Ronnie Duran Robert Foley (The Chase)

The Chase (Final Project) from Ronnie Duran on Vimeo.

Museum of the Moving Image

         As we got to the museum I noticed how abstract the outside of the museum looked. The pink hues and unique designs, along with the clear windows and doors really caught my attention. Once we got inside and started the tour I started to see the history of many classic movies displayed. They had movie props displayed in glass casings such as the girl from The Exorcist, which was really creepy but cool to see up close. Out of all the interesting pieces I was able to see, an aspect of media production that caught my attention the most was definitely the revolving hollow cylinder. It had protruding rings from top to bottom and attached to those rings were objects consisting of water drops, blimps, hands, envelopes, and paper planes. About 20 of each object were positioned around its own ring. As this entire contraption was spinning a strobing light was shone on the piece making it look like the shapes were interacting with one another, it was amazing. I learned how incredible art can come about when light, positioning of objects, and momentum come together. In early filmography there was a light that hit a strip of flexible film mechanically running through a camera. For most of movie history this is how moving pictures were created. Now with the implementation of computers, digital constructions are quicker and cheaper to make. The impact of digital technology in sound, color, and television is transforming how we look at movies and what movies look like. From low budget movies to huge blockbusters, the structure and content has changed to reflect the widening technological expansions and the understanding needed by all those who work in or study the technical aspects of the moving image.

Audio Portrait of a Person

Relationships Between Shots

The scene shows a medium shot of Mickey opening the door getting ready to leave, but closes the door because he forgot his hat. As he does so the camera quickly cuts to Rocky. We can tell that both actors are close by each other but the camera only focuses on one person at a time. Rocky was upset at him and thought he had left and comes out, he sees that he is still there and closes back his door ignoring him. The camera cuts just as quickly back to Mickey. Now the camera uses the rule of thirds and a close up to show Mickey's emotion of sadness in this cut by focusing on him as he turns to leave for good. The relationship of sound to these shots is that a sad song is playing throughout. The images all have a sort of saddened tone to them. The shots are organized so that the viewer is shown a depressing altercation between two people. The color of the shots is dull and soft so as to not disturb the mood set in the beginning. And there is very little movement in the shots. It depends if there is a right place to cut or not, as long as what you are trying to portray in each shot gets its point across the shot should be cut properly. The cuts are not seamless but they are effective. Towards the end of the clip there is a Long shot of Mickey exiting the building and walking down the street and the camera keeps the long shot going throughout. Then Rocky runs up to catch up to Mickey(long shot still intact) and the music gently picks up a happier melody and you cannot hear either of them talking but the shot lets the viewer know that Rocky apologized and they had made up.

Soundwalk

I live in Washington Heights, and I realized that even though I am constantly walking by the same areas in my neighborhood I have never really taken the time to listen without seeing my surroundings. I usually have my ear buds on with music blasting when I am walking. I sat on a stoop for about an hour, wore a pair of sunglasses, and closed my eyes for the time being. I began to notice all the keynote sounds that were in an audible range from me. There were nature sounds that are usually drowned out by busy inner city life, such as birds chirping, a nice breeze that comes and goes and sounds pleasant, and the sound of leaves falling or scurrying on the ground. I could actually hear people talking/shouting in their apartments. I could hear subway trains underground making their way beneath me. There was also a prevalent sound signal that I heard multiple times that stuck out to me. The signal was usually derived from the Spanish-speaking storeowners who were voicing out deals being offered in hopes of luring potential customers. They yell out “peso, todo es solo por un peso!” which means everything is for one dollar. There were also some soundmarks that I overheard, which are sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors. The soundmarks that I overheard during my soundwalk were sounds of schools letting out and massive amounts of children screaming, some eloquent and some rather not so eloquent Spanish music flowing and sometimes screaming out of apartment complexes and cars passing by. Other soundmarks were just familiar people greeting and chatting with one another. After my hour of doing nothing but listening the soundwalk just further instilled the idea of community and family that lies in the core structure of Washington Heights. Through this soundwalk I managed to get a feel for the soundtrack of Washington Heights, and fall in love with the neighborhood all over again.

Define A Space

Define A Space_RonnieDuran from Ronnie Duran on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

My imagination is always running wild. Ever since I was a child I saw things on television, video games, and movies that would leave me asking questions like, “how did they do that, or “how can I make that?” When I found out about graphic design I was instantly hooked. The ability to fuse art and technology is what draws me to it the most. I often find myself obtaining creativity from the things I see on a daily basis. I enjoy looking at other artist works for inspiration, such as Avatar the science fiction film directed, written, and produced by James Cameron.

What I hope to portray in my artwork is excitement. I sometimes research what society is watching and pay close attention to how they rate these several genres of work. From what I have studied, some genres of film, for example Horror, is losing luster. I feel as though I can contribute to the revival of such a genre by implementing several techniques that have worked in the past along with new techniques that I can bring to the table.  And that is why I chose Media Studies as my major, I hope to refine my skills as an artist in order to implement the ideas in my head and bring them to life.

I do not want to become limited to one type of artwork. I want to be able to broaden my horizons so that I can work in multiple fields. Being able to work in film, animation, and even music, would be a dream come true. Like the saying goes, find something you love to do and you won't work a day in your life.