Final Project - "Call"

 "Call"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZloTjRp3PA


 + Storyboard


           









*Inspo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khMb3k-Wwvg

Blog Assignment - Soundwalk

Apparently the zoo isn’t a hot tourist spot in New York in November but the lack of toddler cries and train operator voices really helps you think. Think about anything really but on this cold fall afternoon, I visited the Bronx zoo (to finish a lab assignment, no I’m not that crazy to go to the zoo in this cold ass weather) and found myself enjoying the quietness of the surroundings mixed with the cool breezes of the somewhat abandoned zoo attractions. My phone was at 3 percent, so I decided to unplug my headphones and just take a walk through the zoo while I took my lab notes.

As I entered the tropical stations, I could hear myself stepping on the leaves as they fell from the autumn trees. In a way, I felt as though I was sneaking into a forbidden jungle with mysterious animals which I may or not have flinched at a couple of times. The sounds of snack wrappers being picked apart by the squirrels, anxiously trying to find the remaining Cheetos dust in the empty bags by the over-piled trash can. As I continue to walk around, I hear a loud growl in the distance, as if a lion was crying out to their loved one to hurry back to their side. I hear a small fountain near the crossing signs of the exhibits, water running down to the tail-sided pennies on the bottom of the fountain.

I hear the markings of my pen as I jot down my notes, almost as if I was trying to write a book in 30 seconds. A minute and a half goes by and I hear the air race against my ears, telling to hurry up. As I start to exist the zoo, I hear two birds fighting over a piece of moldy bread on the ground. Their wings flapping against one another as they let out soft chirps of desperation. I figured I had enough notes for the day as I push against the turnstile and hear the rusted metal rub against the ground.

Blog Assigment - Visit to MoMI

Having grown up in Astoria, I was fairly familiar with the Museum of Moving Images. However, after the trip we had through Hunter, I’ve come to realize that you can never become too familiar with such a diverse and expansive museum experience. Our tour guide directs our attention towards a room filled with vintage cameras used in the early film world which also emphasized the evolution of film making throughout the years. She showed us different sound editing tools that are still being used today in scores as well as different lighting tools that may burn your eyes if you look directly at them.

            One thing that was memorable was the screening of “The Great Train Robbery” which was projected in a small room against a blank wall. The black and white look really fit the feel of the movie, though at the time, that’s all they could really work with. The guide pointed out that this film was actually shot in two locations, however the setting takes place in one. The use of continuity editing allowed this fun fact to be hard to believe given the smooth transitions in between shots.

            On the other hand, the tour guide showed us a contemporary film that used Foley sound effects to somewhat narrate the famous scene in “Titanic” where the ship goes down. It really put into perspective the amount of work that goes into making a scene saturated with actions, whether they were human-made or not. For example, the guide broke down the different sound effects are added post production to really emphasize a wire being pulled apart or a side of the ship falling down upon the people swimming to the life boats.

            The museum itself offered a great variety of contemporary and vintage examples of different media atmospheres in terms of film, TV and even arcade games.

Audio Portrait

https://soundcloud.com/user-446405753/medp160-audioproject_final/s-O9Hqk

Relationship Between Shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVaUq98qWGE 

Moonlight – “Chair Revenge Scene”

[0:00] In this scene from moonlight, we are led by the character using a POV sequence with continuity editing. As Chiron walks into the school, the camera follows him though a continuous mid-low angle shot to emphasize his powerful rage. As he walks though the hallway, the camera shifts 180∘ facing the actor as he steadily continues to walk to class. As he opens each door, the camera changes location from either behind or in front of him, alternating between shots to have a smooth edit while maintaining screen direction. 

[00:43] As he walks into the classroom, we see him from a very low shot angle, continuously following the character’s movements from a long shot perspective. The camera slowly loses motivation towards the protagonist and shifts towards the bully in class. As Chiron grabs his chair, the camera focuses on the bully’s desk with his other friends right before Chiron hits him with the chair. The camera is motivated by this action to look at the bully lying injured on the floor. We then see Chiron from a low angle shot as he continues to assault the bully as he lies defenseless on the ground. The camera switches POV to the teacher who seems to be looking down at the bully before interrupting Chiron’s breakdown. As the teacher and classmates hold Chiron back from causing more damage, the camera alternates points of view between the defeated bully and Chiron

[01:12] As the next part of the scene continues, the camera introduces Chiron from a low angle walking down the stairs handcuffed with police at his side but slowly reaches a mid-angle shot to emphasize his loss in power. As he leaves the school we see Kevin, his “friend”, watch Chiron being forced into a cop car. The pov changes to Kevin being shot from a low angle and Chiron being shot from a high angle. This emphasizes the power shift between the characters as Chiron looks defeated by his own actions. As Chiron looks back at Kevin, the camera maintains the eyeline match. Since Chiron is sitting down in the cop car at a shorter height, he looks up towards Kevin as Kevin does vice-versa. [01:46]

Define A Space - Final Version

Define A Space (Rough Draft)

Artist Statement

* "Dark Red" by Steve Lacy plays in the background *

I was about 13 years old when I sprained my ankle as I was tackled in a game of football. As my short/uneventful life flashed before my eyes, I realized that I was never going to become a pro-football player anytime soon. What I did think about during that moment was, "I wonder if Rihanna could visit me in the hospital to cheer me up before I go towards the light?" Neither came true but I did get to be homeschooled for the rest of the year which meant no more sh*tty school food for me.

Music has always been in the background of my life. Headphones are practically a part of my anatomy at this point. I've always been fascinated with the way sounds and visuals perfectly compliment one another especially when it comes to music videos or even in films as well. I love how storytelling and cinematography can be enhanced with the use of few chords or a couple melodies. Directors such as Anthony Mandler, F. Gary Gary, Francis Lawrence (etc.) are just a couple of my biggest inspirations when it comes to videography. Whenever I listen to music I imagine what the visual version of a song would look like in my head and I always seem to know what the next single an artist is going to choose from their latest album to release a video for. 

It's hard enough to have your voice be heard being a 19 year old "Millennial", especially for the next 4 years. The idea that there still are close-minded, ignorantly-backwards-thinking people who are able to sleep peacefully at night still baffles me. I believe that eventually we will be able to live in a world where we are able to put aside our personal grudges/believes, look back and laugh at a time when we picked a reality-tv star to be in charge of a county. The fact that music is an international language gives me hope that one day we can all just be humans. Hopefully I can still meet Rihanna too.

* "Parking Lot" by Anderson .Paak plays in the background *