Angela Neads, 44, has been registered blind for 10 years and has been gradually loosing her sight for the past 21 years. Angela always enjoyed watching films before she started losing her sight and misses the experience. She now has to rely on the audio aspects if she is to enjoy a film, which is not always easy.
She said: "It’s very difficult, I have to have a sighted person to tell me what’s going on. Some films I can’t follow at all."
Angela explains what a film needs to be like if she is to follow it successfully: "They have to have an easy story line with very few characters."
"The narrative side is very important as long as it’s nice and clear but, sometimes you can’t always hear what they’re saying if the background music is a bit overpowering."
She also has to focus on differentiating one character from another: "If their voices are very clearly different it’s easy to follow but, obviously at the beginning of the film, somebody has to explain to me who is who. Names help as well if they are used a lot in films."
Not all films get the balance right though and blind people can often be put off trying to watch the film. Angela said: "You start to watch it and lose the story when too many characters appear or when I have to ask somebody what’s going on, you just can’t enjoy it."
"When scenes are rushed and it jumps from one scene to another," she added, "that’s when I lose everything. Or when they switch from one place and can be in a completely different place next."
Angela does have a few favourite films though, which she is able to enjoy and follow with more ease, including: "The Rocky series - the story is simple and not complicated. The character’s voices are clear and easy to follow."
"See No Evil, Hear No Evil - there are very few characters, a simple story and it makes me laugh."
"Ben-Hur - I already know the story line and I think it’s entertaining to listen to."
"Grease - Again, it’s entertaining. I know who the characters are and from memory, I know exactly what’s on the screen."
There is some aid available for blind people to experience films more easily as Angela explains: "Audio Visual is available for blind people or you can have films on cassette tape (Or CD now). With Audio Visual, as the film is playing, you have a person talking and explaining who is on the screen, what the background is, what the people are wearing, a full description of them. Colours are explained to you, movements for example ‘ man now going to sit in the chair.’ You can now get Audio Visual television as well."
"Personally, I just can’t get on with it. I tried watching a film but, it just didn’t appeal to me. As you’re trying to follow the story, you’ve got somebody describing everything and it put me off."
Angela says that she would find a brief synopsis at the start of the film a helpful tool: "Before a film for a blind person, if they gave a reading of a rough story line so at least when you go into the film you know who the main characters are, what the film is you’re following in case you lose the story line, at least your memory has had a rough guide of what’s going on."
She says she would also like a voice over after the film has finished to relay certain information: "Some information about the film at the end, like when the film was made, what year, where the film was made, just a bit of general knowledge about it, how old the actors are e.t.c, that would be helpful."
It is impossible to comprehend how blind people have to experience films without being in the same situation as them. We forget how vital it is to be able to see what is happening on screen and take for granted how easily sighted people are able to follow a film. If certain techniques, such as Audio Visual and the ones suggested by Angela, can enhance the film experience for blind people and help them to feel more included in the plot then they should be greatly encouraged.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Oscars 2009 revealed: Britain sweeps the board
It was a huge night for Britain at this years Oscars with Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet having some great success.
Slumdog Millionaire once again overshadowed all of the competition and bagged an outstanding eight out of nine gongs at the 81st Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Their collection of awards included: Best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best original song.
Kate Winslet added an Oscar for best actress in The Reader to her shelf that already includes her recent Golden Globe and her Bafta awards.
In a shock result, come-back king Mickey Rourke, lost out on the best actor award to Sean Penn for his performance in Milk.
Unsurprisingly, Heath Ledger was awarded a posthumous Oscar for his supporting role in the Dark Knight, which his daughter will inherit when she reaches the age of 18.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button claimed 3 out of 13 gongs and Penelope Cruz became the first Spanish actress to win an acting Oscar.
Slumdog Millionaire once again overshadowed all of the competition and bagged an outstanding eight out of nine gongs at the 81st Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Their collection of awards included: Best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best original song.
Kate Winslet added an Oscar for best actress in The Reader to her shelf that already includes her recent Golden Globe and her Bafta awards.
In a shock result, come-back king Mickey Rourke, lost out on the best actor award to Sean Penn for his performance in Milk.
Unsurprisingly, Heath Ledger was awarded a posthumous Oscar for his supporting role in the Dark Knight, which his daughter will inherit when she reaches the age of 18.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button claimed 3 out of 13 gongs and Penelope Cruz became the first Spanish actress to win an acting Oscar.
Friday, 20 February 2009
Everyone is Twitter crazy
It seems that Twitter is all anyone is talking about lately and the journalism world is no exception.
According to the Press Gazette, editor of businesszone.co.uk Dan Martin, has announced that he is only going to be accepting PR pitches via twitter next Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to eradicate the irrelevant press releases that find themselves clogging up his inbox.
If the experiment works, Martin has said he will consider using only Twitter permanently.
Sending copy this way will limit the space to only 140 characters, meaning that the message will have to be punchy and attention grabbing if Martin is to pay any attention to it. This will require some good journalistic skills and might prove to be an interesting challenge.
It's nice, though a little strange, to see how much everyone is embracing social networking lately and how they are using it to go about their business too. I think it is a sign of the times and an indicator of where our future lies... in Facebook updates and Tweets.
According to the Press Gazette, editor of businesszone.co.uk Dan Martin, has announced that he is only going to be accepting PR pitches via twitter next Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to eradicate the irrelevant press releases that find themselves clogging up his inbox.
If the experiment works, Martin has said he will consider using only Twitter permanently.
Sending copy this way will limit the space to only 140 characters, meaning that the message will have to be punchy and attention grabbing if Martin is to pay any attention to it. This will require some good journalistic skills and might prove to be an interesting challenge.
It's nice, though a little strange, to see how much everyone is embracing social networking lately and how they are using it to go about their business too. I think it is a sign of the times and an indicator of where our future lies... in Facebook updates and Tweets.
Mickey Rourke joins Jonathon Ross
Mickey Rourke joins Jonathan Ross this week on his BBC One show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross and talks about the pain behind his film, The Wrestler.
He says: "It's the hardest movie I ever had to make...too many [parallels] to be comfortable, there were moments when it was too close to home.
"I had to spend seven months putting on 28 pounds, eating seven times a day, I thought 'it's going to be fun' but I hated it.
"I ended up with three MRIs in two months, my legs couldn't carry the weight."
He also tells Jonathan about his years in the wilderness: "It was an accumulation of mistakes. You go out there, think you can rise above the s**t, but you fall into it...there were no rules...I didn't know you had to sell yourself, I wasn't educated enough to understand it, to play the game."
And why he'd like to win the Oscar: "After my drought it would mean everything. It would be an honour."
Will Young also joins Jonathan and discusses considering parenthood: "'I did have a patch when I thought 'maybe'."
Plastic surgery: "If I have good surgery I can keep smoking!"
And the pressures of fame: "You have to build up this tough exterior to be who you want to be. I've got a lot better."
Jonathan also welcomes comedian Jason Manford and there's music from The Cure performing live in the studio.
BBC Press Release
He says: "It's the hardest movie I ever had to make...too many [parallels] to be comfortable, there were moments when it was too close to home.
"I had to spend seven months putting on 28 pounds, eating seven times a day, I thought 'it's going to be fun' but I hated it.
"I ended up with three MRIs in two months, my legs couldn't carry the weight."
He also tells Jonathan about his years in the wilderness: "It was an accumulation of mistakes. You go out there, think you can rise above the s**t, but you fall into it...there were no rules...I didn't know you had to sell yourself, I wasn't educated enough to understand it, to play the game."
And why he'd like to win the Oscar: "After my drought it would mean everything. It would be an honour."
Will Young also joins Jonathan and discusses considering parenthood: "'I did have a patch when I thought 'maybe'."
Plastic surgery: "If I have good surgery I can keep smoking!"
And the pressures of fame: "You have to build up this tough exterior to be who you want to be. I've got a lot better."
Jonathan also welcomes comedian Jason Manford and there's music from The Cure performing live in the studio.
BBC Press Release
BFI and BBC Blast helping young film-makers
Five fledging film-makers have been given the chance to further their careers by winning a bursary place which gives them unique access to the film and TV industry, it was announced at the Future Film Festival last weekend.
The BBC Blast bursary winners were showcased at a packed ceremony at the BFI Southbank on Friday night, hosted by BBC Radio 1 film buff James King and singer Jenna G.
Victoria Ijeh-Okusanya (18), Ethan T. Race (17) and Jasmine Blackborow (18), all from London, Rob Wallace (19), from Kent, and David Poole (19), from Birmingham, all submitted films to the BBC Blast bursary competition last summer and were picked from more than 150 other hopefuls.
They start their bursaries in March – across comedy, drama, documentary, animation and music genres.
Victoria's winning film was an insightful documentary about the prevalence of sickle-cell anaemia in the Afro-Caribbean population; Ethan's piece was a chilling black and white film exploring evil, obsession and mental conflict; Jasmine's colourful music film brought to life the track Takin' Over by little-known Latin artist Ralph Robles; Rob Wallace's successful entry was a haunting animation about the beauty of life; and David Poole's short comedy looked at the lengths to which people will go for some "me time".
"The standard of creativity shown by these young film-makers is astonishing and we're thrilled to be able to give them a much-deserved break in the film and television industry," says BBC Blast Editor, Erin Barnes.
Eddie Berg, Artistic Director of BFI Southbank, said: "The Future Film Institute is a really important new initiative for the BFI. We want to harness the creative energies and talents of young people and work with them to help shape and inform our programme and activities and reach new audiences.
"The Future Film Festival showed how far we've come in a very short time and it offers a really exciting but also challenging way of working for major cultural institutions like the BFI."
The Future Film Festival held at BFI Southbank this weekend gave young film-makers and movie fans between the ages of 13-25, the chance to be inspired by industry professionals in a series of lively workshops and Q&As.
Film-makers including EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer, director Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, The Return) and the new BAFTA rising star, Noel Clarke (Doctor Who, Kidulthood, Adulthood) were swamped with aspiring film-makers quizzing them on their craft – with well over 1,000 young people attending the festival over the weekend.
Other highlights included an all-day Bollywood filming extravaganza and an opportunity to film members of the National Youth Theatre using cutting edge methods in a performance of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Also attending the event were students studying the new Diploma in Creative and Media. Work-related learning is a key part of this course and young people studying the qualification get the opportunity to learn from and be mentored by professionals working in the creative and media industries.
"This was a fantastic chance for young Diploma students to celebrate their achievements so far and to gain some real life experience of the film business," said Schools Minister Jim Knight.
"In my day 'work experience' too often just meant making the tea – now Diploma students get the chance to talk to Hollywood directors and use cutting-edge technology to create special effects."
Courtesy of BBC Press Releases
The BBC Blast bursary winners were showcased at a packed ceremony at the BFI Southbank on Friday night, hosted by BBC Radio 1 film buff James King and singer Jenna G.
Victoria Ijeh-Okusanya (18), Ethan T. Race (17) and Jasmine Blackborow (18), all from London, Rob Wallace (19), from Kent, and David Poole (19), from Birmingham, all submitted films to the BBC Blast bursary competition last summer and were picked from more than 150 other hopefuls.
They start their bursaries in March – across comedy, drama, documentary, animation and music genres.
Victoria's winning film was an insightful documentary about the prevalence of sickle-cell anaemia in the Afro-Caribbean population; Ethan's piece was a chilling black and white film exploring evil, obsession and mental conflict; Jasmine's colourful music film brought to life the track Takin' Over by little-known Latin artist Ralph Robles; Rob Wallace's successful entry was a haunting animation about the beauty of life; and David Poole's short comedy looked at the lengths to which people will go for some "me time".
"The standard of creativity shown by these young film-makers is astonishing and we're thrilled to be able to give them a much-deserved break in the film and television industry," says BBC Blast Editor, Erin Barnes.
Eddie Berg, Artistic Director of BFI Southbank, said: "The Future Film Institute is a really important new initiative for the BFI. We want to harness the creative energies and talents of young people and work with them to help shape and inform our programme and activities and reach new audiences.
"The Future Film Festival showed how far we've come in a very short time and it offers a really exciting but also challenging way of working for major cultural institutions like the BFI."
The Future Film Festival held at BFI Southbank this weekend gave young film-makers and movie fans between the ages of 13-25, the chance to be inspired by industry professionals in a series of lively workshops and Q&As.
Film-makers including EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer, director Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, The Return) and the new BAFTA rising star, Noel Clarke (Doctor Who, Kidulthood, Adulthood) were swamped with aspiring film-makers quizzing them on their craft – with well over 1,000 young people attending the festival over the weekend.
Other highlights included an all-day Bollywood filming extravaganza and an opportunity to film members of the National Youth Theatre using cutting edge methods in a performance of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Also attending the event were students studying the new Diploma in Creative and Media. Work-related learning is a key part of this course and young people studying the qualification get the opportunity to learn from and be mentored by professionals working in the creative and media industries.
"This was a fantastic chance for young Diploma students to celebrate their achievements so far and to gain some real life experience of the film business," said Schools Minister Jim Knight.
"In my day 'work experience' too often just meant making the tea – now Diploma students get the chance to talk to Hollywood directors and use cutting-edge technology to create special effects."
Courtesy of BBC Press Releases
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Let's Dance for Comic Relief - more celeb contestants revealed
The cast of Hollyoaks, Loui Batley (Sarah), Nathalie Emmanuel (Sasha), Dominique Jackson (Lauren), Ricky Whittle (Calvin), Garnon Davies (Elliot), EastEnders actors (names tbc) and Christopher Biggins & Nicki Chapman are set to dust off their dancing shoes for Let's Dance For Comic Relief as part of this year's Red Nose Day Campaign it was announced today.
Denise Van Outen has also been confirmed as a guest judge alongside head panellist Anton Du Beke, who will be joined by two different guest panellists each week.
Previously announced guest panellists include Emma Bunton, Paul O'Grady and Michael McIntyre.
Previously announced contestants include Jo Brand, Robert Webb, Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness, Dragons' Den's Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden, Dick & Dom, Blue Peter Presenters (Tim Vincent, Anthea Turner, Mark Curry, Diana Louise Jordan, Peter Duncan, Janet Ellis, Helen Skelton), Chefs (Paul Rankin, Sophie Grigson, John Burton Race, Nancy Lam, Kevin Woodford, Sophie Michell, Tony Tobin, Reza Mahammad, Silvena Rowe), Les Dennis, Neil Fox & Nancy Sorrell and Angela Rippon who will all pay homage to iconic dance routines in a bid to wow viewers with their moves and compete for a chance to be crowned champion of the dance floor.
The show will be hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones and launches on BBC One from Saturday 21 February 2009.
The series will run over four weeks, comprising three heats and culminating in a spectacular final dance off on Red Nose Day weekend.
Show One will see members of the EastEnders cast, Les Dennis, Christopher Biggins & Nicky Chapman, Robert Webb, Dick & Dom and the Chefs recreate a number of famous dances from movie and pop classics.
There will also be a live performance from The Saturdays who will sing their Comic Relief single Just Can't Get Enough.
Show Two will feature Jo Brand, the Dragons, Hollyoaks cast, Blue Peter presenters, Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness, Neil Fox & Nancy Sorrell.
Who goes through and who gets a chance to compete in the final will be down to the public phone votes and the panel.
The final will see six celebrity acts dance for their chance to be crowned the Let's Dance For Comic Relief Champion on Saturday 14 March.
Proceeds from the voting will go to Comic Relief.
The show will be produced by Whizz Kid Entertainment for the BBC.
BBC Press Release
Denise Van Outen has also been confirmed as a guest judge alongside head panellist Anton Du Beke, who will be joined by two different guest panellists each week.
Previously announced guest panellists include Emma Bunton, Paul O'Grady and Michael McIntyre.
Previously announced contestants include Jo Brand, Robert Webb, Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness, Dragons' Den's Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden, Dick & Dom, Blue Peter Presenters (Tim Vincent, Anthea Turner, Mark Curry, Diana Louise Jordan, Peter Duncan, Janet Ellis, Helen Skelton), Chefs (Paul Rankin, Sophie Grigson, John Burton Race, Nancy Lam, Kevin Woodford, Sophie Michell, Tony Tobin, Reza Mahammad, Silvena Rowe), Les Dennis, Neil Fox & Nancy Sorrell and Angela Rippon who will all pay homage to iconic dance routines in a bid to wow viewers with their moves and compete for a chance to be crowned champion of the dance floor.
The show will be hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones and launches on BBC One from Saturday 21 February 2009.
The series will run over four weeks, comprising three heats and culminating in a spectacular final dance off on Red Nose Day weekend.
Show One will see members of the EastEnders cast, Les Dennis, Christopher Biggins & Nicky Chapman, Robert Webb, Dick & Dom and the Chefs recreate a number of famous dances from movie and pop classics.
There will also be a live performance from The Saturdays who will sing their Comic Relief single Just Can't Get Enough.
Show Two will feature Jo Brand, the Dragons, Hollyoaks cast, Blue Peter presenters, Keith Lemon & Paddy McGuinness, Neil Fox & Nancy Sorrell.
Who goes through and who gets a chance to compete in the final will be down to the public phone votes and the panel.
The final will see six celebrity acts dance for their chance to be crowned the Let's Dance For Comic Relief Champion on Saturday 14 March.
Proceeds from the voting will go to Comic Relief.
The show will be produced by Whizz Kid Entertainment for the BBC.
BBC Press Release
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
CGI vs. stop motion but, which is better?
Stop motion vs. CGI... the debate continues... ok well, maybe I’m exaggerating (there's probably nobody else debating this apart from me)and maybe your everyday cinema goer doesn’t give a damn about stop motion (or even CGI for that matter) but, they should! It seems that stop motion is a dying form and it’s such a terrible shame.Ok, so let’s settle the differences: stop motion involves physically moving an object a small amount between frames to give it the illusion of movement when the individually photographed frames are played in sequence and CGI or Computer Generated Imagery, involves using 3D computer graphics to create the special effects that cause all the ‘ooh’s’ and ‘aaah’s’ in the cinema. It is also used for characters and objects in film.
CGI is something we are faced with a lot of the time when we go to the cinema, it a form that allows things to be achieved on the big screen that could never have been achieved before. It is an excellent tool in film making and yes, I am a fan but, I don’t think it has the ability to create the image that a stop motion animation can.
Stop motion may be a long and pain-staking process but, the end product is definitely worth it. Let’s take a look at Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, this was filmed using stop motion alone and has such a unique and beautiful look about it that sets it apart from other films.
Tim Burton is of course a die-hard fan of the art form, saying: "There is an energy with stop-motion that you can’t even describe. It’s got to do with giving things life, and I guess that’s why I wanted to get into animation originally." (see http://minadream.com/timburton/Animation.htm)
I can really see where Burton is coming from, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride (his two big stop motion successes) do have an energy and feel about them that is somehow different to CGI but, sadly most movie makers will opt for CGI over stop motion every time.
My argument is that we just don’t see enough stop motion in the cinema (seemingly apart from that brought to us by Burton) and we need to see more of it. Yes CGI is easier and quicker but, it would be such a shame to see stop motion die out completely. It’s a wonderful art form and creates a great image on-screen so, it would be nice to see the studios embracing it a bit more in future.
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