Clever s*ds - help required please!!

[giraffe]

No I don't do horror either. That's what she uncovered in her research.

[Scurra]

Yeah, movies in what are generally called the "found footage" genre often don't have music because that would seem odd. The idea of the form is that the film has supposedly been found after the event and it recounts what happened - the most famous example of this was probably The Blair Witch Project. Having music would make people ask where the orchestra was! They tend to be horror movies simply because that genre lends itself to the idea (it's generally easy to scare people by having long quiet bits and then suddenly a BANG! regardless of whether or not the BANG! is actually scary. Adding music might distract people at the wrong moment.)

Personally, I can't imagine many films without music (if any) would be improved by having music because these days the music score appears to solely exist to tell you what sort of emotional reaction you should be feeling. I don't mind that too much in films that are intended for children (or families) because they may not be able to pick up the intent from the characters or script. But it seems to happen on most films nowadays; as if they thought we weren't able to figure anything out!

[giraffe]

I think that's what I think. If they have been made without music then surely there is a very good reason.

[Bunnylump]

Sometimes the music doesn't just reinforce the emotion of a film, but actually shadows the ACTION in the film. For example, in the Shining, the action is matched TO THE MUSIC -remarkably precisely. They have even matched the sounds and feel of the instruments to the section of the film - for example outside in the ice and snow in the maze at the end, you can't even hear the crunching of the running across the snow - the rhythm of the music supplies the "sound" of the feet. And the glassy, slicing of the strings above cuts right through you like ice. Imagine this scene WITHOUT the music...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgxAkocAPmg

[clvrlad]

http://cinemaquest.com.au/lists/2011/10 ... al-scores/

some great films

[giraffe]

Yes it's easy to find lists of films that are good because they have no music, she was looking for the top ten films that were ruined by not having music.

[clvrlad]

thats personal choice
you can argue that good/great films without music could be improved with music
then explain how you would have done it differently

[LAT]

How on earth do I go about choosing a new laptop? I've a feeling I'm on borrowed time with mine so think I should get around to buying one sooner rather than later. In the past I have discussed this with a chap at work but in my current job I'm not so sure that any of the IT guys there would welcome the request for advice.

[giraffe]

I wish mine had a number keypad, and weight is quite important. I would also prefer it is the keys weren't black, as I find them hard to see in dim light, my old one had silver keys. I have no idea what the technical stuff means.

[LAT]

I think I'd agree with all those points. I also hate black keyboards and would like a number pad. And I had thought about looking at weight. But how to choose which make......

I do actually have a separate number pad which I connect sometimes when I'm doing something involving a lot of figures.

[giraffe]

If you can meet those criteria then you have probably ruled a lot out, so then the choice isn't so hard.

[Bunnylump]

Don't get a Dell!! I liked mine until it totally crashed about 6 months after I bought it. To be fair, it has been fine since I spent about two hours on the phone and finally swore at them, and they sent me a proper engineer. But I didn't see why I should have had to do that to get something which had cost hundreds of pounds to do the job it was bought for.

[LAT]

My current one is a Dell and it's been fine for a few years now although it does get very hot. And that is the problem so I want to replace it before it completely dies.

[giraffe]

I find mine gets hot depending on how I'm sitting. If I'm wearing a skirt it gets hot, but trousers don't block the vents as much, but every so often it starts getting hot, and I have to adjust wher it is on my leg.

[Bunnylump]

I've got one of those ventilated laptop cushions, which is brilliant and stops it overheating.

[LAT]

Ooh, that sounds cool!

Ho ho

[Bunnylump]

Ho ho indeed!! This is what I mean
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Laptop-C ... B0026RC3Y6

[kathlyn]

I've got a Sony lap top, very happy with it, have had it a year or so. OH also has one, he had his first and no probs.

I use it on a lap tray one of those with the bean cushion underneath.

[SparkOut]

Each to his/her own... my preferred choice would be a Dell. You can never be sure whether your one will be "the one" that has the nightmare history, whichever maker you pick. You can get cheaper, you can pay more, you can get better quality components, you can get more rubbish inside, depending on the supplier and what you choose to spend, but Dell have served me well over the years.
If you had a budget in mind, I could look around for a few choices I'd say are OK for you.

[Bunnylump]

Like I say, mine is fine now (and I do like the machine in its own right) but when it went catastrophically wrong so quickly, I wouldn't have minded if I hadn't had such an absolute nightmare trying to get them to fix it. Their customer service is clearly the issue.