MEDP 150 Project: The Health Nutt

The very short video shows actor, Ken Ruan, in front of a vending machine deciding which chocolate bar he should have. Soon a stranger comes by and gets the M&M bar he thinks is the last. Oh the anguish he suffers....but in it is a surprise for the health nutt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTUebYRmit0&list=HL1323580904&feature=mh_lolz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTUebYRmit0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQWspNytVNU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Our Trip: Museum of the Moving Image

During my Media Production class' visit to the Museum of the Moving Image, we had a guided mini tour with one of the museum's facilitators. We were brought into the sound editing room where voice can be dubbed for better sound. The small room is acoustically isolated from the rooms around it. In order for sound on a project to be used to broadcast, it is necessary to spend some time in a sound editing room that is designed especially for sound work. The room is acoustically tuned with special speaker systems, and the walls, ceilings and floor are specially selected too. It is sound-proofed. It has an audio editing system, equalizers, and a large screen showing the work that is to be edited. In our case, it was the Wizard of OZ which played on the screen. One student was asked to read the character's lines off the screen twice. The first was for practice and for familiarity, the second for actual recording. The museum's instructor, then, with the use of the audio effect, equalizers and compressor, recorded the student's voice. Within a few minutes, we could hear the student's voice dubbed onto The Wizard of Oz's character. The student's voice was recorded to match the character's, and then was used in the movie itself. It was amazing! It was as though, she was part of the movie right from the start. In the editing room, an actor may be used to go re-do, correct, or add something new to his already recorded work. The process may seem odd to some actors who looks at themselves on screen and now has to do dub or re-do certain lines already done. But the sound editing room is a necessary one for better quality.

We were also shown how different sounds were used as sound effects in the movie "Titanic." They were used to enhance the impact for each particular scene. In the scene when the steamer falls into the water, we learn that it was the crying or "voice" of an elephant that was used as the effect. In another, when a man is almost pulled by the suction of the water in a hole, we learned that it was the sound of a whale. These sounds effects, artificially created, to make the movie more impactful to the audience.


In other parts of the gallery is a massive Jim Henson exhibit, featuring muppets, costumes, sketches, films, and paintings done throughout Henson's life. It is fun for people of all ages. In the permanent collections, there is a large history of film -- including cameras, microphones, televisions, lighting, and other tools used to actually create the movies we love -- told through exhibits both visual and auditory. There are a lot of interactive exhibits throughout that were a ton of fun. The Museum also features a huge collection of movie memorabilia, including costumes, stills, makeup, set models, merchandise, and fan magazines.

All in all it was a fun, exciting and educational trip.

Thanks to Professor Lucas and my instructor, Martyna.

Media Design: Color and Balance

This magazine print shot is stimulating to the viewer both visually and comprehensively. The design of the ad works because there is high contrast, high resolution, high color visibility and balance. There are four main colors in this design piece. The bright green compliments the deep blue on the eyes, and the black gloves and neck-piece work with the pale skin and blonde hair. All the colors together are used consistently throughout the ad. The colors are used to convey meaning and they work together to tell a story to the viewer that is neither distracting nor confusing. The use of color enhances the experience to the eye.

Another design component I love in this ad is the composition and balance. Because the eye is more attracted to color than to a neutral image, a small area of color, especially the bright green, can balance a larger neutral, skin in this case, or dully colored area. The small ringlet of hair, which is farther away from the center, balances the larger shiny neck-piece. It is at the center of the design. The hand on the top left corner also brings attention to the blue eye-piece. By placing the black glove next to the skin and sharp blue eye area, the combination with both the eye-piece and the neck-piece work tremendously well together. Neither is distracting to the balance of the work.
An unbalanced object will cause discomfort in a viewer. Both sides of the design balance each other which gives it a certain calm and stability. As a result, the viewer's attention goes toward the center of the design which is the shiny, heavy neck-piece.

I also think that there is an interaction between color and composition where we can find balance that creates unity in the design.

Stamp: American First Class Actress(s)

This stamp features Katherine Hepburn as the main "face" of my work. The other actresses are Grace Kelly on the top left corner, Bette Davis on the top right, and Audrey Hepburn on the bottom left with Elizabeth Taylor on the lower right hand corner.

I used Photoshop to include pictures of the actresses on the US postage stamp. The actresses from the 1940s and 1950s American cinema era compliment the color and style of the stamp which gives it an authentic vintage appeal.

Best of Stills : Shoes Tell A Story

What does your shoe say about you??

These shots were taken around college of studens wearing interesting and fun shoes. Sophia and I were really interested in hearing the stories behind the shoes and the students were kind enough to share some of them.

The pretty camel pair with the lace,the student bought them at Strawberry about a year ago, and they are her favorite pair. She needs to get them re-soled but she keeps wearing them anyway because they "go with everything" she wears. The second pair, the student reveals that she got them as a birthday present from her mom. She had seen them online and wanted them badly,and her mom suprised her. She wears them almost everyday.
The third pair, belongs to a young lady who loves vintage shopping. She bought her beige boots at a vintage store in Rochester, New York, earlier in the year, and she absolutely loves them. The checkered preppy sneakers belongs to a gentleman who says he has over fifty pairs of sneakers. He bought these, Polo, online because "they looked cool" and they were at a really great price. And last, the gold vintage-inspired pair of sneakers belongs to a young man who lives downtown Manhattan. He says they were really expensive and was quite flattered when we asked to photograph his shoes. He says that they are very comfortable and stylish,and enjoys wearing them.

We thank the students for participating in our photography session.

Mr. Potato Head

Class MEDP150:51

This is my first time using Photoshop. It is simple, I know, but I had a difficult time putting it together. Thanks to Grayson in the Media Lab, I was able to do this. Thank you Grayson! You are awesome!!!!!!

Artist Statement

I tell stories of different people and movie characters in ways they live their lives that inspire me and others. In character-driven movies, stories and actors can cause our hearts to beat faster, harder, and move us from our seats as they accomplish a goal, overcome obstacles, cry, love, persevere and find meaning in their lives. It is those times we live vicariously though the them. We connect the human spirit in those characters and films - to lead us to do good - for ourselves and others. It is the human condition. When I watch, "A Beautiful Mind" I feel the love and pride Jennifer Connelly's character feels as she watches her husband go from being a bright professor, to a man-child at home, and to a nobel prize winner as an elderly man. I feel the pain of her husband, Russell Crowe's character, as he struggles with schizophrenia. His will to to live a normal life as he pushes his way, and finds it, through the halls of the college he once taught. When I watch "Castaway" and see Tom Hanks' character's fortitude to live, and the bond he forms with a basketball, I gain inner strength to win anything that comes my way. These stories move me immensely. They reach at the core of my being and challenge me to be better. These characters inspire and move us, and that is why we watch them over and over again.

I am happing to be making the connections.