Blog Assignment #3: Reflections on Sound Design

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2T75EWtgU

This is a video clip of the movie:  Running Scared, this is the opening scene and it uses audio and sound design extremely well.

Script Format:

FADE IN

INT. APARTMENT BUILDING- DAY

The camera zooms out from a building, showing two men counting money.  The sound of money rustling is heard.  In the background a police siren is heard.

INSERT PHRASE: 18 Hours Earlier.

Camera pans across the room where 4 men are holding guns.  One man is counting money.

                                                    MAN IN WHITE SUIT
                        
                                                            Were good

Camera pans over to a man standing by the door.

Door busts open and 3 men with guns start yelling.

                                                           GUY ONE

                                                     Nobody fucking move

                                                           GUY TWO

                                                      Eat the floor fuckers!


                                                         GUY ONE

                                        Get on the ground now, you cock suckers


                                                  GUY IN WHITE SUIT

                                         Your makin the biggest fuckin mistake


Guy 1 slams gun on Guy in White Suit's head and knocks him to the floor.


                                                       GUY ONE

                                       Get down mother fuckers, eat the fucking floor!


Everyone throws their guns across the floor, and the guns all make loud sliding noises.



                                                      GUY ONE

                                        Come on let's go, hurry up!


Dark, suspenseful music starts playing, as bad guys start taking money.  One guy cuts a bad guys achilles tendon with a knife, guy starts shooting and shoots one guy in the chest.

Full blown shootout starts

Gunfire explodes, shell casings hit the floor, man gets shot in the head, music continues to play.

Scene rewinds, shows Guy in White Suit pull out a gun, scene fast forwards, Guy in White Suit shoots the guy in front of him, shoot out continues.

Shootout ends, right before one of the bad guys dies, he pulls out a badge and it is known that he is a cop.

Everyone runs out, and scene zooms out to all of the dead cop bodies.



The way that this scene is scripted and filmed is one of the most unique moments of film I have ever seen.  The way that it uses Time is incredible.  The film does this, by using multiple camera angles, and at one point, it show's what is going on from one point of view, then rewinds to the beginning, and shows a man pulling a gun out at the same time in a different point of view.  I think that this use of time is very unique because of the way they used speed to rewind and fast forward the clips, as well as raise the volume of the film when stuff started to get intense.  Something else they did, was use subjective time, by slowing down the film when the rewind scene started, then speeding it back up when they fast forwarded the scene.  This movie also uses Space in a very unique way.  Perception, distance, and size are all used a lot in this first scene, as the camera does many effects such as zooming in and out of different frames.  Also, the directionality and movement that is used is done in a really well mannered way.  It is done by moving the camera's in all different ways to make the movement seem real and make the directionality what the director wants the audience to see.

Blog Assignment #2: Finding Your Howl

This is a link to Johnathan Flaum's "Find Your Howl".

changethis.com

The two stories that I was supposed to read, aren't showing up from this link, so therefore I can't summarize any of the stories.

Please let me know what I can do,

Thanks,
Josh




My favorite quote is "May the wind always be at your back, and the sun always upon your face, and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars."

     This is one of my all time favorite quotes.  It is from the movie:  Blow.  There are several reasons why I like it so much.  The first is because of the wording.  Every time I hear this quote or say it, I feel like the way it's worded makes it sound incredibly beautiful.  Also, I really like what the quote means.  What I get out of it, is that it is saying to stand up for yourself and don't let anyone push you around.  Then if you do this, your reward will be the greatest thing you can think of.  The part that says "May the wind always be at your back", is saying that you should always look forward and not let anything get in your way of doing whatever you want to.  The part that says "and the sun always upon your face", means that you should always be smiling, because for every down you have, there will be an upside, and you just have to be positive about it.  The final part of the quote that says "and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.", is saying that if you can do all of these things; such as looking forward and not letting anything get in your way and being positive about your situation, then you will be rewarded by what you have made yourself into, and you will become a much better person than you were previously.
     Also, I like how this quote can be used in a plethora of different situations.  It can be used if someone is feeling down, if someone is having a bad luck streak, or just a confidence booster for someone, when they need a little bit of encouragement.  Another thing that I like about this quote is that anyone can interpret it to have a new, fresh meaning to them; it can have a different meaning to everyone who reads it, just based on what is happening in their life.
     As a creative person, I find that this quote has a strong use of creative words, allowing for the reader to really understand what is going on with the quote.  For example, if somebody reads this quote for the first time, then they are going to be a little bit astounded with how the wording fits in with what the message is.  Then, on the second time reading through the quote, the audience or person reading it, is going to figure out what the meaning of the quote is and then put the two together, to form and analyze what they want the quote to mean to them.  Also, with this quote being put into a movie, it allows the viewer to understand the quote based off of what is going on in the movie.  This quote is repeated two or three times in the movie, all of which each time, something different is going on in the movie.  This gives the viewer multiple times to see what the quote means for every time it is said, and allows for the plot to develop better.

Blog Assignment #1: Deconstructing Characters.

Grizzly Man




1).

     For the first picture showing the color of the character, I chose a picture of dirt.  This is because the character has a darker appearance as well as a darker color on its surface.  The dirt represents not only the dark mood of the character, but also the dark color of the skin/hair.  While this character isn’t a hero or villain, it leans more on the villain side of the spectrum, as it has a more eerie outer appearance than most other characters.  Also, the dry texture of the dirt reflects on how the character moves, because it is big and slow and seems like a dry character on the outside.

2).  

     For the second picture that is representing the light, I chose a picture of moonlight.  I did this because the moonlight represents the mysterious vibe and aura that is surrounding the character.  Also, moonlight is more darker than any other kind of light, and the character is more of a darker character because it isn't around in the light of day.  So, since nobody ever see's this character in the light, it is best that he is shown in moonlight because it's always darker in the moonlight.  Also, this character only comes out in the moonlight because if physically can’t come out during the daytime.






3).  




























     For the third picture that is representing shape, I chose a picture of a Grizzly Bear.  My reasoning behind this is that the character is extremely large and looks almost like the same size of this bear.  Also, this bear is extremely bulky and covered with hair, just like the character.  The character takes up a lot of the same features as this bear and has a lot of the same characteristics as well.  Another thing that is common between this bear and my character, is the fact that they both move in the same way and use their front hands to walk occasionally.






Wing Man




1).  
























     For the first picture that is representing the color of the antagonist, I chose a bunch of red roses.  I did this, because the antagonist isn't as dark as the Grizzly Man, however, he is still somewhat dark, which is why I picked roses.  Also, the roses show that the character isn't completely dark, but only somewhat, as roses are dark but leave a hint of lightness just like the The Wing Man does.  Another thing about this picture connecting to The Wing Man, is that he wears a lot of shades of red which makes him appear more seductive.






2).  

     For the first picture that is representing the light of The Wing Man, I chose a picture that uses a lot of shadows.  The reason I picked this picture is because The Wing Man doesn't come out in the daylight very often, if at all.  He likes to stay hidden in the shadows and lurk around.  His dark demeanor is why I looked for a picture with shadows in it, because it shows a dark atmosphere which is what he is used to and where he spends most of his time at.  The Wing Man, isn’t a hero or a villain either, although, his enemy is The Grizzly Man.

3).  

For the picture that is representing shape, I chose a picture of a vampire bat.  I chose this picture, because of The Wing Man's love of Bats, and for the wings that he has.  This animal is the closest thing to The Wing Man, because it show's what his personality looks like in animal form.  Also, he has wings, fangs, and a hungering and craving for blood of any kind.  That is why this Bat shares the same shape and characterization that The Wing Man does, because they are both very similar and have the same character traits as each other.