Blog 4: Movie clip

Clip from Slumdog Millionaire

This scene is a montage scene from the film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle. In the scene, we see Jamal and Salim as young boys surviving on their own. The scene is effective in showing the dichotomy between the silliness of the boys’ schemes, and the depressing fact that these two young boys are homeless orphans and are surviving by any means necessary.

In terms of the sound’s relationship to the editing, the shots are edited together based on the song we hear: MIA’s “Paper Planes”. The cuts match with the beat of the music, which creates a rhythmic relationship between what we see and what we hear. The song choice itself also adds to how contradictory the scene is between the seemingly upbeat song, and the dismal situation of the Jamal and Salim. The noise used in the song, that of a cash register, matches some shots of Salim counting the change they have obtained. This choice the sound we hear in the song, and what we see Salim doing gives the scene a music video montage feel.

The scene takes place on a moving train, and the way that the shots are edited together emphasizes the chaos of the boys’ journey. The shots are short, many about one to two seconds in length. This keeps the pace fast, which adds to the sense that the boys are on the run. The types of shots, some close-ups, some extreme long shots, also were chosen specifically to convey a feeling of movement. From one second to another we are moving back and forth with the boys, and it gives the audience a sense of what the boys are doing; they are running, hiding, scheming, blending into the crowd, trying to stand out to sell their merchandise, while still not attracting too much attention that will get them caught.

Audio Project: INTERVIEW WITH HAYIM

This is my Audio Project for Media 160.

Interview with Hayim


(It starts about 10 seconds in...)

Museum Blog post

At the museum of the moving image, our tour guide, Margaret, brought our group to a few interactive exhibits that I found particularly interesting or fun. The stop motion demonstration, which allowed us to create 10 shots using props and playback our montage, was simple, yet interesting. It was surprising that we could create a funny little scene in about a minute, but it showed how making an actual stop motion film must be tedious work, moving each scene by just the smallest amount for every shot.

The moving sculpture, along with the strobe light was mesmerizing. Margaret explained that an artist created a specific amount of space between each part of the sculpture, and timed the light to create an optical illusion that works in the same way as a moving picture. The strobe worked as the intermittent movement used to create the illusion of seamless movement in film. This sculpture was definitely my favorite exhibit due to its creativity and the detailed work that must have gone into creating it.

The exhibit that allowed us to add different music to well known scenes further conveyed Professor Lucas' demonstration of the power of music to create mood in a scene. We worked with a well-known scene from Vertigo that felt scary, or silly, without Bernard Hermann's original score. This really made me think about the type of music I want to use, and for what purpose, in my audio piece.

The ADR booth was a lot of fun, mostly because our group added ridiculous audio over the famous scene from the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy lands in Oz. However, I could only imagine how difficult it is to re-record dialogue in a studio after shooting, trying to sync the movement of your mouth with the sound of your voice in a studio.

Margaret showed us the camera used for some of the first color films, which was enormous and practically immovable during filming. Its huge size was then obvious in the clip from Meet me in St. Louis, where the camera did little moving, but instead the characters were all over the place. This must have led to extremely planned out scenes with little spontaneity because the filmmakers could not easily set up another shot quickly.

Overall the museum was fun, interesting and really explained complex parts of filmmaking in fun and simple ways. The way that we interacted with what are usually extremely detailed aspects of movies conveyed their place in the film, but did not do justice to the work that really goes into filmmaking. That being said, the museum was a blast, and is super informative for those who know little about the history of film and how films are made.

Sound Walk

Walking around my neighborhood in South Richmond Hill, Queens, you can gain an understanding of the culture the neighborhood has to offer. I live in a predominantly West Indian and Guyanese neighborhood, and the sounds on the block convey that clearly.

The first thing I take notice of on my walk are conversations between the people I pass. They speak quickly and with distinct West Indian or Caribbean accents. There is often a quick and sharp rhythm in the speech that if what was being said was spoken in English, you might think the conversation was heated. But there is often laughter that punctuates the dialogue that disproves that theory.

My neighborhood is overflowing with families, and kids' laughter and yelling to one another is the next thing I notice. Also, the distinct Punjabi music that comes blaring from car stereos is inescapable. The lyrics are sung in a high-pitched voice, which can be disconcerting to someone that does not hear it often, but the beat is usually fast and lively.

The teenagers of the neighborhood make their presence known with the loud exhausts of their cars-- or at least I assume they are teenagers with cars that loud, setting off other car alarms as they bound down my block. It happens frequently enough, that on this walk, I almost don't even think to add it to the list of things I hear!

As my daughter and I walk towards the park, the sound of children laughing and yelling becomes louder, and the sounds of park are distinct. Parents trailing after their toddlers, and kids shouting as they’re being chased.

RADIOLAB: A podcast that I love

Radiolab: Finding Emilie

This is a clip from the Radiolab episode "Finding Emilie." I love Radiolab because of the way they tell stories using interviews, the hosts' descriptions, and music and sound effects to create a mood and tell stories in an extremely powerful way. The way they switch back and forth from the different sound elements creates many layers to the audio and makes for a very rich and complex audio piece.

Define a Space

These are two versions of my "Define a Space" Project.

The first is a silent version edited in Final Cut Pro:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kpvUO-z9t8g?list=UUL5XrVU0HdXvbvh4Bf4d1Gg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The second is an alternate version that I edited in iMovie, with Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha5dRHdZE2k&list=UUL5XrVU0HdXvbvh4Bf4d1Gg

Artist Statement

Sometimes setting out to make art gives you that feeling you got as a teenager in the pit of your stomach, when your friends picked you up on Friday night, and you jumped into the car, and you knew your night might be exciting and full of laughter and maybe a little reckless.

Sometimes you need to create, like sometimes you need a good cry.

Sometimes creating is so relaxing, like getting up before everyone else in the house and having your coffee by yourself in the living room.

Sometimes all the stars align, like when the train shows up when you get on the platform.

Sometimes the double shift is the motivation.

It's not always the same, and it evolves or cycles, or winds, or just goes the way it should. Or it's terrible and you start again. The experiences are never the same but it's all necessary to find my way.

With my photography, I aim to show how seemingly unremarkable moments can be captivating and thought provoking. I find that looking at these candid moments can be the time when a subject reveals the most. I am interested in recording genuine interactions between people, their surroundings and objects, as well as how they grow and adjust to their environment. My aesthetic is influenced by photojournalism; I try to capture my subjects in moments of candor, so authenticity is not lost even within composed scenes. Authenticity is essential to what I hope to convey with my art.