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.