Story Assignment

Gabriella Vetrano

Medp 160

Story Assignment

https://vimeo.com/378893737

Blog 4: Guest Lecturer

Gabriella Vetrano

Guest Lecturer: Kirsten Johnson

To say I was surprised by the format of our guest lecture is an understatement. I had gone into class expecting to watch Kirsten Johnson's film and maybe have a Q & A session afterward. I wasn't expecting the lively presence Kirsten brought to class and I most definitely wasn't expecting to spend part of the lecture looking into my classmate's eyes for two minutes. Looking back, I'm glad Johnson approached this lecture in the way she did and I feel her methods did better to prove her point than a powerpoint presentation could have.

Throughout the lecture Johnson was very active, constantly moving around the room. At one point she demonstrated the stance she uses when holding her camera. I think the point she was trying to make by doing this was how necessary it is for a camera person to be ready to get the shot. The cameraperson should be constantly thinking about the different ways to approach a shot and constantly scouting to see what angle is most compelling for the audience. You don't want your camera to be stagnant or just focused on a talking head, as exemplified by Johnson's brief conversations with students. She'd take a moment to sit and talk with someone but then immediately get back up and begin working the room again.

One of my favorite parts of the lecture was when she discussed her experience filming the hot air balloon. She told us about the lengths she went to get those shots, including waiting on top of the mountain for the perfect shot. If I remember correctly she said she had to wait for around an hour for the wind to be just right, for the flag to be in position and for her to get the amazing shot that ended up in her film. This experience speaks to the dedication one must have to get the best shot. You could take a quick shot and move on or you can put in the time and effort to get a shot that will stay in the minds of the viewers. That's the experience I had after seeing that shot; for days afterward, I was thinking about that story and the efforts she went through to get that shot. 

Editing Analysis

Gabriella Vetrano

Editing Analysis

Clip: Snatch (2:30-4)

The hare coursing scene in Snatch, directed by Guy Ritchie, uses editing to compare two different situations playing out at the same time that are both significant to the story. The section I chose to focus on (minutes 2:30 to 4 in this video) primarily uses a montage to show the similarities between the hare being chased by the dogs and Tyrone being chased by Bricktop’s thugs.

The sequence begins when the music that had been playing faintly underneath the conversation between Turkish and Mickey (Jason Statham and Brad Pitt) picks up. The first shot is a full shot of Tyrone exiting a convenience store. This cuts to the medium closeup shot of the thugs in the car, coming upon Tyrone. There’s a brief cut to the dogs pulling at their leashes before it cuts to two close-ups of men placing their bets on whether the hare will be caught or not. The camera cuts to a medium-wide shot of Tyrone leaving the store and realizing he’s being followed. He seems to make eye contact with the thugs in the car who, in the next shot, stare back at him. Cut back to the dogs pulling at their leashes; like the thugs, they have caught sight of their prey. There’s another close up of money being exchanged as bets are still being placed before the camera cuts to a medium close up of Mickey, who is smoking and talking. The camera cuts back to the car where one of the thugs points out Tyrone. In the next shot, the dogs are let off their leashes and they run off camera. There’s a jump cut to another medium wide shot of Tyrone, who now understands the situation he’s in, abandoning his paper and also running offscreen. Before he is out of the frame the camera cuts to a close up of the hare running for its life. The chase has begun.

Next is a full shot showing the two dogs in hot pursuit of the rabbit. At the same time, a wide shot shows the car is almost upon Tyrone as he rounds a corner. There is a cut that takes the viewer back inside the car as a thug gets out to pursue Tyrone on foot. For a brief moment, the camera returns to the close up of the hare before coming back to the inside of the car. As the thug pursues Tyrone, the two dogs are seen from behind closing in on the hare. Finally, we get a medium-wide shot of the thugs, who have apprehended Tyrone, wrestling to get him in the trunk. Brief cut to the dogs practically on top of the hare before we see the thugs push Tyrone into their trunk. There’s a medium closeup of the dogs as they run, followed by another hare close up. There’s a shot of Tyrone cowering in the trunk before we return to the medium-wide of the thugs kicking Tyrone and shutting the trunk. The dogs are closer to the hare and we see a medium shot of the thugs, now in Bricktop’s gym, pushing a terrified Tyrone. Cut to dogs chasing, cut to thugs dragging. Close up of dog snapping at the hare’s hind legs and missing. Cut to Tyrone being dragged and the dogs running but being a bit farther from the hare. There are more cuts to Tyrone being terrorized by Bricktop interspersed with shots of the hare being chased by the dogs. The sequence ends with Tyrone confessing his involvement in the robbery of Bricktop’s bookie and the hare escaping the dogs once and for all.

The entire sequence lasts 90 seconds but involves 2 chases and an interrogation. Ritchie builds tension by showing the thugs/ dogs stalking their “prey” before the chase begins. The way the shots switch back and forth leads viewers to draw the comparison between the two situations. Tyrone is like the hare, running for his life from the big bad dogs.

Interview

Gabriella Vetrano
Filmp160/ Fall 2019

Interview

https://soundcloud.com/user-254859683/gabriella-vetrano-sound-project

Soundwalk

Gabriella Vetrano

Filmp160

Soundwalk

            Walking the High Line on an especially pleasant weekday afternoon provided me with the perfect opportunity to conduct my soundwalk. I entered the High Line on West 23^rd and walked down to Gansevoort Street and the Whitey Museum of Art. Along the way, I tuned in to the sounds and sights around me, “opening my ears” to the sounds of New York City. 

            I found that walking the High Line offered a balance between the hustle and bustle of the city and the calmness that comes with being above it. I could hear birds singing as they sat up in the trees, but I could also hear the cars driving underneath the tracks I was standing on. The sounds of tourists asking to snap pictures combined with the yelling of vendors promoting the sweets they sell from their carts. On quieter parts of the walk, I’d stop, close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees or the rustling of plants as people brushed past them. I walked deeper into Chelsea and it got later in the evening the city came alive underneath my feet. I could hear the sounds of cars driving through the streets and people laughing excitedly, talking to their friends about their plans for the night or the coming weekend. I passed a rooftop bar that was playing host to a few patrons bopping along to some indie music the DJ was playing; another bar further down the line was hosting a party that was playing the top 100 pop hits from 2008. As I exited the line and headed down to the subway I left the sounds of Chelsea behind me.

Unstuck Extra Credit

Gabriella Vetrano
Filmp 160
Extra Credit: Unstuck: An OCD Kids Movie

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to attend a screening of Unstuck: An OCD Kids
Movie at Hunter College. The movie and the short that preceded it, Involuntary Repetition as
Everyday Life, was shown in honor of OCD Awareness week and delved into the lives of people
living with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Unstuck highlighted the lives of multiple children
living and dealing with OCD; through interviews we come to learn about the onset of their
disorder, their triggers and eventually how they came to cope. Involuntary Repetition was
presented in a vastly different format, showing the daily struggles the main character faces. Both
films shed light on the struggles people living with the disorder face and do so in a compelling
way.

One thing I appreciated while attending the showing was the pairing of the films together.
They present two different sides of the same story in a way that allows people who haven’t
experienced the disorder firsthand to understand while Involuntary Repetition fully immerses the
viewer in the experience of the character. The film is shot in first-person and we experience every
compulsion the character is experienceing, being forced to perform every ritual for what feels like an eternity. It truly captures the feeling of anxiety that arises as the minutes tick on and the compulsions are still being completed (while I know this was unintentional, I feel having to rewatch the first few minutes heightened the experience). Unstuck relies on interviews to tell each child’s story, allowing for them to explain themselves what their compulsions are and how the address each one every day.
The interviews are personal and intimate, allowing the viewer to connect with each child and
their struggles. I’m grateful the showing ended with a panel that included the filmmakers, a
psychologist and two people living with OCD (including one of the children from Unstuck). The
movies and the panel opened the conversation for people living with the disorder in attendance
and people interested in learning more. I think this speaks to the effect good filmmaking can
have when it’s directed towards a cause; Unstuck helps us understand the disorder and
destigmatize it.

Define A Space

Gabriella Vetrano
Filmp160/ Fall 2019

Define a Space

https://vimeo.com/362403831