Pink Floyd The wall music video and film

Pink Floyd's The Wall  was the most intriguing and imaginative albums in the history of the rock genre, released in 1797. Not only did they produce a music video for The Wall but also a British live-action/animated musical film was made which featured each song off the album in 1982. The film was directed by Alan Parker and the screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist Roger Waters. There is little dialogue in the film as the film is mostly driven by Pink Floyd's music, but it is rich in symbolic imagery and sound. In total the film contains fifteen minutes of animation by Gerald Scarfe who is an illustrator and known as an political cartoonist.



The Wall analysis.com has a complete detailed analysis of every song on the album which was featured in the film. I found this website very useful as I found the narrative a bit confusing in places so I could carry out research to see the artist intentions and meaning to the song and how it is represented in the film. 
http://www.thewallanalysis.com/main/

The narrative follows Pink Floyd from a young child in post-World War II England to a self-imposed isolation as a world famous rock star, leading to a climax where he an emotional breakdown and a destructive time. I found the narrative to be quite confusing and didn't understand it when I watched it. After watching the film and a discussion with friends who I watched it with, we all had different interpretations of what was happening in the film. I also didn't find the narrative too exciting and instead I found it dull and grim. I wasn't too keen on the animation even though it thought it was clever how it changed from live action to animation in shots and how it was symbolic. However I did like the visuals in the film as they were very unique at the time the film came out which for me was one of the best aspects of the film.
 Overall I think the film was good at the time when it was released but today I don't think it was that that good as technology has moved on. I didn't like the film but I thought it was revolutionary to have a music video for The Wall as well as a film that features every song of the album. Its a great idea to publicise the band and it's songs. However I'm not sure I this could be achieved today as there is much more artists out there and to achieve this the artist would have to have a large audience and is very well known. It would be nice to see this in the industry today and I know that some artists have had a movie about their self such as Katy Perry: Part Of Me and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
I also know a Korean artist who have released three music videos for a song, for example T-ara. T-ara released  three music video's for their song Day By Day which was released in 2012. There was a dance version, where all members dance choreographed moves for their song, and two drama versions, which also feature other songs off the Day By Day album. I really liked the drama versions I though they were a good idea and different to having just one music video. However it is not the first time T-ara have had more than one music video for their songs.

ffresh 22nd February 2013

Chris Auty Masterclass

Originally the promgramme was going to be hosted by Nik Powel, who co-founded Virgin records with Richard Branson but had to cancel to fly out to LA for the Oscars. Instead Chris Auty stepped in for Nik's absence.
Chris Auty started his professional career as a film journalist, running the film department of Time Out. From 1984-85 he was European Editor of The Hollywood Reporter. In 1991–99, he was Managing Director of Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company and served as a producer on several of its films. In 1999, he became a founding Board Member of the UK Film Council (The governing body responsible for all public funding of film in the UK). From 1999, Chris Auty became CEO of the Virgin-backed Film Consortium. In October 2001 Chris became Chief Executive of the group incorporating The Film Consortium- The Works Media Group plc (an AIM-listed company). Under his leadership the company developed its international rights business, and in 2005 successfully launched a new UK distribution subsidiary, which secured a home entertainment output deal with Universal Pictures UK which has released over 30 films to date. He is currently leading the Producing department at the NFTS which offers a diploma in entrepreneurial, that covers the fields of television, film, theater, music, publishing, games and online entertainment taught by executives from each industry.
In the session Chris Auty talked through what a producer is, why be a producer, how to become a producer and his experiences in the industry. I found Auty's talk very beneficial because I was able to gain an insight to what being a producer does and the work it evolves as I didn't know what a producer was before attending this session. Also he gave out information on NFTS London (National Film and Television School) which I didn't know anything about and didn't know it existed. His talk about this prompted me to carry out my own research on the school and see what master courses they do. I visited the website and had a look at what courses they offer, I'm not sure which course I'm interested in yet but its an option in keeping open for after I finish university.
http://nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk/
Chris Auty explained what is a producer? He describes a producer as a ring-master or ring-mistress who finances the film. The producer is also involved with the script, director and casting of the film. This was useful information for me as I didn't know what a directors was. After that he explains why you would want to be a producer. He says that it can be fun but at the same time it s intellectuality simulating as you have massive local engagement with places. Also by being a producer you get a sense of achievement and pride when finished, relationship with artists and you get to experience an incredible journey. Auty made the benefits of being a producer very rewarding and persuading. Next he explained how to become a producer and a better way to become one than how he got to become a producer, which was by being a film critic. He advised to go to film school (NFTS) and study there. Again I found this advice useful as he recommended going to film school if your thinking about having a career in the film industry and I hadn't come across film school until he mentioned it. Auty finished off by recommending films that show making a film. The films he suggested for us to watch was Get Shorty and Cock And Bull Story. I think I should watch these films as I'd like an insight on what its like to make a film in the industry and it would benefit me when I cone to make my own films.

The insiders: How To Get Ahead in TV

The insiders: How To Get Ahead in TV was all about how to get your foot in the door in the TV sector. In the session the answer to the question of how to get ahead in TV is answered by a panel of experienced industry professionals, the speakers include Laura Cotton (Script and development editor, Becoming Human), Eryl Phillips (Producer, Rondo Media) and Nick Goding (Producer, Shameless and Trolliled). Although I'm not too interested in TV unlike film I thought it would be be a good idea to attend because the industries are quite similar in some aspects and therefore I could learn something.

The session started off by the panel discussing how TV has changed as on-demand services have changed how we consume media and is beginning to change traditional methods. The genre of programmes on TV are also changing and its seems that reality TV is killing TV dramas. This was interesting to listen to as I had looked at this in depth for my A2 level media and I felt conformable with what they were discussing because I have good knowledge of this topic. 

They then went on to discuss what you need to be successful in the industry. They emphasized that in the industry they look for people with huge amount of enthusiasm, hard working, multi-skilled, those who take opportunities, has experience in different areas  be a team player, have a bunch of contacts and is good at networking. All theses points are something for me to take on-board in the next few years. I will defiantly be looking out for opportunities such as entering festivals and for work experience on sets either TV or film and get involved in more than one area as I think it would show how enthusiastic I am and I've got experience in different areas. 
The panel also discussed, what makes a better director? They said that a better director is sympathetic with all areas of departments. Again some how has experience in all departments not just one area of a department. They also said someone who is willing to learn more or doesn't know how to do something and achieves it in a new way, which is better than the traditional way and that way then moves the industry forward. This tells me that I should always be on the look out on how to create something in a better way. 
Finally they suggested ways that would be good to start off in the industry and an idea route. They began by saying to follow your heart and your interests is a good idea. They believe that studding a creative degree i.e a creative media degree as you learn how to use equipment, a chance to learn and play, learn how to work with actors, create a name for yourself on other platforms,to understand the academic skills and also university will give you maturity that other people who haven't gone to university don't have because you have learn't to live on your own. After hearing this I believe that I am on the right path to start off in the industry because I am at university and doing a range of the points made in this speech.
     
Terror in 20 seconds!

Terror in 20 seconds! was a competition by ffresh to attempt to make the scariest short film ever. Filmmakers we asked to submit an idea for an original horror short film as well an 20 seconds clip that gives the audience a flavor of what to expect. In the programme we attended the shortlisted films were screened where five filmmakers were invited to give a 5 minute presentation about their ideas in front of a panel of horror experts who had to make an decision of who will win and receive £500 towards making their full film.  The panel of experts includes Jason Davitt (Artist, Screenwriter, Director, Editor), Gareth Bailey (Founder and director of Abertoir Horror Festival) and Nia Edwards- Behi (Assistant director of the Abertoir Horror Festival and contributing writer to Brutal as Hell). I thought attending this session will help me with creating horror, tension and suspense in my short film that I will have to make as part of my current assignment.
The first film to be shown was Talent Show 58 by Nathan Moore, about a nightmarish talent show.The film was in black and white and was quite abstract which was influenced by David Linch. Although I found the clip scary in one place and made me jump this wasn't my favourite clip of the session because I didn't find the narrative too interesting.
The second 20 second clip was Hollow by Karl Rees and Laura Vanstone, which was about a girl finding broken dolls. I liked this clip the best out of all of the others, as I thought the narrative was interesting and I was curious to see why the dolls were there and why was the girl finding them. I liked the props and mise en sene for the clip I thought it was effective and worked well with the genre. As I didn't see the awards show finale I didn't know which one won so I looked on the ffresh website and saw Hollow had won, so I was pleased that they will be getting the £500 to make their original horror film idea about an abandoned building with a dark past.I posted the 20 seconds clip for Hollow below.

Textual harassment by Jarrad Owens was the third clip to be shown which is about digital stalking that puts the viewer in the middle of the action. It was influenced by reality as the filmmaker suffered from a similar situation. The full length film would be good because it could be used for bulling campaigns and raise awareness of this sort of theme.
After that the next clip to be shown was Bethany by Victoria Rodway based on her idea about a flesh eating plant that gives eternal youth in return. The filmmaker expressed that the influence for the film was from fairytales such as Snow White and Cinderella and features post-femmine body horror. I found this clip used some good special effects that added production values to the clip. I thought the clip was fascinating to watch because of the special effects.
The last clip to be shown was The Butcher by Tom Dolby and Rhys Davies. The film is based on a butcher whose prize winning sausages contains meat from an unsavory source, humans. I quite liked this idea because its different and has an inventive narrative. I like how its quite sinister and relates to the current horsemeat scandal in the media as it shows this is a quite realistic film.

New Welsh Talent

New Welsh Talent was a talk from three of Wales' most promising directors, who talked about their recent work. Jamie Adams was there to has worked in a variety of roles from editor to producer. He has just completed work on his feature debut Jolene: The Indie Folk Star Movie starring Craig Roberts and Fresh Meat’s Charlotte Ritchie. London Film School graduate Hefin Rees cut his teeth on a series of short films including Beached, before directing Gwaith Cartref for Fiction Factory and Teulu for Boomerang. Finally Ryan Andrews appeared onto the UK film scene last year with his feature debut Elfie Hopkins which prompted numerous journalists to note that Ryan was a talent to watch out for. I found this session very interesting and I got a lot of it as I'm quite interested in producing music videos and one of the guys talked about his experiences of creating music videos and thing I could do to get started in the industry. 
The speakers expressed like many people have in ffresh that you need to work as a team and not on your own in the industry as you can bring more ideas together and team work. By doing this you can meet new people and friends which will allow you to network and bring loyalty so you can work with these people again and give you opportunities in the future. Many Poole don't like sharing their ideas, however to succeed in the industry you should learn to share ideas and accept ideas of people, which will help create a good dp and writers. They also said that social networking is key for you to establish yourself. Twitter is a good place to start as you can build a brand for yourself and create your style. I didn't know this but I have good knowledge on how to use Twitter but now I know I can use this to advertise myself and get myself out there in the industry. I thought that it was very useful to know this. I learn't that you and represent yourself by getting an agent who is great for people in the TV and film industry  or by a production house who is for music videos and adverts. Again I didn't know this and now knowing production houses specialise in music videos this is handy for me to know in the future when I'm trying to make it in the industry after university.They said if your looking to get into the music video industry then I should shoot loads of music videos as this will help me develop my own style and I should put these on my show-reel  My show-reel would be important because I need a good one as I will show this when I go to interviews and employers would rather look at this than a CV. I learn't that if I was wanting to go into the music video industry then I should have a visual show-reel that is around 2 minutes long. This way employers can view it in their spare time and should be able to play one tablet, laptops or mobile devices so its easy for them to access. Finally the speakers went on to say that you have to grapth and it takes time to establish yourself and get where you want to be in the industry especially in TV. You should be humble to the task and perform jobs the best you can. The session ended with this quote "If anyone knows how the industry works, then their lying". I think this quote is right as its hard to get into the industry and if this wasn't hard then people would know how to get into the industry easily. Overall I found this session very beneficial to me and my future because I hardly knew anything about the music industry and I felt that I learned a lot.

It's My Shout

It's my shout is an award scheme that takes place each year, where trainees  involved with the “It’s My Shout” Film/TV training scheme get free training as Actors, Set/ Costume Designers, Camera/Sound Technicians, Hair/Make-Up Artists, Grips, Assistant Directors, Production co-ordinators, Construction craft persons, Chaperones/Drivers and Runners and more. This training, provided on location alongside film professionals, gives individuals a step onto the ladder of the film/ TV/ Media industry and because all of the films they work on are commissioned and supported by industry companies, everyone involved have a broadcast quality film for their CVs or show reels at the end of production. This year is the 10th anniversary and in the session at ffresh we watched this years It's My Shout films. We watched six films called, Fetch, Dragon Chasers, Buddha Boy, Walk Or Fly, Telling Tales and The Mob. I thought all the films were very and they was commissioned by BBC Wales which I thought was significant because the BBC is big in the industry. After the session I had a chat with Victoria who was at the session and from It's My Shout. I asked her how to get involved as was interested to get experience in an department and network with new people and earn BBC credit. She gave us a business card and recommended that we go to the It's My Shout website to apply. Victoria also suggested that I should apply to be a assistant director after explaining a bit about myself. I think it would defiantly worth while applying and I am going to apply.

The link for the It's My Shout website http://www.itsmyshout.co.uk/

Overall I found ffresh very beneficial to me as most of the sessions related to my course and gave me plenty of advice for the future and how I can get started in the industry. I found the days inspiring and very interesting  I will defiantly be attending next years ffresh festival. 

ffresh 21st February 2013

The trailer for ffresh.

International Documentary

I began my 1st ffresh experience by attending International Documentary. I thought it would be a good idea to watch this because in my current Ideas & Concepts module I have to create a shot film which can be a documentary, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to watch the documentaries shown to influence me  or give me some ideas. I thought watching international documentaries would give me a board and wide variety of concepts and ideas. We watched two documentaries Bronsky which is a second year film by Konstrantin Seline and El Rey del Otro Cine (The Man Without a Camera) by Gabriela Ivette & Sandoval Torres. 

As Bronsky was an international documentary, the language in the film was not English but there was subtitles and this was hard to concntrate on the moving image as we had to read the subtitles to understand the narrative. However I found this hard and as a result I was confused to what the documentary was about. So 

I researched and found it was a portrait of a young writer Aleksandr Sarapow whose literary pseudonym is Bronski. I thought the documentary has some good shots and edited well. I like the fact it used J-cutting and it had good music during the film and end credits. I wasn't fond of the documentary as I couldn't understand the narrative. 

Again I had a similar problem with the second documentary however I could understand the narrative much more. The documentary was about Jorge Grajales who is considered as the guru of alternative cinema and how he dedicated his life to movie marathons, distributing and subtitling films in mexico. However his passion is threatened by an eye disease where he could lose his eye sight. I thought the start of the documentary was quite random where a man sat on a chair began talking and clips from some films where shown. Again I didn't like the film because of the language barrier.

ffresh works: Dream
The second programme I saw was the ffresh works: Dream, which I chose to see because again it featured short films so I thought it  would be beneficial to me to see example of short films to look at what other students have done and how their films could influence mine. I found this programme really helpful as I saw some really good films with some amazing effects, sound and narratives as well as some animation.
The first short film was called Momentum by Boris Seewald, about a guy called Patrick who begins talking about how a tortilla chip started him off dancing which took him to a moment of self-discovery. The films shows Patrick's passion for dance and even invites his mum to join. For me this was my favourite short film I saw in the Dream programme and throughout the day. I liked this film for its range of camera angles, good lighting, editing and non-diegetic sound. I saw that projectors where used to project images on the walls and a smoke machine was used which created suspense and added effect to the visuals. I really liked the end title credits. I thought they were really creative and didn't seem boring like most end title credits do. It really fascinated me and has influenced me to make me think about my credits and make them creative. I also noticed this film had a relationship between the music and visuals which I really love to see in films and music videos. This also made the film stand out to me. I liked that the narrative was different and very usual to other films.

The second was You Got Beautiful by Lauren Orme, which was a short animation documentary exploring the relationship between women and their bodies. I wasn't too keen on this animation as I thought the animations in the film were a little odd and I didn't really like them.
Orpheus, by James Button was the third short film we watched which is about a man who searches for his lover in a nightmare world. I liked the special effects that was in the film, for example the glass shattering and flying objects. I thought this made the film really effective and caught the viewers attention. I think a lot of time and effort was put into the making of the film and which I think was reflected.
The fourth film we saw was an animation called Odonata by Bryony Evans. It was about a creative in an isolated pond that discovers the world beyond the pond. I thought the visuals weren't amazing but they was good. However I think the music worked really well especially the sound of the dragonfly swooshing past the creature. I also thought the music was good in the ending where the creature discovers the new world.
The fifth film was Memorium by Fabrice Mathieu and is about a man and his journey into the afterlife. Fabrice Mathieu was inspired from the world created by the French artist Marc Giai-Miniet. I didn't like this short film, mainly because I didn't like the narrative. I thought the film was quite dull and didn't enjoy the journey of the man. in the afterlife. I thought the creatures in the film were weird and I wasn't to thrilled with the locations. However I did like the transitions between shots in the beginning and I thought the music of a heartbeat and flat lining was very effective as it built up tension and suspense.

ffresh Fiction
I went along to ffresh Fiction because again it showed five short films that have been made by students, that I thought could give me ideas for the short film I will have to create in my assignment. These films were of different genres therefore I thought it would be useful to see a variety of genres, so I could get an idea of what genre our short film could be and maybe get some ideas. I thought most of the films were good that was worth me going to see.
The first short film was Not, by John Evans, Dewi Fon Evans, Martyn Hughes and Dan Hogg. The film follows a young mother of two Nia, who has a abusive relationship and her children watch her being beaten and bullied. The story is told through the eyes of her two daughters. The dialogue was Welsh so was unable to understand however there was a transcript in English. I found it hard to read the transcript and watch the moving image at the same time which I didn't like. The narrative was simple and straightforward so I didn't find the film that good.
The next film was Return To Black by Catherine Jones and Emil Kunda, about a boy did ballet however got threatened and bullied by a local gang to rob a haunted house. I didn't like the first part of the film I thought it had a bit of a boring storyline. However it got much better towards the end as there was a twist in the story as part of the gang is his sister who knocked him over and left him to die. I really liked this it made the film better as I found it boring at first. I think the music was really effective as it set a eerie atmosphere especially in the haunted house. My favourite part was when he got hit by the car. The music just build the right about of tension and made me jump.
Trail of Crimson by Victoria Rodway, Glen Biseker, Jon Ratigan and Georgina Careless was the third film we watched. The film was about a girl named Francesca who has a passion for art and meets a artist named Dante who is much older. Francesca becomes his latest model for his artwork and they become lovers, however Francesca discovers he is hiding a disturbing secret from her. She kills Dante knowing about his sinister desires, and it is later revealed he saw his death coming and is shown in a drawing out of his sketchbook. The film has a gothic fairy tale that explores the tradition of the active male gaze and passive female subject. I liked this film the most in the ffresh fiction session because I think it had a good narrative, there was depth in some shots, good camera angles, nice transitions between shots, I liked that the shots looked warm and I think a lot of effort was put into the location and props.
The fourth film we watched was True Repose by Oscar Garth, Luke Davies, Callum Baker, Francine Roberts and Samo Chandler. The story is about two brothers, one who looks back at the past when they were young boys. It then shows the brothers hope for a reunion and their quest to find true repose. I liked that memories in the film had a high exposure in the shots to reflect happy memories and the present day when he is old are in black and white. I liked this short film as it reflected happy memories and gave me a happy feeling.
The final short film we watched was Frankly by Louis Weinzweig and Steven Evans. This film was a dark comedy about a recovering alcholic Gareth, who is being followed by an imaginary clown called Frank. Frank tries tempting Louis with alcohol which stands as an obstacle for Louis to fight his addiction. I didn't particularly like the film, the narrative didn't interest me and it just seemed dark.

British Guide To Documentary/ Filmmaking: Jes Benstock Masterclass

Jes Benstock is the director of The British Guide to Showing Off, a documentary portrait of the Alternative Miss World pageant, planned by the renegade British artist Andrew Logan. He talked about his experiences in the film industry  how he made it into the industry and showed us clips of his earlier short documentaries The Holocaust Tourist and Orders Of Love and the pilot film for his current hybrid documentary project/happiness- the search continues...
I really enjoyed watching clips of Benstock's documentary about the Alternative Miss World pageant, I thought the documentary was funny but documented the Alternative Miss World pageant really well. I think I showed a range aspects of to do with the pageant.

I learn't a lot about filmmaking and documentary's from Benstock such as freedom is key in filmmaking which is accomplished easier with a small budget. With low budgets you can get great characters but you can find that people are shy of acting at first but begin to get used to the cameras after a while and they make great actors. There are some people that aren't themselves in front of cameras which some directors don't want and to cure that director Ero Morris (Film director) films people for 5 hours straight with no break. Filming this way has proven effective for Morris because after a while people stop acting and become themselves. A tip which Benstock shared to the audience was not to talk to the person your filming, be invisible so you don't bond with the person for your filming, because otherwise the person your filming will looks shifty in the documentary as they will be looking at the cameraman and the interviewer. Instead the person should concentrate on the interviewer so it looks like a one to one interview. This also means problems should be addressed to one person only so you should work as a democracy where the team needs to be lead. Working as a team/crew will be more creative as you can pool much more ideas together and develop on ideas. The final tip he gave us was to always film more, as you can never have enough footage. I think Benstock's guide was very beneficial to me because I will be creating documentary's in my second year, so I can take his advice on board and hopefully his tips will come in handy.

Tomato Masterclass

After lunch we went to see the Tomato Masterclass. Tomato is a collective of artists, designers, musicians and writers who first gained a wide amount of attention with their distinctive title sequence for Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting. In the masterclass Dylan Kendle was there to talk to us. Kendle is a London based creative and a member of the design collective and over the last 20 years has worked massively in moving image and print. His output is to build the disciplines of advertising, branding, music and film. In the session he talked to us about the process and collaboration and showed recent examples of Tomato's work.

Dylan Kendle started off by started off by saying he his in the studio everyday and that you should practice the imperfect. He showed us some other Tomato's work which some of it is included in the video above. One of the examples we watched at the class was a Japanese music video called Waterfall. The music video was a visual remix about precipitation that came from the idea of concrete poetry. Thought the video had good visual and looked usual to what you would expect in a normal music video. We saw other examples on what Tomato had created such a camera-less photography, Article 27, Smirnoff advert which was really good visually and another music video for Underworld. The music video looked good with the flowers blossoming and dying but it didn't fit the genre of the song and was repetitive so it cos boring after a short while. I thought the work that Tomato created was stunning and got me thinking that I should be more creative with my title sequences in my film work. I should play around with the setting and not just use the basic templates in Final Cut.  Although I thought this class was more directed at graphic's and animation I learn't to be more creative with titles and text in my films.

The Mill Masterclass

The last programme I went to, was The Mill Masterclass, from attending this session I learn't in the first five minutes that visual effects make a film a blockbuster and that from 10% to 50% of visuals effects contribute to a film budget. The Mill is a world-renowned and Oscar winning VFX company recognised for creating seamless visual effects. The Mill has worked on recent films including: Snow White and the Huntsman,Les Misérables, Merlin,Doctor Who, Call of Duty and the Old Spice adverts. They also do commercials and music videos. They are based in London although they have other offices in York, LA and last week they opened an office in Chicago  and been running for 20 years. Their work has been seen by millions of people across the world. For the Masterclass Suraj Odedra was there to talk to us and show us his recent advert for KIA that he has been working on at The Mill. I found this Masterclass very interesting as the work produced by The Mill was amazing. It all looked breathtaking. Below is a show-reel of the Mill's work.

First we was shown three adverts that Suraj Odedra had picked out as his favourites from The Mill. We watched a Guinness advert that was about a cloud saving people, an Audi advert that was animation and featured a humming bird and finally a advert for The Guarden which was my favourite and had a three little pigs narrative. 

Suraj Odedra then went on to talk about the KIA Recommendations advert he had recently been involved with in December 2012. The project was turned around in four and an half weeks which wasn't very long. The advert features a car in insulation space and a keyboard wall that represents customers reviews. The advert is shown below. We was talked through the steps that Odedra took in order to make the advert. The process of the projects includes: the idea coming from the agency, Odedra and crew work in post production and reference images, he then pitches the idea to the agency, if they like it he sends it to the production company and agency, he storyboards, previz, does research and development, begins the shoot, the offline editing, CG, and the look development to create the advert. I thought this advert was good and looked really effective as it has an unique advert compared to others. It was very interesting to see each of the stages that the advert was and problems that arised and how they were solved. I really left that this talk was useful to me and my course as some of the aspects such as pitching ideas, storyboarding, adding effects, team working, filming and carrying out research and development is what I have to do. So I have gained an insight to how a company goes about creating their productions. Odedra also shared tips about the industry by saying you should show you have an creative eye in your showreel and that you are expected to focus on one thing in film really well. It was useful for me to hear that being said because it did not know that and hopefully throughout my course I can pick on an area that I can do really well and like doing.      

FFRESH Festival coming to Glyndwr

As part of my Creative Futures module I will be attending the Ffresh festival ( The student moving  image festival of Wales) which is being held at my university  Glyndwr from 20th-22nd February. During the festival I will be attending talks on the 3 days from outsiders of the uni to talk about creative industries. 

http://ffresh.com/en/

 

Influence boards

These are my influence boards which are part of my creative futures model at university.

Photographers

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is best known for his black & white landscape photos of the American West. He and Fred Archer (An American photographer) developed the Zone System, which is a photographic technique to determine optimal film exposure and development. The depth in his characterized his photos and to those who was taught the system. He used large format cameras as they had a high resolution helped ensure sharpness even though they were big in size, heavy and long setup time. Adams photographs were distributed as they were reproduced on calenders, posters and in books. Adams died April 22 1984. I have chosen Ansel Adams because I think his work looks really dynamic and bold. It stands out from other photographers as the technical used to create this photo is different and creates a totally different effect. I also like how Ansel focuses on landscapes as I really like taking photos of landscapes and to me the landscapes in his photos looks really beautiful. 

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer that was the forerunner of the photomontaIge in America in the 20th century. Uelsmann never used digital cameras as he felt his creative process was more suited to the dark room where he was very talented in. "Jerry Ulesmann is said to be one of the few select group of artists who can be said to have altered the very language of their discipline. Through the use of composite print, this brilliant technician has invented a unique poetic universe that has extended the definition of what is photographic"- Enyeart James (1982). Jerry N. Ulesmann; Twenty-Five Years: A Retrospective. Little, Brown and Company. I came across Jerry N. Uelsmann as his photos appear to be very creative surreal which make his work very unique which initially catched my eye. I like that his work looks different compared to other photographers. From my research I found out that Uelsmann had been inspired by pop art icons such as Joseph Cornell and Robert Rauschenberg and that's how Uelsmann began experimenting with a variety of darkroom techniques which also lead him to be creative, like combining multiple images into works of surrealist art. This is how he gained a reputation as a leading figure in the new field of pop-art photography.

Brian Duffy

Brian Duffy was an English photographer and film producer who is best remembered for his fashion photography of the 1960's & 1970's, iconic Vidal Sassoon takes of hairstyle model Frankie Stein and other models and also for the creation of the iconic " Aladdin Sane" image produced for David Bowie. At one point of his life Duffy lost his photographic interest however he began taking photos again a year before he died in 2010. I added Brian Duffy to my influence board because I really liked some of his fashion photography of the 1960's & 1970's. I took an interest to Duffy's work because I've been interested in doing some fashion photography myself. I love the poses that he puts the models in and also the fact there in black & white. One of my person favourites is 'Jean Shrimpton'. I just love this photograph and the way she is positioned in the photo as her face isn't facing the camera directly and her body is on it's side. 

David Bailey

David Bailey CBE became a photographic assistant at the John French studio then became a photographer for John Cole's Studio Five before he was contracted as a fashion photographer for British Vogue magazine in 1960. He is regarded as one of the best British photographers as he captured and helped to create the 'Swinging London' of the 1960's along with other British photographers such as Brian Duffy and Terence Donovan. In 2012 the BBC made a film about his 1962 New York photoshoot with Jean Shrimpton. I have chosen David Bailey because I love his fashion photography of the 1960's. what makes his work stand out for me is how in many of this photo's hair is often one of the main focus on this woman models. I really like how the hair looks like it is blowing in the wind or levitated. For me that looks really effective and I love would love to try that out and capture that in my own photos. 

Annie Leibovitz

Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.She a driving force in modern photography who aims to take you to the ordinary to the extraordinary with her Disney Dream portraits. In 1970 she took a job at the Rolling Stone magazine and by 1983 she began working for the entertainment magazine Vanity Fair. Later on she worked on a number of high profile advertising campaigns. In 2007 she was hired by Walt Disney to do a series of photographs with celebrities in various  scenes for Disney Parks "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign. Leibovitz says that she never liked the world 'celebrity' and states " I've always been more interested in what they do than who they are, I hope that my photographs reflect that". She also tires to receive a little piece of each subjects personality in the photos. One of the celebrities featured in one of her photos was Taylor Swift who was transformed into Rapunzel. Like Rapunzel Swift poses to be looking for her prince in which real life she is. I really like the fairytale theme of her photo's for Walt Disney. They look so enchanted and the fact they portray a celebrate in a fairytale world make her photos significant as they reflect the celebrity personality's. I think its a modern twist on photography which looks really amazing.

Lara Jade

Lara Jade found her interest in photography when she was just fifteen years old. At the age of seventeen she started her own photography business and began shooting for portrait clients, book publishers and music labels throughout the UK. In 2011 she moved from the UK to New York and has clients such as Sony Music, Goldsmiths, The Observer and Elle. Influenced by past and present style Jade says " Whenever I shoot I like to create stories with an underlying sense of narrative, whether this is in my personal work, commercial campaigns or editorial projects. I am deeply inspired by elements of influential style  film noir, old masters in paintings and photography, Romanticism and untouched beauty." She also states that her experiences in life have been reflected in her imagery and continue to shape her personally and as an artist. What I like about Lara Jade's is the contemporary feel of her photography. I think her photo's stood out to me because they have a story behind them which influenced Lara Jade before the story was taken. For example this is from films, paintings and other photography. I quite the pastel colours she uses in some of her fashion photography which makes her work look elegant and feminine. 

Artist's

John Martin

John Martin was an English Romantic painter who is most famous for his religious paintings reflecting biblical disasters, fantasy landscaping and amazing compositions. Most of his paintings were of landscapes and cityscapes with his dramatic visions. Whilst studding A2 level art in sixth form I went on a trip to London where I visited John Martin's 'Apocalypse' exhibition at Tate Briton. The reason I went to visit this exhibition was because I was focusing on John Martin at the time for my A2 coursework where I was doing a landscape project. I had found his landscape work in a book and felt very influenced by the artist so I decided to see his work in real life at Tate Britain. Never before I have felt so amazed by an artist as I did when I entered the exhibition. I was blown away by his magnificent painting as they looked so dramatic and dynamic. That was a memory I'll never forget as I felt strongly influenced by his work which I never got with the other artist's work I saw in the Galleries. I would say that John Martin is without a doubt my favourite artist.      

Glenn Brown

Glenn Brown is an English painter that is best known for his historical references in his paintings. He starts with reproductions from other artist's work, then transforms the image by changing its colour, position and size. It appears that his fascinating figures are painted with thick impasto but actually are executed through the application of thin, swirling brushstrokes to create the illusion of almost photographically flat surfaces. Brown is one of may artists inspired  by John Martin's work and 'Tragic conversion of Dali' by Brown (pictured above). This painting as shown at the John Martin 'Apocalypse' exhibition at Tate Britain  London from 21st September 2011- 15th January 2012. It was the last painting in the exhibition but it has a great futuristic vision of the Apocalypse even though it wasn't a painting by Martin. I went to see this exhibition when it was on last year whilst on a art trip in London where I saw this painting up close. The colours of this painting cached my eye at first but then I realised the dramatic effect of the rocks and the futuristic vision.

Edgar Edgas

Edgar Degas was a famous French painter who is commonly known for his paintings of dancers, in particular Ballet Dancers. He is regarded as one of the founders of impressionism, however he preferred to be called a realist. In his paintings he mastered how to create movement which is strongly portrayed in his dancer painting. His work influenced major modern artists like Picasso. Again I've been to see Degas's work first hand in the National Gallery in London. I've picked Degas in my influence board because I really like how he expresses movement in his paintings which gives energy and much more life to his work in comparison to other artist's work. I've also been interested in Ballet therefore Degas's work interests me and the angles in which he captures the dancers and the poses they are in.

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter,who was not widely appreciated during his lifetime, but is now noticed for characterising his work with expressive bold and vivid colour, energetic application of impasto paint and vitality in his work. The traumas of Van Gogh's life that were documented in his letters, have tended to dominate and distort modern perceptions of his art. I like Van Gogh for his use of vivid colours and the how he makes his paintings look expressive with the curly/wavy brush strokes he uses. I have seen this painting above and some of Van Gogh's other work in the National Gallery London. By seeing his work first -hand I could see how he used thick paint impasto and saw the texture it created in his work. I could also get up close to his work and see the brush strokes and marks which create movement and vitality in his work. Another reason why I like Van Gogh is because he did a lot of landscape paintings which is a subject that I like to see paintings of.

Chuck Close

Charles Thomas 'Chuck' Close is an American painter and also photographer, who became know as a photorealist (Photorealism- painting based on using cameras and photographs to gather visual information and from this creating a painting that looks photographic.) who paints human faces large-scale. Close's paintings are labour intensive and very time consuming, as none of his images are created digitally or photo-mechanically. All of his work is made by hand and not to read his gridded details as digital integers. Most of Close's work is based on the use of a grid as an underlying method for the representation of an image. I  think Close's technique is very creative yet effective. I like the process in which his painting are created as I think its a very different approach to other artist's and makes his painting personal to him and incredible to look at for us. I really like how the finished painting looks pixelised up close but like a photo from far away. 

Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe was an American artist who made large-format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if they were seen through a magnifying lens. O'Keeffe's paintings portray the power and emotion of nature which was first seen in her charcoal drawing of silhouetted bud-like forms. I like that you can get a great sense of texture from the objects of nature she painted, its as-if you could reach into the painting and feel the petals. I love the emphasis of colour in her paintings I think they make the paintings look strong and really dominant. 

Actors/actresses

Matt Le Blanc

Best know for playing Joey Tribbiani in the sitcom 'Friends' and it's spin-off 'Joey', Matthew Steven LeBlanc is an American actor. He won A Golden Globe award for his work on 'Episodes' (A BBC Two Showtime television series) where he played a fictional version of himself. He was also nominated three times for his role as Joey Tribbiani on 'Friends'. I have chosen LeBlanc because he is one of my favourite actors of all time. I loved him for playing the role of Joey in Firends, his character's personally was so funny and can always put a smile on my face whenever I watch the show. He just plays the character really well which always amuses me. 

Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine CBE, is a English actor and also author. He is renowned for his distinctive Cockney accent and is one of Britain's most recognisable actors who has appeared in over one hundred films.In the 1980's he achieved critical success with 'Educating Rita' (1983) which earned him the BAFTA and Golden Globe award for Best Actor. He is only one of two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960's- 2000's and in 200 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth ll in recognition of his contribution to cinema. I think Michael Caine is such a great actor and always plays a good role in the films he appears in. I liked his role as Alfred, the family butler in the Dark Knight Trilogy but most of all I like his Cockney accent. It makes him significant to other actors especially when he appears in American films. I think he's a great actor that everyone seems to love.

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig is an English actor is is best known for playing the role of the British secret agent James Bond. He achieved international fame after being chosen as the sixth actor to play James Bond, replacing Pierce Bronson. Although he was first greeted with scepticism, his debut in Casino Royale earned him a BAFTA award nomination with the film becoming the highest grossing series at the time. His third Bond film, Skyfall, premièred in 2012 which is now the highest grossing film in the series. I think that Craig has done really well to take on the role of James Bond and has continued to maintain the high standard as the other Bond actors did. I really like him as Bond and has adapted well to the role.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston is an American actress but also a film director and producer. She gained fame by playing Rachel Green in the sitcom 'Friends', which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. After 'Friends' she pursued a successful Hollywood film career. Both of her Parents were actors and moved to New York after spending her Childhood in Greece. On February 22, 2012 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For me I will always remember Aniston as Rachel from 'Friends' who I loved and thought she did a really good good of portraying her character. I've also enjoyed other films that she has stared in such as Marley & Me and Bruce Almightly. 

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is an English actor, who is best known for his roles in American films, such a the Dark Knight Trilogy where he Play Bruce Wayne/ Batman. Bale's father was a commercial pilot and his family lived in different countries throughout his childhood, these included Portugal, England and United States. Because of consistent change in his childhood Bale acknowledges that this influenced on his career choice. Although I liked Bale's performance in the batman films, I particularly liked his role portraying the magician Alfred Borden in the Prestige. I thought he played a really good role in the film which made me interested in watching other films he stared in.   

Taylor Lautner

Taylor Lautner is an American actor, voice actor and material artist. He is best know for playing Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series, although he had done acting as a child and played Elliot Murtaugh in Cheaper than the Dozen 2. Although I wasn't fond of Lautner when I first began watching twilight, he as an actor grew on me and thought he made a lot of progression with his acting skills throughout The Twilight Saga. I really liked the film Abduction (2011) in which he stared in as the main character and thought he played the part well, which is why I have chosen Taylor Lautner for m influence boards.

Films

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Miracle on 34th Street is an 1994 American Christmas fantasy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Les Mayfield. The film is actually the fourth remake (and second theatrical version) of the original 1947 film.  I have chosen this film because I think its such a magical film that always gets me in a festive mood around the holidays. I've grown up with this film being played at Christmas time  when I was at a young age, therefore its a childhood film to me because its a fantasy film for children who all dream of meeting Father Christmas.

The Parent Trap

The Parent Trap (1998) is a remake of the 1961 film of the same name. It was directed an co-written by Nancy Meyers and produced and co-written by Charles Shyer. The film is based on Erich Kastner's novel Lottie and Lisa and is about a couple who got divorced soon after marrying (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) and Lindsay Lohan who plays dual role as their twin daughter who were separated at birth and accidentally reunited at an American summer camp. They switch places in hope they reunited their parents. I like the film parent trap because I think it has a really good narrative. I think Lindsay Lohan plays the role of the twin girls really well who appear to be quite mischievous. I think it really cleaver how they created the illusion that Lohan was a twin but in matter of fact she played both twins. 

Lucky Number Slevin

Lucky Number Slevin (2006) is a crime thriller written by Jason Smilovic and directed by Paul McGuigan. Set in New York, the plot focuses on the paths of Slevin Kelevra (Josh Jartnett) and Lindesy (Lucy Liu), two rival crime bosses called The Boss ( Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi ( Ben Kingsley) and a mysterious hit-man known as Mr. Goodkat ( Bruce Wills). I have chosen Lucky Number Slevin as part of my influence boards because events in the film are shown in an order which don't make sense to the viewer at first, however these events gradually begin to make sense and in the end all the events come together to reveal the reason behind all the events and shown in an order in which the viewer can understand easily. I love how the plot is complicated to follow at first and how it all unfolds in the end. It gives a great sense of mystery that other films don't therefore this is why I like this film. 

Titanic

Titanic (1997) is an American epic romantic disaster film directed, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron. The film is a fictionalized account of the sniking of the RMS Titanic which focuses on two characters Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) of different social classes, who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. James Cameron's inspiration for the film came from his fascination of shipwrecks, and with the story of the Titanic he wanted to convey the emotional message of the tragedy and he felt that a love story would achieve this. Production actually started in 1995 when Cameron shot footage of the actual Titanic wreck. A reconstruction of the Titanic was built in California and sale models and CGI was used to recreate the sinking. At the time, the Titanic was the most expensive film ever made with an estimated budget of $200 million. I liked the very emotional ending which fulfilled the directors aims. I liked the amount of detail and effects which were used in the film and the whole love story between Jack and Rose. I think the main reason why I like this film is that it has a very strong narrative which also portrays what it was like to be on the Titanic at that time and the emotional message given out in the film.

Home Alone

Home Alone (1990) is an American family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film is about an eight year old boy Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), who is accentually left behind while his family files to France for Christmas. Kevin is left to defend his home against idiotic burglars. As of 2009, Home Alone was the highest- grossing comedy of all time. I think Home Alone is such a great family film which is even better played a Christmas time. I think Macaulay Culkin plays such a good part as Kevin which makes the film so entertaining to watch. I also really enjoyed Home Alone 2 which has an similar plot but Kevin gets lost in New York, as he boards the wrong plane to his family. This film is just so great because its wonderful to see a eight year old boy out-smart a bunch of adults in his adorable child-like manor.

The Prestige

The Prestige (2006) is an American-British mystery thriller film that was directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. The screenplay was adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The film focuses on Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden ( Christian Bale) who are rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. Both magicians become obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they try to out-do each other but it ends in tragic results. I love this film for the dramatic twist at the end which solves the mystery of how Alfred Borden completes his tricks that has being running through the film. I quite like that the plot is complicated to begin with but the plot unfolds throughout the film. I love how suspense and tension are created in the film with the magicians tricks. 

Music Videos

Taylor Swift- Love Story

The video for Love Story was directed by Trey Fanjoy, who had previously directed Swift's other music videos however he allowed Swift to have an input in the ideas for the video. The video is a period piece that was influenced by the medieval era. Swift has desired to film a period piece because of its distinctiveness from modern music videos. The song Love Story was written about one of Swift's love interests who was not popular among her family or friends. Because of this scenario, she related to the plot of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' (1597) which is strongly reflected in the music video. However she replaced the original tragic ending with a much happier ending in her music video and Swift sings/plays the role of Juliet. I love the narrative to this music video and that it reflects the 1700's/1800's era. I like the costume designs which Swift had helped to design as they reflect the medieval era as they love the detail that has gone into the costumes. What I particularly like about the video is the location and the beautiful castle (Castle Gywnn, South of Nashville, Tennessee) that was chosen. We can see towards the end of the video there is a sunset which I absolutely love because it creates a sweet and happy moment for the ending as-if it is a fairytale ending. I think some great shots are used when Swift is singing on the balcony and also towards the end where there is a birds eye view shot of Swift running down the stairs of the castle and her dress drags on the floor. I just adore that shot because it shows her emotion that she is excited to see Romeo after waiting around for him and it looks of fairytale-like too. 

4Minute- Volume up

The music video for Volume Up was released on 9th April 2012, which shows this music video is just under a year old (10 months) and isn't a very old video. The music video reportedly cost $132,538 USD to construct, as well as the special effects like the red eyes, smoke that supported the vampire allusions, Latin influenced fashion and choreography. The video is full of interesting imagery which features a Gothic set that looks like a castle from the dark ages, and stars individual cuts of the members. There are camera pans which view the set which has a tall ceiling that allows in just the right amount of light for the shots. The Volume Up music video is probably on of the greatest music videos I've ever seen. I thought it has been cleverly been edited. For example the camera pans to a range of camera angles, fast paced cuts create a climax,  post production effects such as HyunA's red eyes in the beginning and the flying bats, the haunted/horror tile sequence that fit the theme of the video and also the perfectly executed choreography had a relationship with the music. I really felt influenced by this video and really enjoyed watching it because it's quite different from English music videos as 4Minute are an Korean pop music group.

Example- Last Ones Standing

Examples's music video for Last one Standing, stars Example who plays a hero policeman form the 80's who discovers a gang counterfeiting his new album with dodgy home-made versions. This progresses through the music video and Example plays a cat and mouse game to catch the gang and to save the music industry. The video is quite comical as it parodies 80's cop drama, which I really like as part of the narrative. However it represents reality as Example's label- Ministry Of Sound was targeting illegal downloads with legal action at the time the video was being made. For the stunts in the video suck a the forward flips, crashes and jumps Example had a stunt double- Timothy Shieff. The video took 18 hours to film which was all done in a day. I have chosen this music video as part of my influence board because I like that the video is narrative based and is comical to watch which is entertaining to watch. I like opening sequence to video video where the shots cut in-time to the beat of the music which shows there is a relationship between the music and visual. I also think that the plot of the music video fits well with the song and the 80's cop drama theme works well.

BIGBANG- Monster

The music video for BIGBANG's Monster which has been  a great interest in the music video industry as well as in the K-Pop industry. Even before it was released it gained lots of interest because of its blockbuster level images and has the most powerful styling concept in the history of BIGBANG, who of which are significant because of their styling. Within a day of releasing the music video it had over three million videos on YouTube. This was the views a K-Pop artist had ever received in record time. The video has a much darker and sinister style to it compared to their other music videos, which are quite bright and funky.The video is filled with effects that make the video look energetic, dramatic and dynamic. The video has a bit of a military theme, with lots of explosives and debris flying that make the video look almost 3D. I love the camera angle, tracking of the band members, CTV chots, slow mo's and the lighting. I like how wind, snow and smoke machines have been used  they create a dramatic feel but also make the members looks powerful. I think the eyes lighting white fits the title of the song, as they look as if there turning into monsters. I really love the smashing of the manikins how its been edited to slow motion and how it creates the illusion that that have been kicked with a strong force. My favourite part of this video has to be at 3:37 when the members run out of the building just before it explodes. Each member is shown running individually out of the building in slow motion and is returned to normal speed where it cuts to another member running out. This part is so effective because of the fire, flying debris and smoke all flying across the screen.

Enrique Iglesias- Hero

The music video for Hero was directed by Joseph Kahn and features Enrique Iglesias who plays a honorable criminal that is hunted by his enemies. The video stars Jennifer Love Hewitt who plays his love interest and Mickey Rourke as one of the men hunting him. The narrative of the music video follows Iglesias and Hewitt running away from their enemies in the desert. They are eventually caught by their enemies where they are confronted outside a church. The confrontation leads to Iglesias being beaten by Rourke and Hewitt watches as she is captured by one of the men. The video then skips ahead where Iglesias and Hewitt are in the pouring rain at night surrounded by police cars. Iglesias is clutching his torso, implying he has been shot, and the video ends with his death so we assume Rourke has been caught by the police. A second music video video was released for the UK with less violence and in the final shot Iglesias' legs move, suggesting he is not dead. Although this version was original made just for the UK, this video has replaced the original video on many music stations throughout the world. In my opinion the original music video was much more emotional than the UK version, and I prefer the emotion that come with the original. However I do prefer the ending in the UK video because its got a happier ending with the possibly that Iglesias might survive. I chose Hero for my influence boards because I think the narrative is really good and has real emotion in the video. I quite like the cross-fade video transitions in the video, I think they work well when changing the scene and shot. I like that there is a relationship with the music and visuals. For example when Iglesias hits Rourke outside the church. Overall the video works well for the song as the song is quite meaningful and emotional and I think the video matches that.    

Black Eyed Peas- Where Is The Love

The music video for Where Is The Love was shot in east Los Angeles and features members of the Black Eyed Peas and various other people of many age groups, who ask the world where the love really is. The plot of the music video follows band members Will.i.am and Taboo who act as a soul music road duo who use music to tell people what is wrong with the world. Other member Fergie appears as a peacemaker who helps Will.i.am and Taboo to place stickers with a question mark on them all other the place, which symbolises where is the love in the world. Other member Apl.de.ap is a criminal who is arrested for doing criminal offences to tell people the truth. In the song Justin Timberlake sings part of the chorus  but does not appear in the music video and we see several people mouthing the chorus he sings. The song has a strong meaning  to it which suggests that the media and entertainment industry affects the morals of children. I partically like the music video for the reason that it sends out a message to viewers and has a meaning behind it.

Film Directors

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is regarded as Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He is one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film and invented the summer blockbuster with the film Jaws. In his career of more than four decades, his films have covered many themes and genres. I have chosen Spielberg as I enjoyed the series of Indiana Jones film that he directed. He has also directed classic films such as Jaws, E.T and the Back To The Future films.

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is a British-American film director, who co-founded Syncopy Films with his wife, Emma Thomas and have produced all of his since The Prestige (2006). Nolan is Comic Con's favorite film director and specializes in mind and time-blending special effects. He has made many action films and is one of the most commercially successful filmmakers of all time. I really enjoyed watching The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Prestige Nolan directed. I thought the Dark Knight films were really good and full of special effects. The bank robbery in The Dark Knight film was shot in Imax which looked really effective which I really liked. 

James Cameron

James Cameron is an Canadian film director, his is famous for his outlandish special effects and unbelievable budgets. He has directed films such as Titanic, Avatar, The Terminator and Aliens. I have Chosen Cameron on my influence boards because I really liked the film Titanic that he directed. I thought it was an amazing film and by watching it you can tell a lot of time and effeot had gone into recreating the scenes of Titanic. The film was incredible and you could tell it had a huge budget.

Andrew Adamson

Andrew Adamson is a New Zealand film director, who was a visual effects supervisor in films before coming a film director. He has made blockbuster films such as Shrek and Shrek 2 and Chronicles Of Narina. I have chosen Adamson as part of my influence boards because I really loved the Shrek films and are my favourite animation films. The first two Shrek films in my opinion were the best in my opinion and were the ones which Adamson directed. Therefore I think Adamson did a really good job as a director.

Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus is an American film director and is best known for as the director who began the Harry Potter film series as he directed the first two films and produced the third film in the series of eight. Apart from Harry Potter he has directed other great films such as Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Goonies and Gremlins. I have loved watching many films directed by Columbus, Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire as my personal favourite. Therefore I have chosen Columbus for my influence boards as I think he has made some really good films and made a fantastic part to the Harry Potter series.

Martin Campbell

Martin Campbell is an New Zealand TV and film director who helped the international careers of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas. He is most famous for directing some of the James Bond films and has directed other films such as The Mask Of Zorro and The Green Lantern. I personally like Campbell for directing the James Bonds, especially Casino Royale, as I really enjoyed that film, although his other films are good as well.