cast consists of only 3 people isn't enough to entice you to watch it then maybe knowing that its been directed by a man who cleverly and stylishly 'cut his cloth' so to speak but in doing so has produced a very addictive and captivating feature!

"craftily engineered piece of work" - Nicolas Barber , the independent

The film opens on a shocking quick shot sequence which lasts for quite a length- there is little dialog as well, there was not a sound in the cinema and if there was ever a moment to realise this is what the cinema experience is about then. I would say that it was this- nobody could tell you were the fire exits were at this point in time. I think the critics are write in saying the films lacks pace after this point and if i'm brutal i would say that some of the beats are a little obvious as time wasters however, i think the overall idea is genius,

Im exited to see what this brit talent will do next be it writer or director.

link to the article i took quote from :

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-disappearance-of-alice-creed-j-blakeson-100-mins-18brrevanche-gtz-spielmann-121-mins-15brthe-milk-of-sorrow-claudia-llosa-95-mins-12a-1960090.html

Autistic superstar and Bonnie and Clyde

SO firstly to quite a delicate subject - which in my opinion wasn't delicately handled. Autistic superstars :

A program following Reggie Yates as he travels round Britain (England) to find talented young musicians, who also have autism – to see in a very un scientific way if giving them the opportunity to take part in his bit event – “autistic superstars” will help them communicate better and allow them to have a chance to show of. ( Because clearly if you are a talented singer but autistic you can't go on XFACTOR! what?! )

Well the first thing that really gets you when you watch this slightly bizarre program is that Reggie Yates is very naive, he clearly didn't take the time before hand to learn and educate himself on what being autistic means and to learn about there sensibilities. He is the presenter but also it is implied that the concert was his idea, it appears that he thought his tv talent would carrie the program but unfortunately i think it would have done better with a more understanding presenter . I'll watch the final episode hoping for an upturn but i think that in essence this program lacks tact and it entertainment over sensibility towards the subject of Autism.

Bonnie and Clyde :

well the whole class really enjoyed this as it had us all laughing and gasping along with it. The film follows Bonnie and Clyde through there short lived fiery relationship. They rob banks to get along and eventually reality catches up with them but what a ride. You really get thrown in to being on there side throughout this one, its clear from the start that its going to be a bumpy ride.

This film was (along with the graduate and in the heat of the night ) right at the start of the new hollywood ear which was heavily influenced by the french new wave of the 50s but still holding some influences from the gangster type films of the earlier classic hollywood period.

The film has a harder more realistic stye of acting and has a higher amount of on screen violence which was also a thing that seemed cutting edge at the time.

I really loved this film and found Faye Dunaways character to be very daring on screen, she oozes sex appeal and is utterly stylish which is perfectly followed and kept up through the film.

Her on screen partner in crime Clyde played by heart throb Warren Beatty also oozes sex appeal and hedonistic charm. For some reason i felt jealous of Bonnie when he comforts her by covering her face with his hand ... maybe it was just the sheer manly size of his hands i don't no ...... any way the film was a joy to watch and Im really loving this trend of films that we are getting to watch in class as Iv said before i think this is my favorite period in films so far .

Exited about Oliver Stone:

natural born killers director oliver stone is coming in on wednesday and Im extremely exited:)

i think that his film was very much influenced by the epic Bonnie and Clyde it will be so amazing to meet him and here what such a legend has to say.

PEACE