Final Project 3

Fanelli Proj 3 Final

Blog 4: Museum of the Moving Image

I really enjoyed visiting the museum last week. My group started with the intense make-up art that some films require. Seeing these meticulous projects really blew my mind. The face casts, prosthetics, and masks were really interesting to see in real life, versus how I first experienced them when I watched their films. This is the area of film/ media production I learned the most about, mostly because I knew virtually nothing about it. According to our tour guide, it seems like it takes almost as much time to apply involved make-up as it does to actually shoot! It's definitely an amazing art form that seriously impressed me. The same goes for the various intricate costumes that were on display.
I didn't realize how extensive the museum really was. I had the most fun in the stop motion section where we were able to make very short films of our own. I made an extremely short film about a giant crustacean who eats Dorothy (from The Wizard of Oz), and then has a short dance celebration under the rainbow. The ADR studio was interesting too, where a few other students and myself recorded our voices over a scene from School of Rock. My voice coming out of Jack Black's face was interesting to say the least and opened my eyes to how actors rerecord their lines. The setup of film history (like a short viewing of the Great Train Robbery and a replica of the Egyptian Theater) alongside more modern projects that we could relate to, brought ideas full circle for me. I was also really glad we got the free student ticket passes because I'd like to go back and spend more time exploring there.
The changes in technology have really opened the door for films to take on as many fantastical elements as they please. Films look more real, so the audience's experience is as well.

Project 3 Rough Cut

Fanelli Project 3 Rough Cut

Final Final Audio Cut

Laura Fanelli Final Final Audio Cut

Blog #3 : Sequence Analysis

In this 30 second clip from the upcoming movie Avengers: Infinity War, Peter Parker sits on a school bus and suddenly realizes something is wrong.

The first shot ends with a pan to the window, focusing on trouble in the distance. The following two cuts connect the next moments with a shot, reverse, shot template. We are inside the school bus and see something is wrong in the city over Peter's shoulder; we are outside the school bus to get Peter's reaction; then, we are back on a medium shot inside the school bus to follow his next move. There is a match on Peter's action as he faces out the window that creates continuity.

We take Peter's POV with an eyeline match close-up on his friend, Ned. Ned is looking back and sharply up, where Peter is located in the previous shot. It then cuts to a wide shot of the bus to show the result of Ned's "distraction." This cut allows us to see students rushing to the back of the bus with Ned, while leaving Peter alone.

Abruptly, to match the speed of the action, it cuts in to a close up on Peter as he looks down. It cuts quickly again to his hands rummaging through his backpack, inferring that this is what he was looking down at in the last shot. The quick edits keep the pace of the scene and follow the specific action that is important for this moment.

In the backpack shot, the camera follows Peter grabbing and activating his web-slinger, and pans as he shoots a web on the emergency exit window handle. There is a split second where it cuts back to his hand yanking the web, then back to the handle which pulls open with the web. This also adds to the quick pace while supporting continuity. The next cut widens a bit and shows Peter entering the frame with the window and promptly exiting. This is a match on action, because the last shot showed a close up of the window without Peter in it. The editor avoided a jump cut by showing Peter entering into the space that had already been established.

Next, we are again outside the bus as he puts his mask on and leaps off. We stay on the same side of the 180 degree line inside and outside the bus, which keeps the audience mentally connected with events, despite the drastic change in scenery. This scene ends with an extreme wide shot of Peter diving and swinging off the bridge. The editor takes us farther and farther out as Peter leaves the normal morning school bus ride to conquer bigger world issues as Spider-Man. The editor establishes the difference by cutting immediately to this extreme wide shot.

Audio Project Final Cut

https://soundcloud.com/user-909222494/fanelliaudiofinalcut

“Blog 2” : Soundwalk

I spent an hour walking around the Bryant Park/ Public Library block. I went at 3pm before work, figuring it would be busy. Tourists. Tourists everywhere. There was so much going on, I had difficulty at first focusing long enough to isolate one sound from another.

The background noises alone were in competition. A constant bass-y hum of food trucks from every corner filled the space, spiking when a bus revved its engine. That atmosphere was more daunting and heavy than I anticipated. Louder sounds of higher pitches ripped through into the foreground. Children’s voices laughing, scream-crying, or whining seemed more piercing and drew attention. Voices in general seemed to fade in and out of my focus based on different timbres and the variety of languages circulating. The textbook mentioned the term “walla-walla” and that’s exactly how I would describe it.

As I listened longer, I was able to imagine sounds as if they were on different tracks. I could hear pigeons cooing and flapping away when someone got too close, and different birds chirping. The way different items interacted with the concrete beneath them also became more apparent. Rubber stroller wheels made a low rustle and dress shoes, versus heels, versus sneakers all gave a different loudness and pitch.

I caught excerpts of phone conversations in passing, and these easily became the most interesting part of my soundwalk. A woman said, “What’s her name…Megan. She’s suspicious.” And a man complained, “Yo, this is a lot of walking. I need a drink to walk this much.” I was expecting to see the regular homeless man on the corner, yelling about whatever, but I realized I only see him in the middle of the night when I’m walking home. I was also surprised by the lack of police sirens I heard. Usually I hear them a few times an hour but only heard them once during my walk.

Overall I could hear the difference between the open air space of the park versus the condensed sound down narrow avenues where I was trapped between concrete walls. The neighborhood clearly lends itself to tourists and local business people desperately passing through. At this time of day the area was bustling with people and surrounded by a traffic symphony of car horns and screeching breaks. Also, somewhere in the distance, a well matched ping-pong tournament.