[Altereddreams.net] » CG&FN 2010

The New World

Seth Marinello — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:27:42 +0000

The New World was my 4th selection for CG&FN this term. Terrence Malick is visually one of my favorite filmmakers and The New World captures a sense of emotion which I feel is often lacking in mainstream film. It is also a showcase for the power of physical sets and real world settings, something I think we forget in the digital media industry. The New World might be considered a classic like some of the other films this term, but it is certainly worth a viewing for the cinematography alone.

The Story of Bungie

Seth Marinello — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:21:04 +0000

This week for CG&FN we will be looking at the history of Bungie and playing Marathon 2 LAN. Specifically I will be talking about the role narrative has played within Bungie’s games and in the community built around them. Bungie has always engaged with its fans and created experiences deep enough that people remain engrossed long after the game is released. The same can be seen in Blizzards games, though they do it through continually refining (and thus enhancing the depth) the gameplay of their titles, rather than through narrative like Bungie. Being a Bungie fan in the late 1990′s was almost like participating in an ARG. I find it interesting that Halo 2 had one of the most successful ARGs to date.

Annie Hall

Seth Marinello — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:45:24 +0000

The CG&FN for January 20th was Annie Hall. I selected this film not just because it is a classic, but because it is an extended rumination on love and what makes us happy in life, which are themes games almost never attempt to tackle. Despite the age of this film, I think almost everyone can relate or empathize with some part of Annie and Alvy’s relationship. The non-linear, often exagarated presentation of the narrative only makes the film more accurately reflect human experience, rather than being realistic, it represents reality. Ryan Nadel said it better last year in an article for our visual story class. [Link]

The Road Warrior & the Monomyth

Seth Marinello — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:38:24 +0000

The CG&FN for January 13th was The Road Warrior. This film is interesting for a number of reasons, from stunt work to pacing, but I wanted to focus on how George Miller creates a post-apocalyptic mythology. To focus our attention I created a simple worksheet outlining the stages of Joseph Cambell’s Monomyth. I hadn’t gone through the film looking for parts of the Hero’s Journey before, but as a group we found elements of almost every stage. Download the sheet and try it yourself!