I started my sound walk in a diner. There is something really comforting about the orchestral music that is created by the combination of classic diner sounds. My neighborhood is Bushwick and this diner is located right on the corner of Flushing Avenue, a high traffic four lane street. Bushwick is still a neighborhood occupied by a lot of factories, so the sound of trucks is a constant back-drop sound during the day, and was quite loud even when inside the diner. It made you feel like you were on a road trip somewhere in the middle of the country at a truck stop. All diners tend to make me feel like I am a Thelma or Louise...far from my house but very much at home. I realized the sounds that come out of a diner never seem to change no matter how many decades past. I always feel like there is a mutual nostalgia being experienced by all of the patrons in a diner, or maybe it’s all in my head and just me feeling such a comfort amongst strangers. The sounds that resonate the most are the sound of cutlery hitting the plate or the inside of a coffee mug, this sound is morning music to my ears. Then the sound of the register opening and closing and all the coins clanking inside. The sound of the metal spatula scraping the eggs off the hot plate, and of course the different conversations being kept at a respectable volume. What was interesting about being in this diner was a new sound that I had never acknowledged or recognized before, it was the constant thumping, the sound of cell phones hitting the table, being picked up and then hitting the table again. This sound was a slice of the new generation, however no matter how progressive a place may be or feel, a diner is and will forever be a place frozen in time.
Monday, May 18, 2015
MOMI reflection
The MOMI was a fascinating experience. It was interesting to learn about the use of cameras during the war, along with the birth of broadcast news. When the first portable camera was invented for military purposes it only allowed up to 10 minutes of footage. This mean’t cinematographers during that time, war-time specifically, had to be extremely selective, particular, and careful deciding what it was they thought worth capturing. I found this interesting because in toady's world, considering all of our technological advances and expanding capabilities, this seems to be an extreme disadvantage. I then realized that this restriction allows one to really harness their creativity. When we were discussing in class the pros and cons of using film and digital cameras, it was difficult to understand why someone would prefer film. This trip allowed me to understand. When our MOMI guide was discussing the talent cinematographers during the early years of film making had, considering the amount of restriction. This immediately made me think of something Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long letter instead.” Its extremely difficult when an art form is restricted, however the precision this forces one to have can really birth beauty and reflect true creativity. I have more respect for pieces shot with a film camera then I ever did before.
I had a lot of fun in one of the interactive exhibits. We were in a sound-proof room and were able to record our voices over an actors in the same way they would do when dubbing lines in post-production. It was fun to be able to actually speak into an cardioid microphone and know when we told that it was a cardioid microphone that we had to stand right in front of it, since it picks up sound only from the front not the back. It was nice to be able to apply knowledge from lecture while being guided through the museum. It really enhanced the experienced and opened a broader curiosity for the history of production and film in general.
Monday, April 20, 2015
"American Beauty" scene analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a90BAwsvlA
The scene is set in a gym where Jane and her friend Angela are performing a dance routine during the half time of a game, where Lester and Carolyn, Jane's parents, are in attendence. As the routine begins the viewer sees it from a medium angle shot, so we are looking down at the girls preforming their dance routine. This shows Lester’s, who is sitting in the blechers, point of veiw, as well as creating a sense of innocence to the young girls as they preform. The camera begins to slowly lend its focus to Angela by closing up on her from a medium angle shot to an eye level shot where she is the only subject on screen. It then immediately cuts to Lester where the camera for the first time is at an eye level shot and closing up on his face. The camera then cuts to Angela preforming, slowly closing in on her and then cuting back to Lester. Through out the movie Lester is looked down upon by his family and himself. The cinemetographer and director used high angle shots to express this. Now the camera is at eye level with Lester and eye level with Angela creating an equality between both of them. As the camera jump cuts to close ups on each character it creates tension and shows a relationship between the two building. The director wanted the viewer to be aware of each cut. The scene then takes a turn and the viewers focus is soley and directly on Angela, as is Lesters as his fantasy day dream begins. The lighting and music changes and now we’ve entered into Lester’s head as he creates his sensual fanatsy with Angela (his daughters friend). Everyone disappars except for Angela and Lester. The camera is at an eye level shot as she sexually dances for Lester. The camera cuts to Lester at an eye level angle where his face takes up the entire frame. This close up allows us to see the emotional transition that is happening. Then it cuts to Angela dancing while the camera moves up and down to show the sensuality of her movement, and showing Lesters perception of her as this sexual vixin. The camera cuts back to Lester shooting him from a low angle. This shot is quite important, it shows Lester up in the blechers alone giving him a sense of power. As the dance sequence progresses, Angela slowly unzips her cheerleader uniform. In this moment an aray of rose petals fly out of her bosom filling the entire frame. Immediately the day dream ends and the camera cuts back to a medium shot of the girls finishing there dance routine. Once they finish the camera cuts to a close up eye level shot of Lester as he expresses a liberated face that changes the course of the entire movie
Lighting, color, and sound are key in this scene. The scene starts off with high key lighting, which lights up the whole set leaving little contrast between light and dark. This gives the viewer a sense of cheerieness which was the intial mood of the scene. As the cinematography focuses the veiwers attention on Angela the lighting changes to a spotlight on her revealing Lesters focus. As the day dream begins the lighting changes to low key with two spot lights on both Lester and Angela. This lighting creates a surreal court room effect. During this day dream the music immediately changes as well. It turns into a jungle call, reflecting the animalistic experience Lester is having. The music is of great contrast to the what was playing before, a more metropolitian like sound, stiff, orchestrated, and predictable, similar to the course of Lester’s life. As Angela begins unzipping her cheerlader uniform and the petals fly out the color of those rose petals are bright and vibrant. It is the first time we see any real color in the movie. The film generally has drab colors, the actors all wear neutral tones or shades, all reflecting Lester’s point of view on his life. The rose petals being the first vibrant color is symbolic of Lester coming back to life.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Artist Statement
When I was young my mother would take me to the park, as most parents do, since physical activity is deemed necessary and essential during childhood, however it was never that much of interest to me. I suppose the activity in my head was exhausting even for my body. Rather then run around, socialize, and play I would just sit there and I would stare. What was playful to me was never hanging from a pair of parallel bars or swinging from a rubber tire, but imagining the stories and experiences of the people in my surrounding. My mother would tell me I looked possessed because my eyes would open so big as if the wider I held them open the further inside someone I could see. I would imagine the kind of life these people lived, the life they wanted, their darkest secrets and guilty pleasures, their healthy habits and devilish vices. I had a strong desire to learn about people, especially those I knew nothing about. Every being had a way of sparking a curiosity inside of me, and a desire to learn and understand their experience. Strangers were so inspiring. As I got older this curiosity grew so strong I wanted to experience the lives of many others and exercise and entertain the many identities I always found within myself. I started acting because the stories of other peoples lives fascinated me even more then my own. That was a struggle for me when I was young that I utilized as a creative strength as I got older, by exploring the identities and personalities of others and being able to find common traits within myself. I’ve always had a cinematic way of looking at experience. People to me were all characters in movies I so desperately wanted to watch. Some say I am a people person but it goes much further then that. Learning about others helps me learn more about myself. I’ve always found sanctuary in the lives of strangers ever since I was a very little girl.
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