Auteur study, further decisions

After ditching the idea of studying Francis Ford Coppola, moving swiftly onto Quentin Tarrantino and then feeling like he would be to easy to do.. I am again stuck choosing between two directors. David Fincher and the Coen Brothers.
I've come up with a couple of different aspects to look in to:

The Coen Brothers
- the obscure
- use of the same actors
- botched crime, a crooked criminal - obsession with film noir
- an average joe who gets involved in a big scheme that is too much for them, something goes wrong with the plan and chaos spirals
- the effect of money on people, negative
- violence death and murder
- distinctive, american settings - malice in familiar settings
- greed and corruption

David Fincher
- a master of form, shot angles and filming techniques
- visual style, dark and gothic - flashy
- working with Brad Pitt
- Life theme, teaches a life lesson
- Downbeat endings
- Title sequences that set the tone for the film

I'm really stuck as to what to choose, I'm drawn to Fincher because he is undoubtedly an Auteur and has a brilliant visual style, but also drawn to the Coens just because it's far more light hearted! I am going to see what articles I can find on both and will probably end up doing the one I can create the best catalogue for. 

John Lewis Christmas Advert.. Memories

I keep seeing the new John Lewis Christmas advert, and all though I love it (it's become a bit of a Christmas tradition!), it just can't get better then last years. It quite literally fills me with emotion every time I watch it, such brilliant advertising.

Behind the Scenes: the Old Spice adverts

I absolutely loved watching this video and seeing the interesting way they create the old spice adverts, sometimes it is nice to see that everything isn't CGI, it reminds me of the way Michel Gondry does his effects.

Technology Wins

Lately I find myself constantly sticking up for modern technology, in a world where we have so many privileges it's surprising to me that so many people can complain about the way it works. I agree that somethings have negative sides, like twitter being used for bullying or how the internet takes notes of your interests without really asking your permission. But sometimes you've got to admit, we are incredibly lucky to live in an age where you can easily contact people a million miles away, and technology is constantly growing. At the rate it's growing, who knows how long it will be before we find a cure for cancer, or before travelling to space becomes a possibility for everyone. I'm not saying the bad things aren't an issue, but it's nice occasionally to just look at the positives, no matter how small they are. Below is a video from a Nine Inch Nail concert in Las Vegas, and it shows the front man Trent Reznor facetime a guy whilst on stage during the encore. It's a sweet thing to do for a fan anyway, but the guy he facetimes was actually a guy who couldn't be at the gig after just been given only a few weeks to live. Its these small privileges, being able to video call someone at the touch of a button, that we take for granted. Sometimes, the little things mean the most.

Click the link to watch the video

Tarantino Referencing Pop Culture

I'm thinking about studying Tarantino for my auteur study, there's a lot of info out there on his references to pop culture and I think it would be something I could really go to town on. However, is it too easy? It's certainly easy to watch his films again and again.

Animation station

With the animation deadline looming, I'm trying to get as much done as possible every day. It's certainly a challenge, but it'll be good to get it done so I can put it onto the website I am creating for Web Design. Here's a screenshot from my opening title sequence, hopefully more to come soon!

  

American Beauty: The Dinner Scene

Today in film studies we watched clips from 'American Beauty'. I particularly enjoyed this dinner scene.

It's great how you get the impression of a happy family scene and this slowly deteriorates. In particular, the camera shots, cutting between the mother and father create real tension and an idea of separation. The division is clear from the establishing shot and the distance between them, but it isn't really clear until further on in the scene. I especially like the use of lighting, the way Kevin Spacey ascends into darkness every time his anger rises. Brilliant film making.