SCENE ANALYSIS: EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

     The opening sequence of Edward Scissorhands reveals many of the conventions associated with the horror genre but these are offset by elements of comedy and romance. As the credits roll, the eerie music, the graphics (names white on black, making jagged scissor shapes) and the predominant colors of black and white establish the relationship with the "horror" genre. We then see visual images associated with the conventional "haunted house" (huge door closing, cobwebs, strange gadgets) yet the music becomes lighter, more frivolous and on closer inspection some of the gadgets look like toys, reminding the audience that this is not a horror film. The motif of falling snow, associated with Edward and used throughout the film, creates an atmosphere of tranquillity and romance which again contrasts with the horror images.

      Color and music are used to highlight the differences between the two "worlds" of the film. The first time color is used is when the grandmother is telling the story of Edward Scissorhands to the little girl in the oversized bed. Visually, this scene is reminiscent of a fairytale (specifically Little Red Riding Hood) and is another means used by Burton to indicate the purpose of his story. The two worlds are contrasted visually by the use of color, pastel colours and uniform shapes of the suburban houses differing completely from the black and white of the derelict castle. The suburban world is apparently perfect with its cloudless blue sky, spotless houses, well-kept gardens and stereotypical inhabitants who are contrasted with the imperfection of the "unfinished" Edward Scissorhands .

EXTRA CREDIT: INTEGRATED MEDIA

     I was present during the IMA MFA Program, and it began with a few words from the director of the program. One notable comment made was his comparison of the cafeteria to the experiences program; called the "glass café", he expected a more extravagant room but still made great use of it for a successful event, much like in making projects where one expects everything there, but in the end he or she must do the best with what they have. After thanking people for organizing the event, Marty came to say a few words about public education becoming a burden and how this was once considered right. Jason Fox also spoke of the need for the democratization of documentary tools and appliances; he also mentioned the impact of documentaries as both statistical and as an easier tool for analyzing issues. The man of the hour however, was Brian Winston.
     Winston spoke of a documentary that expressed racism and discrimination through a small interview with a villager in the first few minutes. The shot zoomed into the face of the villager as he complained of pictures of his people taken by foreigners; they would make post cards with his village on it and they would in turn, be bought by their own villagers. He even mentioned how his own son sent him a post card of his own village. In addition, if they played the drums to play the drums, tourists would give them money regardless of their intentions to entertain.
     Documentaries such as these, are meant to educate the masses, but people tend not to care; by people, I mean the mainstream populace, producers, and whoever else may fund these film makers. Because of this, there is an increase of scripting and subjectivity in documentaries, according to Winston. Funding comes when a drama is produced and a "wow incident" occurs that glues people to the screen. Thus, documentaries make little money usually, with exceptions coming from Fahrenheit 911, making $120 million and coming in second place, a Penguin documentary garnering $40 million dollars less. There is a "jaded audience assumption" when it comes to documentaries that make funding come in less. 

Audio Project

 

https://soundcloud.com/peruvianpuffpepper-1/audio-project

Interview with Mark on his experiences with being a member of his marching band throughout High School.

Sound Walk Assignment

I chose to walk around my neighborhood of Corona, Queens. As I was headed towards Flushing Meadow Park, I had to walk parallel to the highway and was immediately met with the sound of cars zooming past me in the opposite direction, one after the other. By the time I got to 108th and Horace Harding, I heard a lot of horn honking, and the voices of teenagers heading onto the Q88 bus. When I reached the park, the cars were no longer heard as the booming voices of children, their parents, handballs, baseballs and the wheels of bikes surrounded my ears. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people there despite the fall weather. Even though there were a lot of pigeons eating bread at one location, a zoo nearby and dogs being walked, it seemed as though every animal was silent. I then crossed a bridge that led to a much larger part of the park and it seemed empty. I heard the wind and just that for quite some time. I took a seat to relax and would hear some foot steps here and quicker footsteps there as some people decided to go for a jog. There weren't many interesting sounds until I got near the soccer fields; I could hear people yelling for the ball, the sound of it being kicked and scraping through the turf as it rolled to someone's feet. Once I passed that, my hour had ended and I reached a dirty pond where I heard geese on the side honking at each other (or whatever sound they make, because it certainly isn't a quack.) As I turned around and headed back home, I was met with the same sounds, only in reverse.

MOMI TOUR

     When I first heard we were going to the MOMI, I figured the tour would be much more uniformed and standard. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was more casual but an incredibly detailed space. It was more than just facts about film history and what is done today to portray certain moods or convey messages on screen. We had close contact with examples of these techniques and even hands on experience. It all started in their auditorium or stage room, which was already a cool part of the museum as the stage had an illusionary design with colorful (mostly blue) "spikes" coming together and giving a three dimensional feel. Once the actual tour began, we were on our way to the wall of photos.
      The tour guide explained these photos were actors (both male and female) of the past posed in certain manners that gave off a certain feeling; classic Hollywood actors like Charlie Chaplin and Judy Garland were posed in ways one may not recognize them, such as Chaplin without a mustache, hat nor cane. They also differed greatly from modern day photos of celebrities (which tend to be candid shots (aside from advertisements) because they are set up, and "storyboarded" so it comes out in a specific way. In addition, these photos in particular were shown to casting directors as well.
     We were then shown prosthetic masks used for characters like the Wookiee and The Mask in Star Wars and  The Mask; next to this were other prosthetics used aside from the face, such as Natalie Portman's scarred and scratched legs in The Black Swan and the designs for different stage scene setups like the Oompa Loompas' little playground in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We were also shown costumes used in old movies and television shows to depict time and feeling as to the potential attitude of the character or where they are from.
      For a brief moment, we were shown vintage toys and memorabilia from Star Wars and Star Trek. Then came the history lessons of things we had learned in class in terms of the devices used to entertain the eyes with optical illusions and the early forms of cameras; I enjoyed seeing the use of light as an illusion to make things appear like a live sequence of events, such as a room with poles holding fake hands, a bird cage I believe and a little missile looking object going down. When the light was on, they just looked like parallel objects rotating, but when it turned off and a beam of light fluttered quickly on the objects, it looked like they were moving themselves and producing a motion as if they were alive.
     My favorite part were the interactive exhibits, such as creating a short film using the recordings of the movement of a small object on a background and putting it all together on a computer. The best part was being able to participate in an ADR process sampling when I worked with two other students to do the voice over of one of Babe the little pig's scenes where he cries about missing and wanting his mother. It was fun and an interesting lesson to learn.
     I felt the MOMI was great and the tour was fantastic; the only downfall was the short time we had with the tour guide. I highly recommend it as it is not only a learning experience, but an interestingly fun place to get a sense of film history and the different techniques used to make the audiences see something that isn't actually there.

MEDP160 PROJECT 1

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/109977512" width="500" height="334" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/109977512">PROJECT 1 MEDIA160</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user33171899">Andre A. Avalos</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 Published on

10/24/14 4:54 PM

Pacific Daylight Time

http://vimeo.com/109977512

Artist Statement

Sports have always driven me to put more effort in whatever mission I have set myself to accomplish, to be persistent in what I am going after and to stay as cool, calm and collected as possible while doing it.  However, I feel that what made it an inspiration to me is how it was presented, i.e highlight videos, tributes with exhilarating music that follows an epic movement or moment. Whether it be NFL Films, independent YouTube videos or Hollywood films, the presentation of sports through the lens of a camera and the story of a script have always inspired me to strive for more. It is through the same scope that I'd like to spread my views and opinions on different topics whether it be political, social or cultural.

Now, I would like to call myself a filmmaker or writer who can send my message of whatever thoughts I have on my mind to an audience, but frankly I'm neither and I cannot. Not yet. But when I take or edit pictures, I hope to capture moments that would exude a direct emotional response, more often laughter or a smile than anything else; when I make a video, I attempt to create a story that will hopefully take a view of social or cultural issues. What interests me the most are documentaries, comedy and how significantly people are impacted by the social norms of their society.The main goal however, of any of these installations, is to make viewers think.

Each project varies in story, imagery, and uses a variety of materials and processes while simultaneously maintaining the consistent goal of attempting to encourage to educate, think and go for whatever "it" is.