"Load" - Taking me back to the 80's

Hello readers,

When browsing the internet for new and inspiring pieces of CGI work, more often than not you will find yourself looking at the same thing over and over again. Taking no credit away from any of the artists or the work they have produced, the content always seems to fall under the same old genres (Sci-fi along with fantasy creatures and monsters). So when you come across work that does not fall into these genres it tends to stand out and is generally really well executed. 

"LOAD" from Brian Sørensen on Vimeo.

Video courtesy of Vimeo and Brian Sorensen.

"Load", by Brian Sorensen, is a video that was created as part of his graduation project in Digital Media. The video which takes place in a 1980's setting including a classroom oozes 80's nostalgia. What works well in setting up the scene is the carefully chosen computer hardware and well placed scene assets. This includes the Commodore 64 which is an iconic piece of kit from the era to the 80's movie posters such as Tron and Blade Runner.

What really makes this scene for me is the subtle use of depth of field and attention to detail throughout the scene. The handwritten text on the cassette tape is a really nice touch and the dust on the camera lens.

The lighting is really well balanced due to the right amount of contrast to set the mood throughout, with the blue glow from the monitor adding a very nice touch also.

My favorite aspect of this scene has to be the music, starting with the classic 80's style Synth that develops into the piano score towards the end.

This scene doesn't scream and shout, it is a very classy piece of work that captures everything we associate with that era of technology.

I looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject.

Happy reading

Ryan Blackburn - Media Productions
www.sovibrant.co.uk 

Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Adaptations

With several big budget movie adaptations of classic works of literature due to arrive in theatres in the not too distant future, I thought it would be a good idea to blog our top 5 most anticipated here at SoVibrant HQ. With some of these titles being in my top ten books list I hope the following films don't disappoint!

1. On The Road

Jack Kerouac's defining work perfectly captures the spirit and ethos of the beat generation of the late 1950's. Largely autobiographical the book focuses on the cross-country hitch hiking of Kerouac and his acquaintances. This book is a work of genius and the film has got a lot to live up to even come close to matching its quality.

Trailer

2. The Great Gatsby

I'm not sure how any film can capture the subtleties and subtext of F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal 1920's novel. Baz Luhman, director of Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet is not someone that you would normally associate with a delicate touch (and the trailer appears to be anything but subtle) so it will be interesting to see how this take on the classic book is relieved by its fans.

Trailer

3. The Hobbit

If this as half as good as the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy then it is definitely not one to miss. Recent news that the story is to be stretched out into a trilogy has concerned some fans though, with many fearing that Peter Jackson or the studio are looking to cash in on the franchise. Only time will tell but my instincts tell me that this will be one of the most successful adaptations in the list.

Trailer

4. Life Of Pi

I touched on this in a recent blog so wont risk the danger of repeating myself here. I'll only say I'm really looking forward to catching both the book and the film soon.

Trailer

5. Cloud Atlas

Having not yet read this book its high on my reading list before the movie comes out. I'm very impressed with the trailer though and spanning hundreds of years the film looks like it's going to be epic.

Trailer

Because I'm feeling especially generous today and to show these potential pretenders how successful a good movie adaptation can be if its handled correctly, I have listed my top 5 movie adaptations to date below:

1. 2001 A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece is probably one of the only films that I've enjoyed more than the original source material. The opening sequence itself is a work of genius. Kubrick was really a master of his craft at this stage in his career. If you have not seen this film yet watch it now. No seriously stop reading this and watch it.....now.

Trailer

2. Goodfellas

Based on 'Wiseguy' the autobiography of Nicholas Pileggi this is THE definitive gangster movie. Scorsese focuses on the street level hoods as opposed the Mafia leadership of the Godfather Trilogy, and the film tracks the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family spanning across several decades. In my opinion career best performances from Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. The book is also definitely worth a read.

Trailer

3. Blade Runner

Having loved this film for a number of years I have recently read the Philip K Dick source novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' and was sadly disappointed as it had none of the subtlety or complexity of the film. Hopefully Ridley Scott wont taint this work with his rumoured sequel in the same way he has with Prometheus, but I can forgive him for the fact that he made this amazing film in the first place. Way ahead of its time.

Trailer

4. The Shawshank Redemption

Based on a Stephen King short story, The Shawshank Redemption often tops the greatest movie of all time lists and it’s easy to see why. A brilliant story brilliantly executed.

Trailer

5. The Lord Of The Rings

What can you say about this amazing trilogy other than Peter Jackson has not only managed to film the unfilmable but also created a cinematic masterpiece. Shame the last film has so many endings but this is a small complaint. Let's hope that The Hobbit can maintain the level of quality Jackson achieved with this franchise. The books can be heavy going but I would highly recommend them.

Trailer

Feel free to add your own favourites and recommendations below!

Images and trailers via the web

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Is CGI ruining cinema?

Hi everyone,

Having recently been to see the movie Prometheus, I have decided to somewhat voice my opinions on a controversial subject which I believe in strongly and would like to know your points of view.

Having worked in various facets of the CGI industry ranging from games design to interior 3D visualisation, I have finally come to the belief that CGI in movies is slowly destroying the industry. My career has always been in CGI in some way or other and it is always what I have been most passionate about. Unfortunately I do think that is it being over-used or not used correctly by the vast majority of movies at the moment.

ALIEN CLOSE-UP

Gone are the days of classic movie storylines such as Apocalypse Now or the original Alien movies (well, 1 and 2 anyway) and even the brilliant Blade Runner. A vast majority of the budget of a movie is now being invested in the visual effects as opposed to more important areas such as telling a good story or building an emotional attachment to the scenes and people in the movie.

YODA - STARWARS

Many people will argue that CGI has enhanced the movie-goers experience by more realistically immersing them into a movie. I agree more than anyone that CGI has its place in cinema and is a complete necessity now. It allows us to create and portray visual aspects of a movie which are simply impossible without it. The problem is that it needs to be used wisely and in the right places. Take, for example, the recent movie Prometheus (don't worry there are no plot spoilers for those of you who haven't seen it) compared to its classic counterpart Alien or Aliens even. The mood and atmosphere that Ridley Scott achieved in the previous films vastly surpasses that has been achieved in his most recent work. The look of CGI is in no way a replacement for an actual scene or a physical entity sharing the screen with the actors. The original aliens had a real physical presence and you could literally feel them sneaking up behind the characters in the movie. This was because it was all created through clever use of prosthetics and make-up and actual people wearing alien suits etc. In recent movies, the CGI characters just don't embody anywhere near the same feel of actually being in the scene. I don't think it is down to the skill of the CGI artists at all as they are amazing at what they do. I just believe that there is no replacement for an actual being, as it were, sharing the camera with the actors in a movie.

ALIEN INFANT

One consequence of the above issue is that the acting of the main characters in a film is also compromised. When face to face with an actual Alien or creature, the actors in a movie are much more convincing in what they are trying to portray. However, when they are simply in front of a green screen with nothing more than a little guidance, it must be much harder for them to come across as believable. 

BLADE RUNNER

The truth is that in today's cinema experience, there aren't many new and fresh ideas. Originality has all but left the minds of most movie writers these days and the fact that so much focus is put on the visual impact of a film is just making this situation worse. We are in need of original and engaging stories that rely more on the characters and plot than just wowing us with amazing effects.

PREDATOR

Another problem is the way the critics are assessing and reviewing films at the moment. They are simply reinforcing this false economy by evaluating movies based greatly on their visual impact alone. How amazing the CGI is plays a very large part of how good a rating a movie gets these days and that simply shouldn't be the case.

ALIEN

As a closing note, think back to movies with little to no CGI intervention. Terminator, Dog Soldiers, Alien/Aliens, Predator, Jacob's Ladder, Blade Runner etc... The list goes on and on. One thing you will notice is that these are not massively recent films. The above obviously have visual effects which are a requirement of every movie really. What they don't have is an over use and reliance on virtual characters or virtual scenes and such to portray the atmosphere of the film. This is how movies should be made, to engage us and draw us into the story, while the visual aspect should aid in keeping us there.

TERMINATOR

I am very interested in hearing your comments and points of view on this discussion and thanks for reading.

3D & Media

www.sovibrant.co.uk