Many of you have asked why the director chose to film Schindler’s List in black and white.  This moving film is probably the most famous black and white film of modern times.  It is thought by many critics that Spielberg chose to film Schindler’s List in black and white to create an extra layer of horrific realism. It is interesting to note that this film did not have storyboards as director Steven Spielberg looked to Holocaust documentaries for inspiration which helps to explain the use of documentary style in the film.

Janusz Kaminski, Schindler’s List’s Director of Photography, said when he discussed the look:

“I was ecstatic to be working with Steven, and yet when we began filming it brought home the sickening reality of the Holocaust. The newsreel quality of the black and white seemed to fade the barriers of time, making [the footage] feel like an ongoing horror that I was witnessing firsthand. I think I can speak for the whole crew when I say the experience was sobering.”

It is also worth noting that the film was shot without the usual use of modern filmmaking tools such as cranes, steadicam and zoom lenses. There was much use of hand held camera shots (40%) which helped to make the film seem realistic. Perhaps the lack of more modern filmmaking tools also helped the viewer to focus on the story being told and help bring alive the time period portrayed in the film.

This year some of you will study texts like ‘Night’ and ‘Schindler’s List’ which are set in the time of the Holocaust. This interview may help you understand what happened to the Jewish people. In the video you will see a compelling video interview conducted by Tony Robbins with Alice Herz Sommer, a 108 year old survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. Despite the immense stress Alice suffered in her life she followed a simple but profound philosophy which she believes contributes to her healthy and happy life today. It is an inspiring clip.

This is a great little clip for zombie fans everywhere.

Here’s an interesting article from Mashable:

A theory stemming from an experiment by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s claims every living person is connected to any other through only six friends. According to a recent study, Facebook reduces the six degrees of separation to only four, meaning the world’s largest social network makes the world even smaller (figuratively).

Read more here.

The grisly killing of Honorah Parker in 1954 by her daughter Pauline and her friend Juliet Hulme in a Christchurch park remains one of New Zealand’s most notorious murders. Abby Gillies of APNZ examines the teenagers’ actions in light of modern psychiatry and why the case still holds such fascination.

More than 50 years on from what is arguably New Zealand’s most famous murder, the Parker and Hulme case and the lives of the two girls convicted of the grisly murder continue to generate intense interest.

Juliet Hulme, 15, and Pauline Parker, 16, were two friends who conspired to kill Pauline’s mother Honorah because they believed she would force them apart by not letting her daughter join Juliet, who was leaving the country with her parents.

On the afternoon of June 22, 1954, the girls lured Honorah to Victoria Park in Christchurch’s Port Hills, under the pretence of a walk. Down a secluded path, they bashed her to death by hitting her more than 20 times with a half-brick inside a stocking.

In a murder case that transfixed the nation, the girls were arrested for murder and tried in the Supreme Court of New Zealand in Christchurch.

They were found guilty and sent to separate prisons.

After 5 1/2 years, in November 1959, they were released – free to start a new lives under new identities.

While it is a common belief that the girls were to never communicate again as a condition of their release, this is untrue.

Read the rest at The NZ Herald.

We are all busy writing (or marking!) essays so I may post a few for your consideration. Here is a Level One essay – what do you think?

Describe ONE important incident at the end of the text. Explain how verbal/and or visual features were used to show that this character was important.

In the film ‘The Truman show’, directed by Peter Weir an important incident at the end of the film was when Truman Burbank, the main character, chose to escape from the safety of his controlled and fake life in Seahaven and rediscover his exploring spirit to find his true love Sylvia. Visual and verbal features assist in highlighting how this incident was important through costume change, cinematography and the dialogue between Truman and Christof in the final sequence.

Truman made the important decision to escape from Seahaven and this was shown to be an important incident through costume change. At the beginning of the film Truman is perceived as being a controlled and naïve character because although he has chosen his own costume it has been in a controlled and limited environment. The audiences learn this as they discover that Truman is actually the ‘star’ of one of the biggest reality shows made. At the end of the film Truman loses his insurance sales man uniform and is dresses in a thematically generic costume of dark and masculine clothing. This visual feature is important in illustrating that leaving is an important incident because it portrays that Truman is a changed person, and is gained control of his life.

Throughout Weir’s film the Truman show, cinematography is used to highlight that the important incident of Truman leaving was important. We are first introduced to Truman through a rapid zoom out an extreme close up, as he talks to himself in the bath room mirror. This illustrates to the audience that he is somewhat immature and bored with his life. High angled shots used to emphasize his vulnerability and it is the change to low angled shots which show he has gained his personality back. Through the use of cinematography, Truman shows the audience his willingness to escape his circular structured life and this is important as it influences his decision to overcome his paralyzing fear of the sea and sail to the exit of Seahaven. The important incident of Truman leaving Seahaven to rediscover this exploring spirit and find his truelove Sylvia is emphasised by the dialogue between Truman and Christof in the final sequence. The catchy phrase of ‘In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night’ is said for the last time before transmission is ceased and this not anymore conveys that Truman is a man of habit and routine but that he has grown up. Truman also said ‘you never had a camera in my head’, to the creator of the show Christof, and this illustrated that Truman found strength to resist the power of the media. The use of dialogue was important in showing the audience that although Truman is free he has for once gained control of his life and he is determined to find his true love Sylvia.

Visual and verbal features such as costume, cinematography and dialogue assisted in highlighting that Truman’s decision to leave Seahaven was an important incident in the text. Throughout the film Truman changed as a character and it is through these features that the audience learns that he is now a strong and determined person, who can achieve what he sets out for, finding his true love.

 

 

 

Excitement is building about The Hunger Games film and star Jennifer Lawrence had this to say to Vanity Fair:

Tell me about how you got to be involved in this project.

I had read the books before I even knew I would be auditioning for the movie, and was a huge fan of the material. Actually, my mom read them first and thought it was an incredible role and story. She did the same thing with Winter’s Bone, so she must be a clairvoyant, or just has really great taste. Katniss is an incredible character: she’s a hunter but not a killer, a 16-year-old who’s being forced into the arena. These kids are killing one another only because if they don’t they’ll die. It’s needless, pointless, unjustified violence. It’s heartbreaking. When I auditioned, I told [director] Gary [Ross], “I understand if you don’t hire me, but please remember that after Katniss shoots a bow and kills someone, her face cannot be badass.” So there’s nothing cool about her. It’s not like she looks around the arena and goes, Yeah, I got this. I think she looks around helplessly, and thinks, I made a promise to my sister that I would survive; now I have to kill in order to do so.

Do you worry at all about the film becoming a massive phenomenon in the way of Twilight—and what that will mean for your personal and professional life?

I try not to think too much about it. Hunger Games is not Twilight, and while I hear the comparisons, it’s really premature to say that it will be the same phenomenon. I’m so proud of the work we did on the film—Gary and the entire cast and crew were amazing, and I can’t wait for it to be brought to life because I think it’s an important story. If it does become a crazy phenomenon, I’ll soak up my freedom now!

Read the rest here.