ANIMATION

How It Should Have Ended is a series of online animated movies that parody and often point out the absurdities of various big-budget movies done by a group of programmers and graphic designers. They've done movies like Beowulf, Superman, Spider-Man 3, Transformers 2 amongst others. Sometimes, instead of a simple parody they'll create a new concept, like merging Back to the Future with Terminator or an introspective on It's A Wonderful Life.

The animation style is very simplistic and flat. They use limited animation to move all their characters. Basically, each movie is done on three layers; the background which remain static for the most part, the bodies of the characters, and their appendages/mouths which receive the bulk of the motion. Despite the limitations, the characters are made to adequately emote as needed for the given scene. Also, the attention to detail that's involved in re-creating the scenes as close the source movies as possible is incredible. The cartoony style lends to the lighthearted fun present in the dialogue and helps to enhance it and the overall amusement of a given piece.

The best part about the animation style is that it allows the creators to get very close to how the actors appeared in the films, but keeping them significantly different enough so as not to incur a phone call or two from the respective lawyers of said actors. Being done on a computer allows for the colors to get a shaded tone that adds some depth to both the characters and the backgrounds.

Overall, some of these toons are probably BETTER than the movies that inspire them.

QUIET ON THE SET

The making of our class movie went almost exactly as expected: manic madcap. Due to my missing the double-period filming session for work, I knew we were gonna have a hectic filming pace ahead of us. That wasn't helped by the train holding me up for 10 minutes as well as the stars taking cell phone calls while we were trying to set up scenes.

Overall, I pretty much knew what to expect going in for the filming process. I watched enough behind the scenes documentaries and featurettes to know what goes into film making. The unexpected delays and lack of rehearsal is what ended up making a simple shoot more complicated. We aren't experienced at this, after all, so there were many errors there was just no margin for.

We tried to get creative by forming a dolly from a skateboard and FedEx tubes, but that proved to work worse than just holding the camera and walking. Due to lack of prep-time and practice, a couple scenes didn't quite come out like we planned them, such as the monster scare scene. I could've given better direction to our help on the camera angles needed and what the scene entailed. The camera work was completely off in that one as a result. We also ran out of time to do one scene since everyone had to go to a class, so that ended up filled in after the fact. That also meant we didn't get a chance to re-record the audio to dub it into the film. Surprisingly, though, outtakes were kept at a nice reasonable number. The majority of the scenes we were able to do in one take to perfection.

The editing process was a bit harrowing. We were already behind a day, and put further behind thanks to the cameras not keeping anything in shooting order. So our first editing day was spent trying to find a computer that will run Final Cut and organizing the shots. Then, somehow, when we spliced everything together, the finished producted ended up with much quicker cuts than we had tested and done. Although, I can't be entirely sure if that's because we screwed up in cutting, or because the background audio isn't synched between the shots. Since my partner had to work on his own for an additional day, we also didn't get to do any music or sound effects.

What I would've done differently was filming not quite as linear as we ended up doing. In a set between Hunter and Central Park, we started at Hunter and ended up in the park. Since everyone had a class when we were finished, it might've worked out better to start in the park and work backwards so the threat of being late to class would be eliminated. I also would've taken greater care to get all our actress' scenes done first since we lost her first and then do pick-ups and alternate takes with my partner. However, a lot would have worked much better if filming didn't take place during my busiest month of the year. That loss of a day is what cost us.

Overall, it was fun and for all intents and purposes ran a lot smoother than it had a right to. The end result, while no perfect, is pretty close to what we wanted. All it needs are those last few finishing touches and it would improve significantly.

EVIL EDITING

Necronomicon Ex Mortis. Roughly translated: the Book of the Dead. Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, it contains bizarre rituals and funerary incantations. It awoke a dark spirit deep in the woods, helped by some unwitting college kids who trespassed into an archaeologist's cabin and played a tape reciting an incantation from the book. The last man standing is Ashley J. Williams, who would go on to become the cult hero of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy.

In Evil Dead II, after Ash had seemingly defeated the evil and it returned to try to possess him, he tries to make a break for it only to discover the bridge leading to the road bakc has been curled up into a mangled metallic hand. Ash finds himself corralled back to the cabin by an unseen force that chases after him.

During the chase sequence, the prominent technique used are dolly shots, as the camera plays the roll of the "force" whenever it appears on film. The audience never sees exactly what it is that chases people down, but the shaky camera technique helps to give the illusion of something organic as well as creating a sense of speed even if the car itself wasn't going all that fast.

Between the chase sequence, there are a couple of jump cuts to close-ups of Ash reversing the car and speeding off, as well as intermittent jump cuts inside the car to get his reaction as the chase continues. These were useful to help build up the suspense, to make us feel the character's fear and to keep the scene from being just boring external shots. They were also tightly shot which made the viewer feel like they were inside the car.

Although the camera usually stays behind the car, there is one jump cut with the camera at ground-level looking up as the car roars over it. After Ash crashes the car and flies out of the windshield, he runs back into the cabin where the "force" chases and loses him. The chase ends in a 360 degree pan shot before it tracks backwards back out into the woods.

There's one final cut to a medium close-up of Ash looking up from the cellar door, terrified. The tight shot helps to give the viewer a sense of the enclosed space he's now hidden himself. All these cuts help to heighten the mood and urgency of the scene.


Starting at 2:08.

ME AND MEDIA

The internet has pretty much worked itself into every facet of our society. Every thing that exists has a website associated with it, either highlighting their products and services or giving themselves a cheap way to broadcast to the masses.

My work keeps me on the computer for a good portion of my day. As a result, I surf all over. For instance, some of my most common sites are all comic book archival-related, such as Comicbookdb.com, UncannnyXMen.net, Comics.org, Spiderfan.org and AdvancedIron.net (an Iron Man website). When I need to buy comics for work or just for me, my default stop is Mycomicshop.com. And, of course, there’s the ever-present Ebay (which I use to find other things I want as well).

Other associated websites I travel to for networking consist of ComicArtGuild.com and it’s private social networking sister site on the NING system, Facebook and Myspace. I also pass by Deviant Art frequently to check out the works of others and upload my own. All of that comes full circle to my personal page on Comicspace, the comic professional's Facebook/Myspace.

For entertainment purposes, I go to The Daily Show and Colbert Report's websites to watch an episode I may have missed, various message boards such as Super Hero Hype, Comicbook Resources and Newsarama, and the occasional trip to YouTube. I also maintain a blog on Blogger both personal and for school (which you know since you're reading it). There are more sites, some I go to frequently some once in a while. Basically, as I said, the internet has found a way to enter every facet of life. It is both a good working tool, as well as a source of distraction for the in-between times.

THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE

For my hearing blog, I went to a campground in the Catskills area of upstate New York (well, not specifically for the blog, but two birds with one stone and all). There were many of the sounds you would expect to find in nature. There was the constant babbling of the nearby brook as the water ran quickly over all the various sized rocks that make up its uneven bed. This occupied a great deal of the background noise until moving further away from it. The leaves in the trees were rustling together with the breeze. A few little critters also made their way quickly past in the nearby brush, trying to avoid detection by the “invading” humans.

As it was a campground, there were a few not-so-natural sounds added to the mix. For starters, the sounds of my feet shifting the dirt and kicking the occasional rock on the dirt road as I walked. There was a kid who ran by; his sneakers hitting the ground with thuds mixed with the sweeping crunchy sound of shifting dirt. There was also another kid playing on the bank of the brook, traipsing through the fallen wet leaves and twigs as he walked across from one site to another. The snaps of twigs followed each cut a camper made while illegally trimming the tree at his campsite. A bike passed by on the road. Aside from similar dirt sounds as when the kid ran by, there was the added whirring of the spokes on the rims and the cranking of the flywheel as the rider pedaled. There was a radio in the vicinity playing a collection of Southern rock songs, while nearby someone was using a vacuum or similar sounding device.

The most prominent sound of all, the one you just can’t find in New York City, was overwhelming silence. No background noises, no traffic in the distance, no sirens, no people yelling. Just pure, absolute, silence. All the little sounds I’ve already described are not very loud and hardly intrude on the quiet of the country, if not for the fact that they’re brief and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

DESIGN I LIKE

One design I like is the DC Comics website. It mixes simplicity and functionality while still embracing the colorful products which it’s used to promote. Other publisher sites tend to go overboard, jamming up the screen with their characters while DC went with the minimalist approach; settling for their logo, a promo image for the big event of the week, and a scrolling gallery of the current week’s covers for easy clickable access to those books as well as having their title appear on a rollover.

The other areas of the site are access via text menus down the side for news and other content and across the top for all of the publisher’s imprints. Each subsequent page on the site continues the minimalist approach, using a clean san serif font combined with an image or two. This allows a majority of the viewer’s focus to go towards the important information at the center of the screen, relying on the images to just keep the page from being boring. Everything is very clearly and plainly laid out to maintain that central balance, so the appropriate topics can be found and easily clicked to go to a desired section of the site. The best part is, their information is organized in such a way that you can access it with only one click, rather than being taken to a page of additional sub-sections.

I like this because many publishers try to go all out with the comicbook-themed design, sacrificing functionality and clarity for fanfare. You make comics, we get it; don’t shove it down our throat. The most important thing the websites should convey is who they are, what they make, and where to find them. All of that is exactly what the DC site does. It lets their books speak for their creativity, making the website just a gateway to them for the consumers.

THAT SINKING FEELING

In James Cameron's "Titanic," one of the major features was the Titanic itself. Since it was where most of the action took place, the ship not only had to look realistic but its grandeur expressed adequately on film. This was not an easy task to accomplish when the actual ship used for filming was a 60 foot model and a few physical sets where some action took place. A lot of wide, sweeping crane shots were used during the first part of the film; going from close-ups of the hull and rising up above the bow to accentuate the majesty and size. By surrounding the model and sets with extra space around the frame, and combined with the actual and digital actors to add perspective, the illusion was created that the audience was looking at the real, life-sized ship. The camera movements also added to convey the speed of the ship as it hit the open water. This contrasted with the shots later in the film which were mostly stationary, adding to Titanic sitting dead in the water as it sank.

Lighting, set design, and camera work also played a bit of a role in helping to contrast the different aspects of Titanic; specifically the divide between the classes. Near the middle of the movie when Jack has dinner with Rose and her family, he later takes her to a party in the 3rd class area. Aside from the more reserved mannerisms of the upper class people in comparison to the rowdy lower classes, as well as the grand design of their dining area as compared to the industrial plainness of steerage, the upper class dinner was presented with muted colors. It was very sterile, very clean, and cool. The lower class had a warmer hue, adding vibrancy and life to the action. This also added an accentuation on the "grime" and sweat of the poor passengers, as opposed to the neat and tidy upper class. There was also many tight and close-up shots in the lower class scenes, helping to convey the tightness of their cramped quarters. The upper class shots had a little more space around the actors, a little more breathing room helping the audience feel that the accomodations were infinitely greater. With these two scenes together, the drastic differences in personality of the same ship are conveyed.