Final Video

Next Week from Jesse Ortiz on Vimeo.

MOMI Experience

During our trip to the museum of the moving image, one thing that I took note was the evolution of film/tv. It was interesting to see how film technology transformed so much in the short span of a hundred years. I found it interesting to see how studio cameras used to be bigger than cars, and now camera’s are more accessible, and they can fit into your pocket. This aspect of film technology is strange to me, because I would imagine the film cameras of today would be cheap and accessible to future generations. The best dslr’s of today could one day become the average mobile phone camera. Maybe future generations would probably look back at today’s best camera’s in a museum and say “hey, look at how huge and ugly those camera’s used to be.”

Another thing that stood out to me was zoetropes that were in the museum. Although they may seem like an antiquated device, it was interesting to see that people are still fascinated with it’s ability to create an animation. The zoetrope is intriguing because it was the earliest form of moving images, and I would imagine it was the closest thing that came to a movie going experience. I was really impressed with the large scale zoetrope, it used a simple concept of frame rates to trick the eye into perceiving movement. It was fascinating to see all the parts interacting with one another to create somewhat elaborate illusion.

Define a Space from Jesse Ortiz on Vimeo.

Relationship Between Shots

This scene utilizes the shot reverse shot technique, but with the actors moving. It creates tension between the characters with the movement of the camera. As Jack Torrence moves toward the camera, it cuts to Wendy moving away from it. It evokes the sense that Jack is going to do something wrong, as he approaches and he yells at Wendy. As the actors say their dialogue, they move across the room, but shot reverse shot editing makes the movement and dialogue seamless. The scene utilizes medium shots with a shallow depth of field. This is put focus on the actors, and give a sense of claustrophobia. This contrast from other scenes in the movie that use wide angle shots to make the rooms and corridors look huge and endless. The contrast of this scene and the rest of the movie is to give the viewer the sense that there is nowhere to hide, that Wendy would be a rat in a maze.   

Stanley Kubrick (the director) was known for cutting his movies to his selected music, which gave the edits in his films a smooth pace. This scene is an example of this. The music plays subtly in the background, and dissonance of the music enhances the tension of the scene. The music cues in as Wendy hits Jack with the baseball bat, and acts as an nondiegetic sound effect to bring the seen to end of a climax. There is also cuts to the cue,  as Jack falls down the stairs.

Audio Portrait

The Soundwalk

For this assignment I sat down on a bench in Oval park which is close to where I live. I sat in the park in the afternoon (around 4) which is when the park is full of activity. The soundscape of the park demonstrates how full of life the park is during the afternoon. Behind me you could hear people shouting and dribbling a ball, bouncing it off the court. In front of me, I would occasionally hear people breathing heavily as they jogged past me. I would occasionally hear  airplanes overhead. All around me I would hear families chatting, kids shouting, running.

All of this sound would happen simultaneously, so i had to pay attention to individual details. Underneath all of the noise, there is the subtle ambiance of the wind and leaves rustling around. I could hear cars passing by in the distance, and occasional honking. From where I sat, the volumes of each individual sound would vary. As people were constantly passing back and forth, each sound would diminish the further way it was from me. However, there was many sounds going at once, so it was never fully quiet. People would move along, so sounds tend to move from the foreground to background-- or vice versa. This amalgamation of sound made the park feel more alive. If there was a recording of my time at the park, you could discern that it was busy afternoon (from the constant sound of the wind, and cars honking in traffic in the distance).

ARTIST STATEMENT

My name is Jesse Ortiz, and I aspire to become a filmmaker. Some of the filmmakers that inspire me are Stanley Kubrick, Steve McQueen, Igmar Bergman, and Alfonso Cuaron. I’m fond of the themes of their movies, which usually deal with existentialism, and societal issues. These are the filmmakers that began my passion for film, and lead me to believe that film is one of the most profound forms of art. One of my favorite aspects of film is that it incorporates many aspects of other art-forms (such as writing, art, music, etc). Ever since I was younger, I wanted to be involved art and creativity, so I'm excited to major in media, and I anticipate an exciting future. 
Lately a quote by Film critic Roger Ebert has been resonating with me “Movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams and fears.” This notion encompasses the many reasons why I admire film. Film allows me to think about the world through many different lenses. However, I don’t think Ebert sentiment applies to most mainstream films due to the lack of diversity. There isn’t much versatility when it comes sexuality, race and gender. Ebert's statement beckons the question: how are we supposed to empathize with anyone if the mainstream machine only tends to portray the stories of straight white men? I hope to contribute to change this issue by writing and directing stories that are racially, and thematically diverse.