Thor: The Dark World – FX

As an avid Marvel follower, I spent a portion of my weekend at the theater watching Thor: The Dark World. I must say, this movie was quite exceptional. So exceptional, in fact, that I saw it again last night. Among it’s many wonderful qualities, I have to give a shout out to the Visual and Special Effects Teams.

Thevisual effects in Thor: The Dark World were phenomenal, so much so, I often couldn’t tell what was real and what had been added in post-production. This team did an amazing job creating a virtual world that fit perfectly into the confines of our physical world. A few of my favorite visual and special effects included the color enhancement, the combination of studio and green screen effects and the use of depth of field.

Color Enhancements

Whether or not Thor’s VFX team used color enhancements is not a debatable argument. Often even the slightest color enhancement (or even a simple white balance) in a film can mean the difference between Thor’s cape being crimson instead of fire engine red. In most clips the color enhancements are meant to make keep continuity throughout the film. However, the home planet of the Dark Elves had to be significantly enhanced to achieve the effect director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, The Sopranos) was hoping for.  

As you can see, Malekith (the villain) wears dark charcoal/black clothing, paired with a lighter tan/off-white. This blends well with the visual environment created for his home planet, but the VFX team had to make sure the color of his costume stayed consistent throughout the “normal” colored scenes as well. I believe they did a fantastic job with this.

Set and Green Screen

As I mentioned before, the combination of green screen effects and physical sets in Thor: The  Dark World was exceptionally well paired. There were several moments in watching the film that I wondered to myself what could be real and what couldn’t be. I must say, I over calculated the number of visual effects used because some of the set pieces built for Thor seemed too elaborate.

For example, this scene is was altered much less in post-production than I initially thought. Obviously the blue screen in the  background allowed for the VFX artists to create a longer and more repetitious palace. However, a while later we see the inside of the ship is so elaborately technical and futuristic that it could have only been done in post-production. As with the first Thor, I was also thoroughly impressed with the realistic depiction of Asgard. The palace is just the same as it use to be, and even the Bifrost (though they fail to mention how it was rebuilt) is up and running. As the picture below shows, the Bifrost (and most of Asgard) is added in post-production.

Depth of Field

As an amateur filmmaker myself, I love when I notice special effects done by camera operators to enhance the story. Among the many special effects used in Thor was a visually appealing use of depth of field. The first time I see a movie is usually just for the story, and whether or not I want to watch it again. Once I have determined I will watch it again, I enjoy looking at framing, camera composition, and depth of field.

Within the first fifteen minutes of watching Thor: The Dark World I noticed a rack focus that changed the depth of field. This change was so subtle that I had completely missed it until halfway through the scene. Thor speaks with Oden on a balcony, and the camera operator very smoothly shifts focus from one man to the other. This is such a small change, but it makes a sizable difference in who the audience gives their attention to. It is the camera’s way of saying “hey, look here next. It’s important.” This technique of rack focusing for depth of field continues throughout the rest of the film in subtle, yet important ways.

For more photos and a full synopsis, visit Flicks and Bits blog, or take the night off and visit your local theatre!

This Is Halloween!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

In honor of this awesome holiday, I wanted to bring back some great childhood Halloween memories. Here is a “Throwback Thursday” list of my favorite old Halloween movies. Enjoy!

Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire

A great Disney classic. Nothing like watching your mom go on a date to a carnival with a vampire and knowing there is nothing you can do to save her….

Under Wraps

I caught the tail-end of this movie last week and couldn’t help but laugh. The mummy is so comical and lovable.

Ernest Scared Stupid

I must admit, this movie actually scared me stupid when I was a kid. Look at those creepy trolls! They still freak me out…

When Good Ghouls Go Bad

I very vaguely remembered this movie, because they haven’t played it on television for a number of years. What I did remember: Christopher Lloyd is dead. Christopher Lloyd is not dead. Skeleton-looking guy with glowing green eyes. Yeah, Christopher Lloyd is dead. It’s a great story though! Sort of reminds me of ParaNorman…

                             

Halloweentown

How can I make this list without mentioning Halloweentown? It’s impossible. Just the right amount of fun and scare for a Disney Halloween movie.

The Addams Family Movies

Honestly, I love all the Addams family movies. I mean, goth families in old dusty mansions with a human hand for a pet? What’s not to love!

     

The Little Vampire

Who doesn’t love this kid? I always loved the idea of the child vampire actually being a good kid. Vampires need friends too…

Casper Movies

What can I say? I love this friendly ghost. The great cast of characters just made it even more worth while.

        

Nightmare Before Christmas

What I love about this movie, aside from the fact that it’s Tim Burton’s, is that it works on both Halloween AND Christmas! This is also what my parents hate about it. I have loved this movie ever since my parents bought it for me a few years after it came out. I was probably only 5, and I’m not sure why my parents thought that was a good idea, but I LOVE it!

 

Movies of 2013

2013 is almost over! There have been an abundance of films released this year, and still a few yet to come before the year’s end.

Incase you missed them, here are some of the most popular (or still most anticipated) films in 2013.

Most Popular Movies of 2013

• Thor: The Dark World
• Ender’s Game
• Las Vegas
• Free Birds
• Frozen
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Gravity
• The Conjuring
• The Christmas Candle
• Fast & Furious 6
• Pacific Rim
• Man of Steel
• This Is The End
• We’re the Millers
• Elysium

Here are some movies that didn’t strike the film critic’s interest.

Worst Reviewed Movies of 2013

• Getaway
• Paranoia
• Scary Movie 5
• The Host
• Grown Ups 2
• After Earth
• Safe Haven
• The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
• R.I.P.D.
• A Good Day to Die Hard
• Identity Theif
• Lone Ranger
• Kick Ass 2
• Admission
• The Fifth Estate
• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

If you have seen any of these, do you agree with the critics? I definitely have a difference in opinion *cough*The Host*cough*…

If you haven’t, go out and form an opinion for yourself! 🙂

Information provided by Movie Insider.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Evolution of Movie Trailers

For those of you who have been paying attention to the movie trailers for the new Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie, here are some interesting changes in the film’s trailers.

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, shame on you. 😉 Oh and SPOILER ALERT!

Below is one of the first full-length Catching Fire movie trailers to be released:

As those of you who read the books will notice, this trailer shows the beginning conflict of the Victory Tour. It also shows the main underlying conflict of Katniss’ representation of rebellion against the Capitol. This trailer is a great overview of the film’s main ideas. The plot line and the emotion are front and center, with little physical action.

Next, this Catching Fire trailer was released a few months later:

Alright, this trailer is a bit more revealing.

In case you forgot, The Annual Hunger Games continue in Panem.

This trailer gives you the basics of what to expect. You guessed it, Katniss and Peeta are headed back into the arena. Personally, I wish they would have held off on showing this portion of the movie a little longer. For those who read the books, it’s not a surprise at all. For those who haven’t, I bet this trailer was a little confusing. But hey, there was more action in this trailer!

Finally, this Catching Fire trailer was released during the World Series yesterday:

Wow! Now that’s intense!

This trailer moves completely past the emotional side of Katniss’ family and straight to the action of the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Not only do we see Katniss at home and on tour, but the trailer opens with an awesome/confusing clip of her at the top of a tree.

Awesome if you have read the book. Confusing if you have not. ‘Why is Katniss up in a tree shooting her bow at the sky?’you may ask.

You will just have to see Catching Fire to find out!

“Carrie” – New & Improved

Reboot of the Original Film?

The new adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Carrie, has been getting much less credit than it deserves.

Carrie opened on October 18th to a modest audience and some angry fans of the previous film. Of course, angry fans must be anticipated with a reboot like this, BUT Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie far from your average reboot.

Modern Adaptation of the Novel

Peirce’s Carrie, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, is a modern adaptation of King’s original novel. This story sticks closer to King’s plot and excludes the nonsensical or confusing elements brought in by the 76′ Carrie.

Differences Between 1976 & 2013 Carrie

• Setting

  • Both of these films are set in the present, but the present is very different for the two. Setting the new Carrie in the 1970s would, no doubt cause a loss of Box Office revenue. Because, what teenager in 2013 can relate to the bullying of someone in 1976? With the invention of social media and wide spread use of the internet, bullying in the 21st century is much more brutal.

• Bullying Is A Main Theme

  • In relation to the Setting:
  • In the 76′ film, Carrie is bullied in the girls locker room but the bullying does not escalate much until the prom.
  • In the 13′ film, Carrie is not only bullied in the locker room, but video taped and taunted endlessly. The antagonist then proceeds to create a Youtube page for Carrie and post the video of her on the internet.
  • The new Carrie shows just how far bullies of the 21st century are willing to go, and the affects that can have on the victims.

• No Nudity

  • Was this really necessary to begin with? Carrie’s nudity in the 76′ film was unnecessary and completely irrelevant. In the new film, Carrie wears a towel in the locker room (like a normal high school girl) making the scene much more believable.
  • Seriously. Who walks around a high school locker room completely naked?

• Moments Clarified

  • In the first film, it is not really evident that Sue’s intentions of sending her boyfriend to prom with Carrie are completely innocent. This version makes it seem as though Sue is just telling her boyfriend to ask out the Outcast.
  • In the 13′ film, we see more sides of the story than just Carrie’s. We actually see Sue’s explanation to her boyfriend and he explains it much better to Carrie.
  • The 13′ film also includes Sue’s pregnancy, which is only addressed in the book.

Peirce’s Carrie is a different perspective of King’s book, and definitely worth taking the time to see. REGARDLESS of whether you liked the 76′ Carrie or not.

Movie Mistakes

Sometimes Movies Make Mistakes

Directors, Producers, PAs, Editors…. They’re people too!

For your entertainment, (and provided by everyone’s favorite Internet Movie Data Base) I have listed some interesting mistakes in a few classic movies. Now you know what to look for the next time you have a movie marathon!

Chinatown

The scene where Gittes crashes into a tree in the Orange Grove, the camera captures the steel plate used to protect the tree. On the bright side, the crash is obviously real!

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indy must step on the stones with letter spelling out Iehovah (In the Latin alphabet, Jehovah begins with an I instead of a J). Indy realizes his mistake when he steps on the J first to find it crumble under him. When he climbs back up, he rests his weight on the letters surrounding J. These letters should have collapsed because they are not in the name Iehovah.

Back to the Future

While Marty is being chased by the Libyans, the camera cuts from Marty to the instruments in his car, and back. The next time this happens, we see that the instruments in the car have completely changed.

The Wizard of Oz

While Dorothy and the Scarecrow are fighting with the trees, there is a cut where Dorothy does not have on the ruby slippers.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

In the end when Jack finally gets to captain the Pearl, he yells to the crew “On deck, you scabrous dogs!” Just as Jack says this, there is a Grip crew member visible in the background.

So there you have it! Next time you see these movies, keep an eye out for these slip-ups.

Just remember,

Everybody makes mistakes.

Cinematography In Indiana Jones

Have you noticed?

These camera shots are beautiful!

The Indiana Jones films have always been among my top favorite movies of all time. My favorite of the four is the third, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Since I loved these moves from such a young age, I never really appreciated them for the beautiful creations that they were.

Here is what I am noticing in the first film; Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

• When we meet Marion for the first time. Jones enters and we see his shadow, towering over Marion before we actually see Jones. The lighting in this scene is impeccable. I believe this is when we really see Jones for who he is, outside of the archeology and the classroom, of course.

• In the next scene, Jones leaves Marion and she shows the audience the pendant of her father’s. There is a one shot with a candle burning in the foreground, but it is blurry. Marion’s face is in focus behind it, creating a very nice depth of field.

• Jones brings the monkey and his friend Sallah to get the pendant translated, and the monkey dies from eating a “bad date.” The shot of the monkey on the ground while the fan spins slowly above him is very visually beautiful and symbolic. I believe the slowly spinning fan may represent the that life will move on, regardless of whether one lives or dies.

• Next Indy finds the true location of the Ark of the Covenant. The establishing shot of his men digging while he observes on the top of the hill, with the orange dusk  background is fantastic. What a shot. The profile of Indy shows continuity with the rest of his “Shadow Shots.”

 

 

“I’m going after that truck.” – Indy

“How?” – Sallah

“I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.” – Indy

And, of course, I can’t finish this blog without talking about what I like to call the “Wranglers Commercial.”

I’m sure everyone remembers this sequence. Jones goes after the truck which carries the Ark of the Covenant. In the process, he ends up on the front of the truck, about to be smashed by another vehicle. So what does he do? Well he goes under the truck of course! Tying his whip to the axel of the truck and being drug behind for much longer than seemingly possible. I call this the “Wranglers Commercial” for obvious reasons. Look at his pants. They don’t have a scratch! You would think being drug along on a gravel road would do a little damage, but nope! Those are some damn nice jeans.

“The Tomorrow People” Better Than Expected!

Spoiler Alert!

The best part about the premier of “The Tomorrow People?”

They address the stupid name in the first fifteen minutes. “We’re the Tomorrow People. And no, we did not choose the name…” Thank you Peyton List. After this, I was able to look past the silly name and really pay attention to the story.

The Story:

Though not entirely original, “The Tomorrow People” does look very promising. The story, focusing on Robbie Amell‘s character Stephen, is about a young man who is on the verge of discovering he has special powers. Sounds a little cheesy, sure, but in their defense, the pilot episode proved they were not just another “cookie-cutter” super-power show. The story follows Stephen, who lives with his mother and brother, hinting at an absent/deadbeat dad. He keeps waking up in his neighbor’s bed; awkward, considering his neighbor is married… He meets a group of people called The Tomorrow People (eye-roll) who posses the powers of teleportation, telekinesis, and telepathy. Of course, someone is after these people, and as we find out at the end of the episode, this man happens to be Stephen’s uncle (dun dun duuun). Over all, I was actually very impressed with the way the storyline played out, and even decently surprised a few times!

The Villain:

This guy.

Mark Pellegrino

Man, Pellegrino plays a convincing villain. Always.

First there was “Lost”

Then “Supernatural”

“Revolution”

“Being Human”

and who could forget about “Dexter?”

I could go on and on. My point: he’s a great villain. I am looking forward to seeing how this Pellegrino makes this villain different from his other typical characters.

Amell Wednesdays:

                           

Robbie Amell                                                                         Stephen Amell

First of all, I LOVE Amell Wednesdays. I don’t know if you have heard, but these two boys just happen to be related, and it shows! It was tough to get past that fact throughout the Pilot episode, because the two of them have such similar mannerisms in their acting styles.

At any rate, I look forward to seeing the two share a night (and compete with each other, perhaps?).

“The Originals” – Not so Original?

Did anyone catch the new series “The Originals” last week?

The new series premiered on The CW last Thursday, October 3rd, right after the season premier of “The Vampire Diaries.” This show is a spin-off of The CW’s ever popular show “The Vampire Diaries (TVD),” and boy, did it show. As a religious  viewer of TVD, I found this series premier to be somewhat boring. The Originals was not just similar to TVD, it was practically indistinguishable. The episode felt like an extension of the series, rather than a introduction to a new story. A show like this will certainly have its Pros and Cons.

Pros:

• TVD has a HUGE following. “A spin-off of my favorite show? Of Course I’ll watch it!”
• TVD followers will enjoy that it is visually and emotionally similar to TVD.
• If you haven’t watched TVD before you watch “The Originals,” you might be interested in catching up.

Cons:

• If you do not watch TVD, the pilot episode of “The Originals” is bound to be confusing. “Who are these people? Oh, he’s not scary at all…”

• If you do watch TVD, a good ten minutes of the pilot episode is a repeat of the last few episodes of TVD and the “sneak peaks” The CW has been showing all summer.
• TVD viewers saw few surprises. There were a couple, but nothing as earth-shattering as you would expect from the writers of TVD.

All in all, I am sure the series will become a nice extension of the “Vampire Diaries” world, but I am not sure how original it will be. Only time will tell.

And what about that new series premiering this week, “The Tomorrow People?” Who came up with that name, anyways? I guess I will have to watch it and find out!

Media Creation

I am a media creator, consumer, and commentator.

Although I have only recently began creating media, I believe I am on my way to producing quality media products. Last year I was enrolled in a Digital Audio, where we created two different audio stories; one about a place and the other an interview with a community member. Though I am more interested in Digital Video than Audio, I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn the basics. As a Theatre major, I chose to interview my theatre professor/mentor, David Walker.

David is the Resident Designer and Production Coordinator at Buena Vista University and the Technical Director of the Advanced Directing Showcase. This story features the Directing Showcase and David’s work with the directing students because the interview took place just a few days after the premier of the showcase. I believe this Audio Interview is a good example of my work as a media creator as well as a media commentator.

Looking back on this Personality Profile, there are a few things I would do differently now that I have more media experience. In one instance, I would have liked to find a better opening audio file. The first two seconds of the story consist of lowering the lights in Anderson Auditorium and inserting a color gel into a light. This file begins a little louder and more forceful than I would prefer. I had a difficult time finding interesting audio to insert, and I should have consulted David to see if he had more interesting ideas.

After listening to this Personality Profile a few times, I realize it could have been better written for news or journalism. It takes too long to come to the main point of the story: The Directing Showcase. This topic could have been brought up much earlier and briefly explained, then covered again after introducing David.

Aside from my own critiques, I welcome you as a reader to give me your own feedback! I am very interested in hearing other opinions (aside from mine) and ideas from fellow media creators, consumers, and commentators.