Video Tools:

Right now I have MPEG Streamclip and Windows Movie Maker on my computer. I have very very very little experience with MPEG Streamclip (trimming videos clips only) and no experience using Windows movie maker. (I did open my Windows Movie Maker for the first time this week, it seems like a easy tool to use, I guess I will find out soon!) I like to think I am a quick learner, so hopefully I will pick up on the tools of the trade fairly quickly.

 Look, Listen and Analyze the JOKER.)

Our assignment was:

You will now review the clip three times.

1. Before watching the first time, slide the volume on the clip (or on your computer) all the way down. Take notes on the visual aspects of the clip. Look for camera angles, cuts, how many times the camera switches view, the quality of light. Look for the ways the camera tells, guides the story.
2. Now turn the volume up, but play it without looking at the screen; just tune into the audio. Take notes on the pacing of the dialogue, the spaces in the the audio, the use of music or sound effects (think back to our work earlier on listening to audio).
3. Finally, watch the scene with the audio as normal. Pay attention to something you may have missed the first time or how the elements you saw in the first two steps work together.

VIDEO ONLY:

I noticed that as Batman was interrogating the Joker, the camera was always level with the Joker but sometimes looked up to Batman. (This made Batman look superior) During the interrogation the camera kept cutting back and forth between Batman and the Joker (rarely showing them both in the same screen). Towards the end when they were fighting the camera was consistently looking up to Batman and down to the Joker. (Clearly making Batman dominate to the Joker, I don’t think I have ever paid attention to the details of the camera angle before)

AUDIO ONLY:

This scene begins with banging sound effects and without actually seeing what was happening on the screen it sounded very strange. Then there was a little dialogue and more sound effects. I noticed that the spacing of the audio seemed more spaced out than I remember (I felt like it was all unfolding very slowly) Also, when just listening to the audio I noticed that when the Joker was talking there was strange background music playing (I never noticed this when watching the movie). Just listening to the audio was strange for a movie I have seen a few times, even though I had seen it I heard and noticed things for the first time while listening to the audio only.

VIDEO AND AUDIO:

The sound effect definitely made complete sense when watching the action that went along with them. Also when watching and listening, I did not notice and awkward pauses between audio (This is weird because the audio is EXACTLY the same, I guess it helped to have something to watch during the pauses) I did notice the music this time, but only because I was listening for it.

This assignment was really cool. I loved reading Ebert’s information about movie making techniques. Most of the ideas made total sense to me, I had just never thought about it before. Watching this scene 3 times and 3 different ways really helped draw out the details!

 Exploring the Dark Knight Even More

Using the Internet Movie Database I found some very interesting facts about the making of The Dark Knight! Here are somethings I found the most intriguing:

• This was the first time in feature film making that IMAX cameras were utilized.
• Blood is only ever seen three times on-screen: on the face of the civilian Batman that the Joker hangs, on Harvey’s pillow in the hospital, and on Batman’s arm due to the dog attacking him; most of the violence either occurs off-screen or is obscured by camera angles. (I’m guessing this helped it to be rated pg-13 instead of R)
• An explosion filmed for the movie in London caused local residents to panic, they thought they were under a terrorist attack
• The date seen on the security camera photo of The Joker taken during the bank heist reads “2008/07/18″ (US release date of film)
• The IMAX cameras used in filming proved to be problematic for the crew. Dialog that was recorded on film is very noisy so it had to be replaced after the filming. An IMAX camera is very heavy and it cannot be used hand held. Instead, special mounts had to be created to support the weight. Finally, they had to get the shots right as it takes 5 days to process the negative instead of the conventional negative.
• While the movie was filming a chase scene on Lake Street, the Chicago Police Department received several calls from concerned citizens stating that the police were involved in a vehicle pursuit with a dark vehicle of unknown make or model.
•  Trouble arose during a PR campaign before the movie’s release,when a website related to the film sent out several cakes purportedly from The Joker, containing a cell phone inside which made the cake vibrate, and had wires sticking out, making the cake look like a bomb. One such news station which received one of the cakes, believed it to be an actual terrorist act, and the entire building had to be evacuated. (WTF? This is awful…and funny. DISCLAIMER: I do NOT thing real acts of terrorism are funny)
• The first film shot with IMAX to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography

I would classify this film as an action movie, http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html defines an “action” movie as:

“Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional ‘good-guy’ heroes (or recently, heroines) battling ‘bad guys’ – all designed for pure audience escapism.”

This is definitely a good guy (Batman) versus bad guy (The Joker) scenario with plenty of exciting chases and fights. The Joker is a criminal mastermind who has been causing chaos in the city of Gotham and terrifying the citizens. Batman’s goal is to bring him down and restore the peace in Gotham.

I love the scene where the Joker crashes the party! I really like how the camera is circling around the Joker and the woman, I think this adds a major dramatic effect. And the scene where Batman is interrogating the Joker gives the illusion that the Batman is dominate to the Joker by the angle of the cameras. I chose these two scenes for the montage because in the first the Joker is dominate and confident and in the second Batman is dominate to the Joker.

Daily Creates!

The Big storm of Elephants.

Stormy Weather – Show us your best photo or representation of The Big Storm.

October 30, 2012

During Sandy we never lost power so my roommate and I just cuddled up and watched movies for a few days.

Forced perspective – make something small look big, or big look small.