MOMI; Monica Robinson

There are a couple of things I found really interested in the Museum of moving
images. Few of which were the cameras they used back then, the ideology of the
Freddy Cougar shirt and the illusion of moving hands in the cage. Between the
three; the ones that shocked me the most was the camera and Freddy Cougar shirt.
These aspects of the museum caught my attention the must because it has showed
me and enhanced my knowledge of film history and television production.

One
of my favorite aspects of the museum was the Freddy Cougar shirt. It’s one thing
to know that the picture presented in front of you  is edited, but it’s another
to actually know that it was physically performed without any means of editing.
Last week when we visited the museum, I actually experienced that those figures
within the Freddy cougar shirt were actual human beings. This surprised me the
most because I always believed that the display of his shirt was edited through
Adobe Premiere or any source of editing a movie. Come to find out there are
several people in one huge shirt performing similar functions that made the
scene of moving image seem animated and realistic.

The wooden cameras
definetly caught my attention because I always imagined the older film cameras
to be more bulky made from plastic. I would’ve have never imagined it to be from
wood. What surprised me most about the wooden camera  was the fact that if it
was functioning for too long it would cause a fire ! I guess this shocked me the
most about he camera because I need heard of a camera actually catching on fire
due to overheating. Being that  I’m experienced with  cameras such as Nikons and
Canons. this was also interesting to me because in present day the cameras are
far more advanced. It seemed as though the cameras back then were more
complexed, including the tripods. Even as I observed the tripods it was made out
of wood as well. Also, it wasn’t a pick up and go tripod. Today, tripods can
easily be transformed and put into a smaller bag to pack up an go… Those
tripods wasn’t eligible to do that.  These older cameras definitely has had an
impact on the film industry and history as a whole. We have went from less
advanced and complexed cameras to more modern cameras where we can now enjoy TV
and video entertainment more efficiently.

The development of moving images
has involved throughout the years and has had a significant impact on the way
both TV and sound is this displayed and produced. Back then, movies were
displayed in black and white and were usually hand cranked in order for the
audience to enjoy this form of entertainment. Sound as well has evolved, just as
much as TV.  There was a point in history where sound was far more complexed to
not only produce, but to match along with the characters lips. This took a long
process. Today, sound can be easily matched due to the advancement of technology

assignment 2- gangs of ny Monica Robinson

In this scene Amsterdam and the bald guy gets an argument that eventually leads to a fistfight. The argument occurs when Bill refers to Amsterdam and his friend as ” just a bit of bug eating sons of Irish bit***”. After first Amsterdam ignores Bill’s insulting remarks, however Bill’s bald friend decides to join the conversation by implying that they are “just a couple of fiddeling bends”. Amsterdam then takes offense when he discovers the true meaning of the word fiddeling bends, which refers to a male thief or as baldy defines it “A guy who would steal anything because he’s too low to work up a decent lay for himself”. Amsterdam ends this discussion with “We’ll then we got business”. This final statement from Amsterdam causes tension amongst the two and Amsterdam’s last button is finally pushed. Suspense is built between the two characters when they stare into each other’s faces at a medium close-up and begins to gesture for battle.

The scene where they are fighting in the bar uses a variety of camera angles. Few of those angles consist of subjective shots, extreme close ups , medium shots, 180 degree rule, mise en scene, match on action etc. The subjective shots are used very uniquely in this scene. It’s mostly shown when either the bald guy or Amsterdam are aiming at one another. For instance, when Amsterdam attempts to throw a hit at the guy the camera is positioned at an extreme close up of the guy’s face to make us feel in tuned with the action and also gives us the opportunity to see the bald guy from Amsterdam’s point of view.  So when he charges back at Amsterdam it looks as though he is attempting to swing at us, but in reality we, the audience is playing the role as Amsterdam when he’s about to get a good hit. It’s subjective because we are seeing his point of view.

Others forms of camera angles and shots include the 180 degree rule, match on action and mise en scene. The 180 degree rule is used when the camera stands at a high angle giving the audience the point of view around the subject. Match on action is shown when they begin to fight. For example shot A shows Amsterdam lifting his fists, shot B shows his fist charging towards the bald man’s face. Mise en scene occurs when the camera is stationed at a normal angle showing the crowd and the fight, allowing all characters to be in the same exact shot. This is the director’s approach if telling what’s happening in this particular scene. This scene also a use off screen sounds such as the sounds of hits such as punches, kicks, slaps; they relate to the source but there just off screen. Asynchronous sound is also being used by sound dubbing which the musical instrumental is being played while the battle takes place.

The theme of this film illustrates the scene because the overall theme is about Amsterdam’s vengeance towards his rival enemy Bill the Butcher. This particular scene was brought about because of the gangs of New York; The rabbits and the natives who are continuously battling. They are battling due to Bill the Butcher deliberately escalating Amsterdam and his team to become involved in petty fights that abruptly emerges throughout the film. The lighting of the scene contrast well with the theme being that they use styles of dim, high and low lighting. Dim lighting for when they square up to fight, highlighting to expose the characters faces and dark gloomy lighting in the bar to create a suspense for the audience before the fight takes place.

assignment 1- monica robinson

Although few may believe that Thomas Edison was the original inventor of the
kinescope and kinetograph , the actual inventor was William K. Dickson himself.
Dickson came up with the idea of motion viewing, however Edison neglected his
idea, believing that Dickson's motion picture idea was irrelevant. Due to
Dickson's idea that Edison highly doubted, Edison decided to use his phonograph
to match its sound with picture in high hopes of increasing his sales. This
eventually turned out to be a failure. However, Edison did not give up. On the
31st of August 1897, Edison patent his invention in which he called the
Kinescope, which was designed to observe moving pictures. Although Edison
designed this device; he only takes less than partial credit being that the idea
originated from Dickson. The kinetophone was another famous idea of Dickson. The
kinetophone was a primitive camera that had the ability to capture motion
pictures. The creation of the kinetograph was a major turning point within the
emergence of motion pictures.

As both the Kinetograph and kinescope  emerged,
competition amongst  motion pictures emerged as well. During the 1800s,
competition between the Lumiere brothers and Edison rose steadily. Unlike the
Kinescope, the Lumiere brothers designed the biograph  which had a similar
function as the to the Kinescope, but what made it more popular was the fact
that it was shown not only to one individual , but an entire audience at once.
Being that Edison's ideas were being neglected and popularity rose amongst the
Lumiere  Brothers Biograph, Edison attempted to sue them because he believed the
brothers copyrighted his ideas. Unfortunately, Edison's attempt to sue was a
epic failure  being that it turned out that the brothers did not copyright his
ideas.

assignment 1 – Monica Robinson

Although few may believe that Thomas Edison was the original inventor of the
kinescope and kinetograph , the actual inventor was William K. Dickson himself.
Dickson came up with the idea of motion viewing, however Edison neglected his
idea, believing that Dickson's motion picture idea was irrelevant. Due to
Dickson's idea that Edison highly doubted, Edison decided to use his phonograph
to match its sound with picture in high hopes of increasing his sales. This
eventually turned out to be a failure. However, Edison did not give up. On the
31st of August 1897, Edison patent his invention in which he called the
Kinescope, which was designed to observe moving pictures. Although Edison
designed this device; he only takes less than partial credit being that the idea
originated from Dickson. The kinetophone was another famous idea of Dickson. The
kinetophone was a primitive camera that had the ability to capture motion
pictures. The creation of the kinetograph was a major turning point within the
emergence of motion pictures.

As both the Kinetograph and kinescope  emerged,
competition amongst  motion pictures emerged as well. During the 1800s,
competition between the Lumiere brothers and Edison rose steadily. Unlike the
Kinescope, the Lumiere brothers designed the biograph  which had a similar
function as the to the Kinescope, but what made it more popular was the fact
that it was shown not only to one individual , but an entire audience at once.
Being that Edison's ideas were being neglected and popularity rose amongst the
Lumiere  Brothers Biograph, Edison attempted to sue them because he believed the
brothers copyrighted his ideas. Unfortunately, Edison's attempt to sue was a
epic failure  being that it turned out that the brothers did not copyright his
ideas.