'New Moon'

Went to see the second film in the Twilight Saga on monday night called 'New Moon'. I really enjoyed it and thought it was such an improvement on the first one. I later found out that 'New Moon' had a different director than the one from the previous film. There seemed to be such a huge difference between the two films, not just because of the content but because of the editing techniques, etc.

This film was a lot more fast-paced in terms of editing than the first one which made the film more enjoyable (this could be put down to the fact that more action occurs in the second book than the first one, not because of the change in director) For example, when showing the character's flashbacks or if a character has just realised something, a few very short shots of things would flash up on the screen in quick succession in order to show the audience that character's thought path (fast-paced editing).

I also particular liked the shot of Jacob's character jumping over the camera as he turns into a wolf. The effects they used in order to create the visuals of these wolves are probably the same/similar to those used in the film '300 (see my last post). It can be seen in this advert at about 1:33;

I loved the film but I still prefer the books, even if they are badly written, I love the story line (apart from the very end which is awfully written) and I'm looking forward to seeing how the producers/directors manage to get the next book from paper to screen.

'300' wolf - How they did it...

In the film '300' there is a famous scene with a quite realistic looking wolf in it and I wanted to know how they managed to create such an impressive representation of a real wolf and I found this article on the website www.popularmechanics.com.

(To see the clip of the wolf scene in '300', click here)

The New Normal

A WOLF IN DIGITAL CLOTHING

In today's movie making, the creative work that takes place on a computer can be as important as what goes on in front of the camera. In the big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller's historical graphic novel 300 (above), the future Spartan King Leonidas fends off a wolf. On set, visual-effects supervisor Chris Watts tried using a robotic wolf (top) for the scene, but it was eventually covered up by a computer-generated version of the animal (shown midrender, below).

Digital effects such as 300's virtual wolf are remarkable not because they are groundbreaking — the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in cinema dates back to the 2D pixel-vision of a robotic Yul Brynner in 1973's Westworld — but because this technology is now a standard part of the moviemaking toolkit. The impact of digital technology on Hollywood has been gradual but all-encompassing. Today, a movie can be shot, edited and distributed — from camera to theater and beyond — without involving a single frame of film. The transformation is at least as sweeping as the introduction of sound or color in the early 20th century, and it is changing both the business and the art form of cinema. Cinematographers, long resistant to digital image recording, are starting to embrace the use of digital cameras, shooting clean-looking footage that's easier to manipulate than film. Commonly available software allows small special effects shops such as Hybride to render entire virtual worlds and blend them seamlessly with live-action shots. Scenes that would have required elaborate sets 25 years ago can now be shot against a blue or green screen, and the setting can be filled in later — and then tweaked until the director is satisfied.

Special Effects...

On sunday I was watching the film '300' again, and I loved the way they had mixed real footage with incredibly impressive special effects. I'm not sure how they did it but I really like the effect it had on the entire feel of the film. Everything is made to look very dark and moody, and it makes you feel very disconnected from the film but in a good way, because it makes you want to understand more about what is going on in the film. It intrigued me and I would love to know more about how the producers created that effect.
An editing technique that I noticed throughout the film was the use of slow motion in order to build up tension when something momentous is going to happen. For example, in this clip the main character is seen going towards his opponents at normal speed and just as he goes to kill them, the clip is slowed right down so that the audience is eagerly anticipating the kill. This is exaggerated even more for his final killing of the clip and the sound (both diegetic and non-diegetic) builds on the tension even more.
The use of high/low angle shots also came into the film a lot in order to establish the status of the characters. For example, in this second clip, the shots of the character Xerxes are all taken from slightly below him (character of Leonidas is seen to be looking up at him) in order to suggest his superiority.

Title Sequences

I've just read through the webpage that is mentioned in my previous post and it presents some interesting ideas. I found it particularly interesting that on their website the most commonly searched opening sequences are those that belong to the "darker" films, such as se7en, etc. I think it's true that most opening credits for those darker films -psychological thrillers, etc. - usually have more of an effect on the audience than the opening credits of a comedy/light-hearted film.
For example, the opening credits for Juno have been produced using incredible effects but as it goes on for a long time, it loses it's effect and the audience are not concerned with what's going on in the credits because they know they won't have to concentrate hard throughout the film to be able to understand what's happening. Whereas in a film like Se7en, the audience needs to focus for the duration of the film, including in the opening sequence, in order to keep up with the storyline.