Your still Alive...Kinda

Yeah so I have been neglecting you somewhat blogger, I admit this and I'm sorry. If theres anyway I can make it up to...Chocolates?...yeah overdone I know...how about a post?

So what term are we on now? This has all been going past so fast I seriously loose count on what day it is sometimes. So to start of we have had a few classes with Barbara before she jetted of to Australia. I loved her first class as we were discussing show ideas then somehow we got side tracked onto ITV. This discussion soon turned out to be a full blown debate on how shocking ITV really is.

I personally hate ITV and it gave me a chance to let off some steam on this issue. Yes drama's are expensive to make, but do you really think making the shows BBC and Channel4 are making but with half the budget is the answer? No not really, ITV you are a tacky, cheap, boring, dull TV station. If I could be bothered I would look up a thesaurus to find more words for terrible.

You used to have some class, you stood proudly between BBC and Channel4. You had your own style and you were proud of it, this is the only time I remember watching ITV. I went through a phase during High School were in I watched next to none TV, then one day I tuned back in.

I was blown away by how far you had dropped down in the world in those few short years, someone with photoshop had given use a cheap looking new 3D logo, trying to be trendy but failing miserably. The schedule was one of the same programme formats as BBC and Channel4 but with the most idiotic twist. Case and point 'Come Dine With Me' but instead of going home at the end of the night, they stay the night? Really?...seriously? BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' but with ice, now come one that really takes the biscuit.

ITV you once stood on the shoulders of giants, but sadly to say you are firmly in the gutter bathing in the sweat of giants feet, desperately clawing at scarps. You really wonder why use are struggling to attract revenue money? no one likes a copycat and no one certainly doesn't like a cheap copycat. It's like when some brand like 'Technika' releases an MP3 player that is a plain rip off, of the iPod. You are never going to be as sexy and as cool as that, just be yourself, bring back the drama!



Don't even get me started on ITV2, if you don't have enough decent programmes for your flagship station you shouldn't have three digital ones.

Deep Breaths...Deep Breaths...The Royal Mail Boss taking ITV over!...*Puts head in hands*

So developing TV ideas with Adam, It was good to get back to actually creating some TV ideas. To actually put into practice what we had been learning in class, such as devices and storylining .

Its one thing thinking you have a good idea, but does it fit what the broadcasters are after? As with Barbara's class it has been shown that the briefs given out by the BBC and such don't really themselves have a full understanding what they want. 'Something funny like that show....scrubs' Yeah...something serious...that...urm...will be successful!

It's strange to think back to when I was a kid, when I watched something that wasn't all that good on TV. I always thought 'Oh it must just be me that doesn't like it' I always thought you know that these big institutions knew what they were doing and if they made something I didn't like, then I was the only one that didn't like it.

Now that I'm older and having been given the chance to look firmly into the practices of these broadcasts. It really is astonishing how much it is just 'The blind leading the blind' Not one of the TV stations seems to have a clue what we the audience want. As soon as one format is moderately successful they all jump onto the format like a pack of hungry wolves. So we end up seeing four spin-offs, of some dancing show.

Its all just become to much about money, money. How can we make more of the stuff, what format will bring us in more money. This approach I feel has been at the route cause of the lack of powerful, fresh, daring and dare I say it engaging TV drama or Doc's.

We see broadcasters such as the BBC buying American Drama, such as 'The Wire' Yes this show is brilliance in every way. A show that can have an entire dialog piece were in they only say 'Mother Fucker' and we still know entirely what they are really saying to each other, and what they are thinking. This is a show I love, but I can't help feel just a little cheated the BBC buying it in. It's not really for them to show, its for one of the satellite channels that shows these American shows, such as HBO.


Paying TV License money for them to just buy a pre-made product just doesn't feel right. This is money that should have been used for a TV drama that could rival such a show.

I really think these broadcasters need to wake up, yes these are uncertain times. Yes there is a war going on were in hundreds are dyeing. Yes the world climate seems to be nose diving into uncertainty. So its understandable why they are maybe just a little scared to offend anyone or cause panic with any daring TV drama or Doc. They tried something moderately daring with 'Survivors' but at some stage the PC man got his red pen out, and we were left with a show that just preaches family values and trust in one another that we can al save each other.




This is a show that had the chance to challenge our views on alot of different subject matters. Such as how close we all are to really turning on ourselves. How much power does the Government really have, we trust in them to protect us, but really they are just as helpless as the rest of us.

I'm just completely shocked at how bad UK TV really has nose dived over the years. All the TV drama sitting on my shelf is American born and bred. So TV license man, if you are reading this, and I really hope you are. I have not watched ANY TV what so ever in the past year since my License ran out. So don't you even dare say I need to buy another one. Keep your empty threats to yourself.

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So Essays and deadlines, trips to distant libraries. It almost feel like we are at University, as much as that feeling made me feel all studenty and such. This is something that really has worn off on me. I would much prefer to go back to being 'creative' and sitting in booths all day.

Ray's and Richards work has been sealed and handed in, wether they are any good is yet to be seen. I do have alot more faith in this script than I did in my last one, it does feel like it has far more of a structure and theme attached for good measure. Wether the board with have issue with the helicopter chase and the sword fight is yet to be seen, I'm just kidding...nah seriously I'm really not joking...

Rays essay was actually an interesting look in the work of cinematographers, even if it did feel someone like we were being duped into picking this as a specialism next year. It was interesting to see the creative process behind some of the smallest of detail in a scene. Also it was fascinating so delve into the close professional relationships that a Director and DP share. This makes sense to use the same DP you know and trust to deliver each time, but it had never occurred to me just how much a director will use the same DP.

When we were first posed with the task of finding such a relationship, my initial thought was one of 'christ, how am I going to do that' but a quick look on IMDB showed me just how many of these relationships exist. I can say with out looking away, that I do have a far more understanding of what the role of a DP is and how very important it is. *Cough* sorry been feeling a little ill recently.

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The keys to the Kingdom.

So we had John York back into speak to us about internet drama. The talked kicked of with a debate about why internet drama is still yet so very bad, and what can be done to make it better, and yes make money of it. It was posed to us that the person who does find the formula to make money of this will be one very lucky person.

Now let me pose a question, does the kingdom actually exist? I am inclined to say 'No' a very big no at that. The reason is hasn't worked and won't work is that it doesn't have a place on the internet. Internet drama will always be those 5/10 minute pieces, tell me who will wait a week to see just another 5 minutes of drama, and well a probably badly made drama at that.
Secondly you aren't going to make money of it because well, we have grown up with the internet being built on the foundation that its a 'free flowing' stream of information and connections. You can't suddenly turn around and start asking for money, it just isn't going to happen. Wether its £2, £1, 10p or 5p parting with money is still spending money at the end of the day. I just feel a bunch of rather old men have gathered around a table somewhere to discuss this new 'internet' thing, and how they can make some $$$ out of it.

John himself said its not going to be something his generation will solve, but I feel even with ours its less likely to happen. What I feel is that as soon as TV's catch up and start being able to connect to the internet in ways a PC can do, then they will stop loosing money. As soon as a viewer can get all of his or hers media in the one place then and only then will the kingdom exist any shape or form. It's almost like asking us to know what the next week lottery numbers will be, yes it holds vast amounts of money, but well it hasn't happened yet. We are all sitting on the cusp of something big. Phones are catching up, we are seeing the birth of Slate devices such as the iPad and the HP version, we are seeing the first few internet enabled TV sets. There will be no money to be made in any great amount until this ecosystem is born and connected, until I can universally access any and all media from the any one device will there be any money.


Apple proved this with the iPhone App store, until they came along there was no money to be made here. But Apple came along created an ecosystem were in these things have a central place to live and evolve and more importantly, they can be transferred onto multiple devices.

So until there exists such an universal ecosystem will the TV people be seeing any $$$ in their eyes. Sorry...we just aren't there yet, one has to walk before we can run.


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This is England

Okay so last weeks screen This is England was a really nice surprise watch.

The film by Shane Meadows (2006) was a look into British realism such as films from the French new wave 400 Blows. This was very much its British cousin in every sense.

The film itself rotated around a young boy Shaun, not a very much liked boy at his local school. Shaun almost sliding into isolation after his father being killed in the Falklands war is picked up by a local group of children who take him under his wing.
Not at first entirely fitting in at first but eventually becoming as thick as thieves with these bandits of misfits themselves.

All is golden, the band of misfits have their fun by generally doing what they want and going where the wind takes them, until the status quo is suddenly and dramtically changed with the return of Combo played by Stephen Graham.

Things are literally turned on their heads when Combo returns from a prison stretch. He returns with a radical ideology of how Britain is being over run with immigrants and people of colour. The fun loving group are split down the middle as they are forced to question their morals and values as Combo makes them decide what team they are playing for.

Shaun is quilted into banding up with Combo and his group of thugs, he is led down a road that eventually shows him the true volatile nature of Combo and his ideology.

The film was fantastic from start to finish, it was funny, good hearted and also had a very real, very hard hitting under-running plot. It gave enough relief in just the right amounts in just the right places through out the film. Even with the film tackling racism and such we were never taken to far down this bleak road with out the pressure cap being released a few times.

This is a mistake I feel these types of film seem to make and well its a mistake. Yes you are setting out to make a hard hitting film that forces a culture or group of people to view itself in the mirror. Yes you want to raise some very valid points and such but making the audience suffer to much by being too bleak all the time doesn't work. We as an audience are at first effected by this but as soon as it just becomes a situation of and this sounds very harsh but it becomes almost like "I just don't care anymore, this is too much"

What this is England done very well is mix in with its very hard hitting and bleak plot was comical relief moments and light hearted tone. This means when we are faced with characters having to make difficult decisions or a moral value being thrown at you, it works all that more because we are still engaged and connected with the film. Films that are bleak, bleak and more bleakness are just too much to watch. Every time I watch a film like that I can just picture a man with a really big axe cutting the connection with the film and the audience.

Overall I thought the plot was engaging and dare I say it fun at times, every character were real and most of them likeable. The unlikable characters were intentionally unlikeable which really did add a nice dynamic to the piece. It was a surprise to me how much I liked this film. I have to say the title This is England when I heard it the scottish blood in me did begin to boil somewhat. I thought I was going to be hit with English values and such, it never really made a big deal of England, it was more Britain in general. The title did put me off watching it before so maybe a bad title decision...maybe not for me to judge really.

The Road

So another post-apocalyptic film release, now not saying I'm not a fan of these style of films, but recently it just seems like an excuse to throw is some sweeping CG shots.

From just even looking at the trailer for 'The Road' directed by John Hillcoat is was obvious this was something that wasn't going to follow this trend. Yes we get the odd CG shot to establish they are living in this type of world but the rest really is done by character depth and the cinematography of the film.

Now the basis of the story is a boy and his 'papa' on the road trying to survive in a dying world. They can trust no one apart from themselves as this world has turned most people into cannibals and thieves.

I think from about ten minutes into the film I was just amazed at how amazing this film really was, we had barely started on the journey in the film and the characters felt real with plenty of depth and well the plot felt raw and real. The story was so self contained around these two characters but as a member of the audience I never felt bored or felt like I needed more from this film. Yes it did seem odd that they came across very few refugee's at times but that is just being extremely picky.

I felt the cinematography of this film did make this film what it is, watching it you just felt cold. I felt like jumping into a hot bath at the end of the film. The bland muddy colours with the constant grey skies which gradually got darker and darker over time really did add that extra dimension to this film. If it had just been father and son traveling down this road with blue skies and the sun on their faces, well lets jut not even go there.

This film was a film I had to build myself up to go and see, from what other people said about it destroying them emotionally. I could never find a day were in I was ready to be taken apart in such a manner. Who really wants to be put in a downer after a day at university or work? Not me to be sure.

Me and Paul just decided to go for it in the end, and what I can say is yes its a very bleak no relief style of film. But its very strange although its bleak from start to finish we are never really taken to that level of shear emotional destruction. You could argue we are at times in the movie taken to this level, but its very fast at taking us back to normal bleak-ness we as the audience are never made to suffer too long at any great length. This adds the tension the film has done so very well, if it was just scene after scene of them being in danger the risk well wears off on us. We become desensitised that we can just sit back and know they are going to be fine, the fact this film only puts them into real pearl a few times makes this tension work so much more effectively.

Some might say this is a bad thing? no is the answer. Then all you are left with is a film obviously trying to hard and it becomes one of those films you look at and think, they only made this film to scoop a few awards. The story of just these two characters living day by day is enough, its real and helps you connect alot more with them, its not all 'oh the drama' in every second scene.

Its believable and well down right brilliance, it really makes 'The book of The Bible...sorry Eli' have I just ruined that for you? oh wells! Don't throw your religious propaganda film at me in a convert manner!

Anyways! back to the point, a brilliant film with some really award winning performances put into it, a plot that rings true with no obvious flaws to it. Well they had to fund the movie some how, they wrote in the coke placement as well as anyone could really.

I think the characters of the father and son really did just feed of one another, I loved the little touches such as the little boy wearing his mothers hat. Its just the little things like this that made this film what it is. They felt real and you really did feel empathy for the father and how he constantly needs to be on the ball to look after his son. One mistake and they are done for, you really do get a sense for this in his performance. You really did feel like he has been looking after this boy for a number of years and has had to protect him from this world on more than one occasion. Yes the little boys 'weeping' does become rather irritating and times, but only very rarely.

Now flaws...After walking away knowing I had seen an amazing picture, I did feel somewhat empty in the fact that I didn't really feel like I had been taken on a big enough journey. We know they are heading to the cost but we only see the map once. You never really get a sense of were they are really heading to at any one time. They are constantly on the move but, well I just didn't get that entire feeling of being on a journey.

This was my only real problem with the film. Not a real good sense of film geography during this movie, I felt I needed to know more where they were and how far away from the coast they were, so in those moments of pearl and such you can get extra feeling of 'But their so close!' This can be over looked just from the rest of the film being something really special, now theres a word I haven't used to describe a film before. Special?

Watch it, see for youself how cinema should be made. I counted all of about 3/4 CG shots in the entire movie and it felt more like the end of the world than any post-apocalyptic move I have ever seen by a mile...and a half...and three quarters.

The Snow is gone people!

The snow is gone and I am loving it personally, being able to venture out into town or the Academy with out tip toeing the whole way there because the council doesn't understand the concept of not owning a car!

Anyways I could really blog about how much I dislike snow and how over-rated the whole thing is but we'd be here all day.

Were back from the holidays and already a week has shot by us, where are these weeks going? I feel like I'm going to wake up and be in 3rd year any day soon. Now theres a scary thought, actually having to go out and get a real job soon! No more student discount...thats not even worth thinking about, I might just faint. Anyways!

This week has been a mixture of getting back into the swing of things whilst at the same time being thrown alot of work to do. Its all rather worrying about thinking about starting either of the tasks that we have been set. I'm sure once I have started them both it will be fine, but as with all reports the hardest part is actually finding the time and confidence to actually start it.

We had all submitted our scripts to Richard the week before we started back and were awaiting the Skype phone call. As last time mines didn't work this was going to be new to me. I went along to Gavin's flat to use his computer/internet this time, the video had worked for Charlotte perfectly fine just before me, but for some reason it didn't for me. I'm not going to lie I didn't particularly shout for Gavin all that loudly when it didn't. The idea of being on 'display' would make me feel a little okward, having just the audio was fine, it was high enough quality to get by. It also made me feel alot more comfortable so I wasn't just sitting there saying 'yeah...yeah' to all Richards points. I actually found myself sticking up for a few points and explaining others alot better than in any other Richard tutorial.

Not in anyway saying I just wasn't taking on board what Richard was saying but I was able to explain points better, and well I did stick up for my ending. I will look at it and see if it can be explained better but its staying!

Zam was back for a full day of looking at realism in film. Zam's class always follows a general format of looking at a clip from a film then deconstructing it. This format I feel works very well and we all generally pitch in with what we think made that clip work and not work. I feel it gives a certain rhythm to the class that makes it feel alot more relaxed, theres nothing worse than just being talked to for a whole day.

As with all Zams classes I feel I always take away new good and valuable points from it. Maybe a whole day was a little much but if it was going to be a full day of any class I would prefer it to be a Zams class.



Now with Andy's and Ray's assignment I choose to go to the Mitchell Library to try and dig up some resources that could help. Such as autobiographies and the type. I was really shocked to find just how little film resources the Mitchell actually has, I would type in film and/or cinematography into the computer terminal and what little turned up was book that wasn't actually in the Mitchell.

Maybe I was doing it all wrong but the woman at the desk could only suggest looking at small area of the library, which only seemed to contain books written when the digital thing was happening. Books titles 'Digital and what it means for Film' were in abundance but they weren't of any value of and were seriously out-dated.

Looks like this is going to be an online research task, or well a little trip to a book shop is in order I think.


Well my feet really haven't touched the group this week and with re-drafting Richard's script and starting on other projects we have been set, sorry no film review in this post I need to get ready for work. I promise tomorrow I will blog my brains out on films films films!

Where the Wild Things Are

So a drive down to the far far away Cineworld down in that unpleasant looking place of town to see 'Where the Wild Things Are' I've only seen the trailer a few times and have never read the book or knew there was a book until recently so I really didn't have any real perception of what the film was going to be like, apart from everything filmed through a orange tinted filter of course.

A film directer by Spike Jonze and starring Max Records as the little boy Max

The film kicked off and it was fairly certain that it wasn't going to be a children's film in the slightest. It definitely had dark undertones from the off-set. It never really did anything to relieve this in anyway, it kept spiralling down and down this dark path. This is where I would write what the film is about...but from walking away from the film just a short time ago, I'm still fairly unsure what it was about.
There's a boy who is obviously an outcast and feels alienated in his life, he see's his mother as his only friend and person he feels safe around and who will always be there for him, and when someone comes into her life he feels pushed out and lashes out and retreats into a 'magical' land made up of really big hairy ... urmm things. They are too unhappy in life and turn to this young boy to fix everything and make them happy once more.

This might sound like I've contradicted myself and have explained the film. But no, not really. This is a really small part of the film, its established and pushed out the way in a very small amount of time. Its too quickly pushed away, you don't really get a sense of who this kid is, what are his flaws and why he is the way he is.

We are then rushed into a land made up of these cute 'monsters' that are equally as fractured in their lives. From here on out we are presented with a metaphor rapped in another metaphor. This is where it all gets really confusing, I did feel like it was trying to say something about the boy and his life. It was definitely trying to say something about everything, but I was sat their just really confused on what flaws the film was pointing out in whom or what?

These ... okay I'm going to call them ... 'fluff balls' turn to this young boy to fix their way of life and make them all happy. Was this him working out what his flaws are, is this a metaphor for him playing out what makes him unhappy? and how he can fix things? I'm not too sure, we are bombarded with these metaphors one after another that all just becomes too much. The film soon becomes heavy and sluggish from there onwards.

The only way I can really describe it is, a ball of tweed. It never really establishes a clear moving straight line in which to follow. The film seems to stray around in circles for moments then to throw a metaphor at you then to try and provoke some kind of emotion from a character being unhappy/hurt.

Your sat their not really knowing what to think about what is going on, this is what I kind of took from it. The kid who is so far retreated into his own little word, who still thinks he can solve things the children's way. By having play fights and getting together to build a fort - the metaphor being they will all be happy if they work together to build a magical place where anything can happen. But the kid is soon presented with the harsh reality of life, that things can't be sorted out this way and you can't just build a magical place and everything will automatically be okay.



Yes...no? Still not sure, another thing to point out is just the relentless heavy emotional downturns the audience is presented with. Its just too much to watch sometimes, you are sat their eventually just waiting for things to go wrong...and they always do. For the plot to become this predictable combined with the sucker punches of heavy emotional downturns just becomes a little over powering.

I just felt the characters were lost on me, the film never delves to much into there characters and what makes them, them. So I never felt empathy or felt attached to anyone in the film at all. We as an audience are well, taken a little for gradated. We are left with to many blank spots to fill in for ourselves in the end, which really does ask far too much of the audience.

I feel its even confused on who its audience were, its definitely not a children's film, nor an adult film. Somewhere in-between? I'd still argue not really. Its more a film aimed at style, what style of film you are into really depends on wether you will like this film or not. If you were brought up reading fairy tales and lots of adventure stories then you will 'get' this film, for all the rest of us its just something we just won't understand. Almost like buying your granddad an i-Pod, ah see another metaphor.

But even saying this, I really liked the film 'The Fall' which is a sweeping epic set in a child's imaginations, and I totally bought into it because it didn't leave you behind at any point. It would give clear markers to where we were and what the metaphor was.

Over all, nice looking colourful film let down by a lack of a forward moving clear narrative which just confuses itself and the audience in the end. 'Sorry what?...can you speak a little louder I didn't quite catch what you are saying?' Simply the film needed to speak a little louder and clearer. I walked away from this film not really feeling any closure from anything it was trying to say or from the characters introduced. The film didn't resolve anything really in the end, which felt really disappointing as a member of the audience. In the end it almost is a children's film, in the sense it starts things but never really finishes them.

I think the fact I've edited this post about 10 times shows how unsure I still feel about this film

400 Blows

Having seen a lot of 'classical' films recently, I didn't really feel this would raise the bar all too much. All I can say is yes Andy it really is a masterpiece.

It first occurred to me almost half way through the movie how much I was enjoying it because it had taken me that long to come out of it. I was so submerged in the movie the genre and the style of it that it totally captivated me. Its that principle of you know you have a good movie when the audience aren't aware they are watching one.

I'll explain what took me out of the movie later on in the post. But for now I'll explain what I liked about this film.

From watching so many 'dull' and 'tedious' black & White and classical movies recently, I really did have something to compare this movie to. Yes it wouldn't stand up to modern standards as it does loose its drive somewhat during the movie but placing it in its time it really is an astounding piece of film.

What stood out was its cinematography, it never felt flat like a lot of other old movies we have watched recently. The hand held camera work really did help this movie set a new bench mark for movies. It all felt so smooth in the way it handled itself, shots felt fluid and all connected well with one another. I was never taken out the movie by cutting the extreme close ups like the Russian Revolution films seemed to all so adore.

Most importantly the main character was likeable for the most part, he really did feel like a real living person and delivered this through an amazing performance from start to finish. I did feel at points that the movie was stretching itself on how it could more develop and build on this character from showing us his day to day life. This is where I first sat back and realised I was watching a movie again. This is from having been brought up with modern film cuts, It wasn't a bad thing it was just a thought that occurred to me that took me out of the movie itself.

The character I feel can be compared to 'Into the Wild' in the sense that you do feel sympathy for the parents as they aren't really do all to much wrong to deserve what their child does in return. This is another fault I could pick at, but you know. I don't want to, its such a lovely charming movie that really does pull you into this young boys life that I can accept this small fact that occurred to me.

The film was essentially a snap shot of this boys life, its a strand that follows him during a short period of his life. It's not like most other films as it doesn't really to seem to have an active goal or an obvious inciting incident. It's more a story of this boys life, we are almost following him from day to day. This is were it does loose some drive as I think from a modern audience prospective we are constantly expecting something to happen, like one of his parents to get run over and for him to relise what he has. This never happens or something similar, so you can say it does loose drive from this.

If you look at the film for what it is at heart, you see that it would have lost its charm if something like this was to happen. Its about this boy and his life, his faults and his misgivings. This is all we are interested in.

I really did enjoy watching this movie and hope what we watch next can follow its standard, as it really did set the standards in the first place.

So what REALLY scares us?

This is a thought that I have been thinking a lot about recently when thinking of ideas and directions to take my script in. What really makes us sit on the edge of our seats? what makes us jump out of them? The more I thought about it the more it became apparent that its sound design. With out it, we would be looking blankly at the screen not really all to bothered as to who is being mutilated or who is being chased.

From looking at a number of scary films recently as research I found that the tension was always built by this ticking clock Zam referred too. It's that dripping of tap water in a darkened room combined with the unsettling score that makes us feel so uneasy. Its that moment during the night when you hear a door creak open that terrifies us, we suddenly start thinking what was that? What caused that? its the not knowing that really gets to us.

I looked back on a number of films on how they created tension, and I undoubtably looked at 'Saving Private Ryan' That stair well scene were the two soldiers are fighting it away up the stairs and we cut to the lone scared soldier which is his only salvation too scared to move. A lot of different things makes this scene unsettling to watch, but when I looked closer what made it unsettling when we cut to the stair well was again sound. It was hearing them scuffling about up the stairs, those raw human sounds of distress. Again it occurred to me, it's what we were hearing that was making us as an audience sit on the edge of our seats.

It has never until now that I have looked back on horror movies that it doesn't really matter if its a bunch of 'cute aliens' such as in 'Encounters from a Third Kind' You can make almost anything terrifying if you just get the eery sound design and not show the audience for aslong as possible what is lurking in the dark. Its this making the audience suffer for aslong as possible that really does make classic horror pieces.

To look at a more modern example, we must only look as far as the cinema. Paranormal Activity which is sitting at number one in the box office in America. Something that clearly scares the vast amount of people who go an watch it, I know this more than any as I see it from working in the cinema. It was really interesting to sit back and watch the audience and see what scared them. It was clear that it was the unbearable tension of waiting for something to happen, that making the audience suffer for aslong as possible then suddenly throw in that bang. This is what scared people, a slamming door isn't scary in the slightest. Yet because they were forced to wait for it, because they knew something was coming, because it made them wait for aslong as possible this is what scared them.

As essentially this film is just made up of sound design we never see the monster. Every director and screenwriter should take notes from this film, as soon as you show the audience what they are supposed to me afraid of you instantly loose the vast amount of tension you can build.

As until recently I have really shunned sound as a profession, I still don't want to do it...ever. But I have gained so much respect for sound design recently. By sitting back and really thinking why something scares me in a movie, 95% of the time it was that principle of waiting for something to happen combined with the sound design that did it at the end.

This is why I feel horror sequels just don't work, we have been shown what we are supposed to be afraid off, and as soon as we can sit back and say 'I know whats in the dark' it suddenly looses its edge. This is why Aliens and the like of 'The Decent part two' just don't work as horror pieces.

From all this I will really sit back and take heed of sound and tension whilst writing my script for Richard. It's not so much the dark that scares us, as I assume we all sleep in the dark. It's those little sounds during the blanket of night time that terrifies us in the end.