Final Project: Forgotten Books

https://vimeo.com/149928832">Forgotten Books

from https://vimeo.com/user43500182">Mika Arava on https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.

Museum of Moving Image Experience

       The Museum of Moving Image was a very interesting experience. It showed every possible aspect of creating a movie that goes into the process. There were exhibits on the process of sound and music, editing, and different types of moving images, but they also gave history on the equipment and showed what goes on behind the scenes. 

       Personally, the most interesting part of the whole museum for me was the section on sound. We spoke in class about how sound works and different equipment and techniques used, but this gave a better look as to what the sound editors and foley artists really do, and how their work is incorporated into the final product. First they led us into a room where they showed us how an actor would voice over a movie. Then they brought us to a screen where the tour guide explained to us how different sounds can create moods in a movie. For example, the first sound effects we played with were for a scene from The Simpsons. We picked effects for things like the ticking clock, an eraser, a pogo stick and a few more, but we didn't have to use the exact sound the would come from that object. We were given a list of different sounds that ranged from "dog pants" to "explosions", and put them were we saw fit. These sounds added to the comedic vibe of the show, and I thought it was fun to do. Usually while watching a show like that I don't pay attention to the actual sound effects, I just know that they fit into there, but now that the sounds were laid out in front of me I saw there was so much opportunity to experiment. 

       Later we were lead into another section where we watched a scene from the titanic and played with a sound mixer to see how voice, sound effects, and music came together to make a movie what it is. When we turned on just one of the tracks it didn't have the same feeling. but once everything was played together you could see how important every aspect of mixing the sound was.  

 

Audio Interview

Soundwalk

          So for this assignment I didn't really do an actual "walk", but instead I decided to sit and listen as the world around me moved. To explain this a little more clearly I guess I'd have to mention that I live in Staten Island, so every morning I take the ferry to the city. The Staten Island Ferry is about a 20-30 minute ride where I would usually listen to music, read a book, catch up on my studying, etc. Basically, I would do anything to distract myself and make the time go quicker. Instead of my usual routine, I decided to take a seat somewhere outside (which I usually avoid since it becomes overcrowded with tourists trying to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty) and just listen to what is going on around me. I can't believe how much was actually going on! With my eyes closed I paid attention to so many sounds that I don't usually think twice about. There were people speaking all different kinds of languages, the clicks of cameras, waves crashing on the side of the boat as it ripped through the Hudson, horns blasting from cargo ships, and much more. After a few minutes all these sounds, and words, just didn't sound real anymore; it all became very surreal. This was on my way from Staten Island to Manhattan on the 10:00 AM ferry.

          Since I knew I would get a different experience on the way back I decided to do the same thing, except this time I took a seat outside on the hurricane deck of the 10:00 PM ferry. This experience was a lot different. There weren't really as many other ships on the Hudson as before, and even less people on the boat. As we pulled out of Whitehall I started to faintly hear the traffic of the city fade away as we cruised into pitch blackness. Of course I knew it was black because it was 10 at night, but it also felt black. The wind was much stronger and I heard the flags slapping against the poles with such ferocity, that I thought they might come down at any minute. I have been taking this same ride, back and forth, for years and I never took the time to think about the sounds. I almost always had headphones in, or something to distract me, but this assignment really showed me that a lot goes on in such a tiny span of time on a small ferry boat connecting Manhattan to Staten Island. 

Define a Space

Project 1: Define a Space

Define a Space (2) from Ingrid Sitner on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

     These days we're so accustomed to the technology around us that it's hard to believe it blew up into what we have in just a few decades. What we are able to do with technology has advanced rapidly over what was just one generation. Personally I find video games, and the idea of being able to interact with the media itself, the most fascinating. Today some of the graphics, and motions, look so real that you could forget it was all computer generated. I wish to one day learn how to create these people, animals, monsters, and much more. I want to make these worlds come alive. 
      I've always been a big fan of horror, so most of my art is usually inspired by this. I can't really explain why, but I've always been fascinated with how scared these movies or stories made me feel, even though I knew they weren't real. Last year a game was released on the PlayStation 4 called The Evil Within. At first I thought "how good could a horror video game really be?", but as soon as I saw the game being played I was quickly drawn to it. This game has a great plot, interesting characters and lots of jump scares. I knew I wanted to get into the media industry, and I knew I wanted to create art, but I never thought of video games. After I saw this game I realized that creating characters and monsters, giving them stories, and being able to interact with my creations, is what I hope to one day be able to do.