Extra Credit: MoMI Visit

I have to admit, I was not looking forward to going back to the Museum of the Moving Image but once I got there, I realized why you guys keep insisting we go back to visit the museum at least once a year. I just like that it not only constantly demonstrates how media is made, but it also shows how the technology that has served as the methods of capturing and delivering media has evolved, and continues to do so. As a technophile, I visit a lot of technology blogs regularly where they showcase the most cutting edge of technology in today's world. Therefore, the video cameras in the “Behind the Scenes” exhibit were really awesome in my opinion- and I’m not even one of those people who are into cameras.

They weren't awesome from a technological standpoint, I think they just made me appreciate the development of cameras; from the first old-fashioned looking hulking giants of the past to the modern cameras that they have today. It was kind of surreal to look at the old cameras that were so large and hulky and realize that I had a camera that was better quality on the top of my smartphone. There were a bunch of “hands-on” exhibits like a “computer effects” exhibit that allowed you to do a bit of post-production like voice-dubbing, or stop motion (which was probably the coolest thing they had there). There were also some cheesy, gimmicky exhibitions like props, costumes, make-up artifacts, magazines… you get the picture. It was cool, but it was better when I was there last time and they had all of the video games. Where did all of that go? NOT COOL MoMI. 

The Pursuit of Happiness

http://youtu.be/chqPYKzoP1Q

Storyboard of the Pursuit of Happiness

The Film Maker: RonDavid

http://soundcloud.com/shaun-persaud/the-filmaker-rondavid/s-ADnvr

What I hear- A portrait of East New York

As I take a walk around my neighborhood on a windy night, my ears are treated to a wide variety of sonic vibrations. There are rasping sounds of air passing through my nostrils as I breath, the burning of tobacco leaves within cigarette as I take a drag. The wind blows, rustling the leaves on the trees and producing an awkward rattling sound that ripples through the air. Leaves begin to fall; there are scraping sounds along the ground from the dead leaves that are carried along. The wind brings voices with it; young men shouting and laughing, the repetitive bouncing of a basketball. A car passes by giving off a muffled sort of sound as it the wind ripples through the air. Moments later, the blare of a car horn. The bouncing of the ball stops. Moments later there is a loud pop akin to a firework. Everything stops. The wind blasts through the street again. There are chirps coming down from the treetops. Moments later, the sound of a police siren ripples through the air. A mother's voice echoes through the night urging her son the go inside. The sounds of a basketball game ends. The night goes quiet except for the wind and chirping scattering down from the treetops.

A Typical Morning at Hunter West

Seeing the world of early morning Hunter West through the different perspectives of its students.

Mise-en-scene

There is a film entitled American History X, which incidentally happens to be my favorite film of all time, that  has so many cinematic qualities, it could be used to teach classes about cinematic composition. To illustrate this point, I have decided to analyze the mise-en-scene of a very powerful moment within the film. The scene is placed at the beginning of the film and serves to set the tone, as well as the driving force for the entire piece. The scene is shot in black and white, which emphasizes the black vs white conflict of the film. At .03 seconds, the viewer is shown two large swastikas, both of which shine boldly on the screen due to the black and white contrast. After the character Danny tells Derek that there is a black guy out front trying to break into the car, the scene coordinator follows Hitchcock's rule and has Derek move over to the right as and the camera shifts slightly over to the left and pans in to emphasize the swastika on the wall at .08 seconds. This shows alerts the viewer to the political ideologies that are in place within the scene.

Shortly afterward, at .27 seconds, there is a close up shot of a gun being loaded, which sets the viewer up for the violence they are about to witness. As the two brothers head down the stairs, the viewer is made uncomfortable because Derek is rushing toward the character, this sets up the confrontational aspects that they are about to witness. There is a moment at .36 seconds where they both pause and the viewer is shown a two shot which emphasizes the camaraderie and differences between the two brothers, which is something that is emphasized to a greater extent toward the end of the scene.

As Derek rushes out to open fire at the crooks, the viewer suddenly becomes aware of the differences between the white and black clothing of the figures within the shot. The crooks are all clad in mostly dark colored clothing, while Derek is clothed in only white underwear. Then the viewer is immersed in a barrage of over the shoulder shots, medium-shots, and close-ups as Derek continually fires shots at the moving vehicle. When Derek comes back to the wounded crook on the pavement, the viewer is immersed in a steady stream of medium shots and close-ups until there is the extreme-close-up at 2.18 which emphasizes emotion and desperation in the character. The camera zooms out to fully capture the violence of the action within the scene but cuts to a close-up of Danny at 2.33 to fully encapsulate the horror depicted on his face.

Once the police have arrived on the scene, there is a close-up of Derek within the frame to emphasize the raw hatred and evil within his eyes at 3.03 which quickly cuts to a medium shot of Danny who is kneeling on the grass in disbelief. The next frame is a low angle shot of Derek with his arms outstretched and his eyes focused on Danny. As the police officers close in, the camera angle begins to rise, which begins to take the power of the scene away from Derek at 3.24. The viewing angle turns into an over the shoulder shot from Danny's perspective at 3.28. There is a moment where the camera captures the disbelief on Danny's face once more before it pans to a medium shot of Derek grinning until the handcuff is placed on his wrist, which lends to the idea that the handcuffs had a sobering effect upon the character. At 4.05, the officers pick both brothers up at the same time, reinforcing the difference between them as one is taken to the car and the other is forced inside. the scene ends with the camera zooming out from a worried mother and consoling daughter, ending a brilliant display of cinematography.