Controlling idea

Robert Mckee- Controlling idea

There is evidence to show that Mckee's thought of the 'controlling idea' is found in a lot of the film genres.

After watching a few western movies, including Shanghai Noon. I had found that with many western films, the controlling idea tends to be that loyalty is shown to their empresses.

I'm not really a fan of science fiction, but with two films I've watched I have found that there is the idea of possible alternative worlds or futures and  controlling the world of some sort e.g. robots.

Rom coms tend to be centered around 'true love', they're light hearted and have humerous plotlines. This controlling idea was clear in Friends With Benefits, even though they were trying to avoid the typical Hollywood romantic comedy, Dylan and Jamie found that adding sex to their friendship lead to complications and at the end of the film they fell in love, it definitely ticked all the boxes. In contrast, gangster films, such as  The Godfather, American Dream and Get Rich or Die Tryin' all have the controlling idea of protecting those closests to them and when that fails, they tend to seek revenge by falling into the wrong crowd. After realising the errors in their way, they realise they want to change it but by then it's too late

Friends with Benefits

The Godfather

Favourite Director

We were given a task to research on a director, whether it be a director from a television programme or a film and feedback to the class. I have decided to talk a little about Pamela Fryman, Fryman is an American sitcom director and producer. She is very well known for directing many episodes of How I Met Your Mother. After doing my research, I had found that she has also directed television series such as Friends, Two And a Half Men, Fraiser, Accidentally in Love and Happy Family. When carrying out my research I had found that all these programmes happen to be within the comedy genre and a key theme I picked up on is that they are family based. I am a fan on Fryman's work, How I Met Your Mother is one of my favourite television programmes, I believe it ticks all the boxes in terms of what a typical comedy should look like and it even goes beyond it, I have never watched an episode of HIMYM without crying with laughter. When the show first came out I knew I'd like it because it reminded me a lot of  Friends and they both share similar qualities. For instance both shows are about a group of friends whose lives are changing, Barney and Joey seem to play similar roles as well as Ross and Rachel and Ted and Robin with their on and off relationships.

One of my favourite episodes- 'The final scene of Friends'

Stars

When asked to explain what the difference is between a star and celebrity in seminar today, in all honesty it was difficult, because nowadays everyone is a 'star' or a 'celebrity' so its difficult to single out what quality a star or celebrity should have in order to be defined as a star or celebrity. I don't believe that there is just one, fixed definition or, because everyone has different views of who and what they think a star or celebrity is.

I believe a star is someone who has worked to get to where they are and are known worldwide because of their talent. However, nowadays anyone can be a celebrity because reality shows have made it easier. In my opinion I think people such as Will Smith, Beyonce, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Michael Jackson they are stars, whereas the likes of Kim Kardashian, Joey Essex, Pauly D they've all been on reality shows and if this wasn't the case I don't believe I would be aware of who they are.

Adam Sandler in my eyes is a star, he's got a back story which shows his journey and how he's become the person he is today because of his talent. He has starred in and written films such as Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore and Grownups. Stand up comedy was his talent and he knew this was something he wanted to nurture. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts, worked at a comedy club and then he was discovered by an agent. This was the beginning of a whole new chapter because it led to casting in movies like Airheads and Billy Madison. We are all aware that Sandler is very talented, because he doesn't just act, he writes and produces his own films and even composes his own songs.

Man on Wire

I know we watched this a while ago, but I forgot to comment on it. I particularly enjoyed this documentary, and it was helpful when completing our documentary production. I didn't think I'd like it to be honest, because it isn't the normal things I like to watch but this one has definitely stuck with me. I think its because of the passion Phillippe had and you can see how much he wanted to walk across the two towers, fully aware of the consequences. If this had been on telly, I probably would've changed the channel but I'm glad we watched this in lecture it was definitely insightful.

Breaking Bad

I haven't been in for a while, but the episodes I have watched of Breaking Bad, there's always some sort of drama. It is one of those television series if you miss a few episodes you could get really lost, I have been catching up and I must admit it is getting very interesting!

Platoon 1986

I thought this film was so emotional, it's not the type of film I would watch but the director Oliver Stone did an exceptional job. It really made me feel a part of the film, and you could see the struggles the Vietnams went through. I would definitely recommend this film to a friend!

Filming process

Who knew filming a short drama would be so time consuming? I honestly thought the way were organised and had set out to do our work we'd be done by now.. But here we are. The final outcome will be GOOD!

Everytime I go to upload my work, I get distracted and end up doing something else. Well, it's about time now and this time I won't forget.

I've just realised that all the work I have uploaded has been mixed up and I don't know how to change it. This is just great..

Deadlines deadlines deadlines

Right about now, I'm really looking forward to the Christmas break even though I have work to do. It's been a not so good start to the semester, but next semester there will definitely be a change. The more I'm in uni the more I realise why I chose to study television production.

The Room Wiseau 2003

As much as I love my rom coms, I really didn't enjoy this film. Maybe I was tired.. But I feel if I dont enjoy the first 20mins of a film, there really isn't any in watching it. I was a little baffled by it all if I'm honest.

I haven't uploaded in a while, but that's only because I've had assignments to do and everything is just getting on top of me!

Drama Viewing

I've got to say, our drama production was A*. I'm so proud of my team and I'm glad we actually managed to pull it off. In all honesty, there wasn't any group I could fault, you can see the improvement in work from our first viewing. The end of my first year is fast approaching and after a rocky start I was just beginning to enjoy it and not it's over. I'm excited to see what next year will bring me!

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Growing up as a kid and still today the show just looks weird to me, it isn't something I would watch again to be honest. But I can understand why some people may watch it, fantasy kind of looks interesting. I can't even make my mind up..

Children's show!

Our 2nd production is officially DONE! I thought vision mixing would be easy, no way. Luckily, I did my research and I was fully prepared. Definitely enjoyed every minute of it though, love keeping busy.

Uploading work

I've just realised that I never upload my work when I've done, it's just sitting in my drafts. Oops!

Types of Documentaries

Until today, I was never aware of the 7 different forms of documentaries; poetic, expository, observational, reflexive, performative and participatory. After today's seminar, I have found that every documentary type has an element which makes it recognisable to others what form of documentary it is. For instance, poetic generally has no narrative, expository is a classic documentary with a voiceover, observational is viewed as a 'fly on the wall' this is normally found in documentaries such as Panorama. Reflexive documentaries tend to question it's own status, performative documentaries give the opportunity to become a character in their own documentaries and participatory generally allow you to get involved in the doc and ask questions. 

I have found the advantages and disadvantages for a few of these documentary types;

Poetic documentaries appeals to a larger audience especially those of an artistic background, however, it lacks in providing the audience with an actual message. Also, expository documentaries give a clear and concise message it is informs you as well as educating you at the same time, this could be based on something you had no information about but after watching it you've gone away with a better understanding of it all.