Why do I want to study film and television at University? Writing this personal statement has challenged me to make sense of my lifelong interest and reflect on my motives. I realise I’ve been interested in this world from a young age and have never really considered studying anything else at university. It was an important part of family life because my father writes, produces and directs for television. Maybe an early appearance as ‘baby gizmo’ on The Fast Show subconsciously aroused my fascination for the inner workings of programme making, but as I was only 14 months old it’s doubtful. This close relationship with the media has meant, though, that I’ve always been fascinated by how TV and films are made. When I watch a film or a television programme, it is the way it is made that excites me. The collaboration of writers, producers, directors, editors, cast and crew starting with an idea and taking it through to a finished piece is something that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I want a university course that can prepare me for a life working in this world.
I can write essays but I want to do more than analyse texts – I want to make tangible things for the enjoyment of others, which is why I want a course where I can learn the technical aspects of filmmaking alongside theoretical ones.
When I was at secondary school I had an inspirational form tutor who taught English and Media Studies. He gave me an enormous amount of encouragement and provided incredible opportunities. He also taught a small group of us the Media Studies GCSE in one year, two years early. Whilst doing this I found that I really enjoyed having an idea for the filmed project, working in a team and realizing that idea on video. We made a tongue-in–cheek pop promo taking inspiration from Madness and Buster Keaton videos (which I love).
My tutor also offered me two other very unique opportunities. The first was to help an independent filmmaker create a short film that was to be shown at Edinburgh film festival. It was a study of creativity and involved me interviewing the head of ITV Creative. The second was a project in conjunction with Channel 4. We worked in a small team to create a comic, which was pitched to a board that included the head of Channel 4. We put our creative ideas, knowledge of the conventions of comics and Photoshop skills together to win the ‘best design’ category.
I was lucky to get work experience in the comedy and entertainment department at Tiger Aspect with the producer Geoffrey Perkins. I was able to observe work going on in the sound studio and edit suite where The Harry and Paul Show was being made and I also took on running duties as their runner was unwell – lucky for me if not for her. I was beginning to realise how intelligent the people off-screen were, and how competitive the environment was. The people here were working hard on things they enjoyed, and I enjoyed learning from them.
I like a broad range of films, particularly the Horror and Western genres. My current favourites are the Sergio Leone films of the 60s. For my A-level media project I filmed a short spaghetti western film in Italy influenced by Sergio Leone’s work. I am currently writing and recording the music in homage to Ennio Morricone. I particularly enjoyed the practical aspects of this project. I find it very satisfying to finish a small scene after editing it for hours.
Earlier this year I also made a film for a competition in my own time, using stop frame animation. It showed two pieces of roast beef playing football using a Yorkshire pudding. Not the easiest of cast members admittedly, but I enjoyed the immediacy of the process and I was really pleased with the result, which can be seen on the Walkers website.
So far I have been absolutely captured by everything related to this subject, whether through my studies or not, and, I can only assume, it becomes more and more fascinating at university level.
CHARACTERS WITH SPACES 3950
Friday, 22 October 2010
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Milton
How does Milton grab the readers attention in the opening section of the poem.
Milton grabs the readers attention in as early as the first 26 lines, because of his very ambitious aim. Milton asks of a ‘heavenly muse’: ‘Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song’. By invoking a muse, Milton is showing how he is aware of Homer and Virgil and their epics, and showing how he is knowledgeable of their format and wants to be part of their tradition. But Milton’s muse is ‘heavenly’, the muse that ‘didst inspire that shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, in the beginning how the heavens and the earth rose out of chaos’. The sentence : ‘Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire’ ends with an iamb, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘inspire’, showing the importance of the muses powers to Miltons poem. By having a heavenly muse, Milton is showing how his ambitions go far beyond Homer and Virgil, helping create a poem that deals with matters of more fundamental importance to human beings. Having the poem open with him asking for God to inspire him shows the heights that the poem will reach: a poem inspired by the almighty, and this is an exciting idea. And while Homer and Virgil’s epics told the story of heroic men, Milton’s shall tell the story of all men, and he shall also ‘justify the ways of God to men’.
The poem then explains that Adam and Eve’s disobedience was partly down to a serpent, who ‘decieved the mother of mankind’. This serpent is Satan, and he has just been cast down into hell by god after losing a huge battle against him. So the first part of the poem is started in medias res and we are thrown straight into the action. We get an immediate description of the ‘fiery gulf’ that is hell, with ‘floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire’, with ‘ever-burning sulphur unconsumed:’, but still a place ‘in utter darkness’. Its certainly a spectacular place for the reader to suddenly find themselves in, the contradiction of darkness and fire throwing powerful images into the readers head.
Readers of Miltons time would also relate this story to very important events in their lives. Milton, in a disguised protest against the political regime of Cromwell, put Cromwell into his poem: as the character of Satan.
A final intriguing point, one that grabs the readers attention in the opening section of the play, is that Satan’s description is ambiguous: is he presented at all as a hero, or as a villain? Milton’s epic similes demonstrate this: Satan is described as a Leviathan. This almost makes him seem powerful and in turn heroic, as he is described as a huge whale like creature. However, this creature is also hinted to be a deceiver: sailors moor their boats on them, thinking them to be islands. It also could make us slightly wary of Satan, as in describing him as a mythical beast, we don’t know how big he actually is. Furthermore, in describing him as huge, straight after we learn he has been defeated by God, Milton could be showing the all powerfulness of God. So Satan is an interesting character, and one sure to grab the readers attention.
Milton grabs the readers attention in as early as the first 26 lines, because of his very ambitious aim. Milton asks of a ‘heavenly muse’: ‘Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song’. By invoking a muse, Milton is showing how he is aware of Homer and Virgil and their epics, and showing how he is knowledgeable of their format and wants to be part of their tradition. But Milton’s muse is ‘heavenly’, the muse that ‘didst inspire that shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, in the beginning how the heavens and the earth rose out of chaos’. The sentence : ‘Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire’ ends with an iamb, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘inspire’, showing the importance of the muses powers to Miltons poem. By having a heavenly muse, Milton is showing how his ambitions go far beyond Homer and Virgil, helping create a poem that deals with matters of more fundamental importance to human beings. Having the poem open with him asking for God to inspire him shows the heights that the poem will reach: a poem inspired by the almighty, and this is an exciting idea. And while Homer and Virgil’s epics told the story of heroic men, Milton’s shall tell the story of all men, and he shall also ‘justify the ways of God to men’.
The poem then explains that Adam and Eve’s disobedience was partly down to a serpent, who ‘decieved the mother of mankind’. This serpent is Satan, and he has just been cast down into hell by god after losing a huge battle against him. So the first part of the poem is started in medias res and we are thrown straight into the action. We get an immediate description of the ‘fiery gulf’ that is hell, with ‘floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire’, with ‘ever-burning sulphur unconsumed:’, but still a place ‘in utter darkness’. Its certainly a spectacular place for the reader to suddenly find themselves in, the contradiction of darkness and fire throwing powerful images into the readers head.
Readers of Miltons time would also relate this story to very important events in their lives. Milton, in a disguised protest against the political regime of Cromwell, put Cromwell into his poem: as the character of Satan.
A final intriguing point, one that grabs the readers attention in the opening section of the play, is that Satan’s description is ambiguous: is he presented at all as a hero, or as a villain? Milton’s epic similes demonstrate this: Satan is described as a Leviathan. This almost makes him seem powerful and in turn heroic, as he is described as a huge whale like creature. However, this creature is also hinted to be a deceiver: sailors moor their boats on them, thinking them to be islands. It also could make us slightly wary of Satan, as in describing him as a mythical beast, we don’t know how big he actually is. Furthermore, in describing him as huge, straight after we learn he has been defeated by God, Milton could be showing the all powerfulness of God. So Satan is an interesting character, and one sure to grab the readers attention.
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