Review of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

There are not many films that I think are worth the trek to a movie theater and the 13 bucks for a ticket. However, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an exception to this rule, in fact I have seen it a total of 4 times in theaters.
For me Scott Pilgrim is a perfect marriage of old and new. It combines nostalgia such as 8 bit graphics and music from classic games like Legend of Zelda with fast-paced anime style fight choreography and indie rock. To quote a panelist at a Q&A about the film, it is an "Action-muscial". Each time I left the theater  after watching this wonderful film I felt a surge of energy and my passion for making media was rekindled. This film took several years to make it to theaters and all of the pre-production time really paid off. There are so many little details that you can examine upon multiple viewings and so much spectacle to take in. Everything from the choreography to the music, the set designs and the costumes play an integral role in making this film feel like it  belongs to the world of graphic novels and old school video games from which the script was born.
Several different aspect ratios were used in the production of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in order to make it look more like panels in a comic book. Fight scenes use 72mm film to give it a film within a film effect and make the highly stylized fights seem even more spectacular. The special effects are all way over the top and very cartoon like to stay true to the source material. This tickles the film's target audience who feel like they are being let in on an inside joke as the word "Love" pours out of Knives Chau's mouth and becomes a physical cloud that Scott must brush away.

The performances are all spectacular, and though many doubted the abilities of Micheal Cera to bring this iconic character to life, he proved himself. This role is unlike the typical Michael Cera characters that we have seen in the past. Yes Scott is nerdy and awkward, but he also has a strange sense of self and a confidence that comes out of left field. Cera was able to bring to the screen nuances within the character that I did not initially pick up on while reading the graphic novels. He offers the viewer a much more objective view of Scott's character, so while the audience is rooting for Scott all along we can see more clearly when his actions and choices are less than perfect.

Sound plays an important role in the film as well. It is the film's score that gives many scenes their nostalgic and or comical qualities. The target demographic grew up playing NES and spending their days in crowded arcades. Many of the sounds from our youth are incorporated into the film. From Ninja Ninja Revolution's anouncer remarking "K. O.!" (a game created for the film that is a cross between DDR and mortal combat) to the 90's tunes of Plumtree we are reminded of special memories.
Everything in this film is larger than life, yet the film does not take itself too seriously for even a second. This is the beauty of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Blog #4 Reflections on the Class

Overall I enjoyed this class. It was great to get some hands on experience with lighting equipment, which is something that I had no prior experience with. I also like the photoshop stamp assignment. It had been a very long time since I had used photoshop and it was fun to play around with it again to see what I could make. I do wish that more of the class had been spent on new experiences and lessons like these. There was a lot of overlap between this class and the Film 101 and Media 180 classes that I already took. At times I felt disengaged from the lectures because of this overlap. I would have liked to learn a bit more about current techniques within the media industry. I felt like the lectures were very heavy on historical information that I learned in my previous courses. I did enjoy the freedom that this course gave me in the content of my assignments. I found it fun and interesting to analyze posters of my favorite movies and to make my own little piece of artwork out of found images. I also really enjoyed being able to do my photo assignment on Comic Con using my friends as the subjects. This freedom  enabled me to create media that I like and reflect on media that I like. I feel like this has helped me to focus on what it is that draws me to the media industry. I feel like I am walking away from this class with a much better understanding of how different technologies work and how to use them in order to create art.

Blog Entry #3 Design assignment

 

Disney Opening 

The Nightmare Before Christmas Poster

There is one version of movie poster for the 2006 film Penelope, starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, which is particularly striking. The British version of the film poster is far more intricate than other versions. At first glance the design of this poster makes one think of magic and whimsy. This is due to both the color scheme and the objects represented within the image. The deep blues and purples of the sky and Penelope's attire, contrast with the white airy bubbles floating through the air and sparkling mist swirling around Penelope's hand/ nose region as well as the film’s title. All of the images within the poster are highly stylized which adds to the magical storybook effect. Using an image that reminds one of a storybook works well for this film, which is a modern twist on the fairytale of Beauty and the Beast. The font style used for the majority of the poster also adds to the whimsical nature of the image. It uses flourishes and serifs similar to fonts used for other fantasy films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and the letters do not sit on a straight line but vary in height creating a floating effect. In addition the golden/orange color choice for the title in combination with the sparkling mist is reminiscent of the Disney opening for their animated features with metallic print scrawling across the screen in glittering arches.  The image also makes an interesting use of balance. Two ancillary characters flank Penelope’s figure and the edges are filled in with images of the physical space, where the action of the film takes place.

Bright Star (Blog Assignment #2)

An extreme close up image of a needle filled the left third of the screen. The words “Bright Star” slowly and delicately weave their way onto the screen as violins swell and a white thread slips through the eye of the needle. The following images show several varying angles of a piece of simple white cloth being pierced and stitched by the needle, progressively moving farther away until we see a young woman. She sits at the left third of the screen, filling the space that was previously taken up by her needle. In the upper center section of the screen sits a window spilling available light onto the young woman and allowing her to perform her detailed work. Through the window we can see a tree with no leaves blowing in the wind.

The opening images of Bright Star (2009) are interesting, because they show that the film will not be told through the eyes of John Keats as one might expect, but through the eyes of his lover Fanny Brawne. It is her passion for sewing and designing that these first images capture. In showing the audience her art before we see the art of John Keats' poetry the audience is endeared to her character, who is much less well known historically.

In later scenes between Brawne and Keats the focal length is adjusted in such a way that Brawne and Keats are always in focus while all that surrounds them is blurred. This creates the feeling that they are the two most important objects in the world as the film as everything else slips away.

Between the opening shots and the focus on Keats and Brawne Greig Fraser (the cinematographer) was able to create a world in which the audience not only finds themselves aligned with Fanny Brawne, but falling in love with the gentle John Keats as she does, seeing him through her eyes.

Post #1

Media has always been a big part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of visiting my dad at work in the editing room of A&E or playing Duck Hunt on NES. These days my life is even more media packed. It seems I'm always operating some sort of gadget or gizmo, whether it be reading my English homework on my nook or uploading my new blog post via the Internet. Technology has come a long way from my VHS tape filled childhood. Now I can watch movies on my TV, my computer or my ipod, and never have to worry about the tracking. I use media for a variety of purposes. When I’ve had a bad day I can turn on the TV and find a comedy to cheer me up, and when I need to know the historical background of a novel for a paper I can quickly search it on the Internet. When I’m getting ready in the morning I can check various instruments for an accurate weather report. Media is everywhere enabling me to function in my daily life. Even much of my social interaction is performed through media devices such as instant messengers on my computer and Facebook wall posts. Personally I think it might be easier to point out the areas and situations in which I am not using or dealing with media as opposed to explaining when and where I do use media.