Blog Post #4

Last wednesday, my class and I visited the Museum of Moving Image. There were a couple of demonstrations that we got to experience on different topics in media art. The one demonstration that I found most interesting was the Sound Effects showing. At first they showed a scene of the television show The Simpsons. In the scene there were some parts without any sound effects. The exercise we did was that we had to add the missing sounds to the scene. We got to see what different sounds could be possible for each part and how unexpected sounds can fit the scene depending on what emotion we are trying to portray. This can be helpful to my own work because it made me more aware that even the smallest sounds can alter the mood of the setting. Also, how sound plays a huge role in films because without sound there would be less emotion and drama. I feel that without sound the film would be extremely boring and people would not be able to interpret things correctly. There are so many things that could be used for sound that I have never realized before. For example, in the scene the little boy bouncing on a pogo stick and one choice was a suction cup. The group I was with actually felt that was the best choice for that part of the scene. 

In the other demonstration about sound effects, we looked at a scene form Titanic. The tour guide person broke down the different sounds in the scenes and we watched them separate. I realized a simple sound can make dramatic scene so much more calmer. Also, that each sound of move has their own separate place. For example, the main girl falls and in the editing process it had its own separate sound in a certain place. Editing is overlooked by many and even by me until I learned how intense post production is. There is a lot that goes in film editing and sound is one of the most delicate parts of film. If the music is off sightly or the wrong kind of music is playing it could potentially ruin the whole mood of the film. So many sounds can be potential for all different things. 

Blog post #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVZuwp-xjGI&sns=em


The movie Dead Silence (2007) is horror film about a man who's wife had been killed. He returns to his hometown to search for answers to his wife murder. He is soon linked to the ghost of a murdered woman and her ventriloquist. I felt that the scene I chose has made a significant contribution to the storytelling and the feel of the piece. This old man is telling his experience with this ghostly woman (Mary) and her ventriloquist (Billy) when he was a young boy. The scene is immediately switched to a flash back into the 1920s where you get a sense of what era it was taking place in. The ventriloquist and this woman have an act on stage where they have jokes, etc. When she looks for the doll he is hiding out in the back, when watching, the sound effects give you a feeling that Billy is behind you. The doll plays a significant roll into editing because the people on set have to match the sounds to the dolls mouth moving. Also, if you look closer you see Billy's eyes move very slowly when the boy calls out in the crowd that Billy is fake. Billy's eyes begin to move very slow where it makes the scene feel more dramatic and intense. One might think his eyes are actually real this scene and something is about to happen. This scene attempts to make Billy come across as a real boy and that Mary is not doing his voice for him. So when Billy talks, the camera placed on both of them so you see that Mary is not doing his voice for him and you can get a sense of realness. Also, specifically the shooting of the film takes place at all different angles so you get a sense of where the setting is. For example, one shot is behind the shoulders of Mary and Billy so one can see how it would be if you were on stage with them and everyone was looking at you. I think this movie is very well done and this scene is a perfect example of why editing is important to all movies.

Project #2

<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/199075269&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true"></iframe>