Shrek the Third: October 2007

Monday, 15 October 2007

Self-directed research report

Note: Here are all the links to my research so far. Some of these links I have found however I have not fully looked into, but I will be as I research as they are useful, but I have decided to put the link up as a place to refer to for when I come back to.

Internet

http://www.animationmagazine.net/

http://www.shrek.com/main.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0110532/index.htm

http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/dwa/opencms/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6674837.stm

http://whyfiles.org/077comp_anim/

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E3DB103BF933A25751C0A9659C8B63

http://vrlab.epfl.ch/Publications/pdf/Magnenat_Thalmann_Thalmann_InteractiveCA_96.pdf

9. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/galleries/la-et-shrek30mar30-pg,1,1244359.photogallery?coll=la-ent-galleries-rightrail&ctrack=1&cset=true

10. http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=582583

11. http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2007/05/shrekstra.php

12. http://www.answers.com/topic/shrek-the-third?cat=entertainment

13. http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/animation/stopmotion.html

14. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/Shrek.php

15. http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=2595

16. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=computeranimation.htm

17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/5145112.stm

18. http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=178

19. http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/shrek%20the%20third%20breaks%20us%20box%20office%20animation%20records_1031517

20. http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=20510

21. http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenocgi.htm

22. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=77525&in_page_id=1773

23. http://www.answers.com/topic/animation?cat=biz-fin

24. http://www.answers.com/topic/traditional-animation

25. http://www.answers.com/topic/dreamworks-animation

26. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/62113.php

27. http://www.answers.com/topic/shrek?cat=entertainment

28. http://www.totalfilm.com/movie_news/all_hail_shrek_the_third

29. http://www.pixar.com/index.html

30. http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Shrek.html (This is to pick out any quotes from the film)

Books

1. The complete animation course-the principles,practice and techniques of successful animation, Chris Patmore, p.g. 48 'Animation History'and p.g.116 '3D CGI'.

Articles/Newspapers/others

1. The Metro Newspaper-P.g. 35 (Friday, June 29, 2007) Shrek the Third review 'Far from a fresh fairy tale'.

Top Hollywood actor and actress. In terms of my study it is relevant in that the voices of ‘Shrek’ are done by ‘A’ list celebrities such as Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake and John Cleese.

2. Big ten-
the ten major Hollywood film studios. Two of the big ten relates to my student (DreamWorks, Walt Disney) as they are both involved in the animation industry.

3. Fantasy-
A made up world. Shrek is a fairy tale and is set in a made up world. In addition Shrek is also “the greatest fairy tale NEVER told”.

4. Framing-
It involves the process of select a particular film shot considering things such as characters, settings, lighting, positioning of a character, iconography and more. Every film made, even CGI animations, involve the director choosing what to be put in the shot and how things will be positioned and any ideologies and messages put through.

5. Genre-
When media products i.e. films are categorized due to there form, style and content. This is related to my study in that I am focusing on the animation genre and how CGI has ensured the genres success whilst using texts e.g. Shrek the Third (2007) as a reference.

6. Intertexuality-
Embedding other media texts into a text. Shrek is particularly noted for its intertexuality in its comedy, for example- Donkey “Worcestershirey? Now that sounds fancy”, Shrek “Its Worchester”, Donkey “Like the sauce, mmm, it’s spicy!”. The Worchester sauce has been used in the film to create comedy. There are many more other examples of Shrek using intertexuality for their comedy.

7. Sequel-
Follows on from a previous film E.g. Shrek, sequel-Shrek 2. ‘Shrek the Third’(2007) is the sequel to Shrek 2 and is the third instalment of the ‘Shrek’ series.

8. Sound Effects-
An effect that imitates a sound and is used in films. CGI films all use sound effects in order to create sound. For example, In Shrek 2 when Puss in Boots is battling with a sword, sound effect of the swords hitting each other is used.

9. Stereotypes-

A first idea/impression associated with someone or something. Shrek is an ogre. Stereotypically if someone says the word ogre the first words or images that come to our heads are big, ugly, scary, monster, eats humans.

10. Target audience-

The audience group in which the text is purposefully made for. All media texts have a target audience. In terms of Shrek, the target audience is kids.

Course Evaluation

A.
1. How well is the course organised?-1
· The course is structured very well and we always complete everything in the course structure even though we sometimes are behind.

2. How interesting is the content that is covered?
· The independent study is great in that you get to explore an area of your interest.

3. How useful are the handouts? -1
· We have had not many handouts however the one we received ‘media dictionary’ is great. It is highly useful and good for a place to pick up and learn media terminology and I feel in the long term will prove to be very valuable.

4. Have the lessons been well-paced?-1
· The lessons have been placed well and at suitable times. Monday morning could have been moved to the afternoon as people would be more awake, but otherwise it has been well placed.

5. What is the standard of the teachers’ presentation/subject knowledge? -1
· Excellent. The teachers know their stuff and present it in a manner that we all understand it fully; nothing more needs to be said.

6. How well has the course met your expectations? -2
· The course has met most of my expectations, however I do feel that there is a lack of progress

7. Have the extra-curricular events been useful? (E.g. Media Awards Evening, Trips)-1
· They are fun and allow us to break away from the normal routine which is always good.

8. Has the Macguffin Blog been useful?-1
· The blog has been very useful in that it allows teachers to post up homework and easy to access and a great place to refer to for the latest homework or media news in the school.

B.

WWW

1. Presentations

2. Posting of work on blog

3. Teachers presentation of the course

EBI

1. More progress

2. More general class debates like the ones we have after a presentation.

3. More worksheets

Self Evaluation

A.

Attainment: B+
· My view is that I am not at my very best and there are places I can still improve. I feel that areas such the ability to work independently have been excellent although I still believe I can do much more. Also area’s such as the quality of writing is still needed to be worked on. Overall I feel I am doing well but I’m not at my best.

Effort: 2
· I believe that I still need to put more effort into my work. For example I need to e more persistent in searching for del.ici.ous links as I have only found two to three whereas if I kept at it, I may find more.

Punctuality: 1
· I am always on time for lessons and have not had an absent unless for educational reasons.

Submission and quality of homework: 2
· This aspect is usually my strongest however I believe that I have not fully performed to best that I know I can work to, however I still complete all my work and still do it very well and on time.

Ability to work independently: 1
· I have done a lot of things on my blog that my teachers have not told me to do illustrating my independent work. I feel I can still do more. Over the previous weekend I analysed my own blog by looking through it and found out areas I need to improve and wok on. See blog titled ‘Note’.

Quality of writing: 2
· I feel that I can still improve here by using more media terminology when writing. Also I am still getting to the idea of using S.H.E.P in my work.

Organisation of Media Folder: 1
· My folders are organised and I can easily find any work I need

Oral contribution in class: 1
· This is an aspect in which I have always been trying to improve in the past, however recently I feel more confident and am contributing more than I do.

Standard of Module 5blog: 1
· I feel that I have carried out all tasks set by my teacher and have inputted a lot of my own independent work. Also the work is of high quality and detail. Also I am happy in terms of the layout of the work on the blog aswell.

Standard of Module 6blog: 1
· I feel I have done very well on this blog in terms of posting up the latest issues and debates in the media. Two very good sites to look for these types of news are http://media.guardian.co.uk/ and http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/ . I have found these to sites in particular very useful when it comes to searching for the latest media news. In terms of the teacher’s task set, I need to do more. For example, I have not completed the task set by Ms.Stevens, however I will complete all the work by this Wednesday. Otherwise I am very happy with this blog.

B.

WWW

1. Media Dictionaries are highly useful in terms of improving and learning media terminology.

2. Posting homework on the blog is also highly useful as they are easy to access and refer to.

3. The debates that we generally have after a student’s presentation in class are fun and interactive.

EBI

1. Helpful packs or worksheets

2. More progress in that we have not started topics of representation and genre

3. Tips on how to properly implement S.H.E.P into an essay.

Sunday, 14 October 2007

Med5 Cw Task6

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPeuGThxeuc

The ‘baby nightmare’ scene from highly successful DreamWorks Animation SKG ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) entertains but also educates to the audience that looking after a baby is tough and stressful.

Parenthood is tough and stressful. In the film, Shrek discovers that he is going to be a father. The daunting prospect of being a father is represented in the ‘baby nightmare’ scene. When Shrek takes off the blanket on the cot, it reveals a baby. A close up of Shrek’s face with him saying “Oh no” illustrates how reluctant and how scared he is at the prospect of being a father. Shrek’s reactions and views towards being a father (fear, frightened, scary) reflects reality for people who have gone through the phase. Animation films are unique in that they appeal to all age groups from “the eight year olds to the thirty-eight year olds” (quote from Justin Timberlake). Whilst the main target audience, children, may view the scene passively, adults on the other hand may view the scene in an active way in that the prospects of having a baby to look after can be terrifying as its means a lot of sleepless nights and stress. Also the factor of whether they have the confidence in themselves to be a good parent.

Babies are represented as being tough to handle and require constant care and attention. Stereotypically babies are cute and adorable, however in terms of looking after them they can be a handful as they constant attention. The medium shot of the ‘baby crying’ followed by Shrek desperately trying to stop the baby crying illustrates reality and how babies are a handful to look after. Also by having continuous shots of babies in danger such as ‘flying around the room’, ‘falling of the lamp’, pulling the table cloth with knifes on the table’, ‘a baby lighting a match’ emphasises the point that as parents babies need constant vigilance as they can get up to anything dangerous in which they are not aware off. Babies explore their world by feeling around, pulling and pushing as they are curious to learn about the world around them however this in turn can also be dangerous as if they stumble across something dangerous they can get hurt. A medium shot of one of the babies looking at the lighted match stick is amazement demonstrates how curiosity can be dangerous. In addition, the use of having a ‘spotlight on the pram’ illustrates the focus of the scene whilst the image of a pram connotes babies.

In the scene, Shrek is having a nightmare. A nightmare is a type of dream which brings out feelings of intensity and fear. Furthermore it is a type of dream which is usually common in childhood. This identifies with the audience in that the main audience are children. For Shrek, the use of having lots of babies, for example a medium shot of lots of babies coming into the room like water overflowing illustrates Shrek’s state of mind in that babies are everywhere in his mind, and he’s scared and wants to get out and even his friends, Donkey and Puss in Boots heads turn into baby ogre heads. In addition the close up of ‘Shrek yelling as he wakes up from the dream’ is stereotypical as after a nightmare you tend to suddenly wake up. In addition, aspects of the mise-en-scene create tension, for example the dark room and the door slamming behind Shrek create tension as Shrek has just been trapped in a dark room. This in turn both engages the audience and evokes fear as their hero Shrek is trapped.

Shrek the Third (2007) is one of the most successful CGI animated films of its individual genre. The film generated a staggering £61 million at the U.S. Box Office making it the third highest ever intake in both animation and movie history. Whilst the film showcases some of the most astonishing ground-breaking animation seen, by the film also focusing on current issues and debates in our society such as female power in current society, childhood, parenthood and more, it makes the film successful as the film is identify with its audiences. Comedy is a key ingredient for an animated film and Shrek is very successful at this. For example in the extract ‘when the ogre baby burps’(this to a child would be humorous) and when Shrek says “Better out than in, I always say” immediately followed by the baby throwing up like a jet of water from a fire hose creates comedy. The comedy is also intelligent in that Shrek’s advice to the baby is then exaggerated.

To conclude, the ‘baby nightmare’ scene reflects how parenthood and its prospects can be frightening and how much care and attention is needed to look after a baby.

Note

In terms of research I have briefly looked over what I have done so far and have come up with the following things to research and look at over the coming weeks

1. I am going to be now looking more into other animation text such as Ratatouille, Toy Story, Ice Age and others as I have not really looked around at other texts.

2. I am going to reserach genre theorist

3. Explore the issues brought up in Shrek the Third e.g. Parenthood and find out why theses topics are in the film.

4. Find more del.ici.ous tags

5. More book research

Saturday, 6 October 2007

Media Dictionary 1

1. Brand
Through trademark marks, slogans, logos, images, names and company/product/manufacturer is distinguished from others. This is relevant as ‘Shrek’ is a brand. Also the Shrek brand illustrates the success of animation as it is the ‘Shrek’ brand and series is the most successful in animation history.

2. Cartoon
An animated cartoon. Before CGI and 3D animation, there was 2D animation which we’re hand drawn e.g. Gertie the Dinosaur. In terms of CGI, all CGI animated films begin has drawings and sketches. Also many drawings and studies are done before the character or item is rigged during the animation process for example, in Disney Pixar’s up and coming film animation film ‘Ratatouille’. The main character in the film is a rat and to make the rat life like and realistic, the animators bring rats into the studio and via drawings study the rats motion e.g. how it eats, runs, move, jumps, climbs etc. so when it comes to creating the rats movements in the film, they move like a real rat.

3. Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)
CGI is a type/form of animation which uses computer software to create movie, special effects, cartoons and many others. This keyword is useful towards my study as my independent study text ‘Shrek the Third’ (2007) is a CGI animated film.

4. Disney, Walt (1901-66)
A large media company which produces cartoons and CGI animated films. The Disney brand is famous for its cartoon films such as The Lion King, Snow White, Cinderella, Aladdin, Peter Pan and many, many more. Also by being partners with the CGI animation company Pixar, Disney created CGI films as well. This is relevant to my study as they are involved within the animation industry

5. DreamWorks

DreamWorks is a large American film studio. The company is especially famous for its animation department ‘DreamWorks Animation SKG’, which has produced many ground-breaking CGI films including ‘Madagascar’ (2005), ‘Flushed Away’ (2006), Over the Hedge(2006), ‘The Bee Movie’ (2007) and of course the hugely successful ‘Shrek’ series (which is also my independent study text). Also these are other CGI animated films in which I can refer to in my study.

6. Director
A person that is responsible for the overall creation of the film. All films are influenced by directors as they make the decisions about how the film is made, through things such as approving scripts and storyboards, camera angles and many more aspects. This is relevant to my study as the film the director influences the creation of the film and so has an effect on what is finally shown to the audience.

7. Pixar

A large CGI animation company, partner’s with Walt Disney and rivals with DreamWorks. As Pixar is a CGI animation company it relates to my study. Also in my study I can use some of there text as reference. The first ever CGI animated film was produced by Pixar in 1995 ‘Toy Story’ and so as importance when talking about the historical aspect of animation.

8. Patriarchy
Male dominated society. In our current society the male gender is more dominant and superior to the subordinate female gender. This is relevant to my study as in the film; the patriarchal society is challenged as the female characters are more dominant and have more of an active role in running the kingdom. At one point in the film, Fiona and the princesses attempt to break out of prison and rescue ‘Shrek’. Also, by the female characters having more important and active roles in the film it reflects how women have more power within today’s society.

9. Stop-motion

A type/form of animation. This form of animation involves the animator ‘physically’ alter and change the scene from clay models. Materials most notably clay is used. Wallace and Gromit is the most famous stop motion. In terms of my study, it is relevant as it is a form of animation and also before CGI there was stop-motion.

10. Storyboard
A series of drawings that tell a story. This keyword is relevant to my study as before a CGI film is created on the computer, a team of artists converts the script into images to create a storyboard. In addition, the storyboard stage last 18 months in the making of an animated film and therefore it is a crucial stage.

Tuesday, 2 October 2007

Ratatouille

On October 9th 07, DreamWorks Animation SKG rivals Disney.Pixar will be releasing a new feature length animation film titled 'Ratatouille'. I am analysing some aspects of this film as it i the latests CGI animated film. The storyline involved a rat named 'Remy', who unlike your typical rat which eats anything, is picky about what he eats and has the talent to cook. Remy dreams of working in a France's finest restaurant, however of course being a rat does not make things easy to achieve his dreams. The director Brad Bird says that this film is personal to him as "We all have impossible dreams and do what we can to pursue them".

These videos go in depth into the thinking behind the scenes of latest animation film and how it was made.

· Brad Bird (screenwriter/director): “This film is personal to me in a way because I think that we all have impossible dreams and do what we can to pursue them and this is the ultimate impossible dream”.
· Brad Lewis (Producer): “It’s as much about Remy as it is about being a part of society where you feel you’re wired a little differently.
· Patton Oswalt (Voice of ‘Remy’): “It’s a Pixar film”.

· “When creating any CG animated film there’s always lots of challenges to be faced.
· Brian Dennehy (voice of ‘Django’): “Animation is a very complicated business with hundreds of people actually involved in the production”
· Apurva Shah (effects supervisor): “Water has always been a hard thing to in a CG”.