Final Project: Heads Up, Look Around

Sound Effects at MOMI

One of the demos my group participated in was in the Sound Effects exhibit. We used scenes from different movies and mixed them with different types of sounds to see what effect it would have on the audience. For example, using a scary Jurassic Park clip with silly Foley sound effects turned the Jurassic Park clip into a funny short movie. I found this exhibit to be the most interesting because I had an epiphany about how dinosaur sounds are actually Foley sounds that are created. I never thought about the fact that no human alive has ever heard a dinosaur roar. New changes and innovations in moving image technology have allowed for the creation of Foley sounds so the audience is allowed to imagine sounds that may not necessarily exist. Sound editors use their imagination to fill in the gaps of sound within media. During our demo, we were able to replace the sound of the well-known dinosaur roar with the sound of a cat meowing. It was interesting to see how ridiculous the movie became.

Although we didn't play with the sounds in the movie, the Titanic, we discovered the way sound was used in a specific clip within the movie. The sounds of the ropes cutting off were actually gunshots and as the boat fell into the water we realized the sound of an elephant was used. These sounds intensified the scene. It was amusing to see how we can easily miss a recognizable sound like that of an elephant when it is placed in a scene like that. Overall, it was fascinating to learn how sound editors think and work in the studio when editing sounds for movies and TV shows.

Shot Editing Choices: Love & Basketball

(Watch clip from 1:10:44 to 1:11:42)

This specific clip in Love & Basketball uses montage editing to convey its message of comparing and contrasting the life of two basketball players - a woman and a man. The juxtaposes and matches many shots together for comparing and contrasting.

The clip begins with cheerleaders cheering with their pom-poms in a close-up. The shot then cuts to a wide shot (or long shot) of the crowd waving their pom-poms in the air before it turns into a close-up shot. These two shots are placed together with the use of both a graphic match and matched action. The movement of the pom-poms is the matched action. The crowd and the cheerleaders are using the pom-poms in the same way. The pom-pom as an object is repeated between the two shots along with the red and yellow colors and this is the graphic match. 

The pumping of the hands and the yellow of the pom-poms is a graphic match between the shot of the crowd and the next shot of Quincy, the basketball player. The crowd pumps and claps their hands in the air and then later you see Quincy clapping his hands and putting them into the air. The yellow of his jersey matches the yellow of the pom-poms.

Then there's a close-up shot a yellow jersey that then cuts into a white jersey in the next shot. This is graphic matching with similar objects. The shot of the white jersey is used to transition into the women's basketball team. The home team's uniform is white with accents of red and yellow. The medium shot of the basketball team player eventually goes into a close-up of Monica, who is sitting on the bench. The director utilizes this close-up almost as a looking shot of Monica looking at the men's basketball team, that is not really there, but it acts as a transition from one shot to the next. Graphic matching is also used with the colors Monica is wearing and the color of the men's basketball court. In the next scene, it's an overhead shot, giving the audience a bird's eye view as Quincy dunks the basketball ball into the hoop. In the next clip, there's a wide high-angle shot of Monica is bouncing to balls. There is matched action and a graphical match. The circular shape of the hoop and the actual basketball in Quincy's dunking shot aligns with the circular shape of the two balls Monica is bouncing. The movement of the ball in both shots are the matched actions. Also an action ends in one clip on begins in the next. The two men basketball players give each other high-fives with both hands and Monica is bouncing the two balls with both hands in the next clip.

Audio Project: My Role Model is a Rapper

What I Hear: Underground in Brooklyn (The A Train)

The sound of the wind rushes against the train in background with an uneven rumbling sound. A bag rustles and the guy next to me adjusts his newspaper as it makes a crackling sound. I can hear the faint chatter of a side conversation through the sound of people shouting and speaking loudly, yet they are within one foot distance of each other. The dun-dun-dun rumbling of metal increases as the train slows down. Suddenly I hear the grainy voice of the train conductor announcing the name of the stop and the trains of transfer available. The high frequency beep-bop means the train doors are closing. The A train lets off steam - chhhhhh -and then begins to build up speed. A faint yet, deep laughter arises followed by successive low and high pitch giggles and laughter sound through the train. I hear the high-pitched voice of child speaking in Spanish. A woman preaching about Christianity shouts, "and if you strayed away. He still loves you...come back to Jesus." Then a man begins with his raspy voice speaks to everyone, yet no one about his 7 daughters and how he will turn 61 in December. The train continues to speed against the current of the air and streaks against the metal. I hear a sound of falling. Hands and feet hit and thump the ground. Next, the sound of a seesaw or broken playground swings travels into my ears. It almost similar to a whistle sound going back and forth. Children continue to laugh and giggle as the train slows down and so does sound. The chinging sound of the train gets smoother and there's faint speaking in the background and the buzzing of the light-like sound.

Defining a Space: The Dog

Artist Statement

I’m a storyteller and a creative – but most importantly a creator. I like to take things apart and put them back together. I like to bring words on a page to life.

I got into film and media when I was in high school. For our school project my friend decided that it was best to represent it visually through a video. I was captivated by our original work and longed to learn the editing skills my friend used to put together the magic that was our “Connection of Calculus to Airplanes” project. I grinned as I watched the class go through various emotions as they cheesed, giggled, laughed then clapped. Who knew that we could turn such a mundane topic for a presentation into an entertaining film piece with raving reviews, from our classmates, of course.

To me, videos have the ability to morph simple words and thoughts into dynamic visuals. It allows me the ability to have creative control as I play with various elements such as music, fashion and image in order to influence my audience and their emotions. Being able to get my message across as I catch and retain the attention of my audience and have them begging for more fills me with a sense of pride and excitement. But not only that, it allows my audience to connect with something they otherwise wouldn’t and stirs conversation with others. The audience is invited to participate in my work. Film gives power to both the creator to tell a story and the watcher participant to add to it with their own imagination.

I’m always looking for new and innovative ways to best represent what I have to say and what I want an audience to know- whether it’s the calculus formulas used to build a Boeing jet or my next project. I am looking to connect the dots between the page and image, the emotions and visuals, and most importantly, the audience and the message.