Final Project

For my final project Scott Fleisher and I made a silent film about the idea of someone not being able to find their pen and we made it into a silly adventure of the person searching for it in ridiculous places. We originally planned to make the focus be on the pen rather than the person itself. However, due to time constraints we had to scrap the idea and make the focus be about the person. Since we filmed it in the library it was a bit of an adjustment since we had to be relatively quiet and take shots where people weren’t looking directly at the camera. It ruins the illusion of the film and we had to have several retakes as a result. Once we finished filming the editing part was also a bit challenging. In order to make the silent film look we had to use a lot of effects and get a basic silent film overlay to give it that old crackly look. We also took the audio out and replaced it with upbeat ragtime music to make it seem appropriate for the tone and era we were trying to portray. Exporting it was also a bit of a challenge as the video produced wasn’t the same as the preview, but with minor adjustments that was easily remedied. Besides that, I hope you enjoy our short film. Thank You!

Blog #4

Going to the Museum of Modern Image, I had the opportunity to see the different aspects of the film-making process such as costume design, makeup work, and the equipment that was used during certain eras. It was really interesting to see how film functioned as a business, particularly with how merchandise is created and sold. Establishing a following to a new franchise is considered a gold mine in the movie industry as they can spawn products in other industries such as books and toys. One such industry film franchises usually work closely in conjunction with is the video game industry. Film franchises such as Star Wars grew and made innovations in the video game industry that expanded beyond the story presented in the movies. These expansions grew the overall universe of these franchises so seeing their roots in such areas such as the arcades was a great sight. Looking at all the Star Wars and Star Trek figurines and other related products was a nerdy pleasure of mine in general so it was a fun throwback to my childhood. It really puts into perspective on how much of a legacy a film can make culturally and personally in our lives.

Seeing how technology evolved with moving images was another interesting part of the exhibit. Playing around with the zoetrope and the flip-book machine where you look inside and spin the rotor to see an animation seemed very archaic compared to what we can do today. Especially since right afterwards, using computer technology, my group was able to make a flip-book in a matter of seconds and see the results in real-time right afterwards. This kind of advancement must make it much easier to focus on the creativity of making imaginative animations rather than be limited by archaic devices and being only able to make simple designs. I can only imagine a century from now where people would laugh at our eventual, archaic methods of creating animation.

Blog #3

              With the right editing, a good film can tell its story by how it arranges the images and which sounds to particularly focus on. One great example of this is the Get out of the Water Scene in Jaws. How the suspense in this scene slowly builds up by having a sequence of shots of a seemingly normal beach day lead to a horrific shark attack that stuns the beachgoers.
              The scene primarily focuses on three aspects: The expectation of something happening, the false sense of safety, and the dramatic buildup to the attack. The expectation of something happening in the first shots is seen by how the shots are arranged. There is a back and forth between Police Chief Brody and what is happening on the beach. The sounds of a teenage girl screaming in one shot brings him to immediate attention. His complete ignorance of what the mayor is saying to him also brings out the focus between him and the beach. He is searching for something and the girl screaming alludes to an uneasy feeling of a bad thing possibly happening. This is followed up by the shots of false sense of reality the beachgoers feel. The laid back music in the shots, the sounds of children playing in the water and splashing around, everyone on the beach feeling relaxed. It creates a sense of paranoia that the audience feels of Police Chief Brody and of their own expectations of what will happen. However, the buildup of the shark attack starts to happen right when a boy calls for his pet and the following, stark image of a stick floating in the water gives an immediate sense of danger and brings back the uneasiness of something not being right. Interestingly it also juxtaposes the few shots before. Where the sound in the shots before were getting louder, these following shots were becoming quieter. The suspense and tension is immediately with the underwater POV shot and the focus being on the children swimming. The iconic, tense music starts to play and get louder, giving the impression of seeing through the predator’s eyes and motive. Once the shark attacks a boy there is an immediate climatic climax. The boy is violently being attacked and thrashing about with the red blood flooding the shot, everyone is escaping and running out, the beachgoers are rushing to the shore to help the kids out. Eventually the commotion starts to die out and you see the poor mom looking for her son in desperation. The sense of dread kicks in and the fear of the shark feels very raw and alive.
              This scene works well, even without the context of the whole film itself, because the relationship of the shots give a clear and concise story of the situation at hand.

Blog #2

In my neighborhood there is a spot I always go to whenever I need to clear my head and just relax with nothing to bother me at the moment. This place is not necessarily isolated but rather detached from where I live, as it is connected by a small bridge over the highway that connects that side of the world to mine. Sitting at a bench I usually take in the warm sun as it sets into the horizon. I hear the sounds of the waves gently crashing along the beach and the soft wind blowing past my ears. The whooshing sound of the cars flying by in the highway, rushing to their destination.  These sounds were always put together into just a noise to me, never an isolated part that caught my attention unless it was the occasional honk of the car horn or a big wave crashing along the rocks. Instead my attention was always caught by the seagulls cawing on the metallic barrier, where they perched looking out into the sea. Individually the cawing was loud but quickly faded into the background, however once a couple more of them came by it became a piercing sound that made me wince a bit once I paid attention to their activities. It was short lived, however, as they flew away once people walked by. The sound of footsteps and conversations of people slowly passing by as they stroll along. Their voices blending in except for the occasional yell by some children that broke through the hidden veil of the surrounding noise. These outbursts only lasted for a moment and soon faded away as soon as they appeared. Hearing the symphony of noise, I turn my head to another familiar sound of a bell ringing. The sound of a bike quickly riding through, warning those who were obstructing their path to move. The wheels sounding like little gears whispering, their soft clicks hiding beneath everything else is just loud enough to hear them incoming. Just like with everything else though, they fade away and the sound of the waves hitting the rocks, the cars whizzing by, and the wind gently breezing is the lullaby that always remains in the end. The lullaby that eases everyone’s troubles away for those short brief moments that last as long as they sit on the bench.  

Defining A Space

A Torn Page from Peter Maryniak on Vimeo.

My Artist Statement

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been influenced most by the varying forms of entertainment that was available to me. From playing Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo to watching films not appropriate for my age, such as Jaws and Pulp Fiction, I’ve always been astounded by the reality escaping world of entertainment and wanted to partake in one of the many art forms that are involved in the creation process.

At first I got sidetracked and became a serious jazz musician throughout my teenage years, wanting to perfect my skills and become a renowned figure such as Miles Davis or Charlie Parker. Those two artists pushed the boundaries of jazz music and always strived to create something new and different, never following the trends of their time, and instead created them. After high school I realized that even though i enjoyed music it was more of a hobby than a passion. This is when i started getting into computers and became interested in its ability to create dynamic applications, where anything you create can be changed into something wildly different than what it started out as. Instead of creating content like a movie or a painting where you eventually finish and present your art form, computer applications allow you to evolve with yourself. It can either be finished when you want to or be kept anew with fresh ideas that you come up with. One way computers do this is by creating websites that allow you to express your interests and combine them in ways that are unique to yourself, yet can capture an audience who share the same type of tastes as you. Just google “lolcatz” and you will understand that I mean

As I am not proficient in many forms of digital media, specifically working with film cameras and photos. My goal is to learn to use film and photos to chart the evolution of my website designs and computer applications. To use static forms of media to represent a present state of being and then morph it into something completely different as time passes.