Wittertainment

Just a couple of wee things to get you thinking, both came up in discussion during Today’s lesson.

 @wittertainment

If you are interested in film in particular, then the best film review podcast (by a loooonnnnggggg way) is Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews. You can find them on iTunes or by clicking this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/kermode

The podcast is more entertaining than the live radio show (Friday from 2 – 4 on Radio 5 Live), not least because it loses the news and travel interruptions. More importantly, it has podcast extras which, if you ‘get it’ will become a highlight of your week.

What I will say is that Mark Kermode is one of the shrewdest and best film critics out there, bar none. He will infuriate you, he will rip films apart that you may like, and he will give you ideas for films you may not have ever thought of watching, but one thing you will find is that he is just about always fair in his reviews. Simon Mayo (ask your mum!) is an effective ‘straight man’ to Kermode’s outbursts.

Their show is full of in-jokes, but you will soon pick up on them (Hello to Jason Isaacs!). There are also over 200 previous shows on iTunes that you can download… if you want a taster, and one of the funniest film reviews of any films ever, then Kermode’s review of Sex and the City 2 is about as good as it gets:

Wittertainment & iWittr

It goes without saying that for the BBC’s flagship film review programme there should be a dedicated wiki and app. Please note, neither of these have anything to do with the BBC or Kermode and Mayo. Fall in love with their witterings now as it’ll save time in the long run… Oh, and they will help you deepen and develop your love of film. #justsaying

The wiki is here:

WITTERPEDIA.NET (Index of all pages HERE)

The App is here:

PS: FYI, I am a Battenburg Cake.

 

 

 

Gods of Egypt – Kermode Uncut

Wassup, class!

This is how to review a film… 😉

And then I strongly recommend you subscribe to the Kermode and Mayo Wittertainment Podcast.

Mark Kermode is one of the most highly regarded film critics in the world and is — rightly or wrongly — renowned for his occasional ‘rants’. You will not enjoy all the films he recommends, you will disagree with his comments at times, but he is usually right… and there is always something worth seeing and or learning in the films he does recommend.

The Wittertainment show can appear a bit intimidating at first… not least because of all the in-jokes… but there is a helpful wiki to fill in the gaps: Witterpedia.net. It has an index of most of the running gags and references, and explains much about the show, and why you should always say Hello to Jason Isaacs (Go to Google, and search “Jason Isaacs“)…

And finally… there’s even an iWittr app (DISCLAIMER: This app is not endorsed by the BBC, the presenters or, indeed, Witterpedia. However, at the moment it seems to work and comes with a handy copy of the Code of Conduct) so you can see how many other members of the Church of Wittertainment there are near you.

How do you use the iWittr app? Well, you just use the iWittr app.

Enjoy… and if you want a taster of what is possible, search for Kermode’s review of Sex and the City 2… then try his take on Entourage. 🙂

How do you…? You just…!

Kermode & Mayo Live in Edinburgh 17/10/15

There’s a brilliant meme on Kermode and Mayo’s show that goes like this:

Q: How do you use Snapchat? A: You just use snapchat.
Q: How do you solve world hunger? A: You just solve world hunger.

You get the idea. (Feel free to try it with any of your teachers as the answer to any question that begins “How do you…”. I dare you.) Anyway, the relevant question for you is “How do you make a film?”

Here are some people who have done just that. The 10 finalists have just been announced for second Kermode and Mayo “Well Done U” competition — Well Done U 2. The rules are simple. Your film has to be no more than 2 minutes long, and should be suitable to achieve a BBFC “U” certificate — and, indeed, that is what the First Prize in the competition is.

They are all worth watching, and you will get ideas from each of them. I know you are almost finished your scripts and pre-production, so you need to be thinking seriously about your cinematography… you can learn loads from watching each of these films, and I expect them to inspire you into seeing things with a more ‘filmic’ eye.

Have a look at the films (it’ll only take you 20 minutes to watch all of them!) and feel free to write a comment saying which is your favourite. 🙂