VCB 23: I'll Deathly your Hallows

This blog is going to be my thoughts on the newly released Deathly Hallows trailer from Warner Bros. I will only comment on things that occur in the trailer! It should be spoiler free. I certainly won't give anything away that would ruin your enjoyment of it without warning ever. I could rant for 5 blogs about how I hate it when people do that!

First off, if you haven't seen the trailer... why not you silly person!?!?! Er... I mean here it is. Enjoy.



At the beginning of the trailer we have a dark foreboding piece of music* and Harry Potter walks in the forest clearing to meet Voldemort. I think as an opening to a trailer I think this is great. There is a sense of inevitability in the way Radcliffe and Fiennes (Potter/Voldemort) act it so you get a sense of this really being the beginning of the end.

*Despite loving this music trailers are composed by different people and don't reoccur in the feature

This opening part is also intercut with a quick shot of the trio (Potter/Weasley/Granger) walking through a very pretty, bright country scene. It is shows both a sense of isolation for them because of this ebautiful landscape and only them in it, but it also provides a contrast to the world of Voldemort as it cuts back to the dark, blue-misted wood.

The trailer then kicks into to quick cut shots of scenes form both part one and part two of Deathly Hallows. Some people are disappointed that this is not just a Part One trailer but I feel the opposite. I am positive Warner Bros with put out a Part One trailer or teaser seperately. I am greatful to have a trailer which shows the fianl story as it was meant to be told - as one epic plot (this isn't to say I didn't want the split. I am just saying there is only one book.)

I won't go into what parts of of the clips represent in the films a) because it would take to long and you'd all give up reading and b) it would ruin it for people. I am sure fans will be able to pinpoint immediately what all the shots are and I am personally very happy with the look of the film. The fact they have split it into two parts means they can put in more story and this epic trailer gives me great confidence that all of the gaps they have left in the past will be filled up and fleshed out in this final installment.

The first panel you see come up says "The finale of the worldwide phenomenon", and the second says "The motion picture event of a generation". They are certainly selling these films as not only the most anticpated film of the year but obviously one they are confident will satisfy a hungry audience. It has been 13 years since I read the first Harry Potter book and for me, while my life with Harry will continue, it will very much feel like the end of an era.

Between these panels are a shot of Hogwarts with a protective spell around it (see below) and then the Hogwarts Express being ground to a halt by a sinister looking Death Eater. I think that these clips being placed between the two written panels is very clever; people have grown up with the Harry Potter stories on film and Hogwarts has always been the safe-haven. Granted bad things still happen but it wasn't until the end of Half Blood Prince when Snape killed Dumbledore that Hogwarts changed from being a place of education to a place of war. It emphasizes the importance and scale of this final installment and is a reminder that even Hogwarts isn't safe anymore.



I think we get a good coverage of old and new characters in this trailers. I know that people who are not familiar with the books will probably be thinking "Oh who is that again" at some faces, and then "Who could that be?!" in others. They also use a lot of mid-shots to close-ups of each of these characters (i.e. them turning their head or then reacting to something). By doing this they are almost suggesting an ensemble cast or at least that the amount of characters is on a more epic scale; much more of a battle than a fight. This is further emphasized with the wide shots of large amounts of people running as if into war rather than like they are moving away from something.

My favourite bit in the trailer is when Voldemort says "Why do you live?" and Harry replies "Because I have something worth living for". I have to do a little punch in the air whenever I watch that part; a kind of IN YER FACE VOLDY moment. Without telling the audience the outcome of the series the trailer is highlighting the key messages from the entire film series so far i.e. Harry is strong because he has his friends around him. We learn this in the very first film when Hermione and Ron help Harry retrieve the Philosophers Stone.

Near the end we get some clips from Part one with the release date and then the same for the second film. It is at this point I think audiences are wishing they could have a separate trailer. I think they could have possibly not split right at this section and continued the trailer as one complete story but perhaps this is a stylistic choice. I don't think it impacts too heavily on the effectiveness of the trailer as whole though.

We end on a dual between Voldemort and Harry with Voldy saying "Only I can win" which then goes straight into the title card with some awesome lightening and three-d letters. This end note is like a challenge. Audiences are going to want to see whether this is true and/or how Harry will prove him wrong. It is great note to end on with foreboding and excitement both emoted at this point. Very cool.

You know what isn't cool though? "Complete the journey in 3D". I think I will say no thanks. I don't want to watch these epic, amazing, thrilling, emotional films while wearing glasses on top of my own and wondering what they are adding to the story. Give it up Hollywood. I like my films the traditional way.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: ON A SCALE OF 1-10 HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THE TWO DEATHLY HALLOWS FILMS?
My answer: A gazillion. Or y'know 10 if we are being sensible. Woo.

VCB 15: Stop setting the house on fire

Today I am going to tell you 10 things I would save from a fire or rather because I will probably lump more than one object together I will imagine I have ten trips back into my house. Of course if I had ten trips worth of time the fire was probably small enough to start with that I could have put it out...I am a bad person. By the way these sort of 'what would you save' questions come up so often. Someone really needs to stop setting my house on fire, imaginary flames or not. It just isn't pleasant.

Today's blog is inpsired by this week's theme on fiveawesomegirls who were one of my first ever Youtube subscriptions. You can view their channel by clicking here.

1. The first thing I would grab would be my pets. I have two cats called Millie and Lucy and while I would like to believe they would exit their house of their own accord but they are pretty dumb. I have seen Lucy jump into a glass window face first. And oh... Millie on catnip. That girl has a drug problem. I think she definately needs assistance if there were a fire. She would be running back in screaming "not the catnipppp".

Side note: I am assuming my parents would be able to leave and I am therefore not using them in my list. But if they are around they can help me move my stuff. We could save my material safety net of a list in like 5 or even 3 trips! Team effort people - team effort.

2. My giraffe. When James first visited England in Sept 2008 we went to Cambridge. There was a market in the square and one of the stalls had handmade wooden giraffes (and other animals) that fit together. We bought them as a present to ourselves and now when we are together they are. And when we are apart we keep our giraffe on us so we are not alone.



The above picture was taken just after we got them. On the right is Berty and on the left is Gerty. I currently have Gerty sitting right in front of me. I hold her when I get sad or feel lost. It reminds me I do fit somewhere - I am the perfect fit with my Berty - James.

3. The Buffy box set. Having had the box set on my birthday and Christmas list since it was available I finally got it on my 21st birthday. My friends Michelle, Paul, Karen and Kimberly and my aunt Sue and sister Charles all picthed in to buy it for me. The are pretty awesome present buyers - for my 18th I got a free trip to Disneyland. They spoilt me.

4. Now if this list were in any kind of order then the Harry Potter books would have been first on my list. I don't have a fancy set (although I really want one) or anything; I just want to keep the books that changed my life. I want to keep the tatty, battered paperback Philosophers Stone which I have read so many times that the spine is scuffed at the edges and the binding is broken at the front of the book.

If I only had one trip (lets assume my cats did manage to work their way out by themselves) then I would take only the Philosopher's Stone book. I only need to look at it and I want to read it. In fact I have picked it up now and I think I may have to have a read. It is like a comfort blanket I guess.

5. My Snoopy collection would be a must to save. Unfortunately over 200 books and 200 objects I am probably not going to manage it all in one trip let alone 10. SO if I had to be ruthless I would chose Slide, Charlie Brown, Slide. This book has no monetary value, but its sentimental value makes it priceless to me, much like the Harry Potter books.

Slide, Charlie Brown, Slide was the first ever Peanuts book I purchased (or first I remember buying). It was the start of a huge collection although I do not have anything of great value. I do have a first edition hardback of 'I never promised you an apple orchard' but I don't think it would fetch much. I could write a while blog on the sentimental value of Peanuts memorabilia and what the strip means to me so I won't go on about it now.

The other two things Peanuts-wise would be a framed newspaper article and a limited edition Peanuts painting my parents bought me in the US. The article is from 12 December 1999, the last day that a Peanuts daily appeared in a newspaper. The clipping isn't the actual strip, it is an article about Charlie Brown's impact on the world. It is called 'Good Grief, the ball game's over'.

The painting, as I said is limited edition and is the next best thing to a Schulz original. After he died there were a very few artists across the US that became 'official' Peanuts artists. I have an original piece of art which depicts Snoopy kissing Lucy Van Pelt on the nose. It is a limited edition of 500 and I love it. It will be where everyone can see it when I have my own house.

6. I am going to put two different things together here although there is a link. James and I own a 15th scale model version of the Delorean from Back to the Future 2. It lights up and makes noises and we absolutely love it. It currently sits on my wardrobe in its box but when we have more space I am sure it will be on display for all to admire. The thign I am putting with this is James' diecast collectable Tardis. It tooks us quite a while of searching in various geek shops to find a good one that wasn't also a cookie jar. I couldn't leave it behind. (If you didn't get the link - it is that they are both time machines... and really nerdy).

7. Going back to Hogwarts for a moment (Gotta get back to Hogwarts, gotta get back to school. Gotta get back to Hogwarts, where everybody thinks I'm coooool*) I would take my Harry Potter Hogwarts Express sign. It hangs from ceiling above my desk in my roomand says 'Hogwarts Express Platform 9 3/4' and I love it. I bought it from Whimsic Alley and if you want your own you can get it from here.

Oh and since I am taking the Hogwarts Express sign I musn't forget to take my J.K.Rowling letter. It is only an automated response but it says Owl Post on top which makes me so happy. I never sent Jo a letter until the day before the 7th book came out when I thanked her for everything she had done for me. Although I know she will probably never get to read it the letter is a reminder to always tell people how much you appreciate them.

*If you don't get this reference you haven't lived. Click here.

8. The next things is a caricature that I had done in Trafalgar Square, London when I was 10 years old. I love it so much and it is great to have a piece of original art as a memory rather than just photos. We got it done when I went to stay with someone I met on holiday.

I guess it also a reminder that deep down I am a confident person. When I was a child I would make friends in a snap on holidays such as Lisa, who I met (I think) at a Butlins in Margate, Kent. It was Lisa who I stayed with when we got our caricatures done. Looking back it is hard to believe I had the confidence to stay with a random family for 2 weeks without my parents! But then I can't believe I flew to Portland by myself last year either!

9. The achievement of mine I am most proud of is getting my degree with First Class honours. I would rescue two things to mark this achievement. One is my dissertation. Of course I have it on file in about 20 different places (Seriously - I was so scared I would accidentally delete it that I really did make that many duplicates) but I only have one printed and bound version. It has a plastic cover and a black hardback and looks fancy. It makes me feel smart.

I would also grab my actual degree which is framed and in our hall. This could be replaces I guess but it would take effort and it would just be easiest to take it. I could grab my dad's honorary doctorate as well. I'd feel bad if I saved my little ol' bachelor's degree and not his fancy doctorate. (By the way when we took this to be framed the framers accidentally tore it. They felt terrible and arranged for another one to be sent from Canada at their expense!)

10. The last thing I would save would actually be something for James. For his 30th birthday I got him a book signed by Harlen Coben, his friend and best-selling author. I knew that his friendship with Harlen meant a lot as he developed a bond while he was in Iraq. I emailed Harlen via his website asking if he could sign a book expecting to hear back from an agency administrator in 2 weeks. Harlen replied personally within a few hours (this is so impressive - seriously... best-selling authors must get tons of emails) and was more than happy to.

I think the fact that I got the book for James means a lot to him, and reminds me how amazing my boyfriend is to be respected by a famous author.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: IS THERE ANYTHING IN YOUR ROOM THAT YOU WAKE UP AND SEE EVERYDAY AND IT JUST MAKES YOU SMILE?
My answer: I love waking up and seeing my wall behind my bed. It has a Star Trek poster, my Hogwarts Express sign, a Back to the Future poster, a Hogwarts emblem poster and my giant collage of pictures from my Portland trip last year. It makes me happy. Of course the best thing to wake up to is James who I get to see NEXT WEEK!

VCB 03: Harry who?

VidConBlog: In 27 days I will be attending VidCon (a Youtube conference) in Los Angeles where I will meet my amazing friends and maybe make some more. I will be writing a blog every day until July 9th 2010. Please leave feedback and suggestions for blogs in the comments. I have a question of the day at the bottom.



Hello my name is Helen and I am addicted to Harry Potter. It started when I was 11 and I had a book voucher. I went into my local independent bookstore and was browsing when something caught my eye. Facing outward on the shelf was a boy with a lightening scar on his head. He was standing in front of a bit red train that said Hogwarts on it. There were stars and smoke surrounding the scene. By the way that thing about never judging a book by it's cover? Guess what? Not always true. I fell in love with the cover and I fell in love with the book.

The reason I am telling you this is because my friend Chris is doing a Master's degree in adaptation and is using Harry Potter for his final paper. As one of his Harry Potter friends I had some conversations with him to get some ideas flowing and giving him some insight into the fan world. Doing this reminded me how much I love the book series. Thus the blog of love today.

By the way before you read on please take 5-10 minutes to fill in his survey. It will be a big help and, if you are anywhere near as nerdy as me, you should never pass up a survey. They're fun! Click here for the survey. If for some reason the link doesn't work please tweet @chrisgreen87.

So thinking about the adaptations - I am in the lucky position to be able to separate the films from the book in my mind. By this I mean I can watch the films and enjoy them without it having any effect on my feelings toward the book series. I understand that the films are just one person's interpretation (or a group of people) and as long as the themes stay true, such as love, friendship and above all choice, then I am ok with Warner Brothers letting loose. Of course this isn't to say I come out and completely rip apart the film stating every single bit they missed out that I think they shouldn't have *cough*flippingexplainthemaraudersmap*cough* but then that is part of the fun.

For most of the fans I know the films are welcomed. With the book series over the films continue and extend the Harry Potter phenomenon so as it doesn't fade from pop culture. Even after the films are over there will still be the theme park to visit, the encyclopedia to read, merchandise to buy etc. In the words of the Parselmouths "this is never gonna end".



Harry Potter isn't just a book series. It is a culture, a community, an ideology. Starting the series when I was 11 means that I grew up with Harry Potter. It sounds cheesy but the lessons Harry learns, the hardships that are faced and overcome by the trio; these things had an impact on how I view the world. That people have a choice to be who they want to be and that the people that you share your life with are more important than you ever know.

I could rant more about Harry Potter but 1) I don't want to make you all sick and 2) I have a wedding to get ready for (tell you more tomorrow). Don't forget to answer the question below and to fill in Chris' survey.

Helen

QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHAT HARRY POTTER FILM CHARACTER DO YOU THINK IS CLOSEST TO THE BOOK? OR IF YOU HAVEN'T READ HARRY POTTER WHAT IS THE BEST BOOK CHARACTER YOU'VE SEEN PORTRAYED ON FILM?

My answer: I think Hagrid is closest to the character in the book. This is unsurprising since Robbie Coltrane was Jo's inspiration. I also think Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood is spot on.

And so it begins...

Ok so here is the thing - I have a Youtube account. I like making videos. But I have to be honest... videos can take a lot of time and energy. There is the filming (in my case on a tiny digital camera), then the transferring and converting (because my .mov files aren't recognised by Windows Movie Maker) and then the editing and uploading etc. So for when I am feeling lazy then voila - I have a blog.

In a lot of ways I find typing quite theraputic. The tapping noise of fingers on keys is comforting.... that was probably a really silly thing to say, but it is true. Also when you are annoyed or upset or even ecstatically happy sometimes you want to see your thoughts in writing. This is why people keep diaries. I never was able to commit to one just for myself - but a blog is like a diary for others. So if people like reading this then I will stick with it.

So what exactly will my blog be about? Well as you know (from my blog title) I am a Nerdfighter. Don't know what that is - where have you been? Go here. So this blog will be a lot of nerdy stuff; my love of fictional characters (I my have to mention Edward Cullen more than once), my love of art, my love of reading in general, Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter, my obsession with Peanuts (the Schulz cartoon strip), my love of cult television such as Buffy, my enjoyment of watching films, my ridiculous dreams about space travel, my yearning for a revival of true 50s style rock and roll, my new friends from Youtube, my friends IRL and of course my absolute devotion to Hank and John Green.

Harry Potter News:

Before I start can I just say that I visit A LOT of HP fan sites but my favourite is Mugglenet (also if you are a Harry P fan and don't listen to Mugglecast then you are missing out). Ok, plug over.

So the big Harry Potter news this week is that the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has been moved from Nov 21st 2007 to July 17th 2008.

I am sorry but WHAT!?!?!?!

When I first read this I was sure it was a joke. But don't worry Warner Bros have a really good, valid reason for this delay - they will make more money in summer. Hmmm.... two thoughts on this:

1) Who gives a fuck about your money - you are a multimillion dollar international multimedia conglomorate. Get over yourselves.

2) Right so the think that no one will go see Harry Potter in winter. Well I can understand this... I mean the Harry Potter franchise is a really tiny, obscure, unknown one. I can sympathise that Harry Potter and the HBP might pass people by.

Tossers.

Twilight News:

Just as I plugged Mugglenet I have to plug the Twilight equivalent Twilight Source which is by the same people. Again their podcast - Imprint - is amazing. Seriously. I love it.

In an amusing turn of events Twilight didn't waste time nabbing the Nov 21st release slot left open for Harry Potter. Originally Twilight was to open int he US on December 12th, but now its almost a month earlier.

Of course as a Brit this simply means I have to wait longer between having all of my YT friends and acquaintences seeing the film and me actually getting to see it. At the moment the UK release is Jan 9th. Hopefully they will move this forward - I mean Robert Pattinson (playing Edward Cullen <3333333) is British! Release it here dammit.

Vlogbrothers News:

Nerdfighters were on the news! The 888 gathering (everyone who didn't go please join me in a big crying session) before Terminus was filmed for the Chicago CBS news event:



I wasn't there but I still feel proud! Also - how funny with the OTT quotation marks for "nerdfighters".

My News:

I will end with a little round up of my own news. As some of you (who I hope are reading this - I will send everyone a link!) know my dad is not very well at the moment. He has something called papillodema which only about 30 people in the country have. It means he has pressure in his brain and causes headaches and vision problems. We know it isn't a brain tumour (phew) but tomorrow he will be having a lumberpuncture to find out what else it could be (possibly a clot). Anyway he is ok - still working and going about life normally - but it is a stressful and worrying time. Fingers crossed we can get it all sorted soon.

Also crappy news - I still haven't started my job. I will keep you posted but I am hoping for my official offer any day.

In happier news my sister's wedding plans (Nov 15th 2008) are coming along. Her dress arrived and is now hanging up in our house. It is so exciting. Next time she comes home we are sorting out hen party invitations. So exciting. But I will tell you more about this another time because I am rambling already.

Anyway please leave comment if you read this :D I love you all for actually getting through my blog. Well done. Hope you come back soon!

DFTBA, Helen xxx

P.S. Two years today since I passed my driving test!