http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/music/

This is a link to one of my most favorite musicians Jack Johnson. I think he is an excellent performer and I like what his music did to Curious George the movie. I even think his album covers look great. They all look so relaxed just like his music.

http://www.stinapersson.com/portfolio/acrylic-and-inc/

Once again here is another illustrator called Stina Persson. She uses a lot of different techniques in her illustration and the reason I like her work is because it sort of looks like fashion illustration which I quite enjoy, not the fashion side but the style in which the illustrations are done.

http://www.gezfry.com/gallery.shtml

This is a link to an illustrator/ art director who works in Tokyo named Gez Fry. I like his work because of the way he has incorporated old Japanese art into his. He uses a lot of old traditional work but makes them look really modern. I have always liked looking at others illustration because i have never ben that great at coming up with my own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJzU3NjDikY

This is a stop motion animation by Paul Cummings & Tony Fiandaca. The first time I saw this was in my foundation course and thought it was brillient. I love the way they run about and think the letter was a great idea. The story is of two friends turned enemys having a bit of a fight.

Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts

Susan Hayward

I was reading the comedy section in Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts by Susan Hayward and found it very interesting. This book is different to all the others i have reviewed, the others look at comedy from a different angle whereas this is just straight forward about comedy. this book talks about comedy being one of the first genres and how comedy is used.

The books talk about how comedy goes against realism and points out some really good facts about comedy. A comedy movies uses all the aspects of a movie from the sound to the characters and there actions. Stereotypes and gender have also been used in comedy from the beginning and the book describes how looks have been used in comedy for example a blond women would not be smart at all which uses stereotypes and gender for the joke.

The book also goes into early silent comedy and how comic hero's such as Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle came to be. Comedy is a violent genre but it is light-hearted and the book covers its aggressive humor. Even in the Charlie Chaplin era they stuck to the aggressive humor and even earlier then that.

The section is not to big but they do cover a lot of points on comedy. this book sticks to the basics of comedy and does not get to deep. If your looking for in depth information about comedy then this is not the book you want. The books more like a dictionary for cinema studies.

Animation: Genre and Authorship

Paul Wells

Animation: Genre and Authorship by Paul Wells is the 3rd book I am looking at. This book breaks down genre and what makes a certain genre be put in that category. The main section I am looking at in this book is the chapter Genre in Animation. The chapter begins by talking about genres in the film form and how established genres have created sub-genres and also if there can be any 'pure definition of genre'. The book list down how genre could be understood from it being a category defined by its visuals and technical consistencies to it being the framework of the movie. He also questions his own list on what genres are and asks if these definitions applies to animations. Paul Wells talks about how all movies in a certain genres usually have the same story and gives the example of Scream and its predecessors like Halloween and Friday the 13th but he states that animation can not be placed in these genres because of its ability to make anything become something else, and because of this no certain lines can define what category an animated film can go in.

Paul Wells breaks down the walls of genres in animation and get you thinking about what makes a certain genre and how close each of them are to the other. This book really goes in depth into genres and it principles and make you think if it is possible to categorise animated movies in the same way as a live action.

Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons from the Sound Era

Eric Smoodin

The second book that I am reviewing is Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons from the Sound Era. This book does not have anything to do with comedy directly but it does talk a lot about the film bill at the time. The book was written by film studies professor Eric Smoodin. The reason i chose to look at this book is because i wanted to know what the animators could get away with in there animations, what they where allowed to show and how far they could push something to make it funny. The book talks about why the film bill was made and how people where worried about the effect cartoons would have on people. The book say the main concern people had at the time was that films where only watched by 'mature' people and cartoons where watched by both 'mature and immature'. The film bill was not made for cartoons but cartoons and animations had to stick to those rules too. One of the rules talks about sexuality which was a major concern for educators and religious groups and the rules where very strict on them where as now we an get away with almost anything. The book also talks about 'Betty Boop', and Tex Averys, 'Red Hot Riding Hood' and the way they got around the bill.

The book teaches a lot about why the cartoons in this era where made in the way they where and why this was the comedy at the time. This book talks a lot about what the bill was and how and who broke the rules to allow us, the future animators, to show almost anything we want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDi67G0Siw

Heres a music video by the White Sripes called Fell in Love with a Girl which I think has an amazing video. Its all done using Lego and everything is timed exactly right. The video was made by Michel Gondry who has work on many music videos. He has done a great job lining up the sounds with the instraments. Watch the video its really good.

http://studiosrk.com/index.php/studio/tomblackford

This link takes you to Studio SRK. Its a group of illustrators that do work in the urban art style which I am becoming a big fan of. There really well drawn, clear, random images look really good and often be seen around London as stickers on road signs. There by these illustrators there very similar.

Tex Avery: A Unique Legacy (1942-1955)

Dr Floriane Place-Verghnes

Heres an animation book i was reading and found quite interesting, Tex Avery: A Unique Legacy (1942-1955) by Dr Floriane Place-Verghnes. It goes through all the key concepts of animation from story boards to colour and early animations. She also mentions all the big animators that made the industry what it is such as Walt Disney and Winsor McCay as well as all the major studios like Warner Bros. and MGM. She talk about how some of the main animators came to be for instance William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and who created characters such as Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry and why they where created. But i only want to talk about one chapter called Structuring a Gag: Circularity and Analepses.

This chapter talks about how to make a gag and the different way Tex Avery did it to others. She about anticipation and how the audience can predict what something but how to use it to your advantage. This chapter also breaks down the animator techniques on how they use comedy in there animation.

Tex Avery technique with comedy is very different to Walt Disney. Tex cartoons are, as the book says, locked in a circle, the cartoon never moves. For example the Road Runner cartoons, the story is always the same and is doomed from the beginning but that is what makes it funny whereas Walt Disney's cartoons have an actual story in them and so has to move on once something has happened. The book also talks about how 'Model Spectators' can predicted whats going to happen but can not say when is will happen and how Tex has used this in his animations.

Tex Avery: A Unique Legacy(1942-1955) is a good book if your into animation or want to learn the basics of it. The book has some interesting points and shows the differences of each animator. If you like animation I think you should have a quite flick through it you might find something you like.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4759104947283583661

This is a video about my favorite animation studio, Studio Ghibli. it a video of how the company came to be and how the main people of that studio got to no each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW12Ealvj0s

This is an animation by Jonathan Hodgson using a poem by Charles Bukowski called Man with the Beautiful Eyes. This was one of my first animation I saw when I started animation in my foundation class and I really liked it. I think the poem is great and I love the narration. I also think the use of words in the animation looks really good.

http://www.blainefontana.com/Gallery.html

Blaine Fontana is a painter, illustrator and sculpture who also does commercial work. I discovered this artist when i found his book Sedimental Promises in America. His work is quite random but all have this urban art feel about them. His work usally contains a character which all have a similarity about them.

http://www.heartagency.com/html/lucinda_frameset.html

Here is a link to an artist called Lucinda Rogers. Her work is drawing of streets and busy places. her art looks really complicated as a whole but if you look at everything by it self it looks quite simple. She exaggerates the prospective and adds small amounts of colour to each piece. I really enjoy her work and think they look amazing

Children of Men is set in 2027 and the human race is about to face extinction. The movie came out in 2006 and was directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he has done a great job of making the world look like its lost all hope. The movie is set in England, it begins when the worlds youngest person who is 18, is killed and the world is in grief. the story of the movie is that for the past 18 years no one on earth could have a child which is threatening the existence of the human race. The world has fallen into chaos and the English government is blaming anyone who is not from England and throwing them into camps. On his was back from seeing his friend, Jasper (Michael Caine), Theo (Clive Owen) is kidnapped by underground resistance group called the Fishes led by his former lover, Julian (Julianne Moore). She ask Theo to help her escort an African immigrant out the country. As the story progresses you learn that the woman is pregnant and if the government finds out they will kill her and keep the baby. Theos soon finds out that the the Fishes second in comand, Luck (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has killed Julian and wants to keep the baby for the Fishes and uses him as a tool against the government. Now Theo has no one he can trust and isn't even sure if his way out the country is really there or not but with no choice he has to keep on going.

This movie is quite scary because it shows what a lose of hope can do to people and what the world has turned into. There where some scenes in the movie that made me feel really disgusted for instance when Theo is at a train station and there are cages on the platforms filled with immigrants begging for food. Just seeing people do that to each other made me feel really uneasy. There is one part of the movie that I love and think is one of the most heartwarming scenes i have scene in any movie. There a huge battle going on between the Fishes and the government army inside a immigrants camp, with most of the Fishes killed the battle still continues until the people hear the cry's from the baby and everyone stops for a while just to see and touch the baby. This scene was really well done, you could feel the emotions and the atmosphere completely changes.

This movie has a story line that keeps you at the edge of you seat all the way through, the scenes all look like there real and actually happening. This is a great movie and i would advise people to watch this one if you can.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) is a movie i quite enjoyed as i love my zombie movies. Dawn of the Dead was originally made in 1798 but was remade in 2004. The story was created by George A. Romeo, producer of 'Night of the Living Dead' and the 'Living Dead' movie series (Dawn of the Dead is the second of the Dead series). The story of the movie is that there has been a zombie outbreak which has swept the world and a small group of people have taken refuge in super market (mall) waiting for someone to rescue them. Zombie movies tend to have more of a chilling feel then other horror movies because they seem more believable and there more likely to happen. Dawn of the Dead has some of the most horrible scenes that i have seen in any zombie movie. The first is near the beginning of the movie where the lead character, Ana (Sarah Polley) is attacked by her daughter who has been infected. The idea of your own child trying to kill you by ripping you open brings shivers down my spine. The second is another survivor, Andre (Mekhi Phifer) who is so desperate for a child that even when his pregnant girlfriend gets infected and gives birth to a zombie baby he still trys to keep them safe. I think the movie keeps an eerie feel all the way through from the beginning till the end.

The movie had some sequels made for it but none where as good as Dawn of the Dead, the worst of the bunch was probably Land of the dead where they tried to give zombies brains but was just really bad. This movie has inspired quite of few people to make zombie movies most famously Shawn of the Dead which is sort of a comedy intake of the movie. Anyone who is in to zombie movies will love this one and is a must see.

Living Dead Series
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Land of the Dead (2005)
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Island of the Dead (In Production)

Dance 1896 - Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 and died in 1939. He was a painter who worked in a Art Nouveau style and his work still influence people to day. Here is a painting of his called 'Dance' made in 1896. You can easily see this is an Art Nouveau' piece by all the curves and bright colours. He uses curves at everywhere which make the painting look more smooth and delicate. The giant gray circle behind the figure really brings out the lady and force you to look at her. the composition has been placed really well, everything leads to something else. The giant circle makes you start at the top of the figure and if you follow anything out it will bring you straight back to the figure, for example if you follow the hair it curves and brings you back to the figure. Mucha also made the dress really bright to make her the main focus, he has used a lot of little things to make her jump out of the painting.

For he time Mucha's work was quite different to everything else at the time because he uses female figures and makes them look really free and relaxed. At the time women where suppose to be fully dressed and looking quite stiff to look respectable whereas Mucha's work did the complete opposite. 225

Mucha's work can till be seen in work today, the free hair and loose clothing has been reuses quite a bit with some people even trying to make more modern Alphonse Mucha art work. there are loads of websites that have updated piece of what looks to be Alphonse Mucha copy's. Alphonse Mucha is a great artist and has inspired me for a long time, his work is beautiful and i would recommend him to everyone.

That '70s Show follows a group of six teenages living their way through the 70's. The show ran for 8 seasons from 1998 to 2006 before it ended because two of the main characters, Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher left at the end of season 7. The show continued for one more season but after the two left the show it did not feel the same and Fox decided to end it there. The show followed six teenagers, Jackie (Mila Kunis) a rich, snoob, Hyde (Danny Masrterson) a smart slacker who would rather do drugs and drink alcohol, Donna (Laura Prepon) the smart, strong, girl next-door, Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) the foreign exchange student, Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) the pretty boy with no brains and Eric (Topher Grace) the skinny, bad at sports, star wars loving member of the group who could be described as the main character in the show. The show was loved by most of the people that watched it, it took you back to the 70's which no other show did at the time. the show made you laugh and you really felt connected to the group, the characters made you feel like you want to be in that group of friends. The actors played their parts really well and made you believe that they where friends in real life.

The show is most famously known for its scenes known as the '360'. This is where all the characters would sit in a circal with the camera in the middle of them, and every time a character would speak the camera would face them. The actors have said that those sections where there hardest to shoot because the camera was right in your face and felt quite intimidating. The show was trying to catch to 70's and so they wanted to capture the drugs side of the 70's but thought they could get in trouble for promoting drugs so they came up with the 360. The camera only captures the head, chest and upper arms of the actor so never shows any drugs or smoking in any way but the audience still can tell what they are doing from the smoky background. The 360 also worked great because when you see the upper arm of a character moving the camera would follow it across but you never see what is being pasted. the 360 was a gret technique used to over look something but still alow the audience to no whats happening and keep a sence of humour about the whole thing.

After the show ended it inspired another show called 'That '80s Show' but it only lasted for 17 episodes, it didnt have the same humor and the cast didnt feel as tight as the one from 'That '70s Show'. I think this show is a must see, it is a really funny show that just keeps you hooked.

Peg-Top circa 1937-52 Hans Bellmer

Hans Bellmer is an artist born in 1902 in Germany and died in 1975. Bellmer is best known for his life size female doll sculptures but what i am looking at is his art work i saw in the Tate Modern. the work i am talking about is 'Peg-Top' (1937-52). It was made with oil on canvas and was an idea for a sculpture which he never got to complete. When i first saw this I thought it was a study on the movement of a human arm but with further research i discovered that its more to do with women's control over a man's head and heart. The peg top symbolizes a man's head and heart and the arm is that of a woman turning it. Bellmer was interested in fetishism and sexual associations which is more noticeable in his other sculptures and art pieces but reappears in this painting but is more subtle. If you look near the middle of the painting you can see what looks to me as a womens breast which i think he was trying to show how woman have control over men through there bodies.
A year after he began 'Peg-Top' Hans Bellmer joined the French Surrealist group which has played a big part in 'Peg-Top'. He uses surreal imagery to show the messages he is trying to push forward in this art work. Hans Bellmer's work seems to have had a big part in Konami's Silent Hill series with a lot of there monsters looking a lot like Bellmers dolls. Bellmer's work looks quite disturbing but show something very interesting and would recommend people to go see them.

Shawn of the Dead

'Shawn of the Dead' is a comedy, romance and horror movie made in 2004. It was directed by 'Edgar Wright' who was also responsible for the TV series 'Spaced' which consist of the same cast as 'Shawn of the Dead'. The story of the movie is about a man, Shawn, who's life has become quite routine and boring and his girlfriend, Liz, is starting to get fad up with it and his best friend, Ed, isn't helping. When Shawn forgets to book a table at a restaurant for him and Liz she decides to call it quits and ends their relationship. On the same day the dead decide to come back to life but this does not stop Shawn from trying to get his love back and while he's at it try to repair his relationship with his mum, Barbara.

The movie begins with Shawn having a conversation with his girlfriend, Liz. They are talking about the problems of their relationship, which introduces the two main characters, But by using the conversion the director is able to introduce even more characters and zooming in and out from Shawn and Liz brings them into the movie. Its a simple and quick way to introduce most of the characters but also keeps it really funny.

The director uses quite simple but funny techniques to keep the movie moving. By editing a number of clips of everyday things such as having a shower and brushing your teeth together into a small time slot he has kept the movie moving without making it boring and slow. Not only does this make the scenes humorous but it also pushes forward the idea of his life becoming routine. Another technique the director uses is by repeating a scene but changing what is happening around Shawn without him even realizing. there are two scenes in the movie where Shawn walks to his local off license and back but the second time round their is a zombie outbreak. These scenes do two things, first it reiterates the idea of his life being routine and it does it in a really funny way and second it keeps the movie moving by introducing the zombie outbreak.

By using simple techniques the director keeps the plot moving but also keeps the laughter together with great characters and odd surroundings this is a brilliant movie.