slow mo float 05/25/2010
That floating bag gets me every time. with Werner Herzog's spot-on narration as an added bonus.. I wish I could show this to everyone who questioned why I went to school for Architecture then Photography, as if they were unrelated and isolated. For me, the marriage is obvious. The artist is Alex Roman Check out his The Third & The Seventh website. "A FULL-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view, where main subjects are already- built spaces" click here to see what other people are saying.. psst...It's best if you watch it full screen gimme a break 01/12/2010
so I just watched this trailer for ♥ Valentine's Day ♥ ...starring Julia Roberts' laugh. No surprise since the director is Garry Marshall, the same one from Pretty Woman. I didn't realize 'Julia Roberts' is still a name that sells, did I miss something? This movie is clearly a cliché knock off of Love Actually, the feel-good British Christmas comedy. Say that five times fast. not just about BABIES 01/11/2010
I've never been one to goo goo gaa gaa in a baby's face but this documentary looks like it'll be about learning foreign cultures and family traditions, not just cute squishy babies. Judging by the trailer, BABIES, looks like it will be visually interesting, creating attractive and intriguing imagery of both urban and rural landscapes. song from trailer: The Perpetual Self, Or What Would Saul Alinky Do - Sufjan Steves (The Avalanche 2006) Amazing Mr. Anderson 12/06/2009
 Fantastic Mr. Fox movie poster. Cross-section technique used by Wes Anderson. I went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox last week (and also may have sneaked into Pirate Radio after... don't bother with this one) and thought it was, er, fantastic. Wes Anderson has successfully created his own visual style that can be seen in both his animated and non films. Visually his movies are appealing, with their combination of new and old so the audience never really knows what time period they're watching. His characters seem to be caught in the highlight moments of their lives, see Richie Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums. What stands out about Anderson, to me, is his attention to detail in set design, dialogue and the idiosyncrasies given to each character. He achieves these through awkward pauses, mannerisms and honest, innocent, dead-pan expression. Yet, the humour still comes through. A notable feature of Anderson's films is his cinematography style. Particularly the use of straight on shots, which helps to give the impression of stage productions. I often think of how Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was shot, using cross section views of the movement and interiors of the Belafonte, Zissou's research vessel. Before this movie, I don't remember seeing this technique used and it's visually stunning. After doing some research I found that this was done as an homage to the 1972 film Tout va bien, where the same technique was used, the film being set in a sausage factory. And this movie was a nod to the 1961 Jerry Lewis movie The Ladies Man, reputedly the largest indoor set built by Paramount, the house having sixty rooms. By panning through the spaces you get a sense of the architecture of set design and see the structure of continuity in both dialogue and experience. Fantastic Mr. Fox, of course, is an ideal situation to use such technique since the story takes place above and below ground. In this movie the use of straight on shots act like elevations drawings, which also become well composed film stills from a photographic perspective. In this movie the camera work puts the animals in an ant farm-like perspective, where we're watching from the other side of the glass.        Beetlejuice, 1988 So I spent most of last weekend feeling like sick garbage. Thank god Beetlejuice was on TV....three times on three different days. And ya, I'll admit it, I watched them all, even though I own the DVD. Over the years I have probably watched the movie about a hundred times. And won't stop. It's just one of those movies that is perfect background noise for working on computer-y type things. There's one scene in particular that I find myself watching for, then later thinking about for days. It's after the Deetz' move into Barbara and Adam's New England house on the hill (Tim Burton likes houses on hills, see Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Coraline (yes I know it's Henry Selick, but they have history), et al. Note his German Expressionism influence of extreme angles, high-contrast shadows and distorted perspectives) and have renovated it to fit Delia's post modern, big city taste. The scene I am always taken by is the one where Charles, Delia and Otho are outside on the all white deck extension, finished with one lone white wall shaped like a classic house doodle, triangle roof line on top of a square. This wall is also cleverly clad with horizontal slat siding, the standard material of choice for many suburban homes. In a way this singular wall symbolizes the idea of idealized home and family (another Burton theme), something the Deetz' are definitely not, and is juxtaposed against a post modern take over of an old Victorian home. The window cutout nicely frames the scenery beyond, simulating a picturesque landscape painting. There's something very striking about the white architecture against the natural landscape and despite the colour, there is still a sinister feeling to the scene and the turmoil within that can't be whitewashed. Still photos from Beetlejuice:    Here's a little excerpt of the movie, the famous Harry Belafonte 'Banana Boat' lip syncing scene (part 6). Followed by my favourite scene at about 7 minutes in (part 7). Enjoy!
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