Final Project: A Photojournalistic Study of the Eastern Market Tuesday, Apr 27 2010 

Photography farahmohamed 5:44 pm

 

Extra Credit Review: DeCarava’s “Couples” Monday, Apr 26 2010 

Photography farahmohamed 12:35 am

The photograph, “Couples” by Roy DeCarava, struck me most because of the way it so accurately portrays emotion through juxtaposition and texture. The image is somewhat complex and slightly offsetting to the viewer at first, but I think that the idea to intertwine multiple images is an interesting one. I especially like DeCarava’s choice to juxtapose two couples because that makes the parallel even more strong visually. It is easy to try and play with reflections in photographs, but it is hard to make them work visually especially if you are trying to convey a specific mood or emotion. DeCarava, however, succeeds in doing this.

The photograph is also composed well. The frame creates an interesting perspective by keeping some of the edges of the window. Were the window not there, I think the image would be harder to comprehend. Since we see the outlines of the window, we can then come to the conclusion that the walking couple is the one that is reflected. The woman, who appears to be the main focus of this photograph, is an established figure but is not centered. This lack of centering helps make this image more visually pleasing because of its imperfectness.

The photograph is blurry and somewhat grainy, but I think that this adds to the strength of the image. There is a kind of dreamy feel elicited from the photograph and I think that that is fitting for a portrayal of couples. The woman in the restaurant appears to be watching the other couple in a somewhat wistful and longing way, and I think the blurriness of the image as well as the distortion from the reflection helps make her expression and mood come across better. Furthermore, the fact that we cannot see the man she is with (only his hand and part of his face) helps reinforce a sense of unhappiness with one couple in comparison to the other couple. Even though we as viewers do not know whether the woman is unhappy with her partner, we can get the impression that she is just by noticing his absence from the photo. Even the gestures help reinforce the distance between one couple and the intimacy between the other. The couple in the restaurant appear quite distant not just because we cannot really see anything but the man’s hand, but because there is a sense of coldness in the way his hand is placed on the table or the way his head, barely visible, is turned the other way. The woman, too has her hands clasped together tightly indicating anything but intimacy. The other couple, on the other hand, represents the ideal intimacy. The woman wears white and the man wears black so that an image of a wedding comes to mind. This happily married couple (so it seems) is a stark contrast to the black, distanced couple in the restaurant.

Were the texture sharper, the reflection not apparent or the gestures different, I do not believe the image would be as strong as it is. Even though it is a busy image, there is still a focal point: the woman. She is the one we see the most of. In fact, she is the only one that is really facing directly toward us. This seemingly minor detail actually helps establish her as the main subject of the photograph, and this in turn allows the viewer to understand the rest of the image through her eyes. In the end, I think it is the clever contrast between the two couples, the texture, and the composition that make us as viewers able to feel the sense of longing that this woman is feeling and make DeCarava’s “Couples” so artfully intriguing.

 

Painting to Life: Shot List Sunday, Apr 25 2010 

Video farahmohamed 11:20 pm

Painting to Life Video

Shot # Shot type/Camera Movement Action
1 MLS Girl 1 enters dorm
2 CU Shoes being placed on the ground
3 MLS Girl 1 looking for her flip flops
4 CU Girl 1’s feet as she puts on flip flops
5 MLS Girl 1 grabs book and towel, waves good-bye to roommate
6 MS Girl 2 on bed waves
7 MLS Girl 1 leaves room
8 MS Girl 2 getting off bed
9 MLS Girl 2 gets off bed, walks over to closet
10 HAS Girl 2 looks for a pair of shoes, can only find 1 shoe
11 MLS Girl 2 sees Girl 1’s shoes on the ground
12 MLS Girl 2 walks over to shoes, picks them up
13 CU Girl 2’s feet as she puts on shoes
14 CU Girl tying shoelaces
15 MS pan right Girl 2 picks up bag and walks to door
16 MS Girl 2 leaves room
17 MS 2 shot Girl 2 talks to friend outside
18 WS Girl 1 walking outside with towel and book
19 MCU-Tilt Down Girl 2 reaction of seeing Girl 1, puts bag in front of shoes
20 MS Girl 1 walks by, waves to Girl 2
21 MLS 2 shot- zoom into CU Girl 2 waves to Girl 1
22 MLS Girl 1 walks away
23 MCU Girl 2 sighs of relief
24 MLS Girl 1 walking towards building
25 WS Girl 2 walking building
26 CU Girl 2’s reaction
27 MLS 2 Girl 2 jumps behind railing
28 MS Girl 1 walks to door
29 MLS-pan right-MS Girl 2 runs to door
30 MS-pan right Girl 1 walks to ATM
31 MLS Girl 2 runs to elevator, presses button
32 CU Hand pressing button
33 MS Girl 2 waiting for elevator
34 MS Girl 1 at ATM
35 MS Girl 2 runs to stairs
36 WS Girl 2 runs up stairs
37 MS Girl 2 runs up stairs
38 MS Girl 1 at ATM
39 WS Girl 2 runs up stairs
40 CU Girl 2 panting
41 MLS Girl 1 enters elevator
42 MS-tilt down Girl 2 enters dorm, takes off shoes, places them on the ground
43 MS Girl 2 jumps onto bed, opens up book
44 MS Girl 1 enters dorm, puts book and towel down, waves to Girl 2
45 MCU Girl 1 sighs from relief
46 CU Shoes on ground

 

Painting to Life Video Wednesday, Apr 14 2010 

Video farahmohamed 1:17 am

The following film was inspired by Gordon Smedt’s painting “Converse High Tops”

http://vimeo.com/10912323

 

Paintings to Life: Story Wednesday, Apr 7 2010 

Video farahmohamed 4:39 am

Following is the story we plan to make into a short film. It is based on a painting.

Converse High Tops by Gordon Smedt

Camera follows Girl 1 into a Dorm Room.

In the Dorm Room, camera cuts to Girl 2 sitting on a bed, reading a book.

Girl 1 puts down her bookbag, and other school things on her desk. Camera follows each action as items are placed on desk. Girl 1 sits in her desk chair, unlaces her converse sneakers, places them in the corner on the floor.

Girl 1 puts on flip flops, picks up a towel, a book, and sunglasses. Girl 1 walks out of the Dorm Room, camera follows her out.

Camera returns to Girl 2 on bed, follows her as she looks up, looks around room. Camera pans room. Girl 2 gets up, walks to closet, pulls out a single shoe. Girl 2 looks around room, spies converses in the corner. Camera zooms in on converses. Girl 2 puts on converses, picks up a bookbag, walks out of room.

Outside, Girl 2 is talking to a Friend, casually. Girl 2 looks up. Camera on Girl 1 walking in the direction of Girl 2. Girl 2 looks around, cannot find a way to escape. (Camera pans surrounding area). Girl 2 drops to her knees and pretends to search for something in her bag, covering her feet and the stolen shoes. Girl 1 walks by, appears to stop and say hello to Girl 2.

Camera follows as Girl 1 walks away. Camera back to close up of Girl 2 as she expresses relief at not being caught.

Camera shots go back and forth between both Girls walking towards Dorm Building. Girl 1 walks in first. Camera shows Girl 2’s face, she is worried/panicked. Girl 1 turns away from the elevators to go to the ATM. Shot of Girl 2 sneaking by Girl 1, walks towards Elevator. Shot of hand pressing elevator button. Shot of Girl 2 waiting for elevator, she gives up and runs up Steps. Shot of Girl 1 at ATM, shot of Girl 2 panting on steps, shot of Girl 1 still waiting at ATM. Girl 1 gathers cash, turns and walks towards Elevator.

Shot of Girl 2 opening the door to the Dorm Room, fumbling with the keys. She stumbles into the room, quickly takes off shoes. Close up of shoes as they are taken off. Girl 2 puts the shoes in the corner on the floor, sits on bed and picks up a book, returning to her original position.

Girl 1 walks into the Dorm Room, looks down at the shoes in their place on the floor. Close up of the shoes, fades to the image of the painting.

 

Scene Analysis and Shot Breakdown: Breathless Tuesday, Apr 6 2010 

Video farahmohamed 1:40 am

The final scene in Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (À Bout de Soufflé) is just one of many scenes in this film indicative of the French New Wave movement in cinema, a late 1950s and 1960s movement somewhat influenced by the socio-economic conditions of France following World War II. The movement was partially influenced by Italian Neorealism as well; a style of film that tended to shoot on location and often worked with unprofessional working class actors. The French New Wave movement took this cinema breakthrough further by ultimately rebelling against traditional French cinema. The style in French New Wave films tends to be much more spontaneous and imperfect than the clear-cut, narrative or “dictatorial” French cinema of the past. Actors sometimes improvise dialogues, and editors cut less smoothly and sometimes infrequently, resulting in jump cuts and long tracking shots. Films also tend to be low budget.

The following scene successfully exemplifies the French New Wave style. Much of the scene (and the film in general) is shot on the streets of Paris or in a single apartment. This particular scene takes place solely in the street, and requires limited props or expensive factors. The tracking that takes place as Michel attempts to run away from the police and Patricia does not appear to be as perfect as it could be. It isn’t smooth like movies nowadays, and this suggests the low budget, unprofessional feel associated with the movement. Many French New Wave films were shot with friends and the tracking was done by putting the camera on something like a shopping cart (explaining why the shots may not have been as smooth as they could have been). Also, the tracking in shots in this film are particularly important to note in that they last for quite a while. For instance, the film goes from having two or three second shots with police and secondary character reactions to having seventeen or even fifty second intervals of Michel running. Instead of cutting to the end of the chase, Godard decided to prolong Michel’s running scene and let his audience feel the exhaustion the protagonist feels. This is important because previous films put more emphasis on dialogue and traditional form. This scene, however, showcases the desire for French New Wave filmmakers to break with tradition and hone in on the aspects of film that can make the story feel real to their audience. Long tracking shots and natural settings help them achieve this sense of reality in that they leave little in disguise.

Jump shots were another common element of French New Wave cinema and are particularly prevalent in Breathless. Jump shots occur when the transitions between shots are not seamless, and are in a sense another way directors at this time sought to rebel against the perfection of previous cinema. This scene, as you can see by the shot breakdown, is full of jump cuts. Most of the transitions between shots, especially between characters, are edited in a way that makes you notice the sudden change in scenery. For instance, we see Michel get shot by a police officer (followed by a long tracking in shot of him running and stumbling) and then there is a sudden switch to Patricia (and the police car) following him. Though we can infer that the police would obviously chase after a criminal, the fact that we did not physically see them get back into the police car helps make for a jump cut. Even more apparent is Patricia’s appearance. Maybe we can also infer that Patricia, perhaps suddenly remorseful of her actions upon seeing Michel shot, would run after the protagonist as well, but her sudden appearance is not indicated earlier at all. We simply see her running towards him not the process whereby she got there.

Finally the variation of the shot lengths and the natural lighting further indicate the low-budget, unprofessional feel of the French New Wave movement. Shots are not consistent in this scene. Some are jump cuts of two seconds while others are tracking shots of fifty. Lighting is not perfect at all, and panning and other physical techniques are fairly amateur. Even the end of the film breaks with tradition. The ending is not happy. The protagonist dies, insults his lover, and leaves her to ponder in remorse and in confusion. This kind of dissatisfaction with life throughout the movie (again influenced by the lifestyle in France after World War II) comes to a crescendo here. Not only do we end with the protagonist dying, but we also end with an insult and an inability to comprehend that insult. The death, the distance between the lovers, and the lack of resolution makes this film feel real and scandalous at the same time both of which Godard and his fellow French New Wave filmmakers were hoping to achieve.

SHOT BREAKDOWN:

Shot #, Shot type, Movement, Description , Timing

1 WS Minimal panning right Michel sees Antonio’s car,
walks toward it as it approaches
and tries to catch up with it; 2 sec

2 WS Pan right Michel runs to catch up with
the car; 5 sec

3 MS Slight pan
-> Static Michel gets the money 8 sec
from Antonio and warns him that
the cops are coming;

4 CU Static Michel tells Antonio that he won’t
run from the cops; 15 sec

5 MS Jump Cut -> Static Michel and Antonio discuss
Michel’s decision; 11 sec

6 MS Pan right, Pan left Antonio reaches into car to give
Michel his gun; 4 sec

7 WS Jump Cut The police arrive; 2 sec

8 MS Static -> High Angle Antonio’s reaction,
the police exit car; 3 sec

9 MCU ->
MS -> MCU Static -> Pan right
(matching action shot) Antonio throws Michel his gun; 3 sec

10 MS Jump cuts Michel picks up gun,
Antonio drives away, police officer
draws gun, Michael is shot; 8 sec

11 WS Jump Cut,
Tracking in Michel runs from the police; 17 sec

12 MCU Jump Cut,
Tracking Patricia (followed by police car)
runs after wounded Michel; 6 sec

13 WS Jump Cut,
Tracking in Michel sees Patricia and police
and continues to run despite stumbling; 50 sec

14 MS ->
MCU Jump Cut,
Tracking Patricia and police still tailing Michel; 6 sec

15 MCU Jump Cut Michel lying on the ground as Patricia
and police approach; 8 sec

16 CU Jump Cut Patricia reacts; 24 sec

17 CU Jump Cut Michel reacts; 18 sec

18 CU Jump Cut Patricia reacts to Michel; 7 sec

19 CU Jump Cut Michel insults Patricia, then dies; 25 sec

20 CU Jump Cut ->
black out Patricia reacts to Michel’s statement
and death; 30 sec

 

Film Scavenger Hunt Tuesday, Mar 30 2010 

Video farahmohamed 11:18 pm

Our first video assignment is a series of six shots that combine emotional and visual elements with basic video techniques. We filmed and edited the following video:

http://www.vimeo.com/10563530

 

Title Sequence Review: Catch Me If You Can Tuesday, Mar 16 2010 

Design farahmohamed 9:57 pm

The following title sequence is taken from the beginning of Steven Spielberg’s film Catch Me If You Can. Created by Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas, this motion graphics example incorporates the film’s themes well and catches the audience’s attention immediately with its unique and creative style.

The movie Catch Me If You Can is about a con artist who poses as a pilot, a pediatrician, an attorney, and numerous other professions all the while cashing fraudulent checks in a plethora of countries. The con artist is tailed by an FBI agent throughout a significant part of the film.

This title sequence immediately sets the tone of the movie. The music is mysterious, and so is the man who appears in the left-hand side of the screen. Throughout the sequence the man— or the con artist as we later recognize him to be—is moving with each screen change. Most of the time he is moving as if he is being chased or hiding and sneaking to the next screen. Sometimes, though, he appears calm. This is because he is impersonating someone else and has little to fear because of his disguise. For example, the sequence establishes the pilot impersonation early on, creating a terminal at an airport with a man reading a newspaper and transitioning from screen to screen with white airplanes. The black boxes with yellow arrows also indicate a public area – an airport. What is interesting about these arrows is that they seem to point to the con artist, as if surreptitiously giving away his identity. When the title of the film appears, it takes up the whole screen. The “me” in the title is white and disappears before the other letters, again indicating the mysterious nature of the film and the con artist. Even the way the “me” disappears is related to the movie’s plot since an airplane drags it off.

The color progression throughout the sequence is also intriguing. The sequence starts out with a bold blue and then eventually shifts to a bold yellow and red. The shift from cold colors to warm colors suggests the urgency in the con artist’s chase. Near the end of the sequence the colors fade to a light pink and then finally to a white before returning to a similar blue to the beginning. The fading and return help signal to the audience that the sequence is nearing its end and thus help transition into the film.

Besides the parallels to the plot, this title sequence is effective because of the repetition of lines. Whether they serve as elevators, ladders, or just lines with words dangling from them, the lines are something that is consistent throughout this sequence. They could easily get boring, but Kuntzel and Deygas’ decision to keep the screens moving with the lines (so that the lines exhibit successful motion graphics by leading the viewers eye from one image or text to the next), and switching the direction, the color, and speed at which the lines appear and disappear keep the audience on edge, almost as if they, too are trying to escape from an FBI agent.

The only thing that could potentially be altered would be the length of the sequence. Though interesting, the sequence does run on the long side and for viewers eager to enter the actual movie, the intrigue of the sequence seems to wear off before it has quite reached its end.

 

Can You Read This? Wednesday, Mar 3 2010 

Design farahmohamed 4:36 am

For my project, I decided to design a poster advocating for women’s literacy in Afghanistan. This is an important cause to me, and it is one that I feel is often overlooked. A lot of people donate money or build schools in countries like Afghanistan without really fully understanding the situation there. The money goes to the country and then the person pats themselves on the back for a job well done.  In my poster, I wanted to force the viewer to think at a different level. I wanted them to really comprehend the cause. By creating text that doesn’t appear readable at first and emphasizing a door that leads to darkness, I hoped to make the viewer experience a degree of “illiteracy” or at least understand what that initial confusion must be like. I chose to make the poster mostly black and white because I felt like that best represented my message. If I added color, the simplicity of the image would be overpowered by the color and the strength of the message would be lost. At the same time, I didn’t want to alienate my viewer too much and so I decided to make the text at the top readable to a certain extent (I chose a more Arabic looking font more because it matched the design of the doors better than other fonts not because I wanted to make a political or religious statement of any sort) and to enhance the sunlight reflecting on the doors from my original photograph. I thought this would be a unique and (hopefully) effective way of raising awareness about the the need for women’s literacy in Afghanistan.

 

Poster Analysis: Lost in Translation Wednesday, Mar 3 2010 

Design farahmohamed 12:15 am

This poster of the 2003 film Lost in Translation is simple yet effective. It catches the attention of its viewer and delivers its message without giving in to the common temptation of overcrowdedness that so many of today’s movie posters tend to do. The title itself automatically gives the viewer a sense of the film’s story and message—that of a newlywed uncertain of her future residing in place foreign to most of what she has known all her life—but it is ultimately the design of the poster that hones in on Scarlett Johansson’s character’s alienation.

The effectiveness of this poster is due in part to the composition of the complete image (including the text) and the way in which it successfully ties together multiple images into one strong construct. The image of the lost and lonely girl holding the umbrella is clearly a separate photograph from the busy image of Tokyo’s heavily lighted and advertised buildings, and yet the way in which both are arranged and blended together suggest otherwise. As viewers, we know the images are separate, and yet the transparency of the umbrella and the softness of the girl’s face make us group the two images into one. There is also a sense of harmony and visual echo in the image as a whole because the blues and yellows of the city’s buildings are carried over to the girl’s umbrella. This helps reinforce the connection between the images. Even though the tone of the colors attached to the girl are more somber than those of the buildings, the two images still have those colors in common, making the viewer able to, perhaps subconsciously, group the two parts together. If the colors of the two images starkly contrasted then we would probably be less inclined to group them in the same way or even to group them at all. In fact, even the reddish-brown of Scarlett’s jacket and hair indicate a sense of visual echo and flow because of the way in which they  effortlessly blend into the street beneath her.

Another strong element of this poster is the alignment of the components within the image. Composition-wise the image is successful because the horizontals of the street and the verticals of the buildings intersect near the tip of the girl’s umbrella, creating a sense of balance and unity within the image. The decision to have the girl in front of the city scene (and therefore larger) is also significant. Even though the perspective of the city is intriguing, we know the focus is on the girl and that the movie is about the girl more than about the city because of her proximity to us. Her size and positioning thus emphasize her dominance in the canvas and in the movie as a whole.

Thematically, we also get a sense of the protagonist’s loneliness and disorientation from the subtle contrasts within the poster. For instance, her umbrella seems to fade away with the rain, indicating perhaps that she doesn’t belong where she is presently and is not a permanent part of the city, but instead a foreigner, a kind of temporary resident. The decision to make her facing the opposite direction of the buildings and the dinosaur also reinforce her isolation and separation from Tokyo and from life in general. While the busy life of Tokyo carries on behind her, Scarlett stares off into the distance at something we can’t see. That sense of mystery creates intrigue, while at the same time reinforces one of the main themes of the film: alienation. Combined, these elements of design make us as viewers not only able to understand the film’s tagline: “Everyone wants to be found,” but it also allows us to empathize with Scarlett’s character and begin to experience the mood and emotions of the film for ourselves.

 

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