Assignment #3: Stuck with You (Continuity Project)

          For my Final Project, I decided to explore the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon which is when an idea, word, object, or person suddenly appears everywhere you look due to your unconscious mind always keeping an eye out for it. While playing on this concept I created my own image or figure known as The Dark. I saw the Dark as my own Inner Demon. 

Partner: Fabio Silva

Blog Assignment #4: MOMA Visit Reflection

          

         On Tuesday, April 25^th, I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). During my visit I decided to check out the Making Faces on Film: A Collaboration with BFI Black Star exhibition. On the 1^st floor, I found still photographs from multiple films that addressed the notions of gender as well as Blaxploitation. In the 1930s, actresses such as Katharine Hepburn began wearing pants while onscreen to cover themselves up which resulted in the early comings of a gender revolution. By the 1960s, African American actors such as Sidney Poitier began portraying noble characters that sacrificed everything to earn respect from the white society. These films were labeled as “message movies" which were films that were centered around a social issue that was ongoing during that period of time and focused on how to solve that issue. By the 1970s, a new genre of film was created known as “Blaxploitation” which featured strong African American individuals who fought against the racist tensions that society placed on them. Films that belonged to this genre included: Cotton comes to Harlem (1970) which starred Mabel Robinson, Cleopatra Jones (1973) which starred Tamara Dobson, and Coffy (1973) which starred Pam Grier as the title character. This genre paved way for black filmmakers and actors who were struggling to find work. These films also gave them the chance to show off their personal talents. I also viewed photographs of white actors/actresses portraying characters in black-face and yellow-face which became a popular example of racial stereotyping in film by the early 1900s. Such actors/actresses include Boris Karloff, Myrna Loy, and Bert Williams.  

        

Photograph of Tamara Dobson as Cleopatra Jones

Photograph of Boris Karloff as Dr. Fu Manchu

Photograph of Two Screens Looping Excerpts from Racial/Gender Based Films

           

         I also went to the 6^th floor and visited the Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection exhibition. This exhibition included a screening of John Akomfrah’s 45 min film, The Unfinished Conversation (2012) on three channel video or three screens depicting three separate images at a time. This film explores the life and research of Stuart Hall, a Jamaican cultural theorist who was an important political figure in Britain’s history. Hall was the founder of the New Left Review, which was an academic journal that was first published in 1960 and still active to this day. This journal focused on aspects of Social Marxism and Humanism. Hall also conducted research on the struggle of the working class from Britain as well as the Suez Crisis (1956-1957) on Egypt. This crisis involved Israel, Britain, and France who used warfare to gain control of the Suez Canal and tried to drive President Gamal Abdel Nasser out of power. I also viewed a screening of Jonathas de Andrade’s 8 min short film, The Uprising (O Levante) which was shot in Recife, Brazil and shows a horse drawn cart race which was staged by Andrade himself. The race included 50 carters including the real life owners of the horses participating in the race. This race symbolizes the struggle among the peasant class who are fighting against the oppression set by the city's laws and the need to overcome poverty.    

                                                 

  Photograph of John Akomfrah

Photograph of Jonathas de Andrade

Assignment #3: Preproduction Documents

Outline for Project #3:

Title: Stuck with You

Setting/Location: Hunter West 7th Floor

Theme/Concept: Paranoia/Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (which is when an idea, word, object, or person suddenly appears everywhere you look due to your unconscious mind always keeping an eye out for it)

Characters: Samantha (The Paranoid One), Josh (Samantha’s Friend), and The Dark (Samantha’s Inner Demon or Baader-Meinhof)

Samantha is being played by Lily. Josh is being played by Fabio. The Dark is also being played by Lily.

Panel #1: Samantha is standing in the center off by the right side of the escalators. She is on her phone and typing. She looks forward.

Panel #2: Then there is an extreme long shot of an person in a dark coat wearing a hoodie and a pair of goggles standing to the left of the door of W714 just staring at her from afar. 

Panel #3: A close up of her face which has changed from a normal expression to a concerned expression on her face. 

Panel #4: An extreme close-up the dark's face which is moving really fast. 

Panel #5: A long shot of her quickly grabbing her bag and walking to the vending machine. As she reaches the vending machine she quickly begins clicking buttons and looking to her right multiple times.

Panel #6: A mid shot of her turning around real fast. 

Panel #7: Josh gets spooked and shouts, “Whoa”. 

Panel #8: A two shot of Samantha and Josh. Josh touches her shoulder saying, “Are you okay Sam?’’. She quickly says, “Yeah I just got freaked out, thought I saw something else”. Josh says, “What do you think you saw?” Then Samantha says, “I keep seeing this thing in a long coat appearing everywhere I look” and Josh says, “I know why you are seeing this. It’s because we just learned about the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon in our Psych class and it must have stuck with you". Samantha looks down saying, “I guess your right”. Then Josh says, “You want to get out of here and go get lunch” and Samantha says, “Sure, lets get out of here”. They walk to the right and out of the frame.

Panel #9: A mid-shot of the vending machine which has the reflection of The Dark and a creepy voice saying, “The Dark is always watching you”. 

Pictures of Storyboards: 

Blog Assignment #3: Editing Analysis (Psycho: Shower Scene)

Blog #3: Editing Analysis

   

          I decided to analyze the popular shower scene from the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. In this scene the character, Marion (played by Janet Leigh, the late mother of Jamie Lee Curtis) is taking a shower in her motel room and is suddenly stabbed to death by “Mother”. The scene consists of roughly between 40 to 50 shots. The shots of Marion entering the shower, in the shower, and the shots of her as she slowly dies lasts 6 to 15 secs before each cut. The shots of "Mother" stabbing Marion lasts 2 to 3 secs before each cut. This scene was shot using high key lighting which consists of the removal of the shadows casted by the key light resulting in a fairly bright image. The use of high key lighting is mostly common in comedies and usually uncommon in horror films. This scene consists of a combination of close shots (medium and extreme close ups). We are introduced to a two shot when the bathroom door slowly opens and the dark silhouette of “Mother” appears. As “Mother” reaches the curtain and opens it, the camera zooms to a mid-shot of “Mother” holding a kitchen knife. The use of a backlight on "Mother" keeps the identity of "her" a mystery. The scene opens up with a lack of sound. The constant sound being heard is the running water coming from the shower head. The water drowns out the noise of the door opening and the dark figure approaching her.

         The tension of the scene begins to intensify when we hear the high pitched screeching as the knife plunges into the flesh of Marion. The high pitch screeching is an example of non-diegetic sound because it’s occurring outside of the film world. The slashing sound is an example of an folly. The combining of separate shots or fragments of "Mother" stabbing Marion and Marion's reaction of the stabbing is known as the juxtaposition. The extreme close up of Marion's mouth as she screams emphasizes her pain and suffering at that exact moment. The juxtaposition in this scene emphasizes the Kuleshov Effect. The shot of her blood in the water as it flows down the tub and entering the drain implies the ending of her life. As the blood enters the drain there is a quick dissolve with a shot of Marion's eye as it slowly pans out on her face and body which lays lifeless. This scene of the film changes the overall tone because it was unusual for the female lead to be killed off in the first 40 minutes. This film made taking a shower scary and preyed on our vulnerability while in private spaces. This scene also has become so popular over the years it has been referenced in a number of films, TV shows, and music videos.

 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY