A picture speaks a thousand words…
Or one.
Up
I saw Up tonight. One of Pixar’s best films so far.
There was a surreal silence during certain moments. It was almost profound, as if you could sense the film speaking to every single heart sitting there.
Up is a film about innocence, youth, our dreams, goals and aspirations. The obstacles life throws in the way of those dreams and how our lives skew unexpectedly off course.
It touched on the idea that sometimes our greatest adventures aren’t the grand gestures we imagine would radically change our lives, but rather take a more subtle form. Emerging slowly, through an almost unnoticeable culmination of average days – Seemingly invisible on a micro level, only apparent in retrospect.
The moments where the main character Carl reflects on his life – what he wanted to do with it compared to what he actually did do are the real heart of the film. That’s where those profound, resonating moments with the audience really stood out.
Definitely worth seeing.
Photography 101
Image stabilisation – Chinese style
Recently I’ve been checking out photography. If there’s a couple of things I’ve learnt it’d be this (in order of significance):
- Focus on the artform – shooting, composition, developing an ‘eye’.
- Lenses – When buying a camera it’s all about the lens system. Decide which brand lenses you like and design an upgrade path that suits your finances/creative needs.
- Body – For a beginner that just wants to take good photos, any DSLR is a big step up from a point and shoot. Advanced features like HD video, 11 point AF and ISO 12800 are moot.
Despite knowing this, before I splash out the cash I continually ask myself if I’m seeing the big picture (pun intended) – lest be doomed to buying a highly advanced paperweight.
Funny People
Randomly saw this yesterday and went in not expecting much. It wasn’t a typical, pee your pants kind of funny movie. There was something refreshing about the way it played out and I appreciated the sobered, subtle, ‘real’ feeling. I can totally relate to a person like Ira, a very believable rendition of an average guy trying to make something of himself. I enjoyed the relationship between Ira and his idol, George – contrasting in many ways, balancing each other out.
Oh and there’s some pretty funny jokes too.
Go see it.
Welcome
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Sketchbook - A collection of scans from my sketchbook.
How To - An ongoing series on how to draw and paint.
Random - For everything else.