Maya Tutorial Dice Task

This was the first time that i have used Maya and at the beginning i found it quite hard and encoutered several problems. But after several attempts with the help of the tutorials and simons support i finally complete the task. So here is my fianl outcome.

Life Drawing Lesson 2

Yesterday i had my second life drawing class and dueing this lesson i decided to just go for it and not to over think it and i think that this technique work.

For the second task we were asked to do four quick studys of the parts that we struggle with drawing. I concentrated on the hands and feet as these are the parts i struggle with. With these studies i decided to use dark lines and to practice my shading.

For our third and final task for this lesson we were asked to draw the figure with only traingles and four sided shapes here is my final outcome.

La Belle et La Bete Film Review

La belle et la bête is a French fantasy romance film directed by Jean Cocteau in 1946. Jean Cocteau was a poet and you can see this in his film by the way he has written the dialogue in a poetic and dreamlike way. La belle et la bête was based on the fairy tale by Madame LePrince de Beaumont but Cocteau put his own stamp on it by using his skills as a poet and some great visual imagery to produce and classic fairy tale.

The plot of Cocteau’s film is about a merchant with three daughters and one son. The merchant loses himself in the forest and end up at a castle. After awaking from his sleep in the castle his decided to return home but before he leaves he picks and rose for his daughter belle. The beast says that he will die within three days unless he sends one of his daughters back. When he returns home he tells his family and Belle secretly sets out to go back to the beast to save her father. Belle at first is shocked by the appearance of the beast soon develops an affection for him however she remains adamant that she can never be his wife. The Beast, who tests her by letting her return home to her family telling her that if she doesn't return to him within a week, he will die of grief. Belle return late to find the beast if dying but as she admits that she developed feeling for him he turns into a handsome prince.

The story is presented so well that there are a number of themes that you can see in the film. The main one that everyone would automatically say would be that love conquers all. But there is also that you should look beneath the surface of the unlikely person because you never know what underneath (like the saying never judge a book by its cover). This is shown in the film by the way that Belle was terrified and repulsed by the beast at the beginning but slowly she comes to accept and care for him. This happened when she seeks his company and gets to understand him then develops affection for him.

I found this quote from Damian Cannon best describes this film ‘The classic tale of true love triumphing over appearance is memorably told in this post-war Jean Cocteau experience’ La belle et la bête was produced at the end of world war two when France was still reeling from the pain and exhaustion so their many limitations that had to be thought about when making this film. One example is the budget to make this film but Cocteau still found away to make a classic on a low budget.

La Belle et la Bête is a very dramatic and expressive film by the different techniques Croteau used to make this film.  ‘The reason why the film still resonates to this day is partly due to the director’s experimental techniques.’ For example the scene when Belle is walking through the castle and with the effects of lighting ,darkness , the wind blowing the curtains and the way that she is floating toward the door it kind of  gives of the effect that she is dreaming. ‘With Cocteau employing slow motion photography to obtain a dreamlike effect’,  

The best thing about this film is the visual imagery with the scenes. The way that Croteau used light and dark to produce shadows to portray different things and feelings this helped to make the film. As well as the convincing make-up of the Beast and the different meanings made the fairy tale come to life. The only downfall for me was the ending because the grand finale is nothing then the beast transforming into a handsome man (played by Jean Marais who also  played the beast and  belle’s admirer) it was a little disappointing for such a great film.

‘Jean Cocteau succeeds in creating a film that is both visually entrancing and emotionally rewarding, whilst re-telling a familiar tale in a fresh and innovative way.’

Film Review- The Fly 1986

The Fly is a science fiction horror movie written and directed by David Cronenbery in 1986. This quote from film critic Joe Sommerlad explains the film best ‘David Cronenberg's The Fly is that rare thing, a remake that completely surpasses the original.’ This remake of the classic 1958 film had little in common with the original film plot. One of the differences was that in the original film his was punished for playing god where as in this film he was punished for playing with god’s gift. Cronenberg also made the transformation slow like a infection or disease where in the original he turned in a fly automatically. I think that this is what makes the film better than the original because you actually go though the transformation with him and feel his emotions.  

'Though often recognized for being an excellent science fiction and horror film, at its core, the Fly is a romance film.’ There is romance though the remake like the original film but in more depth.  From the beginning the film builds up the love story so much more than the original so that the ending is more intense and getting you second guessing the situation.

In the remake there was a theme running through the film and that was a culture metaphor for Aids/HIV which was a big thing when this film was made. Even though Cronenberg accepted this and his original interpretation was a general analogue of terminal conditions such as cancer. The special effects that were used in the gradual transformation stages of Brundles was how Cronenberg portrayed this and had everyone think about the metaphor. ‘Cronenberg goes all out with this film, taking every opportunity he can come up with to make the audience cringe in their seats.’  

 

The fly is a remake that truly trumps it original and that rarely happens with remakes. This quote from critic Scott McDonald says it all ‘an extraordinarily successful cross-breeding of several genres.’ As he says it has everything you would want in a film a good storyline, romance, a metaphor for what was happen in the 80’s and not forget the gory special effects. For me the film had me grip form beginning to end even though the intense and gruesome ending.

Life Drawing Part 1

Yesterday was my first experience of life drawing and i was quite surprised with the outcome of my drawings. I have always struggled with drawing human life forms especially hands and feet. So hopefully these lesson will improve this. Here are my very first life drawings

We were first asked to just draw the woman in the position she choose. I thought for my first try it didn't turn out too bad. For are second task we were asked to three separate studies of different areas. I choose areas that i struggle to draw like the hands and the feet as you can see in the image below.

Overall i was shocked at how my drawings turned out and cant wait to improve overtime.

Film Review- The Fly 1958

The first film we watched was the 1958 film The Fly directed by Kurt Neumann is an science fiction horror story with an mystery behind it. To summarise the plot it is about a scientist who is working on an experiment that transports matter . After several problems it finally works and then he decides to go through the device himself. But something went terribly wrong and he has somehow become spliced with a fly.

 At the beginning of the film you see the scientist is died and his wife is the main suspect. When the woman finally opens up and tell the inspector what actually happen in the last few days. This is when i personally think the mood changes in the film and the tension rises as we watch the flashback.

'Neumann and writers George Langelaan and James Clavell perpetuate the mystery skillfully. We’re not quite sure what the story is, but we’re given enough information to make guesses. At the same time, we’re not so in the dark that we just become irritated and give up.' I agree with this quote that because at the beginning of the film all you know that this scientist has been killed. I like that the story slowly starts to unravel making you become hooked and wanted to WHY!. Neumann made it so that you don't jump straight into the main storyline and that you are introduced to the characters  so you get the understanding into the characters themselves.



'Andre has learned the hard way the perils of trying to bend the laws of nature too far.' I agree with this quote i found from a review and i personally think that behind everything in the film their was a meaning and that was karma. But that is just my opinion that Andre (scientist) learnt that by bending the laws of nature  it comes with consequences like turning into a fly.

 'This pretty sub-standard but infamous 50s horror film is more science fiction than anything else. It may have been heralded a classic, but in reality, it's not that good thanks to it dating very rapidly with some hokey effects towards the film's finale.'I left this quote the end because i had mixed feelings about it because i agree that it is dated but that is because of when it was made. But i also disagree because even though it was a man in a mask i don't think you can say it anit a classic. It might not be the typical gorey horror film but it had imagination which made the story and made it an classic.

Overall i enjoyed watching the film but found that it was slow gettting into but that was the way that Neumann wanted the film to be so that you undestood why everything was happening. I also like the way that the film had several meanings and showed serveal emotions for example the way that Helene (Andre wife) still cared for and wanted to help her husband even everthing that had happened.



Unit 1- Anatomy

For the first project we were asked to create a full-figured self-portrait with a twisted which is that we have been spliced with an animal and are now a extraordinary hybrid.

The animal that i choose to be spliced with is an Iguana Iguana translation meaing Green Iguana. At the moment i dont know what to think of the animal i choose. But i do know that just looking at this image there are many ways i could go with this project. The next step for me is to do some indepth research into the animal i choose,