Rant: World Tosh?

Ignorance. It's extremely annoying. There seems to be a sort of prejudice against world cinema simply because it's, well foreign and in a different language with subtitles crawling along the bottom of the screen. Come on people, lighten up!

Some of the best films of the past two decades have been foreign features ranging from Zhang Yimou's beautiful, magical films like 'Hero', 'House of Flying Daggers' and the tragic epic 'Curse of the Golden Flower' to the charming and witty 'Amelie'. Over this time, the foreign features released in the Western world have gradually got more adventurous and bigger, allowing versatile auteurs and directors a chance to see their films enjoyed by worldwide audiences.

As long as the quality of film is high in areas such as acting, directing and cinematography, why should it matter if the story is not told in a universal language. The fun, no, the privilege comes from getting to see all types of films and seeing different viewpoints.

Festivals of Hope

In 1993, Spanish director Guillermo del Toro in desperation took his unusual vampire fable 'Cronos' to the Cannes Film Festival. This was his last chance to raise some money, after selling nearly everything he owns and remortgaging his house in order to make his dream project become a reality. Luckily, the film was a huge success and was praised for its originality and went on to scoop the Best Picture award, one of the festival's highest honours. From here Del Toro was able to make more films and still premieres at Cannes with his Spanish masterpiece 'Pan's Labyrinth' being his most recent effort.

The main aim of Cannes and other film festivals such as Sundance, Edinburgh, London, Berlin and Venice, just to name a few is to give aspiring filmmakers a chance to showcase their talent and get their films out there. Usually the films are looking for financial backing and can be brought for as much as £8 million depending on quality. Other directors that are already well known and successful such as Clint Eastwood for example, showcase their films to see what type of reaction they get, if they can make any changes or cuts and how they can be marketed.

The juries at the Festivals are often comprised of established film directors, actors/actresses, screenwriters and cinematographers among others. Its a wide variety and allows the films to be seen from all different technical points of view, making the judging fair and unbiased. Over the last few years, the festivals have been getting bigger and bigger, gaining publicity and getting more people's work noticed and distributed around the world.

Hopefully, the festivals can gain even more coverage and help budding filmmakers get noticed by worldwide audiences.
Signing out, Josh :)

And so the stress begins..

Another term, another new topic to force us writhing in agony and sighing in anguish. As soon as we sat down in the classroom we were told of the unfortunate following weeks that was to be plagued upon us. Six weeks of grueling research in school and then another six weeks during our summer holidays. This meant that i would have approximately 2.5 hours of sleep to live on if i wished to pass this exam.

The task began by picking one of a potential six topics which would have to be religiously researched for up until the next exam, with us becoming the "experts" of that topic. Being a film studies student, my eye was straight away drawn to the film topics of 'Women and Film' or 'World Cinema'. After much discussion with myself and my teachers, i decided on 'World Cinema' as this is something that has interested me over the last couple of years.

Next came the part of actually making a hypothesis which would be my question for the exam. This again involved lots of thorough chats with peers and teachers. Finally though i managed to come up with a basic hypothesis (remember its a very rough one at the moment) of:

How independent foreign language films are gaining high profile status through specific marketing tools such as festivals.

So this is where I'm up to at the moment, but any new bits i find ill keep on posting.
Cheers big ears :)

Home Cinema Renovation?

Try and remember the old days of VHS instead of shiny, new DVDs or even cassettes instead of CDs. Think of the trauma and heartbreak you went through about having to replace your whole collection with the 'Next Big Thing'. Those amazingly sleek and thin discs that were able to skip scenes, return to the menu and all that jazz. They were revoluntionary and groundbreaking, everyone wanted them,

But what about the poor souls like you and me who didn't want to throw out or trade our clunky VHS films? After years of collecting everything from Disney classics to The Godfather Trilogy, us select few cherised VHS for nostalgia sake and didnt want to part with them.

However, times change and countless DVDs were brought and they became the newest treasures of my bedroom. So think of the cheek of influencing me to conform to the new format design and then to just take that all away again after a few years, by introducing the brand new and even better Blu-Ray discs. Once again i have been asked to change formats and replace my second collection of films.

Where's the justice in that?!

Do you agree with me?
Or would you rather upgrade?
Comments please :)

What exactly is this Blu-Ray?

So im sure you have all heard about the new, shiny and absolutely amazing Blu-Ray DVDs. But have you been secretly wondering what the hell it is?

Well here is THE only guide you will need to all your Blu-Ray queries.

Containing the same dimensions as a standard DVD or CD, the Blu-Ray discs use a blue-violet laser making it possible to hold up to 50 GB, six times as much storage as a normal DVD. which uses a red laser. This is because the blu-ray discs use a much shorter wavelength, therefore able to store more information. In addition to this, the disc is also fitted with hard coating technology which make the disc far less vulnerable to scratches.

Blu-Ray also benefits the studio companies as the discs are able to fit all content on one disc which, reduces cost and makes it easier for the customers who can watch all content in one viewing without having to change the disc.

So would you buy a Blu-Ray discs or would you rather stick to the standard (cheaper) DVDs?

Joshua out :)

And the winner is.........

After months of battling discs and fighting players, a winner has emerged from the rubble of DVD formats.

And that winner is...... BLU-RAY

Yep that means that Blu-Ray discs and players will now be the leading DVD format that will soon replace standard DVDs. Whereas the unfortunate HD-DVD is going the same way as the Betamaxes of the past.

Blu-Ray was always winning the battle from the start really. By February 2008 they had already acquired 70% of the biggest film studios. Sony, Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, MGM and Lionsgate had already agreed to have their films released on Blu-Ray, while the less superior HD-DVD had only been signed by 30% of studios, these being Paramount/DreamWorks, and Universal.

Blu-Ray is run by Sony who were stuck in a format war with Toshiba's HD-DVD, that is until Toshiba decided to pull out and admit defeat to Blu-Ray.

Here is a short fan made clip about the dramatic war :)



Do you agree with the winning format?

Step Up Magazine

Over the weeks me and my group have been working on our coursework for magazines.
Below i have posted my finished front cover and also the first draft of my article.
Please leave comments
Shaun Anthony.
Remember the name, because you’re going to be hearing it a lot more over the coming year.
Discovered on the streets of London outside VocalTech College, Shaun was frantically rehearsing for a singing exam when a passer-by heard him and asked him to come along for a meeting straight away. Little did Shaun know that man was Darren Brown, producer of a top international recording artist and singing sensation. Nervously he followed Darren Brown and minutes later he found himself singing to of one of his idols, Lemar.
“It was an absolutely amazing experience and a nerve-racking one too,” Shaun says smiling broadly. “One minute I’m stressing over a little exam and the next, I’m standing in front of Lemar belting out Lets Get It On.”

As Shaun walks towards me in our meeting place, he is instantly noticeable. Dressed in cool, stylish clothes and with his well-groomed features, he’s able to turn a few heads as he walks in. He has that certain air of professionalism and a down to earth manner, which hopefully will help him keep his feet on the ground and away from all night parties and Amy Winehouse like antics. As we get talking, Shaun changes from cautious to lively and animated in a couple of sentences. He talks with such passion about music and his love for all aspects of it, its impossible not to be swept along and inspired and feel a need to really like this guy.

“Stevie Wonder was a real inspiration to me and he influenced my love for real music. I really wanted to emulate him as an artist and get to his level of appreciation of music.” Although Stevie Wonder inspired him to continue singing and brought about his love for the genre, it was American singer/songwriter Brain McKnight who is his one true idol. “He’s able to take all genres of music and make it sound current and fresh. With this he inspired me to try out new things and have range in my music.” The son of an Italian cabdriver and an English teacher, Shaun has always had the support that enables him to go out and increase his talent and perform to anyone who would listen. ”My parents had always enjoyed music themselves and I was brought up to the sounds of legends like Stevie, but also Elvis and Billie Holliday.” He began singing at the early age of four and was encouraged to continue with his dream. His parents enrolled him in Theatre Training at the age of six and he steadily began building a career of stage performances and competitions. “Singing and performing has always been my main ambition, it’s all I have ever known. It isn’t a hobby or a pastime, it’s a dream and a passion and one that I wish to always continue with.” So is this his only ambition? Not quite. “To be able to coach and teach other aspiring singers would be great. I’ve been where they are and know how much it can take out of you; so just having someone there to help is a huge lift.” This draws comparisons to what Lemar has done for him, taking Shaun under his wing and asking him to be his supporting act on his last tour. So is this the road that Shaun wants to take in a few years time, after his own success? “Yeah, defiantly. I would love to bring other talented artists to the mainstream that may be struggling to get noticed. I think it’s a major problem in the UK with a lot of amazing artists being ignored and other untalented artists getting all the attention.”
Shaun is now well known on the gig circuit and regularly sings at London bars such as Soho Revue Bar and Troubadour. “I’ve been doing the gig circuit, like open mic nights for around four or five years, ever since I was sixteen” he smiles. “It’s a great chance to get your stuff out there, find the right sound and discover who the audience are. Its an experience and just allows me to perform and sing, which is of course what I love.” He is known throughout the circuit for his powerful and soulful voice, reminding the audience of the old days when music was about the lyrics as much as it was the beats. Covering a range of musical genres from soul and jazz to pop and rock, Shaun tries to draw inspiration from all types of music and this is where his edge comes from. He has the ability to fuse sounds together to make unique and refreshing songs that really break the barriers of modern music. On first hearing Shaun sing, it’s hard not to confuse him with say, Lemar or a black singer, simply because of the soul and nature of his voice. This is surely down to his inspirations and influences over the years, which have developed his voice. But is this somehow limiting his audience? Shaun smiles like he recognises the question, being asked it countless times before. “No, I don’t think it does. If anything, it broadens my fan base and enables me to connect with all types of audiences, be it Black, White or Asian.”

Today’s music culture is shrouded in talk of drink, drugs and all night partying. There are artists who’s sales are boosted when they admit to being a drug addict or involved in some sort of sex scandal. Take Amy Winehouse for an obvious example, someone who is brilliant in every aspect of the word singer, but still resorts to drinking excessively and taking hard drugs. But even with all the controversy and the media surrounding her, she still manages to increase her sales and reclaim the top spot in the album charts. “It’s terrible and disappointing really. She has some really great music and is very talented but she is just throwing it all away and setting a bad example for youngsters everywhere.” The behaviour of youth culture has often been blamed on the influence of recording artists for promoting and glorifying violence in their songs and posing with guns on their album sleeves. “Yes, totally agree. Music can play a major part in influencing young and naïve teenagers to do stupid things such as posing with guns to mimic their idols, or like 50 Cent talking about being shot nine times like its something to be proud of. It’s evident in today’s music and shows the ideologies that being put forward, like rapping obscenities about women and the hundred conquests they have had; there’s no respect.” Shaun shakes his head and its clear that this is something he feels strongly about and wants to stop. “More and more kids are getting shot on the street for no reason. There’s no love. My songs are all about the love. I don’t mean to sound too clichéd, but they are to do with love, not war. Hopefully people can listen to my music and appreciate the heart and soul put into it and the message of love”

Shaun and I then get to talk about what is setting up to be one of the most anticipated debut albums of the year. By releasing samples of his records on Myspace and singing a few of them in clubs in and around London, it wets everyone’s appetite and leaves them begging them for more. “Truthful, energetic and soulful.” These are the three words that Shaun would use to describe his debut album Fragile. “ Inspiration comes from anything in my world really from life experiences, to simply sitting on a bus and looking out of the window. Just noticings in life.” Noticings? Shaun looks at me and realising what he said, we have a small snigger and Shaun proudly proclaims “Yeah, noticings”,

As our interview together ends, we shake hands goodbye and Shaun Anthony, future global superstar walks out of the café humming a tune to himself and I think back on something he mentioned earlier, “ Singing is my passion, it’s my life.” And I wish him all the best.

Magazine Coursework

Just a quick link to our group's magazine blog.
Enjoy :)

More of Annie Leibovitz Work

Below are more of Annie Leibovitz's photographs which are my personal favourites.

A photo shoot with the cast of The Sopranos.


Some of the biggest actors in the film industry, including Sylvester Stallone, Forest Whitaker and Robert Downey Jr.



And of course Jack Nicholson in his dressing gown :)

Annie Leibovitz's Newest Photoshoot

In class we have been looking at magazine covers and some influential photographers in the magazine industry. Some of my favourite portraits and photos have been done by Annie Leibovitz who has been in the business for quite some time and is well known for her striking images such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono cuddling and Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk.
Her newest photographs are for a Disney ad campaign which features actresses such as Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johansson and Whoopi Goldberg dress up as classic Disney characters with stunning backgrounds and props. Once again Leibovitz doesn't fail to impress.

Here is couple of the best shots:



Here is a link to the rest of the photos. Go look!

A Tribute To Heath Ledger

At the beginning of last week Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment, naked and surrounded with pills aged just 28. The autopsy reports have since been said to be inconclusive and the origins of this tragedy still unknown. News of the death spread tremendously quickly on the internet and news shows around the world. Rumors began circulating that he was at Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment (which was later denied) and that he committed suicide with a drug overdose.

Ledger had fairly recently split from his fiancee and fellow actor Michelle Williams who he shared a two year old daughter with. Ledger was said to be deeply depressed after the break up and news reports have claimed it was because his drug taking problems that Williams left him. As Ledger sunk into a pit of depression he devoted all his time and energy into acting for the part of The Joker in the upcoming Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight'. He had been hailed by his fellow peers and director as amazing on set and amazingly committed. Crippling insomnia followed with obvious physical signs showing due to his obsessive work rate. He turned to cocktails of pills to overcome his sleeping problems and it is believed that in desperation he accidentally overdosed. Not much else is known of this terrible tragedy, but a few facts remain true;

Heath Ledger was a brilliant and promising actor who was taken well before his time. He had barely reached his prime and he could have gone onto be one of the true greats of the film world. Oscar nominated before the age of 26 and lauded for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, everyone who worked with him said what a pleasure and honour it was to share the screen with him.

My thoughts are with his family and friends at this tragic time and i hope that Heath Ledger is remembered for his terrific acting roles and everything he has given to others in the film business. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him and the ones like us who didn't.

The Future of the World Wide Web... Dum, Dum, Dummmm

This is the testimony of Sir Timothy Berners-Lee.
He appeared in front of the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce to discuss the future of the World Wide Web. He was a leader of the effort which gave rise to the Web in the mid-90s and has watched it grow into a public resource which people depend on.

The rest is in his own words..

The special care we extend to the World Wide Web comes from a long tradition that democracies have of protecting their vital communications channels. We nurture and protect our information networks because they stand at the core of our economies, our democracies, and our cultural and personal lives. Of course, the imperative to assure the free flow of information has only grown given the global nature of the Internet and Web. The success of the World Wide Web, itself built on the open Internet, has depended on three critical factors:
1) unlimited links from any part of the Web to any other;
2) open technical standards as the basis for continued growth of innovation applications; and
3) separation of network layers, enabling independent innovation for network transport, routing and information applications.

From a technical perspective, the Web is a large collection of Web pages (written in the standard HTML format), linked to other pages (with the linked documents named using the URI standard), and accessed over the Internet (using the HTTP network protocol). In simple terms, the Web has grown because it's easy to write a Web page and easy to link to other pages. A current example of the low barriers to reading, writing and linking on the Web is the world of blogs. Blogs hardly existed five years ago, but have become an enormously popular means of expression for everything from politics to local news, to art and science. The low barriers to publishing pages and abundance of linking ability have come together, most recently with blogs, to create an open platform for expression and exchange of all kinds.

The Web, and everything which happens on it, rest on two things: technological protocols, and social conventions. The technological protocols, like HTTP and HTML, determine how computers interact. Social conventions, such as the incentive to make links to valuable resources, or the rules of engagement in a social networking web site, are about how people like to, and are allowed to, interact.

So how do we plan for a better future, better for society?

We ensure that that both technological protocols and social conventions respect basic values. That Web remains a universal platform: independent of any specific hardware device, software platform, language, culture, or disability. That the Web does not become controlled by a single company -- or a single country. By adherence to these principles we can ensure that Web technology, like the Internet, continues to serve as a foundation for bigger things to come.

My Response

I think that Sir Timothy Berners-Lee makes some great and very thoughtful points here and it is brilliant to be able to listen to one of the first pioneers of the World Wide Web and hear his views on how he thinks it has changed over the years. Blogs are mentioned in the extract and makes very interesting reading as it relates to our generation and is important. I was also interested to hear what his thoughts were on how the Internet is changing and expanding. I agree with a lot of the stuff he is saying here and think it vital that people should read this even if they don't take media as one way or another it will relate to them.

Thanks :)

Strike Watch: Part Two

So the WGA strike is still going on and it doesn't look like its going to stop anytime soon. There have already been causalities in the form of The Da Vinci Code sequel 'Angels and Demons', as well as Johnny Depp's newest film 'Shantaram'. One of the biggest losses though is the US remake of 'State of Play' which was due to star Brad Pitt and his Fight Club co-star Edward Norton. Pitt unfortunately pulled out of the project as he felt the script wasn't ready and needed another rewrite but the studio wanted to start filming with or without him.
Major films are being shelved or given the go ahead with rough scripts, which is bound to affect the quality of the films. But it was announced this week that the WGA are due to have talks soon to hopefully resolve the strike and get what they deserve. The WGA feel that they are getting no money or praise for "new media" like internet downloads, mobile programming and video on demand on cable and satellite television.

UnitedHollywood.com
This blog is an amazing find that tells you everything you need to know about the blog as well as Speechless videos with some of todays leading actors and actresses.
Ive posted one below starring the cast of Ugly Betty.

Its War!!

Record labels are predicting that this month's launch of three new mobile phone music services will usher a return of rising sales after years of decline. Apple's music-playing iPhone grabbed the headlines with its arrival in Britain last week. But music executives are just as excited about the new unlimited downloads service launched on Vodafone. At the same time Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, has opened a digital music store here.

The world's biggest music company, Universal, is backing the MusicStation, the Vodafone service. Rob Wells, head of digital at Universal's international division, predicts the £1.99-a-week subscription service will have mass market appeal. "We are at a turning point in the UK," he says, predicting digital music sales here could offset falling CD sales within a year. Global sales have been falling since 2000, down another 5% to $19.6bn (£9.4bn) last year, according to industry group IFPI. Although digital sales are rising fast, at a tenth of the total market, they have yet to make up for tumbling CD sales.

IFPI director of technology Richard Gooch sees lessons for other music markets. He says: "There are cultural differences, and there are network differences at play so it's not simply the fact of having a mobile music service but in those countries where they have moved towards the holy grail it's generally been on the back of mobile. There are already indications that mobile music sales are picking up in the UK. The Orange UK network says its music sales jumped 70% over the past six months and it expects them to double by the end of 2007.

They expect the UK mobile music market to almost double from a predicted $83m this year to $156m in 2011. UK industry association BPI also cites support from new business models such as subscription schemes and enhanced handsets - four out of 10 UK mobiles can now play music.

There are hopes handsets will improve further from a music-playing perspective thanks to the iPhone. At £269 with an 18-month O2 contract, Apple's handset is not seen by the record labels as a big driver of revenues but it has been credited with raising the bar for phone manufacturers.

Questions

1. Why are more and more companies releasing phones that can store music?

2. Who is the audience likely to buy the new range of phones?

3. Is it for a resonable cost?

4. Will you be buying one of the new super phones?

WGA Strike

So its not really anything to do with NMT, but it is important.

This week after months of anticipation, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have gone on strike due to low pay and not enough recomendation in the film and television buisness. Many writers feel that they are not being recognised for their talents and being underpayed for their efforts.

It is believed that the strike could last till mid-2008 halting a lot of popular TV shows such as Lost and Heroes. Films are also affected but not as much because most scripts were rushed so that they would be ready in time before the strike. But without rewrites of films this could affect the qaulity of films and make them feel and look rushed.

A strike like this happened once before, but the advantage being that many script writers not part of the WGA 13,000 members were given a chance to write their own scripts and were given a chance to see their scripts being turned into film and tv programmes.

Hopefully, the entertainment buisness can realise their mistakes and give the scripters more money and just thank them a bit more.

What exactly is NMT?

NMT stands for New Media Technology and is basically exactly what the name says it is. Its the technology that is new in media. Simple eh?

So, think back on all the media related items you have purchased in the last..say five years.
What was the reason behind buying this items?
Was it because it was advertised as the "must have item of the century!"
Did it look fascinatingly amazing when compared to the brick in your hand?
Could it make calls, text message, play music, take pictures, play games, make videos and access the internet?
YES?!
Wait so you have a mobilephone/cdplayer/camera/gamesconsole/videocamera/computer?
WOW that must be hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Whadda mean it can fit in your pocket?!
Anyway lets move on from the bad humour and move onto the more important stuff.

Over the years the media have evolved hugely. From wax records to Ipods and MP4s.
We have been here to witness this change and its still evolving today and will probably never stop. Mr. White has this brilliant theory that in the near future all appliances in the household will be controlled by computer technology and we won't need to move off of our sofas to make a cuppa! I think thats pretty amazing, but is it needed?

Everyday without realising it, the media is making us question ourselves. Walk around London town at anytime and everywhere you look is gorgeous slender models plastered all over the place. They're posing above motorways, clinging onto buses or resting at bus stops. They are everywhere. You walk past a poster and immediately think to yourself "Why are my legs like two pounds heavier than hers?" or "How is he surrounded by so many hot women?" We question our lives simply because the answers that the media put out there to provoke us into becoming some carbon copy perfect humanoid.

As i go now, im gonna leave you all with a couple of questions that will gurantee to make you think.

Do we make decisions, or do the media make them for us?
Is digital the way to go?
Do we have more choice in the digital age?
Is knowledge power?

Welcome!

Hullo, and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.
I just want to welcome everyone to my first blog and beg you not to leave!
This first post is more about me getting the hang of posting more than anything else but my next post will be choc-a-bloc full of media related greatness.
So don't leave!
Thanks once again