Continuity Project

https://vimeo.com/82197947

Analyzing a Scene

This is a classic scene from my favorite movie, "Goodfellas." It opens with a slow pan of the room to acclimate the viewer to the scenes surroundings. You then get a profile of one of the main characters, Billy Batts, who is clearly celebrating something. Then Tommy (Joe Pesci) enters the room, and slowly walks towards the camera. Batts sees him and says hello, and Tommy is clearly not happy about it. Batts is busting his chops, and now the camera is focused on the two men as the situation escalates. As the tension mounts, the camera slowly zooms in on each of their faces, heightening the emotion of the scene. As the first half of the scene comes to a close, I noticed that the camera was located between the two groups for most of it, panning back and forth. There was no need to show it from different angles, as the emotion of the scene is enough stimulation for the viewer. Then the scene breaks to when the bar is closing, and you see the last patrons leave. Tommy then walks in, and the camera quickly pans to Henry (Ray Liotta,) who knows something is wrong. You also see a quick shot of Batts and Jimmy (DeNiro) talking at the bar, including them in whats about to happen. Tommy walks over to them and he and Jimmy proceed to give Batts a brutal beating. The close up of this part really gives it a startling effect. I especially loved the close up of the gun breaking when Tommy hits Batts with it. In my opinion, this is one of the best uses of music in a film. As Donovan's "Atlantis" plays in the background, Batts is getting beaten to near death. It is such a beautiful song, but what you are seeing on the screen is not beautiful at all, and I love how they play off each other. Scorcese has a way of picking the best songs for his movies and using them at the perfect time, and this is no different.

Interview

https://soundcloud.com/mmorenomusic/class-interview-edit

Museum of the Moving Image

I really enjoyed my trip to the Museum of the Moving Image. It was really fascinating to see how movies work behind the scenes. The exhibit that really caught my eye was the one about Walter Murch. Mr. Murch was the editor/sound designer on many films, such as The Conversation, Apocalypse Now and Cold Mountain. In these movies he was responsible for both the film and music editing, which is quite amazing with so much work involved. In essence, he is choosing everything the audience sees and hears, taking them on an audio and visual journey. This is painstaking work, as he has to pay attention to even the most minuscule details, while also keeping the big picture in mind and understanding what the movie looks like as a whole. Watching him explain how he achieved the sound of the helicopters and soldiers running was amazing. You don't really know how much effort and thought go into something like that until you see it and have someone explain it to you. Apocalypse Now is also one of my favorite war movies, so it was especially exciting to see how some of that sound was achieved, especially when he talked about the famous beach scene. I always thought that music fit the scene perfectly, and hearing how it was mixed was very interesting to me. I couldn't help but be impressed that he handled both the audio and visual side of the movies. Having a background in audio, I understand how much work goes into that alone. It would take a very special and talented individual to do both, and Walter Murch obviously possessed both of these qualities. I am interested in doing music for film, and this exhibit only made me more excited to learn about it.

Sound Walk

Walking around Washington Heights, I am almost overwhelmed by the amount of noise around me. As I walk out of my building I immediately hear Spanish music playing in the distance. This is a common occurrence, as many of the street vendors and local store owners play music around the clock. My attention then shifts to a dog barking across the street. He seems to be barking at some people walking by. Speaking of people, the most noise I hear comes from them. Well, the people and the cars that speed by. My neighborhood is always alive, especially on the weekends, and this Sunday afternoon is no different. I hear a few different dialects. Spanish, English, something that sounds Middle Eastern and even some Chinese. So much diversity. Most of this chatter is drowned out by the traffic that surrounds us. Cars honking, buses stopping and some bike riders ringing their bells. I don't pick up any natural sounds other than the wind. That is howling today. I walk by a barbershop and hear the buzzing of razors. It seems that they are having a heated discussion about last nights game inside. I pass my local laundromat and hear the washing machines spinning. In front of the deli I can hear the cash register ringing up another customer. Then I hear something that I probably wouldn't have if I was not paying such close attention; the rumble of the 1 train from underground. I have been living here for three months and this is the first time I have heard it. I stroll by a park and hear the laughter of children, bouncing of a basketball and shoes running through the gravel. The park is a little quieter than the street, and now I can hear birds chirping from the trees on this sunny day.

I must admit that I am usually wearing headphones when walking around the city, so it was pretty cool to actually take in all the sounds around me and something I will do more often.

Space Project

https://vimeo.com/76573784

Shooting A Space

We wanted to shoot at a location that represents New York City, and what better place to do that than Central Park. We needed to find somewhere relatively close and were lucky enough to find a spot right on 68th street. When we walked in the park we immediately noticed a Gazebo perched atop a hill surrounded by some rocks. One of those little spots in the park that are so great to stumble upon. We knew we had to shoot it, but how? We decided to take some surrounding shots to get a feel of what it was like from a distance. After that, we took some shots of the path leading up to the structure to show the walk up to it. We finished with some close ups of the Gazebo from the rocks and a panoramic shot of the inside of the Gazebo. I found it a lot more difficult to shoot a space than I originally thought. There are no actors or action to help you out. The space has to tell the story, and that was the challenging part. We wanted to give our audience a feel for what this structure was like from all sides and angles, and we accomplished that as best we could.