Hey guys! I haven't forgotten about you!
Finals week is looming and I should really get back to studying, but I wanted to pop in and give you all an update on what's happening in my life. A while ago I mentioned the Composers' Concert where I'd be conducting an original choral piece– well that was Wednesday and it went really really really well. I've uploaded my piece to SoundCloud so that I could share it with you all. And here it is! Ta-da!
After Prayers, Lie Cold
In (not-so) other news, I'm seriously considering becoming a music composition major. Which means I've been doing a lot of soul-searching and talking to people and thinking and etc. I wish I had time to elaborate but suffice it to say that I've grown a lot this semester and it's been really good.
I hope you all are doing well! Let not the blog die!
Oh and by the way, I finally got on Pottermore. Personally, I don't like it much, because for me Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood as a book. I don't need an "interactive experience" to relive something that was already (in my mind) perfect. But I certainly see the appeal! Do you guys have strong opinions about Pottermore?
Keep in touch!
DFTBA,
Emily
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The New Book
September 27, 2012
The Casual Vacancy
By J.K. Rowling
"When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.
Seemingly an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults."
This is nearly the only thing on my mind today! I'm so excited for this book, and while it's not Harry Potter I'm optimistic that she will have done just as good a job on this novel as on HP. What do you guys think?
DFTBA,
-Kim
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Movie Adaptation
The problem with film adaptations of books is that they are different mediums and can never be exactly the same. Books allow us the luxury of vastly different readings and interpretations. The words are the same but how we hear them and understand them, the pictures we see in our minds will all be different. When it comes to a film a lot of that is fixed into place. Visually everyone is presented with the same images. In terms of audio we hear the same voices and the backing music sets a distinct tone. Films bring our imagination to life yet restrict the variances of imagination.
Up until I saw the Hunger Games I always had issues seeing the film adaptations of books because they never matched the visions in my mind. Things were changed, lines delivered differently, scenes cut, etc. When I watched each of the Harry Potter films for first time I loved them of course, and yet there was always a part of me that was upset about things being different.
After seeing Hunger Games though I realized exactly what film adaptations should be. Because The Hunger Games did it perfectly. It's impossible to directly turn a book into a movie, it's impossible to get every detail right, and you have to cut so much when you don't have the luxury of time. So THG tossed aside trying to do a direct retelling of the story. They threw away the exact scenes and the plot and instead took the ideas which drive the story forward. They built a film around the heart of the story and told it in a manner which fits the media they are working with.
And it wasn't just about the first book, they've made it intending a sequel. I felt like they brought in ideas from Catching Fire because it made more sense to have them in the first film, and in turn some story lines from the first seem to have more relevance in the second film. It's not about telling this story one book/film at a time but telling the story as a whole.
I don't know if I'm quite making sense, I feel like the film is dealing more in the abstract than the tactile elements, but it's beautifully constructed. I'm so grateful for this film and I think it shows a lot of promise for the future of book adaptations.
Hopefully we'll never repeat the awful mess that was The Golden Compass movie. Can we pretend that never happened? It butchered one of the most amazing series I've ever read.
I hope you all are well!
DFTBA,
-Kim
Up until I saw the Hunger Games I always had issues seeing the film adaptations of books because they never matched the visions in my mind. Things were changed, lines delivered differently, scenes cut, etc. When I watched each of the Harry Potter films for first time I loved them of course, and yet there was always a part of me that was upset about things being different.
After seeing Hunger Games though I realized exactly what film adaptations should be. Because The Hunger Games did it perfectly. It's impossible to directly turn a book into a movie, it's impossible to get every detail right, and you have to cut so much when you don't have the luxury of time. So THG tossed aside trying to do a direct retelling of the story. They threw away the exact scenes and the plot and instead took the ideas which drive the story forward. They built a film around the heart of the story and told it in a manner which fits the media they are working with.
And it wasn't just about the first book, they've made it intending a sequel. I felt like they brought in ideas from Catching Fire because it made more sense to have them in the first film, and in turn some story lines from the first seem to have more relevance in the second film. It's not about telling this story one book/film at a time but telling the story as a whole.
I don't know if I'm quite making sense, I feel like the film is dealing more in the abstract than the tactile elements, but it's beautifully constructed. I'm so grateful for this film and I think it shows a lot of promise for the future of book adaptations.
Hopefully we'll never repeat the awful mess that was The Golden Compass movie. Can we pretend that never happened? It butchered one of the most amazing series I've ever read.
I hope you all are well!
DFTBA,
-Kim
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