Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 14:55
Prentious Documentary about a Pretentious Sub-Genre

I've been a progressive rock and metal fan for well over a decade now, and describing progressive rock to others has always been difficult. The recent Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary discusses one band's rise to stardom by pushing their musical talents and remaining true to their sound and principles. Yet BBC4's television program Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements discusses the rise of the progressive rock sub-genre by primarily examining the movements just prior to mainstream success in the mid-1970s.

Tracing the roots back to just after the psychedelia phase of rock n' roll, this documentary recounts the Canterbury scene in which free-Jazz and English-folk would form the foundations for the successful progressive rock bands. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band and The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed helped define the need for experimentation with music as well as how it was presented in the album cover. After Sgt. Pepper and Freak Out, the gate-fold cover became the essential way to distribute this new sub-genre of music (it also made for a great way to start to roll a joint, apparently).

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To a Higher Level of Meaning

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 20:52

Significant form is the opposite of pedestrian rendition; it is like seeing something familiar in a new and refreshingly important light. Because it has great density and energy, significant form conveys narrative information with weight. At the juncture of well-chosen shots with such forms, something mysterious happens which resembles a chemical reaction. Images fit together so magnificently that they ascend to a higher level of visual meaning.
- Stefan Sharff
Elements of Cinema
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Cantors Futures bows out of Box Office Futures Trading

Submitted by Aaron Weiss on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 09:21

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Last month I wrote about the possibility of Hollywood Futures and their negative affects they could have on the film industry. As a sort of win, the Cantors Futures exchange will not be continuing with their plans. An inpending ban on motion picture futures contracts has stopped the futures exchange from continuing on, despite recieving approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

The ban for such types of futures trading is a part of the financial reform bill that cleared committee, President Obama says he will sign it into law.

 There is no word on whether Trend Exchange will continue as well.

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Teach Yourself Film Studies

Teach Yourself Film StudiesAs I mentioned in my Versatile Blogger Award blog post, I will be moving to Savannah, GA soon to start my master's degree in Cinema Studies at Savannah College of Art and Design. In order to get myself ready, I thought I'd read up on some basic film theory and criticism. I found Teach Yourself Film Studies (not an affiliate link) in the extremely small film and entertainment section of the library. An excellent find indeed, as this is an excellent refresher course.


Whether you are looking to brush up on your montage techniques or take a dive into Feminist film theory, this book is a great read. Written by Warren Buckland, this book can help you develop the skills and language necessary to help your critical thinking when discussing a film. Taking you through a near chronological order of how certain theories and movements evolved, nearly anyone can get a keener sense of film criticism after reading this book.

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