Major Project - Idea Development

So i've decided not to run with the sketch show as i think it will prove to be too difficult to have sketches that are funny enough, and that retain interest for a prolonged period of time. Instead of this, i have now decided that i would like to run with Dylans idea of reviews.

I plan for there to be 15 one minute reviews, about various topics ranging from film to games to gadgets. Ideally i would like the broadcasting partner to be either Zoo or Nuts magasine websites, as these have a specific demographic who would likely be interested in the types of things i would be reviewing.

In terms of casting, i would like one person to do all the reviews, and i think for it to work with the website, it would have to be a stereotypically blokey bloke, or an attractive woman.

With regard to the location, i would like to have it in a kind of studio set up, with the background including the logo/branding of the broadcast partner, and potentially somewhere that readers/viewers of the magasine would associate with that magasine.

WBL Idea Development

Had a meeting with Charlie today, and discussed how he wants the video to look, and what he wants to be in it. He seems to have a very clear idea of content and style, which is good as it gives us a place to start from, instead of just being a case of wanting a video, but not having put any thought into it.

WBL Idea Development

I am going to be making a music video for a dubstep track by Charlie Malloy, who is a regular DJ at source bar, and also set up his own record label in 2008. He recently signed a contract with a distribution agency, and also had an interview on bbc radio about emerging music in kent.

His label is called Dubstrict Records, and its website is http://www.dubstrictrecords.co.uk/#

I'm looking forward to the challenge of making a music video as it different to what i have done before, and hopefully it will be a fun challenge!

Major Project - Idea Development

After discussing my idea for a sketch show with Simon today, i think it is going to be very difficult to produce something that is funny, and different to the other sketch shows that are out there. Especially as it seems to me that the newer the sketch show, the less funny it is!

This potentially means a change of plan for me. I liked Dylans idea for short reviews of things, ie films, phone apps, games etc.

FMP - Research Excercise

Today we were set the task of making a one minute film as research for the FMP, Dylan and I made a review of "The Inbetweeners Movie" and filmed it in a toilet as it was a bad review and we thought that having it in a toilet would exaggerate the poor nature of the film.

I learnt that it can be difficult to cut down to a certain time, so it is necessary to be ruthless with the footage as it was essential to meet the one minute time restraint.

Harry Potter - A Eulogy

It starts out so promisingly. A sinister introduction to the final film of the franchise, showing the students marching through the grounds of the once great Hogwarts. Once a safe home from home for many, the Hogwarts in this instalment is a quick reminder of how far in his quest against Voldemort Harry has come. With the castle surrounded by Dementors, there seems to be little hope that the Dark Lord could be defeated.

And that's where the enjoyment finished for me. I wish I could watch the film without constantly thinking "this is wrong" or "this wasn't in the book", but I couldn't, and that may be what ruined it for me.

I won't list the faults; instead I will focus upon the positive aspects of David Yates' final foray into Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Gringotts et al.

The performance of Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall, plays the leader of the Hogwarts staff rebellion against Voldemort with gleeful abandon, declaring "I've always wanted to use that spell" after bringing the statues surrounding Hogwarts to life.

Helena Bonham Carter, as usual, plays an incredibly evil Bellatrix Lestrange, and also quite a convincing Hermione under the influence of Polyjuice Potion.

Emma Watson also shows her skills as a fine young actress, and as usual her prowess as an actress far surpasses fellow Horcrux hunters Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. That being said, although not the best actors in the world, Radcliffe and Grint have come on leaps and bounds since their woefully wooden performances from the initial outing to Hogwarts in the “Philosophers Stone”.

The film does benefit from being back inside the familiar grounds of Hogwarts, with a sense of purpose and meaning. The film feels like it knows where it is going, as opposed to the almost meandering first instalment, which suffered through seeming to lack urgency.

I will mention some of the changes the film made from the book, as I feel it necessary to bring these to light, particularly the omissions the film makers made.

Harry announcing himself to everybody, including Snape, in the Great Hall did not occur in the book, and I’m not entirely sure as to why they have changed how he exposed his return to Hogwarts to McGonagall. The only reason I can think is that the film makers did not want to show Harry using an unforgivable curse such as the cruciatus curse, although they did show him using the imperius curse in Gringotts, and therefore I decided that this cannot be the reason.

Also, if they were trying to tug on audience heartstrings towards the end of the film by including Harry apologising to Lupin for his death following the recent arrival of his son, surely the sensible thing to do would be to have included the part of the book where Lupin arrives at Shell Cottage at the beginning and announces the birth of a baby son, and asks Harry to be Godfather.

The ending of the film let me down as well, due to the change in how Harry reveals that he is not dead. Why it was necessary for Harry to jump from Hagrid’s arms and then run through the castle instead of protecting his friends and loved ones from the Death Eaters, I will never know. All it makes me think is that the film makers wanted Harry to seem like he was scared and running away from Voldemort, as opposed to the courageous Harry in the book.

I will accept that there are parts of the book that would not have translated into film as well, for example the fight scene between Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange. As the majority of the action in the book is thought, and therefore not a time consuming part of the film.

I was disappointed in the film as I have read the book, and although all the films have strayed from J K Rowling’s original narrative, this is the film that I was most disappointed in. It is a case of if you haven’t read the book then you can’t miss what you never knew, but if you were an avid reader of the books then you may find yourself in the same boat as me.

The Pub Game Part 2