Now this is not a film I had heard very much about... perhaps passed it on the odd shelf in HMV or Virgin or flicked past it on TCM or Movies4Men... but hearing that it starred none other that John Wayne - the king of the western, I went straight to my grandfather (a devoted John Wayne follower).

I said (Grandson to Grandfather) - "we are to watch Stagecoach and blog about it for school" - and after requesting the definition of 'blog' he immediately went and retrieved the shiny DVD boxset that was the entire John Wayne collection - hence how I came about watching 'Stagecoach'.

'Stagecoach' was not exactly what I expected - I did not expect to enjoy it (not being a fan of old westerns) however I was pleasantly surprised. I also expected it to open on John Wayne's heroic entrance although I was surprised to find that he did not appear until much later in the film. The film is essentially an action road movie which follows a disparate bunch of people in a 'stagecoach' as they embark on a perilous journay accross Apache territory. I thought Wayne's performance as Ringo Kid was excellent, subtle and very human. The same can also be said of the supporting cast who were all equally convincing. Every character is unique (although they appear as stereotypes on the surface) - none of them turn out to be as they first appeared.

The direction by John Ford was magnificent (our film tutor Andy Dougan is constantly praising him - and now I can agree). I thought the film was paced very nicely - heart-pounding action as well as some very touching and emotional pieces - e.g the final battle near the end really focusses more on the character interaction rather than the battle itself.



All in all I think this was a wonderful piece of movie-making and with two Oscar wins and whole host of other awards - it can most definitely be considered a classic!

Casablanca

All you need to do is mention the words 'classic film' and immediately 'Casablanca' springs to mind - admittedly I had not seen it before now, however I can most definitely appreciate why it is considered so.

'Casablanca' is a timeless love story, directed by Michael Curtiz, that follows the stories of two men, Humphrey Bogart playing the cynical yet sentimental bar/casino owner, Rick Blaine and Paul Henreid playing the heroic French resistance leader, Victor Laszlo, both fighting for the love of one woman, played beautifully by Ingrid Bergman. The film, made in 1942, is part romantic drama and part intense wartime thriller and I believe will relate to fan's of most genres. It can be enjoyed both politically, deeply rooted in the Second World War, and apolitically, just as a plain love story – either way this film is truly enjoyable. In fact, I read online that the film was written day to day as it was being shot so no one knew how it was going to end!



The entire film was shot on studio sets, which at the time it was made, meant a great deal more freedom with the cinematography. It is shot beautifully and I felt it had a real ‘film noire’ feel to it. Many different elements of the film grasped my attention – the amazing performances (deemed to be Humphrey Bogart’s finest ever) were made with subtle glances and gestures – the tone, poetic, brave and heroic – and the famous score, composed by Max Steiner, adds much of the film’s mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere. ‘Casablanca’ also has a number of famous lines of dialogue - "Here's lookin' at you, kid," and (although this is not exactly said in the film) "Play it again, Sam".

The film has gone down the in the history books as a ‘must-see’ film and I would most definitely agree.

Last week saw our first short film shoot. Our remit was a two minute film based around the theme of 'Home'. To begin with, we met a number of times to brainstorm ideas eventually settling on a sequence of shots and connecting scenarios with a voice-over which illustrated how different people felt about home - what home meant to them? Where they felt most at home?

The first sequence we shot was a ballet dancer - filmed in the RSAMD concert hall - this was pivitol to the rest of the filming as it allowed almost everyone to work together and get to know the kit properly in a time-pressured environment. After much stress and hassle - we managed to get the shot we needed.

The next piece of filming took place in the RSAMD student halls. This was probably the most stressful time of the entire experience. Not only was the time restrictive, but the space was small and cramped - some of the equipment was not working as we wanted, there was a complicated green shot necissary and to top it all off - the fire alarm went off mid-shot, triggering the fastest de-rig any film set has ever seen. However, again, we managed to get the sequence we required.

Thursday began with a very early start and a jolly trip to a very wet and cloudy Loch Lomond. I had recruited almost my entire family for this shoot - from sisters to grandparents to dogs. However, contrary to the previous night's shoot - this day went very smoothly - no technical or time issues - we got all the shots needed and were packed and away for 3:30 - a success!

We will need to wait and see how the edit turns out but if nothing else - then this was a good and collaborative experience for most involved.

King Kong 1933

"Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."

This universally known quote is instantly recognisable and is synonymous with the world's biggest movie star, the terrifying yet compassionate fifty foot ape, Kong.

When it was announced that we would be watching 'King Kong' as our Friday screening, I was really pleased - I had seen the Peter Jackson remake and had enjoyed it - and having watched the majority of the bonus features, I knew that the original version, made in 1933 was Jackson's inspiration for his film. He had always loved the story and claimed that he did not wish to replace the original, but rather he wished to allow a modern audience to witness 'the 8th wonder of the world' in all its glory.

I as not disappointed - I thought it was a well constructed, well written and well acted piece and, although they look dated now, the use of stop-motion animation was ground-breaking for the time the film was released. I foudn myself totally distancing myself from what was evidently a two foot platasine monkey and getting totally emersed in the plot and the action on screen - I was even siginificantly repulsed as Kong, in a successful attempt to save Ann Darrow (played by Fay Wray), ripped open the jaw of a dinosaur and played with its carcus jsut ot make sure it was dead. I was not at all aware of how long the film was, perhaps because in comparison to Jackson's 201 minute epic it was a mere short, but I found myself at the end of the film, having not noticed the time pass. this is probably one of the first times this has happened in a while when watching a film for the first time - it was good, heart-stopping yet touching drama.

As an audience, we are given the opportunity to make up our own mind about Kong, his intentions and awareness - I cannot say how I would feel towards the character had I not been predisposed to the idea that Kong falls in love with Ann (through the 2005 version) - it is definitely up for discussion. This, I suppose is more realistic - whether we read into Kong's emotions or not - he is not going to come straight out and tell us!

I feel, it was most definitely, a worthwhile watch - a landmark film - as Andy said - "1933's Avatar".

Lighting Assessment

All in all, I felt the assessment went smoothly. There were just a few small mistakes I made:

Firstly was setting my back-focus: Although, apparently by a complete fluke, it was set okay – I did not open the iris fully while setting. I will make sure from now on to focus on the smaller details such as this.

Secondly, I finished earlier than expected, setting up the camera and lighting, and shooting the required shots, however I did not finish de-rigging the kit until the just before the end of the assessment – I will, from now on, focus on packing away the kit more efficiently, which, as Ray explained at my tutorial, will be advantageous when on set (to save valuable time).

I must admit, I expected the assessment to be a little more intense – more questioning – I was slightly daunted, worrying about being asked specific questions about colour temperature values etc however it did not come up. I understand the principals of this and I feel totally comfortable putting it into practice.

I don’t really have any more to say other than I am now fully comfortable with all that we have learnt in Ray’s class up until now.