Blog Assignment 1- No Questions Asked- Option 3

Push was a film that came out in 2009. It starred Chris Evans, Camlla Belle, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na, and Nate Mooney. The basic idea of the film is that there are people who have developed psychic abilities, that manifest themselves in different ways. Movers, pushers, shadows, sniffers, watchers, shifters, wipers, bleeders, and stitchers. These are all the abilities of people in the film. In response to this, governments have developed areas know as Divisions to combat them, or recruit them. They have been conducting experiments to boost psychics' powers, and try to keep tabs on as many psychics as possible. This film would be a very difficult film to switch to silent particularly because to understand the character intricacies, dialogue is a must. Early in the film it would be simple to switch it to silent. At the start of the film, Nick's (the main character) father is killed by division. Before he is killed his father tells him that one day a girl in need of help will give him a white flower. He has to help her. For this scene, you would just need a dialogue box for that portion and it could be simplified. The scene then jumps to present day (transitioned by another box indicating time shift. Nick is much older. He has holed him self up in Hong Kong, hiding from Division. It shows him as kind a laid back person who tries to stay out of other peoples problems. This is shown by a scene in which he is trying to manipulate dice with his moving ability, and later when gambling. It is shown that he owes money to a couple of people, including the person he is currently gambling with. This could be shown silently just by showing him losing at dice, and failing to manipulate them. From here is where the movie would become difficult to transition to silent. Division finds him but doesn't snatch him, they are looking for a girl that took something from them and thought he might know her. This would just have to be shown with dramatic hand motions indicating what they want from him. The Division agents leave, and Cassie Holmes arrives. She is a watcher, so she can see the future. Basically as the film progresses Nick and Cassie meet up with the girl division is looking for which turns out to be a former lover of Nick's. She has had her memory wiped, so they go about finding where she hid the item she stole, while dodging Division, and a gang who is also after what the girl stole. With the help of other characters they locate the case. This leads to a final confrontation between all three groups, in which as expected the good guys win through some trickery.
     The easiest way to transition this to silent. would be to eliminate some plot points so at points where characters explain their interaction, you wouldn't have to have dialogue box after dialogue box. Create the basic idea, and eliminate anything to complicated to be portrayed silently. Like later in the film when the plan is established to get the case while tricking the other groups. Provide a simple solution to getting the stolen item so the film can be moved along.
     Music would also play an important role in the film. The current soundtrack already does a good job of portraying the feeling at that point in the movie, so I believe that very few alterations would need to be made. Here is a listing of the soundtrack. Some of the songs include Consequence by Notwist, The Hop by Radio Citizen and Bajka, Rocket by Working for a Nuclear Free City, Glow by U.N.K.L.E. (ignore the visuals for the most part) among others.

     Push would be a very difficult movie to turn to silent, and the only way I could think to do it would be to cut some plot points so as to not complicate the movie as much. It would definitely be an undertaking though.

Blog Assignment 5- option 1

Since the 1970s a new genre of films has come about. This genre is one largest genre of the time, and is what most films tailor to today. That is the blockbuster. The blockbuster is essentially a film that relies on heavy marketing, usually with the pushing of well-known stars in the cast. There are good and bad blockbuster films but the usually hold many things in common. Among these being the All-star cast. Though film plots can be good and bad.  One example of this is The Expendables vs. Ocean's Eleven. The Expendables boasts an all star cast of , Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. All well known action stars. Ocean's Eleven had an all star cast comprised of George Clooney, Bernie Mac, Brad Pitt, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. For the most part well recognized film icons. Both have an all star cast, and both were heavily advertised. The differences in them however are huge. The Expendables might as well be one giant explosion with hardly any plot. Ocean's Eleven has a quite a bit more depth, they collect the group, plan the heist, carry out the heist, and don't reveal all the details of it to you until the very end of the movie. These films also usually include action, but not always. Many of them revolve around groups of stars commonly associated with each other such as the "brat pack" that starred in a number of John Hughes films. The Brat pack consisted of Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Micheal Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy, among others.This blockbuster idea, as well as the large implementation of all-star casts is also becoming more common in foreign films. Each country has their highly recognized actors, and this makes the use of these actors very common. Simon Pegg is one such example. Having a career as a TV actor, he eventually broke in to large movies with his role in Shaun of the Dead. Since then he has been featured in both UK and US films involving all star casts. Stephen Chow is also an example of a participant in blockbuster movies. With titles such as Kung fu Hustle, and Shaolin Soccer, he has become known worldwide. This is also becoming common in Bollywood, with such films as Slum Dog Millionaire. Some of these films while not action packed, have received large acclaim. These films have developed into a very large market. The films are commonly marketed by iconic actors, and claim to be able to "blow your mind" with effects, and or story. Such films as Batman Begins, and its sequel, as well as Transformers, are all part of this developed blockbuster genre. This has been a good and a bad thing for Hollywood. the search for money has led to a large amount films that lack plot, on the other hand many of these bad movies have earned many people alot of money. This has led to a large influx of good films as well. By promoting big name actors, who are, for the most part, talented.,you get good movies. Though much of that is subject to preferred film styles/genres. There is no denying that the blockbuster genre has altered the face of films. It has led to good and bad films, though regardless it is spanning the world film industry.

Blog Assignment 4 Option 3 - Star Wars

What is one of the single most recognized films of our time. If you said Star Wars, you would be right. The first Star Wars was released in 1977. It starred Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones, Alec Guiness, Peter Cushing, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and David Prowse. This film falls into the "New Hollywood" film style. In fact, this film could only have been done during this "New" age. This film, under the direction of George Lucas used some of the biggest special effects available. The technical specs of the filming materials is here. Special effects were a big focus in the film.

"Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) spent most of the production period in chaos, attempting to create special effects that had never been created before. They blew half their budget on four shots which George Lucas rejected. Ultimately, around $5,000,000 of the $8,000,000 budget was spent by ILM."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/trivia?tr0742646

Not only were special effects important to Lucas, but sound was as well.  In the third film: Return of the Jedi,  THX sound was used, which was developed by Tomlinson Holman, at Lucasfilms. This sound went on to revolutionize audio in many films and theaters.

Star Wars is classified as a space opera, which is a sub-genre of science-fiction. This idea was also fairly new as well. Instead of having a sci-fi movie be "B" movie or something lacking depth, it was an epic detailing a boy defeating an empire. This style had really only been done previously in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The plot idea was not new, but the way it was presented was. Character development was a huge portion of this movie, from the introduction of Obi-Wan Kenobi, to the Mos Eisley Cantina, you get a feeling for who the characters are, And the type of universe they reside in. Like any film, Lucas drew on elements of history and culture to make the ideas for his films. The jedi, closely resemble the samurai of Japanese culture, in the idea of honor, and in appearance.

This film, along with other films of the 70s and 80s, was different from older film styles in its use of sequels as well. Not many films before this made a large continuing plot between films, before the 70s. Its epic spanned across 3 films (6 if you count the prequel garbage).


Star Wars also used a large variety of camera techniques that were developing as well. The scene in which they are heading to Mos Eisley in the speeder comes to mind, with its long range view of the speeder, and the blurry background. The films also used a mix of distance shots.

The Star Wars franchise, has become such an icon that it is one of the single largest franchises today. From video games, to action figures, to countless other pieces of memorabelia. Even those who haven't seen the movies can identify the icons of them. That is why it is a classic of New Hollywood.

At the Star Wars Cantina

Blog Assignment 3 Option 3- The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs

     The Departed was a Martin Scorsese film that was released in 2006, and contained an all star cast featuring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, and Ray Winstone. It received critical acclaim, and received four Oscars as well as a number of other awards. Less commonly known perhaps is that the plot for the Departed was not original (though what movie is anymore?) The the story for the film was drawn from a Chinese film, Infernal Affairs. This film was released in 2002 and starred Andy Lau, and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. In case you have not seen either film, the plot to Infernal Affairs is that there is a cop who from when he first joined the force went undercover as a mole into a triad gang, at the same time, the triad gang, sent one of their own members as a mole into the police force. Both Moles are unaware of the others identity and they are both striving to figure out and stop the other mole. Now for The Departed, take that same plot, turn the Triads into the Irish Mob, the police into state troopers, move the setting to south Boston, and you have The Departed. As with any film adaption there were additions and subtractions to the interpersonal relationships and minor plot tweaks in each film. Both are decent films, though there are adaptions that would definitely fit better with American audiences. The setting change was crucial, to both making The Departed different and make it more appealing to American audiences. As I watched Infernal Affairs, there was some confusion as to the organization of the Chinese police, though not enough confusion to not understand it. The most notable difference between the films however, was the amount of profanity and gore in The Departed, that Infernal Affairs did not have. This is due in part to a couple of things. Chinese censorship may have cut down on that, though just as likely is that the movie didn't need it.
      The interpersonal relationships, between the characters was also definitely adapted to American audiences. For example, in Infernal Affairs, the mole that is in the police force has a girlfriend who is a writer, and she writes about a man with multiple personalities, this being a metaphor for the mole. Things in the Departed are much more clear cut, There are good and bad guys who are easily recognizable, as well as a plot where everything was shown. To put it harshly it was dumbing it down.USA Today did a brief side by side comparison of the two films and there are distinct similarities and differences in each. The expectation of film is always changing, in the U.S. and internationally. Though there are definitely common traits, that many cultures share. Perhaps the most universal of these is the fact that people like to watch movies about people of their same culture. Chinese movies take place in China or include Chinese main characters. American movies take place in America or include American main characters, etc. Not only that, culture is different, and jokes that may be funny or clever in one culture would not translate culturally (or linguistically) to a different country. Just as I was unclear with the police force in Infernal Affairs, a Chinese Audience may not understand the workings of American police. Fantasy films do not fit into the cultural expectation as much. As they take place in worlds outside this one and can translate more universally, but even then, there can be distinct gaps in culture.
      One thing I noticed particularly in Inferal Affairs was a distinct use of filmography techniques. This is something that is constantly growing and is becoming more and more universal. The first part of this clip particularly impressed me, with the reflections off the windows, there is a scene that takes place there earlier in the film as well. All in all there are definitely cultural differences in movies, though as technology improves and things progress some things are becoming more universal.

Blog Assignment 2 Option 2 - Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most influential directors of all time. The majority of his movies were horror/thriller themed, and many of them have become classics. He started his directing career in the early 20's (IMDB) and had films coming out all the way through the mid 70's. He produced a number of films through the golden age, many that are still popular. His most notable films were those from later in his career, among them being, Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, to name a few. Though even his earlier films have been influential in modern cinema. A number of his films have been remade and/or adapted. This 1998 Psycho is an excellent example. It is even arguable that Hithcocks Mr. and Mrs. Smith is related to the 2005 film of the same name. Strangers on a Train has also been remade and altered, an example is the comedic adaptation Throw Mama From the Train, and there is apparently a remade version due to come out in 2011. Aflred Hitchcock was undoubtedly one of the single largest contributors to the horror/thriller genre, and can be considered the pioneer that explored that genre for film. His nickname "The Master of Suspense" was well earned, as his extensive and successful career showed. He was also well know for making cameo appearances in his films, and sometimes include them in very subtle ways . Here is a list of his cameos and locations in the films.
Here is a link to the IMDB Bio on Alfred Hitchcock if you want more information.

My Youtube Channel

I have a youtube channel with which I have a couple videos of my own making for a film class I took previously but my favorites and such will give you a better insight into me.





www.youtube.com/user/ozzieinapickle

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