Trip to the Museum of the Moving Image

The exhibit I enjoyed the most was the Nam Jun Paik exhibit where the artist created two figures standing alone on a table. What I enjoyed most about this exhibit is that I was able to interact with it. I had to swing the small lamp so that it would make the shadows of the figures move, as if they were dancing. This exhibit showed how light and objects interact with each other. I learned that not all objects need to be manipulated on camera, that objects can appear differently just based on lighting and angles. The movement of the objects' shadows changed direction according to which direction the lamp was being swung (side to side or front to back) . The Movement of the lighting played the major role in the way the shadows appeared to move. Moving Images can be created by, more than light but the angles in which they are being viewed from as well as the direction and speed they are moving at. All in all, I enjoyed the hands on experience of learning about moving images, and how images and props are used and manipulated in films; along with seeing the very moving images and the devices that were used to record and project them.

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I chose a scene from Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, where the camera angles and dialogue in communicating the emotions in the scene. The lighting is dim in this scene so it creates a dangerous feel. In this scene, there is a lot of loud music in the background while the characters are yelling at one another. There are a group of men who enter the pizza shop aggressively, and they are shot from a slanted upward angle, causing them to look bigger than they are. This angle makes them look like the aggressors. Then the pizza shop owner is shot from a slanted high angle, making him look like the victim, even though he is yelling as well. I think that the use of this slanted angle is important in this scene because it creates suspense.
The cuts are made obvious, as they jump from character to character. This is done intentionally in order to show the tension in the scene. The shots in the scene are determined by action and reaction, the relationship between the two groups represented. From the moment the three men entered the pizza shop to the point where they started arguing to the shop owner smashing the radio with a baseball bat. The scene continuously builds from shot to shot.

Do the Right Thing Scene

Sound Walk

Sound Walk on Cortelyou Road.

             I decided to do my sound walk in my neighborhood, right here on Cortelyou road. I silenced my phone and removed my headphones. Cortelyou is a pretty busy street, full of people, apartment buildings, maybe a house or two, and many stores. I walked down Cortelyou road around 3 pm. I heard all the trucks, cars, and buses passing by, along with the Q and B trains that run frequently at the train station. I also heard people talking to one another, and on their phones. As I continue my walk I also hear the sound of people rolling their laundry carts to the laundry mat on the corner of E 16th and Cortelyou. I also hear kids yelling, and a baby crying. A child wheels by me on his scooter. Another guy bikes past delivering pizza, and shortly after I hear a motorbike zoom by delivering Chinese food. I also heard a few cars honking their horns at one another, impatiently waiting in traffic.
           The sounds that would be considered background noises, would be pigeons flapping their wings and making that odd sound they make, the sound of peoples' footsteps, and the city traffic. I would consider these sound marks as well, because these sounds occur the most often. The sounds I did not expect to hear, or really notice for that matter were the sounds of people's cell phones ringing, and a few police and firetruck sirens in the distance. The most meaningful sounds to me, were the ones that are natural to the city, such as the cars and bikes passing by, and the pigeons.

Filmp 160 interview from sydney codrington on Vimeo.