Speciality

It's not hard to see that on paper the speciality I should go into is Sound. But if I am to do so I would also like to pursue a career in Post sound as well as a sound recordist on set. This is something which I have to consider as I know their may not be many resources fro studying Sound Design. I am currently reading several books on the use of Sound design in film, and am trying to give myself a head start.

Sound is definitely the speciality I would like to keep up in my third year!

As with this I would also like to keep up my writing to pursue a career as a writer. Something to maybe consider. Directing is still on the sidelines, Maybe I'll have a better perspective after the Summer.

Hearing Voices (Broken Bubbles, from that guy with the microphone)

It's a new dawn for my learning as a sound recordist. On Wednesday last week I arrived on set to a piece of kit which i had never even touched before. Many a time had i watched Mic Kearney change settings and operate the equipment brilliantly but never did I have a chance to find out how to use the recorder during my time on the grad films.

So there i was sitting down to a new piece of equipment and we are to be turning over in an hours time. Time to get to work. As i was in the same position Murdo was during the shoot of Breathing Room, he was able to take ten minutes out of his busy schedule to help me a little on powering the recorder and giving me a very basic set up. I also had notes that Mic had sent me the previous night about the recorder and how to do a basic set up. But I'm a little more curious than Murdo about the new shiny things i have in my possession. With the lighting set ups using their time wisely, I was able to explore the kit carefully (well sort of). It is a huge difference from the SQN, with the sound clarity being immaculate and very little feedback hiss from the recorder (as opposed to the feedback from a 570 camera). The sound levels can be brilliantly controlled, with 4 separate pots for each of the four channels on the mixer (one for Gain, one for Bass, one for Pan and the master channel pot). This is much more controllable than a three way switch. I found myself in many situations where navigating each pot managed to channel out or reduce the noise of an unwanted element. For example, when shooting in Mugdock Park, I was able to reduce wind noise and pick up more dialogue than the surroundings, and I am happy to say that the dialogue is very easily recognizable and for lack of a better word, good.

Obviously with my curiosity came problems. I managed to create quite a fuss twice on the first day while filming in the props store. When getting a little too familiar with the buttons on the recorder i managed to reset the entire thing, wiping preset slate names and reseting the recording channels, which was a pretty big pain. The problem took half an our to fix, with Gavin Rizza coming on set to help. This happened once again, through complete carelessness of myself, during the day. Only this time i was able to correct the problem within fifteen minutes and get the film rolling again.

This problem also caused some of the recordings to filter into different folders, which proved to be an annoyance with DIT. But the next morning I was able to create some time to rename all files recorded and take a note of where they had been stored on the recorder.

The recorder is a fantastic piece of kit, but if put into the hands of a rookie, such as myself, it can prove to be more difficult than it appears. Thankfully by the end of the shoot I was starting to get the hang of it and was growing more confident by the hour. In the end I did what I could, and i think I did a satisfactory job, and also this proves to be a good push into third year, as now i know roughly how to use the kit.

On set was a strange feeling. It had been a while since I had recorded sound on a film, and this was the first time I was completely independent from the camera. My problems caused a set back in the schedule, which is understandably annoying. The team were not thrilled with the problems that I was causing on set, but in any case who would be. I just did what I could with the knowledge that I had.

Mic has been keeping me up to date and has been continuing to give me good advice on both the kit and how to operate on set as a sound recordist. He has been a fantastic help and I hope to work with him again soon in August.

just another note...

It's something that I have been thinking about a lot.
I don't know if I'll take on the role of directing again. It's a hard job, and also stressful if you don't know how to handle yourself. Although i enjoyed my experience it's something that i'm not convinced about and don't fully see myself doing in the future. maybe my view will change, but maybe it won't. technically i think i will be keeping to the sound, bvut focus a little more on the post production process rather then the sound recording area of it all. creatively i will think about all that i have experienced and will consider the possioblities, but writing i think is going to be the thing i keep up and try to become proffesional.
Something to consider over the rest of the course....

3 Days In Gourock

The production of Breathing Room (title still to be confirmed) wen surprisingly smoothly. Technically, the crew were fantastic and had no problems that were large enough to recall.

Most of what little problems we had revolved around the misinterpretation of the shotlist between Paul (DOP) and myself. Due to the little time in between Sole Mates and Breathin Room, we were not able to meet and discuss the shotlist before we started shooting. As a result, we wasted some time on set when a shot wasn't placed correctly or the shot that was set up didn't cover the action correctly. This is a fault on both Paul and myself but in the end we were able to work together and come up with a good solution to our problems. This only occured a couple of times throughout the entire shoot.

The location turned out to be beautiful with the weather holding nicely and the surroundings keeping relaticvely quiet (aside from the odd lawnmower).

The camera crew built up of Ross, John and David were incredibly patient and equally efficient throughout the production. They listened to every single peice of input and at times even offered a difffirent frame to show us the action from another perspective. Fantastic work. Might I add their handling of the kit was also brilliant and they were very quick learners.

Luke was the gaffer on set and as were the rest of the crew, he was efficitne patient and was helpful in every aspect.

Murdo and Lauren made up the sound crew of Breathing Room. They kept out of sight and caught every part of sound they could possibly catch. They were fantastic to work with and equally udnerstandinf of each shot and cooperated well with the camera crew in keeping the frame clear but also catching the best quality sound they could.

A big thankyou to Andrew Lanni and David Van Der Zanden for their help in set. It was much appreciated and you made the whole process run smoothler. Your experienced input insured we kept on track and made the best out of the production.

Rhys and Anne, playing the lead roles in the film, were also brilliant. After working through the first scenes it was easy to see that both actors were right for the parts.
Rhys was a delight to work with and brought so much to the Tramp's character than i could have imagined. The come4dy of the film exceded expectations and held the drama together very nicely.
Ann was a fantastic sport and caputred the part of jackie magnificently, if that's even a word. She managed to bring that initial mood of the film to the screen and allowed it to transfer gradually as the film progressed through the stages of her demise. The undoing of all that she had lived by and for was created perfectly and matched the script very well. Considering that Ann was already a fan of the script, it is very apparant that she prepared herself for the role very well and was able to fall into the character brilliantly. I think it's safe to say that if you ask any member of the crew that the scene in the hallway where Jackie breaks down was definetely the cherry on the cake. Ann stolen my heart with the role.

One thing that managed to plague my mind and which remains a thought is, will the film be able to cut in such a way that we are able to move, emotionally in between the comedy and the drama of the film. The drama is very heavy and depressing but the comedy isn't overly done and so it shouldn't overule the film arc.


A big thankyou to absolutely everyone involved, everyone was just so brilliant!
Thankyou!!!

Rehearsals

The one rehearsal with the actors was a good one. We covered the entire film in a short space of time, and also in that space of time we managed to suss out any problems with the script.

In the time we also managed to go over many different variations of each scene and came to a conclusion that the improv that we tested was definitely the most effective, and at some points the most funny moments in the film.

The actors are fantastic and are well up for the film, both have a good idea of what they are doing and what kind of mood the film takes shape. They understand the changes in he film as the story progresses and that the film is not an entire comedy but a dramatic story.

I am happy with the attitude of the actors and am confident they will provide a brilliant performance for the film.

Destination Unknown!

Decisions are hard. Especially when going back and forth on location choices.

My first impression of the first house we intended to use did not match what the script explained and at first did not fit into the physical situation i had in mind for the kitchen scenes (the breaking of the window). But after a night of tossing and turning i eventually came up with a solution to the problem and even made the script work quite well with the location.

Sadly it was one day too late. The owner of the house had not been notified in time and we were forced to relocate to our original idea of filming in Gourock.

Indeed this proved a problem, as budget would only allow us to transport some down to the location and not the entire team.

Working around this we have had to stage a make shift bed and breakfast in my home to cut costs and keep travel time down to a minimum.

In reflection to this all I will have to make my decisions more precise and clear to absolutely everyone. False information is not something that can be spread, especially if myself believes this false information! Never again.

So the RED's broken. The RED was never a huge thing to me for this shoot. The RED would look astonishing of coarse but for myself, focusing completely on performance, i am quite happy with the 570. I have been told that the RED may be fixed in time for my shoot, but in the case that it may not be repaired, I am more than welcome to the idea of shooting on the 570, as long as the story is told.

Let's see what i think of that when i see the edit, shall we?

This morning was the first time I have truly panicked. Thankfully it was in the comfort of my own home and I was able to process the information and resolve the mood. The shock of having to change the script time and time again has taken it's toll on myself. But I am struggling through and will hopefully see the light.

Writing For Film

It's hard to know exactly what your writing for sometimes. In my case i seem to have lost myself so much in the text that I'v forgotten that the text is to be transferred into a visual form. Even little things can sometimes escape your attention when your trying to write for the mind of your character.

To truly get the best of the script you have to rely than more than the text on the page and more on the acting of the scene. It's hard for me to get into this idea of being able to direct an actor and letting them bring what they can to the character that you have created. After the last few weeks i have found that what is written on the page can be translated in different ways, depending on how you decide to direct the actors, and which actors you choose.

This for me is an incredibly difficult task as i seem to be loosing focus on what exactly the film is. When initially writing the film i wanted it to be very touching and moving with the character of Jackie transforming throughout the film into a range of different emotions, to get her out of the everyday depression. With this happening in her arch the tramp acts as the comic relief to the deeply depressing world of Jackie.

Now moving onto the more realistic approach of how to navigate each scene with the actors it is becoming increasingly hard to figure out exactly how i want the two characters to differ.

I;m sure as i progress through this all i will find an answer, but for now i will battle on with my initial thoughts on how the film should be.

It may even appear that my initial idea of the film will work.

Directing is a strange creature which i have not had the hands on experience of fully. With the help of my lecturers and classmates I am continuing onwards and learning everyday.

It's both a shock and a wake up call, but under it all, we're still doing something incredible, and i still feel priveleged and, might as well say it, excited. We're making a film! How often can you say that?

Professional hats on people!

Assesment Essay : Sound

In the film Wall-e, How does sound help to bond the relationship between the audience and the characters on screen?

This is footage from the film Wall-e which shows a lot of what is about to be mentioned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CghIyKf2sfE


Walter Murch believes that sound is the first sense that the human being experiences. Murch explains that due to our perception of sound before birth, a consciousness is created within us, already generating a clear relationship with our mother’s voice.

“our four and a half month baptism in a sea of sound must have a profound and everlasting effect on us – but from the moment of birth onward, hearing seems to recede into the background of our consciousness and function more as an accompaniment to what we see.”
Murch (2000)

At the first stages of sound recording in film, sound was considered a high priority. Since the invention of the Zoetrope, sound has taken a severe backlash and has been dignified one of the lowest priorities by modern filmmakers. But in the creation of Sound Design in the 1970’s, sound is pulling its way back into the spotlight and is able to enhance our perception of an entire motion picture. Ben Burtt is a very successful sound designer with many fantastic projects in his past. Burtt was given the opportunity to redefine the world of sound in the 2008, sci-fi animation Wall-e. I have been investigating how Burtt’s design has enabled an audience to bond with the characters on screen.


Sound is generally regarded as secondary when it comes to film. We are bombarded with so many ideas for how to work a film visually, that filmmakers tend to forget that the medium of sound is a part of film also. Sound can help to shape surroundings. What we see on the screen may not be the only thing to focus on. The sounds we hear can commonly give us more insight into exactly what we understand about what we are seeing. Klas Dykhoff has the interesting notion that when sound creates the third dimension of film it brings the audience into a more realistic viewing.

“To a large extent it’s the sound that creates the third dimension, the depth, but our minds fool us into believing that we see it”
Dykhoff (2003)

The visual factor of film allows us to investigate with our sight and creates a direct link with what we see on the screen, but the aural factor lets us delve into our consciousness and serves as a distorted communication tool that can sometimes give the audience more than just a film, but a memorable imprint that has a more personal effect. If this technique works well, then the audience should not notice the sound at all initially; it should become a medium with more depth into the human psyche. Burtt uses this knowledge to create sound as a character itself.

“with animated characters … they are two dimensional creatures who make no sound at all unless the illusion is created through sound out of context: sound from one reality transposed to another.”
Murch (2000)

Wall-e is composed of sounds that are taken from the real world and translated into a different reality.
“The basic thing in all films is to create something that sounds believable to everyone, because it’s composed of familiar things that you can not quite recognize immediately”
Burtt (Film Sound Today) no date!

This uses the consciousness of the human mind and allows the animation to have a three dimensional wave that effects the audience and gives the viewer something to grow close to, to have a relationship with. For example, when creating the wind effects of Wall-e, Burtt did not just go out to the street and record the atmosphere of a windy day; he dragged a punch bag across a carpeted floor and used this to signify the toxic wind we hear in the film (1.55). If heard this sound on it’s own is almost unrecognisable due to the intentions that the sound was recorded. In the film, it is narrowed to the toxic wind, which engulfs the Earth. This is all down to a collaboration of different factors of film, which come together to create this world.


When bringing a sound designer onto the production of a film, sound is taken into consideration at very early stages of pre production and is continuously referred to throughout the production process. In the case of Wall-e, director Andrew Stanton took this effort very seriously and considered Burtt, the key player in bringing his characters to life. Even before recruiting Burtt, Stanton had a clear intention of what he wanted to gain from the process of sound design.

“I knew I wanted old fashioned music against space. I knew I loved the idea of the future and past juxtaposed and that on the first frame that would not seem familiar.” - Andrew Stanton
Christianson (2008)

Stanton is referring to the opening scene of Wall-e. The use of the music from “Hello Dolly” instantly gives depth to the film in the first opening frame like Stanton claims. Burtt uses Walter Murch’s technique of Worldization to show Wall-e playing the music as he works away cleaning up the Earth. The audience hears this and there is immediately a connection made between our hero and our audience. Something like a car passing on the street, and the song that is playing, is from our past generation; all sounds that remain in our consciousness until sparked by a certain incident we experience. It becomes something that we have in common with Wall-e and is the obvious connection we make at the early stages of the film.


This relationship is further enhanced by the sparse use of dialogue between our main character and his love interest Eve. Stanton explained to Burtt that he didn’t want to use dialogue but instead wanted to bring a more realistic approach to things, allowing Burtt to generate a new form of robotic slang.
The sounds that Burtt created would define a character and would set the tone for the entire film. In making these sounds relative to what we understand from our previous experiences with hearing, the characters are able to talk to us, make us laugh, make us cry or even confide in us. They grab the audience so much, that the characters that have no dialogue in the film have a much stronger relationship with the audience than the human characters. Burtt approached this by considering what machines sound like today, then enhancing these sounds to create a communicative voice thus allowing us to experience their emotions and characteristics through their mechanically orchestrated sounds.

“the illusion that these robot characters, the speech and sounds they made were really coming from their functions as machines that these was either a chip on board that synthesized the voice or the squeak of their motor would sound cute and that would indicate how they feel.” – Burtt.
Christianson (2008)

This immediately attaches our characters to our consciousness, allowing us to recognise the sounds we are hearing but to experience them within such an abnormal character allows us to create an unseen relationship with what we already relate the sounds to. To further our connection with the robotic characters, there are almost no humans on screen. The human element remains with the use of Chion's “acousmetre”; the human voices we hear are recordings; we are not introduced to the human element until half way through the film. However, to create the limited robotic vocabulary, voices were recorded and then modulated. This gives the impression of something new, when in fact, our brains analyze voice every second of every day. This again transmits a message to our minds letting us explore the depth of the characters on screen and once again giving another connection to hang onto throughout the film’s progress. The ways the voices are manipulated show exactly what our characters moods and our characters intentions are. Such as Walle’s groans and whistles (0.13) show his childlike personality and his curiosity and longing, and Eve’s smooth, flowing noises (0.23) show her intelligence and superiority, but her laugh also shows kindness and innocence.


In reflection to my research I have been able to identify that it’s not the obvious sounds that allow us to gain a new aspect of a film but it is more likely the sounds that blend together so well that they generally become common in our “hear/see” experience. Each and every individual has a different way of perceiving sound that is personal to the human consciousness in one way or another; it’s the way we are born. This perception allows us to gain a greater knowledge of what we don’t see on the screen, but what we think we see. We fill in the missing pieces and we connect our senses to fully explore what our mind already knows, and that is how Wall-e is able to establish a successful relationship with its audience.
Looking back to our first encounter of our relationship with sound:

“This earliest, most powerful fusion of sound and image sets the tone for all that are to come.”
Murch (2000)


Murch, W., 2000, Stretching Sound to Help the Mind See. New York Times, October 1st – Adapted from: Projection 4: Sound Design: The Dancing Shadow.
http://www.filmsound.org/murch/stretching.htm


Dykhoff, K., 2003, About the perception of sound. University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre, Stockholm.
http://www.dramatiskainstitutet.se/web/About_the_perception_of_sound.aspx


Christianson, E., 2008, World According to WALL_E’s Andrew Stanton, Ben Burtt and the Cast. Hollywood.com.
http://www.hollywood.com/content/feature_detail.aspx?id=5266467&p=7


Blake, L., The Sound Design Of Star Wars. Film Sound Today: An anthology of articles from Recording Engineer/Producer. On paperback – articles featured on:
http://www.filmsound.org/starwars/


Weis, E., / Belton, J., 1985, The Sound Design Of Star Wars. Film Sound: Theory and Practice. On paperback – articles featured on:
http://www.filmsound.org/starwars/


Published by “Creativity”, 2009, The 2009 Creativity 50: Ben Burtt and Andrew Stanton.
http://creativity-online.com/news/the-2009-creativity-50-ben-burtt-and-andrew-stanton/134467


Thom, R., 1999, Designing a Movie for Sound. Adapted from Film Sound Theory. Article available on:
http://www.filmsound.org/articles/designing_for_sound.htm


Maynes, C., 2004, Worldizing – take studio recordings to the field and make them sound organic. Adapted from The Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 25, No.2. Article available on:
http://www.filmsound.org/terminology/worldizing.htm


Chion, M., 1994, Audio-Vision. Published by Columbia University Press.
Available on Paperback.


Pixar Studio’s, 2008, Wall-e: Creating a world from Sound Up. Available on the special features of “Wall-e” DVD.

Justification!

Now what kind of student would I be if i didn't justify my attraction to these two elements of film making.
Starting with Sound, the original aspiration to my career in film. I found myself attracted to the idea of completely creating a world based purely on sound. By changing one sound in an orchestrated soundtrack full of effects, music, and dialogue, we can completely change the mood of a film, either for the better or for the worse. It is a full art form in itself and can assist a film in ways in which no one can fully imagine. The potential is massive, to just go out and create something out of nothing, using sounds that we hear every day and using them to create excitment, or suspense. Every day noises being turned against you to create something which you fear, yet you hear every day while you walk home, go to work, sit down and do nothing. Even just the many ways in which silence can be used is unbelievable. When you think of silence, think how many different effects and moods you can create by having absolutely nothing to hear, just sheer silence.

When thinking of cinematography the same aspiration appears of creating a world that can be altered in the ways the film is shot. Hand held can give a sense of realism, fast paced close ups and uncomfortable shots can convey great suspense and excitement. Again anything is possible in this world and it is all up to the way the film looks to create this world in order to give the correct image to the audience. If the shot is in any way altered the film could have a completely different effect on an audience. An edgy noir thriller could be turned into a dottery romcom and the change of a stop.

I suppose it all relies on creativity and the majority of my decision. I am fully prepared to put in the labour and work on set and am completely ready to put myself on the firing line during a production, but creativity will constantly stock my mind.
I guess thats exactly what the academy wants from us. I guess i'm on the right tracks, but which right tracks; thats the question. There are many different paths you can choose, just need to find the right one.

Spoilt For Choice!

How exactly does one outway the choices of one specialism for another?
No, seriously i'm actually asking this question to anyone who may have any hint of an answer. When i look back on the year and a half i have been in the course and see that most of the work i have done on every production seems to be sound related in one way or another. This came to my attention a couple of months ago and i feel like its been bugging me ever since. Of coarse it is my fault for volenteering myself for the position and role of sound operator for most of these films, but it has now become a regular fact among the class that i am the guy to do sound for any production. This is not exactly how i imagined doing the course, although with every other factor in the academy i seem to be enjoying every minute of it. The only problem seems to be the position i have put myself in isn't exactly ideal for the aspirations that I have been feeling lately for the likes of cinematography.
It's hard to judge on either of my choices considering i have had no experience in the field as a cinematographer, and the kind of sound work i am interested in pursuing is that of design, in which i have also had no experience.
I suppose it's time to start climbing out of that whole and getting myself onto jobs that allow me to test my abilities and assist my judgment of what i want to choose in a couple of months time.
Fingers crossed my classmates overlook the original concept of sound and give me a chance to see what i can do in the role of cinematographer.
Only one way to be sure...

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's hard to look back on first year for me now. That seems a long way away, the after the life of playing pranks on my mates with a tiny hard rive camcorder and trying to edit together my own fake trailers made from copyrighted pictures and video's, not to mention copyrighted music.

I look at things differently now. I talk differently, i act differently and i seem to respond differently to life in general nowadays. For the better? Who really knows but me? And i just dont know yet. The good news it that i think for the moment that i'm starting to grow up into the business and starting to feed my imagination into my intelligence (what little of it i have) and it would seem that i am trying to justify the old decisions for liking my top five films from last year and it just isnt working.

I'm starting to see films for what they really are, the combination of many different workloads all thrust into the production pot to create a masterpiece of art. Therefore my decision is starting to change and i am slowly but surely rebuilding myself and my top five, shaping it into my views of enjoyment, passion and respect.

So far i have only been able to patch two together at the moment and that seems to be down to the cinematography of both.

First has to be a film which i have always admired but not so much as i do now, after studying the filmmaker i have learned to respect and even come to love his style of shooting, as he regards himself as both the DP and director.

This film is the 2002 adaption of Lem's Solaris.

The second of my choices has to be Michael Mann's greatest film by a long stretch.

Heat is true art in my eyes, a film which is composed completely of it's characters. Throughout the whole film the frame always compliments its characters and it just seems to fit perfectly. In my opinion Heat is just the right length to suck you into the story and to keep you full of anticipation right up until the final sequence where we are suddenly fulfilled by the inevitable ending.

Nothing set in stone. And theres a lot more thought to be put into this before I completely crack whats going on up there just yet.

French New Wave

I suppose all the cinema that i enjoy these days has some reference to French New Wave. Without it i suppose we'd only have the hollywood movies to go see at the cinema. Those strange movements, that strange quirkiness that all new films seem to contain at some point or another are all inspired by that crazy generation of French film makers that took their passion to a new level that started a new kind of film altogether. It's because of Filini, and Truffaux that we have such film makers as Scorsese, Wes Anderson, and Soderbergh.

Of coarse due to my new sudden enlightenment to thriller films i seem to be trying to match up this generation of film making with these thrillers that i have so suddenly been attracted to. Soderbergh's Ocean's films are a real treat for me and it seems easy to see the influences to French New Wave. The long held shots that should have cut away long before they do, the single shot held on a single face throughout and entire back and forth conversation to show one single emotion from one single person even though the other may the one you should be focusing on, the shots that have been improvised and mistaken for true acting, in which it isn't acting, it's reality, its realism.

This is something different from realism though. This is style that contributes to story. It drives us to explore deeper into a character, to want to immerse ourselves in a characters world, to fill their shoes to try the incredible and do what they do. Observation is key, but living is the effect. The endings aren't what we want, but they are what happens, no hollywood wrap ups, this is how it is and this is how it will always be. What is in the shot will always contribute to something that is raw and contributes our character to whatever is there, almost nothing is purposeful, it is true film in a way.

Avatar, the new abyss?

Hello all and happy new year!

From the man who defends the abyss, I would like to say that I surprisingly enjoyed Avatar. After months of thinking the film looked like something I wouldn’t watch if it was the last film on earth, it turned out to be a film on par with The Abyss. This may be all based on a personal sense of how I feel about the film, but the emotional response I got from Avatar were just as warm and as adventurous as they were when I first saw Cameron’s 1989 feature. I feel that in some way he has retraced his steps back to that film in order to keep Avatar on a level that even he enjoys.

The films 3D supplies nothing new to the film. As I may have stated before, I have never found 3D very attractive at any point in my viewing experience. The 3D in this film is no different. There is no need to be brought into the world visually. I think the structure of the story and the scenes of Jakes learning of the na’vi experience are enough to bring a good understanding and feeling of the world that you are immersed into. The effects are fantastic; there is no question about it. As quoted by a fellow student, when looking into the eyes of the Na’vi it actually looks like a being, not something created by a human but an actual being of reality that has enough life in its eyes to tell an entire story by itself and that is something which is a new experience to me. As I may have mentioned the story is not exactly the most inventive piece of writing I have ever seen, but not to be a bit rude, but I wouldn’t expect much else from Cameron. I mean look at his other films. Terminator is completely ridiculous, The Abyss is rather crazy, True Lies is just plain dumb. Yet, I still enjoy these films. Maybe its just in his true film making style that he has been able to drag me into his head for a little while, or in his case a long while.

In fact now thinking on the subject, that’s exactly what it is about his style of filmmaking. It’s the world that he creates and the way he drops you into it. In terminator we are trapped in this dark city structure where people don’t dare to roam, but a machine lurks in the shadows, in The Abyss, we are taken down 2000 feet below the water to watch as a battle for life and death rages while the pressure rises, in True Lies…. Well, in Titanic, we are truly taken back and are completely and utterly involved in the relationship.

I think I’ve struck the nail on the head to say that I watch films to be taken out of my seat and into a different world, unlike that of my own. So it’s easy to admit that long films really do the trick for me. Films that are almost three hours long actually keep me occupied. It’s a strange thing and I know that I’m probably on a different planet from a lot of film lovers, but they are truly glorious when they can take me away.

Avatar is 2 and a half hours long, and I can honestly say I didn’t want it to end.

So there we go, I can sleep at night now.