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WOOW, CAN SEE THAT YOU GUYS WORKED SO HARD ON THIS. THE RESULT IS DEFINITELY THERE. OMG THAT FIRST PICTURE HAD ME DYING, I STILL CANT BREATHEEEEEEEEEEEE. SPILL THE TEA SISTERS

We love and appreciate our fans <3

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‘Movies without sound are just lifeless slide shows’ – An audio engineer on the relevance of sound in motion pictures

Rune Holwerda, a recent graduate from Noorderpoort sound engineering school, has spent his past years of study like every other student: he survived the tragic phases of pre-exam stress with the support of late-night Netflix sessions. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that he, with his extensive knowledge of sound techniques, is the ideal candidate for an interview about the role of music and sound in movies. However, when he opens the door, his dishevelled hair and squinty eyes make him look less like an engineer and more like a tired student. ‘I stayed up until 4am to watch David Attenborough talk about turtles’, the film enthusiast admits with a weary voice. Perfect conditions for our interview. 

Nonetheless, his eyes light up when I ask him about an example of a movie where the sound alone works as a narrative. He promptly replies with ‘Wall-e’. Rune clarifies that the movie’s ‘deep roots in old traditional sound design techniques’ turn it into a masterpiece in his eyes. Back in the day you had to go outside to catch those realistic sound effects which is a hands-on approach compared to nowadays, where everything is modified by a computer. Wall-e, while still using computers to generate robotic noises, stands out for its conventional sound design when it comes to the sounds of nature. 

Furthermore, Rune points out how the whole narrative of the first part of the movie relies on those robotic sounds: there is no speech, just unique sound effects which characterize the animated protagonists. ‘It is beyond words’, he tells me, ‘how the little beep boop noises of the robots are able to tell a story as clearly as if they were actual talking humans.’ 

However, ‘noises alone do not make a movie’, Rune elaborates when I ask him about an amazing soundtrack that made an impact on him and how he experiences a movie. Music represents the emotional state of a character. He uses the movie Whiplash as an example to prove his point: the protagonist, a young music student, deals with stress and mental health issues and every time he is on the brink of a mental breakdown, the music also becomes faster and uncontrollable. According to Rune, the movie would not have made the same impact on him if the intense soundtrack did not exist. Therefore, not only from the perspective of a sound engineer but also from the perspective of a film enthusiast, Rune confirms that appropriate sound and music are essential to the viewers’ enjoyment of the movie.

From spending the past thirty minutes with him, I can clearly see how passionate he is about the relevance of music and sound in movies. Rune puts his feelings into these final words: ‘In the end, movies without sound are just lifeless slide shows.’

-Lotta-

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The Success of World of Warcraft

When asked to list famous video games, many people will find that World of Warcraft, or WoW for short, comes to mind. Most people who are into games will have had a WoW phase and currently either hate it or love it. Having inspired a movie, trading card games, comic books, and other video games, WoW has left its mark on the world of pop culture. But what has led to this massive success, and how is it still maintained today?

The initial developers of the game had a concept in mind which did not include anything along the lines of story. Online games of this scale that could be played with people around the world were only just starting to become a thing yet none of them had been very successful. They decided to apply it to an already set fantasy world and thus the creators of Dungeons & Dragons were approached, yet they could not come to an agreement on how to go ahead and it fell through. They then decided to approach Blizzard, known for their popular series of games called Warcraft. Finally, in 2004, WoW became the fourth instalment in the Warcraft universe and quickly blew up. It did not play like any of the previous games and had a completely revamped art style.

The beginning of the story takes place four years after Warcraft III which was one of the reasons it became so successful. Players came back to the planet of Azeroth (where Warcraft also takes place), not to watch a story unfold, but to be a part in it. An aspect that led to its huge success was that it was set in a pre-established world which meant that players did not have to get used to anything new. Adding on to this was also the fact that the players now controlled a character who was a part of the story. They were now the protagonist, playing as a character they designed and built and not a prescribed one. It also revolutionized the idea of quests for the players to follow. Instead of doing menial quests such as gather this and then you get a reward, they got to partake in quests that led to the endgame. Everything in WoW is connected to each other with the in-game characters having families and political feuds of their own which can be found spread out throughout the huge world of Azeroth.

Continued success, however, is attributed to the fact that the game keeps updating itself. It has now been fifteen years since WoW came out and it still has millions of players across the globe. By releasing new content every few months WoW keeps telling new stories for its players to enjoy. Furthermore, because players have built their characters, spent hours levelling them up, and gathering the best gear they could find it becomes hard to step away. Why would one try to find a new game when they have put so much work into this one? Adding on a tight community of players and a team of developers that listens to their players has caused WoW to still be successful to this day, and probably many more years to come.

-Martijn-

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The eternal struggle

My mind is in shambles,

as I have not yet found

the one I am looking for.

Much like a maze,

it wastes my time

whenever I take a wrong turn.

Yet indecisiveness leads to the same result.

But I have found the map,

Which shows me the correct path,

And so I must thank

IMDb.

- Lennart -

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Laugh at it: Carrie Fisher on her latest book and mental health

It’s been 25 years since Carrie Fisher last appeared on screen as Princess Leia, but it’s almost always the first thing she is asked about whenever she enters a room. She acknowledges that this is only natural, but also seems eager to move on from the topic. When asked about the notoriously bad Star Wars Holiday Special, she said that she specifically requested a copy from George Lucas, just so she could ‘laugh at it.’

Laughing at it, whatever it may be, seems to be a running theme in her life. In her latest book, Wishful Drinking, she talks about growing up in Hollywood, her mental health issues and her eventful private life. The book is based on her one-woman show of the same name, and when I question whether it was scary to share such private details with a live audience, she immediately disagrees. ‘Once you declare it, it sort of is less true’. She references the movie Milk, in which the main character receives a death threat and instead of hiding it in a drawer like his friend urges him to, sticks it up on the fridge. ‘Then you own it. And then you have problems. Problems don’t have you.’ Ms. Fisher has always been candid about these problems she has. In her book she talks about having bipolar disorder and manic depression, and she has taken a proactive approach in talking about her mental illnesses most of her life. When I ask her why, she says it’s to avoid awkward situations: ‘No one can sort of, you know, pull the rug out from under you and say, you know, are you mentally ill?’ When I further question whether she does this to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness, she says that that is not the main goal, but that ‘[she’s] proud that [she] made it through some of these things.’

This desire to be open and honest about her life is complicated by the fact that she has a sixteen-year-old daughter, who she doesn’t want to involve in her problems. ‘[My problems being public knowledge] isn’t fair, because it’s, you know, my problem and I wish I could have sort of protected her from it completely.’ But it seems that Ms. Fisher has instilled that same ‘laugh at it’ attitude in her daughter: ‘she wanted to be a comic for a while. I said that’s actually not a bad idea, [...] you have great material. And she laughed and laughed and laughed. And I said, baby, the fact that you know that's funny is going to save your whole life’.

It seems like Ms. Fisher was always destined to make her life into a performance. She recalls doing nightclub work with her mother Debbie Reynolds, who of course rose to fame in the Hollywood classic Singing in the Rain. ‘It’s [...] the way our family has a family outing. Most families go on picnics, we go on stage.’ There’s strong conviction behind those words, and it seems to me that Ms. Fisher has found a place where she feels like she belongs. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

- Maartje - 

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Black eyes, black hair.

At first sight he gave me the impression of a man

Whose heart is as black as his facade.

Everyone says ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover!’

So why did I do exactly the opposite then?

I feel ashamed.

I should have known better. 

From the outside he looks like a demon.

From the inside he is like a silvery doe,

That knows the meaning of eternal love.

I asked him with wonder,

‘After all this time?’

And without any second thoughts,

His answer was:

‘Always.’

- Diana -

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The fascinating world of true crime videos on YouTube

The world of YouTube is a fascinating place. An endless supply of cat videos is just as easy to discover as a man playing Toto’s hit ‘Africa’ on an array of sweet potatoes and pumpkins. However, right now a new genre has started to emerge, a genre that has already attracted thousands of interested viewers: true crime. Sadly, the world is not as carefree and happy as the cat videos want to make us believe. Every day, people go missing or fall victim to heinous crimes and the only thing remaining are devastated relatives and friends. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that the YouTube community got wind of these monstrosities which are happening all around us and thus built a new genre based on them. Nevertheless, whoever thinks of this as simply another way to create income and entertainment from other people’s misery, will be proven wrong.

First of all, it is imperative to note that introducing a true crime case on YouTube will undoubtedly contain an educational aspect. Talking about motives and triggering impulses that led a criminal to commit a crime gives an insight into the human mind that would otherwise stay concealed. Indeed, there are many psychological components which not only demonstrate the dark side of humanity but also showcase certain neurological anomalies. Hence, specifically viewers interested in psychology and the workings of the human brain will find an educational pastime in the videos produced by the true crime community.           

Additionally, due to the exposure that an otherwise unknown crime case receives by being presented to an audience consisting mainly of young adults, the viewers gain an idea of some factors that are likely to lead to a situation of danger. A clearer understanding of the motivations of the offender helps to prevent possible future crimes under similar circumstances from happening. For instance, a young woman planning on walking home after a wild night out might consider taking a cab instead, after having watched the gruesome fate of another young woman in the same situation. Presenting such cases thus supports the education and safety measurements of predominantly young people. This notion is indeed important when it comes to taking daring risks or even handling seemingly ordinary situations.

Furthermore, by presenting crime cases to interested viewers on a platform as big as YouTube, chances are high that someone out there knows something that could possibly lead to the solving of an otherwise unsolved case. Raising awareness for a missing person might trigger someone’s memory and therefore contribute to this person being found safe and sound. Moreover, helping was never as easy as it is today: simply watching a video in one’s free time on the couch could possibly save someone’s life, if only the right people are watching.

To conclude, true crime videos on YouTube are not primarily a source of entertainment but offer educational insights to those who are interested, help prevent probable future crimes from being committed and also play an imperative role in the cracking of existing cases.

-Lotta-

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Those Obnoxious Vinyl Disks

Sure, they may look aesthetic and maybe they are a nice throwback to a time of the past. But record players are a god-awful way of listening to music. You do not give off that old-timey vibe we all enjoy seeing in the movies. All you achieve is that your house becomes the last place to hang out. We’re living in the 21st century, catch up.

            Of course, we all love listening to a new album by our favourite bands but what is the point in having to get up every three songs just so you can go flip some huge vinyl disk. Most often whoever is playing the record probably doesn’t even notice it ended so we all get a nice chorus of tics first. And then they get to handle it as pretentiously as possible. ‘No, you can only hold it by the edges and one finger in the middle.’ ‘No, don’t put it in the box like that.’ ‘Did you put it back on the shelf in alphabetical order but also taking into account colour coding and thickness of the album sleeve?’ The only other people who might think you are cool for going through this painstaking process are those who like to live through the same hell as you. And even then, you are not allowed to lay them down horizontally, you are not allowed to set them up next to each other vertically. What do you want us to do?

            And who in their right mind pays thirty euros for an album nowadays! Spend a tenner on Spotify and you have almost every song at your fingertips. That pretty sleeve around the record is not going to be shown to anyone. It is going to have a nice little home in your obnoxious box which is permanently shut just for that extra protection they apparently need. You can get that same image as a poster for a third of the price, and larger. You can actually decorate your place with these to show off your music tastes.

            Some people even swear that they just sound so much better, but maybe if you spent all that money you save by not splurging on albums every chance you get you could get a decent speaker! You know, one that lets you influence the sound a little. And if you really want that shitty crackly 1950’s sound you can most definitely just mess up your sound sliders on whatever platform you use to stream music. You probably don’t even have to do any of this since someone on YouTube has probably already done it for you. Ditch your records and experience a world of music at your fingertips and not just that one record you can afford every three months.

-Martijn-

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Interview with Matt Damon

Matt Damon was born in 1970 and started acting in 1988, he's played major roles in the Ocean's and Bourne movies. He has also written scripts and produced several films.

I start off by asking him about directors and what the best things they can do for him are. The best thing they can do according to Damon is creating an open environment in which everyone can bring in their ideas about how the movie should be. The director is essentially 'the arbiter of taste,' showing up with their best idea of what the movie should be like, but also letting people give their opinions on what a scene ought to look like. “I mean director is kind of the wrong word for what they're doing. They don't say I'm directing you to do this and this is the only way it's going to go.” Damon also notes that most of the best directors do not care about their ego, but about the movie which they are producing.

I ask him about skills which he has acquired preparing for past roles which he can still make use of today. Matt names two things, the skill of doing menial activities underwater and being able to box a little bit. He notes that acting often makes someone 'a jack of all trades and a master of none.' He used to practice tying his shoes under water at a swimming pool in Berlin to get ready for his role in the Bourne films to be able to shoot the scenes. 'I did not walk away being certified as a scuba diver which would probably be a better use of my time, but I walked away being able to be in a car underwater […] so it's an odd set of skills you end up learning.' He also mentions that he got into boxing, saying that he fell in love with it and that he looks like an excellent fighter in movies, but that he probably would not do well in a real fight.

Finally I ask him about the best advice he has ever received. 'When I was younger, everybody told me not to be an actor,' and this is also what he tells people who ask him whether it is a good idea. 'If you're gonna make it in this business that is so full of rejection and hardship, you need to believe in yourself despite what everybody you love and trust tells you,' insistence on not pursuing a career in acting is what made Damon see the importance of pursuing it. The second piece of advice came from his high school acting teacher Gerry Speca, he would tell Matt to 'Just do your work, kid.' That quote is what he often resorts to, 'If everything on the movie is going wrong, alright, I'll make sure that my work is tight and go from there. And that's a great place to base from.'

If you are interested in Damon’s work you’re in luck as he will be starring in the movie Stillwater which is expected to come out in 2020.

- Lennart - 

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It’s a Small World After All

Take a moment to think about the happiest place on earth. Did you think of anything else but Disneyland? Congrats! You’ve escaped some capitalist indoctrination. If you did think of Disneyland, don’t worry, you’re certainly not the only one who’s fallen for their propaganda.

Disney as a brand has become far too big, to the point where it’s dangerous and unethical. Soon, Disney will have a monopoly on the entertainment industry, which would have all kinds of dire consequences.

What’s so dangerous about monopolies you ask? Well, a real-life monopoly is not as fun as the board game. The game, by the way, is not owned by Disney, but there are more than twenty monopoly versions that are officially licensed by the big D, which is more than there are for any other corporation. Back to the point, monopolies are bad because they allow companies to go unchecked, leading to higher prices and lower quality.

Take Disney’s film empire for example. Right now, it’s estimated that Disney owns 40% of the film-industry, and they show no signs of slowing down. Now, forty may seem a long ways away from a hundred, but we’re hurtling toward a point of no return here. In an industry that is traditionally populated by lots of minor players, 40% is a catastrophic number. Disney can basically do whatever they want, including raising the prices of movie rights, making it more expensive for cinemas to show their movies. This in turn raises ticket prices, which at some point will become so high that movie-goers will stay away. This will cause cinemas, especially those of the small, local and family-owned variety, to close. Then where will you go to watch the latest Spiderman movie? Well, you stream it of course! And wouldn’t you know it, Disney happens to have their own streaming service, how convenient is that?

Disney has also acquired the third largest TV-network in the United States (ABC) and there’s hosts of internet forums dedicated to figuring out what Disney is going to buy next. It’s not a question of whether they’re going to buy more, it’s a case of when and what. A monopoly on the TV-industry is far more dangerous than one on the film-industry, because the TV-industry is the biggest provider of news in the US. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that in a recent dispute between Sony and Disney (about the rights to the next Spiderman movie), ABC news coverage painted Disney as an innocent little angel (who were being real assholes about this), while other big news channels, with unbiased coverage, showed Sony was in the right. Now this may seem relatively innocent, but as Disney’s power grows, so will their ability to get away with blatantly false reporting. Imagine some weird dystopian future where the news reader (wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears of course) tells you to go watch the new, 45th installment of Star Wars or else you will be prosecuted. We wouldn’t want that right?

- Maartje -

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Wow, if I were an EAP teacher at a university I would totally give this page full marks.

We can’t agree more. Thanks for your kind works.

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Exploring an unknown realm: Korean Dramas

How many people have heard about telenovelas or tv-series in general? Quite a few one might think. Indeed, for many years, telenovelas, especially those produced in Latin America, have been part of Western television. Some of the most popular categories of telenovelas are romantic comedies, pop band stories and teen drama. Even though the popularity of watching television has significantly declined over the past few years, telenovelas have managed to survive. Of course, there are people who prefer watching them online, without having to stick to the television programming. In the same vein as the Western telenovelas, Korean dramas or in short K-Dramas are well known in Asia. With the spread of South Korean popular culture, or otherwise the so-called ‘Korean Wave’, Korean dramas have gained more popularity among Westerners as well.

Korean Dramas, just like telenovelas, have a wide variety of different genres, such as romantic comedy, mystery, thriller etc. Their main difference from the telenovelas is the number of seasons and the duration of their episodes. While telenovelas usually have a lot of forty-five-minute episodes and more than one season, Korean Dramas are very popular for being considerably short. The number of episodes varies between fifteen and thirty episodes that last sixty minutes and they have only one season. With this duration it is difficult for these tv-series to become extremely boring for their audience, as the episodes are usually full of action with little to no redundant and tiresome scenes.

Another famous characteristic of the Korean Dramas is the topic of searching for their one and only ‘true love’. The characters are idealised and constantly searching for their ‘other half’. When they finally find it, they have to overcome numerous realistic or non-realistic obstacles in order to be with their loved one and to actually have a happy ending. Unlike western soap operas, explicit romantic scenes are very rare in K-Drama, mostly due to the generally stricter culture of South Korea. The K-Drama series rarely have scenes more explicit than holding hands or kissing, something that some Westerners regard as a boring characteristic. Most Korean Drama fans believe exactly the opposite. In their opinion, because of this attribute there is more room for classically romantic scenes, such as romantic walks under the moonlight and breathtaking love confessions.

Some other typical features of the Korean Drama series are the tone of the episodes and the distinction between realistic and non-realistic characters. It is very common for the first episodes to be quite funny and for the last ones to be dramatic. K-Drama series are often about either ordinary people’s lives, like doctors, soldiers etc., or extraordinary characters, such as mermaids, aliens and people with superpowers. Both of these character categories are  famous among K-Drama fans, who cannot get enough of watching their favourite ‘oppas’ (Korean for big brother) and ‘onnies’ (Korean for big sisters) enacting various roles. Although at first Korean Drama series might seem extremely exotic to a Western audience, they are worth giving a try.

- Diana -

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#MeToo

A subtle touch,

A breathy laugh.

Whispered words,

And forced talk.

Empty promises,

‘You need the money!’

‘You want that job!’

Isn’t it funny?

You hate it?

Yeah, #MeToo

-Lotta-

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Episode VIII Sucks

Star Wars: Episode VIII --The Last Jedi is the least inspired and most useless addition to the Star Wars universe as a whole. Bringing us train wrecks such as Vice Admiral Holdo, the death of Admiral Ackbar, and the pathetic remainder of the New Republic, The Last Jedi keeps one-upping itself. Yet one character in particular outshines everything else.

Being a sad excuse for inclusivity, Rose Tico adds nothing to the movie other than a slight, yet never fulfilled, wish for a good revenge plot after watching her sister die in a heroic move to stop the empire. Rose, however, might as well be considered a traitor when compared to her sister. Instead of preventing the First Order from taking out the Republic, she helps out in the demise of their entire remaining army when stopping Finn from completing his amazing character arc. Everything her sister had sacrificed her life for got undone by one idiotic, uninformed, and pointless decision. “We don’t win by destroying what we hate, but by saving what we love”. Way to go, Rose, you just caused the demise of all your fellow soldiers and friends.

Yet it’s not just her gross incompetence when it comes to trying to help her friends that makes her such a disappointing character. Rose’s one addition to the galaxy was releasing a bunch of alien racehorses on some casino planet that just so happened to add nothing to the greater plot. It’s not soon after that we are shown that the beasts are very easy to recapture. Maybe destroying what you hate might aid in saving what you love. Who knows?

If Disney wants to include a diverse cast of characters for many people to relate to, then why have one of them make Jar Jar look good. Ultimately, they seem to have forgotten what Star Wars is all about. People go to watch Jedi and Sith battle it out using cool glowing swords. To watch stormtroopers get their asses kicked, repeatedly. Star Wars is not the place for Disney to try and push a political message about diversity. And even if diversity is what they care about so much, why exclude all the cool alien races that people have come to know and love? Every character with more than one line is human. Every significant moment throughout the movie is done by a human. Rose Tico is Disney’s sad attempt at making a diverse universe while removing the one thing that makes it diverse and different, aliens. 

With this sad attempt at making Star Wars a message board rather than a movie, it has lost any respect the fans had for it. Although The Last Jedi tried to tell us to forget about the past and embrace the new, it has achieved only the opposite. The final movie episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker, is now an attempt at regaining what Disney has lost by trying to bring back the fans they betrayed.

-Martijn-

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Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009) dir. Lasse Hallström

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A good boi

My sister's cat was meowing at her scratching post in which her kittens were playing the previous day. They were sold to other people, and I must admit it made me feel a little bit down. However, this was nothing compared to seeing my dog limping to greet me, being happy even though he was in pain. Knowing that we had to let go of him soon, even though he had so much more love left to give.

Nothing ruins my day more than seeing a sad dog in movies. I can watch movies about torture and the death of humans any day of the week and not care for the people in those movies. But dogs are special, they are the purest creatures on earth and should not be exposed to suffering. It should be a crime to show a sad dog in a movie. Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a prime example of how bad a heart broken dog can be for your mood. You get all the cute and happy moments in the trailer followed by a cheerful dog waiting for his friend. Nothing compares to the sadness a downcast dog can evoke. The movie plays on the anxiety dogs experience when their owner leaves them alone, dogs exhibit this behaviour after a few minutes of being alone, but Hachi's owner never returns so Hachi cannot greet him and rejoice.

Hachi reminds people that dogs miss their owners every day, and shows how happy they are to see their humans. It gives rise to a sense of guilt for leaving your dog for a few hours every day. But dogs can never let you feel bad for too long because their genuine excitement to see you conquers any negative emotion.

There is no reason why anyone would need to see a sad dog, it is tantamount  to psychological torture and harmful to the general population. Hachi is about a dog for a good reason, seeing humans die usually does not hurt because humans can often be evil. Dogs are always good unless they are corrupted by humans, they are trusting, loving animals which can only be hated by soulless monsters.

- Lennart -