Extra Credit: Jogo de Cena

                The film is based on the interesting stories of women. Various women were interviewed and their real stories were retold by actresses. So the women we see onscreen are actresses telling us the stories of the original women who were interviewed. I didn’t realize that the women I saw were actually actresses until the Q&A section and my mind was blown away. This explained why some of the women mentioned acting. In addition, it explained why their narratives were so vivid and spoken without filler words—even when I was telling my own personal narrative for the audio project I used filler words.

                The use of actresses to retell these stories prompted the question of: who owns the story? Is it the woman who originally told the story? Or is it the actress who added emotions and her own details to the story? There are also degrees of deceptive practice present. I was getting teary-eyed listening to the actress tell the story of how her son died and her ensuing erratic behavior. It made me wonder: would I still have had the same response if this was told by the original owner of the story?

I felt that this film probes us to think about the varying levels of authenticity. Edward Coutinho had the film show the actresses climbing up the stairs to reach the stage where they were being interviewed. In this sense, he was attempting to recreate the audition environment. The actresses also paused during the interview to give off the illusion that they are recollecting from their own memories. The actresses' acting profession also leaks into the narrative; one actress identified herself as a honest liar and another one revealed that she keeps a Japanese crystal in her pocket to simulate tears during crying scenes. 

I thought the editing and compilation of the film worked very well. One woman would mention the 'crowded' stage and another would mention that she was nervous being in front of the stage. The themes that linked the women together were struggles of motherhood, fears associated with pregnancy, troubled relationships with their fathers, coping with loss and aspirations of the future. The pairing up of stories together made the film very cohesive. It also showed that these stories could belong to any one because the themes of motherhood, pregnancy, etc. that are explored are very typical of being a woman—the only thing that differed between the stories were the turn of events. Regardless of what parts of the stories were real, they were very emotionally moving and I found the entirety of the film enjoyable to watch.

Blog 3: MOMI Trip

This was my first time going to MOMI, so it was a very interesting experience. The display that fascinated me the most was the one that had a drop of water changing into a bomb, paper and then into a paper airplane. I can see the allure that devices similar to this had for people in the era prior to film. It was also pretty cool to see devices such as the zoetrope in person since it was discussed in lecture.

I also enjoyed the ADR room because I was able to experiment with dubbing. I watch dramas that are dubbed and I was able to see first-hand what this process looks like. I imagine it is probably more difficult to dub in a different language because the finished product is nowhere near as smooth as dubbing in the original language. I have also watched Babe when I was younger and through the ADR room I was able to experience being a part of the film.

The museum also had other various points of interest. I don’t really watch any sports on TV and it was crazy how much work goes into editing a live game. There are so many cameras and the director is constantly switching the cameras being shown. I also saw how film producers work hard at creating an illusion. There is a lot of improvising in order to create the desired effect. For example, the Tyrell Corporation in the “Blade Runner” was just a large sculpture filmed at various angles to give off the illusion of a skyscraper; and the souls seen coming out of Freddy Krueger was just played by people moving around in an extremely large sweater. It was also very interesting to see the improvements that have been made on the television. The televisions of the past just look like big, clunky washing machines. In the future, televisions would probably look like devices from a sci-fi film and the TVs of our era would be the ones that future generations would see in museums.

Audio Project: Trials and Tribulations

https://soundcloud.com/user380557630/trials-and-tribulations/s-6HYKD

Soundwalk at Union Square Park

            I went to Union Square Park at 5pm on a Friday. I chose this location because it is conveniently located and because it is a hub for many people to gather. I walked around the park a few times and sat down on the benches to listen carefully to the sounds in this environment. 

            Union Square Park is known for having various performers show off their talent in order to get money. The sound signals were hip hop music blaring through a boom box and the roar of applause that came from the crowd. Another sound signal was the sounds of the gong, tambourine, drum and bell that came from a religious group that performed for donations.  

            Union Square Park contained a lot of keynotes. There was the: clicking of boots on the cobblestone, stroller and garbage can wheels rolling against the ground, the soft sound of paws making contact with the pavement, the crunch of fallen autumn leaves, the wind blowing, fading conversations of people walking past, cars whooshing by, the abrupt short stopping of skateboards, giggles and laughter piercing the air, the blended mutter of multiple conversations, dogs barking, the slight sway of trees and the clanking of a bike chain. Stalls from the Farmer’s Market were also set up around the perimeter of the park. I could hear plastic bags crinkling as people walked by with their purchases. In addition, sounds signaled a different time of day. I heard the screeching of metals, the banging of tables and the rough friction of boxes being pushed on the floor as stall owners were preparing to pack up their wares for the day. 

            The sound that surprised me the most was the sound of sirens blaring. I am used to hearing this sound, but I did not expect to hear it so many times during my soundwalk. I wasn’t sure if it was because the park is a very big open space and this permitted for the sirens to be heard more easily or because it was Halloween and more incidents were occurring. This experience was very different from a regular stroll for me because I was opening up my ears to be more aware of my surroundings. I was actively listening for all sounds whether they ranged from the soft sound of a dog’s paw on the ground or the louder sound of car horns. The texture of sound varied depending on what location of the park I was at. Near the Farmer’s Market sounds were more muddled because there was a greater density of people. Their voices jumbled together and this created a lot of background noise; whereas in the interior of the park there was a greater stillness in the air because people were quietly sitting down which allowed me to make out the conversations of people near me. I realize that there are a rich variety of sounds that can come from the environment of Union Square Park.