Lord of the Rings is EPIC

It's sort of the same feeling as looking up at a huge skyscraper, or standing in the middle of a huge arena and wondering, how did people make this? Watching the sheer concentration that goes into making a movie like Lord of the Rings is awesome. The knowledge necessary to creating a prodction like that is just as unique and complex as that needed to be a doctor. I've seen each Lord of the Rings at least four or five times now and I love them. It was just such a BIG movie. Lots of compelling wide shots and large sets with artistic design. The behind the scenes piece of Lord of the Rings that we watched was so cool, especially the sound making part. It's amazing how real and captivating a moment can be portrayed out of such artificial resources. Who knew that the sound of scattering skulls could be like walnuts?



When we watch movie's like this being made, I try to catch on to the techniqes used to make the film appealing. When we watched Citizen Kane we discussed transitions and clarified so many techniques that I've never analyzed before. One was that the sound of the woman from the next scene began playing in the transition before the next scene started. I realized that I see this all of the time in movies and how smoothly it allows scenes to change. My favorite part of the piece we watched from Citizen Kane was how the table got longer between the husband and wife as several scenes went rapidly by. That along with the newspaper represented problems coming between them.

When it comes to the short film that we will make in this class I get worried. I don't know how I'm going to avoid turning in a piece of crap. It's interesting to study all of these techniques and processes that go into making film, but I don't know how I'm going to use them. I've never done any kind of edited film making before. I know I sound super worried, but I am excited that I don't know how this is going to turn out. It might be crappy, or I might wind up impressing myself, either way it's going to be something I've never done before and something tells me I'm going to have fun with it. It won't be the next Lord of the Rings, but maybe I can find a way to utilize some of the things we've discussed in this class.

Genesis

Being born into the motion picture generation has drastically reduced my appreciation for the raw art of film. Seeing picture in motion is just so normal to everyone now. Film has taken over picture as the more apprectiated art form. Millions of people swarmed through the box office to catch Avatar in 3D but art galleries have become the setting for fancy parties with wine and cheese. The evolution of film will be the most interesting topic I have studied thus far in honors.

The most interesting idea to me that we discussed on Thursday was cross-cutting. I am so used to the concept of multiple things happening at the same time but being shown in sequence because I have grown up watching action movies where one person is disarming a bomb, the other person is saving the girl and the last person is fighting the bad guy. However, I never realized how revolutionary of and idea it actually was when it was originated. People were so astounded with video itself that simple everday experiences were captivating on film, but for extravagant plot lines like those in most filmed works today, cross-cutting is essential. Don't even get me started on Lost. That show needs ten story lines going on all at once...Charlie is addicted to heroin!! Locke is going down the hatch!! Jack has to save someone else!! It's really amazing how imaginative film has become. Sometimes it takes going back to the origin of something to truly apprectiate it, rather than being absorbed in the innovative present. Transformers and Avatar had some of the best special effects to date with the highest quality cameras, but I find that watching a fireman rescue from two points of view for the first time in 1933 to be much more intriguing.

I am amazed at how far cinema has come over almost the past century, and it will be super exiting to get to study it in a class. I can already tell how adventurous this class will be. Never before in a class has the instructor told everyone to get out their phones, leave the class room and film anything random. That alone showed me the liberation and freedom of expression we will be allowed in this class and nothing makes me more eagar to try my hardest than a class in which I can spread my wings a little. It'll be a great semester and I can't wait to get things rollin'. :-)