Be Prepared!

So most of us grew up with them, the Disney movie, the classic Disney movie is what I am on about here. The 2D animations, with fantastic characters we all loved and songs we knew every word too! It seems though they are moving away from this trend, instead sticking with the Disney Pixar animations, which although I love, aren't quite the same. Maybe it is just me being nostalgic and silly, but I really don't think they compare.

I remember doing some work in English at GCSE about Disney and how they films were 'sexist' and also 'out dated'. Well every girl wants to be a princess when they are younger, and this was even before Disney. Just look at some of the literature from before, A Little Princess, anyone remember that one?

It just seems strange to me that children enjoy both of these types of movies, the traditional Disney musical and also their work with Pixar, yet they choose only one. My little cousins love a bit of Jungle Book or Cinderella (ok so Connor doesn't like Cinderella so much it too girly for him xD) but they also love Finding Nemo and Monster's Inc, as do I.

I just think that Disney are narrowing themselves down too much and everyone is after all going in the direction on 3D animation. By staying 'behind in the times' and creating movies that sell big, have brilliant soundtracks that also lead to the good ol' sing along versions, aren't they actually staying ahead by really appealing to the kids? After all kids love to sing, dance and make a noise, not sit there and just watch.


On a side note, I don't want to post personal things here too much but I HAVE FINISHED ALL MY COURSEWORK. That is all :D

Mobile Film

Shoot the Summer (Shoot, shoot the summer) I have to sing it to that tune every single time, I can't resist it. If you have no idea what I mean, I am talking about the song Shoot the Runner :D Now I came across this purely by accident on the BBC website, I had no idea something like this had been done and that it was being done whilst I was at Reading last year!

Basically the BBC handed out mobile phones to the audience and to some artists at a range of festivals over the summer. They then gave these people one instuction, "film whatever you want". The film you watch on the site is basically these films edited together to show us the summer.

Some points are very funny, like the drunken ramblings of some festival goers as they sing at their tents. Others are down right bizzare, like the couple who try to sell the phone they are given. Then some are just genius, like the Scroobius Pip rhyme near the end.

Watching it through, some parts you can really tell that it is made with a mobile phone, yet at other places you forget. The shots are steady and the sun meant they are well lit, it really amazed me. Showing people this just really emphasises the idea that everyone can now create media, no need for a fancy camcorder, a simple mobile phone, which nearly everyone now has, is all you need to create a film.

It has even got me thinking about making my own short film, all captured on my little (well fat) Nokia. Ideas have been floating around my head, and hopefully over the Easter period I will have made something to show you all. The BBC have even posted an article about how to film with your mobile phone and some tips for beginners.

But can this really be a feasible way forward in film making or is it furthering social media with more 'youtubers'? Mobile phones and the cameras within them are becoming more and more advanced every month, who knows what will be available to us next year? A mobile with a HD camera? It would not surprise me if it did come that far.

What do you think? Will mobile phones become a major thing amongst social media, like youtube, or even with film-makers, even if it is just experimenting?

Freshen Up

Ok, so I have decided to try this again. I failed, miserably before as I didn't update much and then I didn't update at all. So I have also decided this will be my last try and hopefully I will continue with this, as you know film really does interest me.

So what has sparked my interest this week? Well this has. This is not the first time I have obviously come across 3D technology, we all remember those green and red glasses we had to wear to make an image or film '3D' (and they also gave us a headache) but now it seems technology has really created another film "revolution". My lecturer, Andrew Clay, has also recently brought the technology back to my attention and even he believes "it is going to be quite a significant year for digital 3-D technology."

The only trouble is, I am a poor student so I am yet to experience the revolutionised 3D film. All that I know of 3D cinema is Spy Kids: 3D, which was one of the worst films I have ever seen. To me it seemed as though they spent more money and time on the technology (which is now inferior) than on the storyline and charcterisation. This stigma is still with me, I am still worried I am going to see a shoddy film, albeit with amazing visual effects. It didn't help that personally, My Bloody Valentine wasnt my thing, stalk and slash horrors just bore me, so the film wasn't an option for me anyway and I certainly wasn't going to pay extra just for it to be enhanced visually by 3D. However I have seen an iMAX digital 3D film whilst at Futuroscope in France, we went to see Deep Sea 3D, which was spectacular. It was in French, however it was... beautiful.

But now it is not only available at the iMAX (I still love it by the way) but at your average cinema as well. "The number of cinema screens worldwide capable of showing 3D movies has grown from 98 in 2005 to more than 1,300 at the end of 2007 and is predicted to pass 3,000 by the end of 2008, said Ms Jones." 1. Even my local Cineworld in Stevenage is catching on to this new way of making money. With less people going to the cinema now and big corporations making money from DVD sales rather than cinema releases, maybe this could create the influx of cinema goers that is needed for the industry (maybe cutting down prices? :D One can hope). Its not only seeping into the cinemas, Dreamworks said that all productions from Monsters VS. Aliens onwards are going to be 3D. Disney are also very keen to get in on the action, and my comic book movie to look out for The Adventures of Tintin is going to use the technology as well.

From all this I am keen to see one of these films being released this year and next, and hopefully I will be able to. Just the only problem is the expense for me, and also the worry I am paying for a bad film is still sticking with me...

3D Movies to be released
Monsters vs. Aliens :-)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs :D
Up :D
G-Force :-)
Final Destination 4: 3-D :-(
Avatar :D
Toy Story 3 :D
Tim Burton's Alive in Wonderland :D
Deep Sea-quel :D
Shrek Goes Fourth :-)
Mastermind :-)
Puss in Boots :-)
Star Wars :D
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas :D

:D - Love to see!
:-) - Wouldn't mind seeing
:-( - Did they have to?

As you see, most these films are family films, which isn't a big surprise, after all the family blockbuster is where most the money is made. As you see as well, the kids films are the ones I want to see xD Oh dear...


1. BBC
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