The Year of the Remake

I found this interesting article about 2016 being the 'year of the remake' according to Moviepilot. 

Ricky Derisz. (2016). 2016 - The Year of the Remake: These 6 Classic Films Are Being Rebooted... But Should They Be?. Available: http://moviepilot.com/posts/3755042. Last accessed 31st Jan 2016.

It's interesting to see what they think of the remakes, giving a non biased opinion. I also like how there is a poll beneath each one asking people if they think the remakes are a good idea. The majority for each one say no. It would also be interesting to see why they think that? This is what my questionnaire will cover. The comment section is also handy; one particularly caught my attention...

"jumanji and ghost busters are a waste of time and should be sequels , not reboots, even though they do not need any, Spideman is a joke at this point, Independence day is not a sequel and the exorcist with cgi, might be a treat... I don't understand why spider man needed three reboot,s what a joke and the girls on ghost busters are flat out ugly, they don't need the guns to scare off the ghosts, they simply need to go into the room and scream boo...I swear there is no originality in Hollywood anymore"

However there are some positive comments about remakes...

"People are always so up and arms about reboots and being original. There are a lots of originals movies out there, just a lot are getting new versions for fans. If it makes people happy then why not? Not everything is supposed to be original. It's just entertainment. This is not a jab at the Author, just an opinion I have about people complaining about originality in Hollywood." 

Actors

I put out a status on Facebook looking for actors (male and female) that would be willing to play romantic leads and be part in the music video and possibly to roller skate too.

I have quite a few actors and dancers that messaged me being interested (2 female, 2 male and 1 clueless but willing male).

I was very happy with the enthusiasm and quick responses, so we will have to hold auditions for the parts.

Prop Hunting

I went prop hunting the past few days and I was luckily enough to find a pair of genuine 80s roller skates in a shop (£12 but dedicated to the brief, this is what student loan is for yeah?) 

Aesthetic #80s #livebrief #uni #falling #rollerskating

I tested them out in the park today and I got the hang of them quite well. I was fine on the soft ground in the park, but as soon as I went on proper concrete, I fell everywhere. I've been told that roller derby rinks have some grip on them so I will be fine.

Skating in the park #rollerskating

A photo posted by Sarah Joy (@sarahtrix) on Jan 31, 2016 at 3:58am PST

I also went in the loft today to see if I could find any 80s props for set dressing. I was successful. Our loft is full of 80s stuff.

Live Project - The Pitch

Today we pitched our ideas to the client for all three music videos. We wanted ours to stand out so we put a lot of effort in and brought props with us including a rubix cube, tetris jenga, and we even made some on the morning (emoji's on sticks and painted frames) so we could illustrate what look we were going for. I even did the team's make up. 

Study Skills - Report Writing

Me and Beth went to the study skills on Report Writing but we didn't learn much new, and Su kept repeating herself, so we called it quits halfway through.

I did make a few notes which I will post below;

• facts not prose
• short descriptive paras and sentences. Facts in bullet points if you want.
• figures= charts, graphs, images
• summary (about?), intro (detail, aims), main body (facts), conclusion (viewpoint), recommendations (optional).
• Quotes
• Logical flow.
• Figure listing @ front, biblio @ back.
• Purpose, facts, structure, objective- why, what, how, what achieve?
• Title, purpose and overall aim, facts, structure, outcome, target audience
• Research: primary- questionnaires, surveys. Secondary- books, websites...
• Specific questions to answer
• Title, acknowledgements, figure listing, contents, summary, intro, main body, conclusion, recommendations, appendices, biblio.
• Ttitle page: title, programme, module assignment title, semester (2014-15), name, level, Put as header too. 
• Page nos and headers
• Summary completed last. Main points, conc and recc.
• Research findings- how many responded and scale.
• "the aim of this report..."
• Intro: context of report and objectives, background, info, outline approach to fact finding and structure of report.
• Main body: findings, short sections with sub headers, figures, analysis of data, issues and problems. Research methods. Who is questionnaire aimed at? How many questionnaires distributed and how many back? Results.
• conclusion: final verdict. Answer questions posed.
• Recommendations: order of priority. Bullet point. How to distribute guidelines.
• Appendices: evidence of questionnaires. Copies.
• Objective view, both sides.
• Line spacing 1.5, arial or times, 12pt, page nos, A4.

These notes probably only make sense to me (sorry my note taking is weird).

Live Project - Team Politics

We brainstormed what happened and was fashionable in the 80s with Di today. I was quite impressed with what we knew, but Di wanted us to look further into the politics, literature and design aspects of the 80s. We were given politics to look at. 

Beth and Janice took one for the team and pitched it while me, Jack and Ryan presented our actual pitches for a rehearsal. Beth and Janice did really well and was a good detailed presentation (despite Mike saying it was crap before they even got started properly). 

1980s Politics from LokiDoki9

Live Project - Inspiration

As soon as I heard Dance Floor and our group came up with the roller disco idea, my first thoughts were Xanadu. 



It's cheesy, very 80s and my brother's favourite film. It revolves (possible pun) around roller skating and had loads of bright colours.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1125464

For Hot City Nights, we were thinking something similar to Take On Me.


Being so iconic, people are bound to pick out similarities in our idea to Take On Me- girl meets boy, one is from a different world, they don't fit. 

For Dance Floor also, we were thinking of make up similar to Adam Ant and David Bowie.

http://adamantgifs.tumblr.com/page/5

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/523543525402654057/

Ran Out Of Love will also have a lot of Bowie references revolving around a maze. She could also be wearing red shoes to emphasise the influence of Bowie.

In Hot City Nights, we wanted the band/drums to drum up paint and colours, to later reveal a stencil of the band logo. We were looking for a aesthetic like the Blue Man Group.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-ao-exit-interview-12-years-in-the-blue-man-group

However the actual paint maybe a problem with locations (we will have to check and see where we could film and also clean up).

Alternatively, we could use sand or powder instead. Paramore to this in their video Now which is quite similar to the band's look and feel- bright colours, fun, enjoyable.

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/paramore-now-gifs

As soon as I heard the songs and the fact the band was based on 80s vibes, I automatically thought of Gerard Way's video Millions.

I thought we could edit some videos like this, the cheesy low quality 80s visuals. 

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/millions-gif

The band sent a link to Muse's Madness video for ones they wanted it to be like. However, being an avid fan of Muse, I thought it was a bit dark for their songs and came up with better alternatives.

We could have the band in Hot City Nights on the TV screens following the protagonists around much like in Knights of Cydonia.

http://elitesexfinder.com/124/dl

Panic Station is a much better example for the group's vibe and also similar to our video ideas. 

There is also an example of a city maze that we were after for Ran Out Of Love (it doesn't have to be a garden maze). 

http://gifsoup.com/view/4727049/muse-panic-station.html 

Professional Studies #7

Is this lesson 7???? I've lost count.

Today after coming back from Whitby, I went to Professional Studies because I'm a swot. We looked at different websites that might come in handy for our live productions or just any productions; if we are after a particular prop or an actor.

• http://www.northernmedia.org/ - Good place to look for how professionals search for locations, crews and loads of important and useful information for film makers in the North of England!
• http://www.theknowledgeonline.com/ - The place to go to source all your film making needs.
• http://www.mandy.com - Site mainly for freelance jobs.
• http://www.kftv.com/ (formally KEMPS) - Like The Knowledge. A great resource for film making needs.
• https://shootingpeople.org/ - Good for finding cast and crew.
• http://www.talentcircle.org/ - Another knowledge and people base.
• http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/ - Hub of Film making in England. Very influential.

We then focused on our live brief and prepared our pitches.

Maxy Bianco - Whitby

Diane and Mike sorted out some work experience for me today (yay much better than Visual Culture). I later found out it was due to how I "handled myself in Digital Production" so I must have did well in the module haha. 

Maxy, a film maker currently filming for documentaries for channel 4, was after a level 4 and 5 to help out and get experience from filming in Whitby. On the journey there and back, he was telling us about different projects he has been on. One really struck my attention which was about Hastings and about Alistair Crowley. I was aware of the legend already being a supernatural nerd, and the film he did sounded fab. I would like to see it one day.

We were supposed to film Monday as well as Tuesday to film a kipper man and a jet jeweller, but the kipper man wasn't open on Monday so we just went on the Tuesday. The jet lady then cancelled with us on the day which was typical, so we ended up just filming the kipper man.

Maxy then gave us a quick lesson in his cameras and lenses. He wanted him to film a shot of the overarching action of the shot (a wide) and me to get close ups of hands and specific actions. I used a camera that he was currently selling with a bid on eBay so I was extra cautious. 

I struggled using the lenses at first having never used different types and deciding which ones to us. I also kept getting confused since I couldn't zoom on the camera. Constantly having to adjust the focus and aperture on the lens was also a pain but I like to think I got the hang of it in the end. 

We then got a few quick shots of some workmen filling in the pavement. They were a good laugh and were very cooperative, trying to impress me, saying to their colleagues that there was a "lady present" and having to give their "best pose". 

We then wanted to sit down for a coffee and decide what to do next, however we couldn't find a cafe anywhere that was open! So we ended up having lunch on a bench (Maxy owns a deli in Hartlepool so we got free sandwiches which is always good news) and then going back. I also managed to catch the rest of Professional Studies (I am a swot). 

Live Project - The Client

We are no longer amateur clueless students. We are professional workers now.

http://blog.edx.org/edx-courses-for-star-wars-fans

Our first client is a band called Lost State of Dance. They want 3 music videos for 3 of their songs. They are a very 80s sounding band are quite unique and I really like their music. Dan turned up today to tell us what the band wanted in the videos (not sure where the others were). He was basically open to interpretation as long as it was "fun" and "enjoyable". 

We also watched a few ideas the band had in terms of music videos. Most of them adhered to the whole enjoyable vibe but there was also a few dark grungy ones, making us confused.

Our group still went with the fun feel as it matched their music, having a few ideas already.

I'm really excited for this module and can't wait to get started. I love the 80s and should also be fun and enjoyable to film! 

Belbin Self Perception Inventory

Today we started on our live brief but Diane tried something new to sort each other into groups. We filled out this very weird questionnaire like a quiz you get in children's magazine where you add up all the numbers at the end. Not too dissimilar in theory. Turns out I am someone called a 'completer-finisher'; I have a capacity to follow through but I get stressed easily (yup so me).

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jonmichaelpoff/what-are-your-best-tips-for-getting-rid-of-stress

I am definitely not a 'monitor evaluator' so I definitely am not hard headed or sober (hah).

Diane then kept hyping up how she was happy to have 3 completer finisher's on the course and we ended up being team captains for each group for the live project. I don't see how being stressed easily is a good thing or team captain material but whatever floats your goat.

http://smashmac.deviantart.com/art/Whatever-floats-your-goat-474152440

Report Research

Today I made a start on my report and looked for sources I could use. I found quite a lot of interesting ones and narrowed them down by skim reading for quality and interesting facts I could use and also reliability. Here are the best ones I found:

Andrew Horton, Stuart Y. McDougal (1998). Play it Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes. California: University of California Press. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Uramz-iT9Q0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Constantine Verevis (2006). Film Remakes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-epMKoT-NO4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Jason Dietz. (2011). Are Original Movies Really Better than Derivative Works?. Available: http://www.metacritic.com/feature/movie-sequels-remakes-and-adaptations. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016.

Kathleen Loock, Constantine Verevis (2012). Film Remakes, Adaptations and Fan Productions: Remake/Remodel. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C0mxuFczSH8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mark Carpowich. (2015). The Movie-Remake Craze: How Hollywood's Empty Ideas Are Filling Theaters. Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-carpowich/the-movieremake-craze-how-hollywood-empty-ideas-are-filling-theaters_b_7490992.html. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016.

Stephen Follows. (2015). The scale of Hollywood remakes and reboots. Available: https://stephenfollows.com/hollywood-remakes-and-reboots/. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016. (spoilers, the scale is huge)

Todd Cunningham. (2014). 11 Fascinating Facts About the 2014 Box Office. Available: http://www.thewrap.com/11-fascinating-facts-about-the-2014-box-office/. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016. (spoilers, there were 7 remakes in the box office, 8 if you include Maleficent)

Yohana Desta. (2014). Why Hollywood Is Producing So Many Damn Remakes. Available: http://mashable.com/2014/10/09/hollywood-film-remakes/#Bis97jVC.OqF. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016. (I don't know, but there's no need for that language Yohana)

Visual Culture Adventure/Fail

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i'm-going-on-an-adventure-gif

I went to a few libraries the past few days to try and find some books I could use for my essay (since I have to use 6 books minimum). I went to CCAD library first and found two books on Luis Bunuel which could have been useful. Closer inspection when I got home revealed they were about two different films by Bunuel: Un Chien Andalou and The Discreet Charm of the Bougeoisie (this is bad as I am doing 70s surrealism and focused on different films). I still remained optimistic and hoped there would be some useful quotes on surrealism in general. The Un Chien one was useless, but I am still reading through the Discreet Charm one so fingers crossed there's something!

I also went to Blackhall Library which was a complete fail- they don't even have a cinema section! I could have possibly reserved some books but they might not have come in time.

My last hope is some of the books in Google Books. I wanted to scavenge the libraries first as I scan them and can read them better (what's wrong with the old fashioned way!) 

Remembering Legends

This isn't really relevant to the course, but I felt I had to upload something to my film blog to remember the film idols we sadly lost this week.

David Bowie is an idol to me, embracing and encouraging people to be different and proud. I love his music too and was one of the first artists I followed alongside Adam Ant. His film career was also something else, Labyrinth being my favourite.

http://imgur.com/gallery/TmdaK9X

I also remember watching The Hunger at a young age (which I regret to this day. Scarred for life) I'd like to watch it again though since I have matured a lot.

http://www.altfg.com/film/david-bowie-movies/

"I'm always amazed that people take what I say seriously. I don't even take what I am seriously."

Alan Rickman was another idol in my house, with my Mother being the biggest fan (honestly I have no idea who else likes Rickman more than my Mam). I have probably seen all his films thanks to my mother's peer pressure haha :P I remember a few Christmases ago, she got Rasputin on DVD (very rare!) and it was awful, but we still sat through it just for Alan Rickman.

"Each character I play has different dimensions. I'm not interested in words that pull them together."

Of course, we can't forget him as Snape in the Harry Potter franchise. 

http://www.mtv.com/news/2070159/harry-potter-death-rankings/

Professional Studies #6

Today we looked more at breaking down a script, looking at script revisions and a technique to clearly organise and see the script and possible shooting schedule using post-it notes.

We were given pieces of paper to put each scene from our scripts we were given last week. We then put the scene number, page number, scene description, brief scene synopsis, actors in the scene and props on the notes. We ordered them in scene number and also the hardest scenes to easiest, to see which to film first and which had multiple locations.

The scenes in my chosen script in order of hardest-easiest to shoot.

We then looked at script revisions and how to add updates to a script. Basically... don't. If you do, change the front cover to a different colour so the crew know when they need a new version and they have the right one. Add a revision by adding a * next to it. However, revising a revision is not fun. If you do, erase all existing *. 

http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/File:Confused-ron.gif

Once a script is marked as final, the scene numbers can't change. If there are any more revisions, you have to slot in some A and B scenes, so the order goes like this: 6, 6A, 6B, 7, 8... Omitted scene numbers still stay in. Page numbers also don't change in a final version of a script and also turn into A and B pages if you do add any revisions if the script becomes longer (if it becomes shorter with omissions, leave a blank space where the scene used to be). When new material makes you remove pages, also put in the page number the span of the page numbers that are missing so they look a bit like this; 12, 13-14B, 14C, 15... 

That's a basic summary of my understanding of the lesson. It probably won't make any sense when I look back at this but ah well. 

http://forums.smitegame.com/showthread.php?76180-Is-it-considered-carrying-if-you-still-lose

Visual Culture #14

Today in Malcolm's lecture we looked at Art Deco and the symbolism behind its decadence. 

The Great War (WWI, 1914-18) was depressing and according to Malcolm, everyone was "too busy killing themselves" to create art. 'Art Deco' came around in to spread optimism from the devastating war and to bring decadence with the new technology invented and mass production. The term art deco is more of a period of creativity rather than a stylistic element. However, the term 'art deco' didn't exist until the 70s; it was commonly known more as 'The Modern Style'. 

Art Deco included sweeping curves and lines, sweeping upwards like a rocket to symbolise movement and mass production, echoing the movement of a machine.

http://giphy.com/search/modern-times

Women were starting to have a voice and were made to reject ways of the past through various fashions of the era. People were also starting to reject religion because of the massacre of the war. 

Art Deco mixed both old and new techniques to create modernity. Art Deco took influences from Modernism, Cubism, Russian Constructivism, the Exotic (Blacks and the Africans) and Archaeology. Cubism is the reality of everything- you drew everything you know is there, even if you can't see it. Art Deco was not just visual culture, but material culture too and was inspired by architecture of the Aztec, Mayan's and Egyptian's, especially with the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. Egypto-mania!

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/horrible-histories-challenge

People were starting to want to be scared too with the release of The Mummy in 1932.

Travel-mania was also huge with new huge cruise liners that were also fast. The auto mobile was also huge with it's new 'aerodynamic' look. 

Professional Studies #5

Today we looked at breaking down a script, starting with the call sheets. I was already familiar with these after having to understand one for when I was on the set of Together. More exciting stuff about this can be found on my blog post here. The one I was given was a lot simpler to the one Mike showed us for one of the scenes in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/03/pirates-of-the-caribbean-5-yo-ho-yawn-the-pros-and-cons-of-another-sequel-4890836/

We then looked at Element colour codes and 'coloured in' a script. The Screenwriting pathway had their scripts printed of (some has multiple ones so I annotated one of Janice's) and Digital were also given a previous student's script to annotate. All the colours made the script look really nice and was overall fun to do.

http://gid71.rageyart.com/Lesson04/L04_learn.html

We also looked at The Rule of 1/8ths, where a page of a script is split into 1/8ths, but measure/mark every scene, not every page. This is put on call sheets and is used to measure out how long a scene is. It is not an exact science and a scene that takes up 1 1/8 of a page might not take as long to film as one which only takes up 4/8th of a page depending on the actual content of the scene. 

Visual Culture #13

This week in Malcolm's lecture, we looked at The Golden Age of Illustration (1880-1920). 

The term 'illustration' or 'being an editor' didn't even exist until later. Since then it was just called as 'art' or an 'artist'. Newer printing technology meant mass production and for cheap. Picture's were then commissioned for books with an unprecedented amount of books with illustrations being published (hence the 'golden age'). (This also meant more pornographic images being printed but that's another story). The revival of the gothic and medieval craftsmanship made people also rediscover hand printing and also using these as inspirations in some of the illustrations. 

Women were often looked down upon as illustrators due to patriarchy, however, they were taken completely seriously as illustrators for children's books due to their connections with children and maternity.

http://www.burgesspetcare.com/2013/09/a-list-of-the-most-famous-rabbits-ever/

The Aesthetic Movement was also in progress with people questioning what is beauty. The fashion for beautiful things was in full swing with art nouveau books being published as guides to beautiful interiors. The Queen Anne Revival was also in swing with focus on the middle class comfort and exteriors. There was no illustration pattern. It was all very creative and exciting. Visual language was changing.

The power of the guidebook was in full force in this age, telling people how to be perfect housewives, all with detailed illustrations. 

http://sagansense.tumblr.com/post/58924333797/the-42-things-you-should-know-about-the

The Ver Sacrum magazine was self-published to break away from tradition. People were questioning and rekindling their national identity (especially at the end of the millennium). The Vienna Succession was also experimental which explored all possibilities, and are anti-historicist. A new aesthetic (with some influences of the Japanese). New technologies such as chromolithography meant more colourful and high quality images.

The consumption of Christmas even changed with new marketing techniques such as new books, Christmas cards and Christmas stockings. 

http://rebloggy.com/post/christmas-elf-will-ferrell-15k-gif-elf/35529387448

Society became obsessed with fantasy which is prevalent in the illustrations in this era. With many Norse and medieval illustrations, even Lord of the Rings took inspiration from them.

The last gasp of the golden age in 1920 looked at the illustration of fashion more than models, which made its way into graphic design. It is debatable that film killed off the golden age of illustration with the invention of photography and film cameras.

http://www.missliterati.com/chapters/the-great-gatsby-5372a25c6b9f096d34001290

In Diane's session, we looked at various TED talks all with one main message- love your work. We watched a one about a 7 hour documentary of a train journey and how popular it was, one was about a big budget sci fi (which looked really good! I found this video the most interesting) made for a tenth of the budget but still with industry professionals, one about an app and one about YouTube and what makes a viral video. 

Case Study - The Hillywood Show

Subscribers: 1,016,452

Biggest hit: Breaking Dawn Parody - 29,725,630 views.

The Hillywood Show started out as a low budget bit of fun between two sisters; Hilly and Hannah Hindi with their imitations of celebrities, especially Johnny Depp.

With more and more views, the sisters became more and more popular. With the increase in technology and people donating to help them create more parodies with a bigger production value, they became viral.

Hillywood still have a 'donate' part of their website and 'raise-a-thons' on their channel to boost views and make more videos. 

This parody is my favourite made by them as it is my favourite TV show and they even got all the cast to appear in it! How awesome is that?! Now watch the two video's embedded. The difference is huge!

How this relates to me

This example shows that anyone, no matter how small a production can become internet famous, from a free to use site. Gives us hope for our advert!