In this weeks lesson, we discussed in further detail the running order of newscasts. We studied an ITV News At Ten broadcast for the running order of the news stories as well as the scripts that they use in each of the packages and the images that accompany them. The most important news items come first, and they normally have equally striking pictures to go along with them. How can you tell how important a news piece is? It's normally to do with how widespread the effect of the story is, and how current and up-to-date it is or if it is an on-going news story with recent updates. The sounds of the news reports fit alongside the images at certain points without the need for scripting over them, as they both tell important parts of the news story.
The ITV News report on this particular day didn't have too much "hard" news to go on, and as such some of the stories seemed to be grasping to find some legitimacy in the news report. The audience for this particular news report consists mostly of people who are already watching ITV for shows like I'm a Celebrity... and therefore obviously doesn't have quite as much of an audience as BBC News does. The headlining "bombs" of this news report consisted mainly of the on-going student protests, the situations on British railways, the snow that will soon be hitting England and how it will affect us, and The Ashes.
In the report of the on-going student protests, there were clearly not too many up-to-date visuals to accompany the story, so there is some older archived footage being put to use in this report, but the way they have been "treated" by using effects and slow-motion makes them more interesting to look at. The shots that are new are still interesting, and have good sounds that accompany them, but they don't contain enough action to give a new dimension to the news report that hasn't been covered before. Either way, this is a good example of presenting an on-going news story that has new developments as a leading story.
After studying the news report, we went on to look at how important numbers are in any given news report, but especially when being put up in graphics on a televised news report. Facts, figures, rates, percentages, costs and everything else like that can go a long way towards providing important information in the story that you are doing.
To round off the lesson, we took part in a couple of exercises to put the skills we have been studying to use. The first exercise that we did proved to be very interesting as we were given a set of stories from an actual news report and we had to put them in what we thought was the correct order. For the most part, each of us got a couple of them right, but interestingly enough and for various different reasons, a number of them came up in a different order to what we thought. This exercise proved to be very interesting and will be useful when further studying further news reports.
The second exercise that we put our minds to the test on was being given 10 minutes to write a 15 second voice over of a video clip for a news story. This again proved to be a bit tougher than I had originally expected, as I personally was taking slightly more creative approach to the writing whereas it really should be the most absolutely important information going at the very start of the story, with other information following after that. Overall, I think that these exercises were very eye-opening and interesting to do, and they definitely proved useful in learning more about the functionality of TV News.
Friday, 26 November 2010
My Chemical Romance - "Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys"
My Chemical Romance have been going strong since the day they came together in 2001, and have been gaining a worldwide reputation ever since. Although not always a good reputation, the New Jersey band have never been deterred from doing what they do and love best, which is making music that stands out from the crowd and makes a statement. Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys marks the fifth studio album from My Chemical Romance, and it truly is unlike anything the band have produced before and shows that they are indeed shedding their skin of old and emerging with something literally a lot more bright and colourful.
The previous album from My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade, was the first concept album from the band and was met with a very mixed reception from audiences and critics alike...
To read the rest of this review, and many other great articles, head over to http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's better than sitting at home with a cold!
The previous album from My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade, was the first concept album from the band and was met with a very mixed reception from audiences and critics alike...
To read the rest of this review, and many other great articles, head over to http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's better than sitting at home with a cold!
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Harry Potter and the Illegal Copyright Violation
The Harry Potter film has made its way back into the main papers of Britain for about the fifth time this week. Except, this time, its not so that the nation can see just how lovely Emma Watson looks with her pixie-crop hair and lacey black skirt (not to say she doesn't, though...).
This time, the latest release in the money-making machine that is the wizarding franchise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been involved in a violation of Copyright. Though it's been suggested before that many of J.K. Rowling's ideas might be less than original, this time the feature length adventure has fallen afoul of the internet. It was reported today that an entire 36 minute long clip of the latest Warner Brothers film release has mysteriously leaked onto the internet ironically enough only a day before the films general release this Friday. Executives at Warner Brothers are reportedly less than impressed at how the footage managed to wind up being available for download on torrenting sites like BitTorrent.
"This constitutes a serious breach of Copyright Violation," said a Warner Brothers spokesperson. "We are vigorously investigating this matter and will prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law."
This would, in fact, make an interesting case to study over our recent Media Law classes on Copyright, and the fact that just because it is on the internet does not mean that it is Copyright-free. It will be interesting to see how the people that leaked this clip are tracked down, and how this will affect future Copyrighting of clips on and off of torrenting sites.
This time, the latest release in the money-making machine that is the wizarding franchise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been involved in a violation of Copyright. Though it's been suggested before that many of J.K. Rowling's ideas might be less than original, this time the feature length adventure has fallen afoul of the internet. It was reported today that an entire 36 minute long clip of the latest Warner Brothers film release has mysteriously leaked onto the internet ironically enough only a day before the films general release this Friday. Executives at Warner Brothers are reportedly less than impressed at how the footage managed to wind up being available for download on torrenting sites like BitTorrent.
"This constitutes a serious breach of Copyright Violation," said a Warner Brothers spokesperson. "We are vigorously investigating this matter and will prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law."
This would, in fact, make an interesting case to study over our recent Media Law classes on Copyright, and the fact that just because it is on the internet does not mean that it is Copyright-free. It will be interesting to see how the people that leaked this clip are tracked down, and how this will affect future Copyrighting of clips on and off of torrenting sites.
Deftones & Coheed And Cambria @ Southampton Guildhall, 15/11/10
The temperature outside the Southampton Guildhall this evening is rapidly dropping to near freezing whilst people are still queuing to get in through the doors. Luckily, the atmosphere on the inside is much less frosty. In fact, it’s positively electric with excitement and anticipation of the show ahead once the crowd starts culminating in the main room. The DJ is spinning tunes for the eager crowd, and to get everyone ready and fired up (and to generate a little heat to the cavernous room as well) Slayer is belted out through the PA system as a level of decibels normally equalled only by the performing bands! It does well to get the crowds warmed up and ready for the proceeding show, though, as when the lights dim at around 7:30 for New Jersey prog-prodigies Coheed And Cambria, the frontline of the crowd bellow out battle cries like there’s no tomorrow.
Coheed And Cambria take to the stage under a camouflage of strobe lights and spacey, atmospheric sound effects reflective of the kind of progressive rock/metal blends and sci-fi fiction that have given them their devoted fan base. When they introduce their set with the equally entrancing In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, it becomes clear that Coheed And Cambria know who they are playing to tonight...
Read the rest of this review, and many more awesome things, at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's officially 100% better than watching paint dry!
Coheed And Cambria take to the stage under a camouflage of strobe lights and spacey, atmospheric sound effects reflective of the kind of progressive rock/metal blends and sci-fi fiction that have given them their devoted fan base. When they introduce their set with the equally entrancing In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, it becomes clear that Coheed And Cambria know who they are playing to tonight...
Read the rest of this review, and many more awesome things, at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's officially 100% better than watching paint dry!
The Gaslight Anthem @ Southampton Guildhall, 22/10/10
In this current economical climate, a lot of people are beginning to struggle for the things they want or need. A lot of people are tightening their budgets and doing more things on the cheap. So it’s pretty reassuring to know that if you’re a music fan, you can still get a fantastic show for what you pay for entry nowadays! Tonight’s show at Southampton Guildhall involves an unlikely audience of all kinds of ages, all kinds of tastes and all kinds of fashions. All to see The Gaslight Anthem, the New Jersey blues-punkers who made it out of their city and have become a sensation over the last couple of years thanks to their own mix of old school sounds mixed with modern song writing and performances.
First up on tonight’s bill, though, is Sharks who appear on stage without any kind of announcement and catch the Guildhall audience a little off guard. Straight away they kick the evening off with an acapella introduction to their grimy, gritty Welsh punk with a good measure snarl to boot...
Read the rest of this review, and many more awesome things, at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - Or would you rather go outside and play games? Yeah, thought not...
First up on tonight’s bill, though, is Sharks who appear on stage without any kind of announcement and catch the Guildhall audience a little off guard. Straight away they kick the evening off with an acapella introduction to their grimy, gritty Welsh punk with a good measure snarl to boot...
Read the rest of this review, and many more awesome things, at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - Or would you rather go outside and play games? Yeah, thought not...
Media Law Week 8
Once more without Ian at the helm, we went over the Freedom of Information Act. The main reason we went back over this is because it is such a useful tool for Journalists to have that it helps to know as much about it as possible. Where subjects such as Defamation and Copyright are there to teach us to be careful in what we do and what to look for when undergoing our journalistic duties, the Freedom of Information Act is a useful addition to our various arsenals that we have.
To start with, the Freedom of Information Act works around the basis that we (i.e. the general public) pay taxes which in turn fund the government. Workers for the government are paid to produce documents filled with information and pictures that are useful. So, in effect, we are paying people to make this kind of information that we as journalists might need, readily available should we actually require it. Around 130,000 bodies and authorities are covered by the Act, to which there are over 100,000 information requests per year, which actually costs them around £34 million each year to answer them all!
Depending on who it is you ask, a lot of this number isn't actually journalists. Journalists only total up to 12% of the actual number of requests per year, and the rest tend to be general public (although, it is now thought that perhaps the number is slightly higher since these governing bodies are somewhat reluctant to give information out to journalists who might use it for some story that can have ramifications, and as such the percentage might be closer to around 45% with some journalists only claiming to be general public...).
One example of just how useful the Freedom of Information Act can be is how it was used during the Kingsnorth Climate Protest in August 2008. Because of the Freedom of Information Act, a request was fulfilled and it was found out that the "70" that were injured was actually about 12, and of that number only 4 needed any kind of medical attention (it turns out, one was in fact a particularly nasty bee sting...), which successfully disproved any prior claims made about the actual number of injured public. Politicians have claimed that the Freedom of Information Act has a "chilling effect" on the government because of ramifications that can occur.
The Freedom of Information Act gives you full access (within reason) to request information on anything EXCEPT:
--> When the cost goes over £600 (sometimes £450 for smaller bodies).
--> When the information is exempt, to which there are 2 kinds:
- Absolute, which applies to security services and court records.
- Qualified, which applies to ministerial communication and commercial confidentiality. There are actually 23 different possible exemptions under Qualified Exemption, such as when the information is likely to jeopardise National Security or if the information is intended for future printing.
Either way, the body you have requested information from must respond to you within 20 days, even if it is to say that they are going to take another 40 days to process your request and check that it does not contrast with public security interests. Ultimately, 60 days is the maximum that any authority should take over giving a definite response either way.
So, what happens if they say "No, you can't have the information", even if you think you should? There are various ways you can go about it from there, but the first step would be to have an internal review of the company to see if there are any other ways you can get hold of the information. If that does not work, then you can take your request to the Information Commissioner. After that point, you are entering the realm of going all the way up to the High Court to get hold of the information you need!
After this, we had a go at sending off our own request for information from a governing body that is covered by the Freedom of Information Act. The body that my partner and I decided to investigate was the Highway Council, and we wanted to know how many Speed Cameras were vandalised last year to the point that they had to be replaced. We will soon see if we hear anything back regarding the subject...
For more on this subject and many other Journalism subjects, go to http://www.winchesterjournalism.co.uk
To start with, the Freedom of Information Act works around the basis that we (i.e. the general public) pay taxes which in turn fund the government. Workers for the government are paid to produce documents filled with information and pictures that are useful. So, in effect, we are paying people to make this kind of information that we as journalists might need, readily available should we actually require it. Around 130,000 bodies and authorities are covered by the Act, to which there are over 100,000 information requests per year, which actually costs them around £34 million each year to answer them all!
Depending on who it is you ask, a lot of this number isn't actually journalists. Journalists only total up to 12% of the actual number of requests per year, and the rest tend to be general public (although, it is now thought that perhaps the number is slightly higher since these governing bodies are somewhat reluctant to give information out to journalists who might use it for some story that can have ramifications, and as such the percentage might be closer to around 45% with some journalists only claiming to be general public...).
One example of just how useful the Freedom of Information Act can be is how it was used during the Kingsnorth Climate Protest in August 2008. Because of the Freedom of Information Act, a request was fulfilled and it was found out that the "70" that were injured was actually about 12, and of that number only 4 needed any kind of medical attention (it turns out, one was in fact a particularly nasty bee sting...), which successfully disproved any prior claims made about the actual number of injured public. Politicians have claimed that the Freedom of Information Act has a "chilling effect" on the government because of ramifications that can occur.
The Freedom of Information Act gives you full access (within reason) to request information on anything EXCEPT:
--> When the cost goes over £600 (sometimes £450 for smaller bodies).
--> When the information is exempt, to which there are 2 kinds:
- Absolute, which applies to security services and court records.
- Qualified, which applies to ministerial communication and commercial confidentiality. There are actually 23 different possible exemptions under Qualified Exemption, such as when the information is likely to jeopardise National Security or if the information is intended for future printing.
Either way, the body you have requested information from must respond to you within 20 days, even if it is to say that they are going to take another 40 days to process your request and check that it does not contrast with public security interests. Ultimately, 60 days is the maximum that any authority should take over giving a definite response either way.
So, what happens if they say "No, you can't have the information", even if you think you should? There are various ways you can go about it from there, but the first step would be to have an internal review of the company to see if there are any other ways you can get hold of the information. If that does not work, then you can take your request to the Information Commissioner. After that point, you are entering the realm of going all the way up to the High Court to get hold of the information you need!
After this, we had a go at sending off our own request for information from a governing body that is covered by the Freedom of Information Act. The body that my partner and I decided to investigate was the Highway Council, and we wanted to know how many Speed Cameras were vandalised last year to the point that they had to be replaced. We will soon see if we hear anything back regarding the subject...
For more on this subject and many other Journalism subjects, go to http://www.winchesterjournalism.co.uk
The Social Network (Contains Spoilers)
I think by this point it’s pretty safe to say that David Fincher is a dude who really knows what he’s doing. He may not have as many Oscars as Scorsese, as many classics as Spielberg or as much money as Cameron, but his repertoire shows that he definitely has it together and is more than capable of creating pieces of cinema that are sure to make heads turn. Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac – all of these have been incredibly tense and very intellectually challenging films, and The Social Network is no exception to this. Ironically enough, after seeing The Social Network I honestly couldn’t wait to write a blog about it and express my opinions of it on a public medium!
The Social Network, I personally think, is one of the most intellectually entertaining films not just of this year, but of recent years as well. Pair that with the fact that, at its centre point, it is a piece about one of the most used, talked about and potentially dangerous inventions of recent years and you have a film that is GOING to cause a stir, no matter what! The partly true, partly fictional story of the Harvard University based creators of the social networking site Facebook (which you’d be hard-pressed to find someone NOT on it now!) sees Jesse Eisenberg playing the role of Mark Zuckerberg, the main geek-brained creator of the infamous networking website. Eisenberg does a fantastic job playing Mark as he is able to deliver all his lines with such a straight face and blank attitude that it’s both believable and ironic in equal measures – believable because Eisenberg delivers all the computer jargon with such conviction you’d think he graduated from MIT, and ironic in the way that someone with such a lack of social interaction skills and emotional depth could create the world’s largest and most famous social networking site. But that’s the irony of the situation to begin with, really – the fact that The Social Network starts with a five minute scene of Mark basically ruining a date by gradually insulting his date more and more because his mind obviously operates on different levels from normal humans goes to show just how socially awkward and emotionally blind Eisenberg’s Mark is. Also, as a side note, that first scene of the film where the awkwardly sarcastic Mark and his date Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) are sat around a table was probably the hardest part of the film to write! From this early point, it’s clearly established that Mark is not just socially blind, but more a borderline Asperger’s patient, which is again why it’s ironic he managed to create Facebook.
Whilst Eisenberg does an amazing job as the sarcastically smarter-than-thou Mark, it’s Andrew Garfield who truly shines through as Mark’s roommate and co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin. Garfield is genuinely an amazing actor in The Social Network, providing the other half of the entire story that makes up the script of the film. Saverin is the more socially aware, richer go-getter of the two founders which is what starts to provide Eisenberg’s Mark with the conflicts he faces, as for someone so socially unaware, he’s friends with someone who is more popular, has more money and can intellectually keep up with Mark. The scene where Garfield truly steals the show is at the point where Saverin is given further contracts to sign and realises exactly what his shares in Facebook are after a corporate investment and, even though you don’t feel as much of a connection to this jealous and somewhat spiteful portrayal of Eduardo Saverin, you can’t help but feel bad for how shunned and cast out he gets.
This is not to say that Saverin was the “bad guy” in any of this, and that’s part of the beauty of The Social Network – there are no clearly defined “good” or “bad” characters. Each of the characters is right or wrong about different things in equal measures – at the point where Saverin wants to monetise Facebook through advertising, Eisenberg’s Mark doesn’t want to. He wants to “not stop the party before 11” as the parallel goes. BUT, as it now turns out, Facebook ended up charging for advertising on their spaces and that is now why Facebook is worth so much money, and has made billionaires of Saverin and Zuckerberg. So in the end, neither of them are exactly right or wrong, which is what makes their characters so compelling throughout the entire film.
Justin Timberlake is a bit questionable in the role of Sean Parker, and I’m having a hard time making my mind up about him. On the one hand, I think Timberlake is doing a good job for himself in becoming a legitimate actor as well as singer, and I think the Social Network will work well for him as a stepping stone to further good roles. However, his particular role in this film I found a little hard to accept as it progressed. At the start of the film, Timberlake obviously does a good job of becoming the Napster Mastermind Sean Parker – a cocky rich guy who dropped out of school, managed to screw around in the Music industry and has gotten plenty of fame and fortune because of it. Let’s face it; of course Justin Timberlake would be good at playing that role… But as the film went on, and the character of Sean Parker had to become gradually more genuine and less of a “mogul” type, Timberlake became a little less believable in his character, and that’s where he started to falter. So to begin with, Timberlake’s character works well and drives the storyline, but towards the end he starts to become less of a steering wheel and more of a regular cog in the works. But he still makes for an interesting character, and I think that Timberlake might actually have some kind of possible career in film ahead of him.
One aspect of The Social Network that was interesting, and in fact of many of Fincher’s films, is the way in which the story is told. The Social Network isn’t exactly told in a series of flashbacks as the film actually starts back before Zuckerberg created Facebook or even his first attempt at an internet-wide practical joke of Facemash, but more with cut-aways to the legal proceedings that followed after Facebook became something bigger than any of its creators. At the end of the film, the storylines catch up to each other and come to one, single conclusion as the story of the creation of Facebook meets with the courtroom drama that ensued after it. In this way, the delivery of the information that drives the story is evenly spread out, and in some places even comical with the way that it is cut together to tell the story of certain incidents in Facebook’s creation. What is also interesting about this form of storytelling is that it keeps you guessing as to how they all got to that point – at one part towards the end, you get the sense that Saverin and Zuckerberg are almost at a point of an understanding again before everything gets far worse, but the point is that it keeps you guessing at times, and that’s what gives The Social Network’s story its edge.
I should also say that the film’s soundtrack is worth a mention at this point. The soundtrack to The Social Network has been written and put together entirely by Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor and legendary rock producer Atticus Ross, so it would definitely make for an interesting listen if you know your music history AND enjoy using Facebook as well, considering that two veritable legends of modern rock music have come together to create this soundtrack.
One thing that The Social Network does make very clear is, ironically enough, the dangers of using Facebook. It’s actually quoted in the film “It’s addictive. I’m on it like, 5 times a day!” and about how “the internet isn’t writing in pencil, it’s in pen” and it’s repeatedly referenced at how just using Facebook is all about putting all of your personal details up on a public forum for anyone you know to access. It’s been recently stated by Eric Schmidt, boss of Google.com, about how the dangers of using Facebook and other social networking sites won’t be apparent for a while, but will still be there all the same. Schmidt anticipates that the current generation of Facebook users won’t be worried about identity theft, but more about how to escape the online identity they’ve been creating for themselves all this time. He states “Young people may one day have to change their names in order to escape their previous online activity” and that could end up being very true, and The Social Network does a good job of beginning to subliminally imply this.
Ultimately, there is very little to fault The Social Network on, except for one small part where in one scene they have Prince Albert played by someone who is CLEARLY American and looks nothing like Prince Albert at all. That detail aside, The Social Network is an awesome film with great characters and brilliant casting all round, and I think it has easily made its way into my Top Films of the Year. It will also be interesting to see how Fincher tackles the re-make of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo next year with Rooney Mara from this film becoming Lisbeth Salander. I’m giving The Social Network 8 out of 10 for sheer impressiveness and intelligence, and I think everyone should make an effort to catch it in cinemas!
Read many other awesome articles like this at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's way better than doing nothing at all!
The Social Network, I personally think, is one of the most intellectually entertaining films not just of this year, but of recent years as well. Pair that with the fact that, at its centre point, it is a piece about one of the most used, talked about and potentially dangerous inventions of recent years and you have a film that is GOING to cause a stir, no matter what! The partly true, partly fictional story of the Harvard University based creators of the social networking site Facebook (which you’d be hard-pressed to find someone NOT on it now!) sees Jesse Eisenberg playing the role of Mark Zuckerberg, the main geek-brained creator of the infamous networking website. Eisenberg does a fantastic job playing Mark as he is able to deliver all his lines with such a straight face and blank attitude that it’s both believable and ironic in equal measures – believable because Eisenberg delivers all the computer jargon with such conviction you’d think he graduated from MIT, and ironic in the way that someone with such a lack of social interaction skills and emotional depth could create the world’s largest and most famous social networking site. But that’s the irony of the situation to begin with, really – the fact that The Social Network starts with a five minute scene of Mark basically ruining a date by gradually insulting his date more and more because his mind obviously operates on different levels from normal humans goes to show just how socially awkward and emotionally blind Eisenberg’s Mark is. Also, as a side note, that first scene of the film where the awkwardly sarcastic Mark and his date Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) are sat around a table was probably the hardest part of the film to write! From this early point, it’s clearly established that Mark is not just socially blind, but more a borderline Asperger’s patient, which is again why it’s ironic he managed to create Facebook.
Whilst Eisenberg does an amazing job as the sarcastically smarter-than-thou Mark, it’s Andrew Garfield who truly shines through as Mark’s roommate and co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin. Garfield is genuinely an amazing actor in The Social Network, providing the other half of the entire story that makes up the script of the film. Saverin is the more socially aware, richer go-getter of the two founders which is what starts to provide Eisenberg’s Mark with the conflicts he faces, as for someone so socially unaware, he’s friends with someone who is more popular, has more money and can intellectually keep up with Mark. The scene where Garfield truly steals the show is at the point where Saverin is given further contracts to sign and realises exactly what his shares in Facebook are after a corporate investment and, even though you don’t feel as much of a connection to this jealous and somewhat spiteful portrayal of Eduardo Saverin, you can’t help but feel bad for how shunned and cast out he gets.
This is not to say that Saverin was the “bad guy” in any of this, and that’s part of the beauty of The Social Network – there are no clearly defined “good” or “bad” characters. Each of the characters is right or wrong about different things in equal measures – at the point where Saverin wants to monetise Facebook through advertising, Eisenberg’s Mark doesn’t want to. He wants to “not stop the party before 11” as the parallel goes. BUT, as it now turns out, Facebook ended up charging for advertising on their spaces and that is now why Facebook is worth so much money, and has made billionaires of Saverin and Zuckerberg. So in the end, neither of them are exactly right or wrong, which is what makes their characters so compelling throughout the entire film.
Justin Timberlake is a bit questionable in the role of Sean Parker, and I’m having a hard time making my mind up about him. On the one hand, I think Timberlake is doing a good job for himself in becoming a legitimate actor as well as singer, and I think the Social Network will work well for him as a stepping stone to further good roles. However, his particular role in this film I found a little hard to accept as it progressed. At the start of the film, Timberlake obviously does a good job of becoming the Napster Mastermind Sean Parker – a cocky rich guy who dropped out of school, managed to screw around in the Music industry and has gotten plenty of fame and fortune because of it. Let’s face it; of course Justin Timberlake would be good at playing that role… But as the film went on, and the character of Sean Parker had to become gradually more genuine and less of a “mogul” type, Timberlake became a little less believable in his character, and that’s where he started to falter. So to begin with, Timberlake’s character works well and drives the storyline, but towards the end he starts to become less of a steering wheel and more of a regular cog in the works. But he still makes for an interesting character, and I think that Timberlake might actually have some kind of possible career in film ahead of him.
One aspect of The Social Network that was interesting, and in fact of many of Fincher’s films, is the way in which the story is told. The Social Network isn’t exactly told in a series of flashbacks as the film actually starts back before Zuckerberg created Facebook or even his first attempt at an internet-wide practical joke of Facemash, but more with cut-aways to the legal proceedings that followed after Facebook became something bigger than any of its creators. At the end of the film, the storylines catch up to each other and come to one, single conclusion as the story of the creation of Facebook meets with the courtroom drama that ensued after it. In this way, the delivery of the information that drives the story is evenly spread out, and in some places even comical with the way that it is cut together to tell the story of certain incidents in Facebook’s creation. What is also interesting about this form of storytelling is that it keeps you guessing as to how they all got to that point – at one part towards the end, you get the sense that Saverin and Zuckerberg are almost at a point of an understanding again before everything gets far worse, but the point is that it keeps you guessing at times, and that’s what gives The Social Network’s story its edge.
I should also say that the film’s soundtrack is worth a mention at this point. The soundtrack to The Social Network has been written and put together entirely by Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor and legendary rock producer Atticus Ross, so it would definitely make for an interesting listen if you know your music history AND enjoy using Facebook as well, considering that two veritable legends of modern rock music have come together to create this soundtrack.
One thing that The Social Network does make very clear is, ironically enough, the dangers of using Facebook. It’s actually quoted in the film “It’s addictive. I’m on it like, 5 times a day!” and about how “the internet isn’t writing in pencil, it’s in pen” and it’s repeatedly referenced at how just using Facebook is all about putting all of your personal details up on a public forum for anyone you know to access. It’s been recently stated by Eric Schmidt, boss of Google.com, about how the dangers of using Facebook and other social networking sites won’t be apparent for a while, but will still be there all the same. Schmidt anticipates that the current generation of Facebook users won’t be worried about identity theft, but more about how to escape the online identity they’ve been creating for themselves all this time. He states “Young people may one day have to change their names in order to escape their previous online activity” and that could end up being very true, and The Social Network does a good job of beginning to subliminally imply this.
Ultimately, there is very little to fault The Social Network on, except for one small part where in one scene they have Prince Albert played by someone who is CLEARLY American and looks nothing like Prince Albert at all. That detail aside, The Social Network is an awesome film with great characters and brilliant casting all round, and I think it has easily made its way into my Top Films of the Year. It will also be interesting to see how Fincher tackles the re-make of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo next year with Rooney Mara from this film becoming Lisbeth Salander. I’m giving The Social Network 8 out of 10 for sheer impressiveness and intelligence, and I think everyone should make an effort to catch it in cinemas!
Read many other awesome articles like this at http://mydifferenttake.wordpress.com/ - It's way better than doing nothing at all!
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