BLOG #4 -- Relationship Between Shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuZA6qiJVfU
The Cars music video for "Drive" is a powerful mixture of shots and quite fitting for the mood of the music. It is a slow and sad song; the first shot, a continuous a long shot, in black and white slowly dolly's in, and becomes a close up shot of the singer, sitting alone at a school desk, singing. This first shot is quite long, first focuses on a close up of the empty pool tables and then the long dolly in, the long slow zoom, adds drama to the scenario; we see the singer so far back, and we finally reach him, this slow pace very much matches the music tempo.The black and white quality of this first image takes us back in time to another era, and helps the mood feel melancholy. This shot fades out with video transition, and we see a woman, in color, who also seems to be alone and sad. This is also a 'dolly in' shot, but it's a high angle shot, and she is sitting on the floor, thus we see her as victomized, and she certainly seems distressed as she colors absentmindedly on the wall with a crayon. This fades back to a panning medium long shot of the singer sitting at the desk again; the juxtoposition of these shots leads the viewer to assume they are in 'conversation' or at least related and involved with each others lives. Furthermore, the fact that this is a panning shot rather than a still, helps convey his discomfort and anxiety, as he also shifts his legs around in the chair -- he can't keep still, and so, neither does the camera. We then see a montage, of images, a man smoking a cigarette (medium long shot, with movement), back to the woman (medium long shot with movement). On both of these images, we see golden lighting, giving them a heavenly feel, a warmth. They are the "good guys", we are told this through lighting. This transitions to an over-the-shoulder shot of the singer, in grey/blue lighting, watching a diner operate with puppets. This then cuts to a dolly-in shot of the woman, looking sad, no longer in golden light -- the light has become blue/grey. She twirls her hair and stares into the distance as the shot moves into a close up. There is a signifigant transition to the next shot, it is a fade, but it is done in such a way, so that she and the next image (close up of a man smoking) are in the same frame for a few seconds. This creates a meaning. She is thinking about him, she is lonesome for him. The very next cut is also signifigant. The 'smoking man' fades out as the next image, the lead singer fades in, however it is done in such a way, so that their heads line up exactly. This connects them. Either they are similar people, or are related somehow -- is the meaning of this edit. The next few shots are back and forth shots between the woman and the 'smoking man', they are point of view shots, so we never see them in the same frame, but it is implied that they are looking and talking to each other by the angle of their heads in relation to each other. These shots of their argument are shot with a high angle, and thus victomizes them. The video goes on for another few minutes, but I will end there, at 2:28. This video never stops moving, there is not a still shot to speak of, there is either dolly, tilt, or pan at all times. The constant motion brings action to the video, even when characters are just sitting (which they do for most of the video). The motion also goes with the slow rhythm of the music and adds dramatic effect.

Food's His Business

Food's His Business from Jamie Matson on Vimeo.

Interview with Ajhani: Kingston to the Bronx

Post Production at the Museum of the Moving Image

Located in Astoria, Queens, NYC, The Museum of the Moving Image is a treasure and worth the trek. We had a lovely guide, Lauren, with big red hair and funky vintage frames, who gave us an hour and a half tour of the museum (minus the special exhibitions). One of the most memorable moments was when we got to the Automated Dialogue Replacement booth. Actors often have to re-record their sound if the original sound was not initially recorded well, if say there was background noise, or if the audio got messed up for any other reason. They have to get back into character and in the right emotional state (which can be challenging depending on the scene), and then while watching the original footage, they try to recreate their voice in a sound booth to get a high quality sound byte. So at this demo, three volunteers were needed, and I held up my hand not knowing what I was getting into. There were about 15 of us crammed into a soundproof booth and the task at hand was to record audio for a scene in a movie. I picked Eddie Murphy's lines in 'Coming to America', not knowing how fast he spoke! I had the first line. First I listened to it, then I rehearsed and tried to keep up, and then the recording moment! I wore headphones and spoke into a mic. I was way off! It was really hard to keep up, get all the dialogue out of my mouth without blurring my words together; I tried to annunciate, but it wasn't happening. It all happened in less than a minute, and then the mic and headphones were passed to the next person to deliver the next set of lines. Granted, if I was Eddie Murphy, I would probably be able to keep up with my speech rate, but still! It made me realize how much goes into post-production and is so seamlessly weaved into the final film so that the viewer has absolutely no idea.

Soundwalk around Greenpoint, Brooklyn

A Monday evening in Greenpoint brings many sounds to my ears as I walk the blocks near my apartment. Listening to cars swishing by, moving from sound signals in the foreground, the revving of an engine, to keynotes in the way back and then gone. Music plays from inside a car, and then disappears. Subtle rumbling of the BQE in the distance at times, and at others a more visceral rumble, when trucks thump above my head as I go under the underpass. I almost want to plug my ears. The BQE brings sounds within sounds: the sound of the trucks engine, the tire on the pavement, the echo in the parking lot under the BQE, the sound of all components that create the underpass vibrating. Further, along, away from the BQE, more toward the markets on Nassau, snippets of conversations go by; cell phone conversations, greetings, stern words to a child, music playing from someones earbuds. A baby cries in the distance. Underneath all this, a humming of a neon sign, the clicking of the traffic lights. The constant sound of my jacket swishing as I walk and my shoes hitting the pavement. An ambulance in the distance. It feels quieter on certain residential streets, but it's not actually quiet, there is the distant sound of cars and then from down the street the sound of a car door slam. As I walked along I noticed so many new sounds all the time, moving in and out of ear range, sounds in constant flux.

Tuesday Morning

Tuesday Morning from Jamie Matson on Vimeo.

"Artist Statement"

 This blog is my homework for Media 160, and this 'artist statement' is my first assignment.

 The medium I use often changes. My background has mainly been performance in music and comedy, with a strong dance, writing and sewing practice.  I make videos that often incorporate these interests in some way.  I write comedy sketches that become videos.  An arm movement becomes a dance. I have ideas for plays, but sometimes they become abstract short stories without endings. In this class, my focus will be visual moments.

 I am interested in poetry. I like fragments of ideas, wisps. Glimpses of life. So much can come across in a short segment, in a phrase or image. I tell stories in short visual snippets.

I like the beginning of the idea. I like the sketch. I like to expose the process rather than just show the polished end. The process interests me as it reveals the inner workings, the personality of the creator comes out. I like improv comedy for similar reasons, because you can see a persons brain at work, you can see how their mind and perspective is unique when watching live improvised performance.  I try to emulate that feeling, that exposed thought process in my work.

I use my work as a way to explore my psyche as well as to explore the world and people's thought processes directly around me. To understand the inner workings of the world a little bit. To dig. I want to play with the world and get to know it and the people here, to poke fun in good cheer as well as to bring commonalities to light.