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.