MOMI Trip

At our class’s recent trip to the Museum of Moving Image, we had a tour and demo of the history of television and film.

One of such demos shown to a group that I attended that was on sound production. The tour guide played only a sound file and asked us to name the film or video it derived from. As it played, a female frantically shouting “Jack” gave away that it was the Titanic film. After the sound clip finished, the guide asked us what particular sounds, other than Rose’s yell, gave it away or what other movie did we think it was. Some sounds that stood out were shots and of airplanes and artillery. One person thought the clip was from the Pirates of the Caribbean as they heard animal screeches.

The guide then showed the image alongside the sound. The scene was of the tall funnels snapping off its wires and crushing those in the water,  and of Jack and Rose attempting to get to the top of the ship. After the scene, the guide removed each 'sound' layer and played the remaining ones. It was surprising to learn how much work it takes to create a suspenseful scene than just using dramatic music. What was more incredulous was that James Cameron actually used a lion’s roar in the part where Fabrizio De Rossi is trying to avoid getting sucked back inside through one of the circular windows.

The changes in moving image technology has changed from the zoetrope to digital. The most dramatic change is especially true in this age of high definition and IMAX where, in some cases, we experience moving image hyper-realistically. 

Blog #3

From the short video below (The Kid- Charlie Chaplin), its editing made a significant contribution to the storytelling and the feel of the piece. 

The relationship of the sounds to the images is crucial as in the beginning; the music is sort of comical yet 'heroic' due to the march-like music. 

The shots are organized through content and movement.

The shots are determined by the subject’s ‘role’ within that moment of time. For example, the first different shot from the first, is when Chaplin gets up from his seat and goes behind his chair to don his hat and coat. It is here where the shot changes from a medium to a long shot. This cut is not seamless as the medium shot is darker (especially the area in the center) when suddenly we see the whole room, which also shows the difference in lighting. The next cut is seamless as we see the child exiting. The following shots are that of the boy throwing rocks at a window; it logically switches from the child, to the window, back to the boy as he runs away around the corner, it next shows the boy entering the shot as he continues to run. The shots in the next minute do follow an organized structure and right composition: the policeman catches the boy, the camera zoomed in closer to the policeman’s face, etc. The exception where there should have been a closer shot would have been in the very last, where the Chaplin and the kid are rapidly running away and get farther in the shot. A closer shot would have allowed the audience to see Chaplin’s face as the guard drew nearer before all three made a run for it and exited the shot.