Thursday, April 30, 2015

BIRDMAN SCENE ANALYSIS

I choose the "coffee" scene in Birdman because it show the importance of each character in a different form of editing that most filmmakers can't pull off. Almost the entire movie of Birdman was shot in a one shot sequence. The opening shot of this scene is the main character opening the door to head out to the streets in time square. As he goes to open the door we see the shot go to black, knowing that there was a possible cut there. Since the editing was so well designed it was hard to notice that. In this scene there was a conversation between both character, we were able to view that through medium shots. As both characters are walking to a possible cafe, we still see the camera following both from the front and then it shifts to the back. As I watched the movie I was able to understand that each thing/person that was shown was represented as an important character. Therefore the setting was obvious to be broadway, Time Square which was known to be a "character" because it was an influence towards the main character. It was clear to the viewers that it was Times Square because of the first establishing shot in the beginning of the scene. As both characters walk, we also come across a person playing a jazz beat on the drums making him as well another character since now his music is what starts to escalate the argument. The music is synced in the scene to build the tension. Birdman has been one of the best constructed film in terms of editing. It make the difficulties of shooting in one shot and editing this project look easy.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Museum of Moving Image Visit

I've been to the MoMI multiple times growing up, but the really good thing about it is that some exhibits always get changed so it's always interesting to come across a new space in the museum. There are many exhibits I enjoy viewing, such as, the wardrobe/special affect room, the sound recording booth, and of course the understanding of different cameras area. At the MoMI there are displays of all forms of cameras and the era it represents. Every time I visit the museum I like to refresh my memory and also learn new things. The film camera, which was first a practical motion picture camera, later created by Thomas Edison with the use of flexible film. A smaller strip of film goes through the camera in periodic motion. The mechanism moves one frame into position which then gets held into place for a couple of seconds then the same process gets repeated with the following strip of film. I've learned that in the television camera, in order for the image to be captured the television camera records a series of still pictures in a fast pace. I was very excited to experience the limited edition exhibit of Mad Men, it was interesting to see items that were imported from the show such as sets, conference room, clothing and props. It was a great way to end the tour.