Monday, May 14, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Exercise 3: Writing Part 2 Redux
TWO FRIENDS
Ext.
A man named Pete is sitting on a chair outside of a
starbucks on a college campus. He is leaning over the patio
table staring out into distance. A group of guys can be seen
playing basketball on the courts nearby. They are screaming
and shouting every time one of them makes a basket. Their
voices carry over to the man sitting staring aimlessly. He
focuses his gaze on them proceeds to get lost in their
performance.
A woman is seen standing mere feet from him talking loudly
on her cellphone
WOMAN
Literally my mother couldn’t even
figure out to work it and its like
2012 I felt so ashamed. Yeah I had
to do it for her. And then I had to
explain it after that.
Her one sided conversation draws Pete’s attention and he
cocks his head sideways to catch a glimpse of the woman
uttering all these hilarious words. When the woman notices
Peter staring at her she gives him a look of disgust and
saunters off in the opposite direction continuing her
conversation elsewhere.
Peter looks down at his wrist watch and then fixes his gaze
back over to the basketball players on the courtyard. A man
appears walking behind him and he sits down adjacent to Pete
without him noticing.
MYSTERY MAN (SAM)
Sorry I was late, man. Class ran
crazy long today and you know how
it is, right?
PETER
What the hell was so important Sam
that you couldn’t clue me in ahead
of time?
SAM
Sorry compadre, but I figured if I
told you via text you would stick
your hand through the phone and
strangle me.
Sam laughs half heartily and gives a sheepish smile.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
PETER
Well what the hell is it that's so
catastrophic? Did you actually end
up hitting that homeless man that
walks down the highway? Ha ha
SAM
Nah its nothing life and death man
its more like ... Dropping out of
school to peruse grander things. Ya
know?
It takes a second for the info to really hit Peter and
register in his brain.
PETER
Wait... you're dropping out of
college? The fuck you are.
SAM
It’s not a big deal man. I have so
many plans and ideas... College is
just holding me back. You’ll see
how much I accomplish after leaving
this place.
PETER
You’re making a huge mistake, man,
trust me. Oh my god, you are
retarded, bro. You’re gonna be that
homeless man walking the highway in
a few months.
SAM
Ha ha you know that’s pretty funny
but I have friends that will give
me a place to stay till I find
myself a pad.
PETER
You make everything in life seem so
simple. Your parents are going to
kill you when they find out, you
know that right?
SAM
When I have my life in order, I will
tell them. They dont have to know
what I’m doing till then.
PETER
You can't hide something so major
from them. They will find out when
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
PETER (cont’d)
They get something from the school
sent about dropping out.
SAM
Nahhh I’m gonna have my friend down
the street check out my mail and
lift any stuff from school. Simple
as that.
Sam had a goofy ass smile on his face when he finished his
sentence like he had definitive proof everything would be
okay. There had to be something wrong in that kids mind.
PETER
I can't stop you unless I tie you to
your desk and force you to stay but
I know you. Once you get something
in your mind you don't give up till
you’ve seen it through.
Peter sighs deeply and slides back into his chair knowing
that his friend is about to throw away his life.
SAM
I actually have an appointment with
an advisor on the other side of
campus so I have to run now, but
later I want to spend some time
with ya.
Sam goes over to Peter and gives him a hug which freaks him
a little because he is not used to this sort of behavior.
SAM
You are a good friend Pete, and
everything will be okay. When I
have my new place, you will be the
first one over and then we will
hang out all the time. All will
be well.
Peter does his best to crack a smile and nods along to his
friends words. Sam grabs his bag and runs off into the
distance getitng smaller and smaller. Pete watches as the
outline of his friend fades away and he knows he should have
done more to slap some sense into his friend. Peter slams
his head onto the table and sighs to himself.
End scene
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Exercise 3: Writing, Part 2
Ext.
A man named Pete is sitting on a chair outside of a starbucks on a college campus. He is leaning over the patio table staring out into distance. A group of guys can be seen playing basketball on the courts nearby. They are screaming and shouting every time one of them makes a basket. Their voices carry over to the man sitting staring aimlessly. He focuses his gaze on them proceeds to get lost in their performance.
A woman is seen standing mere feet from him talking loudly on her cellphone
Woman
Literally my mother couldn't even figure out to work it and its like 2012 I felt so ashamed. Yeah I had to do it for her. And then I had to explain it after that.
Her one sided conversation draws Pete's attention and he cocks his head sideways to catch a glimpse of the woman uttering all these hilarious words. When the woman notices Peter staring at her she gives him a look of disgust and saunters off in the opposite direction continuing her conversation elsewhere.
Peter looks down at his wrist watch and then fixes his gaze back over to the basketball players on the courtyard. A man appears walking behind him and he sits down adjacent to Pete without him noticing.
Sam
Sorry I was late man class ran crazy longs today and you know how it is right.
Peter
What the hell was so important Sam that you couldn't clue me in ahead of time.
Sam
Sorry compadre but I figured if i told you via text you would stick your hand through the phone and strangle me.
Sam laughs half heartily and gives a sheepish smile
Peter
Well what the hell is it thats so catastrophic did you actually end up hitting that homeless man that walks down the highway ha ha
Sam
Nah its nothing life and death man its more like ... Dropping out of school to peruse grander things. Ya know?
It takes a second for the info to really hit peter and register in his brain.
Peter
Wait... your dropping out of college? The fuck you are.
Sam
It's not a big deal man. I have so many plans and ideas and college is just holding me back. You'll see how much i accomplish after leaving this place.
Peter
You're making a huge mistake man trust me. Oh my god you are retarded bro. You're gonna be that homeless man walking the highway in a few months.
Sam
Ha ha you know that's pretty funny but I have friends that will give me a place to stay till I find myself a pad.
Peter
You make everything in life seem so simple. Your parents are going to kill you when they find out you know that right.
Sam
When I have my life in order I will tell them. They dont have to know what I'm doing till then.
Peter
You cant hide something so major from them. They will find out when they get something from the school sent about dropping out.
Sam
Nahhh I'm gonna have my friend down the street check out my mail and lift any stuff from school. Simple as that.
Sam had a goofy ass smile on his face when he finished his sentence like he had definitive proof everything would be okay. There had to be something wrong in that kids mind.
Peter
I cant stop you unless I tie you to your desk and force you to stay but I know you. Once you get something in your mind you dont give up till you've seen it through.
Peter sighs deeply and slides back into his chair knowing that his friend is about to throw away his life.
Sam
I actually have an appointment with an advisor on the other side of campus so I have to run now but later I want to spend some time with ya.
Sam goes over to Peter and gives him a hug which freaks him alittle because he is not used to this sort of behavior.
Sam
You are a good friend Pete and everything will be okay and when I have my new place you will be the first one over and then we will hang out all the time and all will be well.
Peter does his best to crack a smile and nods along to his friends words. Sam grabs his bag and runs off into the distance getitng smaller and smaller. Pete watches as the outline of his friend fades away and he knows he should have done more to slap some sense into his friend. Peter slams his head onto the table and sighs to himself.
End scene
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Exercise 3: Writing, Part 1
The cool morning breeze whips through the courtyard at a college campus. Students can be seen sitting outside of a star bucks sitting in small metal chairs. A man named peter is sitting at a patio table waiting for someone lazily leaning over the table all the while he is staring at the guys playing basketball on the courts only yards away. The shots of the players drift into his range of hearing.
His attention immediately gets pulled to a woman standing mere feet away from him talking loudly on her cell phone. She shouts “literally my mother couldn’t even figure it out I had to do it all and explain it all to her I felt so embarrassed.” With his concentration broken peter looks over at her, she noticing him staring slowly walks away taking the conversation elsewhere while giving him a glare.
Peter looks down at his wrist watch and then proceeds to get lost in the basketball game going on. A large group of people come out to star bucks chatting away in one in intelligible conversation. Behind him a man appears and sits down right across from him without him even noticing.
The man sits back and speaks loudly and clearly sending his voice over to peter “Hey man I’m sorry I’m late class ran crazy long”. Peter turns his head without moving his body and says “you know they mad cell phones for a reason what the hell is so important that you couldn’t call me or drop me a text, what the hell Sam.”
Sam clears his throat “I just wanted to see you in person man sorry to leave you in the dark”; he stops for a brief minute and looks around at all the people. “I just figured that I should tell you in person before you hear it from someone else, I’m dropping out of college.”Peter is taken aback by what he just heard but Sam keeps talking cutting off Peter’s chance or butting in. “yeah I have just realized throughout this semester that this is not just my scene man. It’s not what I’m meant to be doing. My time is better spent elsewhere.”
You can see the anger in Peter’s face but he pushes it down and keeps his cool. “You don’t even have a job you’re only a sophomore, what do you think you’re going to do? You don’t even have a room off campus to stay at your parents turned your room into a study when you moved out and Jesus they are going to flip out on you when they find out”
Sam stands up and sits down in the chair next to Peter and proceeds to put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry bout me I have friends that can help I will be fine, a job will fall into my lap eventually and someone will let me stay with them till I get off my feet.” Sam smiles a goofy smile at Peter that shows he has his head completely in the clouds.
Peter cracks a smile as best he can, feeling strange feelings for his friend. “Okay well what about your parents huh? They are going to figure out eventually that you’re not in school it’s not like you can hide your complete absence here. I have to tell you as a friend that you are pissing your future away. College is the only way to secure a promising future.”
Sam hugs peter causing him to be taken aback momentarily. “Thanks for caring so much Pete you’re a good friend but you shouldn’t spend your time worrying about me. I’m going to miss hanging out with you on campus but I will be okay and then we will hang out. You will come over to my place and hang out when I get my own pad.”
Sam looks at his phone and says “oh crap I have to meet someone in 5 minutes I have to run I will catch you later man.” He flashes a smile and grabs his bag getting up and runs off down the path into the distance.
Peter just watches his friend walk away and knows that even though Sam thinks he knows what he is doing with his life he is headed down a path that he will end up regretting. The finest time of his life is ending and what is beginning is the next chapter; its self titled but you might as well call it adult hood.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Exercise 2 Expressive Lighting
If this painting was shot today for a film the light source would come from the lower left corner of the portrait.
In my photograph i tried to create the same shot by positioning my light source towards the lower left hand side of the shot. I titled my light source at an angle to attempt to mimic the shadows that are shows in the portrait. I feel that this is a passable recreation of the painting that could be used for film or video today.
Take Home Question Chapter 3
1. You are to supervise the lighting of a face cream commercial. The script calls for an ECU of the model’s face. The novice LD (Lighting Director) suggests using a fast falloff “to accentuate the nice bone structure of the model’s face.” Do you agree with the LD? If so, why? If not, why?
I do not agree with the lighting directors use of fast fall off to accentuate the nice bone structure of the models face because with fast fall off the lighted areas will change abruptly into dense shadows. The model will only be temporarily accentuated and that is not how a commercial selling face cream should be portrayed. The mood for fast fall off also poorly reflects the themes of the face cream commercial because death and sorrow are not two things that should be brought up when talking about beautiful skin. I would suggest using flat lighting because it shows the whole scene illuminated. Little contrast exists between light and shadow areas with flat lighting. It also holds emotional functions such as suggesting efficiency, cleanliness and upbeat mood.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Chapter 1 Group Assignment
Group 4
What are the necessary ethical components in the study and the application of media aesthetics?
Applied media aesthetics is a practice in which we examine a number of media elements such as lighting and sound and how they interact and our perceptual reactions to them. Encoding is translating an idea into a message for a specific medium through knowledge of production tools such as camera lenses, lighting, audio, proper framing of a shot, use of color and selection of music.
We used two videos to show our concepts to the class for our presentation
An excerpt from Apocalypse Now
A clip from Sleepers
Team Members
Matthew Larue
Natalie Bradfield
What are the necessary ethical components in the study and the application of media aesthetics?
Applied media aesthetics is a practice in which we examine a number of media elements such as lighting and sound and how they interact and our perceptual reactions to them. Encoding is translating an idea into a message for a specific medium through knowledge of production tools such as camera lenses, lighting, audio, proper framing of a shot, use of color and selection of music.
We used two videos to show our concepts to the class for our presentation
An excerpt from Apocalypse Now
A clip from Sleepers
Team Members
Matthew Larue
Natalie Bradfield
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Annie Hall Paper
Annie Hall
1. 1977, Comedy/Drama, Written, directed and starring Woody Allen, Winner of four academy awards for best actress, best picture, best director and screenplay.
2. Annie Hall is the story of a man named Alvy Singer who has loved and lost and loved some more. The woman who is responsible for his infatuation is the character Annie Hall, she shares the same neurotic tendencies and on again off again relationship’s that mark Alvy as such an odd ball. The movie itself is a recount of their relationship a year after it ended with Alvy still trying to put the pieces together to completely understand the complexities of a love that keeps on going.
3. The way in which this film relates to our text is the section involving movement and dialogue. I did not even realize how in Annie Hall the dialogue is so plentiful that it encompasses the majority of the film. Even in moments where the characters are driving or walking them are also taking and further adding depth to the movie. The camera spends a lot of time in the movie just simply capturing the characters interacting with each other, getting lost in long chunks of dialogue. In scenes where Annie Hall is driving the camera places us there with Alvy so we too can experience the fear he feels with her erratic driving. There are traveling shots as the characters walk the streets of the city and walk and talk without missing a beat. These types of shots also allow us to see into Alvy’s mental state when he stands on the street corner pacing waiting for Annie to arrive to the movie trying to avoid the people who want his autograph.
4. This film was an accomplishment for its time for many reasons the first of them being how it beat out star wars for best picture in 1977 which seems practically unthinkable today. Another reason why it was such an accomplishment was because it blended the worlds of comedy and drama and expressed itself with dialogue and content which is well above the standards for its time. The movie uses techniques such as cartoon animation, breaking the fourth wall and longer length shots that allowed for more complicated dialogue. The movie also created an unexpected fashion where Annie Hall’s style of dressing in the film was copied as it was unusual and fresh. Annie wore a lot of men’s clothing such as slacks, vests and ties
5. The two articles that I chose for the Annie Hall movie were a short essay by Roger Ebert (for pop culture) and a paper titled Woody Allen’s Annie Hall: Galatea’s Triumph over Pygmalion (profession article). In Roger Ebert’s article he details assorted facts about the movie, the awards it won and the context for the time period. He also goes on to talk about how the film is probably Woody Allen’s most important and visually challenging film. Roger Ebert is a pop culture writer and his essay on the film deals mainly with facts and observations pertaining to the status and significance of the film. On the other hand the professional article takes a look at Annie Hall and examines the different ways in which men impose meaning upon women. This article takes more of a look at the psychology of the film and dives deeper than just surface level issues.
6. I feel that Annie Hall not only a very important film for film history it is also highly experimental for a comedy for its time and it regards itself with a level of knowledge that does not pander down to the audience. Annie Hall to me is a type of film that is not often seen anymore, a dramatic comedy that does not make basic jokes pertaining to farts, and dick jokes or adds gratuitous sexual stimulation. The film’s jokes are much deeper dealing with issues such as identity, troubled childhood, the complexities of relationships and many references to non pop culture films. The way in which Woody Allen shot the film also begs me to replay the movie as the dialogue is longer and wittier than most movies (especially blockbusters) of our time and even for a comedy in the 70s his use of cartoon animation, flashing back to childhood, breaking the fourth wall and assorted moments all stood out from movies of the time. Comedies were often times more basic and straight forward and dramas less likely to feature a neurotic character who over analyses his relationship through the entire film. After watching Annie Hall I looked back the past few years to see if there were any films that were half as funny and even remotely as smart as Annie Hall was, I find it sad to say my favorite comedies all dealt with giant man boys who have yet to grow up and throw dick jokes around like their as plentiful as water or oxygen. My opinion has been solidified and I now know Annie Hall is a unique film, the type that comes along once or twice a generation and leaves its mark in history.
bibliography
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) (x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name___Matthew Larue ____________________________________ Date_____________________2/27/12______
Monday, February 20, 2012
Image Exercise 1, part 1 Redux
Vertical Composition
Horizontal Composition
Image with foreground
Image with midground
Image framed by architecture
Focus/ depth of field for attention
Suggestion of movement
Screen direction
Use of empty or blank space
Point of view
Nose room
Headroom
Horizontal Composition
Image with foreground
Image with midground
Image framed by architecture
Focus/ depth of field for attention
Suggestion of movement
Screen direction
Use of empty or blank space
Point of view
Nose room
Headroom
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Image Exercise 1, part 2
vertical composition
horizontal composition
focus/depth of field for attention
image with foreground
image with midground
image with background
A Hard Day's Night Response
A picture of the Beatles with Muhammad Ali pretending to be knocked out
The picture that I found from in life magazine showing the Beatles knocked out by Muhammad Ali the boxing ring reminded me of the many humorous moments in the film A Hard Day’s Night. I have a picture of the Beatles in the train car making weird faces at the grumpy old man and it has the same exact spirit that I feel a lot of magazines captured of the early Beatles with their fun loving and prankster attitudes.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Image Exercise 1, part 1
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Photo of Kubrick for Image Bank Assignment
Photograph of Stanley Kubrick by Dmitri Kasterine on the set of A Clockwork Orange (between 1970 and 1971)
Dmitri Kasterine is a photographer from England is most famous for the still photography he took of Kubrick on set during a string of three of his films. Kasterine had managed to capture a side of Kubrick that few got a chance to see as he was known as a recluse who shied away from the public spotlight that came along with the Hollywood world. I believe that photographs such as this one and others from Kasterine's collection help to shed some light on the man behind the camera that was Stanley Kubrick.
Source
Image Bank Assignment
Laboratory at Columbia University, 1948, Stanley Kubrick
The reason why I had decided to choose a photograph by Stanley Kubrick besides the fact that you mentioned it in class was because had never actually seen any of his photography. The man who made some of the most acclaimed movies of the 20th century started out as a seventeen year old photographer; it was certainly an interesting start and quick ascent into the film auteur we remember him as. To me his black and white movies always had a certain quality to them, as though they were shot with the eye of a photographer. Both Dr. Strangelove and Paths of Glory exhibit some excellent cinematography and I feel like finding his old photography really shows the beginning of his creative and artistic endeavors.
When I looked up his photography on the internet and found this specific photograph titled Laboratory at Columbia University I initially thought of peter sellers as doctor Strangelove. There is just something about the man in the photo that seems almost just eerie and haunting about him and too me that is something Kubrick has always had a knack for capturing. Also both shots feature two men with a very serious gaze and their eyes are covered by a dark pair of glasses that reflect an image that we cannot see. In my mind i can see photographs from this collection forming the visual aspect that would come to dominate his cinematic works.
Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, 1964, Stanley Kubrick
Sources
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Reaction to the Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The film portrays the movie from the point of view of the main character Jean-Dominique Bauby as he wakes up from a three week coma. He finds himself suffering from locked in syndrome and the only means of communicating to the world is through blinking his one eye to spell out works one letter at a time. I have yet to finish watching this movie so I am not quite sure how it ends but I have added it to my list of movies to purchase from Amazon. After watching the first half in class I could not highly recommend this movie enough to my friend as I told him about how the look and feel of the movie really stood out to me. The movie was really shot with the eye of an artist as a lot of the cinematography is simply beautiful and the way they shot the movie through the eye of the main character make it very unsettling as though I was experiencing everything he was vicariously.
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