Baby Shoes

Baby Shoes from Won Seo on Vimeo.

Museum of Moving Images Experience

I was able to go to the Museum of Moving Images (MOMI) for the class trip and was very pleasantly surprised at how interactive the displays are instead of just being exhibits to stare at. The group I was a part of took part in demos for automatic dialogue replacement and sound effects replacement, among other things.

We spent some time at the display with the old television and radio display. Our tour guide explained to us the reason for the different shapes and sizes of the older television, such as how the necessary cathode rays were huge and necessitated a large case to enclose them. I found it particularly interesting that many old televisions used to be manufactured in the form of household appliances in order for people to get used to it. Because of this, we were actually able to see an old television in the shape of a dishwasher.

           
I found it interesting how a lot of the equipment actually seems to be unchanged from what it used to be. Television sets and editing stations are obviously different these days, especially since the medium that is used has changed to a digital one. However, microphones, lighting equipment, and the actual shape of the cameras themselves seem almost unchanged, which was really surprising. I would think that everything would have gotten lighter and sleeker and more portable, what with the increase of on location shooting, but the overall shape and bulkiness of the equipment seems to have been maintained throughout the years despite the inner technology evolving.

Relationship Between Shots: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

In this clip of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we see various techniques used to establish both the time and place that Harry is in and what kind of person Hagrid, the large man, seems to be.

The very first shot we get is a p.o.v shot from Harry of the birthday cake he is drawing in the sand. We can already hear the sound of thunder in the background, and that in addition to the sand on the floor gives the setting a bit of a gloomy and dilapidated feeling. The lighting is dark, which is explained in another p.o.v shot when Harry looks at Dudley’s watch and sees it become midnight. The frequent usage of these p.o.v shots also clearly establishes Harry as the main character.

When Hagrid starts trying to break through the door, almost every slam is accompanied by a cut in the editing, going between Harry and Dudley as they scramble back, then the aunt and uncle coming downstairs, and finally the deadbolt as the door is forcibly broken down. It gives the scene a sense of urgency reminiscent of a horror movie, as does the extreme lighting given to Hagrid’s figure in the door which makes only his silhouette visible. The continuous sound of thunder and the increasingly dramatic blaring of the brass instruments adds to the atmosphere of a horror movie.

Because of this, while still not completely obvious, the cuts become more and more noticeable as the tension rises. They start to add a slight feeling of disorientation, and everything comes to a head as the door finally falls to reveal this giant of a man. After that, everything, from the sound to the editing, calms down significantly as it turns out that Hagrid is actually a pretty nice person.

Flushing Soundwalk

I decided to wander around my own neighborhood of Flushing, Queens near Main Street as I have not been able to just walk around and see how it has grown and changed over the years.

Recently, a lot of construction noises have been dominating the air in my small corner of the world. There seem to be temporary wooden walls everywhere, and wherever there are wooden walls, there is the unrelenting sound of jackhammers, drills, bulldozers, and cranes going at full force.

Every so often, on a set schedule that I am not familiar with, the sound of the Long Island Rail Road rattling by resounds, low and subtle under the rest of the clatter, as it makes its way behind the line of houses on my street.

If I venture a block or so down towards Main Street and the subway station, the construction noises fade slowly, though the shouts of the workers relaying instructions to each other lingers in the air for quite some way down.

There eventually comes a point where the construction gives way to the incessant honking of midday traffic. Buses, cars, trucks, everything is caught in a standstill when drivers find themselves accidentally stuck in the middle of the intersection at a signal change and the pedestrians refuse to give way to their desperate attempts to regain their dignities.

Once I cross onto Main Street, I am immediately assaulted with the sound of people. Before then, there was only the occasional chatter between a couple or the call of middle-aged men meeting at the convenience store. Now, the constant stream of chatter and words floods my senses and that is all I can hear ringing in my ears as I make my way down the subway stairs.