The Creation of Benjamin Button

Benjamin TED Talk     

     In movies when it came to characters aging, special effects were limited. Instead of using complete computer generated special effects, movie producers hired different actors to play the different ages of one character. Although, in the newest movie starring Brad Pitt, movie productions had a whole new challenge they wanted to tackle. Their challenge? How to make the main character, Benjamin Button age while still looking like Brad. That, had never been accomplished in the movie industry. 

      If it was something that the movie industry had never accomplished, then they would have to think outside the box. They could not just simply place Brad's head on another actor's body. No, they had to alter his face so that layers of wrinkles are shown, droopy eyelids, and a crinkly forehead of an eighty-four year old Benjamin Button would appear on forty-three year old actor Brad Pitt. This was an experiment, without knowing if the outcome would be favourable or not. 

      They had to face their problem, they had to pull together something for the movie board, to show them that yes, they would be able to get the special effects down, and capable of creating a character that goes through his entire life in the movie. Their hypothesis? 'We've got a problem.' How could eighty or so of the movie crew finish shooting half of the movie without using all of Brad Pitt instead of just only his facial features? Their only way out... was to bring everyone together and have numerous meetings... thinking outside the box... They had to break down the steps, analyze, gather data and go beyond anyone's expectations.

     What these people could not find within the movie industry, they searched for possible answers elsewhere. Where could to find technology they could use to help age Benjamin Button? They had to gather materials and create an analysis and constantly experiment. They had a breakthrough though, when they completely remade and upgraded a motion

 capture device for the face. The device could capture hundreds of little movements a human face was capable of making. They used this handy technology and placed in on Brad to capture the expressions Benjamin Button would make in the movie. Successful experimenting and analyzing? Yes.

     With this advancement, the people behind the movie could take this technology and go somewhere with it. They could now use four actors of different stature and build, looking nothing like Brad and make them appear like Brad as he aged. Therefore, this was the basics of what they were looking for. This was the building block, the very structure of what t

hey needed to advance further into the challenges they faced. Next, more experimenting and analyzing. Lighting? Camera angle? And of course, excellent acting skills.

     Their prospect of whether to go with production of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had been floating around with executive producers wondering if such a technological equipped with mounds of special effects based project would be possible. They had their little what ifs.. they admitted they had a problem, they drew a hypothesis, they gathered their materials and they experimented, and analyzed. A group of people, with the hopes to bring motion capture of a novel to an on-screen movie reached a conclusion and successfully brought The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to the top of the box office, with 13 Academy Award nominations including Best Pictures.

All Quiet on the Western Front: Character Analysis

PAUL BÄUMER

         As the narrator and the protagonist of the story, young Paul Bäumer goes through changes as the story progresses. He was encouraged to join the war by his schoolteacher, and when he eventually faced the war directly himself, all he had learned from his school proved useless. Experience was what was valued on the battlefield of war. The brutality had certainly taken an impact on him. Before the war, Paul had compassion and held innocence. In spite of the fact that due to the horrors of war, it had destroyed his former interests and compassion for writing. In the novel, Paul stated that the camaraderie was what prevented him from going insane. After all, he had been cut off from the past by refusing to get too close to his dying mother, and he saw no future in his life anymore. A soldier's plight was to be pulled into war and that's how Paul, realizing that his enemies were just like him, changed. He had to change, or he would have gone insane. It was what wars did to soldiers, even to young ones like him. 

         In the beginning of the novel, Paul held several amorous beliefs of war. At school, he was taught that war was fought for the country, for patriotism and for nationalism. He believed that he was doing a great and noble thing by serving for his country when he went to war by joining the German side. Although, once Paul went to war and experienced the horrors and encountering deaths first-hand, his notions were forced to change. He grew out of his innocence when he had to experience losing friends to the war. Gradually, two years into the war, when he turned twenty-years-old, he had to detach from his sensitive and kind side. He had to learn how to survive. He had to learn how to deal with friends dying in pain in front of him. He had to deal to learn to deal with constant grief he had to encounter every day up in the front lines. 

Submarine SMASH Day Reflection

1. Summarize

2. Reflect

3. Tips and Suggestion  ca

-----------------------------------

1. 

     On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, we had SMASH Day.

 After hearing the very popular song by the Beatles, 'The Yellow Submarine,'  we immediately jumped into our monthly challenge. Our mission was to able to build a periscope to identify seven items or 'treasures' located in the cardboard box or 'the island.' We were provided with materials, which we put to use to complete our mission. The materials were multiple pieces of paper, long pieces of tape, and a big piece of cardboard, and also with four compact mirrors. With less than a hour, we had to make a homemade working periscope and identify the seven treasures. 

2.

     The way we approached this task was that we first drew a diagram, which we used as a hypothesis. In our diagram, we drew out how we thought with the materials provided, and how we could create a periscope with reflecting mirrors. We aimed to use the mirrors to reflect images so that from underwater in my group's submarine, we would be able to use the reflected imagery to see the 'treasures'. 

     Although, we did come across several problems that caused my group and I to modify the design. Since we were using cheap, recyclable scrap paper, we thought to give it firmer support, which the first model did not have. For a firmer support, we used cardboard because cardboard is relatively firmer than paper. We were able to communicate and modify because we all realized that without there being an adjustment, our periscope would not be upright. And also due to the fact that our periscope turned out to be long... It resulted in a little bit of floppiness. So, with fellow teammates there, we were able to lend each other a hand and help lift the periscope up. We were able to spot mistakes and then modify the design after experimenting. 

     

3.

     For future teams that work on this, I advise them to think simple... We modeled our design after an after periscope, but were not able to make the mirrors reflect off of each other so that from below the table or 'underwater', we could view the objects in the cardboard box or 'the island.' Surprisingly, the big winners were a group of people who kept it simple. So, the future teams who are faced with the challenge should definitely think outside the box. 

LA: WWI Germany

Task:

1. A summary of the document.

2. A 1-2 paragraph reflection on how the document might cause or relate to the situation in Germany after WWI.

3. A short summary about how this document might relate to your specific topic.

Document #2

http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Articles_118_-_158_and_Annexes

1. 

       The entire document with a numerable amount of articles is about German Rights and Interests Outside Germany. Within the document, there are sections:

Section I. German Colonies

Section II. China

Section III. Siam 

Section IV. Liberia

Section V. Morocco

Section VI. Egypt

Section VII. Turkey and Bulgaria

Section VIII. Shantung 

     All of the acts and agreements of Germany are influenced and related by the Allied and Associated Powers when renouncing claims and possessions, justifying acts like restoring China. The aftermath of World War I for Germany are the many rights and interests restored and renounced to influenced countries including treaties in Japan, the renouncement of the regime of the Capitulation in Egypt, the renouncement of all rights, privileges, titles by the Franco-German Agreements and more listed under each section found in the document.

2. 

     The consequences that influenced Germany after the first World War included social, economic, and political impact. Socially, it impacted the new Government, as the first President of the republic worked to gain support of the German army. As for the economic consequences of the war, billions of dollars were spent covering for the war. In other words, the German economy suffered greatly afterwards when many of the country's money went to fund for the major war. The economic situation went as far as to having a lack of raw materials. The third consequence involved politics, which resulted in abdication and a fall of a government in the near future. 

     The three consequences in the aftermath of the war are interconnected mainly due to German's loss in the major war, which resulted in consequences rather than rewards. Document #2 is about the acts and agreements. Most of these have been issued due to the downfall in the German economy. The country had suffered terribly with her people in poverty. Their involvement with other countries ended up being formed with treaties and agreements instead of a strong standing trade after the war. 

3.

       My group's question is... Why might this have been an opportune time for a dictator to come to power? What are some other examples of when a tough situation in a country allows a dictator to come to power? Why might poverty and defeat be conductive to the rise of a dictator? 

     I believe that Document #2 is loosely related to my group's question because the document is about rights and agreements whereas my question is asking about a dictatorship, with a rising power in mind. Although, the rights and agreements issued in Germany were mainly overseas and internationally with other countries. Therefore, a dictator could rise and start a power dominance within the country. 

Bin Laden Message Not Seen as Threat to U.S., Obama

Current Event #5

Bin Laden Message Not Seen as Threat to U.S., Obama

from reuters.com

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE50D7WC20090115

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Who?

--> The U.S. government 

--> al Qaeda Osama bin Laden

--> Barack Obama, President of the United States

What?

--> The U.S. government dismissed an audio message from bin Laden that he was not a threat to Obama's inauguration 

--> Obama wanted bin Laden to be captured or killed or another way of protecting America

Where?

--> America

--> al Qaeda

--> Gaza

When?

--> Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Significance of Article

--> Basically, this article is saying that bin Laden may been weakened by military hiding. He's still in hiding and the U.S. government is looking for him and Obama wants to protect America.

Is there bias?

--> Yes, I believe that there is bias because the article seems to be more on the American side, leaning more in favour towards the country than the possible threat of bin Laden's audio message. 

Fiji Floods Ease, 11 Dead and 9,000 Evacuated

Current Event #4

Fiji Floods Ease, 11 Dead and 9,000 Evacuated

from reuters.com

http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKSYD366051

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What is the news story about?

-->Floods in Fiji are common, and the worst has yet to come, and a death toll on the rise. 

-->Their second major resource, sugarcanes, are being flooded and destroyed and resulting in a loss of millions of dollars.

-->Many people has been evacuated from their home.

Who is involved?

---> the people who live in Fiji.

---> the entire place

Where?

--> Fiji, the South Pacific island

When?

--> The death toll rate was taken on January 15 since the weekends and has risen to 11 and 9,000 people in shelter.

Significance of Article

--> Natural disaster that is happening in Fuji is causing consequences for the island. It is bringing evacuations, making people leave their homes and go to shelters, and the loss of numerous crops. 

Bias?

--> No, I don't think there is really any bias, since this seems more like a report, so there's really no sides to take. Although, countless victims of the flood had something to say, but never got their opinions into this article. 

Response to Dance

What were your reactions to the location in general?

In general, I thought the lighting was good, maybe the scary elements were a little bit off... It was kind of dirty, and it had the market feel. 

What is it like for you to witness people living in relative poverty in a place like DongMen surrounded by the relative wealth of Hsinchu?

It's not uncommon, since there are always going to be people with less wealth in the world, even in a bustling city like Hsinchu. What I felt like I witnessed more of was that the people living there aren't used to people using their location to film. After all, it is their home and we did sort of just show up and start filming. 

What would you do with a place like DongMen if you were the mayor of Hsinchu? Would you tear it down? Leave it? Try to revive the industry there? Allow people to live there or not?

The one thing that I wouldn't do is to tear it down. If the building is not one that is harmful, I don't believe that tearing down a building with history would be what I could do to a place like DongMen. I wouldn't necessarily leave it as it is, but I think attempting to revive the industry may be something I would look into. Because my two visits there, I noticed that the businesses there, are family owned and more widely spanned business- for example, for tourist attraction-, therefore would only get local customers. Considering the conditions they are living in, improving their business and reviving the industry would be beneficial and could possibly bring wealth to DongMen.