Question 3

Question 2

Question 1

Website

http://addalmusic.weebly.com/

The Skeleton Twins Review

With Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader known for being long-time members on the comedy sketch show 'Saturday Night Live', I was expecting a satire comedy about two siblings. But what I came across was a realistic look on reality rather than the hyped-up Hollywood films that are being fed out to the masses. 

Awarded at the Sundance Film Festival, the film starts of with Hader's character attempting suicide, which caught the attention of Wiig's character, his sister, who is also struggling with depression. The siblings lean against each other knowing that the only thing keeping them alive, is each other. 

The funny pair attempt to steer away from being type-cast actors, and are 100% successful. And although it sounds like the films just a harsh and dark look on reality but the plot is far more complex than that. 

With nuggets of wisdom and joy, the siblings attempt to repair 10 years of lost relationship. And as Hader's character realised how much he missed of his sister's life, he realises how much more he'd miss of it if he had actually committed suicide.

Being able to play multiple characters on Saturday Night Live, the pair have the natural ability to adapt to whatever role. The most serious role I've seen Kristen Wiig play was in 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', and even then I didn't believe the role was truly Wiig. However in 'The Skeleton Twins', her character is truly believable and realistic. 

My favourite moment in the film shed a light on the actors true characters, where their light-heartedness brings a smile to anyones face. As they mime along perfectly to the 80s pop song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", their true colours shine through, and it's true, you just can't help but smile in the scene. And when Hader's character rejoices as Wiig's resistant character starts to sing along too, you'll rejoice too. It's touching, it's nostalgic, it's perfect.

Cake Analysis

Cast as a cranky, depressed woman suffering from chronic pain, Cake represents Jennifer Aniston’s first low-budget, indie-style film since 2006’s Friends with Money, offering the star her most dramatically challenging part since either the previous movie or The Good Girl (2002). Covered in prosthetic scars and made up to look as dowdy and unglamorous as someone in cashmere sweatpants can look, Aniston submits an honest, sturdy performance. 

Scenes at Claire’s home gradually reveal the state of the nation for this troubled woman. Addicted to prescription painkillers, she lives alone in a large, tastefully appointment house, her ex husband (Chris Messina) having moved out some time ago. Occasionally, she has carefully positioned, loveless sex with her gardener Arturo (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo).When she gives him a box of unused children’s toys she no longer needs, it’s an obvious clue that Claire once had a child who’s now dead, probably killed in the same accident that mangled her body.Set in Los Angeles, which it evokes with a resident’s sensitivity to the area’s social geography, the film opens at a support group for sufferers of chronic pain. It transpires that one regular, Nina (Anna Kendrick), has committed suicide, and facilitator Annette (Felicity Huffman) asks each of the members to share what they feel. When it’s time for Claire Simmons (Aniston) to tell an imaginary Nina what she thinks, she rips into the dead woman, condemning her decision to end her life in such a way as to cause maximum distress to her family. The others are so upset by her honesty they later politely ask her to take her pain elsewhere.

Her main support, however, is Silvana (Adriana Barraza, easily the movie’s MVP), Claire’s Mexican housekeeper. Silvana maternally clucks over her employer, taking on the chin Claire’s sometimes brusque comments and ferrying her around town when needed, even as far Tijuana to pick up extra Percocets. The fact that Claire always insists on having her passenger seat fully reclined to ease her back pain marks a nicely observed detail, paid off poignantly at the end. Nina starts making hallucinatory appearances in Claire’s dreams, urging her to kill herself too. Seeking to exorcize this demon, Claire goes to the dead woman’s house and meets Nina’s husband, Roy (Sam Worthington, speaking with his native Australian accent for a change). Like Claire, Roy is a tightly wound ball of fury, filled with rage at his dead wife for leaving him alone to raise their pre-school-age son. He and Claire strike up a non-physical relationship and something romantic looks possible, but it only takes an encounter with someone connected to the tragedy to shatter Claire’s locked-down composure.

Music Video Corrections

1. Not enough footage to fill - Cut down to 3 mins
2. Not enough performance footage - Need to shoot actress in school, photo studio, close ups, dress actress in what character used to be like
3. Change the idea- her being given drugs (over and over again) that influence her flashbacks. Dress up man in white coat (doctor)

Re-Cap on Ideas

Falling onto hospital bed:

Giving tablets over and over again:



Close-up of eyes:



Filming Locations

• Photo Studio
• Medical Room

Final Music Video Draft

Camera Trick for Video

I will use this camera trick to cut between when the girl leaves the hospital and goes to the field in reality. This will cut out filming in a hospital corridor as this would be hard to do if my actress is in a hospital gown.

Transformation of Website

Creating the Perfume

Video Diary 3

In today's lesson I will work on my artist's website by creating more merchandise, event posters and artist description.

Behind the Scenes 2

New Digipak Ideas

Evidence of Photography

An Interview with my Artist

ADDAL

"I think that after the last four years of EDM's (Electronic Dance Music) hegemony, people's ears are simply tired! This is what happened to me and is the reason why I went back doing something more melodic and passionate; I felt that I needed to get back to real emotions because music is made of this. That's why I call my kind of music EMOTIONAL, and I think that the secret is only that people are feeling the same emotions that led me to make these tracks. It's something that starts from love and not from business, and I think that makes the difference." 

Producing The Merchandise

Weather and Recce Report

Video Diary 2

Hi, since my last video diary,  have gotten replies from my artist's audience and posted them on my blog. I have also done research on artist's websites and artist's Digipak's, these can also be found on my blog. I hope to do more work on my artist's website.

Lesson Tuesday 11th November

Virtual Choir:

1. Prosumers (Producers + consumers)

2. Location (keep us separate, global community, connect and collaborate)

Ideology (your idea rather than the medias)

3. Relatable - people coming together

4. Specific subculture - people who we're willing to get involved

Media:

1. Traditional

2. Online

Marxism:

- The police/ government are there to protect the 1% tht don't question anything

- At school we're taught to conform, wear uniform, learn for exams etc.

- It's the norm to go on and follow the rules even though you'll still feel miserable.

What would Marx say these rules benefit? 

- The 1% of people that have all the money and power

- They sell a lifestyle, an idea that cosmetic surgery, fame, fortune etc. 

- Makes you realise how ordinary life is

- Marx wants people to realise why people are starving when there's enough money to feed the world - because they keep their money, we think this is normal and we aspire to be rich.

- Marxist view allows people to see that voting will never change.

In our thriller we have challenged the idea of hero Vs villain, because both characters, the killer and the computer hacker, commit crime acts. Also, we challenge the idea that the government is there to protect society because the government is behind the killing of the computer hacker, they are trying to keep the information on the USB stick a secret. Therefore, I am incorporating the idea of conspiracy. However, we are normalising the idea that killers are bad, and the computer hacker we have sympathy for. We reinforced the idea that guns are powerful, and make you more masculine.

The fact that we don't include any female characters in our thriller could be conforming to stereotypes of women as fragile and feminine, so they don't become an action hero.

Consumerism:

- The idea that everything costs money

- Identity has a price tag, not natural

Power: 

- The idea of Us Vs Them.

Russell Brand Video #GuardianLive:

- If you want to be happy to have fame, fortune, attention etc. yet salvation did not come.

- Culturally trying to solve it by consuming it. Smothering alienation in money. They don't want to be marginalised. 

- If we live in an environment that stimulating selfishness we're in a constant state of desire. The selfish nature rises but we should be kind to each other.

- You won't make yourself happy with materialistic things.

- That people that say that the system works means the systems works for them.

- If he sold his book for free it would make it alright but everything costs, consumerism.