Thursday, 26 March 2015

Art Movie Brainstorming


My favourite part of Metropolis was just after the machine exploded and all the people went flying everywhere. As a movie buff it was interesting to see how they handled falls like that without CGI and used wires yet it still looked quite realistic.

My favourite part of Battleship Potemkin is the first clip where all the people are fighting up one the steps.

My favourite part of Dead Men ... is where Steve Martin walks out of the car and into the train station with the cool 1950s swagger that should never have become extinct.






For my movie I would like to show the place blowing up. Then a shot of it normal. The man in the train station looking at the papers and then a shot of the needle rising, back to the blown up boiler and normal shot of it. The man with the news paper looks at Steve Martin and Steve looks back at him. and the needle is still rising.The baby is going down the steps and then cut to Steve Martin in the train looking content. The place then to normal then to the needle being lowered. Change to knob turning and to the woman being shown normal and bloodied screaming and then to a clip of an empty abandoned swing set.


To make this into an artistic film I shall play with the aspect of time and repetition through shots. The boiler scene won't be in order. It will be blown up then fine repeatedly throughout the film. I will also try and use a fitting music that will set a mood in this film to make it very ominous. I will also use fast cuts to make it seem similar to a flashback or a glimpse into the future.


Wednesday, 25 March 2015

The Art of War - Jet Li



How is Hero an Art Film?

1) Hero is an art movie because it is not shot in sequence and has a lot of scenes that have been "re-used" or re-shot in a different way to emphasize or "correct" different parts in Nameless' tale. Nameless often tell the king about his feelings and how they connect to his swordplay  and doesn't precisely narrate everything that happens, more so just a narration of heart. At the end it is quite confusing personally speaking, the king killed Nameless and then in the last bit of text it showed that he became the first king of China. This leads me to ponder what the king was thinking and even though he felt that Nameless had a connection in understanding, why he would still kill him and how exactly he united the five provinces, whether it be by words or violence.

2) There were a lot of action sequences that were easy to follow and entertaining to watch in tradition wuxia format. This gave it the feel of an action movie. The director also clearly stated through Nameless' dialogue what was going to happen in the scene before it unfolded. For example when Nameless had hesitated in killing the king, it was made easier to understand when the king outed him on that action and asked why. There was then a flashback to what Broken Sword told Nameless but Nameless also said to the king (as well as the audience) that Broken Sword had told him something major in the plot line.  It also breaks the traditional no plot resolution. Even though I still wonder what the king does to claim power as well as why Nameless was killed, I was not left wondering what happened to Nameless at the end of the film. I knew that this "Hero" was killed.

3) I really enjoyed this movie. It reminded me of one of my favorite films Reservoir Dogs. It starts with an outcome of after a bank robbery and someone is a snitch. There are a series of flashbacks throughout the planning of the heist to figure out who the cop was. It was eventually revealed and then the police storm the building they were in. It has a lot of similarities with the "present" only happening in one locations whereas the flashbacks take place in many locations. I also really enjoyed the movie due to the fact I like these types of movies that deal with ancient cultures especially Chinese. This was my first time watching a WuXia film and I liked it as well. The action sequences were interesting and well done and I especially find interesting the whole deal in fighting with honour and being the best in fighting by being most honourable.

4) The Library had often changed colours throughout the film. At first it was red and this was when Nameless was lying to the king that he killed Snow and Broken Sword out of loyalty to the king. The red may have been to show that Nameless was out for blood and had a lot of anger in his heart thusly motivating him to kill them. The next time it changed was when the three were conspiring to assassinate the king and this time it was blue. The blue may have been to show that these three have changed from being mortal enemies and shown an alliance of sorts. The last time that it changed was when Sword had told Nameless not to kill the king and it was white. This may have been to show that Sword was sort of an angel, to save the lives of others and to advise what is the best thing for "our land".

Monday, 9 March 2015

Friday, 20 February 2015

Memories in my Skin Story and Montage

Events in my life:

G ma and G pas Cruise
Going to Cuba or Mexico
Performing in my first production **
Going to Russell Peters (x 2)
Skiing at Blue with the family
Raptors vs Heat Game

     The stage was set and the actors were waiting impatiently. This was the moment we were waiting for and it was just seconds away. Some were more ready than others but that showed who was a seasoned veteran. I however was not, and no matter how much rehearsal time I was given, I was not prepared for the lights to come up and reveal to me my newest passion. The curtains revealed an audience that was as much of a show as The Sound of Music, some people I had known and others I had not. My very first scene started and I wasn't Ryan Young anymore, I changed like someone hit play on the remote of a hidden DVD player inside of me. The person I had become was not the person I had rehearsed with. I had been Ryan playing another person but now, I was truly Baron Elberfeld. I was at a lavish party with strangers dancing all around me and I was enjoying champagne that tasted oddly like ginger ale. I spoke with an odd voice, it was mine, but it was not mine. It was the voice of a rich old man in a young man's suit.

     Nothing could match that moment in my life. This was truly an amazing experience that delved into my creative side as a person. When you are on a stage and showing off your talents in a practical matter, making complete strangers look at you in a new perspective, no matter how well they know a story, it is a new experience each time. To act is a real passion of mine. That moment showed me how much I had loved it, how I could not live without it. All of the months of preparation were long but they were extremely fun and I hadn't wanted to end. I had met so many interesting people and had many interesting events that had happened to me. To have this all end, would just make things boring again. Though, all good things must come to an end and that was truly an amazing ending.

     This event solidified my love for the dramatic arts. I always acted goofy and out of character not because I didn't like my own character, but because it was exactly that. It was in my nature to be someone else, to act up and act goofy. I am now a proud drama kid because of that play and I don't regret it. I had always fit in before this but never in a special and unique way. When I realized there were other people that had similar interests in their free time opposed to taking drama because they had to, it created a new bond. The people on that first night weren't my friends, they were my family. In the drama department we have a great family that encourages others to be who they want to be and that's what a good family does. Thanks to that moment and those people I have been in 5 or 6 productions and loved every minute. Sure there were times I didn't enjoy some parts, but that comes with the stressful job of making a show spectacular.































Reflection

Ryan Young - Memories in my Skin - Digital - 2015 02 20


TECHNICAL

I did not use anything new that I did not use before in this piece.

IDEA OR CONCEPT

The idea that I settled on was my very first production that I was in and the emotions that I had felt the very first time that I went on stage to perform. My original idea was to try and represent the play itself. I had hit some snags mostly to do with the heavy copyright on the play as well as lack of symbols to be able to use to do justice to represent the play. I then wanted to do a piece about how the play was with my friends who were in it but to no avail. I settled on making the piece about all the different emotions I had felt and symbols that represented them. I am obsessed with symbology and movies/books like The Da Vinci Code. Symbols that meanings are quite obscure until you realize what is actually meant. Such as the baby to represent that I was newly born into this great world of acting and I could only keep growing after this.

INFLUENCES

I had no artist influence me in this particular case.

COMPOSITION

My composition is a hybrid of having symmetry as well as sort of a circular balance. On both sides there are three pictures copied and pasted to each side. A man with a mask, a panther and an explosion (yet again deeper meanings than what to be expected). There is also a row of applause on the top and the bottom of the piece. The whole composition was orginally circular but then it was suggested to add symmetry into the piece since my background already contained repetition and symmetry.

MOTIVATION

My motivation took place to give deeper meanings than what it presented. I have included many obvious symbols but others that are quite obscure because like I had said I am obsessed with symbols. I also was motivated to create what I call "eye candy". Something that I really enjoy to look at and something that has a weird art style that looks neat and not too plain but not too abstract. Something that I like the colours and the shapes that all blend together to make a sweet (pun intended) collective image.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT


I think the most successful elements were the panthers in the image. A panther is a powerful and majestic creature and I think that it really brings the whole thing together. The part that mostly surprised me was how difficult it was to make this. It takes a lot of thought to what goes where and which colours blend together. It is almost like writing an essay with photos. You must plan out your evidence that you want to show and then arrange it properly so it makes sense and isn't confusing to read or look at.