“Vice” jolts its audience from a straightforward White House cabinet meeting into an animated game board showing the powerful players of Washington, D.C. Along with rolling dice, officials in the George W. Bush administration appear as pop-up players on the board – this is one of various surreal digressions in the film’s comedy-drama narrative. The […]
Category Archives: Film & TV
How motion capture technology shaped characters in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Thanos’ destructive snap might have only taken a second, but creating his hands took much longer. Alumnus Kelly Port, along with a team of other visual effects specialists at Digital Domain, brought Thanos to life in “Avengers: Infinity War,” leading to an Academy Award nomination for best achievement in visual effects. As the Digital Effects […]
Q&A: UCLA alum, co-writer of ‘A Star is Born’ discusses characters, messages in film
Addiction, fame and toxic relationships could potentially lay the foundation for an extremely problematic story. But in 2018, these issues were at the heart of a film that racked up eight Academy Award nominations, and widespread critical acclaim. Co-written by UCLA alumnus Eric Roth, “A Star Is Born” reincarnates the tale of two lovers and […]
Q&A: Sound editors of ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ discuss what film would say
If Beale Street could talk, alumnus Michael Benavente would probably know what it sounds like. Benavente, the film’s dialogue editor worked with the Formosa Group, a postproduction sound company, to remove any extraneous background noise and ensure the characters’ voices were audible. “If Beale Street Could Talk” is nominated for best original music score and […]
2019 Oscars predictions
The Academy shed its distaste for showy blockbuster films for the 2019 Oscars. The eight films nominated for best picture have grossed a combined total of $1.2 billion at the domestic box office – the highest-earning batch of nominees since 2011. While predictable political dramas “Vice” and “Green Book” are well within the Academy’s comfort […]
Flux screening series promotes creativity by straying from traditional video art
The Flux screening series has been the source of creative collaborations and romantic relationships alike. Flux, an organization that curates film and art festivals, conferences and museum exhibitions, partnered with the Hammer Museum 12 years ago to create the Flux screening series. The event has been the source of collaborations between filmmakers and even brought […]
Second Take: Failure of ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ shows that costly CGI can’t save a bad film
The eyes of “Alita: Battle Angel” loom from billboards throughout Los Angeles. James Cameron’s latest blockbuster, which released Thursday, features two hours and two minutes of computer-generated image anime eyes, calling back to the film’s anime origin. It is also noteworthy because it made $27 million its opening weekend premiere – a mere fraction of […]