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Motion Typography - how I wish I could...

Last night I went to see the new Richard Kelly film 'The Box'. I was very excited about going to see this interesting directors latest film, he was at one point my hero after all (just after Donnie Darko). Hooked as I was by the interesting premise, I handed over my unlimited cinema card with high hopes. Sadly, what followed was two hours of self indulgent, poorly written drivel which rates as one of the worst films I have watched since...well probably since Southland tales, Kelly's last picture.

The film gets to the button pushing section very quickly which, in all honesty, is the reason everyone has paid to see it. This is an interesting setup and would allow for an interesting piece of drama. I expected an interesting portrayal of human emotion, showing the internal struggle between greed and morals. This however was glazed over all too quickly to make way for a mind numbing journey with bleeding noses and bubbling swimming pools galore!

I think one of the serious downfalls of this film was that the main characters, who are suffering from their self-determined fate, are not particularly interesting or likable. I had no interest in how their story ended and was not invested in their suffering to be affected by it at all!

All in all I was thoroughly disappointed by this film, it failed to live up to the interesting premise. It seems as though somebody had a good idea, which to be honest is not that original, and could not think of a good enough story to carry it through!

I give this film a very low 1/10, the 1 being for the interesting idea behind the film!

Left Hand Films Title

Here is a title I made in after effects for 'Left Hand Films'. I will keep making more so keep a look out. I used a Matte effect and Colourama, which is a brilliant tool!

Keep following Left Hand Films, and visit www.judemoir.com to see the rest of my work!

Music concerts for the deaf!

This weekend I was privileged enough to be part of an extremely worthwhile project at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh (which was a fantastic location). Zack A. Moir has written an hour long musical, which has been specially composed to suit cochlear implant recipients. As part of the hour long show, I was asked to help by making 10, 30 second animation videos.

The musical, entitled 'Deacon', told the story of one of Edinburgh's most infamous criminals, Deacon Brodie. The whole project was a great success and hopefully it will find further life by way of more performances in the near future.

I have included the first animation, and my favorite out of the ten. It is an after effects animation, in which I have explored 3d layers. I think the technique works but it would be great to have some feedback. The subtitles are there because of the nature of the audience. It has been compressed also, so quality has suffered a little. I think Adobe after effects is such a powerful tool, and I am keen to learn more!

I am the one and only!

I am just out of the cinema having watched Moon. Duncan Jones (or Zowie Bowie - David's son) directs his first feature film, and does a fantastic job. Moon is a beautifully crafted sci-fi-thriller which is highly entertaining and does not disappoint.

The film follows Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), a solitary lunar employee who after three years of working on the moon, is about to return home to his loving wife and daughter. However...three years of solitary confinement is enough to drive any man crazy and gradually we get brief insights into his descending sanity.

A hallucination leads to a hugely consequential accident and the results of this are both exciting and horrifying at the same time.

Sam Rockwell does a wonderful job and goes a long way to making the film the success that it is. He delivers a performance which is engaging and believable, considering that he was the only actor on screen throughout the whole film, this says an awful lot.

The film is visually stunning; the landscapes of the moon contrast with the sterile, white interiors of the lunar base. The way in which Sam Rockwell interacts with his double on camera is technically awe inspiring. This was beyond a simple split screen or green screen job, the two character interact as though they were separate actors, allowing the audience to suspend disbelief and enter into the relationship wholeheartedly.

There is really so much to say about this film, but I do not want to spoil it for anybody else. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and it is a film I will have to watch again and again. I think the main point of interest for me was that the main plot points were not the hugely fantastical, sci-fi aspects, instead however, the main focus was on the reaction and interaction of the characters when faced with such situations.

This was a refreshing take on sci-fi, and one I enjoyed very much. Clever, thought-provoking and visually stunning.

Go enjoy this film if you can find it in a cinema near you.

Check out the cool film poster (right).

Let me know what you think!

Moon Trailer

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