Timecode

Documentary

Soundscape

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This was the documentary that my group and I made…

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The film was interesting and unique in its own way. It almost seem like the camera who so happen to also be the director of the film was enjoying himself, asking nontradtional questions such as “are there any gay penguins and such.” The film was shot using a handheld camera most of the time and the shots were composed of full body shots, and medium shots and sometimes close ups. The scernery shots unless tracking a diver or a person were shot still and panned from left to right and zoomed in on some significant parts such as the suicidal penguin. During the still panning shots there was either a narrative by the director/cameraman or classical choir music which is very cliche yet makes a very strong point when showing the beauty of the antartic. Interviews were interesting and this relates relatively well with our project in the sense that all these people came together from whatever they were and were specialized with and became ordinary citizens doing menial tasks to help them survive. Overall, I enjoyed the film and hope to incorportate some of the techniques that the director used in his film as in fill in with music and narrative and panning shots as such. Also if possibly I would like to add a slight comedic value to our film to keep it interesting like his did.

The basics that will be used is assigning roles to each person. This is a group of three project and we have a limited amount of time. It would be ideal to separate each job or task such as director, scriptwriter, interviewer, voice overs and editors to people with those particular strong points. I must talk with my group to see what people’s particular strong points are. Some film/cinematography effects that I hope we will be using are still shots with panning, most like close ups of people while we interview but also tracking possibly. My group and I decided to do street performers. We passed the idea by Amy and she said that we should narrow down our idea to one particular street performer type because of the fact that they are such a broad range of people and because of the fact that the particular film in question is about 5-7 minutes in length. Also I hope to do narrative with the pan shots as well and full body shots of the actual performance. Interview voice overs as well and possibly some secret audio clips obtained through the boompole. Some fade in and fade outs, and slow motion photography, and the crowds interviews and reactions but most of that can be done during the actual editing process. Not really sure what direction my group and I want to take this but I hope to have a scene layout and or shot list as well as a general idea of what we want to portray with a specific street performer group. We shall talk more tmw….

Write a brief entry on your blog describing what types of sounds you recorded that most interest you and why? What are your initial ideas for your sound scape project?

Hmm so over the weekend, I had the sound mic and equipment, i brought it almost everywhere with me. The first day we had the mic we recorded in Washington Plaza Park and we got the children playing, construction, cars honking the basic stuff that probably everyone got. Everyone took a break for lunch and i followed them into the store where I got cash register sounds, sounds of the coffee machines and refrigerator units as well as people ordering different foods. i think the most unique sound I got that day was a woman wearing her ipod listening with her headphones, and I got her humming and the sounds of the song she was listening to. I also recorded feet walking as well as the fourth of July fireworks and people’s reactions.

My initial ideas for the sound project was going to be a guide to New York City like an automated handheld system that tells of events that happen around the city. I think I might do that project again because it sounded interested in my head when i was thinking about it and it really spreads out the uses of the sound clips that my group and I obtained. That or my other idea was to create a typical day of a New Yorker, a nerdy sort of unminded busy body that merges into the crowd and kind of a simple yet intense walk through of his day.

How does music seduce the audience and change the meaning of a film?

The music captivates the audience and makes the scene more alive by giving hints to the audience whether the scene should be a certain way. To clarify, the music sets the stage for the scene, the overall captivating mood that the audience member should feel. The music invokes certain emotions and feelings within the individual when the actors perform on the screen and differentiates a moment of sadness from a moment of happiness. Also music lets us remember a particular scene in our mind, with recognition factors, we tend to remember movies and parts of movies when thinking of the music or hearing the music in general.

What role does sound play in remembering a picture? Give an example from the film or from your own memory

I kind of answered this question from the previous one. The idea that sound helps people remember specific scenes and memories from certain movies with each score especially musicals. Certain songs invoke certain memories within people and an example, a very simple example would be something like Star Wars or Iron Man, where the theme is noticable or even Star Trek Movies. When the main theme of the movie is played most people know what movie is playing and either shreek with glee or moan with discontent.

What material were composers given in order to compose the score? How did this process take place?

The composer is given multiple things: first off a orchestra, or some sort of way to play music, the music, a cue sheet, a small monitor to see the film, clock to tell the time of the film. Remakes of the compositions or films. They were also given a scene and told to produce a certain rhythmic feeling with the music as well as what the director was trying to portray. An example they used was “Laura” and the fact that one of the musical directors wanted to use a “whorish” sort of tone when in actuality the selection of music was far from the original intent of the scene.

How did the Music Editor “spot” the picture? What is the difference between a ’streamer’ and a ‘punch’ and how did they help the conductor to create the musical score?

The musical editor has to look at scene and add punches and streamers to help the composer with each part of the film. They add a white “x” to the part of the film they want to change and then “punch” a hole in it to symbolize the changing of a scene or a new tiempo or bar in the musical notes. Streamers end on a particular frame and the tiempo is consistent throughout while a punch changes the tiempo or the bar in the music. These help the conductor either change the way he conducts his music by giving him cues where to do certain musical intonations and helps the conductor change his pace of music if he needs to.

1. How have poetry, dada, and zen influenced the work of John Cage?

Some basic points that Cages touches about is how poetry uses/manipulates time and sound and how dada and zen manipulate and change places and time.  The way that Cage writes though does seem to be influenced with the styling of poetry with each paragraph short and concise trying to make a point, but have this style feel of rhythmic undertone. Simple is the word but deep and complex it in meaning are his words. Dada and zen are the same way. Simple in their words but deep in their meanings. The way he writes also, Cage talks about change through periods of time through the manipulation of objects and technology, a comparison between time periods from one to another. Also another point to touch on is the idea of inspiration through the world around us just something to keep in mind.

2. How does Cage view and define “the future of music” and the role of the composer? Why was this so groundbreaking and still relatively so?

The future of music is not played with just instruments of musical nature but of instruments of a technological nature. The noises around us can be singled out to create and manipulated into a musical tone that can be used, but it is up to the composer of all people to create these music interludes that are pleasant to the audiences ears. Unlike the 19th and 18th century where music was an art using instruments of musical nature, modern times the world around us is full of sounds and noise that can create beauty.

3. What commentary does Cage make regarding the invention of electrical musical instruments?

Cage comments on the fact that electrical instruments make things more convenient for people by creating any tone we desire, any sound,and any beat we want. A bit of the new outdated the old. With the help of the electrical music instruments the composer is able to manipulate sounds from every aspect of life itself and not just traditional musical instruments.

4. How does Cage perceive silence?

Silence are the notes that are not noted in written music. Silence can also be perceived as something that produces no sound not even a natural sound of the environment. Cage believes that as much as we think we can’t hear anything we are always absorbing sound through our daily lives, in the objects around us and in the places we go.

5. What does Cage consider the five determinants of sound to be?

The five determinants of sounds are frequency/pitch; amplitude/loudness; overtone structure/timbre; duration and morphology.

6. How does Cage feel we should change our musical habits (from more mathematical to more natural)?

Cage feels that one should give up control, and let sound be free of mind and free of nature, to be absorbed and taken from things instead of planned and composed through set number and contemplation. With the use of emotions and feeling instead of technicalities. Cage writes of specific instances where each sound can change with each emotion that is expressed, but he also makes a point to say that everyone is different in the way they express themselves.

7. How does Cage make use of chance? How do you interpret this statement:
“The composer resembles the maker of a camera who allows someone else to take the picture.”

Cage makes use of chance by deriving his sounds from his inner emotions and the world around him. The quote is similar to any composer back in the 19th centruy who wrote music. The composer created music or the instrument for the purpose of being replicated by others and to create beautiful music. A camera is no different, according to Cage. A camera has the ability to replicate the images seen and heard by others and to pass on these images to other people to hear and appreciate the beauty of the emotions from each instance.