Ed Wood (1994)

Tim Burton's biographical film 'Ed Wood' (1994), presents the fascinating career of ambitious film director Edward Davis Wood, Jr (1924 - 1978). Responsible for films such as Glen or Glenda (1953), Bride of the Monster (1955) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958), Ed Wood is renown for perhaps being the worst film director of all time.



The film itself is actually quite charming as we are presented with a passionate and ambitious man who simply aspires to become a great film director, such as the likes of Orson Welles and his phenomenal hit of Citizen Kane (1941). We see Ed Wood's attempts at directing his films of Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space, where despite his struggles from lack of funding and continuous rejection, Woods remains optimistic and driven to try and try again.



Surprisingly, it seemed the people Woods worked with seemed all to happy to follow orders, rather than to their raise objections at some poorly shot scenes. His famous line after each shot 'That was perfect!' becomes all to ironic as we know he seems destined to fail.



His friendship with actor Béla Lugosi, famous for his role as Count Dracula, is amusing as it is touching. An old tired actor and a young failing director - the two supported each other throughout hard times. Where Woods personal conflict to be accepted as a cross-dresser, is strange at best and only serves to further emphasise his struggle to be accepted as a serious film director.



Overall, Tim Burton's portrayal of Ed Woods (played by Johnny Depp) presents a misguided individual whose passion and excitement in film making, while infectious, is not enough to win the hearts of the audience in his films. Ironically, it seems Woods has finally obtained his fame as director, if for all the wrong reasons.

Character Design Workshop #02

In our second character design workshop, we began to look into the forms and shapes of characters in more detail.

Generally, circular shapes create the impression of friendly and safe characters. They can do no harm and are also associated with younger characters. Winnie the Pooh and Pixar's Russell are prime examples of this.



Square shapes can be used to give positive and strong characteristics to a character. With the hero Mr Incredible, the combination of square and circular forms create the impression of strength and heroism, whilst appearing warm and friendly.



Where triangular shapes are used to symbolise danger and evil, while emphasising their power. This is a common feature in Disney villains with sharp pointy silhouettes.



While these principles are often used, they can be combined, broken or adapted to suit different purposes. In the upcoming Dreamwork's film Megamind, the character of Megamind bears all the qualities of a traditional villain with a triangular sharp silhouette, yet he is ultimately ridiculed and powerless as comic relief becoming a parody of the traditional villain.





From this, we began designing a variety of henchmen for an imaginary villain from basic shapes and forms, including some non humanoid designs.

Smart and Economical Cars of Our Time

Japanese cars! Yes, if your question was what are some cars that can save me money? I have the answer right here. Take a look at Tokyo Japan for example. They use new technology which is pads that people walk on in downtown and this generates electricity. The city is very densely populated and people there drive economical cars. Small cars such as Honda civic hatchbacks, Nissan Versas, smart cars, Acuras, and so on. Gas prices in Japan according to the CNN chart as of right now 5/4/10 are 4.25 USD per gallon. Now for us this may not seem like a big deal but remember in Japan the minimum wage is about $40 to $55 per day. I am guessing in America an average worker who works an 8 hour day and receives 8.40 an hour is going to get around $68 dollars. You can see the difference in earnings easily.

Moving on, Japanese cars are very reliable (if taken care of) and can last usually over 200,000 miles. Now there is a good example of stretching your dollar. Plus an advantage to Japanese cars is how much modification, performance, and details you can put into the car. Secondly, "Honda has made over 50 million vetch engines and have never failed". -Top gear Jeremy) Looking at reality into the future I am guessing that gas prices will go up, as well as electricity rates, and food costs. Its wiser to have something that you can maintain easily like oil changes, brakes, and tires, and these are really easy to change with Japanese cars. Really it's a breeze to own a Jap car and simple to maintain. So next time your in the market for cars, get a Jap car!