Day at the University
- 1. University trip Last Thursday the 26th of June I missed an opportunity to work with Tyneside Cinema. Their workshop involved a ‘mockumentary’. Briefs were given on how to use the cameras and they were told what their parody documentaries were about. Within the course of the 3 lessons provided, TC (Tyneside Cinema) had shown the class a reel of documentaries which allowed others to see the characteristics of a documentary. If I were to do a documentary this master class would have been very beneficial and top talk to some professionals that work in the field of film would have been amazing.
- 2. However … my English literature trip clashed with this and although I really wanted to part take in the media workshop I went along to the University of Sunderland to learn more about the theme ‘Gothic’ and to understand ‘Wuthering Heights’. We arrived late into the first lecture so I’m not too sure what I missed but that day was very interesting. The lecturers were dressed up in all sorts of fabrics and colours – most looked like changelings (often known as fairies). Even though this trip mainly focussed on how the time period and society influenced the way people wrote, we did look at film adaptions and one caught my eye. In the past I have watched Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’ and to my surprise I enjoyed it. I do enjoy a good thrilling, spooky horror but this one didn’t really stand out for me. We looked at clips of the film as he was influenced by a good supernatural writer Arthur Machen (1863 – 1947).
- 3. Del Toro himself said: "I love the Welsh author Arthur Machen and his idea that fairy lore comes from a dark place, that it’s derived from little, pre-human creatures who are really, really nasty vermin but are magical in a way, living as they do for hundreds of years. His books are what compelled me to do this." Watching these clips with actual context allowed me to see how he perceived the supernatural world and who he admired. Looking at how Del Toro took this inspiration and transformed it into a film was rather amazing. This day allowed me to have more of an understanding for the supernatural/horror genres and if I were to change my mind and do a horror trailer instead of a short film, it has allowed me to have an open mind when it comes to making a horror film.