Banana Skin TV Blog
Photoshop workshop
Posted: 1 years ago
Thursday 11.11.2010 Creative & Media diploma students from the Looe centre took part in a CS4 Photoshop mini workshop. The idea was to give them a greater understanding of an industry standard software programme having a bit of fun, while all the time gaining worthwhile real time experience in order to generate a realistic high standard result. The results are in the gallery of Bananaskin.
THE CLASSIC 'BANANA SKIN' SIGHT GAG
Posted: 1 years ago
THE CLASSIC 'BANANA SKIN' SIGHT GAG:
Man walking towards us
Banana skin on pavement
Man sees banana skin at last moment
Man steps over the banana skin with a self-satisfied smile
Man falls down manhole.
Make the Man somebody in power, a Policeman, a Headteacher & the comic value is multiplied.
Put the scene in a dramatic context where we have just seen them abusing their position of power & it is multiplied yet further.
You could elaborate the situation:
Policeman walking towards us
Banana skin on pavement
Policeman sees banana skin at last moment
Policeman steps over the banana skin with a self-satisfied smile
Policeman sees manhole and sidesteps around it
Policeman knocked down by passing bus.
Replace the banana skin / manhole / bus with any jeopardy or threat - use the pattern for comic dramatic effect:
Establish character
Establish threat
See the threat and avoid
In avoiding the perceived threat, character puts themselves into worse situation & is destroyed
THE CHAPLIN ANECDOTE
The playwright Charles MacArthur had been brought to Hollywood to do
a screenplay, but was finding it difficult to write visual jokes.
"What's the problem?" asked Chaplin.
"How, for example, could I make a fat lady, walking down Fifth Avenue,
slip on a banana peel and still get a laugh? It's been done a million
times," said MacArthur. "What's the best way to GET the laugh?
Do I show first the banana peel, then the fat lady approaching, then she
slips? Or do I show the fat lady first, then the banana peel, and THEN
she slips?"
"Neither," said Chaplin without a moment's hesitation. "You
show the fat lady approaching; then you show the banana peel; then you
show the fat lady and the banana peel together; then she steps OVER the
banana peel and disappears down a manhole."
HISTORY OF THE BANANA SKIN JOKE
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Banana_skin_joke
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081022225425AAbc1fq
EXAMPLES
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BananaPeel
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/b/banana_skin.asp
The Content Crew at Bananaskin
Posted: 1 years ago
The Content Crew here at
Bananaskin TV have all been asked to review a film or TV programme.
The genre hasn't been specified, however the one of the
conditions is that it has to be something that they really like.
So I look forward to being able to post some seriously good reviews
about films / TV programmes that you will want to watch after reading the
content crews recommendations.
David George
Creative
& Media Lead Practitioner
From Matthew James
Posted: 1 years ago
Matt the zombie
competition
“The Bright, post apocalyptic sunshine hurt its eye as he emerged for
the subway system. There was no point In staying underground any longer as the
food sources had ran out. It now had to traverse the barren hellhole that
stretched out beyond the horizon. Thankfully, thanks to his amazing circus
skills, he was able to join a traveling freak show, until he was kicked out for
eating Sammy the Sword Swallower. He then continued across the wastes until he ate
to many survivors and had to start rolling everywhere. One day, he rolled to
far and rolled straight into a ravine and was never seen again.”
=The end=
NAME WITHHELD
Dan
the zombie competition
“Once a well renowned cage fighter, Dan started his infected un-life as
a tiger trainer, until the tiger decided to take his chance’s and attack his
owner, leaving a lasting scar on his face. After escaping death for the second
time, Dan moved to a place that was more his speed; a cage fighters
association. He now spends his days as he lived as a professional cage fighter.
When I think about it, he’s better now than he ever was. Apart from the fact
that he keeps getting disqualified for biting…”
=The end=
NAME WITHHELD
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAD ENTERED! MORE RESULTS
NEXT
WEEK! VISIT MY GALLERY TO LEARN MORE!
How To Be A Critic - writing reviews
Posted: 1 years ago
HOW TO BE A CRITIC
We’re aware that this is quite possibly the first time that you’ll ever have written a film review and don’t worry; we’re not expecting you to turn into Jonathan Ross, Leonard Maltin or Jean-Luc Godard overnight! Your first few reviews will probably take quite a lot of time and thought but like anything, once you’ve had the experience of writing a review a few times, you’ll get more and more confident and also a lot faster.
To give you some guidance, we’ve compiled a list of weblinks at the bottom of this section and you can look those up, read through and get more info about how other people approach and write reviews.
One of the clearest pieces of guidance however comes from a guy called David Hill (thanks David!) and we’ve taken his advice and added in some Chew suggestions for you below.
David says, “Writing film reviews can be rewarding and enjoyable. Depending on the audience and the market it is written for, there are several different things that you should keep in mind during the writing process.”
1. YOUR AUDIENCE?
David says, “Firstly, what age groups are you writing for? A review for a school magazine would warrant a different writing process than, say, a magazine enjoyed by adults. For a children’s magazine, the review will need to be quite punchy. It should not be too long or contain material that the age group would not understand.”
For Chew TV therefore, we would encourage you to use your creative mind and think about writing for your peers. Your peers are people that are around the same age as you and are interested in the same things. At Chew TV we want people to express themselves so do keep the language as you would say it but do think about grammar, punctuation and your writing style and do the very best that you can. In terms of how long a Chew TV film review should be, we would say that the review should be between 50 and 200 words. If you have a lot more to say, then do go ahead, but try and keep your review to the most important things you think about and saw in the film.
2. TAKE NOTES
As David says, “After watching the film that is to be reviewed, it is important to take notes immediately. This will be of great importance when you actually sit down to write the piece. The notes should be detailed enough to bring back to memory the images that you found most appealing. This is, I believe, the most important part of the writing process.”
Once you have a little set of notes, you’re ready to begin your Chew TV review
3. TITLE-TASTIC!
As David says, “Firstly, you need to think of an imaginative title. For instance, if I was writing a review of the film Apocalypse Now, perhaps a good title could be, ‘faith and hope disappear in the midst of the Vietnam War’. This title gives a very brief idea of the nature of the film and provides a starting point for the reader to focus on.”
So for your Chew review, think about something short and punchy but constructive that will grab the reader’s attention.
4. SYNOPSIS
Again back to David for some pointers:
“The second stage is to give a brief synopsis of
the film. You could also state your early opinions here, but don’t give too
much away too soon. Your aim is to make the audience want to finish the
article. After the synopsis, go into detail about what
you thought of the film. Was it thought provoking? Did it have lasting images
and ideas that particularly enthralled you? Did you think that it was a
complete turkey? Whatever your view is, it is important to stress it in a
comprehensible manner. Examine the film more closely, try to go into detail
about a couple of the ideas contained within the film. Don’t forget what you
enjoyed and remembered from the images and ideas in the film are what could be
the deciding factor in whether or not the reader actually watches the film themselves. If you really enjoyed it or really
hated it, make it clear.”
5. THE MAIN MEAT OF THE REVIEW
The next step is to think about how the film worked and break it down into some key parts that you want to get across. Here you are stating which parts of the film did and didn’t work for you.
David’s pointers here include:
- Was the setting and atmosphere successful?
- Did the plot flow all the way through the film or did it become disjointed and messy part of the way through?
- What are the characters in the film like and do they work?
We would also suggest the following:
- What did you think of the opening and ending?
- What did you think of the writing of the film?
- What did you think of the technical aspects – eg sound, lighting, camera work?
Think about all these things when you take your notes and then you’ll be ready to write this part.
As David says, “Never simply say that you loved or hated a certain movie without giving your reasons. Always explain why you feel the way you do and back it up with descriptive examples.
Even though your article should show from the start what your opinions are, at the end of the piece you should give a conclusion that states strongly what you thought.
Following these guidelines should provide you with enough information to start writing your own reviews. When you write a good review you should find it rewarding, especially if it is published.
If you are still a bit unsure about how to get started with your reviews then check out the pros, here are some links to help you along the way:
http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/a2206-how-to-write-a-movie-review.html
Sample Film Reviews
Still In Hell
(Film: When There’s No More Room In Hell)
This creative short made from still images is based around a zombie attack. The short film’s overall feel is a cross between ‘A scanner darkly’ directed by Richard Linklate and the arts council funded ’28 days later’. The music and sound effects are key in creating an intense fight seen and this has been handled well as the film adopts the pace of the music with distinctive sound effects that help the still images unfold the plot. The animation is clever as it masks the characters giving an eerie edge to the zombies. This may not have been possible with low budget make-up so an aesthetic and purposeful use of effects.
I would have liked to see the plot continued further with a slightly longer animation but there is plenty of potential to continue this story at a later date, as in most horrors it’s never quite over. I enjoyed watching this imaginative piece of work with its obvious elements of influence from major films of the past. I would definitely like to see more of this animation style but possibly with a faster roll of images as I felt at times I wanted to see things happen quicker.
Rating: 4/5
By Dan Scholes
Good Karma?
(Film: Karma Crusaders)
This is a film which is full of good moments which leaves you wanting more. A young fellow called Barry whose one hate in life is old people, which he makes very clear from the outset. Barry embarks on a mission to better his relationship with these ‘old gits’ in order to redeem himself and cash in his winning lottery ticket. This film has a huge comedic element, which is carried the whole way through the film; little touches ensure the characters are portrayed in the right light.
The character of Barry is the best I have seen in a young person film, he is sharp to the point and played by a brilliant actor and backed up by a fantastic cast. 5 minutes into the film it finally all comes together and the audience can see that things might just go Barry’s way when he meets the gipsy fortune teller, however she says Barry must be nice to old people, which is obviously a mammoth task for him, he does his best and you’ll have to watch the rest. This is a great watch and I have no doubt that you’ll enjoy it very much.
Rating: 4/5
By Martin Herd
A Brutal Brawl… over the telephone!
(Film: Dibs)
An extremely imaginative short film follows two ‘adolescents’ fight for the privilege to answer the phone. The creativity of the young producers’ shines throughout the film as almost every imaginable fighting genre is hilariously covered throughout this four minute short.
Partly due to the intensity and stupidity that the sound effects add to the whole hilarious idea, which is essentially a silent film, I actually ‘lol’ed whilst watching!
This works surprisingly well. It could also have been seen as a violent film if there was a harsh dialogue but the guys managed to tie these sound effects with some very professional visual effects to create a light-hearted, enjoyable film.
A specific visual effect I thought was clever was when the phone rings and the camera zooms into the actors shocked faces almost erratically and then back to the phone to create a real sense of shock. Backed up by the extremely annoying telephone ring, the whole event seems quite intense when in fact it is only a phone ringing.
I also particularly enjoyed it when the film seemed to take on a computer game theme and the characters fought in true ‘Mortal Combat style’. It was well acted and technically well animated. The country and western theme was also hilarious as was the slow motion part. This was also followed by what seemed to be a slapstick moment which surprisingly worked and similar ‘slapstick style’ music drew the film to an end.
I genuinely enjoyed watching this imaginative piece of work with its obvious elements of influence from a variety of genres.
Well done all involved: 4/5
By Max Hepworth-Povey