Bringing Out The Dead, a Scorsese flick thats genuinely underrated?

Back in Spain, while we were living in Las Barreras, a little place just outside Orgiva, we had a couple of neighbors called Maggie and Isha. Both were ex social workers who had been living in Glasgow (I think) for years, had enough of the lifestyle there, and moved away to sunny Spain. Luckily for me, they were both film buffs and bought with them a great collection of dvds, which, soon after we had become friends, I started to make my way through. I eventually came across a film with a picture of Nicholas Cage looking like he hadn't slept for weeks on the front called 'Bringing Out The Dead', and I dont know why but for some reason it caught my eye.

Maybe it was the fact it said 'A Martin Scorsese Picture' on the front, by this point I'd watched Goodfellas and Casino and knew he had made them (is it bad that I'm 11 or 12 at this point?), so I presumed that this would be of the same ilk. Possibly its because it had John 'I can get you a toe' Goodman on the back, a personal favourite ever since Raising Arizona and the Big Lebowski. I don’t know. The point is I took it home and watched it. And despite not understanding quite a few of the darker plot elements, I loved it and it stuck with me for years, despite, or perhaps because I didn’t have a chance to rewatch it till years after (literally weeks ago). Its a brilliantly dark comedy, like so many of Scorseses better pictures, following a depressed paramedic over the course of three nights, with three different partners, as he desperately tries to quit despite his supervisor literally refusing to allow this, and maybe save his first patient in months.

What is it with me and tripped out, weird as shit films? This proves that before I'd ever even taken anything intoxicating, apart from maybe excess Calpol and stealing booze at the Dragon fest, I still held a fascination, or maybe appreciation is more suitable, of things surreal, dreamy and strange. Made by the same writer/director team who bought us Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, it should come as no surprise that its brilliantly observed, harrowingly bleak, and at times painfully true to life and all its absurdities.

I think that’s one of the reasons why I loved it. I had gone to a few parties down site with parents and mates and simply by living in Orgiva I had met my fair share of lost its, so some of the crazy characters I was seeing in the film didn’t seem alien, if anything they seemed familiar in some way or another. So maybe now that renders my opinion invalid, as I'm apparently biased due to nostalgia, but I don’t think so. If anything it proves that Schrader and Scorsese have traveled a few different walks of life, or at the very least observed and studied them, managed to find humanity everywhere, and the importance of humor, especially the dark kind.

And its thanks to this wisdom that I can easily overlook the films shortcomings, of which there aren't many but certainly a few: editing is a bit nasty in places, the supporting cast often run the risk of bettering the leads and I'm pretty sure Nick Cage is actually fucked up on all kinds of downers as opposed to just acting like he's going through a bad patch. But like I said, taken as a whole its a great observation on people, especially the crazy characters who come out at night, and a funny, fascinating study on feeling shitty.

Unit 5 (no pics tho)

1.1 So if for example you are going to set up a fireworks display with some friends, there will be certain things you need to make sure get done. You will need to work out exactly what you need to put the display on, who will need to work out who will be in charge of finding the things you need, how you plan to get those things and where you plan to put it on.

1.2 Depending on peoples interests and skills you should assign roles accordingly, for example the person with a car should be in charge of driving the five miles needed to be traveled to buy the fireworks, and the person with a big garden should be in charge of providing the space required to set the display off.

2.1 If someone has to much work and someone hasn't enough, you should always try and share the load to make things easier and less stressful for everyone involved. With a more balanced workload people are much more likely to finish the tasks at hand and remain engaged.

2.2 If you don't share information with colleagues then you will never know where each other are at, and will never be able to help each other progress. Communication is essential to make sure everything gets done correctly and to the best of every bodies potential.

2.3 If someone has a bad attitude sometimes its beneficial for everyone to diplomaticly suggest that maybe people would get more done if everyone was comfortable with how the situation is.
For example, if you work in an office and have a desk back to back with someone else, if that person starts to get cluttered and disorganized, leading to them taking up some of your desk space making things cramped for you, if you suggest that maybe they sort things out a bit, in a nice way of course, then maybe you'll end up making life easier for the both of you.

2.4 Make sure you cover all the points you are trying to make, answering any questions which arise or doubts people might have, always being sure to listen to any counterarguments and if you feel that your decision is better, explain why.

2.5 Find put exactly where the disagreement is and find out what each party hope to get out of the situation, then try and come to a mutual agreement which would benefit everyone.

2.6 If everyone shares a mutual goal or objective, and collectively work together to try and accomplish this, its going to be a lot easier for all the parties involved, many hands make light work and all that, but if you take it deeper than that, the more people involved in the process means that there will be more skills bought to the table, meaning there will be more points of expertise, accumalating in a better finished product.

3.1 Say, for example, you get designated a task with a collegue, you need to make sure that between you, you both feel like your doing an even ammount of work, and maintain this level of equality throughout the time it takes to finish the task. Keep talking to each other, making sure neither is left behind, and if either of you feel that the other might be, revise the tasks at hand and redistribute them accordingly.

3.2 Make sure you use context and are sure that everyone knows what it is you are talking about. Make sure you speak clearly, both through tone and language, people can't understand you if you mumble or aren't speaking coherently, so thats also a pretty good place to start. Something else you need to take into consideration is other peoples feelings. If someone makes a mistake, or does something in a way you know could be done better, its always god to tell said person, the best way to learn is through your mistakes, but its always a good idea to approach the situation diplomaticaly. If they have been having a tough day, its probably best not to start shouting at them about how terrible it is, its probably more advisable offer constructive criticism, tell them two ways in which they did something right for every thing you tell them they did wrong.

3.3 If two people with ideas are at a standstill over how best to advance a project, make sure they both understand fully what the other has come up with, then come to an agreement as to what they think would be the most mutually beneficial out of the ideas on offer. Try and remember that you's are working together towards a shared final goal.

3.4 If you need to quickly get an actor changed into costume and makeup on a day with a busy shoot thats running behind, you need to make sure you send him to the correct people, in this case costume and make up, as quickly as possible. If a new intern in the office cant find a desk they have to deliver post to, take a minute to ask who they are looking for and point them in the right direction, it doesn't require a lot of effort and will help everyone along.

The Man Who Fell To Earth, proof that Bowie is an alien

I like sci-fi films. As a child raised on Star Wars, the Shatman, Bladerunner and Muppets in Space, it was pretty much going to be inevitable. If I'm honest I'm no where near as into the genre as some people I know, but I can appreciate a nice brain-bending trip to parralel universes, with or without the psychedelics.

I can't remember how old I was the first time I watched The Man Who Fell To Earth, but I know I must have been around ten. It stuck with me for years, the crazy surreal shots, the dreamlike quality, but more than anything, the genuine feeling I got that at that moment in time David Bowie, playing the Alien who falls to earth, is isolated from the world to a degree I had never even fathomed before.

Seriously. Its ridiculous. I have watched countless tales of post apocalyptic futures inhabited by crazy mutants and monsters from earth and beyond, more space epics than I enjoy remembering, but never have I believed that something I was seeing could really be an alien. Apart from Bowie.

Made in 1974-1975, in the middle of Bowies musical creative peak, he must of been in a very individual situation. In pretty much every country on Earth, there were legions of fans following his every move, whether he was Ziggy or the Duke, they couldn't get enough of everything he did. He was known by so many people, finding somewhere to hide, even with his vast amounts of wealth, would probably be close to impossible. And I could be mistaken, he may very well come from Pluto, but I think its this incredible amount of fame and exposure that enabled to him to give this performance, one which I consider to be an all time classic in the genre.

But as awesome as the performance is, and it is fucking epic, the film stands up on its own two feet. Nicholas Roeg is up to his usual standard, following on in the same style as Don't Look Now and Walkabout proving that he remains a very underrated director in western cinema. The supporting performances are just as brilliant, Bowie's southern blonde muse who gets pushed away and isolated played to by perfection by Candy Clarke, and the professor who betrays the alien played brilliantly by Rip Torn. Great camera work making the whole film feel hazy and distant, special effects which are understated but work surprisingly well (when the main character decides to change his appearance and remove his earth eyes has to be one of the best, albeit craziest, transformations I've seen on film) and a script/concept to die for, it remains one of my all time favourites.

Unit 4 (its not in order but its all there)

Understand the importance of continuous professional development.

3.1 Explain what is meant by continuous professional development.

When you work somewhere, if you consistently learn things on the job over the time you work there, that’s continuous professional development. For example, if you start a job in a cinema as a box office attendant, but then you learn how to work the snack counter, then moving on to the projector, that’s continuous development.

3.2 and 3 Create and justify a personal development plan.

When I started working for optimum I knew that the role I had was as a general apprentice, which consists of spending time with each department, getting to know how the whole company works. So bearing that in mind I want to make sure I get as much out of it as possible, by taking on as many roles as I could. When I started with home entertainment I wanted to make sure that by the end of my time there I would know the creative process behind releasing a dvd, something which I think I’ve got my head round. When I started in acquisitions I wanted to make sure I learnt how the department chooses films and scripts they want to put money into and how to properly write script reports, something I think I now understand and can do.

 Understand the appropriate conduct for a particular workplace.

1.1 Describe and compare the cultures of different Creative Media workplaces.

If you work in for a formula 1 racing team, changing the tyres for example, its acceptable to talk all day about cars and engines, but if you are working for a golfing magazine, people might not share the same the enthusiasm if that’s all you talk about.

1.2 Describe examples of challenging behaviour and issues in the workplace

If you work with a colleague who doesn’t listen when you try to explain something to them, if you come find a way to engage them and hold their attention, that’s CPD, only with social rather than work skills. If over the time you spend in a job in a pub, you learn how to fix a blocked pump, correctly lift barrels without damaging your back, and how correctly to deal with rowdy punters, those are issues in the workplace you have managed to overcome.

1.3 Explain the role of the key people to inform in relation to these examples.

In the first example, if you were to talk to someone in a higher point of authority then the two of you and ask them to mention the lack of communication, that could help the situation. In the latter examples the best person to talk to would probably be the landlord, as they would have dealt with these situations previously, if not, someone at the pump company, preferably a technician, for the barrels, someone who works the barrel van, and for rowdy punters, someone level headed I guess.

1.4 Explain the impact of different behaviours and conduct in the workplace.

Depending on how people, in general, act in the workplace, different things are acceptable or taboo. If its normal for people to swear in the office, no one should pay attention to you for saying ‘fuck’, but if your working in an enviroment where swearing is unacceptable, saying ‘fuck’ would be a serious deal.    

2      Know how to plan and manage your workload.

2.1Describe effective time management skills needed to plan workload.

You need to learn to organize things, prioritizing your work and keeping note on what you have to do, and what you have done, also taking note of how long things are going to take.

2.2 and 3 Describe how to specify and agree timescales, budgets and resources.

Work out exactly what you need to accomplish the task at hand, how you will get the things you need to accomplish the task, and how long it is all going to take, then distribute it all according to individuals skills and interests.  For example, if you and some friends need to set up a firework display, there are certain things you need to prepare. You need to work out how many fireworks you need, how you will get the fireworks, where you want to set the fireworks off, and how long you have to get it all done. Then once you have worked all this out, work out who does what.   

2.4 Explain the use of a contingency plan.

A contingency plan is pre-prepared course of action to take if things go wrong, from an evacuation plan in the event of a fire, to an economic bailout if money suddenly disappears. 

2.5 Explain the importance of storing work, using version control and observing file naming conventions.

All the above points are conventions commonly followed to avoid frustration and loss of time and work. If you have stored all your work correctly, its easy to refer back to it and find pieces you have done.