Blog #4

One of my favorite scene in cinema comes from Martin Scorsese's 1976 film Taxi Driver starring Robert De Niro. During the notorious mirror scene in Taxi Driver, Travis (Robert De Niro) is in his apartment perfecting his tough-guy image with his gun in the mirror. In the scene we can hear the busy ambient street/apartment building noise outside his apartment which emphasizes his isolation from the world and helps to create a kind of disorientation for the audience. This scene is very audience based due to the point of view we are shown. The scene is filmed as if we are the mirror and Travis is directly threatening us. This helps, in a way, to unnerve the audience because Travis is directing his anger at us as if we are the society in which he has a conflict. However, Travis is not looking directly into the camera but slightly out of screen adding to the off putting and disturbing quality which makes us feel as if he is aiming his anger and violence at us. The use of jump cuts, dissolves and jumps in the soundtrack while Travis narrates his diary in the voice over creates a surreal and distorted atmosphere in the scene and this mirrors Travis’s distorted perspective on the world he lives in and also gives us more insight into his twisted way of thinking.

Continuity Project "In The End"

Sound Project

Museum of the Moving Image

At the beginning of our class tour of the Museum of Moving Image we were able to see The Feral Front, which is a sculptor by Gregory Barsamian built in 1996. The sculptor is made of steel, foam, decorated with acrylic paint powered by a motor and displayed with the needed effect of a strobe light.  

The Feral Font is piece of visual art that helps to explain the process of animation. The structor of the sculptor is shape like a tornado with 97 small sculptor piece starting at the top and spiraling all the way to the bottom. The small sculptors consists of faucet tops that drip water drops, which then morph into bombs. The bombs pass through hands and then morph into a paper airplane which lands in a dishpan full of dishes, which then break from the impact of the paper airplane. Once the strobe light is turned on and the motor the sculpture begins to turn the sculpture the piece attached to the spiral act as drawing from a flip book. As the spiral turns the small sculpture interacts with the strobe light coming to life by creating an animated a sequence. 

 This method of animation is used primarily in claymation. Movies like A Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride and so on. I love claymation and had no idea that this process was used to create such a fluid flow with the clay pieces. Now since seeing the process in action I understand that the only way to create such movements with the clay can only be achieved through this method.

The Final Sunset

A film I did in production 1

Sound Walk

Sound Walk 

                 I chose to conduct my sound walk starting on 106th street of the Upper Westside of Manhattan heading south down Central Park West ending at the entrance to Central Park at 72^nd Street . It was cold and slightly windy on the day of my walk, however, the sun was shining and people were out. Upon hitting the street the first sounds I encountered were from the elementary school across the street. The rustling of backpacks first hits you as the laughter and chatter of the children slowly set the scene. The low toned zoom of cars continuously pass by quickly until they reach the corner and their breaks engage with a small screeching sound. The sound of cars, taxis and trucks is consistent the entire walk south, it can be described as the continuous ambient noise.

                I cross over Central Park West so that i'm walking south along the park wall. Around the upper streets ( 106-96th street) the sounds heard are caused by families. The scraping of baby carriages is muffled by the arguing and disciplining of the parents trying to control them. Upon passing a park located right up against the wall of the park, laughter once again fills the air. The metal chains of the swings can be heard squeaking and cracking as the stomping of feet sound like terrible drums as they run along the wooden jungle gym. The stomping becomes muffled as it travels from the jungle gym to the plastic flooring which creates a rhythm that the children are unaware of.

               Continuing south around 72^nd street the chatter of people overwhelms all other sounds. The bing of bike bells chime in coronation trying to grab the tourist attention as the enter the park. The constant sound of questions, confusion, the flapping of map, rustling of bags and recognizable sound of haggling hits my ears as I try and maneuver around the many different languages floating colorful syllables in the air. Far off in the distances a guitar can be heard sing the sounds of John Lennon's “Imagine” as softer lower sound of singing voices sing along.

              Once I finished with my sound walk I was able to see the crowed streets of New York City in a different more enjoy light.

First Project

Here is my First Project Hunter Glow.

Artist Statement August 30, 2013

I first fell in love with the possibilities of film in high school when I realized that through the lens you have the ability to create your own world. I began to think outside the box creating characters out of ordinary everyday items, thinking up stores with emotions and experiences far beyond my own/. I would then draw what I thought they looked like,give them back stories, give them personalities I began to create their world. From this hobby my love for cinema and animation grew. Today I create sculptures, illustrations, drawings and paintings and films to entertain the imagination inside us all.  I want to transport my audience into a world all their own with hopes of inspiring them to look into their own creative self giving them the ability to escape the everyday stresses. I use aspects of popular culture and relatable elements so that my audience is drawn in and are able to identify with my work.

I focus mostly on film, sculptures and drawings because I find it the easiest mediums to manipulate in order to correctly convey my ideas. I also find that these mediums are the best way to be simple and true to form. My favorite medium to work with is film due to its  ability to show the raw intensity of the world in action. Sculptures and drawings allow you to dig in and get every unfaltering wrinkle, every eerie shadow and all the fine lines that make up a subject. These mediums call for a realist who has the ability to look past whats right in front of