Contextual and Theoretical Studies Week 7:The Gaze

Elisa Oliver - Reflecting on the extract viewed in the lecture from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' (1963) consider how you can identify Laura Mulvey's theory of the Gaze in operation. Remember she describes man as bearer of the gaze and woman as object of the gaze, she identifies ways in which the genders operate differently in developing the narrative and the way the use of the camera reinforces this. Think about the various ways of looking a being seen that occur in the Hitchcock extract.

I believe that the relation between 'The Gaze' and 'The Birds'is that woman is seen as something man really wants and the scene where the woman drops off a present in the man house and then the man realise what he found and gazes across the land and finally see's the woman in the boat, which to me means that man is presented as the bearer of wanting things so bad and that women are the things that men want really badly.

Contextual and Theoretical Studies Week 6:Follow Up To Hyppereal

Follow up questions re the Hyppereal by Elisa Oliver

Following on from our class discussion last week could you revisit your notes and the text we looked at and answer the following questions. Please use these questions as a point of consolidation of what we have done to date and as a launchpad of further research on the subject-particularly if you are looking to pursue this topic for your essay.

1. What does Baudriallard mean when he refers to the 'fullness' of the sign? And in contrast what does he then mean by the hyppereal?

2. How would you define the terms simulation and simulacra?

3. Why is Disneyland a 'third order simulation?

Re:Follow up questions re the Hyppereal by Ifraz Mohammed
1. What Baudriallard meant that the 'fullness' of the sign referring to how the sign represents the voice of the people and how it means something.

2. The definition of the terms simulation and simulacra are in comparison to how disney 2d creations to 3d creations of the cartoons creating similar characters but different perspective and how one can be physical and one can't.

3. Disneyland is referred to as a 'third other simulation' because it's 2d creation has been recreated in a 3d physical shape allowing interaction.

Contextual and Theoretical Studies Week 5:Hyperreal

Hyperreal by Elisa Oliver
Dear All-need to see some discussion on this-now that you have developed second life characters perhaps it has clarified the frame of references that are being used in constructing and 'virtual' life.

What frame of reference do you think Disneyland is using in its construction?

Why would Baudrillard have referred to this as 'hyppereal'?

Re:Hyperreal
Ifraz Mohammed
Honestly i din't get one bit of what you were talking about in class but after researching more into the subject i think that the frame of refrence of Disneyland being used in it's construction is that the whole idea is for us to interact and see how the concept of Disneyland is perceived from the cartoons if it was in front of you.

But if i'm wrong it would probably have been because of the information i had researched on.

Creative Industries Week 1:RSS Feeds Good or Bad

I believe that RSS Feeds to me are bad the reason is that it's purpose is to save time from going to each individual website by bringing that information to me, but by rarely using RSS Feeds i quickly learned that not only is there information from the sites you would normally view individually but extra info or junk comes with it.

If i was using this technology in the industries where it may be needed i see that unless you are researching into how much junk people wouldn't read then the RSS Feeds wouldn't help at all as they would waste that persons time by luring them into information they wouldn't need. It hasn't helped in my practice as when i do go to use it i get bored and miss that exploring through the different websites and how they're set up, for example a flash site is interactive as you explore through the site.

Games Week 2:Creations

On the left is an image of my avatar doing its created wave.

This image shows my avatar wearing the shirt i have created and imported into second life.

This image is of my avatars shirt from the back.

The Avatar:The Last Air Bender

This 30 second trailer is the latest footage of Avatar:The Last Air Bender and for myself this movie is going to be on my list to watch as i only finished watching the cartoon a couple of months ago and the film shows the similarity of its adaptation unlike some films which tend to go off in another direction when adapting cartoons to films however this film will be great from what i can tell from the 30 second i have seen.

Latest Clash of The Titans new Trailer

Each time i see a new trailer for this movie i can't wait for it to come out because only then i can have a full view on it but for now the trailer ahs shown me its a must watch film for this year.

Games Week 1:Second Life Screen shots

Here are a couple of screen shots i had taken whilst in second life that i found interesting or created.

This image is of the famous character Snoopy which looked really good in the exact look of the character from the cartoon.

This image is of a object created to show that an avatar has sprayed on the wall.

This image is of my created objects that were good, the chair and the two flags on its side.

Here is an image of a place where these impressive modeled cars are.

Again there are more impressive models in this area.

Creative Industries Week 9:Re-Review-Acceptable Aces 2?

Acceptable Aces 2?
From the Smokin' Aces1 I had a high expectation if the there was, for a second installment, would it live up to that expectation? With vast films there are alawys and expectation with sequel or prequels to the previous film, But over years aren't many that have exceeded ther first though.

The director of Smokin' Aces 1 and NARC comes a prequel to Smokin' Aces 1in which a FBI office worker finds out that a bounty has been put on his head which causes him to go into hiding whilst Assasins from all over the world are edging closer towards him.

I began noticing the same key points as Aces 1 and 2 which started the film as part of it's storyline where the glue to the story is that there is a bounty on someone's head, attracting assassins towards him. Once the story has begun the action from both films gives myself the insight on what type of characters they are simply from their killings for examle if the cut the person limb from limb they are a sadistic killer.

As the story continues I begin to see why there are so many differences between the two movies because of the type of actors to me aren't well known, besides Vinnie Jones and with some of the actors they weren't well known which to me caused no emotion or extra abilities towards Aces 2 as well as not enough backing in budget for more of a stand out production.

In Aces 2 there began a main focus point in whichthe FBI office worker has been sealed with a chamber underground and with the location set i began to believe that the focus point would be the killers going down each floor killing till they reach the end, the worker. But instead i notice that i was wrong when the hired assassins encounter each other causing a "shoot out", which causes only two or three of the left and seeing this I knew that the ending is looming

The final piece of the film finishes off with the remaining assassins trying to break into the bunker only for the FBI office worker to uncover that he was the one who lured the killers to him to kill them all as they were hired by the U.S. to do their dirty work and so he opens the bunker to release a grenade resulting in all the people around and in the bunker to be killed. However the end twist was yet to be uncovered and i found out that the office worker survived as well as two of the hired killers but as the scene draws to a close the FBI worker get in his car only for the leading agent who was protecting him, to arrive in front of his car and shoot the worker.

Now to answer the title Acceptable Aces 2?, I think you would have to examine some of the areas for example in it's repetitive storyline to Aces 1, the Aces 2 storyline had it's unique ending which has no faults in my mind, which causes me to think would repeating the same storyline again with a different and unique ending also be as good? As for some of it's weaknesses i have to say that the lack of action is a downside which could be a way to improve on to balance the film out with equal action to story, but after researching into what could have had an affect on this film i noticed that Aces 2 is a direct-to-dvd film causing a certain amount of budget which could be lower thatn it's previous film and the affect of budget could result in it's cost for special effects and big name actors.

To answer the question, was it acceptable... i would say yes but could have improved in the amount of time for action scenes and having the assassins have single encounters with each other rather than almost finishing them all off with a big battle. With the knowledge of this film being a direct-to-dvd causes a good point in why they had less of a action packed movie and that not all films are good with a sequel/prequel such as the film 'The Mask' which was a great film but got a bit of a damaged reputation from it's sequel 'Son Of The Mask' all in all i would give this movie a 65% out of a 100%.

Visual Language Week 11:Final Piece

Here is my final piece which was tricky to colour in using photoshop and illustrator.

Visual Language Week 11:Piet Mondrian

I have uploaded these images as i am going to use the Mondrian effect where he takes an image closes up to it again and again to eventually come out with a pattern.

Creative Industries Week 8:Review A Film, Game or Animation

The film I will be reviewing is Smokin Ace's 2 Assassins’' Ball is a direct-to-DVD action crime film, a prequel to the theatrical released Smokin Aces and is about a FBI office worker who has a bounty on his head which causes him to be a target for various assassins.

After watching the first Smokin Aces film I had high expectations on the second but realising that it would be a direct to DVD film I knew not to have high hopes as direct to DVD films are most of the time a flop and so I had the expectation that this would involve the same amount if not more of shooting assassinations but as I had seen the movie had minimum amount of assassination until you had the end scene which had the remaining assassins fighting it out against each other, where as the first movie had some assassins intercepting each other before the end causing multiple amounts of battles.

Comparing the storylines between the movies is similar in the fact that there were main people who had a bounty on their heads and had assassins after them whilst FBI agents were there to protect them and had a twist at the end, but my view is that with the storylines being really good the first movie was more better because the action scenes with the scenes were you found more out about the story, where as the second had a 2 or 3 interceptions and one quick final battle and with that the second film had it's moments such as the twist at the end and how it left the door open for another which would excite me if they live up to or improve from the first film.

There is a major difference between both films which cuts into how much they can achieve and that is the budget and with the second film being a direct-to-DVD film it has a lower budget causing a limit on special effects where as a theatrical release has a higher budget and also with a theatrical major acting names know that with a direct-to-DVD film there will only be a certain amount of people who would watch a direct-to-DVD film making the second film have a low standard because the budget and big named actors, which I only knew Vinnie Jones.

My overall judgment of the film is that it's a decent movie because with a brilliant storyline it’s only missing the improvements on the action scenes but the addition of Vinnie Jones known for his action movies could have given this film more action but instead had a lower role however the story had enough motive for it to be made but with a twist at the end had me wanting more and if they improve on the low standard action and more scenes involving the assassins I would watching another instalment in the Smokin Aces films but till then the first was definitely better then the second but being a direct-to-DVD film that’s would was half expected.

Visual Language Week 10:Sketches

Below are he sketches i had don showing the flowers and transition from flowers to buildings.

Visual Language Week 10:Hayao Miyazaki's Castle In The Sky

Laputa Castle In The Sky is a animated film by Hayao Miyazaki and in my previous blog i came across a image which resembled it and in doing so i researched the movie and came across some of the images i have linked which show this ancient building which to me was seen as an assist in what i am doing because it has this great old look from the amount of grenery you see.

These next two images are of the castle itself flying and how the medieval look stands out because there isn't a replica of it.

With this image you see more of the castles underbelly and how there is this ancient power from under powering the castle to fly and has that element of future technology embedded within the castle.

Again the castle but in it's first scene as the roots show the whole of the castle is lying with the tree and this image shows the medieval side again but shows strange shapes that go with the castle such as the shape of the wall or the castle itself, which got me thinking that i could use the strange shapes idea from how Mondrian came up with some of his work.

Visual Language Week 10:More artwork which could help in my development.

I had found a website called fantasyartdesign. com and i found some really interesting work

The image on the left was appealing o me as it shows this whole greenery feeling which i am thinking of using in my final image.

This next image on the left shows what i think is a huge city of mushrooms which seems like something that could be invisible to humans as it is low to the ground and seems believable.

The next image i had chosen is of a city wide view which has these spaceships flying in the sky which could resemble a futuristic view as it involves things you wouldn't normally see and the landscape is set really well to the point which it shows the majority of the city.

My next image was really in my face because of the fact that you could tell it was a building covered in this moss or greenery which could mean that there is no life or that the buildings have been there for centuries.

This image i saw as a medieval insight of what could be used so the plain but out-standing building with maybe a bit of landscape.

Another image which stood out was this image of a building, a futuristic building presumed by the aircrafts around it, which stood out because of the rare shapes and area around the image.

This final image made me remember a film which could show me how to cover building in moss and the film is Hayao Miyazaki's Castle In The Sky which is incredible with the story-line and the way the animation is created but what stood out was the greenery covering the centuries old buildings.

Visual Language Week 10:What am I Doing?

I began the project with the choice of doing the cityscape because i had already focused on character designs many times before and with this cityscape brief i didn't know what theme i would do, but after i had looked through different variations of building shapes i came across a building from the Abu Dhabi showed a resemblance to a et of roots intwined with each other growing upwards and then i began to research into flowers seeing some really interesting flowers that from their certain shapes i could benefit from.

Whilst working on the flowers shapes i remembered a previous piece of work i had worked on which was the work on Piet Mondrian, in which he had sketched trees and from those sketches gone one step closer and sketching that image and in which he eventually came up with a pattern and i thought i could use that theory to create some shapes for my buildings from the flowers i have sketched from.

And what i hope to achieve is a cityscape created from using Mondrian's theory and finding shapes from flowers and making buildings which will seem like they are ancient by covering them with greenery.

Spartacus Blood and Sand trailer

I had found out that there is going to be a TV show called Spartacus Blood and Sand and when i found the trailer i knew i would want to watch this and with already a second season requested before the first seasons premiered in America on January 22nd you know that it's as good as it looks.

Shrek Forever for After

I'm a fan of the Shrek series and it seems like the final one will be the Shrek Forever for After releasing in may 2010 but i also found out that there will be a spin-off for Puss in Boots and anyway here is the trailer for the fourth movie:

Clash Of The Titans Full Length Trailer

The full length trailer has been released and here it is:

Iron Man 2 Trailer

The Iron Man 2 trailer is now online i've only watched half of the trailer because quicktime froze on me but from what i've seen it looks awesome and if you want to view the trailer just click on the link below and i hope you enjoy:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/