Writing task b

Research can get me to where I want because I can see what has already been done, what has been successful and what hasn’t. For example if I wanted to go and work on the visuals for a film I can watch as many films as possible writing notes as I watch them, which is more or less what I have been doing recently.

I tend to use an exploratory method of research researching with an open mind and not a lot of structure but I’ll almost always come out with an outcome. After long periods of research I can subconsciously start to research in a more interim way because I am bound to notice trends and pick up on them.

I am often put off by the pilot stage of research as I am free thinking and don’t apply much structure in my way of thinking I don’t think it is irrelevant however it is not best suited for the way I think.

Writing task a

My creativity in the last couple of years has predominantly been photography this started with me mainly using film, however I have almost completely converted to digital and I extensively use digital image manipulation software such as Photoshop. My preferred style of photography is quite surreal as I like to take things out of their natural environment or distort colour and shape. I have also been part of a performing arts group that I have learned different theatre practices.

I took up photography as an AS level with no prior knowledge however once I left that sixth form after one year I carried it on as a hobby wanting to improve all the time teaching myself new tricks. I mainly do it for myself out of personal interest however I have done some work for a band and for a modelling website. Some of the photos I have taken I will be printing onto canvas in the hope of selling them.

In the future I plan to carry on with photography however by combining my current skills and the skills I will learn from Multimedia I will hope to go into the filming industry, working on the visual look of films, shows or adverts. I think my dream job would probably be a director of photography for a film company or even free lance.

Avatar

Well what can I say? Wow, is the word I used when the film ended. Avatar was just incredible to watch taking almost a decade to produce and with a budget that could almost end world poverty I expected nothing less from this sci-fi romantic thriller.

Avatar is not simply just a technological breakthrough it is pre-destined to become a cult movie with strong anti-war and green messages throughout. It is so visually detailed that repeated viewings would do the film no harm.

I could tell you all about the film and what it is about but that would do the film no justice all I’m going to say is watch it and see for yourself. This is the film that is pushing the boundaries of CGI and this will be the most visually inspiring film for many years to come.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes the movie is essentially an adventure romance, as Holmes (Downey Jr.) and Watson (Law) try to break up their friendship and through crooked schemes and explosions and near escapes, realize in the end how much they mean to one another after all. At the beginning Watson is preparing to move out of 221b Baker Street, with plans to propose to pretty and proper Mary (Kelly Reilly) and leave the detective business entirely. Holmes, bored and hilariously jealous, attempts to sabotage Watson's engagement and also draw him back into the game, now that an old closed case has suddenly reopened.
Months earlier Watson and Holmes put away Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), an aristocrat who murdered five people via some kind of dark arts ceremony. Watson himself supervised Blackwood's hanging, but when he appears to have risen from the dead, everyone including the police wants to know how he did it. Blackwood and his legion of followers have plans for world domination via drinking potions and other supposed magic, while Holmes goes about finding Blackwood in the only way he knows how-- using his "not inconsiderable knowledge" and foolproof logic. Meanwhile, Holmes's old flame Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) is back in town, a criminal beauty working secretly for a shadowy boss with a penchant for fancy weaponry. Adler pops up from time to time to help Watson and Holmes in their investigations, and it's clear to the audience that she'll throw a wrench in things even when Holmes hasn't quite gotten there.

The plot itself is not as clear as it could be. But the story really just provides a vehicle for the action and the fantastic character interactions, one of which delivers slightly better than the other. The action set pieces, like a fight at a shipyard and the final race against the clock, are brilliantly structured. The editing often works brilliantly with slow motion scenes quickly speeding up and interesting camera angles that put you right at the centre of the action.

All this editing works great in Holmes's investigation scenes, allowing him visual flashbacks to all the clues that led him to his conclusions and avoiding the dreadful slowness that comes with most mystery-solving monologues. Miraculously the audience is right there with Holmes even during his most out-there epiphanies, and the equally out-there camerawork pays off well in making this period piece feel unstuffy, but also not gimmicky. One of the best action films I have seen in years.