Looking into this blog piece was a lot f fun mentally. I know that sounds kind of odd but it really was! Thinking about 5 products that are creative in my mind and why, was something that I actually had to think about. Now some of these are pretty bland and probably the usual pick but some other’s are things a little closer to me personally when talking about creativity. Now my 5 products of creativity are:
Can of spray paint
White sneakers
A Pencil
Play dough/ Clay
A camera
Now when we look at that list its pretty self explanatory as to why they are creative products, but its more than that. The can of spray paint isn’t JUST A CAN, its what gets done with it that creates something beautiful. Now spray cans are usually linked back to graffiti and damage of property BUT if you have ever seen what an artist can do with just a couple of plain black and white cans you too would be amazed. Now second is plain white sneakers, now as I am a massive sneaker head and both love art and color, i see this as a opportunity. I have 4 pairs of white vans/Air force 1 Nike’s at home that i have gone to town on with pencils and paint to create something unlike any other shoe. The best thing about white sneakers is that IF you really wanted to you could turn them into your own style, literally.
THE ALMIGHTY PENCIL – Yes that’s right a pencil. Now a pencil can be used for sooo many things. Stories, drawings, writing some lyrics you name it, it can be done with a pencil. Similar to the white shoes, a pencil to me is like a limitless object, just getting into the right mindset and you can really create any plan, film, song or drawing if you just set your mind to it. Now play dough was an object in which i think was my favorite ‘Toy’ growing up, i could sit there for hours building bridges, cars, houses you name it I made it with play dough.
And finally the camera. Now growing up with things like the pencil and play dough was my go to, obviously at a young age playing with play dough at school was a good way for me to be creative in my own way, then getting older in high school i would draw and write stories based on the characters i would sketch in my own time. And as a young adult with a income that allows me to be around decent camera’s and proper equipment, i am able to really push my creative limits. I have always been a fan of photography and videography as it allows you to just use your mind and the camera to create and tell a story. No matter if its a single 1 shot story or a 15 minute video with 10/10 editing, a camera to me, is my most used creative product.
So what does it mean to ME when i see this formula? How do it all make sense to a guy that can happily admit lacks in creativity at times? Well i can easily answer that for you. ATTITUDE!!
So after looking at this formula and actually looking at what goes where, its easily seen that creativity comes from your attitude. This formula pretty much states that creativity comes from how one individual is mentally, and what attitude they decide to have at the time. For me especially, my most creative and hard working moments come from when I’m open to the situation and have a positive attitude towards my tasks or just day to day life. Being a creative person while having a closed mind and down attitude towards life is incredibly hard, being someone that has just recently lost a very close friend and is struggling to find the right head space I can tell you for a FACT that trying to find creative ways for working on assignments, coming up with creative ways to be a better employee at work and even just finding ways to keep up with the creative individuals I surround myself with at University is incredibly hard.
So when I see this formula, it just a basic way of explain what is important to make creativity work. Without the function of a good attitude, imagination and evaluation, creativity cant work at its best potential. Kind of plays off the saying “You can do whatever you put your mind too” assisting this formula in the concept that as long as your attitude is right and your take the time to really evaluate, you can really do anything. Now being creative is one thing, but being able to come up with new and improved, creative ways to better either your own work or help improve others IS ANOTHER! If your view on a piece of work or a task given is rotten and bland then your chances of actually coming up with and executing anything creative is close to impossible.
Like the formula states, no matte how much information you have, no matter how long you have studied a subject and its tasks, if your personal attitude and view towards life, tasks or jobs are down then creating something beautiful for yourself will be nothing but a distant desire instead of a deserved accomplishment..
There are many ways to think of creativity, just as there are many different definitions and interpretations. Which is fitting, isn’t it? After all, “creativity” is and comes down to the individual, we all think of creativity in our own ways. Some people can stare at a piece of art for hours and see nothing but blobs and colored lines BUT for others, their creative mind paints them a picture no other individual could have seen. That is to me, creativity.
Now when we speak about what creativity is NOT, it kind of contradicts my opening paragraph where i said it all comes down to the person. But for me, creativity is the process of CREATING something, a painter doesn’t just by chance paint a beautiful portrait like no other, he goes through the stages of creating this master piece. Creativity is not something that happens by chance or as some people like to call it a phenomenon. Its hard to really say what is and what isn’t creative as the value and meaning of something differs person from person, but to me creativity is about the process. Having so called a creative mind or creativity means you are able to take the simpler thoughts and ideas and create something completely unlike the original or in other cases be able to see bland situations and turn them into something more up beat and lighter.
I believe as students of the film industry, having creativity is a hands down must!!! As nearly every style of editing, film shots, acting, ect has been covered, its crucial for us to be able to see and produce creative and fun ideas to help us push on. Creativity shouldn’t just be something that comes out when assessments and films need to be shot, it should be something we all work on using in day to day life! Having a creative mindset helps create more options, and more options means more productivity for us young lings (Star wars reference… if you didn’t know….)
Creative mindset to be able to think outside of the box with problems
Creative work on my App.
Own creative editing style (fast motion, rhythm)
When it comes to being creative I believe I tick multiple boxes IN MY OWN way. A massive part of my life is fashion and style. As a kid that never used to be big into clothing lines, colognes, brand names, ect. I used to just wear whatever whenever. But as I grew up being surrounded by new people. Going new places, I was slowly introduced to the creative side of clothing and fashion. I began to be aware that fashion is in its own way, a creative skill. Being able to mix and match, work a outfit around one pair of shoes, learn what YOUR own style is, all these things just clicked with me. It wasn’t really till I got a job and started making some decent money that I began to really dive into my creative side in the clothing and shoe game, but I really believe that even today my clothing and fashion skills are what make me such a creative individual. I was able to open my mind more and really see the options for me and create this own image for myself which I believe is soooo important for everyone to do, maybe not in fashion but in your own industry, hobbies, ect ,its so important for everyone to find that creativity within themselves, and for me I found that in clothes and shoes. Now for me and being creative in fashion isn’t just hoping it get it right and that im happy with it, its more of coming up with new ideas, new ways to show ME through clothes and shoes, trying to cement my look into my life. And one of the best things about fashion is that its always growing, and with that so is my push to become even more creative with the limits continuously growing.
One of the biggest questions in the film industry today is:
“Is technology ruining not only the experience of Films but the overall storytelling”
Now I’m glad i get a chance to reflect on this topic as I am very passionate about the growth of film and the limits in which we can push too. Now before I go on to say how much I am ALL FOR the push of technology in film i will say, technology has in many ways ruined films. We could all probably think of at least 2 films in which we could say , if shot again without as much technology and more focus on actual story telling, IT WOULD BE GREAT! With the first question being such a strong subject for me as a big fan of some very well done CGI films I would have to say that in a nutshell technology has not ruined story telling or stopped the growth, but more of the opposite, technology (When used well) can and has created and opened up a whole new area of film for us both as creators and watches to experience.
A great example of the perfect use of technology and one in which was spoken about in class was the 2013 film ‘Gravity’. As the years go on and we see ourselves surrounded by new technology everyday, some would say it would be stupid and ignorant of us to turn our back on such an opportunity. Like for real, it doesn’t matter how great of a story teller you are or how well you can put an idea on paper movies like Gravity and Star Wars could never be possible without the use of technology and accepting the constant growth. With that being said, there is a line in which should be drawn when technology is used within films, another term for it could be ‘Unnecessary use of technology’. A interview between Alex Chadwick and Edward Jay Epstein explain it perfectly where Alex state:
“The scene still has to go in not matter what it looks like, they spent a fortune on the scene, they cant just throw it away” (“NPR Choice page”, 2019)
This backs up my point when saying that some film would have a better chance succeeding in the industry if they focused less on trying to keep up with the technology hype and focused more on keeping a strong story together.
As a filmmaker, how would you use technologies to immerse your audience?
To conclude this topic I think this question is one that could have many answers depending on the story of the film, the way it needs to flow, ect. But for me as a young student looking to break into the film industry one day the answer is YES! A massive yes, as the generations grow and see more and more of these beautiful CGI Films, it will soon to seen as a the norm. I want to use technology to immerse the audience into a world or a emotion they haven’t dealt with before or COULDN’T because its something or somewhere that couldn’t be seen without the help of technology. Think of Harry Potter, this film changed the world with ages from 5 to 95 wishing they could receive the letter to Hogwarts, it was all because it was something that technology could help us experience, we no longer had to think about how cool it would be we got to watch the story of a kid we all wanted to be. So for everyone looking to expand and grow with thr industry of film, technology is and will be your best friend if you can find the perfect balance.
A interesting question that came up throughout one of the classes this trimester was the simple one of:
‘Do you prefer to watch movies at the cinema or at the comfort of your own home or space’
Now for me its simple, always the cinema. Reasons for this i believe go back to my early years when my parents would either surprise me or take me to a new released film that I had been dying to watch at our local cinema, or even travel into the city for big occasions like when Harry Potter #4 had just been released and my parents let me have the day off school to travel into the city with them to watch it, i remember feeling over the moon. I believe for a lot of people being at the cinema has a more of a ‘exclusive’ feel to it, kind of like you are seeing it before anyone else (Even though your really not). The aspect that you also are paying for the tickets, food and drink also has a ‘treat’ vibe to it which you don’t really experience on the daily. Now for me personally, I don’t think i have ever watched a movie at home and gone the whole time without getting up to check my phone, bathroom runs, getting side tracked with pets, etc. And that’s another reason as to why I believe the cinema really helps with getting in the zone, for example you have the credits before hand to settle you in, you have the time before the credits to check your phones and chat among yourselves and then bam, the intensity starts. NO PHONES, NO TALKING, JUST WATCH.
Now as i had mentioned, I am a very restless watcher. If i am starting to believe the movie is becoming slow or just wasn’t what i was expecting it to be then ill be the one to pull out my phone, check messages, start chatting away ect. So for me as an audience member, I look to choose my films very carefully. I need to make sure it has got the certain aspects themes that will keep me entertained and focused, especially if the film is pushing the 2-3 hour mark!
As a massive action and Thriller/Horror fan myself, I am always looking for new movies or old classics to add to my collections of favorite films. Not to long ago I went and saw the 2018 film ‘The Nun’ which was hyped up to be one of the scariest films to come out in the last decade. Easiest way to explain it, I was laughing through most of it more then anything else. For me its not the amount of hype behind a film that will get me interested as an audience member, i look for the perfect horror techniques like music, certain actors, the back story behind the actual story, if its based on a real even or story. My perfect film needs to fill these aspects in a way that it wont just help me leave the film saying “yeah great what a movie!” But i want to leave the movie thinking about it, thinking about how it would have felt, what i would have done in certain situations. To me a great film helps not only create a feeling of love of the film, but also a connection.
Example of a film that REALLY put me on a roller coaster of feelings is the 2015 film ‘The Visit’
Zombie land is a 2009 Science Fiction/Adventure film Directed by Ruben Fliescher and written by the talented Rhett Reese, Paul Wermick and David Callaham. The 1 hour 30 film follows the life of Columbus, played by the beloved Jesse Eisenberg, a shy student who is trying to reach his family in Ohio after a mad cow, zombie filled disease spreads across America. Now Columbus isn’t our every day, buff as hell zombie killing machine. Columbus is more of our everyday nerdy, gamer, who struggles to not only to interact with the opposite sex but struggles even more with taking care of the thousands of undead, wanting to tear him limb from limb. Throughout the story we meet his newly loved crew, starting with Tallahassee, a blood thirsty zombie killing, Twinkie lover who dedicates most of his time throughout the film trying to get his hands on the last twinkie shipment in the states, then there is Little Rock and Witchata, 2 sisters who have been left to take care of each other by doing WHATEVER is necessary for survival, then there is the thousands of dead individuals who make up the terrifying yet humorous zombies. The call to action for Columbus comes as his Neighbor as we know her as, 406 comes to Columbus’s room asking for shelter as a crazy man had been following her and tried to bite her, hours later after waking up from a nap with her on the couch he realizes she’s sick. Now with sticking to his rules of survival, Columbus does what he does best. Survive.
In this video essay ill be discussing how through the film forms of misc en scene, narrative, genre and editing, the subtexts of fear of change is achieved. A good place to start in my opinion is the begging of the film, now as you watch the beginning of this title sequence think about how the edit flows, now for me this opening scene is a stand out both in editing form and a strong way of showing the strict rules of our main character. There is a strong distorted screen affect at the start which kind of distorts our vision and gives off an uneasy feeling, pushing the audience to believe something is off. Now as we see the intro fold out we can see that most of these shots are editing together to seem that every shot is in fact happening all with the same camera, so cuts to other scenes, odd flash backs, it seems to flow at a continues rate even by zooming out of the destroyed world and then zooming back in. The main form of editing in this title sequence is slow motion, this helps with really showing the gore effects of blood, guts and zombies hitting the floor and walls. The choice for this is to really focus on the beauty of the scene, kind of showing ‘How beautiful’ but horrifying this world really is by slowly fading in and out of each other and then finally settling to a darkness, possibly death.
Now a big aspect of the film is that these titles are a theme within themselves, popping up throughout to help remind us of Columbus’s strict list of rules. These rules are almost in ever seen, looking apart of the scenes surrounding and even sometimes interacting with the actions and movements of the scene, for example, both Columbus’s Rule 1: Cardio and Rule 2: The Double Tap, where after being shot, blood splatters onto the title. Within the main title sequence, we can see that all cast and director fonts are capital letter texts with a strong red sans-serif font. The strong fonts and the size of the titles are used to show just how powerful this apocalypse is on the people, and it wouldn’t make much sense to have big bubbly text filling the screen. Most of these titles within the opening scene as well as through movie are in some way interacting with its surroundings in some way, that being pushed over, ran into or even broken by passing zombies. And even when the final Zombieland title appears, it shows us an individual running for his life and smashing through the title screen with a crowbar.
Now how has a narrative been established, well from the get-go of Zombieland we are pushed to believe the film isn’t about a single male fighting the world alone to save every human and win America back, but more about the life of everyday apocalyptic survivor, scared, alone and smart. Now If I had to use one word to sum up the films story, it would be RULES!
As the subtext of the film is about Columbus’s fear of going against his rules, and his fear of change the story helps us keep this in the back of our mind by using the constant check list or rule list titles popping up in nearly every action scene or scene where an important decision is to be made. For example, in the scene where Columbus meets Tallahassee for the first time, he checks the back seat of Tallahassee’s car before settling in, drawing a clear picture of the strict ‘to the books lifestyle’ Columbus lives. Now through the film’s Mise en scene it is clear to see why Columbus fears stepping away from his list. A wide range of locations are seen throughout the film such as Washington DC, A university football field and even the extremes of a strip club and toilets. This isn’t just spots by luck, these locations indicate that not even the most private comfortable locations are safe, and if not careful becoming a “human happy meal”. Throughout Columbus’s adventures there is a bunch of both daytime and night-time based scenes as most great horrors do, but no matter the time of day, most shots are based around low-key lighting. The low-key lighting is a base for most horror/action films, as no matter the scene day or night, it leaves us with no overwhelming strikes of light but just enough to keep that un easy vibe. Cinematography and Sound play a strong part of portraying meaning and forming subtext in Zombieland.
As Zombieland follows the world of the undead, having the right sound affects and music is crucial. Zombieland has chosen to use over the top sound for their scenes, just as Tarantino uses over the top sounds to emphasis an action scene, Zombieland used its music to really bring out the adrenaline within the scene. There are multiple soundtracks playing in the background of most scenes like Tallahassee roller coaster scene or the music change in the supermarket once a zombie is in shot.
Opening Song (Metallica) And its use of bells
Another great example of strong cinematography and sound is this supermarket scene, which for anyone would be an insanely scary and intense moment, but with the collaboration of the heavy metal music and quick montage editing it works together to help see that Tallahassee is enjoying this moment and the genre of comedy and horror work incredibly well. Now as the film comes to an end, we start to see that everything kind of happened for a reason. Columbus realizes after spending so much time with his group that some rules are meant to be broken if the time is right, and that change isn’t always a bad thing, in some cases its natural. Each scene is laid perfectly so we can watch Columbus push away change on many occasions, until it traps him with no place to run. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my presentation, and hopefully you have taken something from this piece, enjoy.
I have chosen the ‘Helping Hand‘ scene from the 2014 Film ‘Fury’. This scene begins with the US platoon finding a SS. Scout surrendering himself in the hope to be spared, it is only then that Brad Pitts character ‘Don’ forces the young and helpless Norman to execute the German soldier by forcing his hand while pinning him in his arms, made to watch. Now as most War Films do, there are so many subtexts, hidden messages and plots in which the movie includes to help build up the overall feel for the Film.
Subtext and Deeper Meaning
When first looking into this film you are led to believe that its a story about a tank squadron and the hell these boys went through to achieve their goals. But after watching and learning about how deeper messages and subtexts are achieved through strong scenes and information within a film, this was one I couldn’t go past.
“Film scholar B.K. Dick (2010, pg. 200–201) defines subtext as, “a complex structure beneath the narrative consisting of the various associations the narrative evokes. In other words, there is a surface meaning and a deeper meaning”.
The subtext received from this scene alone is one of mental stress and personal pain. Norman was a type writer working a day job in the city a week ago, now being forced to execute a human with 0 experience within this field. This was one of the first war movies I’ve ever seen that didn’t give that good patriotic feeling. No patriotism, no romanticism, and no heroism, just war. It’s uncomfortable, and it takes any notions of good guys vs bad guys and throws it out the window. These are real men that have been exposed to the worst humanity has to offer, and they are calloused and detached.
And I think that’s the biggest subtext you can see throughout many scenes, showing what the war really felt like, showing that for some killing became 1st nature and for some it would continue to be the hardest task.
Cause and Affect
Within this scene alone cause and affect is used MASSIVELY! This is pretty much the start of the downhill travels for Norman. Having started Norman of as a basic working male like most of us are today, we seem to relate to his actions and emotions, so having Don force Norman to kill affects his feelings towards killing which later escalates to the point where Norman is more open to these killings, and because of this Cause and Affect, builds up such amazing frame for the final scene.
Overall Fury’s ‘Helping Hand‘ scene really shows us how Subtext and Cause and Affect are used to create deeper meanings like the one of personal struggles and how war affected not only the softest souls, but the strongest too.
If you’re thinking of spending this summer searching for the big blockbusters, you might come to the conclusion that Hollywood is unfortunately running out of ideas due to the endless onslaught of remakes, reboots and sequels. You might be surprised to learn that even the most iconic and original films might have borrowed heavily from other source material. This is due, in part, to a little thing called intertextuality.
Intertextuality is the point where two works of art overlap. In our case for film, it’s where a movie overlaps with another work of art, whether that be another film, a work of literature, or another art form. Another way of thinking about intertextuality is the way in which works of art purposely or accidentally connect and intersect, many people sometimes watch a movie and get that “damn that seems familiar” feel, or that “I swear that’s from….” Most of the time the writers have purposely done this to form some kind of connection within their story.
Deliberate intertextuality is another term which I found to occur A LOT within films and it’s where an artist intentionally includes and/or makes reference to other art forms. (Byran, 2018) In Jordan Peele’s 2017 debut Get Out, the writers uses subtle references to classic horror films to create an ominous atmosphere. For instance, while navigating a subdivision, a character says, ”Man, I feel like I’m in a hedge maze out here,” referencing the hedge maze in The Shining.(“Get Out”, 2018) Its small things like subtle quotes that can show a strong effect of intertexuality.
Jordan Peele’s absolute masterpiece ‘Get Out’ pulled inspiration from the mid 90’s classic Rosemary’s Baby and the 2004 film The Stepford Wives to serve up an allegory on the black identity.(Ramos, 2018) Introducing the world to “the sunken place,” Get Out not only earned over $250 million to date but sculpted a different take on the issue of identity politics and the horror surrounding it. Known mostly for his hilarious comedy show Key and Peele, Peele chose to stray away from the humour and go into horror as its his favourite genre overtaking his love for comedy. However, even though he decided to put his humour aside for the film he does tie in his popular “Luther, Obama’s anger translator” sketch into Get Out. Peele says the sketch was a response to a lack of discussion about race, the abuse towards coloured Americans and the “Racist S%*# being said about Obama”(Ramos, 2018)
Throughout the Film we see numerous attachments to political and racial problems within the world and connections to black history. It actually took me a couple of watches to pick these up as they are so subtle it is close to impossible to pick up on the first watch BUT near the end of the film, when Chris is tied to the chair being hypnotised repeatedly by the television, he plugs his ears with cotton from the chair’s armrest. Peele has chosen this scene perfectly to hint the message that Chris saves himself by literally “picking cotton.” (Ben-Moshe, 2018)
Now when it comes to the world of Film, I defiantly can’t call myself a genius like the legend Jordan Peele, BUT I can learn from his ways. Even in the beginning stages of Film, intertextuality is as important as it is in the blockbusters and masterpieces. One of the biggest things I have learned from this is that Intertextuality can be used to really push the limits of film and create a more in-depth/creative piece of art for all film lovers and watches.
When looking at narrative, it’s the format of events and plot points that make up a story; an introduction, climax, and a conclusion . Now when we think of our favourite games that either changed our views on life, affected our childhood or even scared the childhood out of us, we think of the insane emotion and physical story it took us on. Now when we talk about narrative it’s often used with plot or story, however, narrative specifically refers to the events that construct a full story.
Now when looking at most games, the factor of time is a big aspect on making sure the story is displayed in a linear manner, usually to keep the player up to date with information and have no crazy turns to confuse or throw of the player BUT with that being said, some writers purposely decide to create masterpieces utilising the non-linear narrative, just like the classic western game Red Dead Redemption.
“In contrast to linear narratives, non-linear narratives are those in which the author has chosen to jump around a time, and the order in which events are portrayed does not correspond to the order in which things happened”(“Linear vs. Nonlinear Narratives, 2018) Now the use of non-linear narratives are not ALWAYS to confused or purposely hide information from its players but is generally used to build up or throw suspense around the story line. A common technique is the use of flash backs, flashbacks can be used to show certain parts within the stories history and how its actions have affected our story in some way. These flashbacks could also be used to introduce a new story path opening, as we now know more information that could potentially down the line affect us in some way.
Within Red Dead Redemption we, for majority of the game’s story are following the protagonist John Marston, a former outlaw, as he is forced to hunt down his former associates by corrupted government agents who promise to let him return to his watched over family if all members (who once all meant something to him) are dead. Once all tasks are done, Marston then realises after returning to his family, that it was all a trap to get him to do their dirty work. Its only then does John decide to send his family to safety with an emotional last scene of john holding off law officials as we are left to feel helpless and out numbered as Johns life is in literally in our controller. Doesn’t matter if you dodge, roll or run, Johns destiny was set the moment he landed in our hands.
“Narrative turns story into information, or better, into knowledge for the recipient (the audience or reader). Narrative is therefore responsible for how the recipient perceives the story. The difficulty is that story, like truth, is an illusion created by narrative”(Beemgee”, 2018)
So when we talk why we love a game’s story so much i think it is important to really explain as to what we mean by that, now this covers all pieces of art from games to film. Do we love the final outcome of how the script by script story went or did we enjoy the ‘narrative’ the WAY the story was told. A narrative of a game may present the events of the story in non-linear, but the story remains the story even if it is told backwards just like most of Red Dead Redemption’s was.
Now through this research I have realised two things; One if that non-linear narratives are way to underrated and it feels as if society are so focused on sticking to these text-book ways of creating and not using non-linear aspects where they would fit perfectly! And two is that Narrative is a term so much deeper then what i thought, it isn’t how a story is told, it is whats received by every individual that experiences it. Every emotion, every thought and most importantly every perspective.
Mind Opener 