Screen Shot Analysis

For this task I have chosen to analyse the first few scenes from the movie Wedding Crashers, which I only just watched a few days ago and found to be hilarious.

(Sorry about the subtitles in the screenshots by the way, it's not that easy to find good quality movie clips online for free)

The first shot of the movie (a Mid/Medium shot) fades in to reveal the main characters of the film (or the 'who'), played by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.


Next a Medium Long Shot is used (along with the dialogue) to reveal that they are mediating a divorce, answering the question of 'what'.

Although it is not told explicitly to the audience, the 'when' can be determined by the decor of the scene and how the characters are dressed, as well as the dialogue of the characters. It is soon established that this is set in modern times, and during the day.

The 'where' of the scene can also be idetified from this shot, as the viewer can see that the scene takes place in an office, and a later Wide Shot/Establishing Shot reveals that they are in Washington D.C.

Although the 'why' of the scene isn't made as obvious through cinematography, a mid shot helps convey the anger of the wife and her hatred for her husband, showing the reason behind the divorce.

A big close up later in the film of the 'purple hearts' shows 'how' the two main characters plan on getting free drinks at the weddings they intend to crash.

Internet Delivered Short Films

During the 90's the potential for video sharing on the internet was starting to be realised. One notable short film designed for distribution in this manner is 1997's "Troops", a Cops parody which is set in the Star Wars universe. This can be credited with bringing 'fan films' into the digital age, and showing how these films may be distributed cheaply.



OK Go had been a relatively obscure band until the release of their now famous video for the song "Here It Goes Again". Shortly after it's release, the video went viral and the band's popularity skyrocketed. This displays the capacity for the internet to share videos with the world, and highlights it's importance as a means of distribution.

OK Go - Here It Goes Again


http://www.funnyordie.com/ was founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company in 2007. This website is unique in that it offers visitors a number of exclusive comdey videos from famous contributors such as Judd Apatow and Will Ferrell. It's establishment hence marks an important step in celebrities and producers (whose work would otherwise be reserved for the silver screen) recognising the internet as a powerful medium for distribution of original content.

Check out the site's first video, "The Landlord":

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Week 4 Lecture

The history of screen was the topic of the week 4 lecture. A lot of the stuff that was covered coincides with the topics discussed in my Screen History and Research class, but it was interesting to learn about some of the lesser-known 'advances' in film, such as "smellovision" in the 1960's. The lecturer then showed us a rather awesome short film made by Guy Ritchie as part of a BMW advertising campaign (see below).

Internet Scavenger Hunt

The task is to answer the following questions without using Google or getting all the answers from Wikipedia.

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin? How long did it take to grow?

For this I will consult Bing, which has been touted as Googles biggest competitor.

Searching on this site leads me to http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/giantpumpkins.htm, which states that the record for the biggest pumpkin stands at 1689 pounds, grown by Joe Jutras of North Scituate, Rhode Island, in 2007.



2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Lilly Allen?

Well probably through Myspace/Facebook/Twitter, she's known to be partial to social networking sites like these.

3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?

http://www.yahoo.com.au/ was used to discover that a Giraffes tongue can be up to 22 Inches long. Click here for more info.

4. How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean? What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?

Ask Jeeves tells me that... "The term “glycome” describes the complete repertoire of glycans and glycoconjugates that cells produce under specified conditions of time, space, and environment. 'Glycomics,' therefore, refers to studies that profile the glycome."

Basically its the study of the biological role of carbohydrates.

A seagull manager is "A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves". Source

5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film? Which of his films Had 'Blondie' in it?

A quick visit to http://www.imdb.com/ reveals his first feature film was "Shivers", made in 1975. "Videodrome" (1983) starred 'Blondie'.

6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?

http://www.dogpile.com/ leads me to http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html which says it was written on January 8, 1986.

7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?

Consulting http://www.sensis.com.au/, I found this site which states that it is used in film so that individuals/businesses will not be harassed by members of the public trying out the numbers heard in films, as no persons phone number begins with 555.

8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Sydney?

Logically, walking or riding a bike would be cheapest, but realistically I would say going by train.

9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?

Well I haven't used Wikipedia to find all the answers to this scavenger hunt but i did for this question, which claims it was "Help! / I'm Down" by The Beatles. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_in_Australia_during_the_1960s

10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?

Apparently it's Black Assassins

Week 3 Lecture

Week three's lecture was all about screen (as in film and video). Having completed a film production course in high school, I was already aware of pretty much everything that was discussed. Basically the lecturer talked about shot sizes and how particular shots should convey the 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' of the narrative being told.

Shots which can be utilised to express this include:

VLS/WS - Very Long Shot/Wide Shot (aka Establishing Shot)

LS - Long Shot

MLS - Medium Long Shot

MS - Mid Shot/Medium Shot

MCU - Medium Close Up

CU - Close Up

BCU - Big Close Up

ECU - Extreme Close Up

(Explanations of these can be found here)

Shot composition was also discussed, mainly focussing on the "rule of thirds", where the subject should ideally be positioned two thirds to the left or right of the screen, with their eyeline two thirds up from the bottom of the screen. Check the pic below for an example of this:

Language of the Screen

Discovering the definitions of the acronyms ECU, WS, and MS, takes some researching. Google is a great way to retrieve these, however, and they are easily found by simply typing "define:" followed by the term you wish to find. Ignoring the obviously incorrect results of Engine Control Unit, and European Currency, (as we know that the desired results are screen-related), I gathered that they mean:

ECU - Extreme Close Up - A shot wherein the subject fills the entire frame (Source)



WS - Wide Shot - A shot which displays a wide or panoramic view of the scene (Source)



MS - Mid/Medium Shot - A shot which is midway between a long shot and a close up (Source)



More info about these can be found here

Timeline of Computing and the Internet

Time line of computing

- Charles Babbage's Difference Engine (designed to calculate and print mathematical tables) is developed in the 19th Century

- Ada Byron conceives the first computer program

- Alan Turing devises the first working computer, The Bombe, during World War 2 to break German Enigma codes

- The first generation of computers are made available by IBM in the 1950's. These large machines are adopted primarily for government, business, and military use

- The first PC (personal computer) is made available in 1975. Bill Gates writes a programming language known as BASIC, and soon starts his own business, Microsoft

- The Apple computer (the Apple 1) is developed in the 1970's, costing $666.60

- IBM and Microsoft produce an operating system DOS 1.0, and eventually this partnership dominates the personal computer market

- Linux is developed in 1991

- Apple sees something of a resurgence in 1998 with the return of Steve Jobs



This info was gathered here.

A detailed history of the computer can be found here.

Internet Time line

- In the 1960's the RAND corporation develops the idea of a communication, command and control network that could survive nuclear war

- The US Department of Defence funds a program which eventually produces ARPANET in the late 1960's

- The World-Wide-Web is developed in the 1990's which uses internetworking and hyper text to make an easy to use but powerful system.

- Internet browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape are developed in the early 90's

- Instant messaging, p2p file sharing, VoIP/voice chat, and social networking sites like myspace/facebook come to prominence in the 2000's.

Info obtained from this site

More info about the history of the computer/internet can be found here

Lecture 2 - The history of computing

Another week, another 8am lecture. Week 2 was all about the history of computing - the rise of microsoft, IBM, and apple, as well as the birth of the internet, which has since become an integral part of modern life. It was interesting to learn how the computer developed over time from the huge, room-encompassing machines of the past, to the compact personal computers we know today. Ohh how wrong Professor Frink (from The Simpsons) was when he said:

"...I predict that within 100 years, computers will be twice as powerful, 10,000 times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings of Europe will own them."

Convergence Pics

Here is another example of an important convergence technology...

The hybrid car uses an electric and petrol engine to reduce emissions.

The same pic after photoshop...

Convergence Examples

These smartphones are a prime example of converging technology, as they serve as a camera, television, and computer...













Steve Jobs caused a revolution when he released the ever-popular iPod, allowing users to view pictures, listen to music, and watch movies on the go...



Another example of converging technologies is seen in the application of gps and computer sensors in cars that can park themselves...















Social networking sites such as Facebook, which allows users to share photos and communicate easily with other users, can perhaps be considered the most popular and influential of such technologies...
















More info on social networking can be found here

Video of the self-parking car...

Convergance

Google tells me that 'Convergance' is "the occurrence of two or more things coming together". This is evident in the technology realm with 'smart phones' like the iPhone, which can now do everything a computer can, becoming more and more popular.