I haven't seen many westerns in my life, as normally if they are on the TV i would just switch over and find something different to watch that interested me. But actually sitting down and making the effort to watch Stagecoach I never thought it was as bad as i was thinking it would be as I just have the idea of westerns in my head being bad. I always think of westerns being very repetitive and does get dull after a while, with it just being about cowboys and indians - good vs evil etc etc etc
It was set very well and the scenes in the film were very beutiful with really nice scenery.
I really enjoyed the music in Stagecoach and it really fitted in with the genre and gave tension through out the film with it keeping in with emotions the actors were going through. It was used really well at the end scene of the film - where the tension of the scene was made by the music and the stillness of the surrounding area.
After watching all the silent films - especially Charlie Chaplin, i have definitely had more of an open mind to different genres i wouldn't normally watch, which is why when i was watching this i tried not to think of it as a western. I did really enjoy it and can see the quality and good acting in the film which made it such a success it was and still is today.
Overall, i enjoyed the film - and was kept fully excited all the way through with all the tension that was built up and i am glad to say, stagecoach is a good film.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Peter Pan
Well a few of us girls went and saw Peter Pan at the Kings Theater last week.
One word to describe it - amazing.
I didn't really know what to expect as the only version of Peter Pan i have seen (apart from hook) was the disney version - and after seeing the poster for it I knew straight away it was not going to be like this.
The set was very basic with the set being the forth road bridge - but unfinished which was really nice and set the time of the story very well, then when we were in Neverland it turned round into trees etc.
The technical side of Peter Pan was shown to the audience which I thought was going to ruin the magic of "Peter Pan" but it made it really different and really enjoyed it because of this. The wires that made them fly were really thick and obvious but this did not take anything away from their performance cause you never concentrated on this. They also made tinkerbell into a fire ball - which i still have no idea how they did as it magically floated around the stage and into the actors hands. I thought this was very imaginative as they could of easily just had an actor play the part or even a little light.
Another part that was a "talking point" after the show was when Peter Pan lept in to the water when thrown off the ship. This was done with blue lighting and smoke. He lept from the boat (on his wire) and jumped into 4 peoples arms and they acted as waves while Peter tried to get out of the water with sound effects etc. This was extremely imaginative and i really enjoyed this part of the show.
I just loved the show so much and would of defo of paid to see this - (we did get free tickets!!)
One word to describe it - amazing.
I didn't really know what to expect as the only version of Peter Pan i have seen (apart from hook) was the disney version - and after seeing the poster for it I knew straight away it was not going to be like this.
The set was very basic with the set being the forth road bridge - but unfinished which was really nice and set the time of the story very well, then when we were in Neverland it turned round into trees etc.
The technical side of Peter Pan was shown to the audience which I thought was going to ruin the magic of "Peter Pan" but it made it really different and really enjoyed it because of this. The wires that made them fly were really thick and obvious but this did not take anything away from their performance cause you never concentrated on this. They also made tinkerbell into a fire ball - which i still have no idea how they did as it magically floated around the stage and into the actors hands. I thought this was very imaginative as they could of easily just had an actor play the part or even a little light.
Another part that was a "talking point" after the show was when Peter Pan lept in to the water when thrown off the ship. This was done with blue lighting and smoke. He lept from the boat (on his wire) and jumped into 4 peoples arms and they acted as waves while Peter tried to get out of the water with sound effects etc. This was extremely imaginative and i really enjoyed this part of the show.
I just loved the show so much and would of defo of paid to see this - (we did get free tickets!!)
Has TV effected the Election?
Well in short, Yes.
I feel that definitely with this years live debates, it has definitely put a different view on the candidates up for election. I never really watched the debate - only caught 10 minuets of it in the middle. But even without watching it I knew it had a massive affect on the election as their was results after the debates with an in depth look at what they all meant and who stood out from the rest which then they decided - who "won" that debate.
This would of made people think about who they were voting for, as if your candidate never "supposedly" won the debate, you would think to yourself are you actually voting for the right person.
Also the polls that were shown on television on the news has a great effect on people too as this tells you who is winning so far and really i think we shouldn't know who is "winning" - as we all have our own opinions and if someone never knew about the election and saw for example, the lib dems were winning at the moment, they would just go and vote for them just because they think they are a good party because everyone says so. So this does have a huge affect on the votes too.
I also feel that the different channels have favorite parties, so are very biased when it comes to showing news about the election etc
Overall, the election is very much powered by television these days and i feel without television the election votes would be much different.
I feel that definitely with this years live debates, it has definitely put a different view on the candidates up for election. I never really watched the debate - only caught 10 minuets of it in the middle. But even without watching it I knew it had a massive affect on the election as their was results after the debates with an in depth look at what they all meant and who stood out from the rest which then they decided - who "won" that debate.
This would of made people think about who they were voting for, as if your candidate never "supposedly" won the debate, you would think to yourself are you actually voting for the right person.
Also the polls that were shown on television on the news has a great effect on people too as this tells you who is winning so far and really i think we shouldn't know who is "winning" - as we all have our own opinions and if someone never knew about the election and saw for example, the lib dems were winning at the moment, they would just go and vote for them just because they think they are a good party because everyone says so. So this does have a huge affect on the votes too.
I also feel that the different channels have favorite parties, so are very biased when it comes to showing news about the election etc
Overall, the election is very much powered by television these days and i feel without television the election votes would be much different.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Home Project
I loved doing this - i hated the group being split into two!!
We started coming up with ideas - and really went with one of our first ideas. We then figured out our scenes and really went from there. We decided to use Micheals family so to our excitement it was a day trip up to Loch Lomond for us!
We filmed the ballet scene first. This was the first time we had worked together doing something like this - and unfortunately we had only and hour and a half to set up, film and get out as there was a concert on at night. So it was hard with a time scale on it, but luckily we managed to do it just on time and got some really good shots. The group was very collaborative and everyone got their input.
The next shot we did was the party scene, this had to link up with the first scene so it was quite hard to do but everyone had fun filming this scene and managed to get the shots we wanted. Unfortunately with the fire alarm going off in the middle of the shoot, we had to dismantle everything so just had to go onto the next scene and start filming that.
The next day we got up at 6AM!! and got the train to Loch Lomond. We finally got there and got up to the house to start filming. I am so glad we decided to go to this location as it was beautiful. We had a cup of tea and then started to decide on what shot to do. We managed to get this done in good time then a few of us started to re arrange the camera etc for the next shoot while the rest of us got to make a den! I felt like a child and we all got so excited pegging the sheets together to make a den - and really didn't want to take it down afterwards as it looked so pretty and the best den i have ever made!! After the house scenes were done - we went down to the bottom of the road and started shooting the outside scene. Unfortunately it was raining a bit - but at least the dog behaved very well!! After we did this scene a few people went in sams car to shoot a 2 second scene and the rest of us went into the warmth of the house to be greeted with homemade pancakes - yum yum! :) We did leave 1 for sam, lucy and meg though ;)
We then left Balmaha to go back to glasgow - and i must say we were all sleeping on the way back.
I enjoyed myself a lot filming by ourselves on something that was a bit more creative than "Into The New" and learnt a lot so our next film will be even better!
We started coming up with ideas - and really went with one of our first ideas. We then figured out our scenes and really went from there. We decided to use Micheals family so to our excitement it was a day trip up to Loch Lomond for us!
We filmed the ballet scene first. This was the first time we had worked together doing something like this - and unfortunately we had only and hour and a half to set up, film and get out as there was a concert on at night. So it was hard with a time scale on it, but luckily we managed to do it just on time and got some really good shots. The group was very collaborative and everyone got their input.
The next shot we did was the party scene, this had to link up with the first scene so it was quite hard to do but everyone had fun filming this scene and managed to get the shots we wanted. Unfortunately with the fire alarm going off in the middle of the shoot, we had to dismantle everything so just had to go onto the next scene and start filming that.
The next day we got up at 6AM!! and got the train to Loch Lomond. We finally got there and got up to the house to start filming. I am so glad we decided to go to this location as it was beautiful. We had a cup of tea and then started to decide on what shot to do. We managed to get this done in good time then a few of us started to re arrange the camera etc for the next shoot while the rest of us got to make a den! I felt like a child and we all got so excited pegging the sheets together to make a den - and really didn't want to take it down afterwards as it looked so pretty and the best den i have ever made!! After the house scenes were done - we went down to the bottom of the road and started shooting the outside scene. Unfortunately it was raining a bit - but at least the dog behaved very well!! After we did this scene a few people went in sams car to shoot a 2 second scene and the rest of us went into the warmth of the house to be greeted with homemade pancakes - yum yum! :) We did leave 1 for sam, lucy and meg though ;)
We then left Balmaha to go back to glasgow - and i must say we were all sleeping on the way back.
I enjoyed myself a lot filming by ourselves on something that was a bit more creative than "Into The New" and learnt a lot so our next film will be even better!
RiverCity Set
Well DFTV1 had an exciting day trip to the River City set in Dumbarton.
Murray and Julia came and picked us up from halls then the 2 cars drove off out of Glasgow, after partying in Murrays car to the "tunes" and going to the wrong entrance of Rivercity we finally made it on set. As soon as we got on site, the fire alarms went off and we had to "unfortunately" go and stand outside with all the stars of Rivercity to Julias excitment. We then got taken round the backlot first. I couldn't believe how real everything looked, and how the flats etc did not have any rooms inside them - just wood!! We then stopped and watched a scene getting recorded outside one of the flats which was really good to see. After we got taken round the back lot we went into the canteen to have some lunch until we were allowed to go into the studios. We then went round the studios. It was so big - and very easy to get lost! We went round the students flat first - which was very big i must say!! It was amazing the amount of detail that has gone in to make it look like a flat that someone lives in. We then went on to look at the pub and some other characters flats. It was very weird to be walking out of one set then two seconds later be in another set - it was like we were in Ikea! We then had to get out of the studio as the cast were starting to come back in and film. So we went and sat in the canteen and had a chat to one of the Script editors who used to work with Kim doing story lining with her. She was really nice and chatty - and told us all about her job and what she liked best about the show etc. After the day was over at Rivercity we all decided to go on a wee trip to Loch Lomond. So we all hopped back in the car and drove up to Balloch where we stopped to get a chip shop. We then had a wee walk along to the waterside and eventually found ourselves acting like 5 years swinging on the swings and making ourselves feel so sick from the roundabout. After all the fun was over, we jumped back in the car and headed to Glasgow.
I really enjoyed going to visit the set - and learnt a lot just speaking to different people who did different jobs. And I could easily see if you worked on a set like this you would learn so much as I learnt a lot in just one day of being there.
Murray and Julia came and picked us up from halls then the 2 cars drove off out of Glasgow, after partying in Murrays car to the "tunes" and going to the wrong entrance of Rivercity we finally made it on set. As soon as we got on site, the fire alarms went off and we had to "unfortunately" go and stand outside with all the stars of Rivercity to Julias excitment. We then got taken round the backlot first. I couldn't believe how real everything looked, and how the flats etc did not have any rooms inside them - just wood!! We then stopped and watched a scene getting recorded outside one of the flats which was really good to see. After we got taken round the back lot we went into the canteen to have some lunch until we were allowed to go into the studios. We then went round the studios. It was so big - and very easy to get lost! We went round the students flat first - which was very big i must say!! It was amazing the amount of detail that has gone in to make it look like a flat that someone lives in. We then went on to look at the pub and some other characters flats. It was very weird to be walking out of one set then two seconds later be in another set - it was like we were in Ikea! We then had to get out of the studio as the cast were starting to come back in and film. So we went and sat in the canteen and had a chat to one of the Script editors who used to work with Kim doing story lining with her. She was really nice and chatty - and told us all about her job and what she liked best about the show etc. After the day was over at Rivercity we all decided to go on a wee trip to Loch Lomond. So we all hopped back in the car and drove up to Balloch where we stopped to get a chip shop. We then had a wee walk along to the waterside and eventually found ourselves acting like 5 years swinging on the swings and making ourselves feel so sick from the roundabout. After all the fun was over, we jumped back in the car and headed to Glasgow.
I really enjoyed going to visit the set - and learnt a lot just speaking to different people who did different jobs. And I could easily see if you worked on a set like this you would learn so much as I learnt a lot in just one day of being there.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Camera & Lighting Assessment
I was so scared before going into the assessment on Tuesday. Not because I did not know what to do, but just of the time limit i had to do it in.
Me and Ada were doing it at the same time time - so at least I wasn't alone. We both went in at the start and got told what we had to do and where all the equitment were.
The clock had started and we only had an hour to set up the camera and light a manicin that was standing in the middle of the room.
I quickly rushed over to the camera equitment and took it over where i started taking it out. I felt i was really comfortable doing this part and managed to get the tripod and camera up in no time at all. I then plugged in the monitor and starting cofiguring it. I sometimes get stuck on this as to which bits i have to line up with each other, but overall i thought i did okay and only needed some of Rays help. But after Ray had shown me how to do this I realised I had been matching the wrong collumns up, and was easily fixable for next time. I then went on to doing this viewfinder. I have always found this hard for some reason and can never get the contrast or brightness right. When Ray came over to check, he explained what was wrong and changed it to show me so I knew how to do it in future. I then did backfocus which I have also been struggling on but with Rays tutorial made everything much clearer. The last thing to do on the camera was the timecode and to do bars, and i easily did this as i freshened up my memory the day before in a tutorial with Ray.
After all the camera stuff was done I moved on to the lighting, I rigged up the lights and started working on how I was going to light the manican. I used the key light on the right hand side of the camera. I then placed the fill light on the opposite side with 2 diffs over the top to make the light less bright. And finally placed the backlight opposite the key light shining over the manicans head with 2 diffs also, so that the key light was the most bright.
When Ray came over to check he told me my brightness was far too bright and was deleting all my detail on the manican, but when turning this down it solved all the problems and my manican was successfully lit. I then shot the lighted scene twice.
By this stage there was only 10 mins to derig - so quickly had to put everything away. I managed to do this only 2 mins after the time which i was quite pleased about as i was worrying so much i was going to be way over this.
Overall i thought my performance was quite good, and have learned a lot by doing the camera and lighting by myself.
Me and Ada were doing it at the same time time - so at least I wasn't alone. We both went in at the start and got told what we had to do and where all the equitment were.
The clock had started and we only had an hour to set up the camera and light a manicin that was standing in the middle of the room.
I quickly rushed over to the camera equitment and took it over where i started taking it out. I felt i was really comfortable doing this part and managed to get the tripod and camera up in no time at all. I then plugged in the monitor and starting cofiguring it. I sometimes get stuck on this as to which bits i have to line up with each other, but overall i thought i did okay and only needed some of Rays help. But after Ray had shown me how to do this I realised I had been matching the wrong collumns up, and was easily fixable for next time. I then went on to doing this viewfinder. I have always found this hard for some reason and can never get the contrast or brightness right. When Ray came over to check, he explained what was wrong and changed it to show me so I knew how to do it in future. I then did backfocus which I have also been struggling on but with Rays tutorial made everything much clearer. The last thing to do on the camera was the timecode and to do bars, and i easily did this as i freshened up my memory the day before in a tutorial with Ray.
After all the camera stuff was done I moved on to the lighting, I rigged up the lights and started working on how I was going to light the manican. I used the key light on the right hand side of the camera. I then placed the fill light on the opposite side with 2 diffs over the top to make the light less bright. And finally placed the backlight opposite the key light shining over the manicans head with 2 diffs also, so that the key light was the most bright.
When Ray came over to check he told me my brightness was far too bright and was deleting all my detail on the manican, but when turning this down it solved all the problems and my manican was successfully lit. I then shot the lighted scene twice.
By this stage there was only 10 mins to derig - so quickly had to put everything away. I managed to do this only 2 mins after the time which i was quite pleased about as i was worrying so much i was going to be way over this.
Overall i thought my performance was quite good, and have learned a lot by doing the camera and lighting by myself.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Reflective Blog - Television
I really enjoyed this module a lot. I am really interested in television so I enjoyed learning about all aspects.
I never realised how much television is used as a social tool and actually how much television i watch!
We started to look at different tv formats.
We watched I love Lucy to show the format sit com. I had never watched this before, and i really enjoyed it. I couldn't believe this was made in 1951, as this could of been any program now a days.
We then went on and spoke about Cop Shows - and we watched the Shield.. I loved this and couldn't believe I hadn't watched it before. I was so engaged by this first episode and just wanted to go and watch the rest of the series.
We started looking at Corrie - and even though i am not a fan - i went in with an open mind and it was really interesting on how these types of programmes all having strong independent women in it which i never reaslised before.
After Christmas we spoke about Authorship - but even though it was quite heavy - I enjoyed learning about the different types of Authorships and how it all works.
For the end assessment we split into groups. Our group was to argue that televsion is just a box of lights and wires. I felt it was so hard to agrue for this, so we decided we would take the approach on how television is bad for society. I felt this was quite easy to do, and hopefully done well in the debate.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class - and learnt a lot that I didn't think was important in television.
I never realised how much television is used as a social tool and actually how much television i watch!
We started to look at different tv formats.
We watched I love Lucy to show the format sit com. I had never watched this before, and i really enjoyed it. I couldn't believe this was made in 1951, as this could of been any program now a days.
We then went on and spoke about Cop Shows - and we watched the Shield.. I loved this and couldn't believe I hadn't watched it before. I was so engaged by this first episode and just wanted to go and watch the rest of the series.
We started looking at Corrie - and even though i am not a fan - i went in with an open mind and it was really interesting on how these types of programmes all having strong independent women in it which i never reaslised before.
After Christmas we spoke about Authorship - but even though it was quite heavy - I enjoyed learning about the different types of Authorships and how it all works.
For the end assessment we split into groups. Our group was to argue that televsion is just a box of lights and wires. I felt it was so hard to agrue for this, so we decided we would take the approach on how television is bad for society. I felt this was quite easy to do, and hopefully done well in the debate.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class - and learnt a lot that I didn't think was important in television.
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