Monthly Archives: September 2014

Network

From the 1976 film:

		JENSEN
	You have meddled with the primal
	forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I
	won't have it, is that clear?!  You
	think you have merely stopped a
	business deal -- that is not the
	case!  The Arabs have taken billions
	of dollars out of this country, and
	now they must put it back.  It is
	ebb and flow, tidal gravity, it is
	ecological balance!  You are an old
	man who thinks in terms of nations
	and peoples.  There are no nations!
	There are no peoples!  There are no
	Russians.  There are no Arabs!
	There are no third worlds!  There is
	no West!  There is only one holistic
	system of systems, one vast and
	immane, interwoven, interacting,
	multi-variate, multi-national
	dominion of dollars! petro-dollars,
	electro-dollars, multi-dollars!,
	Reichmarks, rubles, rin, pounds and
	shekels!  It is the international
	system of currency that determines
	the totality of life on this planet!
	That is the natural order of things
	today!  That is the atomic,
	subatomic and galactic structure of
	things today!  And you have meddled
	with the primal forces of nature,
	and you will atone!  Am I getting
	through to you, Mr. Beale?
		(pause)

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Long Take/ Following Shot (HUM303)

From True Detective. Begins at the 4 sec mark.

From the Yale Film Analysis Guide, which you should be consulting by now:

Unless shot at a fixed angle, with a fixed camera and no movement, long takes are extremely hard to shoot. They have to be choreographed and rehearsed to the last detail, since any error would make it necessary to start all over again from scratch. Sophisticated long takes such as this one from The Player, which includes all kinds of camera movements and zooms, are often seen as auteuristic marks of virtuosity. Aside from the challenge of shooting in real time, long takes decisively influence a film’s rhythm. Depending on how much movement is included, a long take can make a film tense, stagnant and spell-binding, or daring, flowing and carefree.Indeed, directors like Altman, Welles, Renoir, Angelopoulos, Tarkovski or Mizoguchi have made long takes (usually in combination with deep focus and deep space) an essential part of their film styles.

Always Follow the Money

Geopolitical instability has left many global corporations jittery.

But the world’s biggest arms producers are doing well, with shares of the top 12 publicly listed firms – based on a list by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – rising by almost 30 per cent on average in the last year.

Stock price data on the 12 companies reveal most have benefitted in a year in which the number of conflict zones in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has risen.

Hellfire missile maker Lockheed-Martin has been among the defence companies to experience share price gains.

While some companies have under-performed during the period, many have risen by more than 50 per cent.

The average share rise of 30 per cent compares to a 9.3 per cent gain by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The top 12 listed arms producers include companies such as Boeing, which makes commercial aircraft as well as defence and missile systems. It does not include Chinese companies.

Nine out of the top 12 companies are based in the United States.

The remaining three – Thales, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems – are based in France, Italy and the UK respectively.