Tuesday, 18 October 2011

'High Rise' - Gabrielle Russel, 2002

The short video 'High Rise', made in 2002 directed by Gabrielle features a mother of one, who appears to be suffering from post-natal depression. The young mother seizes her chance to perhaps change her life when her baby crawls towards an open window that could ultimately end in death.

The key element that stood out to me the most in the video was depression; how the video was slow in pace and gradually got more tense over time. The pace related/connoted how the mother was feeling, a slow, uneventful life that she wishes to escape from.

Sound was used highly effectively in this video and i found the technique Garbielle used was very interesting. The key moment that captured the essence of the video for me was when the mother walked out of her living room, leaving the baby alone in the room to effortlessly climb towards the open window. Ambience and tension rises as she approaches and exits the room, following with a sudden fade/cut-out of the sound when she closes the door. I found this highly effective and interesting because this technique clearly provides connotations of the mother's mind; she wanted to escape everything and believed that 'shutting everything out' was the best possible way.


Another technique in which i found creative and interesting was the use of a hand-held camera that created a dreamlike flow to the video. It kept the audience engaged and involved in the scene without making it too obvious that the camera was slowly swaying from side to side.

One final technique that has been used countless times yet is still highly effective, was the use of high panning/tracking shots in the beginning that showed multiple windows. The camera then focuses on one particular window and gives the audience a sense of that we're seeing just one of many different stories hidden behind one window. (Voyeurism)


Overall i enjoyed this video as it created a true sense of tension and emotion.

Thursday, 13 October 2011

'Christmas With Dad' 2008 Documentary

'Christmas With Dad' 2008 Directed by Conor Mccormack

The short documentary 'Christmas With Dad'(2008) has a variety of themes running throughout. Their is an element of 'poverty' within the family, this is emphasised through the use of shots that feature some of the children walking around practically nude with unclean faces. The theme of an uncertain future is clearly seen in this documentary, hand-held cameras help create a sense of naturalism i.e. the audience is potentially seeing a realistic representation of the family's lifestyle. The sounds used in this video mainly consisted around diegetic sounds. The non-diegetic sounds used in the documentary appear to be simple melodic tunes that connect one scene/shot to another. They work well with the given themes that run throughout the documentary.


The film's main focus is the idea of a poor standard of living, and how these people live compared to others. I enjoyed the video because it evolved around it's main theme effectively, it highlighted the difficulties the family are going through and showed their way of life. The video was successful in dealing with its subject matter due to the small 'interviews' and talks they included combined with natural shots of an 'average' day in the household.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

Lincoln bound!

A few of us drove to Lincoln on Friday night to stop in a friend's flat who's at Lincoln University. Went out and had an awesome night, got in ridiculously late!

I was thinking the other day that I'd really like to shoot some footage at my work in the cellar.. I work in a bar so i figure it could be a pretty interesting setting.

Just a picture from friday night :D wa'laa

Thursday, 6 October 2011

Interesting mini-movie

I REALLY like this short video and the way it transitions between life and death http://youtu.be/FxoEVw5prcE

Productive Lewis, what?

I've had a productive night! These happen every once in a blue moon :DD so Lew's completely changed his layout for this blogging site because quite frankly it was bleugh. Hmmmm what else? Well i've completed my 'homework' haha, (it doesn't feel right calling it homework, we're in Uni now not school) not that it bothers me!? Okay where was i... a'yus, rented out some sound recording equipment and walked around the house thinking of anything to record, if I'm lucky enough i'll have something decent to work with come Monday.

I've done more productive things but i'll spare you the boredom, back to listening to some Blink One Eighty Two (8)

Music 02 Academy

Went to see Bombay Bicycle Club at the O2 last night, quality gig :D!

Blah blah blah

If you're bored and looking for small doses of inspiration in making films, i'd recommend checking out 'FreddieW' on Youtube. He's this guy who mainly creates action videos but uses really cool equipment and locations to bring his videos to life, and that's not mentioning some of the special effects used in the majority of his videos

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=031Dshcnso4 for some short entertainment :)

My first blog..

So I've just signed up to 'Blogspot' and I'm guessing it's like Twitter, where i tell you all useless information that you probably don't care about aside from a few golden gems. Not too keen on the idea of blogging but hey'hoooo better get into the routine of it x)