Natural History NZ

Article in today's herald about the Bug documentaries and an overview of the film production company in Dunedin that created it. Important article for everyone, and especially those of you doing Schol. Start collecting, annotating and keeping these readings.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10342831

Great website

Hey dudes and dudesses,
This website has cool movie info - visit the location your fave film was made at!
http://www.famouslocations.com/index.php

History of Special Effects

If you have not viewed this you need to - it is essential for background understanding of your genre study.
Notes to accompany the film -
1895 - Execution scene in "Mary Queen of Scots" - uses a dummy but many viewers were convinced the actress had made the 'ultimate sacrifice'!! Viewers today are not so gullible.
"A Trip to the Moon" Mellier - used split screen technique (First sci-fi film)
early 1900s Movies lost popularity. Captured popular imagination by giving them a narrative.
"Great Train Robbery" match shots with background shot separate to foreground, resulting film was a composite.
1912 - Strategically placed miniatures used to add portions of a set in "The Walls of Babylon" - glass shotsand cut outs used to increase size and detail
1920s - Ben Hur - miniatures used hanging between the camera and full scale sets to create massive scenes
Fritz Lang - Metropolis (futuristic fantasy) blended every tool available to special effects teams
Advent of sound - sound stages
1933 - King Kong - Large scale mechanical effects, stop motion animation, compelling sense of reality; background painted on glass; astonishing realism. Many techniques developed for this film still used today.
Special effects - departments start to have their own studios within major studios. When studios closed independent effects studios opened - all various departments under one roof allows for cross-pollination of ideas ends in the creation of seemingly 'impossible' images. ("Think tank" approach where designers share ideas)
Set designs done to make story more entertaining, dramatic and more believable to a large audience.
Take a basic conceptual idea and make it work in all the various details.
Models/miniatures are used e.g. Fox Plaza building in "Die Hard" (couldn't damage real building)
"Ghostbusters" sculpted miniature and full size puppets - both used for stop motion process. Series of still images in rapid succession to give illusion of moving image. One technique for bringing characters to life.
1989 - "The Abyss" create illusion of futurist adventure 2000ft below ocean surface
(required all visual effects tricks known).
Dream Quest effects studio - came up with new techniques to create effects - foam core mockups of sets to recreate underwater realism. Used air to create underwater environment.
CGI innovations

Time

Ok - time is becoming an issue here - we seriously need to think about footage (moving image) and collecting material (print media) for our productions in a big way. I am aware that some of you are onto this but for others you must get organised and make major moves with it.
Intending scholarship students - see Mr Mawer asap to register and keep up with the readings I will continue to post here.
Link for those interested is:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/scholarship/index.html

Page of resource links you need to read

Here is a preliminary list of readings that you can print out and annotate to bring to the exam for the unit standard:

Bell, R. (01/03/05) Let’s face up to our drinking problem
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10113007
Available online 07/08/05

Broadcasting authority warns serial complainer (11/05/05)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10124839
Available online 07/08/05

Brown, R (02/07/05) Airing grievances
http://www.listener.co.nz/printable,4249.sm
Available online 07/08/05

Catherall, S (31/07/05) Has New Zealand’s Film Industry Bubble Burst?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10338437
Available online 07/08/05

Dunne formally complains over TV3 debate (03/08/05)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10338973
Available online 07/08/05

Homer’s 7pm language passes standards test (26/02/05)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10112678
Available online 07/08/05

Radio comments about Zaoui inaccurate, says BSA
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10335603
Available online 07/08/05

SPADA
http://www.spada.co.nz/resources/codesofpractice/codesofpractice.html#Bryson

TV One documentary unfair, says authority (10/05/05)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=10124761
Available online 07/08/05

It's a hard road living in the perfect country
14.05.2004
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/print.cfm?objectid=3566550
Available online 15/08/05

Clean green image pamphlet
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/sus-dev/clean-green-image-value-aug01/summary-leaflet-aug01.pdf

Production day

Production day will be October 5 - second Wednesday of holidays. Cost $ 20 - limited numbers so it will be first in, first served basis.

Exam - Unit Standard 7473

Notes for Unit Standard assessment that will be part of Term 3 Exam - look at the website www.bsa.govt.nz to learn about how to make a complaint under the Broadcasting Act. Think about a media product you would like to complain about and bring notes to the exam as to how you would do this. There will be templates and extra notes provided in the resource book on the day but it will help if you have read up in advance and bring your own notes as well.

The other part of the exam will be Achievement Std external - Interrelationship between a genre and society - you will need your notes on Reality Television for this.

Another useful article for U.S. 7473

This article discusses a 'radical plan to get more local TV programmes made' and will be helpful for the unit standard we are doing in Week 8/9 exam.
http://www.listener.co.nz/default,4249.sm

Great website list

http://www.wgtn.wift.org.nz/favourite.htm

See you all tomorrow, I will give you the rundown and some further background info for exams.

Production days

Hi all,
I'm planning 1 - 2 days in the second week of the holidays where you can come in and do some serious editing/production work. Hopefully we'll bring in a couple of outside experts which may involve a slight cost - let me know if you're interested. I will post the info for the Unit Standard for the exams shortly.

Please see me

Hi all,
We need to finalise which standards each of you is registered for. Can you all come and see me tomorrow. The exam question is for Achievement Standard 90602 (Media genre and society - reality TV) and you will need to submit some practice responses in weeks 6 and 7.
If there are any of you concerned about getting more credits please let me know as I am quite prepared to put a Level 3 unit standard - New Zealand identity in the media (or level 2- close reading and narrative- if you need it) into the exam as well. We do need to make these decisions asap in order to put them onto the framework so the credits count.

I will post a practice exam question for Reality TV over the next few days.