A programme which might interest fellow Character students...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vjmqh/How_to_Get_a_Head_in_Sculpture/

David Thewlis (you'll probs recognise him as Lupin in the Harry Potter movies) has three different artists sculpt his head. Each artist embraces the challenge wholeheartedly, with some really interesting/ unexpected pieces produced at the end.

The bats have left the bell tower, the victims have been bled, red velvet lines the black box, bela Lugosi's dead

Finally, inspired once again!

Had the most enjoyable and thought provoking lecture yesterday which has greatly influenced my decision for the essay. I know my previous intention was to do either question 2 or 3, but the lecture on intertextuality was so enjoyable that I feel really inspired by the topic and so I'm going to pursue question 4.

The lecture featured a series of case studies, including Planet of the Apes, Pulp Fiction, Grease and Madagascar. There was also the standard reference to Dr Who thrown in for good measure. Ivan wasn't joking when he claimed to be an obsessive fan. But who am I to judge, mention George A Romero and I react in a similar extremist fashion. Though I'd like to consider myself less of an anorak :P

Regarding the Madagascar case study, when shown the clip I kinda had this insane unravelling of thoughts and theories that came rushing through my mind. I was barely able to scribble it all down in time.
I hate it when that happens. An overwhelming volume of ideas all fight their way to the forefront of your mind and subsequently you scrawl some incomprehensible notes. Its like mind vomit.

Basically within this one scene in Madagascar there's a huge quantity of intertextuality. From Planet of the apes (Damn them all to hell), to Castaway. However, these cultural references are more for the benefit of the 'accompanying adult' cinema population, e.g. the Mums & Dads, than the core target audience of children.
This is a common trait within contemporary animation, especially from the likes of Dreamworks and Pixar. Through intertextuality, the makers are able to develop the stereotypical 'family film' so that an adult audience can genuinely enjoy it. The popularity of Pixar speaks for itself. They are now regarded the forerunners of family cinema and although in recent years there a slowly establishing theme of quantity over quality, its indisputable that the early films (Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo etc) were fantastic.

Another aspect of the lecture that I found provoking was when Ivan stated that 'all models are intertextual'. That opened the floodgates for another wave of mind vomit, but on a serious note, I do think that's a really worthwhile point he made. Could one then argue that all art is intertextual? But then that requires a definition or classification of art and I think 'art' is such an ambiguous term.
I find these kind of matters fascinating, exhausting in terms of being mentally challenging, but extremely interesting none the less.

When we progressed onto the seminar we were using the character of Dracula as a case study. Ivan showed us a clip from Nosferatu, which I spent the lecture referring to in notes as Monsteratu, until I saw the title written on the board haha.
It's a really awesome horror film created in 1922. It was then remade in 1979 and we saw a clip from the remake also. We then did a quick decostruction/comparisson exercise of the two. Its always interesting during group discussion to hear others' analysis because often people will notice details which you may have overlooked.

the vampire in the original Nosferatu

Ivan progressed to give a brief history into the character and the origins of Dracula are actually really interesting. I think its something I may follow up on myself and see what information i can gather on various horror 'legends' and such.
Highlight for me though, was when he referenced Bauhaus's 'Bela Lugosi's Dead'. It went over the heads of most people, but I was impressed nonetheless. With all this talk of Dracula, Bela Lugosi could never be overlooked and in relation to intertextuality there's no greater an example than in music. Any scenario where i can reference the two simmultaneously, I'm in my element. So to end a very long post, the following seems very appropriate, enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY&feature=related

How to embaress yourself in a lecture hall full of fellow students...

...shout out adolf hitler at the most inappropriate moment, then feel your cheeks burn as everyone subsequently mocks you.

In my defence, it is true that the VW Beetle was built with him in mind, if not designed by the bad man himself....
anyway, moving away from nazi Germany towards more relevant matters ...

Briefs,drawers,boxers and other undergarments

This has quite literally been the least productive week at uni so far. New project brief, which I'm not engaging with at all, is being practically ignored right now. Instead I've turned to the MH&C briefs, whilst simultaneously trying to sort out my attitude and general indifference towards everything.
I'm really inspired by the MH&C briefs, but that means it's all the more difficult to decide which one to choose for my essay! Indecisive is apparently my middle name.

The first 3 briefs have the most appeal, but that's probably got more to do with the fact that they relate to topics already covered in the lectures. The theme of realism is one which I feel I could write really passionately about, therefore question 2 seems appropriate.
On the other hand, there's a lot of material available for researching question 3 (deconstruction & analysis incorporating semiotics).
Well that removes 4 briefs from the picture, now just to decide upon question 2 or 3...
that middle name's rearing it's ugly head once again...

An introduction to Semiotics...or a recap as it may seem

So as the title suggests, today's lecture focused on Semiotics. Ivan began the lecture with something of an experiment. We had to sit facing one another in pairs (not the easiest task whilst arranged in a lecture theatre). One person viewed a diagram and then had to describe the image to their partner. They in turn had to draw what was being described to them.

Unsurprisingly the combination of Steve and I produced a questionable drawing. I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that far off what Ivan had presented, but ours was the least successful in comparison to those sitting around us. I thought it was an interesting way of making us analyse means of communication and was a good opener, especially as the material that followed was for most utterly mind boggling.

Semiotics can be so confusing, even though I'd studied it before, I still find some of it difficult to interpret. I do oddly enjoy it though.

Following the main lecture we had the seminar, and because I'm taught by Ivan for that too we just naturally progressed on from the lecture. We spent some time deconstructing imagery from a semiotics perspective and that was actually really interesting. Especially because we all had different theories and interpretations of the imagery we were being shown.

One of the main characters we considered was the Joker in various film/TV productions of Batman. We looked at three different interpretations of the character (two of which are shown below) and discussed the similarities and differences between them. 

One point I found particularly interesting was our theories regarding the way in which the psychotic nature of the character is visually interpreted. With Heath Ledger's portrayal, (right) its the dishevelled clothing and fixated gaze which create the unpleasant mood of the character. Jack Nicholson's joker (left) appears more smartly, with a dandy demeanour, but its his false permanent grin that causes discomfort.   



Additionally, during the seminar we saw the following fight sequence from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and discussed the cinematic techniques such as slow motion filming and the use of juxtaposing music which present the scene almost like a dance sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v90KPJ6n4Ew

I think that the slow motion somehow heightens the violence and yet the fluidity of their movements as the characters brawl looks almost beautiful. Overall I think its a fantastic scene and Kuberick successfully accentuates the psychotic personality of the protagonist Alex and his lack of social and moral understanding.

Lastly we were introduced to the different ways in which to create our imaps, which is an important document towards our essay grade. Ivan showed us some examples from previous years and some of the students had presented their impas as artworks in their own right! Not sure I'll be as ambitious, but I'll try and convey some of my creativity through the piece.

First thing first though, I need to choose my essay title! ASAP

Lets get the ball rolling properly...

So my next MH&C lecture is tomorrow, still finding my feet in class but enjoying it a lot nonetheless.
So far we've had an intro to the course and then a lecture on realism which was actually very interesting.

On reflection I probably should have written my thoughts on the lecture immediately after, then I would remember some of the jargon and various impressive facts Ivan threw our way. Lacking in notes for that lecture, may or may not be due to mine and April's extreme lateness - ahem, moving on. I'll be 'on it' starting tomorrow though.

On another note, after a heads up from Sean I've discovered the History of Horror BBC series and I've been raving about it ever since to any SFX student who crosses my path. It really is awesome & anyone with an interest in horror movies should watch it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=A%20History%20of%20Horror%20with%20Mark%20Gatiss

And so it begins...

Finally coaxed into joined the bloggers club. expect generally boring posts lacking wit, intelligence and/or relevance from here on in.