Art of the Reel

[Extra Credit]


Attending Art of the Reel.

Castanha
Davi Pretto | 2014 | 95 mins
Saturday, April 19
9:00pm


        On Saturday, April 19th I went to the Art of the Reel film festival to see the documentary Castanha by Davi Pretto.  The story is about a middle-aged man who lives with his mother and supports her and himself through his double life as a child entertainer and cross-dresser.
       The documentary was unique because of Pretto’s way of mixing a documentary story with fiction like elements.  It boarder lined on the genre of thriller or horror because graphic content.  The film was a bit uncomfortable to watch at times which seemed to be exactly what Pretto was looking for.  The storyline itself is uncomfortable, so to reflect this in the imagery of the film made sense.  The film was very dark and involved a lot of sillouettes and shadows which added to the eery film.  Shots would some time start out blurry and then go into focus, this kept the audience at the edge of their seats questioning what they were looking at until it came into plain focus.  A few shots that stood out to me was the over the shoulder shot in the cab car where the cab driver is talking while he is driving.  This along with the narrative voice overs reminded the audience that this was an actual documentary.  The extreme close up of Castanha putting on his drag makeup was another great shot that showed the transition from Castanha’s home life into his work life.
       The most significant shot to me was the shot of Castanha stumbling forward naked and bloody.  This shot seemed to be straight out of a horror movie.  Pretto’s decision to shoot it straight on with Castanha dead center and moving closer to the camera was a very strong and powerful decision.  I enjoyed how Pretto started making the movie with a strong desire to make the audience feel the pain and emotions in the story.  He did everything he could in his film to get these feelings to reach the viewers.

The Little Things.

Kris Unick Final Project from krisunick on Vimeo.

Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots

Blog # 4

Relationships Between Shots:

Wolf of Wall Street Opening Scene

The scene I chose to do is the introduction scene of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese.  I chose this scene because The Wolf of Wall Street is one of my favorite films and I thought the way Scorsese took a real story and transformed it into a masterpiece was astonishing.  The introduction caught my eye especially because it is the very first glimpse you get into the story that is about to be unfolded.  This scene is important in all films; it sets the mood and can be a make-it or break-it scene that determines whether you watch the rest.

                A major theme in this film is excess and Scorsese not only portrays this through the story, the characters, and the setting but through the design of his shots.  In the first scene he tells a short story and gives the audience multiple points of views and mini scenes in one.  One shot that stood out to me was when he pans from the back of the house to the front of the house at an angle.  There was many ways he could do this shot to show the lavish estate but this strategy was pleasing to the eye and something unique.  Scorsese also uses a lot of angles, instead of shooting straight on he gives more variety to the shot by shooting from corners of rooms and not only allowing more to be in the shot but it keeps the scene visually intriguing.  Scorsese also throws in many “at home video” types of shots in the midst of his scene.  These show an amateur quality but remind the audience of the fact that this is a real life story of someone.  Another interesting shot is the one Scorsese shoots over a women’s body, it gets the viewer questioning at first what the shot is of but once we figure it out it plays with the sexuality theme in the movie.

What I most appreciate about Scorsese is his ability to come up with such innovative ideas and ways to shoot his movie.  I admire his ability to “show” and not “tell” the story and its themes through his imagery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tX40xe2cnw

Audio Project

http://vimeo.com/91435961?utm_source=email&utm_medium=clip-transcode_complete-finished-20120100&utm_campaign=7701&email_id=Y2xpcF90cmFuc2NvZGVkfDgwZjE3NmRmZTNmYzUyMGMwNWY0NDM0ZTZkYWU1Njc3NDQwfDI1NjUzODc4fDEzOTY5NzgzNjB8NzcwMQ%3D%3D

Museum of Moving Images

I was interested to go to The museum of Moing images when we went two weeks ago. I've never been before but being that I used to live in Astoria I would pass the unique doors every so often and promise myself I'd make a visit.  When we went I had the misfortune of only having an hour long visit but this was enough I pull me in and know I need to come back to see the rest.

Seeing all the old cameras was interesting to me because it shows how even years and years ago the moving image has great importance in culture.  People were hungry for this new world art that they were willing to stand in front of a camera and wind a crank in order to see what would happen to the famous Charlie Chaplin.  The moving image created a whole new form of entertainment that people wanted more and more of.  Which led to the advancements we have today.

Perhaps the greatest learning experience of the day for me was when we talked about audio in movies.  To separate each piece of audio made me realize how much goes into the sound we hear in everyday tv and movies. I never thought about each sound affect, dialogue, music piece and how only when they are orchestrated together do they form the captivating results an audience gets to see.

The only downfall of the visit is now I listen to movie audio and spend my time guessing what each sound effect actually is!

"Soundwalking" Along the East River

I chose to do my sound walk along the East River Walk.  I chose this specific area because the walk has been my own oasis for the past three years I’ve lived in Manhattan.  It’s my favorite spot to run and relieve stress but I’ve always experienced it with headphones plugged in and blocking out the sounds around me.  I thought it would be interesting to hear what audio I’m missing when I turn off the music.

                I was surprised at how many noises I heard while on my walk.  I guess only in New York could you describe an oasis as a place where you hear sirens screaming, horns honking, and cars zipping by.  Some soundmarks I heard were waves crashing along the concrete, the soft thump of running shoes hitting the ground and the scratches created by the friction of feet, gravel, and concrete.  Keynotes were the soft brush of the wind hitting the tree, the cars passing by, and the distant and nearby voices between chatting friends. As I continued to walk close to a nearby park more soundmarks were added such as the kicking of soccer balls, the cheering of teammates, and the panting and barking of dogs wandering by.  Some foreground sounds included the man who scolded his dog for barking at another dog, the cry of a child who fell off his scooter, and the wailing siren that sped past.

                It was a lot more noise and chaos than I expected my paradise to be.  It was amazing to see how many noises existed that I was not previously aware of until I took the time out to tune in.

Project 1, Hunter Video

This is my short clip for project 1.

Shots from Hunter Campus.

https://vimeo.com/88769924

http://youtu.be/bpK3kRGpf9o