Sound image and image image relationship

Alfred Hitchcock "The Birds"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qMwvHLe5m3g

For the first thirty two seconds, there is no noise except for the tiny piece of dialogue between Mitch and his mother. When Mitch, his mother and Tippi Hedren exit the house we can hear the gush of the wind. The wind blowing is an important sound because it creates a disturbing atmosphere. All three characters are surrounded by killer birds who  destroyed the entire town of Bodega Bay. The image that is shown as soon as we hear the wind blowing is all three characters opening their front door. The wind blowing, along with the image, informs us of the change of scenery. As all three characters exit the house, the screeching of all of the birds that surround them is heard. The birds screech is used not only because this is the noise that birds actually make, but because it leaves both the characters and the audience in an unsettled mood. The audience and the characters have seen these birds kill. By having them screech at all three character as they walk by them, it creates suspense. Are the birds screeching because they are getting ready to attack? Are they communicating with each other on what to do with the humans? Or are the birds communicating directly with the humans? These questions pop in our heads and they are left unanswered. As all three characters are leaving the house, their is a shot of a car before the film returns to the three characters. The shot of the car informs the audience that these characters are trying to get away through the vehicle. As all three characters exit the house we get another shot of the car with the camera zooming in on the vehicle. Then we get a close up of all of the characters faces before getting a shot of the birds that are just a few feet away from them. These scenes are perfect because it shows us the anxiety of the characters. The zooming in on the car tells us that the characters are trying to enter the vehicle as fast as possible. The close up of all of the faces shows us the fear that fills the characters and by cutting back to a menacing shot of the birds, the film reminds us what these characters are afraid of and the reason behind their fear. As the characters enter the car we get a medium long shot that is shot from above. This shows us how the birds see these people and all of humanity for that matter; they see us from above. After having retrieved his younger sister from the house and bringing her into the car, we get a shot of Tippi Hedren leaning her head on Lydia. Then we see Lydia looking at Hedren soon afterwards we get a shot of Hedren squeezing Lydia's wrist. In a matter of seconds, these shots quickly tell us th relationship between Hedren's character and Lydia. These two women have developed a bond a closeness with one another. The shot of Lydia resting her head on Hedren tells us that these two women need each other and have accepted their relationship. The final shot of the film is of the car characters driving away in the car as the birds watch them. In the background the sky is open and light shines through. This shot tells us that the birds have allowed these peopel to live, to escape. Although it is never mentioned why, the open sky and the bright light tells us that far away from this house, from this town a better life awaits. The shots in Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds" quickly inform us of the relationship between the characters with the use of very little dialogue. The shots reinforce the tension that is felt between mankind and the bird population.

Project 4: The Ass

https://vimeo.com/114385605

Extra Credit: Beoming Robot

Paik's work includes pieces that, for the most part, involves humanities connection with technology. This is evident in pieces like the "T.V. Chair" which was present in the exhibition. This piece involves a chair in which the subject (a human) sits on. There is a video camera above the chair and a television underneath the seat which displays what the camera records. In order to see one self, one must get up from the chair in order to see the television but by doing so you destroy the piece of art because you, the subject, are removing your self from the display. This could be Paik's way of saying that most people, especially during the time the piece was made, were unaware of their connection with technology. Another piece was a huge Buddah statue siting on the ground. A television sat a few feet away and a camera sat on top of the television recording the Buddah's face which was on display in the television. This, like the "T.V. Chair" could once again be Paik's way of referring to the way society is changing. People are not conscious of the way technology is affecting their life. The real Buddah was conscious of many things so perhaps it could be that t.v. or technology in general is a reflection of human society. Paik's work embodies natural objects (the human body) with those of technology (t.v.) He is pretty much making a statement of man kinds life under technology.

Project #2: The Interview

https://vimeo.com/111125344

Blog #3: Museum of the moviing Image

One of the things that I found most fascinating in the museum was the audio exhibit. Being in the audio room showed me how complicated it is to record audio while filming but also how difficult it is to add audio in post production. The audio room made me realize that its not just entering a room and recording your voice. Its the way you deliver the lines, the emotions and making sure that your in sync. I also enjoyed the exhibit that had all of the cameras from different time periods. Most of the times when we think of film we think of the movies themselves in terms of style, sound and execution but seeing all those cameras showed us how movies were able to progress over the years. It is the camera, the camera makers and the people behind the camera that are responsible for the way film has changed. As the years went on people found ways to make better cameras and make filming easier. For example, during a certain period cameras were able to hold more film inside so filmmakers could film for longer periods. Also, the invention of different cameras also allowed for filmmakers to be able to film in different styles such as being able to film documentaries. Different exhibits allowed us to see the hard work people behind the camera put in in order to create the characters we see in film. For example, being able to see the sketches costume designers made while working on a character allowed us to see the hard work and research they had to do in order to create the characters that we ended up seeing in the movies we love.

Blog #2 What I hear

I decided to walk in the neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens. Depending on what part of the neighborhood you are in there are different sounds you will hear. Forest Hills has a private community and although I'm technically not allowed to enter it (only residents are allowed to walk in and out) I did anyway because this area is completely isolated. Of all the times I walked in this area only on rare occasions have I seen people. The sounds I heard while in this area are mainly those of birds as they chirped away on the trees. I heard their wings flapping as the flew off the ground and into the air. I also hear the wind as it violently pushed the branches on all of the trees. On certain occasions cars drive past me and so I heard the rumbling of their engine. I did see a women on this occasion walking her dog. I heard the dogs footsteps as it walked on the pavement along with the clacking of the woman's high heels. When I left the private community however the noises changed entirely. There are far more cars outside of the community therefore I heard more then just the engine. I heard cars honking and screeching as they stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. I heard the chattering of many people although I couldn't make out a single word of it. When I entered the shopping area of Forest Hills located in Austin Street, I heard the bells of many stores as people entered and exited them. The distinguishable chattering of people continued. I heard the crying of a child a single time. I heard the laughing and insults of the adolescents in the area far more. When I walked past GameStop I heard gun shots coming form the video games. Overall, in the beginning of my walk I heard mostly sounds of nature. As my walk continued, I heard more manufactured sounds.

Final project: Define a space

https://vimeo.com/108619696

Artist Statement

I've always had an interest in the macabre. Perhaps this has to do with my Mexican upbringing. As a cilld my parent would tell my siblings and I horror stories about ghost and demons and the atrocities committed by human beings that they themselves experienced. Whether or not the stories that they told me were true is insignificant, for the impact they had on me is undeniable.  The magnificent work of Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman and the modern filmmaker Guillermo del toro not only fascinates me but helped me realize that film is the medium I desire to work in. My early childhood was marked with religion (catholicism) and this contributed to an early obsession with the unknown, most specifically death and God. My early work (creative writing) consisted heavily on these two topics, but as I shifted to screenwriting they slowly became more of a second character. As of late my work has focused mainly on human obsessions and motivations. I want my work to focus on the depths of human emotion and the consequences they bring when they are pushed too far from the edge.