http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQbHERw08NU

The scene begins in a very blue/grey cool hue with many shadows. The shadows and color matching his attitude: very down and like the shadows, feeling as though many parts of his life and future are unclear to him and in the dark. The music playing is slow and low in bass and pace. The sound of her voice going in and out through the interruptions of his thoughts gives the viewer the same unfocused experience he is going through. Likewise this is shown through the focus of her face also blurring and then coming back into focus.

The sudden distortion of her voice followed by him seeing himself coming up the stairs shows the beginning of this out of body experience. The color of the picture begins to change going from the cool grey hue with lots of dark ambiguous shadows to a very warm golden hue where everything is in the light, clear and focused, just as he begins to feel as the drug has its effect. The sounds of little things become the focus of his hearing. The sequence of quick cuts from her sweat glands to her wedding ring and text book show his heightened sense of awareness. His point of view becomes distorted showing how the drug is beginning to fully manifest and his body is climbing in order to reach the high. The sudden cut of the music and the return to a regular point of view show that the drug has set in and he has reached the high. He says "I was blind and now I can see" and the image goes from being out of focus into a highly focused view.

R.J.L Phillips: Justice of the Court, His Life and Opinions dissolves from the cover of the book in the flashback scene almost into his mouth as he references it back in his conversation with her. This showing how the drug is allowing him to quickly search for key things in his memory and make them fully available to him. The following sequence of cuts: him speaking faster, the birds eye shot and then her smile and charming stare, show the passing of time and the change of mood going from frustration to flirtation on her part in response to his new demeanor while being on the drug.

The new music is faced paced just as his thoughts and actions become.Through the image of him and the multiple other hims cleaning the apartment we can infer that the drug is giving him such efficiency that it is as though he has clones of himself allowing for many things to get done almost at once. The closeup as he says "I knew what I needed to do and how to do it,"and his head turning sharply to the direction of the laptop is almost robot like. He is on a mission with full tunnel-vison on the goal.

Because of Copyright on the song I could not post it on my blog but I emailed the interview through an .aif file

The Museum of the Moving Image definitely surpassed my expectations. Although the blog assignment is supposed to be about the moving image, our tour focused more on the costume and creative aspects of the film making process. We were able to explore the various costumes which bring the characters to life as well as the prosthetics and makeup used to create these unforgettable personalities. One of the Demos which stood out to me was that of the role which music plays in setting the tone of a film. On one screen we had a selection of various music clips and on another we had a scene playing from the movie Independence Day. It was very amusing seeing how much of a difference the wrong song can make in a given scene. There was actually an amazing sculpture which I could not get a video of but was a great representation of the moving image. The sculptures were all spinning, while the light was on you could not tell at all what was going on and it was actually hard to make out what the sculptures were trying to make out as they were moving so fast but once the lights were turned off and a strobe light was applied we had a real life moving image before our eyes. I would love to go back and see the rest of the exhibits which we were not able to get to. Below you will find a Flipbook video, harlem shake style, featuring Benji Hom, Abraham Velasqez and Crystal Lodico.

My train of sounds

I am leaving work now, it's 5:00pm in midtown. Everyone is going home, everyone is in a hurry. I hear coworkers complaining about the office as I rush by. I'm trying to look for my metrocard in the dark mess which is the bottom of my handbag. I hear a train leaving, with my luck it was probably mine. I hear everyone else swiping their metrocards and tapping their shoes down the steps. The constant DING after DING sound of people getting through is mocking and giving me anxiety. Why don't I invest in a wallet? I finally find it and DING I swipe through. As usual I hear the accordion playing. This little old man is always playing the same tune of a song which I can never name. As I walk down to my usual waiting spot I hear a band playing their instruments across the platform. This song I can make out. It is "smells like teen spirit" by Nirvana. The saxophone, the drums, the guitar, it all blends together to form a more calming jazz version. The F train passes on the other side. Right after the M train passes on the track opposite mine. The D train simultaneously comes to the station. I was right about the train which passed before being mine. The rumble of all these trains is making me impatient. Each time I hear a train rumbling it's way into the station I'm hoping its mine. Finally the B train rumbles in and stops. The breaks screeching. Everyone is crowding in, pushing and shoving. I can hear the sighs of those annoyed. I find a window seat. We leave the station and you can hear the CHUGACHUGA of the train in motion. It always makes me sleepy. I can't sleep. Must stay awake and listen. We get to the next station. The train operator says something but I'm typing as I'm listening so I only got "stand clear of the closing doors please." The CHUGACHUGA begins again. We get to 34th street and I hear the low base of another band playing the drums too far away to distinguish the song. The train operator loudly announcing "DO NOT HOLD THE DOORS, THERE IS A TRAIN DIRECTLY BEHIND US." That's probably a lie, they always say that. We get to Broadway Lafayette and there is a skinny Jamaican man playing a Calypso version of Hotel California. That song always gave me nightmares as a kid. I have to hear other sounds before the song gets stuck in my head. A man talking to a woman next to me is commenting on how much he loves that song, and here I am thinking of how much I hate it. The train is really loud as it makes it's way to the next station. The screeching just gets louder and louder until we begin to slow down. The guy speaking about Hotel California is now complaining about work. He seems annoyed. He caught me looking at him while I was listening, now he knows I'm eavesdropping. It's hard to hear what he's saying with the rumble of the train in my ear. His voice becomes a shh fsh vshh sh shs ss jushh in between the rumble. Now I'm conscious of another couples whispering. So it's him in my left ear, them in my right and the rumble of the train consuming them both. Another older man with gray hairs in his long dreadlocks is jamming out to a song in his headphones. I can hear his fingers snapping. He's really into it. It looks a little ridiculous. The guy complaining just said that he wants his own office. Now we are outside, the rumble of the train isn't as loud. We go through some small tunnels and you can hear the difference in the rumble, softer and louder, as we go out and back in. Finally the complaining guy left. My ears are relived. I get off on the next stop, the train feels so much more peaceful now. All I hear is the soft rumble of the train...chugachuga...Most people are sleeping. The breaks sound like an airplane landing. A ladies phone rang..duhnah na na na na nuhnuh na.. its the same ring tone as my alarm clock and I always think its my phone when I hear it. She answers and says "I'm here, I'm getting off." Me too lady. Finally home.

Ana Prieto: Define a Space

https://vimeo.com/60562768

In the earlier years of my artistic life I dreamed of being an actress. I attended Frank Sinatra School of Performing Arts and the idea seemed so possible. From auditions and cold readings to studying lines and analyzing characters, the stage gave me a feeling I did not get from anything else. Being under the bright warm lights of the stage, transforming into another being in front of that dark abyss gave me a rush you could only understand if you were on that stage in that moment. After graduation, reality struck. They say that the field of acting is made for those who have no question in their mind that there are no other options out there for them and the starving artist life was what they were willing to take on. That unmistaken drive was not what I felt in my heart, it did not satisfy the vision of the future I had for myself anymore.

In college I began the search for what would make me happiest. What was stable and secure enough yet creativity based enough to satisfy my artistic side as well? I met a professor who to this day I thank for steering me in the direction I could see myself growing in and forming a career out of. As much as I am artistic I also see myself as a true business woman. Furthermore, aside from being a business woman I also feel very in tune with my inner psychologist. By nature I tend to be very analytical of people, their traits, personalities, tendencies. I am observant and know how to talk to people. Being a performer has taught me to be extroverted and how to express the ideas inside my head. For these reasons I feel that a career in marketing/advertising will allow me to bring all of the qualities and interests I find in myself and bring them together into a future I am happy with. As much as this might not be the most sensitive of statements describing my artistic side, it suites me perfectly because I find myself to be more than just an artists.

The media is such a powerful medium in our day that I can only hope to use all that I have to steer it in the right direction. To work with people and companies I believe in. Ones who's causes and goals I believe will benefit the greater good. I would love to help promote figures and works which without the help of a strong marketing team would not gain the recognition they need to make a difference. I once worked with a young boy from Brooklyn who I meet through a Professor at Hunter, Karen Hunter. This boy was had a passion for writing and that passion was what kept him strong through some very dark times in his life, points where he was even homeless. The then Medgar Evers student was found by this professor and being that she heads her own publishing company decided to take him under her wing and publish his book. Our job as a class was to market his book and get it recognized in the media. We succeeded. He was interviewed by the daily news, tweeted by various publishers and writers on Twitter, received recognition on Facebook as well as actually selling many copies of his work. There are no words for the feeling of knowing you made someones dream come true. In life I could only hope to make a career out of helping those who deserve it and making my dreams as well as theirs a reality.