Final Project

Imani Goodlett
Jane Chazanoff

mysterium from Imani Gee on Vimeo.

MoMI

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some time at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. This was my first experience at the museum and my first experience at a museum of this kind. For this class, I was told to focus on a number of exhibits having to do with film/media. The things that were most interesting to me on this excursion were the “World of Anomalisa” and the production exhibits.

            The “World of Anomalisa” exhibit was about the movie of the same that used stop motion to film it. The hotel scene and street/sidewalk scene sets were on display for us museumgoers to study. It was just amazing to see how much time and effort were put into details of designing ever little thing in the film. It also reminded me of how loaded the thought process must be when actually filming a stop motion film. I would maybe like to try some stop film animation when I have the resources and time to do so.

            The production exhibit was probably my favorite thing in the museum. It was really great and astounding to see all the thought that goes into filming. In this exhibit there were sketches (detailed and undetailed), layouts, and research images for scenes of the film “Silence of the Lambs”. There were also things I would not have expected to see like a schedule for filming. It’s great to see what goes on behind the scenes for films since that is what I am interested in. Another great aspect of this exhibit was the section dedicated to “The Wiz”. Growing up, I loved watching this movie and at MoMI I was able to see small statues of characters in the film, models of the set in Oz, sketches, and an actual costume (walking camera) worn by an actor in the film. 

Wonka's Grand Entrance

Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory - Wonka's Grand Entrance

The linear media I chose to analyze was a scene from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (1971), specifically Wonka's Grand Entrance. Things to be kept in mind while watching this scene are: 1. This is the first time we and the characters in the movie are seeing Wonka after years of a complete isolation from society and 2.the 5 prize winners and their guests are the only ones that are going to be able to see inside of Wonka's factory.

This scene has good variation in the types of shots that are used to evoke the emotion of the crowd and the winners. The first shot is important to pay attention to in order to understand the mood of the scene. It is a medium shot of the crowd waiting behind the gates for Wonka to make his appearance. In this shot children, adults, people with cameras are visible. The camera then shows the same shot but from behind so we can see the place from which Wonka will appear. From here we close-up on some of the prize winners' faces. Reaction shots like this are so important to this scene of the film because these shots make up a big portion of the scene. They reappear when Wonka actually comes out, begins walking unsteadily with a cane, and when he finally tumbles and immediately gets up to show he's okay. Sound is very important as well and it is shown when he begins walking down the red carpet. The crowd is completely quiet and all you are able to hear is his cane tapping and his feet walking. This helps evoke the suspense that people in the crowd are feeling. The way in which the shots were sequenced together is very important and works very well in this scene. Watching this again and seeing the use of the extreme longs shots when Wonka is walking, the close up shots of facial expressions, and seeing the use of high angles and medium shots, helps me to understand the intent of the director. I deduce from this scene that the intent was to show how much of an impact Wonka had on the reactions of people through his personality (which, actually, only made a small appearance here but is still prominent) and I believe that it was accomplished mainly through the use of the reaction shots. I'd also like to add that the cuts are pretty seamless and the reactions were used as markers for the cutting.

Interview

Soundwalk

New Rochelle isn't like Manhattan. For one thing, it's "upstate" and that means less people. And for that reason, its sound is much quieter and smoother. The downtown area where I live, even at it's busiest times, can't even compete with The Big Apple. I decided to do my soundwalk on a main road in this area one early morning.

It’s 9 am and only a few people are walking outside. Everyone else is at work already. All the kids are in school but the rumbling of school busses is ever present. The sound signals are the cars passing by every few seconds. I hear the refreshing whoosh of the sound of tires on the asphalt. There are no horns since traffic is moving so smoothly but as I sit, I hear a few keynotes: the scuffling of an older man’s feet as he contineus his morning walk, the sound of plastic bags rustling as a woman hurries to her destination, and the sound of the doors of the check cashing place opening and closing behind me.

The soundmarks of downtown New Rochelle are hard to distinguish from all of the other sounds that can be heard at any given time of the day. But, if you pay attention, not listening to music, not talking to a friend, you can hear them. Since it’s much quieter here, you are able to hear everything even if there isn’t much going on. No matter where I did this soundwalk, I know for a fact that the soundmarks of downtown New Rochelle would be the same: pigeons cooing. It’s such a small sound sound but I have reason to believe all pigeons live in New Rochelle. Every second of this exercise was accompanied by these pigeons, minding their own business, walking around the same areas just cooing as if that’s what they did when they got bored. I;m sure that even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t be able to do soundwalks since they wouldn’t be able to hear over themselves.

Define A Space - Imani & Ihsan

Artist Statement

Since I was a small child, I can remember keeping a record of things I did, said, ate, felt, anything. I also enjoyed jotting down ideas and long term goals I set for myself. Granted, I was not very good at keeping tabs on my journals or diaries but I distinctly remember always having them.
 Even now, I keep a journal, use sticky notes, and set reminders in my phone. Anytime I have an idea I log it somewhere. This practice has been facilitated by the invention of many social media outlets and platforms (like this blog, for example). In this day and age, anyone can have their life in display but not many make impacts with their content.

In the back of my mind, since I began keeping journals, I thought that maybe one day I'd be able to turn my life into a meaningful story for the masses to enjoy. I never thought my life to be so interesting but I figured someone somewhere has to think it is. I know it's a bit narcissistic but that's always been a (secret) dream of mine.

Through MY self produced works, I want to show the world that there is always somebody interested in your story. There is always someone who needs to know your story. I want to film documentaries to teach people things they may not have known they needed to know using my experiences and what I've learned. I want to direct my own works of fiction to demonstrate that even people who claim to not be creative are able to be. I plan to make an impact.