Film Review - Tron Legacy- Archetypes

Archetypes in Tron Legacy 

(Fig 1: Sam Flynn)

Sam Flynn is the Hero of Tron Legacy, we follow his journey through the Grid for the first time and how he adapts to his new environment.

                                                                    (Fig 2: Clu)

The Shadow is Clu, after Kevin Flynn first entered the Grid he used Clu to take care of it while he was in the real world. However, Clu had his own ideas for how the Grid should be run. Flynn is cast out never to be seen again and Clu continues to take over the Grid.

                                                               (Fig 3: Alan Bradley)

Alan acts as the Herald in the film. At the beginning of the film Sam pulls a stunt at the newly run ENCOM company, Alan aware that Sam was behind it goes to visit him. Alan then informs Sam that he received a message from his father and to Flynn's arcade.

                                                                    (Fig 4: Tron)

In Tron Legacy, Tron has been reprogrammed and turned against Kevin Flynn, now under Clu's control. When Sam enters the Grid he ends up in the disc wars Tron acts the Threshold Guardian facing off against Sam.

                                                                       (Fig 5: Zuse)

Zuse is the Trickster/Jester, he runs a night club in the Grid. Sam goes to him to find out information, but he sets Sam up and Clu's henchmen show up and ambush him.  

(Fig 6: Kevin Flynn)

(Fig 7: Quorra)

Both Flynn and Quorra act as Mentors to Sam. Quorra however seems more like a carer/guardian to Sam. Where as, Flynn has been entering in and out of the Grid for years as well as being a 'user' and his father he can relate to Sam than Quorra. But since Flynn can't go into the central Grid because he'd be killed this is where Quorra comes in to teach him more about the Grid. 

(Fig 8: Quorra)

Quorra fits these roles more than mentor, Allies and Maiden. Quorra helps Sam throughout the whole time he is in the Grid. She also her intentions are pure and acts as a possible love interest.

(Fig 9: Flynn;s Mother)

(Fig 10: Kevin Flynn)

Sam's mother died in an unexpected car accident so Flynn's Mother took over and took care of Sam while Flynn was away in the Grid. It can be argued that Alan was possibly a father figure to Sam after his fathers disappearance however Flynn is still Sam's Father.

(Fig 11: Young Sam)

Sam has a flashback to when his father was around when he was young and we see how Flynn's disappearance affected Sam. In this case Sam is also the Child in this film.

(Fig 12: Tron)

Tron after being reprogrammed is forced to follow Clu's commands, however near the end of the film he regains some memories. This allows him to remember his purpose and defend Flynn from Clu.

Fig 1: https://digitalcitizen.ca/2010/12/15/over-160-tron-legacy-original-and-concepts-wallpapers-1920x1200-pixels/sam-flynn-tall2-1920x1200/

Fig 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHoCQvddn0o

Fig 3: http://brianorndorf.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ee7b64288330147e3762319970b-popup

Fig 4: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/movies/05tron.html

Fig 5: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/castor-from-tron-legacy/images/19948573/title/castor-screencap

Fig 6 & 10: https://siftingthroughpatterns.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/why-kevin-flynn-is-the-true-villain-behind-tron-legacy/

Fig 7: http://topstrongest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Quorra-Tron-Legacy-HD.jpg

Fig 8: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/quorra/images/17860209/title/tron-legacy-quorra-photo

Fig 9: https://www.picsofcelebrities.com/celebrity/belinda-montgomery/pictures/belinda-montgomery-2016.html

Fig 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Du4vUCGOHg

Fig 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Du4vUCGOHg

Film Review - Tron - Hero's Journey

(Fig 1: Joseph Campbell - Theory of The Heroes Journey Model 1949)

'Tron' (1982) is an example of a film that follows the Hero's Journey. The Heroes Journey is a formula used in story telling that follows a main character on an adventure or quest, usually with an end goal. Tron starts in the Ordinary world which is outside of the computer system, however it can be argued that the ordinary world is within the computer system from Tron's perspective since he can also be considered a protagonist.

(Fig 2: 'Tron')

 The main protagonist is Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer who was considered that best at ENCOM. However, this ended when Flynn lost his job and had five of his video game ideas stolen by Ed Dillinger. Since then Flynn has been hacking ENCOM to find proof to support his claims but is halted by the Master Control Program (MCP). Dillinger and the MCP work together to stop Flynn from interfering, with the MCP even blackmailing Dillinger with information about his plagiarising Flynn's games if he does not comply with its directives. Flynn's friends who work at ENCOM find out that Dillinger is on to him and they go to his arcade to warn him. 

(Fig 3: Movie Still)

This scene can act as the Call to adventure and the Refusal to call. Flynn's friend Alan informs him that he was working on a security program named 'Tron'. This gave Flynn the idea to use Tron to take over the MCP and get the proof he needed. However, it was the information that Dillinger is on to him that previously made him lose hope since it meant hacking ENCOM a lot harder. Flynn's Supernatural aid comes from his friends Alan and Lora who get him into the ENCOM building. Alan gives Flynn the Tron program and Lora gets Flynn to a computer in the experimental laser section of the building where she works. 

(Fig 4: Movie Still)

When Flynn starts to hack into ENCOM's system, the MCP warns Flynn that he should stop. Flynn taunts the MCP, which starts to panic and resorts to using the experimental laser. This is when Flynn starts to cross the first threshold by being scanned into the computer system. It's arguable that the first threshold was entering the ENCOM building, but Flynn entering the system is where we the audience properly enter the world of 'Tron'. Once inside the system Flynn is mistaken as a "program", he now has entered the Belly of the whale and gets shoved into a prison cell with other computer programs. Flynn meets RAM who is in the cell next to him and he warns Flynn of the dangers within the system, then Flynn is called on to enter his first game. This is his road of the trials. Flynn faces off against a program and when told to kill the program after winning, he refuses. Sark, Dillinger's in system persona then kills the program anyway. After returning to his cell Flynn meets Ram again, but this time Tron is also there. Flynn plays along saying he is a program and the three of them decide to break out and defeat the MCP. The three enter a light cycle game against Sarks men, once they're all defeated Tron, Flynn and Ram break out and escape. Sarks men try to chase them but lose sight of the trio. The three stop and see the communicator, this will allow Tron to gain the information needed to defeat MCP. 

(Fig 5: Movie Still)

That scene acts as Meeting the Goddess because it symbolises the end goal and once completed,  better life. After this the three are pursued again by Sark and lose Ram in the process, Flynn and Tron are separated and both try to reach the communicator via different routes. the Ultimate boon occurs once Tron reaches the communicator to contact Alan, Alan then provides Tron with the ability to defeat the MCP. Flynn disguises himself as a henchman and when Sark catches up to Tron, Flynn joins Tron. Refusal of the return is when Sark continues to pursue Tron and Flynn, as well as those two continuing to the MCP. Once they reach MCP, Flynn gets separated again and Tron has his Magic flight with Sark in a one on one battle. Flynn manages to get back to Tron and jumps into the MCP, this is Rescue from without since it allows Tron to attack the MCP and defeats him. 

Flynn gets scanned out the system after jumping into the MCP and Crosses the Return Threshold. 

Now that know how to enter the system he has Mastered two worlds, also now that MCP is defeated Flynn has the proof he needs and then takes over ENCOM, Freedom to live.

NOTE: In hindsight I should have done 'Tron Legacy' for the Hero's Journey and then 'Tron' (1982) for the archetypes review for it to make sense. However, since I've done 'Tron' (1982) for the Hero's Journey, I'll use Legacy for my archetypes review.  

                                                             

Illustrations:

Fig 1: http://www.sfcenter.ku.edu/Workshop-stuff/Joseph-Campbell-Hero-Journey.htm

Fig 2: http://www.mercwithamovieblog.com/2016/10/retro-review-tron-1982.html

Fig 3: http://greatlittle-knownmovies.blogspot.com/2018/03/agony-booth-review-tron-1982-part-2.html

Fig 4: http://tron.wikia.com/wiki/TRON_Universe

Fig 5: https://cartoonhd.care/film/tron

Five Moom Dramatic poses

Last week we did 5 more poses, this time dramatic poses rather than action ones.

These are my five:

 

Five Moom Action Poses

In last weeks lesson we learned the importance of an action line when posing a character. key things to think about like can the pose make a strong silhouette? Is it clear enough to tell a story? We were then asked to find 5 poses and then recreate then using the moom model.  

Baseball 

                                                             Pole Vault

Skiing 

Break dancing 

Jumping 

Film Review Lens: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

                                                   
                                                 (Fig 1: Movie Poster (1980))

The original Star Wars trilogy is world renowned and even in the rare case of someone not seeing it, they would have at least heard of it or seen a parody of it. What Star Wars is most known for is its practical and special effects. George Lucas was trying to create a world which at the time wasn't fully possible with CGI, since it was still in its early stages. Partnered with John Dykstra (Special Effects Designer), Lucas was able to create the world of Star Wars. However, in 1997 began alterations to the original trilogy adding in more CGI which wasn't possible before, along with alterations to certain shots. 

(Fig 2: Movie Still, The Empire Strikes Back)

Over the years the changes Lucas made had sparked some controversy with the fans. However, John Dykstra was fine with Lucas making changes. "He should tweak it until his heart's content. You never finish a movie. It is always pried from your grasping hands. There is always something you can fix." (Dykstra, 2011) Films will always be criticised and judged, as Dylstra said "There is always something you can fix" and Lucas saw that there were changes that he believed would be beneficial to the film. Some of these changes consist of; recolouring scenes, edits to dialogue, extending scenes and in the later alterations, CGI creatures and characters added. Even though Dykstra seems to be fine with Lucas making changes, fans of the original trilogy still seem to be upset with the changes.

                                             (Fig 3: Movie Still 'A New Hope')     
 
The changes affected  portions of the films narrative and its characters, for example Han Solo. Star Wars has always been portrayed as a space western, and fans wanted to see Han as an outlaw with nothing to lose. However, with the changes slightly changed this, which is what led to upset fans.
"The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t.." (Lucas, 2012) Although, this changed upset some fans, Lucas only wanted to make what he visioned to be clear. He doesn't see Han as a cold blooded killer, which makes his reasoning for changing that specific scene more clear. However, this also doesn't mean fans have to stop seeing Han this way. Lucas may have created Star Wars, but the fans can imagine and visualise the characters in any way they want.

(Fig 4: movie stills)

Although many seem to not like the changes, there are some benefits to the choices Lucas made. "it’s easy to forget that some of the changes made to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi aided, rather than maligned, the Star Wars saga." (Whitbrook, 2015) As mentioned earlier these changes were partly because at the time of production for these movies CGI wasn't where it is today and it limited what Lucas could do. As well as just Lucas's own personal preference like the earlier example of the "who shot first" scene. In 'The Empire Strikes Back' Vader contacts his master via a hologram, which doesn't look good and slightly confusing since Ian McDiarmid had not yet been cast as Emperor Palpatine. The changes then went back and got McDiarmid to re-shoot the scene making the emperor look more like the one we see in 'Return of the Jedi'. Another beneficial change was the edits to cities and environments. The whole saga is a bit restricted either with battle scenes that mainly only stick with main characters or cities like cloud city where the inhabitants are not even seen much. In the changes there's the evacuation scene in cloud city where you see crowds scrambling around. Also, the celebratory scenes on Tatooine, Cloud City, and Coruscant at the end of 'Return of the Jedi', give a bit more depth to the locations that we as the audience have travelled to.


Bibliography:

Block, A. (2012). 5 Questions With George Lucas: Controversial 'Star Wars' Changes, SOPA and 'Indiana Jones 5'. [online] The Hollywood Reporter. Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-star-wars-interview-288523 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].

Pinchefsky, C. (2012). FX guru John Dykstra: George Lucas is RIGHT to mess with Star Wars. [online] Syfy. Available at: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/fx_guru_john_dykstra_geor [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].

Whitbrook, J. (2015). [online] Io9.gizmodo.com. Available at: https://io9.gizmodo.com/6-ways-the-star-wars-special-editions-actually-improved-1733368444 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].

Illustrations:

Fig 1: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/

Fig 2: http://collider.com/star-wars-original-trilogy-changes-video/

Fig 3: https://popculturalstudies.wordpress.com/2017/11/28/han-shot-first-is-important-not-for-the-reason-you-think/

Fig 4: https://io9.gizmodo.com/6-ways-the-star-wars-special-editions-actually-improved-1733368444

Solid Poses

The first lesson in the Animators checklist on Animdojo is solid poses. This goes on to talk having a strong line of action for a more effective pose that can flow and some other interesting things to think about while posing a character. These screenshots are a mixture of me baring what I learnt in mind and others were me experimenting, just having fun with the poses. 

Animdojo - First Thoughts + Posing Exercise

I recently subscribed to Animdojo and despite the issues I've ran into because I'm so new to it, I definitely think it is helping. I have learned some ways of saving time when it comes to posing. This was my first attempt at the posing exercise which I should be aiming to do in 5 minutes but this took a bit longer. Hopefully once I have gotten used to the website I can start posting more work. 

Film Review: Picnic at Hanging Rock

(Poster)

'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (1975) is definitely a mysterious film that leaves its audiences guessing. The mystery of the story comes in different forms, through lack of information and the use of music. Set in Australia, the story revolves around school girls that go on a picnic trip on Valentines day. However, three of the students disappear as well as a teacher only to find one of the missing girls a week after disappearing with no memory of what happened. 

(Movie Still)

Throughout the film there is a lot of details that are withheld from the audience, this opens up the film to theories and guesses as to what happened. "lacking any final explanation, it exists as an experience." (Ebert,1998) The film seems to leave little hints as to what happened to the missing students and teacher. When the one student is found she then comes back to the school to say her goodbyes to the other girls. She is wearing a red dress and looks a lot more mature than she does at the beginning of the film. it can be inferred that there is sexual connotations and that she gained "experience" while being gone on the rock and has become a woman. As well as red being referred to in a sexual way in film her dress makes her stand out from the rest of the girls who are in white which usually symbolises purity. This doesn't explain what happened to the other two missing girls and the teacher but it's a possibility.  Other parts of the film also link to sexuality, which considering the school is teaching these girls to be ladylike is shunned upon. The teacher that goes up the rock is said to be walking without underwear on which as mentioned is unusual for a school teaching young girls to be ladylike. These scenes in the film add to the mystery surrounding the rock and how it seems to effect its surroundings. 

(Movie Still)

The film presents shots with soft lighting, double exposure and different angles. This is pointed out by Buckmaster too, "some of its most memorable moments involve dreams and dream-like imagery." (Buckmaster, 2014) The film also includes this dreamlike element into the plot too. For example a line from Micheal the boy who sees the girls go up to the rock the day that they disappear.  "It keeps coming back to me in my dreams." The rock is seems to put people into a trance, the way in which the three girls walk up the rock is like they no longer know what they are doing. It's also this point is emphasised by the way the girls ignore the fourth one yelling for them to come back. Lastly, the music also further adds to this idea of a dream like state. 

The score in the film is good at adding to the atmosphere, helping point out specific things (the rock) creating an unsettling feeling. Whenever the rock is on screen it further hints at there being something wrong with the rock. Ebert references director Weir saying, "creating an hallucinatory, mesmeric rhythm, so that you lost awareness of facts" (Ebert, 1998) As mentioned before the score adds to the dreamlike feeling that is created in the film. Although, the music is unsettling it has a whimsical element to it, this is briefly mentioned by Jen, "eerily magical with a sinister underlining.".

Bibliography 

Buckmaster, L. (2014). Picnic at Hanging Rock: Rewatching classic Australian films. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/jan/23/picnic-hanging-rock-rewatching-australian-films [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Ebert, R. (1998). Picnic at Hanging Rock Movie Review (1975) | Roger Ebert. [online] Rogerebert.com. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975 [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Letterboxd.com. (2011). A ★★★★½ review of Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). [online] Available at: https://letterboxd.com/petersquills/film/picnic-at-hanging-rock/ [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Fig 1 & 2: http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2013/12/picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975-hcf-rewind/

Fig 3: https://www.dreamtheend.com/?attachment_id=9889