Category: Contextual

Contextual Essay

The two films that this essay is about are Jock of The Bushveld(an independent film released on the fifth of December in 1986) and Jurassic park(American blockbuster released on the ninth of June in 1993). The reason why these two movies were chosed is because they are both older films that many people from different generations can enjoy.

Starting with a quick analysis of each film.

Jurassic park: A millionaire named John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) creates a theme park on a remote island. This theme park is filled with dinosaurs that were recreated using dna found in mosquitos preserved in amber. “Part monster movie and part disaster movie as the island is thrashed by a storm” (Schneider, 2009). It is one of the highest rated movies on Rotten tomatoes and according to the site “Jurassic Park is a spectacle of special effects and life-like animatronics, with some of Spielberg’s best sequences of sustained awe and sheer terror since Jaws.” (Rottentomatoes.com, 2018). Jock of the Bushveld: A true story about an Irishman’s journey and adventures during the late 1800’s as he seeks his fortunes. Jock is his hunting dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross. It has a rating of 7.7 on IMBd. “From the best-seller that captivated millions of readers comes a motion picture as vast as Africa itself.” (IMDb, 2018).

Jurassic Park had a fairly large budget of 63 million US dollars. A fair amount of that was used for the dinosaur models as they would constantly malfunction and thus needed a lot of constant maintenance(especially the Tyrannosaurus as it would constantly break down due to its size) and most of it’s breakdowns happened during the outdoor scenes. Due to the age of the film and the poor record keeping of it, it was very hard to find the budget of the 1986 version of Jock of the Bushveld, only of the recent 2011 3d animated release which was 50 million South African Rands, which is about 4.4 million dollars. A fair amount smaller than that of the American blockbuster that is Jurassic park. The 2011 release was also far more popular than the original 1986 release and so one can easily assume that the budget for that film was far smaller. This is one of the largest differences between an American blockbuster and a small independent film. The budget for the blockbuster goes into the tens of millions and an independent film might be at most a few million.

The set of Jurassic Park was on an island called Kauai, a small island in Hawaii. This also ate a fair amount of the budget as there Kauai is literally an island and thus the sets had to be shipped there and also during filming there was a hurricane named Iniki which forced production to halt and sets having to be rebuilt. However as this was a major blockbuster, they were able to do this. In comparison, Jock of the Bushveld was filmed in South Africa. More specifically in the Kuger National Park, one of the largest in Africa. As it was filmed in the country and the sets were mostly pre-existing buildings, there wasn’t a huge expense when it came to sets. The more expensive aspects of this film is the animal handlers as they used real animals. Animals like lions and a leopard.

This paragraph addressed the special effects used in the films. While Jurassic park used many special effects to create the illusion of living, breathing dinosaurs Jock of the Bushveld did not use many effects. The main special effects one could spot in Jurassic Park are the T-Rex’s breath on the car in the one iconic scene, electricity sparks, gore and objects be crushed or thrown. These effects are created mostly in post however certain things like electric flashes are often made  In Jock of the Bushveld however there is not as much special effects. In fact there is only one main special effect and that is the firing of guns throughout various scenes. How they created these effects is more than likely loading the guns with blanks which are bullet casings with no bullet inside them, sometimes they have flashpowder.

Casting can also play a major role in whether a film is a blockbuster or an independent film. Blockbusters normally cast actors whom are well known for their roles in other films or even tv series while a independent film will hire people based on their talent or will hold auditions for the role. For example, Jurassic Park had the talents of Sam Neill and Richard Attenborough. There are many more talents however one can not name them all. In Jock of the Bushveld however there were actors like Jonathan Rand and Umfubu, not very well known or at least not known well enough for later generations to know who they are.

In conclusion, there are four main differences between an American Blockbuster and a local independent film. The first is budget, major Blockbusters have tens of millions of dollars in budget while independent films usually only have a few million. Next would be the sets. Often blockbusters will have sets are often elaborate or filmed in different locations that are far off like how Jurassic park was filmed on an island in Hawaii and had several sets while independent films are often filmed on location where they are set like Jock of the Bushveld was filmed in South Africa and had minimal sets. Then there is the special effects. Blockbusters will have a lot of fancy special effects that are created during filming and in post production such as the lightening and electric flashes in Jurassic park while independent films often have minimal special effects if any like the gun fire in Jock of the bushveld. Last is casting, blockbusters often have large names that they asked to take part in the film like Sam Neill and Richard Attenborough in Jurassic park while independent films usually hold auditions for the role or have smaller names like Jonathan Rand and Umfubu in them. That is the difference.

 

Bibliography

Jurassic park

Books

Schneider, S. (2009). 1001 movies you must see before you die. London: Cassell Illustrated, p.822.

Ross, J. and Gilbey, R. (2005). The ultimate film. London: BFI, pp.64-66.

Landis, J. (2011). Monsters in the movies. London: Dorling Kindersley, pp.152-163.

Baxter, J. (1996). The unauthorized biography of Steven Spielberg. New York: HarperCollins, pp.372-394.

King, G. (2014). Indie 2.0. London: Tauris.

Internet

Rottentomatoes.com. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/franchise/jurassic_park/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

IMDb. (2018). Jurassic Park (1993). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

YouTube. (2018). Jurassic Park Trailer. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc0UehYemQA [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Jurassic World. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: http://www.jurassicworld.com/films/jurassic-park [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

The-numbers.com. (2018). Jurassic Park Franchise Box Office History – The Numbers. [online] Available at: https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Jurassic-Park#tab=summary [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. (2018). Film Locations for Jurassic Park (1993), in Hawaii and California.. [online] Available at: http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/j/Jurassic-Park.php [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

Metacritic. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/jurassic-park [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

Jock of the bushveld

Books

FitzPatrick, P. (1907). Jock of The Bushveld. [ebook] Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36951/36951-h/36951-h.htm [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Internet

IMDb. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld (1986). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2306589/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Krugerpark.co.za. (2018). History Of Kruger Park | Sir Percy FitzPatrick | South Africa…. [online] Available at: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/sir-percy-fitzpatrick-kruger-national-park.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Southafrica.com. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld – SA’s best loved dog hero – English Blog | By South Africa Channel. [online] Available at: http://www.southafrica.com/blog/jock-of-the-bushveld-sa-s-best-loved-dog-hero [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

Bushveld and FitzPatrick, J. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/291961.Jock_of_the_Bushveld [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

South African History Online. (2018). Discovery of the Gold in 1884. [online] Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/discovery-gold-1884 [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

Contextual Reasearch

The american blockbuster I have chosen is Jurassic Park.

This is my favourite film. Just saying that before I start.

Library research

A millionaire named John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) creates a theme park on a remote island. This theme park is filled with dinosaurs that were recreated using dna found in mosquitos preserved in amber. “Part monster movie and part disaster movie as the island is thrashed by a storm” (Schneider, 2009).

 

Internet research:

 

 

The independent film I have chosen is Jock of the bushveld.

I am talking about the live action film, not the animated(and highly inaccurate) version

 

Library research:

 

Internet research:

 

Bibliography

Jurassic park

Books

Schneider, S. (2009). 1001 movies you must see before you die. London: Cassell Illustrated, p.822.

Ross, J. and Gilbey, R. (2005). The ultimate film. London: BFI, pp.64-66.

Landis, J. (2011). Monsters in the movies. London: Dorling Kindersley, pp.152-163.

Baxter, J. (1996). The unauthorized biography of Steven Spielberg. New York: HarperCollins, pp.372-394.

King, G. (2014). Indie 2.0. London: Tauris.

Internet

Rottentomatoes.com. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/franchise/jurassic_park/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

IMDb. (2018). Jurassic Park (1993). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

YouTube. (2018). Jurassic Park Trailer. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc0UehYemQA [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Jurassic World. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: http://www.jurassicworld.com/films/jurassic-park [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

The-numbers.com. (2018). Jurassic Park Franchise Box Office History – The Numbers. [online] Available at: https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Jurassic-Park#tab=summary [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. (2018). Film Locations for Jurassic Park (1993), in Hawaii and California.. [online] Available at: http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/j/Jurassic-Park.php [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

Metacritic. (2018). Jurassic Park. [online] Available at: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/jurassic-park [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

Jock of the bushveld

Books

FitzPatrick, P. (1907). Jock of The Bushveld. [ebook] Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36951/36951-h/36951-h.htm [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Internet

IMDb. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld (1986). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2306589/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Krugerpark.co.za. (2018). History Of Kruger Park | Sir Percy FitzPatrick | South Africa…. [online] Available at: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/sir-percy-fitzpatrick-kruger-national-park.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2018].

Southafrica.com. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld – SA’s best loved dog hero – English Blog | By South Africa Channel. [online] Available at: http://www.southafrica.com/blog/jock-of-the-bushveld-sa-s-best-loved-dog-hero [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

Bushveld and FitzPatrick, J. (2018). Jock of the Bushveld. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/291961.Jock_of_the_Bushveld [Accessed 13 Oct. 2018].

South African History Online. (2018). Discovery of the Gold in 1884. [online] Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/discovery-gold-1884 [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].

Contextual, Propp’s theory

The road to El dorado

 

The hero: Miguel and Tulio

I will be doing these two seperately.

Starting with Miguel.

Now Miguel seems to be the more irresponsible one, and he is. because of how he constantly make spur of the moment decisions, he is more likely to jump into action when someone is in trouble. He follows his heart instead of his brain.

In stark contrast, Tulio is more calculating. He is the man with a plan and more often then not he is the one that makes the plans for him and Miguel to escape. Because of this he often overthink things. He follows his brain instead of his heart.

The villain: Hernan Cortes

It’s clear from the start that Hernan is the bad guy. No explaination needed

The donor: Altivo

Now let me just explain why I think the horse is the donor. It is because of Altivo that Miguel and Tulio get off Hernan’s ship. If it weren’t for this horse the two would have been killed by the Mayans. That is why I feel that Altivo is the donor

The dispatcher: Zaragoza

While Zaragoza can be classified as a bad guy, he is the one whom Miguel and Tulio get the map from which is what set them off on their quest to El dorado

The false hero: Tzekel -Kan

Now Tzekel is not really a false hero in The Road to El Dorado however he can be seen as a false hero. While his alterier motives of cruilty and death are very much visible throughout the film,

The helper: Chel

Chel is the helper because she helps Miguel and Tulio keep up a facade of being gods.

Analysis: Coco

Coco is a Pixar film that was released back in 2017 and “The concept for Coco is inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday.” (En.wikipedia.org, 2018). From a 3d modellers point of view, this is simply a marvellous movie. I can not imagine the time it took for the animators to model, texture and animate this movie. The colours are bright and cheerful in the land of the dead compared to many of the colours of the scenes in the land of the living. 

The story follows Miguel, a preteen boy that simply wants to be a musician however his family hates musicians all because his great great grandfather left the family to play music. There’s a lot of drama however everything works out and Miguel gets to play music.

Now Day of the Dead, while taking place at the same time as Halloween, is nothing like this holiday. Starting off, it takes place over two days and not just one. It also is celebrating the lives of those whom have died. Day of the Dead originated in Mexico however different countries celebrate the holiday differently.

One of the things that is pretty much the same across all the celebrations is that the family of a deceased person will set up an alter of candles, candies and the dead person’s favourite foods as well as objects the person enjoyed during their life.

Fun quick fact, the skeletons that you see everywhere on the day of the dead are actually to remind people that death is a part of life and everyone will be a skeleton eventually.

I like this holiday, it…it really is something nice.

I doubt I’ll ever be remembered

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Coco (2017 film). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_(2017_film) [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].

Nationalgeographic.com. (2018). Top 10 Things to Know About the Day of the Dead. [online] Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/mexico/top-ten-day-of-dead-mexico/ [Accessed 1 Oct. 2018].

National Geographic Kids. (2018). National Geographic Kids |. [online] Available at: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/celebrations/day-of-the-dead/ [Accessed 30 Sep. 2018].

TripSavvy. (2018). Your Guide to Mexico’s Day of the Dead. [online] Available at: https://www.tripsavvy.com/day-of-the-dead-in-mexico-1588764 [Accessed 2 Oct. 2018].