Friday, April 25, 2008

Blog #4 for Week 5 and AUDIO LOG

Blog Assignments:

1) Now that you have watched Blade Runner I want you to choose another film on your own to compare and contrast with it. Include in your blog a synopsis of your movie choice in case there are others in the class who have not seen it.

For the comparison of both films:

Describe the use and effectiveness of

The musical score and underscore
The sound effects and Foley
The effect of sound and music on the theme, mood of the films.

2) Web search articles on designing for clients and share your findings (any type of design not just audio).

AUDIO LOGS ARE DUE NEXT WEEK (WEEK 5)


Thanks, off you go!

24 comments:

Plant42 said...

I saw Blade Runner for the first time last week. I had heard a lot of hype over this movie before seeing it, so I expected a lot from it. While I still liked it, I thought it was going to be longer and some other stuff.

But anyway, as with most movies, the audio did indeed help to set the mood for the film. Honestly, I kind of forgot what what exactly the music sounded like in that movie, but I remember the music being largely ambient and unsettling. One example of a song from the film is the one that plays during the intro. Later on, after the beginning credits pass, the music finally gets a melody, which plays a song that is ominous in the first portion, and futuristic shortly after. Blade Runner is a movie with a rather dark plot and takes place in the oh-so-unimaginable future of the year 2019, so this song fits perfectly.

Here's a vid of the movie intro.
Clicky Mee!

The movie I chose to compare it to is Princess Mononoke. If any of you watch anime, chances are you've seen this. Anyway, quick synopsis of the movie, you got this guy from a village whose arm gets tainted/cursed/poisoned by a demon, and the poison is going to spread from his arm and kill him and there's nothing he can do about it. I think he also gets banished from his village, and so he does all he can do--leave on a journey to learn about what caused the creature to turn into a demon and inflict the curse on him. Here's a clip (in case you wanted one) from the movie. It'll probably take forever to load anyway thx 2 Ai's lovely servers.

Clicky Mee!

You really don't hear any music until 3:29 in the video above, so if you're only interested in the audio, you can skip to there. Many parts of the movie are calm, and they provide gentle music to accompany the situation. Later on in the same video clip I posted, at around 8:20, another song kicks in of adifferent flavor--this one a more mysterious and dark one. It perfectly fits the mood, where the protagonist feels his cursed arm getting worse and is likely scared becuase he doesn't know what exactly is going to happen to him next. That song helps to make the viewer feel the same way as the onscreen character.

This movie also has a couple of songs that play as a theme for the protagonist's journey and is sometimes played while depicting the passage of time and location during his journey. Expectly, it fits perfectly in those scenes.


Here's some stuff (I got from THIS site) I gathered on dealing with clients. It was oriented towards web designers, but I tried to reword it so that it fits a wider range or arts. After all, I think these tips are common when dealing with any kind of client:

Establish a very good relationship with the client. There will “unnecessary challenges” along the way that will “complicate the project and your life.” Prevent these problems ahead of time by establishing a good relationship with them.

"·Client referral – if you work well with your clients, they are more likely to refer you to their friends.
·Time – if you reduce the amount of time you spend "dealing" with clients, the quicker you can complete projects and work on others."


Establish respect and professionalism. When the client trusts you and your choices, it will make your project easy. They’ll see that you know what you are doing and won’t ask as many questions when you present your work. Also, don't ask your clients for suggestions. Make decisions and then have them complain later if they really think there’s something wrong with your choice.

Let the clients know what steps you will be taking during the design process so that they will know what you are doing and when you are doing it. This will help them work with you instead of agaisnt you.


Set realistic timelines for yourself and show them to your client so that when they ask you Why you aren’t completed with their project yet, and can tell them that yout old them before that the project wouldn’t be completed until the date you showed them before. This will, however, force you to meet your deadlines. On the other hand, if you complete the project before the deadline, the client will be happy to see you worked so hard on their assignment and completed it before they expected.

Have your client look at other works/designs that they like so you know more or less what style to design your work in. In the end, it will expedite the design process, and once your clients hear this, they will be more willing to work with you. Ask them questions like, “Do you like the colors? Do you like the images used? Do you like a particular feature?
Professionally explain your design decisions to your client, especially when they want something changed, that way they can see things your way, trust your choices more as a professional designer, and ultimately save you time from having to go back to him later on down the line for another design approval.

If the client wants you to do a lot of excess work, such as creating 5-10 comps for him to look at while deciding on a design, explain to him how it will be a waste of time. After all, the more choices a client has, the less he’s able to make up his mind.


And yea. hehe. I guess that concludes my little spamfest..err, long post. =] Hope I didn't forget anything. >.<

sundownsensei said...

Very good. This continues to be the type of posting we're looking for. Everybody be sure to react to one another's comments and engage in the blog a few times during the week.

KingKennethTheThird said...

I found this on Wikipedia about blade runner and it is a good explanation of the music in the movie. I agree with what is stated about it being well composed with classical and a futuristic style to help set the mood of the film.

The Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis is a dark melodic combination of classic composition and futuristic synthesizers which mirrors the film-noir retro-future envisioned by Ridley Scott. Vangelis, fresh from his Academy Award winning score from Chariots of Fire, composed and performed the music on his synthesizers. He also made use of various chimes and the vocals of collaborator Demis Roussos, as well as the haunting sax solo by Dick Morrissey on "Love Theme." Ridley Scott also used "Memories of Green" from Vangelis' album See You Later (an orchestral version of which Scott would later use in his film Someone To Watch Over Me). Along with Vangelis' compositions and ambient textures, the film's soundscape also prominently features a track by the Japanese Ensemble Nipponia (Ogi No Mato or 'The Folding Fan as a Target' from the Nonesuch Records release "Traditional Vocal And Instrumental Music") and a track by harpist Gail Laughton ('Pompeii 76 A.D.' from Laurel Records recently reissued "Harps of the Ancient Temples").

LINK:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(soundtracks)

As Far as a movie that I feel is in the same category as blade runner concerning music I would have to say Michael Bays the Island. This has some similarities to Blade Runner in the fact that it has a classical yet futuristic style of music. The movie is based on a futuristic world where people are being cloned as a means to help those that are sickly and can’t find a perfect blood type match or can’t get organ donors so that they can live a long and prosperous life. The cloning is mainly done for the very wealthy. Well along the line Lincoln 6 Echo (Ewan McGregor) Realizes what is going on and escapes. a lot of the scenery in the movie is very artistic and futuristic. The Foley is done well in that the surrounding everyday sounds are done to match an everyday feel. I think this movie does it well. Even when they are in the main buildings where they dwell the sounds totally fit what you see. The music at times helps the theme of the movie by getting intense in times of chases and escaping scenes. It also throws in some opera style songs that I think work well in some scenes. Opera always gives you feeling and helps to relate to a specific scene. The music also goes along with the movie in that at the end of the movie it is as if a race of people are freed from imprisonment. I guess this would be a part of the musical underscore. if you haven’t seen this movie it is awesome. I love this one.


LINK:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399201



Well a lot of what I have read about designing for clients all say about the same things. They include staying professional and keeping good relationships with your clients. If you do a good job then it can aid in client referral. I would much rather hear hey I got this guy that does great work than well he’s ok, I bet I can find someone to do it better.
As far as a basic description of the process I found this one on the net.

1. Design consultation

2. Create design

3. Show design comp

4. Make any modifications to design as needed

5. Build Website

6. Add content

7. Clean up any small things

It seems basic but I can totally see where it may get difficult along this process. Based on an idea or concept a client wants you really end up coming up with most of the design. If they don’t like anything you produce you end up wasting time and effort and have created a bad experience for a client that more than likely will ruin your name. I know that when I worked in sales a lot of the managers would say that you know if you will close the sale in about the first ten minutes of meeting that person before you even speak about the products you are offering. building report and good customer satisfaction will help keep anyone in business. Creating a relationship with a person especially if you have never met that person can be challenging but you have to learn good service skills and you must definitely know what you are talking about. Many sales that I had completed were mainly based on the fact that I got along with the client and gave them a good customer service experience. but i found this site here...


http://www.sitepoint.com/article/designing-for-clients-made-easy.

sundownsensei said...

The Island. Yes, that is a good film. It reminds me a little bit of the old 70's classic Logan's Run, where the population is controlled by euthanizing anyone over 29? I think it is. A young man and woman on the run from authority, etc. The style is very 7o's disco funky.

Stargod said...

iOk after researching a design processes, design should be able to effect the client because after they are the one accepting the end design. A designer should be able to explain any design to basic form as well as in it technical forms, and allow space for any changes the client may want, let just say, if you almost done, weather it be a minor change or just as painful as starting over. Another point is to do research on the particular area of your design weather leaving no stone unturned to get the most affective result for your time slaving over a design. More importantly, the designer should be aware of your progress to allowing them to add changes, and for them to describe what they do and don't like about you design direction. Most importantly, and sometimes forgotten is the end user or whoever will see or buy you design. The design should almost speak to end user in that when an individual is designing anything, they should be aware how it affect their emotions, and thoughts, and safety if it's something physical.

Stargod said...

on the movie Princess Mononoke, even the suttle sound effect from the birds to the wolves growling help set the overall mood the movie.

Stargod said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stargod said...

My movie I have choose to compare is Appleseed Exmachina, based on one of Japan’s best manga series, about Olympus, One of the last few war torn cities on Earth, seven years after world war three built as a paradise free of war populated by human, cyborgs, and genetically lab created human called bioroids that are free from experiencing anger and hatred. This city is protected by a special squad of ex-soldier called ES.W.A.T. who also protect other global cities from the ever rising threat of cyborg-terrorism and other security threats that threaten the city safety. The world is threaten by a cyborg bent on controlling humans by mean of a device called a connexus under one single mind against their will as a final solution to human conflict that are based on emotion such as anger and hatred. As for how the music and sound helps influnce the movie, the music is techno that is play, particularly during action scenes such as in the opening action of the movie of the church hostage scene involving cyborg terrorist. The music chioce is also influnce because techno was the music choice for the previous movie appleseed as a way of keeping up with the action during the major action scenes of the movie and to help keep audiences attention, which is why the movie start the way it does. To my knowledge. this movie and it prequel did pay detail when they were picking the sound effects for the movie. I would have the say the most important thing they decided on was the fact that empty bullet casing actuallyu do make a sound when they hit the ground and not just emphsize the fact that they are firing gun by just having loud machine gun sound fx. Going back to the opening action scene, when one of the lead character, Deunan Knute, fires a gas propelled grappling to scale to the top of the church by shooting it into one of the terrorist legs.

You can hear clearly the sound of the grappling hook entering the leg follow by rope draging on the ledge of the balcony while Deunan uses the terrorist as a counter weight to pull herself to the balcony of the building. Then of course there is the traditional sounds of glass breaking , guns firing, safety pin being pulled from a grenade,m and it wouldn't be the future without some automatic door closing. They also use robot call landmates that have fully articulating limbs that can clearly be heard over some of the ambient noise are not slienced in other movies involving robots.

Link to the opening church scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4jJzYtpyY

Unknown said...

First off, Blade Runner is on my top 10 list of best movies ever made. I would compair the movie to have simularities to the movie the 5th element which is in my top 15 of best movies ever made.
The 5th element could be classified as a sci-fi noir just like Blad Runner because of similuar sub-genre classifications they share. In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay. (April 2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119116/
Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 4 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to earth seeking their maker... (April 2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/
Both Plots share similer intrests just like the music scores and sound effects.
The soft effects with music undertones carry Blade Runner through out the film. Durring action scenes we are put right into the scene with the heightend sound effects pared with visual effects.
In The 5th Element simular music techniques help carry this film as well. The scores and effects are different in each film as they should be because the foreground, mid, and backgrounds in each of the scenes are different. If that is the case it is only fitting that the sound designer for each film fit the sound to each sittuation as seen fit for the film in case.
I guess what I am saying is that the sound and cinematography share a symbiotic relationships but the techniques to carry the films with sound are simular.

Unknown said...

I was curious to see what search results I would find as far as designing for clients would show then I got the idea of combing a particular "process" in design. I searched "Designing storyboards for clients" and got a list of articles and comments to choose from.
Adobe offered a detailed article for ideas on how to handle the subject at hand.
"Developing a storyboard"
"After you decide what you want to do and for whom, it's time to start designing the project. There are many methods for designing a project, but at some point you need to get the ideas out in the open and recorded for others to review.

It doesn't matter how you do it. You can lock a group of creative types in a room, feed them sugar and caffeine, and not let them out until they're done. You can take a trip to Kauai and sit on the beach by yourself with a note pad and a daiquiri (although I don't know how much you'd get done). Warner Brothers cartoons were all created by writers and animators who sat in a room with a stenographer, having a wonderful time thinking up new schtick for Bugs to do. The only rule was that no one could say anything negative about somebody else's idea. Whichever process you choose is fine, as long as the result resembles a storyboard." (April 2008)
http://www.adobe.com/support/director/how/expert/manage/managemm02.html
It's basic stuff that we should all know by now as far as setting our selfs up for succesful project design for a client.
Process is key and having a solid foundation for the end result a client pays for.

sundownsensei said...

These comments are great. we will be able to expand on these in our class discussion I am sure.

Stargod said...

Quick commet on The Island, The calm music in the beginning of of the help hide the mystery of "nature's last paradise."

MGarbatini said...

1.)

I wasn’t sure what movie compares to Blade Runner so I went to Google and found a website that lists similar movies to Blade Runner. The movie it specified as the number one relatable movie was The Fifth Element. The plot synopsis for the movie is at: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:154944 however, I will still explain in my own words what the fifth element is about.
Synopsis of Me:
The beginning takes place in 1914 and Dylan from 90210 and some old scientist are reading hieroglyphs off a temple wall. They find out too much about the fifth element so the priest tries to poison them. Then the good aliens come to earth to take away the four remaining elements because they are not safe on earth since evil is going to come soon. Then 300 years later evil does come. The priest of that generation tells the military about the five elements and how to obtain them. Then scientists replicate that red haired girl out of an aliens arm and she is considered the fifth element at first. She gets scared and runs out of the laboratory and then jumps on to Bruce Willis’s taxi cab. Then he runs from the police who are trying to capture her again because he falls in love with her prettiness. Bruce brings the girl to the priest and they all find out that there were no elements in the spaceship that was blown up. Leeloo as the fifth element calls herself tells everyone that the four elements are going to be transported to an opera show by some alien who can sing good. Bruce and her end up going to the show and a lot of action type scenes happen involving fighting and aliens. Eventually the four elements are picked up by Bruce Willis and the priest. They all go to earth to perform the ritual to rid the universe of evil and they place the four elements on the stands and then tell Leeloo to do her stuff but she cannot. Then we find out that the fifth element is really “love” and Bruce kisses Leeloo and all the evil gets destroyed.
Comparing The Fifth Element to Blade Runner:
Many aspects of the Fifth Element are comparable to Blade Runner. For instance the overall objective of the two movies are to destroy some form of evil, In Blade Runner it was the renegade replicates and in the Fifth Element it was the giant fire ball of Evil. Both main male characters in each movie fall in love with female lead roles. There is one part of the movie in Fifth Element where the audio is used to its fullest. I have linked that part below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CL0R9yAspAU
The audio in this particular scene has a great impact on the mood of the movie. It tells the audience that there is a fight scene coming up because the pace of the music starts to increase. The singing alien’s voice is combined with electronic piano in an attempt to mask the two to convince the audience that they are one.

2.)

I read over this article on Graphic Design http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/career/a/ask_clients.htm

The article states to know every kind of question in which you are going to ask a client. Doing this will enable you to gather as much information as possible which means you will have a greater deal of research to work with, which usually leads to the creation of more solid and believable ideas. It also forces you to get to know the clients that you are going to be working for much better. Get the client involved in the creative process and ask their opinions on every aspect of the layout of the Website. Lastly but most important, never forget the deadline of the project.

Matthew Garbatini
Game Art & Design

Silent but Deadly said...

Blade Runner

The Music and Audio used in this movie provided the audience with a good understanding as to how we should feel and how the mood of a particular scene is being set. The music was a sci-fi like demonstration of what this futuristic city was all about. Although the movie is a little out-dated now compared to the special effects and sound, we were still able to comprehend a strong idea of how the music played in to the movie. The fighting sequences had very strong music that would pull the audience in from their seats and glue their attention to the screen, even if they were not looking to begin with. Musical effects and transitions between different types of musical moods gave this movie a action packed, terrifying, and curios feel to itself. The cold, eerie music that plays throughout the movie definitely sets the audience up for a suspense filled moment.

Ultraviolet
synopsis:
In the late 21st Century, a vampire-like disease has ravaged the world, creating a population of humans with boosted intelligence, speed and stamina. The "Hemophages" are targeted for destruction by the uninfected humans, leading to a worldwide civil war. Caught in the middle of this battle is Violet (Milla Jovovich), an infected woman who finds herself protecting a nine-year old boy (Cameron Bright) marked for death by the government who believe him to be a threat to the healthy population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_%28film%29


This movie, I think much like the movie “Island” that Ken described and also relates well with music similar in style in the movie Blade runner. Ultraviolet was placed further ahead in time if I remember correctly, but the music still relates to Blade Runner in my opinion. The movie also had moments of ambient music and fast-paced music, where the main character would be inside a building with her gun drawn. This kind of music definitely brought me closer to the tv when I was watching it, so I would have to say that the ambient and suspense filled music were well played throughout this film. The normal background music that was played in the film was related to a technical type of music with some action fast guitar segments in between.

Example of suspense music:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RZuhtxDGpyI&feature=related

Humor:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LxH3XLNWJ-E

As far as clients go for I search around and found basically the same on most websites. They want you to be a professional, know you materials, get aquanted with others, adapt under certain situations, uphold good guidelines and standards, and change ideas and work when necessary to fit your client’s needs.

One website I found talked about six steps to being a better professional in the designing business. Those steps are…

1) Hone those Social Skills
2) Blow your own Trumpet (No one Else Plays your Tune)
3) Get Into Bed With Someone (Be a fun person and good listener)
4) Conduct Effective Advertising
5) Visualize your Success
6) Persistence will Win the Day

Also I realized that much of the design process includes reworking your mistakes with your clients, but eventually getting to know them well enough to skip the time that is wasted when trying to give your client what he is looking for, but not quite hitting the nail in the head. Once you are capable of this, then you can garuntee yourself more clients that will want to hire you for your increasing success rate. And if you do become successful you will develop relationships and contacts with those people who will in turn refer you to other clients and thus giving you more job opportunities.

Site with six tips for design clients:
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/tips-more-web-design-clients

by: Joseph Kresz
Game Art and Design

Silent but Deadly said...

I agree with Ken's post on the movie Island, not only does that movie have simialr sounding music, but the story is very similar as well. And the time zone in which it is placed suits the same idea as Blade Runner.

brian23 said...

I found a really good article on designing websites for clients. the site gives you 10 easy steps to follow to create a successful site for a client. 1. no two clients are alike some clients will know what they want on a site while others will leave all creativity to you. 2. Communication is key make sure you ask lots of questions to find out what the client wants to avoid setbacks. 3. the client doesn't always know what best. 4. The clients opion is most important. they are the ones paying for you to help them when its all done make sure it is up to their liking even if you think the design doesn't work well. 5. Happy clients will refer you to others which cuts back on advertising and time looking for new clients. 6. You're not your own boss no matter what you do if your designing something for a client while the client is paying you he is the boss. 7. Treat each job as a learning experience to better yourself. 8. You must respect your own time tell the client you want to collect some of the fee upfront it will save time and help pick out the customers who are just trying to use you. 9. Some jobs aren't worth it, don't be afraid to turn a client down if the project doen't seem rite to you. 10. Organization and Prioritizing are keys.
I found this to be a very good article. It was intended to be for web designers but i feel that any artist can take these 10 steps and applied it to any client.
Heres a link to the article http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/designing-for-clients/

brian23 said...

The movie i chose was Cyborg.
the movie came out in 1989 and stars Van Damme. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. heres a summary i got of the movie off the back of the dvd "Falling apart from social anarch anda deadly plague, 21st century America has fallen into a barbaric nightmare. Only Pearl a half human half robot has the knowledge necessary to develop a vaccine. But during her desperate quest to gather data and bring a cure to the world Pearl is captured by pirates who want to keep the antidote for themselves. Now only Gibson can rescue her and save what remains of civilization."
The music to the movie is very dark and you get a sense of what the world has become right from the start of the movie because of the music. They use sound throughout the entire movie mainly as a way of hyping up the tension of the action scenes.

brian23 said...

Oh and heres a link to wikipedia if you wanted to learn more about the movie cyborg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg_(film)

Kitten said...

I wasn't there last week so I had to rent Blade Runner and watch it. The movie I choose to compare it to is 28 Days Later just cause it's a random movie I like and own and they both have a death scene via pokage in the eye (which is pretty brutal.)

So in Blade Runner the underscore for the whole movie tends to be airy and wonderous sounding, I guess to give you the feeling of futuristocity. I noticed this ESPECIALLY whenever there were scenes of the main character flying somewhere. It made me go "oooo and ahhhhh" as I watched the fancy shmancy futuristic city happening under him. (BTW, what city was that? Hong Kong? NYC? Maybe Chinatown tookover...) Oh but yeah the mood music got creepier by the end to accentuate the suspense which turned out to have a realistic yet anti-climactic ending. (And I totally wasn't feeling the romance between him and the robot chick) As far as he sound effects in some places, I rolled my eyes at the beeps and boops that like ALL the machines made. Everything was so stereotypically "futuristic-movie."

Completely unrelated to sound though: I really liked that in all of the scenes where they had close-ups of the replicants, they shined a light in their eyes somehow in a way that made them shine weird and gave them a characteristic of robotiness. They even did it to the owl.

Now for 28 Days Later the underscore is directly related to the mood of the movie. When the main character is alone, it's quiet with no music at all. When there's a sad scene, sad music plays, when there's a playful scene, bouncy, fun music plays. The best song in the whole movie is the one that's played throughout the whole climax, when Jim is killing all the soldiers. It's a song that starts off with just two notes playing over and over and even though the song picks up, the two original notes keep playing. It's a really haunting piece and used well.

Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST2H8FWDvEA&feature=related

Kitten said...

Ok as for working with clients and whatnot, everything I found is just regurgitating what everyone else said:

Establish trust with your client so they can trust you to make good choices on the project.

Have a timeline so everyone knows what's happening and when it'll be done.

Always let the client know what's going on.

Establish what they like but make sure to definitely note what they DON'T like.

Show them your work in person so you can explain it.

Don't take it personally if they don't like what you've designed.

Doofy said...

Vangelis' score for Blade Runner is perfect for the film. Being all electronic made it seem, at the time, very futuristic. Nowadays the score is a little dated but still strong.

The Fifth Element was also set in the future and is also very electronically stylized. The huge difference between the two scored is that Eric Serra incorporates all kinds of organic sounds too. I recommend everyone see this movie as the score, among other elements, are striking.

When doing work for a client it is essential to have a constant back-and-forth between the client and artist to ensure that what is created represents the vision of the client.

ZElder said...

Brade Runna is a masterpiece that i cant even begin to compare with most other movies, but i woul dhave to compare it to John carpenter's the THing because the audio and the interactions between the character's are key to setting the mood. In Brade Runna they are excellent at portraying the immense landscape scenes whey they are flying in the vehicles and around the buildings, it does a great job at also giving you a sense of wonder. I like the Thing as well because the music is eerie in some parts but also has uplifting parts as well. Also in the thing they have no idea who is an alien and who is human without doing a test, which is also the case in Brade Runna because they have to ask those questions as a test.

Also in Brade Runna the Androids are the only ones who's eyes glow and during the part when Harrison Ford gets home after getting beat up and nearly killed by Leon when he is in his apartment his eyes glow for a short period of time i think before she asks him if he has ever run the test on himself.

After watching Brade Runna with the new effects since i only own the walmart 5 dollar Director's Cut, i had a sudden realization about the movie and how the "Near Death Experience"(might be coining that one) that the Nexus i think it was Blatty or something the blond guy, he is motivated by his ego to survive and he has no reguard for human life, but when the end of the movie comes and he begins to die the expierience makes him appreciate life and when he dies he releases the white dove, which could also be a symbol of the Amanita Muscaria, because the "Grail" phase is represented as wings since the gills look like feathers and the side view of the mushroom looks like a sillouette of an open armed bird, also the dove's are white with red eyes, like the mushroom and also there is a depiction of jesus getting baptised by john the baptist with John the baptist's staff head has a crucifix and the intersection on the cross is at the base of pine trees that are in the background and above jesus there is a white dove that is flying with its beak pointing directly at the base of the pine trees where the staff is showing the x marking the spot.

Doofy said...

My YouTube clip

ZElder said...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TevQS4qgE_Q