Final Project: Rise & Grind

Me and Marly worked on Raise & Grind together, and it was a good partnership from the start. Marly came up with the story concept of a friend meeting another friend for coffee, and together we elaborated on the story and planned the storyboard to get shots we thought would convey the story best. We felt pretty confident with our storyboard and were ready for shooting, unfortunately we had a few bumps in the road, like the weather not cooperating with us and also having our actor backing out last minute. But even with these minor issues we were able to play around with our storyboard to better accommodate the project and our idea.

When it came to filming, I took over the camera and made sure the camera was steady and focused, and also to make sure the white balance was on point. Marly found all the sounds for our film because we didn't record the sounds ourself, but got sound effects off the internet. For editing Marly was more hands on and was the one who was physically editing the piece, but we both sat together and worked on it together both expressing our opinions on what we think would be the best choices for our project. Overall I believe we split the work evenly between planning, filming, editing, and sound.
Below is our final piece, ENJOY!

Rise & Grind from Marly on Vimeo.

For some behind the scenes look below at our pre-production plans via storyboards.

This is our original storyboard (page one) as you can see it went through some changes as the project progressed!

This is page two of our storyboard, we went more for writing text then images, because neither of us were really talented artist. (but I hope you enjoy my doodles regardless!)

And this is just some more details of our project during the planning process, like location, characters, and sounds we needed to correspond with certain shots, etc...

Museum of the Moving Image

This was my first visit to MOMI, and I was really looking forward to the trip. I love anything movie or TV related, so seeing  things like actual costumes used in movies, like Mrs. Doubtfire and Mildred Pierce, was something I found so interesting!

However because this was a school trip we were given a tour that mainly focused on the progression of technology of the movie image. We saw an original film camera, that was 100 years old. This speific camera physically looks completely different from the rest; it looks more or less like a wooden box. However it did have characteristics that made it obvious that it was a camera, like the lens and was how it was resting on a tripod. But as time went on cameras changed, and became more advance; lenses became larger, the film had more space which in turn means more film, longer shooting periods. Also things like color film became part of the picture. From looking at the cameras we then moved on to the TVs. There was an array of different TVs on display, some were clearly a TV but others looked more like a radio with a very very small white screen. Our tour guide mention how in the past TVs were more of a piece of furniture and blended more in households then being the center of the room like they tend to be in living rooms now.

My trip to MOMI makes me want to go back and explore more freely at the other exhibits they have to offer. 

 

These images above are two that I took on the trip, the one on the left is the old film camera I mentioned above. The image on the right is the an array of different TVs.

"The Graduate"

The clip I decided to analyze is the pool montage from The Graduate.  This whole movie is brilliant in many ways, including the editing style. Mike Nichols is clever and careful to choose how he wants to edit his scenes. This montage takes place during Ben's summer home after graduating college, and majority of shots are Ben relaxing at home or being with Mrs. Robinson. How he makes the transitions from shot to shot is what impresses me. He uses match on action editing, where the edit cuts from one shot to another by matching the action. By doing this it makes the two shots flow together, and makes the cut less abrupt even if the change in setting is completely different.

During this montage the first match on action edit is when Ben puts on his shirt and walks back inside his house, as the camera follows him through the door we see that he walks into the hotel room where Ben and Mrs. Robinson meet. We then see the camera zoom in on his face with a just a black background, as the camera zooms out he is standing back in his house and we know this because we see his parents in the background having dinner. Again the camera zooms in on his face with the same black background, and when it zooms back out we see that he is again in the hotel room with Mrs. Robinson. This same transition happens one more time and it takes us into his bedroom where he goes out to the pool where the montage started. As we follow Ben in the pool he flops onto a float but the shot again matches his action and cuts to him on Mrs. Robinson.

The use of these transitions made the montage flow with a sense of continuity instead of the cuts being choppy. The montage is obviously a time lapse of Ben spending his summer, doing nothing really other than engaging in an affair with Mrs. Robinson. What also makes the montage flow is the sense of the camera following Ben, there are very few obvious cuts in this scene but rather it is more seamless. Another factor that goes with this scene is the music played, which is “Sound of Silence” and “April Come She Will.” Both of these songs have a soft calming tone, which go with Ben’s facial expression, which is expressionless.

Overall this montage shows a lapse in time but also Ben’s current life, he is seamlessly doing nothing and just “drifting” while having an affair with his parent’s friend.

Interview with Marly

Interview With Marly from Marie Visker on Vimeo.

The audio above follows Marly as she reflects on one of her closest friendships.

The Sounds of the City

Living in the city you can forget to take it in with all of your senses. The city offers its inhabitants many great things, one example being the variety of sounds that it makes.

I took a walk around my neighborhood, Kips Bay, and tried to take in all the activities that were going on around me by focusing on just listening. The most apparent noise was the traffic. The roars of all the cars accelerating as the light turned green, the honking of the impatient taxis, the slamming of car doors, the music that would blare from passing cars. I noticed the array of music being listened to, from today’s hits to cultural Indian music. And of course I heard the sound of the sirens, from near and far. Sirens are something that we hear so often in New York City that it becomes white noise to us. But when you stop and think about what that sounds means, emergency, it makes you think; “Where are they going? Are they close to where they need to be? Will they make it on time?” A furry of thoughts can fill your brain when you give yourself time to process your surroundings.

Along with the sounds of traffic people themselves are a huge contributor to the sound of New York. Whether it is the sound of their feet, or the jingling from their keys looped to their pants, it all makes sounds. What I found the most interesting were the conversations. Something you can’t forget while living in the city is that you are living with millions of people, however I myself tend to forget all the human lives I’m surround by. When I stopped listening to my own inner dialog and started to listen to bits and pieces of people’s public dialog I was given an interesting glance into their lives. I started to wonder about these people, wonder about their day. It is truly amazing, and crazy, how close we are to so many people physically yet so distanced from them mentally.

The city is always buzzing whether we take in or let it fade into the background. The sounds surrounding us will keep on going, the lives around us will keep on going, the question is whether or not we stop for a moment and soak in the sound of the city.

Define a Space: Enjoy the Little Things

Enjoy the little things from Marie Visker on Vimeo.

My Artist Statement

My childhood self only would connect being an artist to people that paint, draw, sculpt, ya know the things we did in art class. So for me now to call myself, or in the near future, to call myself an artist is something bizarre but exciting. It’s safe to say that I don’t have any background or experience when it comes to making art, which scares me for the upcoming tasks. Even this artist statement scares me. Media mediums like TV and film have always inspired and influenced me, making me want to dive into this world that for so long was just a fantasy.

I’ve always loved TV, specifically sitcoms. Watching a group of friends that you can so easily relate to your own, and watch them as if they are your own. Classics like Cheers, Frasier, Everyone Loves Raymond, Friends, Will & Grace, and Seinfeld… (I could go on and on) have all helped make fond memories, whether it was watching them with my family or friends, or just me and my cat. And although I can’t promise that my work will reflect a sitcom, I hope my work brings the same kind of interest and entertainment that TV has brought me.

I want my art to be inspiring, even if it is only myself who finds inspiration. I want my art to make people smile, even if it isn’t suppose to be funny. I want my art to stand the test the of time, even if I can’t.