In the lecture on Monday, we were shown a clip from Tarkovsky’s ‘The Mirror’, or ‘Zerkalo’ as it was in Russian. A mind-boggling piece of sequence shooting, the camera was used in such a way that got the audience confused and disoriented. Immediately when I watched it I had visions of another time I’d seen it used in one of my favourite films of all time – Contact by Robert Zemeckis..
I was confused how they did it originally, and still am to this day. Brilliant editing
Had to share this review of Muse’s latest gigs at the 02 arena on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th – nice reference to spectacle!
________________________
Muse are on top of the world
By John Aizlewood, None 13.11.09
With Coldplay in cold storage, Radiohead in confusion, Oasis no more and Kasabian not quite there yet, Muse are Britain’s most popular band.
But whereas stardom has made Coldplay grateful and Radiohead guilty, Muse act as if their fifth and current album, The Resistance, topping charts from Austria to Australia and this British tour selling its near 100,000 tickets in minutes. are the most just of deserts and my, they swagger more than a band led by a man in comedy pink trousers otherwise might.
With their gigantic riffs and intricate melodies, the Teignmouth trio (plus a keyboardist lurking guiltily in the shadows) are in thrall to Queen — United States Of Eurasia was bursting to break into We Are The Champions — to whey-faced Goths, to Rush and to the spirit of adventure that gave the evening the feel of an almost out-of-control rollercoaster.
Unashamedly aloof leader Matt Bellamy’s penchant for a wonky conspiracy theory ensures that he’s hardly the most intellectual tool in pop’s box but aided by a rabid crowd, a laser-guided light show and, during Plug In Baby, some Prisoner-style giant balloons, he proved himself to be the master of an edgy, uncompromising spectacle — from the Dr-Who-theme-influenced Uprising, to the anthemic Starlight via the impossibly epic and impossibly daft Knights Of Cydonia.
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed.
__________________
And in case you havn’t seen them yet..
For me this is one of my favourite performances from the band – so raw, so spontaneous, so energetic, so amazing! Even today they push boundaries with stuff like this…
Feeling a bit tired tonight so doubt there’ll be any more research posted until tomorrow afternoon, but thought i’d share this with you..
During the 30s and 40s, America, and indeed the rest of the world, was shaken by a new kind of Marxism. One that placed 4 (later 3) brothers at the forefront of cinema. The Marx Brothers remain one of the most successful comedy acts ever, and indeed have become national icons.
One film which is a spectacle to me is ‘Duck Soup’, released in 1933. The film wasn’t a big success on release, but as critical opinion has evolved, it is now seen as a masterpiece, full of hilarious jokes, political references such as “Remember, while you’re out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in here thinking what a sucker you are”, a cynical approach to warfare, and just downright beautiful cinematography. This scene is perhaps the most famous..
Yesterday I was uploading my final version of my spectacle artefact to Youtube when I was greeted on the homepage with a rather interesting event being advertised. Youtube at 3:30 this morning were broadcasting their first ever live webcast of U2 live in concert at the Rose Bowl in the USA. Featuring their innovative stage design ‘The Claw’, I was really tempted to stay awake to be part of this event, which was sure to be watched by millions, unfortunately lack of energy got the better of me. However there are clips on Youtube available to watch now such as this one – it looked a fantastic spectacle!
http://www.youtube.com/u2
I noticed U2 were advertising that they were performing on one of the world’s biggest ‘stages’, which of course is the new internet platform, pumping live events into millions of homes..but was intrigued to find out what the actual physical biggest stage was – which led me to this…
In 1978 the world’s largest stage show took place, using a live 747 jet landing, a waterfall, and hundreds of performers across 2 acres of land!! Now that’s a big spectacle.
Came across this piece of genius this morning.. This would make trips on the tube so much more interesting wouldn’t it? Might be a bit annoying though with everyone playing – probably best to have no polyphonic notes or it’d be a mess.
http://quipster.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/subway-stairs-turn-into-piano-fun/
|
