.: sermad :. » Film http://www.sermad.com Music, Code, Design, Advertising Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:17:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Gamification in cinema http://www.sermad.com/2010/11/18/gamification-in-cinema/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gamification-in-cinema http://www.sermad.com/2010/11/18/gamification-in-cinema/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:00:08 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=882 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Whilst doing a little research for a project, I was pondering over some influences and I started to realise that many of the films I was referencing had ‘game’ themes as major parts of their plot. Thought it might be fun to list them – Would love to know what other people like. P.S. I am being a little tongue in cheek with this post.

The Running Man

I love so much about this film – Arnie at the height of his rubbish quips, trapped in a dystopian future where entertainment shows are now live executions (if only XFactor would do this…).

A really interesting satire on the media but Robocop and Rollerball are more successful.

That rubbish GAMER film and some other ‘Big Brother murder everyone game show’ mercilessly ripped this off. When they remake this, I hope they nail it.

Rollerball

Another dystopian future and another satire on media and corporation culture. I watched it again the other day and yes it has dated a bit but it’s really quite funny how it all came true (not the blood sport bit obviously but the rise of disgusting corporations). Some great funky moments in the soundtrack also and I now realise I need that poster.

They did remake this didn’t them? I’m too scared to watch it.

Westworld

A little tenuous on the ‘game’ element but it does have levels (West World – Medieval World – Roman World – it does have a ‘boss’ (a rampaging and brilliant Yul Brynner’) and er yeah OK. It is a fab film. P.S The belgian poster is the one to get.

WarGames

It make phone phreaking well cool AND it made tic-tac-toe really really cool. One of the most influential films for me in shaping my misspent youth. I so wanted to hack into the C.I.A after seeing this.

The Game

An alternate reality game in a film? Who would have thunk it. I’m dying to rewatch this now to see if it has held up (I have a sense it hasn’t and I’ll be shouting at all the plot holes).

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I mean it is Street Fighter II remixed. Like the game – fun for about 30 minutes but ultimately at bit shallow.

So that’s all I can think of for the moment. Again I would love to know what other people think.

Update – A couple more.

eXistenZ

I’m a huge Cronenberg fan and I remember this film being really interesting. One of those ‘is it real / is it in my head’ films that ‘The Matrix‘ and more recently ‘Inception‘ have trodden down. But ExistenZ has a character who is a game designer – A game designer! How many films can put that one down. Again Inception borrowed from this by having an architect / level designer.

I digress. A very good film. Worth a rewatch.

Gamer

I mentioned it before – A mashup of Call of Duty, The Running Man and Second Life. Avoid.

Battle Royale

I remember this being a hyper violent ‘Lord of the flies‘. Incredibly dark, quite sick but a great film. A game where children are forced to kill each other. Not a date movie.

Hard Target

Jean-Claude Van Damme + John Woo. This is going to be an action masterpiece right? Sadly, I’m wrong. Way wrong. An incredible plot where very rich people round up homeless people and then kill them as part of an urban safari game. Not even the talents of Lance Henriksen can save this.

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2010/11/18/gamification-in-cinema/feed/ 2 Suspiria http://www.sermad.com/2009/04/30/suspiria/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=suspiria http://www.sermad.com/2009/04/30/suspiria/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:16:45 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=390 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> If I was ever on mastermind I would like to think Italian horror movies from the 70′s would be a specialist subject I could have a fair pop at – They can be at time surprisingly well crafted, great for their time and they have killer dark wobbly prog funk soundtracks which quite frankly get me pretty excited.

One of the classics of the of the ‘giallo’ genre is ‘Suspiria’ – a tale of a pretty ballet dancer who starts at a new dance school where dark forces are murdering other students.  Dario Argento directs, and yes the effects are pretty hammy and yes the blood looks like nail varnish – but the shoestring budget is pushed well into breaking and the gorgeous lighting and colour hues really do work.

So if you do fancy a slice of this horror pie then I suggest you catch the screening as  part of the Curzon Midnight Movies and Cine-Excess of a restored print of SUSPIRIA introduced by the cult film director himself -  Dario Argento and composer Claudio Simonetti (“Goblin”).

The screening is on Saturday 2nd May at 11.30pm.

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2009/04/30/suspiria/feed/ 0 The Science Behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/18/the-science-behind-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-science-behind-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/18/the-science-behind-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:46:04 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=138 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> I actually didn’t enjoy the movie but at the time I thought the transformation of Benjamin over the years was astonishing seamless filmmaking. Being a geek I checked out the behind the scenes film created by Digital Domain, the company who provided the visual effects.

I then found stumbled upon a specfic site detailing more of the effects, makeup etc and I was amazed by the level of detail that the production has gone into to show how they created the effects. The realisation that for half of the film the Brad Pitt performance is CGI motion tracked onto other actors really does show there is no separation between realtity and hyper-reality. As the film proceeds, the de-aging process applied to Brad and Cate gives you a chill that film making has now moved into a new era of visual manipulation.

This certainly gives me hope that the forthcoming James Cameron film ‘Avatar‘ will be able to live up to the lofty claims of a photo-realistic CGI film.

benj1

benj2

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/18/the-science-behind-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/feed/ 0 Nokia E71 – Beautiful Connections http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/04/nokia-e71-beautiful-connections/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nokia-e71-beautiful-connections http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/04/nokia-e71-beautiful-connections/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:55:40 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=129 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Produced four films as part of the Nokia E71 – Beautiful Connections campaign.

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2009/02/04/nokia-e71-beautiful-connections/feed/ 0 One Dot Zero http://www.sermad.com/2008/11/12/one-dot-zero/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-dot-zero http://www.sermad.com/2008/11/12/one-dot-zero/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:45:39 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/2008/11/12/one-dot-zero/ Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> One Dot Zero

Happening 14-15-16 at the BFI in London.

http://www.onedotzero.com/home.php

10:00 onedotzero_cascade: education symposium  
  11:00 doodlearth  
  11:00 stuart warren-hill presents holotronica  
  11:00 jason bruges studio  
  11:00 troika: onedotzero_adventures in motion  
  13:00 onedotzero_uncut  
  14:40 new british talent 08  
  18:10 wow + flutter 08  
  20:40 wavelength 08  
  20:45 london undersound: unplugged, nitin sawhney + es devlin
[BFI IMAX]		  
15 nov 11:30 tinker.it! demo sessions  
  13:30 extended play 08  
  14:00 terrain 08  
  15:50 special preview: choking man + director q+a  
  16:00 advanced beauty  
  18:10 top draw  
  18:30 special preview: tôkyô!  
  19:00 this happened  
  20:40 citystates  
  20:45 a/v departures: live cinema triple bill
the light surgeons + d-fuse + hexstatic [BFI IMAX]		  
  20:45 j-star 08  
16 nov 13:00 tinker.it! demo sessions  
  13:30 j-star 08  
  13:50 special preview: año uña + director q+a  
  14:00 top draw  
  15:40 studio aka: a retrospective + q+a  
  16:00 new british talent 08  
  18:10 citystates  
  18:20 extended play 08  
  18:30 wow + flutter 08  
  20:00 hexstatic bar event: dvd launch party  
  20:40 terrain 08  
  20:45 wavelength 08

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2008/11/12/one-dot-zero/feed/ 0 Exploring the Lost “Art” of the Film Poster. http://www.sermad.com/2008/06/10/exploring-the-lost-art-of-the-film-poster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exploring-the-lost-art-of-the-film-poster http://www.sermad.com/2008/06/10/exploring-the-lost-art-of-the-film-poster/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:46:38 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/2008/06/10/exploring-the-lost-art-of-the-film-poster/ Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> WIWP Presents “Now Showing”
Exploring the Lost “Art” of the Film Poster.



COSH Gallery
Soho, London
PV: Thursday 29th May
6.30pm—9.30pm

40+ Creatives were given the task of creating their own interpretation of a Cult, Classic or Obscure film poster from the past, whether it be a literal or abstract solution. The result is Now Showing, an Art exhibition paying homage to more than 70 years of film, through the form of Prints, One Off Screen Prints and Sculptures.

Artists who’s work was on display include: Mr Ian Wright, Hellovon, Non Format, Corey Holms, Grandpeople, Marian Bantjes, Tomer Hanuka, Pure Evil, James Joyce, Michael Gillette and Many More.

For More details please visit:
www.wearitwithpride.com/current.html?#projectscurrent

Contact Darren: darren@wearitwithpride.com

Thanks to the support of: Asahi & Cosh

The Cosh Gallery is located at:

69 Berwick Street
Soho
London
W1F 8SZ

Flickr pool showing the prints

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2008/06/10/exploring-the-lost-art-of-the-film-poster/feed/ 0 V For Vendetta http://www.sermad.com/2006/03/20/v-for-vendetta/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=v-for-vendetta http://www.sermad.com/2006/03/20/v-for-vendetta/#comments Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:26:58 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/2006/03/20/v-for-vendetta/ Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Saw V For Vendetta over the weekend and I came away thinking it was a decent take on the novel but just had too much phantom of the opera to really really believe in it. I thought it was generally really good…however it looks like it it got shitpanned across the reviews…Ho hum.

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2006/03/20/v-for-vendetta/feed/ 0 OneDotZero at the V&A http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/21/onedotzero-at-the-va/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=onedotzero-at-the-va http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/21/onedotzero-at-the-va/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2006 12:59:42 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/21/onedotzero-at-the-va/ Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> The excellent onedotzero team land at the v&a museum for a special late night opening. Lots of fine people guesting and some very interesting digital work.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events/events/fri_late/index.html

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/21/onedotzero-at-the-va/feed/ 0 Mr Freedom Vs Jimi Tenor http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/15/mr-freedom-vs-jimi-tenor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mr-freedom-vs-jimi-tenor http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/15/mr-freedom-vs-jimi-tenor/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:48:57 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=50 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Rescoring cult classic movies is becoming the performance piece of the every hip artist these days…but when its done right it can be genius. I was pretty excited to see that Jimi Tenor is rescoring William Kliens – ‘Mr. Freedom‘. This is worth going to just for the film itself. Its a satire, it has a superhero dressed as a american football player…and its french! Oh yeah and the master Serge Gainsbourg originally scored it and he also pops up as mr drugstore…oh yes!

The showing is at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Friday 24 March 2006, 7:45 pm.

Watch the goodness

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2006/02/15/mr-freedom-vs-jimi-tenor/feed/ 0 Daisy Duke http://www.sermad.com/2005/08/18/daisy-duke/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=daisy-duke http://www.sermad.com/2005/08/18/daisy-duke/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:40:48 +0000 Sermad http://www.sermad.com/?p=20 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Well you’ve gotta have bit of T&A every now and again.

Daisy Duke Dances 4 You

Yum.

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]]> http://www.sermad.com/2005/08/18/daisy-duke/feed/ 0