10. Fantastic Mr. Fox

I’m gonna write about my top ten favorite movies and then explain why. I’m bored and I dunno what else to post right now.


Trailer

This movie is based off the book by Roald Dahl, though the ending to the movie differs slightly. It is a stop motion animated film. Why is this one of my favorites, out of all the animated films out there? Because it’s totally different from any other contemporary animated movie, i.e. it’s not digital. It delivers a very different feel that works.

The story and the characters are incredibly quirky. You can’t help but laugh at times because it’s just so damn different and funny. You’ll fall in love almost instantly. George Clooney’s voice talent totally fits Mr. Fox, and he delivers a great performance. And Kylie the Opossum is just hilarious. You really have to watch it to understand, because it’s pretty far from ordinary, and only after watching it you will understand.

By the way, this is only the first of three animated films in my top ten.

Posers

I hate it when people say they’re good at something just because they know the basics of what they’re doing. This applies to film, but pretty much anything else art-related out there, like photography or music or whatever.

Imagine: when people say their film is “artsy.” Sure, that’s fine and all. But if the rest of your film is pure crap, you have nothing. You can make a ton of pretty little angles with cool colors and the retarded film focus effect, but if it doesn’t do anything for your film, then it has no meaning.

People associate pretty things with art. Anyone can make something pretty. You can take a photo of just anything, color correct it and everything and bam, you call yourself artsy. You can take a video clip of anything, put in some ambient music and color correct it, and bam, it’s pretty. So what?

What do those colors do for your picture exactly? Does it capture the right emotion? Does your “artsy” video clip do anything for your film other than make it look pretty? Is your video even good? What’s the point of it anyway?

Artsy implies some form of art, expression of the imagination and feeling. Anyone can make a photo or a video clip and make it look pretty. Anyone. It’s really easy actually—just pull a few sliders here and there and voila: pretty pictures. You haven’t proved anything. You just know how to use sliders on your computer.

In my opinion, art needs the extra layer beneath the surface that has the thought and the imagination in it. I enjoy looking at photos that have meaning. I enjoy watching movies that stress the story before visual effects.

I don’t disapprove of ambition. If you’re really just trying to get better and just experimenting, fine. But don’t go around bragging that you’re all that just because you made one pretty picture. If you have something to back yourself up, well then fine, you choose what you want to do with it.

I’m not trying to criticize anyone specific. This is how I feel generally. I just don’t like it when people talk big but have nothing to back it up with.

Justin Bieber Movie

Yeah, I went to watch it, and I’m not ashamed at all. I don’t hate the kid like a lot of people do. I don’t love him either. I’m part of that middle, grey group who no one really cares about.

Overall, as a documentary, it was okay. It told the basics of his story. There was nothing much we haven’t heard though: He came from a small town, he got his fame on Youtube, he’s a superstar now. That’s all that it really told us. So when it came to historical content, it was pretty limited I’d say.

A lot of it was just geared toward boosting public opinion of the guy. It was mostly sentiments about how he was born with the talent and how he was always a natural showman. They showed baby videos of him, which promptly led the large mass of girls sitting in front of me to go “AWWWW.” Eh. I’m not really affected by baby videos. In my opinion, really, all babies are like that.

I think this movie was more a publicity stunt than a real documentary. Half of it was just portions of his concerts. So, as a documentary, it was pretty average: not great, but definitely not bad. It’s just the fact that it’s Justin Bieber that makes people think it’s a big deal.

Verdict: 6/10

Improving and Something Completely Different

So what do I have to improve? A lot. Really, any thing I do can improve or change in some way.

Regarding The Blood Exchange, I need to remember to focus on the focus. Half of my shots were out of focus. It honestly pissed me off to see Carlos’ face so out of focused so often. There’s something I can fix.

Another thing I can do? I have to work on my audiowork. I don’t think it was as high-quality as I wanted it to be. I have to work on the balance between voice and music, because, I agree, Roger’s voice was sometimes overtaken by the music.

So, looking forward. I’ll have you know that my next film will be completely opposite from the Blood Exchange when it comes to style. I have no set script, only a storyboard and generally what will happen. I don’t know how I’m going to film it. I don’t know who I want to be in it. I don’t even know how it’s going to end. But I’m gonna film it, and I’m just gonna let things happen the way it happens.

My philosophy is that bad ideas are better than no ideas. Whether or not my future film will be good is completely out of my control. It could be complete crap, and I may forever remember it as a failure. However, doing it is better than sitting here and thinking about what could go wrong. What I’ve learned is that failure is sometimes better than achievement. It tells you where to go next.

As quoted from Paul Arden’s Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite, “IT’S BETTER TO REGRET WHAT YOU HAVE DONE THAN WHAT YOU HAVEN’T.”

Words to live by.

The Blood Exchange Reflection

And now comes the time for the post-video reflection. Let’s get started.

So what was good about this video for me? I am proud of how professional it looked. Honestly, it had this sense of formality and structure that made it seem less of an amateur video and closer to a professional video. Combining the awesome camera quality, the tripod, the lighting, and the overall presentation, you have a pretty solidly put-together film. I think overall, professionality was what I was most satisfied with in the end.

My actors were great. Though I think all my actors did a great job, I think the person who stole the show was Anthony, honestly. He was great, I won’t lie. I remember being behind the camera and seeing him yell at Roger with such intensity. He just got so into it, and it really showed in the final product. I enjoyed seeing Carlos pulling out his suave Christian Bale persona during the whole video. He pulled off being a cool dude really well. +10 for the sunglasses. Roger did a pretty good job too, though next time I will have to ask him to speak a bit louder.

This video followed the trend of my last few videos where it evokes a Tarantino feel. I think I’ve gotten pretty good and kinda conveying his style. Therein lies the problem: it’s too much like Tarantino. I’ve been following his lead for a while now, and it’s about time that I stop. Sure, the video looks great and professional. But I need to start exploring some new styles.

Other than that, I think this was a pretty solid video. Expect something different next time :D

OFFICIAL -- The Blood Exchange

Here is the official release of The Blood Exchange!

After hours and hours of hard work, it’s finally here.

Please, comment and tell me what you think!

Watch Here