Sound Art Project

 This is my Foley sound project that I did with my classmate Laiba (laibap-09.blogspot.com)! Our project includes 10 our foley sounds all put together to make one scene and four videos of us creating individual sounds.

Scene; Chilling in a Forest: 

1. Flow of water (stream sounds)
2. Wood peckers pecking
3. Leaves/branches falling
4. Leaves crunching
5. Wind bustling
6. Growling animals
7. Twigs snapping
8. Rain
9. Buzzing Insects
10. Slithering snake

The video file for our project can be found here and our audio file can be found here!

Case Study

 For my case study, I chose the opening scene of Twilight(2008).

   The opening scene (0:22 - 0:35) opens with an establishing shot of a forest with a deer drinking water and rises to a high angle. 

     The scene is quickly cut to a point of view shot (0:37) of something that appears to be preying on the deer. The shot shows leaves and branches in front of the predator as it carefully stalks their prey (0:37-0:41), then the POV shot moves on a tilt beginning from the sky, and halting at the forest path(0:42-0:44).

      As the POV comes to a halt at the forest path, the shot is then combined with a handheld shot as the POV that the audience or viewer is looking through begins to charge towards the deer drinking water and begins to chase it.(0:45-0:49)

     With this, the point of view and handheld shot ends and changes to a tracking shot of the deer running away from the predator (0:50-1:04). This shot is accompanied with frantic blurs, fast movements, and cuts as the deer races through the forest attempting to get away from the predator, who is only revealed to be a man in the last second of the scene as he finally catches the deer and a bright flash comes onto the screen.(1:06). This scene may be shot in this way to make the audience feel panicked and to create suspense about what or who is chasing the deer until he is revealed.

      This bright light transitions into the sun and the camera begins to move into another tilt from the sun, down onto the main character, Bella Swan, holding a cactus to reveal a complete change in scenery from a dark, muggy forest to the bright and sunny state of Arizona(1:06-1:10)

      As the tilt comes to a halt on Bella, the camera zooms into a close-up shot to focus on  her facial expressions as she prepares to move away from Arizona to live in Forks, Washington. This shot shows the audience that Bella is trying to prepare herself for the big move while she also appears to already be grieving her home as she hugs the cactus close to her chest and breathes in deeply(1:11-1:19). The close-up shot is then combined with a dolly shot, as Bella starts walking forward, the camera moves backwards while still up close and focused on her face. (1:20-1:26)

      This scene then cuts to a close-up and two person shot of Bella and her mother holding hands and getting ready to leave(1:27-1:29). The shot then pans to a man standing in the driveway of their house as he has just gotten done packing up a car with luggage (1:30-1:33) and then cuts into an over the shoulder shot of Bella looking at her mother again in reassurance as they finally decide to leave(1:34-1:38). 

      The Final shots of this scene include a wide shot of the packed car pulling out of the driveway of their Arizona home(1:39-1:52). This stands out as one of the longest, continuous shots throughout the whole opening of this movie so far and is most likely meant to make the audience reflect on how Bella might feel as she leaves her home for good. The shot then cuts very quickly to a close-up of her silhouette in the car as her hair blows in the wind(1:53-1:54) and closes out with a tracking shot of an airplane taking off(1:55-1:56) and finally ends with a wide shot panning over canyons as the production logos start appearing on the screen (1:57-2:00).

https://youtu.be/08_jpDyiBKY?si=gMCkWRnjV3ymzIkz

Camera Movements

 

Tilt: This shot starts at the feet of a student, and moves upward to reveal her picking out a book. This shot is meant to be an introduction or reveal the face of the student to the viewers and can also be used in many different ways, for example, if the shot is slowed down it can become suspenseful.

Steadicam: This is a steadicam shot of two friends working in the library. In this shot, the two students are speaking with the people around them while still doing their work. I this shot is meant to give an insight to the usual day of a student and shows them in a natural environment.

Handheld: This is a handheld shot of another student in the library. This shot shows her working on her laptop as and also gives an insight to the everyday life of a student. The unsteadiness of the camera makes it feel more natural, like she's being recorded by one of her friends.

Dolly shot: This shot moves in on an isolated student in a black hoodie and then moves back out. The student appears to be sad or upset about something. The dolly shot reinforces is meant to reinforce that idea as the camera moves in on him, waits, and then reverses. It emphasizes his emotions and allows the viewer to think about how he might be feeling. 

Zoom: This shot zooms in on another student working. In the shot, the student continuously looks up at the camera and back at his work. This particular shot is meant to bring attention the student despite all of the movement and noise around him by slowly zooming in on him while he is trying to work.

   

Pan: This shot moves from left to right and shows a library with students working in it. This shot is meant to show the scenery of a place that is frequented by students, teachers, and admin throughout a typical school day.

Reverse zoom: This shot starts out with a close up of a student, then slowly zooms out. The shot is meant to allow the viewer to see a bigger picture in a scene. In the beginning of the shot, it is zoomed in on one student doing her work, then slowly reverses or zooms out to reveal a full library of student conversing, working, and bustling about their day. 

Classmates Blog Commentary

For this blog, I'm commenting on two of my classmates shots/angles blog posts!

Classmate #1: mrfmediastudies.blogspot.com

Longshot - This is longshot of two friends celebrating in the library. I think the longshot adds to the lightheartedness and playful feeling of this scene.

Wide shot - This is a wide shot of students working in the library. I think that this type of shot makes the scene feel very natural and gives an insight to the average Hollywood Hills High student as they go about their day 

Two-person shot: This two person shot shows a pair of friends helping each other read. I think this picture is a representation of youthful friendship and teamwork between the two students. It also makes the scene appear playful. 

Classmate #2: laibap-09.blogspot.com

 

Close-up shot: i think that this close-up shot of Marta conveys a suspenseful feeling. The picture shows her with her hand over her mouth and looking off to the side appearing shocked, this in itself is gripping to the viewer and I feel that the close-up draws them in more and leaves them wondering what the bigger picture of this scene is.

High angle shot: This shot shows a student reading in the library. To me, the high angle of the shot enforces the idea that she is very focused on what she is reading to the viewer. However, in other cases some viewers might feel that the high angle could represent time passing, meaning that the student might be bored.

Point of view shot: This shot is from the point of view of a student working on their laptop. I feel that the overall shot allows the viewer to experience the scene through the perspective, or "eyes", of the student.