The Reluctant Blogger

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'   ...

Everybody has a favourite film - even people who aren't really into the movies or the world of film, but, whether they realise it or not, a film will influence and have an impact on their daily lives. As a child, one is extremely susceptible and open to persuasion, and perhaps the opinions and the knowledge that one obtains of the world is supported and often increased through watching the media and film.    Film has the power to bring change and persuade the viewer both consciously and sub-consciously, in that one's personality and way of thinking can develop and change by the relations one builds with a character or engaging themselves in a situation; therefore one's interaction with film enables the mind to expand through a source of entertainment and knowledge. Personally I enjoy watching films, and they often linger in my mind whilst I ponder at the way in which the characters interact with each other, or wonder at the depth within the script, or research the...

The Basic Rules: Pace is very important - always make sure the footage flows together Quick cuts don't always create tension, sometimes the most tense scenes are just one shot Increasing or decreasing the pace of the cuts can change the mood of the piece Sometimes you can over-complicate your edit - it is good to know when your edit is finished Use the same process every time and make sure you organize and store the footage correctly Always 'cut with your gut' - does it feel right? When using music make sure you always cut to the beat The Process: Upload your footage Watch the footage Re-watch footage and make notes Create a first edit - the basic structure 2nd edit Consult the director Make alterations to the edit after getting feedback (at this point you can go back to point 3 or 4 and go from there) Walk away - sometimes you can over think things (it's good to take a break!) Create a final edit - fine tune the clips, make sure the audio levels ...

Gasman is a short film made in 1998 by Lynne Ramsay about a man who lives two lives. The film is shown mainly through the eyes of his daughter, in an innocent but hard-hitting way. It's the Christmas season. With her mom's help, Lynne, a girl of perhaps eight, dresses up; her younger brother Steven plays with a toy car. The children leave with their dad, who's affectionate with them. They walk down a railroad track where an unkempt woman waits with two children, about the same age as Lynne and Steven. The children go with them. They're all headed to a holiday party at a pub. Lynne notices that the girl acts all too familiar with her dad. What's going on?   Plot Summary - IMDB The film has an observant feel to it, like the camera itself is a 'third person' watching the plot unfold - sometimes from a distance and other times up close. The camera is mostly hand-held, free in a documentary style. It seems that the camera was left rollin...

Everyone loves a good conspiracy; a bit of mystery, ambiguity, intrigue.   There are thousands of conspiracy theories in the world, ranging from the smallest matters to the biggest cover ups in history: 911, Roswell, the Moon Landing, JFK, the Illuminati and the New World Order, the death of Paul McCartney - to name a few. What is a conspiracy? An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act. A joining or acting together, as if by sinister design. A conspiracy theory therefore, is the belief that some covert but influential organisation is responsible for an unexplained event. For one of the assignments at University, the class was given the opportunity to create a 3-5 minute video about a conspiracy theory, with an aim to convince the viewer that it is telling the truth. There were however several theories that were banned such as Roswell and JFK, because those have been 'done to death'. The idea was to create a unique, b...