Futureama (1999-2013)

Futurama is definitely the best show I've seen in a long time, I started it yesterday and I'm already on season 2 episode 8. I cant stop watching it its so addicting and super funny. The comedy in it isn't like any other shows I've seen, it genuinely makes me laugh and the jokes aren't inappropriate or cheesy like a lot of shows which is why I love it so much. It also makes a ton of references to real life and film. So far ive seen references from odd couple, harry potter, Charlie and the chocolate factory, Matilda, Star Trek, Charlie brown, Oliver twist and the Stranger. Futurama is an animated sci fi show about a guy named Fry who ends up in year 3000 and meets a robot named Bender along with other friends. Bender is probably my favorite character because he is a robot who is everything we don't want to be, he is an alcoholic emotionless, rude, thief but I love him.

This show is an example of an animated science fiction show. It shows iconography of science fiction because it has aliens, monsters, space, and it takes place in the future.  I read an article on how they created the show and basically the writers make a storyboard, then the actors do a table read and they "record it like a radio show" and  the writers make edits to the script (Meslow 6). After they have the voices recorded the animators draw out the animation and use digital editing to edit it.

Bobs Burgers Season 1 Episode 3 (2011)

Bobs Burgers is an animated sitcom about a family that owns a Burger restaurant. Season 1 episode 3 is the only episode I've seen so far but I really liked it. Some parts were dumb but I guess that's what makes it funny. In this particular episode a documentary maker comes to his restaurant and places a cow out front in order to make a statement about eating meat. I haven't really watched an animated show since the Sponge Bob days, but maybe ill continue watching this show because even though it was a little silly it was funny.

This television show is an animated show so I'm guessing they either used computer or drawing animation to create it. With an animated show instead of having actors they have to hire people to do voiceovers so people who act with their voice. The opening sequence is interesting, It starts with a burger, already foreshadowing the show and then they zoom out and add all of the characters and setting into the blank white canvas. To make something zoom out using animation you could use a flipbook drawing  where you draw the same image except each time you make it slightly smaller to zoom out.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010)

 

Bill Cunningham New York is a documentary about a New York fashion photographer who goes out on the streets of New York to take candid photos of people with an interesting sense of fashion to see what is trending in fashion that week. He then writes a column in The New York times about the fashion trend he notices that week. This documentary is more of a biographical documentary because it is based on Bill Cunningham's life and the interesting job he has. I found this documentary very interesting and inspiring because even though Bill is 86 years old he still is passionate about fashion and has the dive to wake up every morning to do what he does.

 

The crew for filming this documentary was probably not very big because the majority of it was someone following him around during his day and interviews. With a big crew it would be hard to get the footage they did because they wouldn't be able to follow him around filming him taking pictures because it would be difficult to get that many people in New York to do that. They showed a lot of the pictures he took on the streets and you can tell Bill is a very talented photographer because he has a great eye for good shots and the best angle that would show off an outfit the best.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Silver Linings Playbook is about a man who just got released from a mental hospital and is trying to get his old life back by re connecting with his family and wife. He won't except the fact that his wife has moved on so he tries everything in his power to get her back but along the way he meets another girl named Tiffany who changes his life. This movie was a bit depressing but still really good and had a nice ending. I liked the fact that the protagonist had a mental disorder and they addressed the issue of mental disorder in our society.

There was a dancing scene towards the end of the movie but it was filmed differently than the ones we saw in Singin in the Rain. In Singin' in the Rain you could see the performers full body the whole time and they would barely move the cameras. In this movie you would hardly see their full bodies and would move the camera a lot getting different angles. There are a few  pros and cons to this, a pro is you can see the dancing from different angles and perspectives but a con is you never actually see their whole body in the frame. One thing I found interesting was there was a Singin' in the Rain reference in the movie. While they were rehearsing for their dance Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence,  brought up one of the dancing scenes from Singin' in the Rain to use as a reference for their dance.
 

No Cameras Allowed (2014)

By far this documentary was the greatest documentary I have ever seen. This documentary is about a man named Marcus who has a passion for music but has no money so he snuck into music festivals by posing as a photographer. He manages to get backstage and in front of the barricade and decides he has his cameras so why not use them to take pictures. Little did he know his photography would become well-known and he would become famous by simply breaking into music festivals.  absolutely loved this documentary because  I cold relate to it so much, music is my biggest passion and I love going to concerts so I can understand why he would go to such great lengths to see live music. This documentary also taught me many life lessons such as there's more to life then school and work and that you can achieve great things by thinking outside the box and not necessary doing it the traditional way. This documentary has greatly effected my life and it will always stick with me.
 

Most of this documentary was filmed by his using his cameras but other parts were animation or interviews. I thought It was really interesting how they used animation in this documentary. They used it in order to show how he snuck into the festivals to give you a better picture of what actually  happened. I guessing they either used hand drawn animation or computer animation. The parts that he filmed himself were absolutely breathtaking. It made me want to go to a music festival because you could see how happy everyone was and the massive crowds.

Seeking A Friend for the End of the World (2012)

What would you do if you were told the world would end in three weeks? What would you regret? Who would your final words be to the people you love? This film is about the last three weeks of life on earth and what a character named Dodge and what his last three weeks were like on earth. There were many comedic elements in this film but it was also a very serious movie leaving you wondering what you would do if you found out the world was going to end. This movie was actually very eye opening and as cliché ad It may sound it made me want to cherish the time we and live life to the fullest.


This shot is very iconic from the movie. You can clearly see the two main characters and their facial expressions are very distinct.  This shot is very well lit framing out both of the two characters well and by empathizing their faces. They both look sad and concerned because, well, the world is ending in a few weeks and they both have one thing they must do before it ends. The girl (Penny) wants to see her family in Europe and the man (dodge) wants to see his high school sweetheart for the last time. The movie ended with a black screen signifying the end of the world which I liked because it leave you with a sense of suspense but also closure.

The Martian (2015)

The most recent film I've seen in the theater is called "The Martian". The Martian is a futuristic film about an astronaut named Mark Watney who gets left behind by his crewmates on Mars. He had to use science to figure out how he can utilize the things he already had in order to survive four years until the next Mars mission trip can come and save him. This film really shows you how important science is and it made me want to pay attention in science class more. Watney is an incredibly intelligent man, he had to do some crazy science to figure out how to stay alive.

In this film it looks like they had to use a lot of CGI in order to make it look like he was actually in space on Mars. Without using CGI I don't think they would be able to pull this film off because all of the shots would look fake. Parts of the movie really made you feel like you were in space because of the incredible CGI they used. This film reminded me a lot of "Gravity", they both take place in space and make you feel like your actually in space. The only thing I did not like about this movie was how similar it was to "Gravity", It feels like almost the same movie except instead of getting abandoned on the moon he was abandoned on Mars.

Spirited Away (2001)

     Spirited Away was probably one of my favorite films we have watched in this class so far. It was so different and unique than any other film ive seen and it really made you feel like you were part of this strange alternate universe. This alternate universe Miyazaki brings you into is so intriguing which makes you want to watch more and more of his films. I feel like every film maker has their own kind of mind set and universe they want the audience to be taken into but Miyazaki's was so different than any other which is what made this film so remarkable.
      The animation in this film was exceptional, you can really tell Miyazaki put all of his time and energy into this film to make it as great as it was. Using hand drawn animation takes a ton of talent to precisely draw out an entire film but Miyazaki really did a magnificent job. The reason I think Miyazaki chose to use hand drawn animation rather than computer is because he didn't want a computer to draw out his world he is imagining in his head but he wanted to completely do it himself so it would be exactly what he has imagined. Sometimes ideas can get lost when using a computer and technology doesn't always work how you want it which may not make the movie exactly how he imagined it. This is why he wanted to first hand draw out everything himself so to make sure his ideas all turn out how he wanted them to.

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

The most recent television show I've been watching is "How I Met Your Mother". This show is basically about a character named Ted telling his kids how he met their mother. Along the way many things happen in order for him to finally meet her. Ted becomes friends with five people who all become very important characters. The show takes place in New York with two main sets, the bar which they go to in every episode and Teds apartment. This show is extremely funny which is why I love it so much. Since this is a tv show and not a movie it is filmed very differently. Instead of it just being one main plot or story of the whole movie with a tv show you have a whole new story in each episode. Even though there are many differences there are still similarities, both movies and tv shows have similar people working on them such as the writer, actors, director, editor, etc.

American Idiot Documentry (2013)

Recently I watched a documentary on the making of the Broadway musical called "American Idiot". I've never actually seen the musical but the reason I decided to watch this documentary is because I love the band Green Day and the soundtrack is amazing. The soundtrack consists of every song from the popular Green Day album called "American idiot" but covered by the performers. I honestly think some of the covered songs are better than the originals such as "21 Guns" featuring Rebecca Naomi Jones. Rebecca Naomi Jones plays Whatsername in the Broadway production and is such an amazing and talented singer, I've been listing to her songs and this soundtrack on repeat all week. I think its amazing to see how Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer of Green Day) and his band went from the punk rock scene of mosh pits and crowd surfing to a very successful Broadway production. Since this is a documentary it is filmed a lot differently than other movies. There is no set script or actors but it is all real life events so the process of filming a documentary is much different than a fictional movie. There is also a lot of different issues that comes with filming a documentary versus a movie.

E.T. Extra Terrestrial (1982) & Day For NIght (1973)

After watching "Day For Night" It made me realize how complicated and how much time it takes just to get one scene perfect. The most shocking part for me was the opening scene they had to retake over and over again since it was one long continuous scene. Because of this, everything had to be absolutely perfect and if one extra was even a second late they would have to redo the whole thing. It also showed me how much the actors and their personal life can effect a movie. Weather its love interests with another actor on set or a pregnancy it can be a very dramatic process that effects the whole movie






 

My all time favorite movie is E.T. In E.T there were also many obstacles they had to face while filming, but many different ones than in "Day for night." In "Day for Night"  they filmed most of the movie out of order just like many other films but the thing about E.T. is they had to film it in order. The reason they did this was they wanted to build a completely real and authentic emotional connection between Henry Thomas who played Elliott and E.T. By doing this, in the scene where the scientist takes E.T away from Elliott, every tear he cried was real and they only had to do the scene in one take since it was so real and emotional. Since in E.T. many of the characters were children they didn't have to worry about love interests or pregnancies like in "Day for Night" but Filming with children comes with other struggles. One obstacle they faced was Henry had to kiss a girl in one scene which he did not want to do at all because obviously girls have cuties. In conclusion, every film comes with different struggles but when comparing "Day for Night" and my favorite film "E.T." the main issue was the age difference and the different struggles adult actors face and children actors face.

500 Days of Summer (2009)

The most recent film I watched was called "500 Days of Summer" directed by Marc Webb. Marc Webb is also the director of "The Amazing Spiderman" along with the band My Chemical Romance's "Life on the Murder Scene." "500 Days of Summer" is a romantic comedy about an aspiring architect named Tom who falls in love with a girl named Summer. Most love stories start from the beginning, then the couple gets into a fight, they brake up, and then they remember how much they love each other and end up getting back together. Unlike any other love story this one starts from the very end. The director starts with a scene showing Tom at his friends house acting very angry and depressed. Then Tom goes into telling his friend how he got in that emotional state and what happened between him and Summer. We immediately know this story does not end well between him and Summer because of the way the way it was foreshadowed it in the beginning. Again, unlike any other love story that starts from the beginning, this one is authentically told by Toms point of view and how he remembers it. Since it is told how he remembers it going, it does skip around a lot and is not in chronological order. The way the director shows how time passed in between scenes is by a title screen that shows you what day it is similar to what they use in silent movies to show dialogue. My favorite part of the movie was the music references. They played a lot of my favorite songs in the movie and made many band references such as Simon & Garfunkel, The Smiths, and The Beatles. My favorite line in the movie was when Summer was telling Tom about who her favorite Beatle is and she tells him its Ringo. Nobodies favorite Beatle is ever Ringo, its always either John or Paul so Tom asks "Why? nobody likes Ringo." and Summer replies with "Exactly." My personal favorite band are The Beatles so that line made the whole movie for me. Overall it was a neat twist on a generic love story and was very funny. My only critic was although the story was told differently then any other, the plot was very similar and predictable to your stereotypical love story.