I must admit, I was initially not the biggest fan of the Olympics being hosted in London. In fact I was entirely against it and grumbled about it whenever I saw anything in relation to the almighty London 2012.

I was convinced it would end up a total disaster; we've put so much pressure on our national athletes (and we've already fallen short at every sporting hurdle leading up to the Olympics this summer) that a disappointing finish for Team GB would be unbelievably anti-climatic, and our transport system, barely able to withstand the force of us Londoners on an uneventful day to/from work, will probably implode under the force of an estimated one million more visitors every day. But in the build up to the main event (less than a week left to go) I've felt an odd little tingle of excitement about what's to come. 

I hold the advertising campaigns surrounding London 2012 entirely responsible.

I've found myself particularly taken by the Adidas, 'Take The Stage' campaign. I was first made aware of it when an old classmate of mine was featured as the 'Pride of Southwark'. When the Take The Stage campaign reached our television screens it was with a slightly confusing but thoroughly compelling advert featuring a selection of the British athletes that we are hopeful will achieve gold:

In the last few weeks the individual athlete features have been released which not only provided context for some of the shots from the original advert but brought a whole new dimension and personality to the campaign. The adverts are contemporary, expertly edited and the use of Rustie's 'After Light' as a backing track neatly ties up the campaign as a current and compelling piece of marketing:

Channel 4 are broadcasting the Paralympic Games and their promotional advert is perhaps one of the most inspiring pieces of film I've ever seen. To watch it click here.
So, if nothing else, at least Britain will have succeeded in producing some cracking marketing campaigns for one of our most memorable summers (for one reason or another). Good luck to everyone involved - Go Team GB! and all that...

Really enjoying these adverts at the moment:

This one on the other hand gives me the heebie jeebies. Terrifying stuff:

NOT OKAY.

I really love this film production company's logo; expressive and intriguing. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene, confusing by name, and even more confusing by nature. A fine full-length feature film (the alliteration is catching on) directorial debut by Sean Durkin, MMMM drifts seamlessly between the past and the present often leaving the audience as confused as the main character herself. Elizabeth Olsen gives a stunning performance as a vulnerable girl who after becoming entranced by the charms of a sinister cult leader, John Hawkes, finds that even after she manages to get away she may never really escape from what happened to her there.

The use of colour grading throughout is gorgeous; with moody blues and pine greens to match the rurality of where Martha resided with the cult, to more pink and yellow tones for her present haven at her estranged sister's luxury holiday home (although as the film progresses we begin to realise that this does not necessarily imply that Martha's ordeal is over).

The only substantial piece of music used, save for a tumultuous instrumental accompanying Martha's breakdown, is a genuinely haunting melody sung by John Hawkes himself, both beautiful and heartbreakingly sad.

The marketing for this film was amazing, with one of the best film posters and accompanying trailer that I've seen for a long time:

It's got such a wispy feel to it which fits the atmosphere of the film perfectly, mirroring the hazy flashbacks that Martha experiences effectively suggesting detached, abstract, half forgotten memories.

The audience, rather than being taken on a roller coaster of emotion is coaxed onto an eerie ghost train, and is left with a lingering sense of unease, sifting through the fragments of Martha's troubled reality and even more troubled memory.

This film made me feel like something big is actually happening.

Watching this has made me feel something, like really feel something for the first time in a long time. I was so inspired.

This could be a movement that makes a difference and changes everything, but perhaps the fact that I have been sucked in by all this without having done any of my own research about it shows that I'm just easily influenced, along with every other person who shared the film straight away without even thinking about what this organisation is actually asking us to do. That's by no means an insult; it's an incredibly well made film and cleverly thought out campaign, and I was more than ready and willing to buy the bracelet, start making posters etc. etc.
But I've decided that I'm going to rein my emotions in for the time being and do some research into the matter before I take a solid stance on it - I don't know anything about Uganda or, more importantly, the Ugandan army's involvement, and I have no idea whether or not capturing Kony would result in more lost lives and if it would even end his tyranny. I'm starting to feel like I can't just take all the information presented to me in the film as gospel; there were crying children and the guys' son was adorable, of course I was going to listen to everything they said.

There's people discussing the other side of the story here: visiblechildren.tumblr.com and Let's Talk About Kony

Don't get me wrong, I want to believe in KONY 2012 not only because it could potentially be for a great cause and raise awareness about what's really going on in Uganda, but it would be also be an amazing thing to be a part of. My initial reaction was one of overwhelming emotion and inspiration, but I just feel like I can't completely throw myself in without knowing exactly what it is I would be fighting for. I just hope it's not used as an excuse for people to riot and cause trouble on April 20th.

On a design related note, what was discussed in our seminar yesterday regarding the D&AD 'Peace Day' brief is spookily similar to Invisible Children's strategy to get the public on their side....

"Piss people off, make them angry and scared. And then present 'Peace Day' as their solution."

SUCH a good advert. Literally can't get this song out of my head!

The brief we were given was to produce a one minute animation or film that featured two opposing emotions, the emotions I chose being anticipation and disappointment. I have always had a fascination with fireworks and felt like they embodied these two emotions perfectly; the building excitement as the fuse burns down to the rocket, waiting expectantly for the bright lights and loud sounds, and the disappointment that would inevitably follow if the rocket were to just fizzle out.

I decided almost immediately that I wanted the film to have music playing in the background; for as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with the relationship between moving image and its accompanying soundtrack in film sequences, and was determined to create a piece of film where the images and sound were in tune with one another. After searching long and hard for a suitable backing track, I accidentally stumbled across ‘Shipwreck’, a song by Modeselektor featuring Thom Yorke . It was fast paced, slowly built to a climatic ending and seemed to fit perfectly with the mood I was trying to achieve, so the sound in the film is an edited version which I cut down to one-minute.

Filmed on a Canon 550D at my house in London, I used my dad as the slightly ‘eccentric’ fireworks display designer. He had to sit at the desk for over an hour whilst I captured the time lapse scene where the sun is setting!

This is my first attempt at any kind of film making, and definitely not my last; as soon as I get my hands on filming equipment of my own I intend to create many more short films, and hopefully one day be involved in the film industry in some shape or form.

Actor: Dr. Daniel Callaghan Featured on The Urban Times

Holy crap!

Somebody please get me this so I can put it somewhere, anywhere, in my room.

Unbelievably cool.

By Rizon Parein.

Incredible video.

This is such a brilliant idea. I had never really thought about using objects for printing before but the results are stunning!

"IKEA PRESS is a collection of experiments with letterpress printing. The constructive elements of IKEA products substitute the traditional wooden printing letters and they become the printing die for limited editions. So can a stool or a door be used to impress their outline railtracks can become typographic, figurative or abstract compositions. The same elements can then be assembled back in the objects they belonged to. By doing so they get back their functionality, but they keep a sign of the printing process, they took part in and become themselves unique industrial products."

Brooding, atmospheric and just plain gorgeous, Drive was definitely one of my favourite films of 2011 and I was completely at a loss as to why it wasn't nominated for anything at the Oscars.

From the intense opening car chase swiftly followed by the achingly cool opening credits, I was hooked - and Drive sure as hell starts as it means to go on.

With beautiful cinematography and a brilliant electro Europop soundtrack to boot, Nicolas Winding Refn has expertly crafted a slick 80s-inspired hyper-violent thriller that is simultaneously stylish and at times, horrifically graphic. Ryan Gosling's character of few words, known only as 'Driver', is one shrouded in mystery; there is much use of shadow in the film, suggesting that there is potentially (and we eventually find that there definitely is) something very dark lurking beneath what appears to be a quiet exterior.

One of Refn's inspirations/influences for the movie was Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising, and is referenced by Driver's white satin jacket which becomes increasingly blood stained over time, charting the film's disturbing development into bloody, revenge-fuelled hyper-violence.

I think the elevator scene has quickly become one of my favourite film sequences ever; the combination of music, slow motion and the change in lighting... perfection? And all without having to use one single word. Without a shadow of a doubt the best movie kiss I've seen in a long, long time. If you just discount the horrifying event that takes place directly after it...

I cannot wait for this to come out on DVD so I can watch it again

- every time I listen to the soundtrack I get cravings for it. Whilst it may not be for everyone, there is no denying that Drive is an exceptionally well made film that not only looks incredible, but also provides further justification for why every woman should be madly in love with Ryan Gosling.

I'm hopefully going to get to do some sort of internship at a letterpress workshop over summer. Although if it were possible I would happily spend my entire year in industry in a little letterpress workshop somewhere, printing the 12 months away...

Whilst doing a bit of research I stumbled across a designer called Ian Coyle. He has produced a series of 73 letterpress prints that use all capital letters and the same font throughout that seem to be a mixture between things he has actually said/heard, and thoughts that don't seem to have already been expressed out loud. Looking through them all, I found there was a nice blend of lightheartedness, melancholy, and wise advice, giving a small but intimate insight into the mind of the artist.

You can find the rest here.

I absolutely love these illustrative typography prints based around quotes from Alice in Wonderland. I particularly like the knight piece, I think it's because of the way the layout of the type still suggests the layers of a traditional carved chess piece rather than making it a solid silhouette. And also the way the y juuust reaches up to form to ear of the horse. Adorable.

Find some more of her work here.

This video makes the viewer feel exactly how I want them to feel for my 1 minute film portraying anticipation and disappointment/anti-climax.

I was so tense for 99% of the music video and then suddenly, in the last 5 seconds, completely deflated - almost exactly the same effect I want to achieve.

The song's pretty good too, really addictive; I've already listened to it three times in a row...

Love a bit of Yorke.

I CAN NOT WAIT.

So excited!

Little White Lies, Another Earth edition

Beginners has such a nice trailer.

Lecs Luther - Trumpets

Beginners is a lovely film about people of all ages learning to trust, love, and ultimately to enjoy life unreservedly.

Oliver (played by Ewan McGregor) is a graphic designer, and the work he produces in the film actually showcases the quirky illustrative work of the director:

Click here to go to his website.

Oliver's father, Hal, following the death of his wife of fourty four years comes out of the closet, adopts a vivacious new attitude to life and demonstrates that you're never too old to live, learn and love, proving that something special can begin at any time. The director, Mike Mills, maintains that although the film is not a personal documentary he took inspiration from his personal experiences as his own father came out as gay shortly after the death of Mike's mother.

Oliver blames his parents' obviously passionless marriage for his phobia of commitment and his tendency to let relationships fall apart, believing that they will all meet the same fate.

Cue Anna, played so adorably by the beautiful Mélanie Laurent.

The film's timeline chops and changes, spanning the blossoming romance between Oliver and Anna, the lack thereof in Oliver's parents marriage, and the period leading up to Hal's death. The time shifts chart what Oliver learns through love with his father and how this impacts on his relationship with Anna and vice versa, one seeming to have a bearing on the other even though Anna and Hal never actually meet. I particularly liked how certain scenes had echoes of each other, for example the touching scene where a young respite carer puts mousse in Hal's hair echoing back to the scene where Anna playfully messes up Oliver's hair when they first meet.

Despite some morbid themes, Mills stops the film from sinking into depressive territory and keeps it afloat with subtle but sometimes laugh out loud humour.

And of course, this guy:

And to top it off, the film is accompanied by a simple but gorgeous piano-led theme suite composed by Roger Neill, Dave Palmer and Brian Reitzell.

Beginners' Theme Suite

After seeing The Tree Of Life I really didn't know what to make of it. I enjoyed it (to an extent) but I struggled to pinpoint themes and overall meanings. I gathered that it had something to do with the struggle between life and death, the thin line between the two and the nostalgia of childhood.

Brad Pitt plays a strong willed Christian man in 1950s Texas, and is in the midst of an inner struggle between 'grace' and 'nature'. His children live under the tyranny of a strict father but there are some very touching scenes between the family, the two eldest sons in particular, that show there are strongly established and tender family bonds.

Using shaky camera angles shot from below looking up at the actors, Malick directs the audience's view up to the action as if we were looking through the eyes of a child. I actually felt like a child for most of the film as visual metaphor after visual metaphor flashed before my eyes and I had no idea what they were supposed to represent.

There is a very strong theme of nostalgia, not only through the use of the camera angles but through the use of editing; there were lots of fragmented and abstract scenes, like half forgotten dreams or memories (much like one of the movie posters). There was also a lot of reference to the dilemma of faith, such as why do bad things happen to good people?

The characters pray to God for things to happen but when things don't happen as they would like or expect they reject him. I think the little boy with the burnt head epitomizes much of this dilemma; at the beginning of the film the viewer feels sorry for him and we are made to question why something so horrific happened to someone who obviously didn't deserve it. But by the end of the film I realised that yes, bad things happen, but the little boy is fine now and life just goes on.

When I first left the cinema I thought the film would be like marmite, you either love it or you hate it, but then I realised I wasn't even sure myself if I'd liked or disliked it; it had just... happened. I am a self confessed lover of arty and pretentious films but after two hours of being bombarded by visual metaphors, lack of conversation and regular intervals of high pitched opera singing, sometimes even I thought I had had enough. To be honest, I didn't really know what was going on half the time, I don't even think Malick knew what was going on half the time, but it looked so beautiful that I didn't even care.

"Halfway through the creation scenes, she let out a big “fuck this shit” and walked out, seemingly furious."

Found this in an informal review of the film. The reviewer was sat in the cinema with one other woman, and the creation scenes are only about twenty minutes in to the film. It made me laugh so much because I completely understand.

Mount Kimbie's videos are so simple and I don't know how they do it but it suits their music so much. And so due to crippledness, I missed Jacques Greene and have barely been able to leave the house for two weeks let alone go on a night out. I was okay with that until I watched this and now I just want to get better so I can party and let off some steam. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so... Tendonitis is a pain in the leg...