Since I was a little girl, my
favorite hobby in the world is to watch TV. Television shows such as Martin,
Fresh Prince, Moesha, The Parkers, A Different World, and many others played an
enormous part in my life (these shows practically raised me). These shows were developed within the early 1990’s
to the early 2000’s. When these shows were created, their motive were to create
something called “The Black Experience” were these shows can bring forth
something that the urban society can indulge in. As a result, these shows not
only became a major phenomenon in the industry, it also became a positive
influence within the urban society as well. The structure of these shows
provided something different, new, and fresh within that era (such as actors
revealing several talents and implying them into their shows and the use of improv).
Not only that, the urban society wasn’t accustomed to seeing the use of positive
family structure and how to resolved conflict as they appeared on TV. These
shows gave the urban society a positive voice, aspiration, and determination in
the community. These shows were more than just comedy (the actors and storyline
actually were a representation of the urban lifestyle).
As the
years progress, we no longer see the same positivity among the new contemporary
shows we see today. The shows we see today has no value and has lost its
substance. Over the years, we no longer see much positivity and positive impact
among the shows we watch. To become a Television Producer it will be my duty to
bring back that sense of quality that were once created. To have positive
characters that depicts the urban and pop culture in a positive light. My job is
not to imitate these shows, but instead to bring back the same value that these
shows had when we first watched them. Because the use of television has become
an important mainstream in the urban and pop culture, my goal working in the industry
is to have my generation and the future to come endure the same experiences
that I did when watching my shows.
Project #1 : Define A Space
Blog #2
It was a sunny
Tuesday afternoon, when I decided to roam the streets of Saint Albans, Queens.
As I went walking around my neighborhood, I deeply noticed the various elements
of sound within the streets between Linden and Farmers Blvd. During my
adventurous walk, I came across busy roads filled with traffic, kids being
released out of school, and many conversations between groups of people. Each
activity that a person performed had its own particular sound. For example, I came
across a group of small girls playing a game of “double dutch” in front of a
school building. As I stood still to observe
these girls playing jump rope, I can hear the sound of their little feet
touching the ground after every jump. The sound of their feet were compared to
the sound of a loud thump (due to the fact that they were jumping heavily). In addition,
I can also hear the gravity of the jump cord as some of these girls turned the
rope. Each time the rope came in contact with the ground, it gave a smacking
sound which sounded like a person’s hand hitting another flesh. With the sound
of both their feet and the turning of the rope, it was the sound of their laughter
that indicated that they were enjoying the activity they had chosen to perform.
Across
the street from these girls playing “double dutch”, I also noticed the loud
noise of the Q4 city bus. This bus caught my attention due to the fact of its loud
engine. The motor of the bus had a loud rattling sound and it suppressed the sound
of the other activities that were happening in the streets. Once the bus pulled off from the curb, the
sound of people and objects became clear. Far from my sight, I can hear the
sounds of the long island rail road, the honking of cars, people having intense
conversations, and the chirping of birds.
MOMI
Excitement was the first emotion I
experienced when I first walked into the Museum of Moving Images. What immediately
caught my attention, were the use of white almost everywhere throughout the
entire building. In my opinion, the use of white on the floors, walls, and
tables made it easier for the visitors to focus their attention into the artwork
that were being displayed. At the museum,
there were masks, props, historic and modern technologies that were all displayed.
I enjoyed learning the existence of the sleepy hallows, the zoetrope, and the
video flip book. It was very interesting to see how these simple technologies
played an enormous part in how we view images today.
What I also profoundly fascinating,
was the use of the Automated Dialogue Replacement for moving images. I took
deep interest in this because I never knew that there were several ways to
record speech/sound on set. I was excited when the tourist gave us to record
sound into the mike. It was amazing to visualize and hear our voices synchronize
with the characters movement. This was my first time being at this museum.
Based on this experience, I would love to return to the museum to further my knowledge
on cinematic and the history of moving images.
Final Project
Scene Analysis : The Untouchables
In the “baby scene”, the
mise-en-scene entails a steep staircase, a clock (one of the key component
later in scene), wide spacious area, a balcony, and limited of people. The
implicit meaning of the mise-en-scene tells us that the scene is located in an
urban setting in the city of Chicago, it also entails that with the spacious
area of the train station, there is a course of action bound to take place. Ness and Agent George Stone, are dressed in a
long coat ad underneath lies a suit and hat that gives an indication that they
are from a specific social class within the 1930’s. Not only does the costume
is an indication of their social class and their employment, but it also show
their morality. The mom in the scene is wearing a red long coat to give a
direct sense of danger. Director De Palmer employ high key lighting and low
contrast to intensify of the scene. In the beginning of the scene, we
see Ness and Agent George Stone enter the premises of the station. De Palmer
uses the camera in a long establishing shot position to show the mise-en-scene
and one of the important key components of the scene, the clock. As Agent
George Stone walk down the steep stairs the camera slowly tilts down giving us
the feeling that he is coming towards us. Soon after, he is caught up in a
close up giving us a serious facial expression. In the next shot, the camera is
at a low angle when we see Ness behind the balcony waiting for Al Capone
entourage to arrive. This entails that he is of power (especially when the
camera places him in a medium close up, which tells us he’s ready for
action). As he waits, the objective
point of view allows the audience to see that he is trying to be aware of his
surroundings. The camera then pans over to the clock (the time is 11:55 p.m.)
that is placed above the door. We get a subjective point of view giving the audience
the feeling that we are the eyes of Ness.Showing
his anxiety as he waits for the book keeper, we hear a diegetic noise of a baby
crying. In the shot, De Palmer uses a
medium close up conveying Ness state of mind and his reaction to the crying
noise. In a high angle shot, there is another subjective point of view stating
that Ness is looking over the balcony towards the baby and mother. The high
angle shot employs vulnerability and weakness of the mother. Suddenly, there is
a non-diegetic music playing of a sentimental lullaby heightening the
appearance of the baby and mother. As
the song non-diegetic song is playing, we hear the diegetic operator announcing
the train and its arrival. The camera then switched back to Ness objectively
looking at the clock (the time now is 11:57 p.m.). This shows his anxiety and
impatience. The camera then cut back to
Ness looking at the crying baby and the mother struggling to climb the stairs. This
gives the audience suspense because we know Ness to be the family man and
carries a character of “standard-bearer of civilizations values.” (Stanely,
247). But then, we also know that if he does help then he might miss his opportunity
to catch the book keeper. Is he going to help? “Or is he going to let this
mother struggle?” We might ask. In the midst of the questions, an Al Capone man
finally enters the station and now the music went from sentimental to a sound
of heavy violins. This entails that danger is coming and something is “about to
go down”, but what? Soon after, we experience again a subjective point of view
of Ness looking at the clock for the last time.
Director De Palmer then employ an extreme close up letting us see that
it is 12:00 a.m. giving us the
indication that time is running out and something is going to happen. De Palmer finally brings our
emotions at ease when our questions are answered as we see Ness help the single
mother. De Palmer uses reverse angle shot between the Ness and the baby to show
the connection between the two. At the
top of the stair case, De palmer employs subjectivity not in the eyes of Ness
but in the eyes of the villain (one of Al Capon’s men). Soon after, the camera
cuts to an extreme close up of the villain implying his evilness.
As the shooting scene begins, De Palmer employs
an eye-level shot of the carriage. Slow motion in implied, given a sense of
emotion when we see the carriage sliding down the stair case. The tension is
heightens when the weak mother yells for her child. At this point, there is a
similarity drawn to the 1925 silent film “Battleship Potemkin”. We can see the connection and the connection
that De Palmer is trying reveal in his craft. This causes new set of questions
as we watch the unfolding drama. Looking at this we may ask “is the baby going
to make it?” “Is the mother or baby going to be shot?” “Or is the wheel of the
carriage going to get caught in the stairwell causing the baby to tip over?” De Palmer brings our questions to an end when
he uses a low camera shot to show Agent George Stone rescuing the baby. This
strategy was implemented to give Agent George Stone a sense of power and
dignity, leaving him with a heroic characteristic.
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