Film and TV and Tech and Stuff?

Harry Potter and the 3 Dimensional fail.

Chris Young — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:23:51 +0000

After the brilliant news earlier this year of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one not being screened in 3D i was very exited what they would keep the whole franchiese in 2D, how films should be. however the new trailer for Part 2 has proved me wrong, they have retrofited it into 3D. Retrofitting is known to give a poorer viewing experience than something actually filmed in 3D so waste your time trying to make the final part of an entier series of films the best you can by setting out to do something that litteraly can not be the best viewing experience possible?

Harry Potter and the invevitable wrong desision. A letter.

Chris Young — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:13:06 +0000

Dear, Harry Potter and Warner Bros.
Let me set the scene. I was sat in my messy, “I’m 19 so that’s just how I like it therefore it’s ok”, bedroom, sat at my computer perusing the four corners of the internet (the International Movie Data Base, The Kermode Uncut Website, Catching up with the Culture show on iplayer and browsing Yahoo movies for the latest trailers). As I slowly trawled through the list of newly released trailers one very important part of my book, and movie based childhood appeared on the screen, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Before I knew it I had clicked on the link and the trailer was playing. I was brimming with excitement. I sat watching the 2 minuets 27 second long trailer with great anticipation. It Iooked amazing. The tension was increasing, the effects looked superb, and as the music built up to its inevitable theme music based crescendo and all or a sudden my hart turned black and cold and I felt as if I’d just been hit with the avada kedavra curse. Embossed in the, now iconic, Harry Potter type face were the words “complete the Journey…….in 3D”. Oh Golly Gosh I thought in more colourful language, that’s the main part of my childhood ruined. Normally I wouldn’t be that offended by 3D as the films I tend to prefer, like films by Paul Tomas Anderson, don’t have a propensity to be retrofitted or filmed in 3D so I’m usually safe, on the other hand a ever-increasing amount of films I do like, like the Pixar movies, are becoming very 3D heavy, this makes me worry. However, there is another reason why I personally hate 3D, I have a damaged optic nerve in my left eye leaving me almost blind in that eye *cue violin music* *pauses for sympathy* thus leaving me with a less fulfilling experience when it comes to watching 3D movies as I only see one half of the 3D, call it 1.5D if you will. I Suppose I’ll just have to do what I seem to be doing on a more increasing basis, and that’s searching out cinemas that will show the 2D versions of the 3D movies I want to watch such as the upcoming Toy Story 3D.
Thanks Warner Bros for ruining Harry Potter with a pointless transition into 3D. This now leaves me with one question; if you start a franchise in 2D shouldn’t it stay that way until the end? Instead of it changing at the last minute and alienating long term fans, like myself.

Cheers
(as slightly annoyed)
Chris Young,
From Knaresborough, Film Production BA Hones Pending 2012

P.s. I do realise that, in terms of figures, it is a small audience that has been affected the way I have been affect. But really I just want watch movies they way they should be seen, in 2D on the big screen.

not sure 3D works for cats either.

Question: With regards to this, I’m not actually sure whether one eye is a problem with these polarised 3Dglasses things? Oh I don’t know it’s all too technical for my liking.

Blur to release New Material!

Chris Young — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:14:15 +0000

Damen Albarn, front man for Blur, Has said in a recent interview with NME that Blur will be recording new material, not an album, but new material.

Since the success of their, thought to be one off, single “Fools Day” released in limited numbers and only available on vinyl form certain record stores on Record Store Day Albarn has especially expressed interest in producing more 7inch singles, with the possibility of a record at the end of it.

Blur seem to be very relaxed and more comfortable recording in this random more care free way.

Seems to me that this is an excellent way of working for them, the single Fools Day is a really fun track that sticks in your head, it reminded me of early Blur and Gorillaz mixed to form some sort of super track.

And if we all have to wait that little bit longer for new material, that’s a good thing because its guaranteed to be worth the wait.

Read the Telegraph article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7709822/Blur-to-record-new-material.html

iPad or iFad?

Chris Young — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:00:23 +0000

So I went into work, uni, and there it was glistening, gleaming and so tantalisingly close I could almost touch it. An iPad, it was just laying there in front of a friend, he picked it up, “is that yours” I said, “yep, my mum brought it from America blah, blah, blah etc, etc.”, I wasn’t listening, I was just staring at the pretty iPad. An IT technician walked past the iPad he glanced at it, and carried on, suddenly he stopped in his tracks, “is that an iPad” he said, “yep, my mum brought it from America blah, blah, blah etc, etc”, the IT technician wasn’t listening, he was just staring at the pretty, pretty iPad. The technician, ignoring the usual social, and professional, protocol just grabbed the iPad, and started playing with it, he couldn’t control himself. Eventually after apologising for just grabbing my colleges, expensive, iPad, he let it go and placed it back down on the table, and left the room, I could only guess he’d gone to cry.

A few minutes passed, 34 to be precise, and I could not hold my excitement any longer, and i asked the vital question, “Ok I can’t resist, may I have a go?”, “sure”, my friend said.

I couldn’t believe it I had an iPad in my hand, the beautiful, perfectly formed piece of design genius.

Then I began to use it and quickly realised that it was the most pointless, expensive piece of tech I had ever used, it can only be described as a massive iPod touch. No, really, it’s just a big iPhone without the extra features, like a camera. However it soon became clear that perhaps the iPad was useful, it is simply a more practical piece of kit than the iPod touch or the iPhone. It is bigger for a start, and that is very useful, you can’t use keynote on an iPod, you can on an iPad. You can’t use an iPod as an e-Reader, not efficiently any way, you can with an iPad, Marvel even have their own app so you can read your favourite comic on your iPad, it only took the words “Marvel has an app” to make me want one, but talk about expensive comic. Anyway, I digress. The iPad does seem to be slightly useless at the moment, but it has not been released in the UK yet and therefore the iPad app store cannot be accessed in the UK yet, but as soon as it does the child within you will have access to a variety of HD games that rival that of the PSP and DS.

Jealous

To me the iPad is a tool that will be used for things that a laptop is just too big for, for example taking notes in lectures, lessons of business meetings, surfing the web when travailing. Reading e-Books and PDF’s on the move. I also think it may come more into play in the future perhaps you could hook it up to a wireless in house media control centre, or even use it as a hairdryer, who flipping knows, Apple seem to be able to do anything god knows what they will be able to do in the future.

So i guess i kind of get the iPad.

SAVE 6 MUSIC and ASIAN NETWORK

Chris Young — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:33:13 +0000

Back in early March, the director general for the BBC, Mark Thompson, made the announcement that there were plans to restructure the corporation’s services. Now that’s all fine and dandy, but within this announcement was also a plan too close BBC Asian Network, the countries only national radio station for the Asian community in the UK, as well as 6 Music, the radio station that offers a wide variety of music from Popular music to Jazz. These station offer the listener a wide variety of music and news you cannot get from any other national station.

So what’s the big idea is the BBC’s plan to cut cost and save the licence payer a bit of cash, because I’m pretty sure the license fee won’t go down if these two precious stations close. It seems to me that the BBC wants to revert back to becoming the mundane upper middle class bore it used to be.

I can’t help thinking that if the BBC were to close 6 MUSIC and ASIAN NETWORK they won’t just be cutting costs, they’ll be cutting out culture.

Recently the noise around the announcement has died down, we all need to build it back up again, and anyone who reads this blog can help, by joining the Facebook group, posting a blog of your own, posting a video on YouTube or even just tweeting about it.

Help save these two essential stations.

Facebook group for 6 Music: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=278123313911

Face book page for Asian Network: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-The-BBC-Asian-Network/329496002302

Adam Buxton’s Save 6 Music Bowie song:

Work, DAMN IT! Why Dont You Work!?

Chris Young — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:28:13 +0000

Technology is one of the most important parts of everyone’s life. We are all affected by it all of the time; there isn’t a moment in the day when hi-technology isn’t being used by you, or someone around you. We rely on it to such an extent that when something goes wrong we are absolutely in the shit, and all we can do is spend hours fixing it, replacing it or shouting at it.

For example in a recent project of mine I was editing a film and for this i needed an external hard drive to edit from so I had all my files and data and stuff and nonsense in one place and easily accessible. Everything worked fine for three full days of pure editing work, until the fourth day when a connection on the hard drive decided to no longer work, just 10 hours since it was working fine. It just stopped, with no explanation, I hadn’t dropped it, punched it or stabbed it. It had always been in its little protective case.

So I decided to fiddle with the cable its uses to plug into my computer until it worked, i.e. until my computer recognised it’s as “connected to PC”. And then a few hours later I managed to make it work, but as soon as I let go of the cable it stopped working. So, naturally I got very angry, “AAAAAAHHHHHH F*****G USELES PIECE OF S**T” I exclaimed loudly in the editing suite, full of quietly working people.

After being calmed down by a friend/psychologist, I logically decided the problem was the cable connecting the two devises, so I immediately rushed off to spend £12.99 on a replacement cable. Satisfied with my purchase I ran it back, like an exited school boy with a fresh bag of porn, to try he cable out…..It didn’t work. So, naturally I got very angry, “AAAAAAHHHHHH F*****G USELES PIECE OF S**T”. I then spent the next hour figuring out it’s was the hard drive connection not the cable. DAMN IT! I said, and then managed to fiddle with the cable and transfer my data to a computer, where I will be able to edit the rest of my film, until i get the stupid pile of a hard drive fixed.

So overall I spent a day trying to fix something that I, realistically, have no chance in hell of fixing, and apparently it’s a common problem with these hard drives, so why wasn’t I warned. Also I just can’t help wondering why the manufactures, Western Digital, clearly don’t test their products enough for faults before making them commercially available.

The Culprit.

What I hate about this is that I spent so much time fixing technology that is apparently so advanced our little common minds can’t comprehend. So why then do I have to spend FOREVER trying to fix technologies problems? Because, I’m sorry technology but if you’re so advanced? Why can’t you just work?

First Things First

Chris Young — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:24:24 +0000

So this a pre post to welcome people, whoever you are, to my new, and first, Blog.

I blog about lots of this, quite general really, but mainly i will blog about Film and TV and things that bug me about it, as well as technology.

Here’s an arty picture of me so you know who i am. I believe it portrays, mystery and mood and something else pretentious.

Beneath this facade I am actually a happy person.

Funny thing is about this picture of me, is i wasnt posing for it in a pretetious way, i was actualy telling the photographer0 (my mum) to stop taking my photo or i’ll throw it in the river.