Documentary screening was good. I had fun watching different ideas and topics from each group. I have different perspectives on every doco and I guess everyone did their best. Well, from my point of view, my group’s documentary was the shortest. Some of the doco was quite good and some of it was not bad. I find some of it has unbalanced sound which at times can be really loud and sometimes soft. I don’t know whether it was just me who thinks it’s weird but, I think it can really make a difference in producing a good movie / documentary. That’s just my two cents. Sound is as important as the camera. People don’t mind watching a blank screen but no one will watch it with bad sound. It is important to capture good sound whether it’s a background sound or vocal sound. Sound quality is really important to add as a bonus to good film. You have to have decent level of sound quality rather than it sounding too loud or like it was recorded in a pair of socks. I am aware of that because I’m really particular in sounds. That is why I’m in charge of sounds in the previous documentary.

The title of our documentary is Scales. (Emma Olsen, Amelia Nash & I )

Our story line was about a girl who once suffered anorexia but was in denial of her weight. In this documentary, we discuss about her eating habit, her problems that lead to anorexic and how she coped with everything. This documentary of just 5 minutes also includes still images from her anorexic days up to her recent photo. Although this topic has been discussed in many context, we came out with a different view. I hope everyone else enjoyed our documentary. Till here then.

‘This Is It’ was the title of Michael Jackson’s last concert which he wasn’t able to share with everyone. Michael Jackson’s – This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the- scenes look at the performer as he developed from time to time. I think that this movie of only two weeks in cinemas will lead us to take a look  inside the king of pop’s life and how he was, despite being in a bad publicity from the media and press. This 100 hours of footage of Jackson preparing for his 50-comeback show in London was put together to form a movie. I thought that it is good to show how the king of pop spent his final days struggling to make his show the best it could be. It captures how he puts his effort and energy to make it a great success. I’m sure his fans will enjoy his last show in the movies starting from the 28th October 2009 which runs for 2 weeks only. Those who are interested, grab a ticket while it’s still available. I’m getting mine soon!

This couples-in-conflict movie directed by Peter Billingsley; written by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn and Dana Fox is a comedy movie of four couples who settle into a tropical-island for vacation to relax which turned out to be a therapy session for couples to work on their marriage. Despite the humour from the couples and their relationship problems, this movie is all about laughs, romance and a little adventure. The location was beautiful and the characters played their part in making the movie full of humour, love and fun. I thought that this is a good movie but after reading some of the reviews, many was disappointed. Anyway, I like it! 

Setting up bright and early.

Our actors

The filming crew – a wide shot from across the street.

More setting up

Group meetings, mostly complaining about the light

Director handling the camera for a bit

Our helpful crew

Producer, Sound, Director and DoP with our star after we wrapped.

A few months ago when Quentin Tarantino’s movie – Inglorious Basterds came out of the box office, everyone was talking about how good it was. Well, I am not a fan of Tarantino’s movie. For me, most of his movies are dull with long conversations. As everyone was talking about Inglorious Basterds, I thought that maybe this movie is different from the rest. After watching, it wasn’t that bad after all but I think it was quite draggy as I expected more actions than conversation. The movie which was about the Jews and Nazis in the World War II was well written and the explicit violence made it real with the theme of World War II. Despite the violence; this movie is sophisticated in a way that it portrays many other emotions like suspenseful, surprising and somewhat funny. Some say Tarantino had done a good job and some was disappointed. 

For those who missed the movie, it is about Jews and Nazis in the World War II. A group called ‘The Basterds’ of Jewish-Americans spread out to Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. This two and a half hours action movie is thrilling, even if some stretches of conversation tend to the long side. Here’s the movie trailer if you haven’t watched already. Enjoy!

Yesterday after class, I actually dragged myself to the cinema to watch Up 3D although I was tired. Luckily the movie was interesting. I enjoyed watching 3Ds animation movies. I thought the movie gives the viewers some ups and downs of emotions through the adventure and memories. For an animation movie, I found it quite emotional in the first part where Carl Fredricksen, the main character in the film reminisce the past of his late wife. I did not expect an animation movie about a flying house which was tied with a thousand balloons could send a deep message to the viewers and sent out such an emotion. It’s exciting to see how Carl fulfilled his lifelong dream by having an adventure to the desired place. Carl wasn’t the only one who’s on the adventure, an 8 year old boy called Russell was also on the same boat. They travelled to places and helped each other along the way. For those who loves animation, I would certainly recommend to watch this movie. I thought that the story line was interesting and will get its viewer to embark with the adventure and emotion. The director and writer was the same person- Bob Peterson & Pete Docter. This movie won 2 awards recently for during the Venice Film Festival 09 and Teen Choice Awards 09.

Amelia and Emma came up with the idea of making a documentary about anorexia and after discussing about it in class, we actually thought it was a good idea because they know a person from their school who fits in the criteria. It’s good to have a friend who’s willing to work and share her stories in the documentary filming. It’s so much easier because we don’t have to waste time searching for the actor. We started working straight on our project and with no time, we completed the shooting. Right now all we’ve got to do is just work on the editing part and finish up with some touches of lighting, music and sequence. We’re half way done and hopefully we get to finish up on time for the screening.

The shooting for our documentary took place at Amelia’s place in Brighton. It was a short filming because we’ve already planned earlier before the day itself. I was the sound person, Emma’s the producer and Amelia was in charge of the camera. The filming went well overall although we’ve got some difficulties with the camera battery. The problem we had was the camera kept switching off after awhile. We thought that the battery was low but after recharging it for a few times, it was still the same. So, we tried calling the techs to ask about the matter; they asked us to try again but it was not working. Luckily there’s another spare battery provided inside. Apart of that, we had another problem with the lighting in the room. At first it was all good but after a while the sun was not that bright like before so without wasting time, we tried to set up our own lighting but it doesn’t look the same. After trying, we thought that we couldn’t do anything about that and all we could do is to edit it after the shooting. The filming went well and we got what we wanted for just an hour and a half. It was fun working with the girls and we giggle all the way. Can’t wait to watch our complete documentary. Yay!

I’m still shocked about Michael Jackson’s death. I don’t know why I’ve been feeling down and sad. Whenever I turn on the TV, it’s always about Michael Jackson here and there. Although I’m saddened with his death, I wouldn’t want to miss his great songs playing on TV and the story about his life.  Not only he has great songs which hit the charts but the if you look carefully, all of his video clips are different and unique. No wonder people call him the music genius. I really admire him for his talent in music and making great videos. For example, if you look at Thriller music video, you can see how he amaze everyone with the choreography and the story line behind it.

In my previous post, I mentioned about paying extra attention on sounds in any movies or videos. So when I watch Thriller music video, do they put the sound over in the footsteps part in 4:44 and 5:20 minute of the video. If you listen carefully, you can hear the footsteps loud and clear although it’s from a distance. Check out the Thriller music video. 

Michael Jackson was not only the legend of Pop, he was the one who tried to change the world through his music. It’s very hard to find an artist like him. He is one of a kind. Like what Steven Spielberg said, “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.”

Like always, whenever there’s a new movie, I would make an effort to watch it in the cinema either on the day of its release or a few days after. So, I went to catch the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie early May. Of course I wouldn’t want to miss as there are many hot guys in the movies. Hehe. Directed by Gavin Hood, the movie starring Hugh Jackman as one of the main characters, along with Liev Schreiber, Will.I.Am, Ryan Reynolds, Danny Hudson, Tailor Kitsch and Lynn Collins. Although this is the fourth installment of X-Men film series, it is actually my first time watching an X-Men series. I know I sound ridiculous and somewhat like a loser but that’s just me. Hehe. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad after all. I actually liked it. I enjoy the story line and I think the effect that they have is kind of cool. The movie has the feeling of love/hate between the same character which is Logan/James/Wolverine. It makes the story line interesting and very hard to tell. The movie started with the mutants fighting in the Civil War, two World Wars and the Vietnam Wars in the first 20 minutes. It gives the insight about what the story is about way before what happened. For a first timer to catch an X-Men movie, I thought that it was good. I really like the actions and how the effects works. 

Overall, I define this movie as fast paced spectacle filled with action, romance, humor, drama and technical effects. Not forgetting with good sound effects. By the way, now I am very particular when it comes to sound. I pay great attention following the sound and music in any movie / video clips. Haha 

Another thing, I heard there has been a leaked workprint of the full version with unfinished effects shots, alternate sound effects and a few other aspects. Both versions are the same which runs 107 minutes. Many said that the leaked version looks stupid and funny. I wanted to have a look for myself but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any. Maybe it was already taken out. If you haven’t got the chance to watch, just click below for a quick preview of the show. Enjoy!