The Reluctant Blogger

"And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminium can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use.  And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminium cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried:  'Look at this Godawful mess.'" - Art Buchwald, 1970 Conservation is perhaps not as present in today's society as it should be. Taught in schools and communities across the globe, the attitude of 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' is common enough. However, when it comes to putting these words into practise there is a general shortage of true c on c erte d effort . That is not to say that a concerted effort only applies to groups of people; communities, co...

In the 1950s, Benjamin Bloom - an American educational phsycologist - devised a taxonomy of cognitive objectives.  The word taxonomy is derived from the greek word 'taxis' (meaning arrangement) and 'nomina' (meaning distribution), so in a literal sense 'taxonomy' means arrangement distribution. However, in modern terms i t can mean  several different things:   The branch of science concerned with classification. Th e classification of something in  particular. Th e scheme of classification. To read more please see here: http://millymopblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/blooms-taxonomy/

Man of Steel is an American Action-Adventure/Sci-fi Superhero film made in 2013. Directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, the film is based on the DC Comics of Superman and retells the story of his origin.  A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. Reviews:   3/5 - Rotten Tomatoes   3/5 - Metacritic   3.5/5 - Imdb The film rests on an act of courage taken in a time of war - one life saved from a dying planet and given to save another - and sets out to modernize the story of Superman; creating something entirely new through the storyline and Special FX. However, many viewers have called the film cold, dull and lengthy. The beginning of the film starts well, throwing the audien...

Christmas is a time for family and friends; a time for peace and love, to relax and spend time together. It’s a time to remember those we’ve lost and those we have the privilege of living with, those far away and those less fortunate than ourselves. It is not so much about receiving than giving; an opportunity to make someone else smile and feel loved. For some it’s about remembering the God who loves us, and what he did for us and still does today.   (For the finished film see here: https://vimeo.com/86304357 ) The purpose of this film was to capture one family’s experience of Christmas, from morning till night, and to convey a positive and uplifting atmosphere in which the audience can participate. "Christmas is, of course, the time to be home - in heart as well as body" - Garry Moore. The opening sequence of the film is compiled of pull focus shots that fade from one to the other. This was intended to create a ‘sleepy feeling’; the moment in which the mind is...

In the September of 2012, the Year 2 class on the Art and Design course at Walsall College were given their Final Major project brief. Entitled Fragments, they had until June to complete a final piece of artwork that would be displayed in an exhibition and provide them with their final grade. http://vimeo.com/82612300 The word 'Fragment' can be taken in several different ways. A small part broken or separated from something An individual piece of an object A break or divide A small part of something larger Several ideas were thought of and compiled as a group, but after the brief was thoroughly explained all students worked individually - although support and construtive critisism was given by peers and tutors when needed. For this piece of artwork in particular four ideas were created and then explored: Lots of small fragments from every aspect of your life can join together to create your world as a whole. Deterioration, decay – flowers, literal thin...

The Dolly Zoom is a camera technique/effect that was developed by Irmin Roberts ( a Paramount second-unit cameraman) in the 20th century.  The purpose of the Dolly Zoom is to undermine one's visual perception and create a sense of false reality in which the character within the frame becomes either a) frightened, b) has a sudden revelation/realisation, or c) reacts to a dramatic event. As ones mind uses perspective and size to calculate the proper dimensions of ones surroundings, it is difficult for the mind to compensate when the perspective changes without the size. This therefore creates an unsettling,  disorientating and confusing experience for the audience. The effect is achieved by the camera moving towards or away from the subject, whilst the lens zooms in or out. The most common effect is where the background retreats and the foreground or focus point is drawn towards the centre, causing a dramatic accompaniment to a particu...

Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The film was based on the book by Boileau-Narcejac called D'entre les mort (directly translated into English as The Living and the Dead), which was written in 1954. The story was then adapted for the screen by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor. "The story concerns a former detective (Scottie) who suffers from vertigo, who is hired to follow the wife of a friend who is puzzled by her strange behavior. The detective becomes obsessed with the woman, eventually falling in love with her but unable to explain her strange trances and her belief in a previous life". Some critics have named 'Vertigo' as one of Hitchcocks greatest films, and it could be perhaps be seen as a confession from Hitchcock himself,  dealing with the way he used and controlled women in his films - much like the main character (Scottie). The film is well-known for it's use of the 'Dolly Zoom'   ...