Final Project: Selling Christmas
Ornaments in CVS, Tenleytown - I tried to capture the vast amount of little glass balls - almost a full aisle - by crouching down on an angle and cramming in as many as possible.
The Santa at the CVS in Tenleytown - what struck me was how this santa was on top of a coke machine right as you walked into the store, already trying to sell you something.
I took this photo also in CVS, of one of their mini-christmas trees that comes pre-decorated. I did it by sticking the camera under the tree and angling it upwards.
This photo is of the Hannukkah Display in CVS - I liked the bright colors of the menorah, and did a close-up of them by moving the camera in as close as possible at an angle.
This photo is of the Christmas Trees in Whole Foods, Tenleytown - As you walked up they consumed you, and I walked around the trees until I could find an interesting spot to photograph the photos from.
Whole Foods, Tenleytown - all the things necessary to make your holidays special.
Whole Foods, Tenleytown - a display of gourmet chocolates.
Christmas Tree, Tenleytown - The Container Store. Taken by shooting inside the tree.
The Container Store, Tenleytown - Giant bows taken on an angle.
The Container Store, Tenleytown - pre-wrapped boxes.
Video Shot List & Final Product
Project by Rebecca Wall, Alina Ostrow, Tom Bliandi
SHOT LIST:
- Picture dissolve into
- WS of picture – Tom leaning against wall, looking at Alina
- MCU – Tom raising eyebrows suggestively
- CU – Alina looking awkwardly
- WS – Pick-up line, Alina walking away
- American Shot – Pick-up line II
- WS of Alina walking into hallway, Tom chasing after her
- MS of Tom and Alina talking (really just Tom)
- WS from behind of Alina walking away and Tom yelling after her
- MS of Tom still yelling – behind, Becka starts to sit down
- WS of Tom hitting on Becka
Treatment
OPEN: w/ Picture, Man wearing Yellow Pants by Michelangelo Pistoletto
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79435
We see the man looking across the room at the girl in the Art Gallery from behind. He is leaning up against the wall. We cut to a medium Close up of the man raising his eyebrows suggestively at the woman. We get a close-up of her face looking awkwardly at him. He takes a deep breath and moves closer to the woman and she starts edging away. He slides up next to her and says “Hey, are your legs tired? ‘Cause I’ve been chasing you through my mind all day.” She smiles a little and walks away. He chases after her and cuts her off and says, “I mean, I wasn’t chasing after you like in a bad way, it was more like ‘cause you’re pretty, like…. Like Princess Leia pretty. Maybe you should put your hair like this – “ stops to put her hair in Princess Leia buns – “oh, your hair is soft. And it smells like popcorn.” She smiles, clearly feeling more awkward, and tries to cut around him. He runs ahead and cuts her off again, saying “Do you like popcorn? Because I love getting a big bucket of popcorn at the movies. I love the movies. Hey! I heard AstroBoy is a good movie. Do you wanna go see Astroboy?” She starts walking away again and he runs ahead and cuts her off and says, “Hey. I know I can have any girl here, but I choose you, Pikachu!” She is clearly uncomfortable and starts walking away for the last time. He calls after her, “You could have been the Lois Lane to my Superman! The Mary Jane to my Spiderman! The Catwoman to my Batman! You would look really sexy in a catsuit, actually. IF YOU CAME OVER TO MY MOM’S BASEMENT YOU COULD HAVE PUT ON A CATSUIT!” She looks back and walks away faster. We get a close up on the man brushing off the rejection, saying “her loss!” He spots a female security guard in the corner and slides up next to her – “hey, are your legs tired? Because I’ve been chasing after you in my mind all day!”
Casablanca: Final Scene, Part I
Casablanca is an American classic. If someone hears that one hasn’t seen Casablanca, it’s usually followed by a gasp and an “OH MY GOD! We have to fix that immediately.” A huge part of it’s mass appeal and classic status is the final scene of the film. It wraps everything up in a way indicative of the genre and the though process at that point in time. The first half of the final scene – before the plane takes off and action starts to take hold – has a lot to offer in terms of quick shot cuts and the way camera use is used to show how intimate an exchange is (more close-up shots are usually more intimate moments), and the use of Over-the-Shoulder shots to make the audience feel more like they’re watching this conversation in real life.
Shot # Shot Type Movement Description Timing
1 WS We see an officer standing in the rain. 3 seconds
2 Pan Right We see a car turn around the corner. 3 seconds
3 Zoom/WS We zoom in closer on the car and rest on it as Rick, Ilsa, and Victor hop out. 4 seconds
4 WS Louie gives another officer orders to get Victor’s luggage. 5 seconds
5 WS Victor looks back at Ilsa, not facing the camera, and walks towards the plane. 4 seconds
6 MCU Ilsa looks, panickedly, towards Rick (out of frame) 3 seconds
7 WS/Zoom out Rick gives Louie orders with Ilsa in the background.
8 M Ilsa asks why she has to get on the plane. 3 seconds
9 Zoom Rick moves closer to Ilsa in order to explain to her why she has to get on the plane, grabs her arm and pulls her in. 2 seconds
10 MCU Rick and Ilsa talk at a fast-pace, back and forth, arguing about Ilsa getting on the plane. The two argue back and forth, interrupting each other constantly. 25 seconds
11 M Louie addresses Rick’s question towards him – “Isn’t that true Louie?” by agreeing with him. 4 seconds
12 OTS/WS After Louie’s answer, we see the scene from behind Louie’s shoulder: the foggy, misty airway with Ilsa and Rick standing close to each other right near Louie. 3 seconds
13 Zoom We zoom from the previous OTS shot back into Rick and Ilsa’s conversation, in a MCU. 3 seconds
14 MCU We get re-adjusted and situated into Rick and Ilsa’s conversation, now switching to Victor, Ilsa’s to-be flight companion. 3 seconds
15 OTS We see Ilsa’s reaction to Rick’s words about Victor while he is talking, able to see the emotional turmoil currently going on in her head. 5 seconds
16 OTS We move to behind Ilsa’s shoulder, looking up at Rick and seeing the intensity of his face as he continues his diatribe. 4 seconds
17 OTS We see Ilsa’s response to Rick’s speech about the regret she’ll feel if she’s not on that plane from over Rick’s shoulder. 5 seconds
18 OTS We see Rick’s response to Ilsa’s. 5 seconds
19 OTS Ilsa responds. 3 seconds
20 OTS Rick stands strong about her getting on the plane. 3 seconds
21 CU We see Ilsa growing emotional over Rick’s words that she can’t be a part of the mission he has to go on and tasks he must complete; and as her eyes begin to tear, we see Rick’s hand lift up her chin. 13 seconds
22 OTS Rick tries to cheer Ilsa up – “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.”5 seconds
23 CU We close up back on Ilsa’s face – with those words, her face becomes a little brighter and she seems to understand the situation. 5 seconds
24 OTS We see Rick’s face looking at Ilsa before the scene fades to the second half of the final scene. 3 seconds
This scene is a superb example of the Hollywood Classics Genre we’ve discussed inc lass. The scene is chock-full of Over-the-Shoulder shots to reel the audience in, and camerawork is used often to make us feel more intimately there with the characters. Transitions are quick and fluid, keeping the pace of the film moving. The camerawork alone isn’t what makes this scene so classic – the themes involved are also staples in Hollywood. The men are strong, sturdy archetypes, while women are emotional messes who don’t understand the layers of the situation until it’s explained to them. While Casablanca is a somewhat milder version of this – Ilsa is, overall, a strong and independent woman – during the final scene, she doesn’t understand why things must be this way until Rick explains it to her.
Title Sequence Analysis
For my title sequence analysis, I looked at the opening credits of the hit movie Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks that came out a few years ago. I’ve always remembered the credits because I remember loving that they told a bit of a story, and I was reminded of them when we watched the credits by Saul Bass and the opening credits of The Pink Panther in class.
In this opening sequence, created by Kuntzel and Deygas, had themes reminiscent of Bass’ use of lines in his opening credits. Lines move from scene to scene throughout the credits, bringing together little snippets of story throughout – of a cartoon of Hanks’ FBI character chasing after DiCaprio’s Frank Abagnale. So much of the imagery is symbolic of what we’re going to see to come – a man running and running, from scene to scene, changing costumes and outfits in an attempt to escape the law.
We also see themes that are common throughout the movie – no scene stays the same for more than a few seconds; which shows how impermanent and fleeting all the things in Abagnale’s life are. There’s also constantly the fact that he is lost in a sea of people, a feeling that Abagnale feels for most of the movie.
I thought that these credits were an interesting mix of story and inspiration from the history of designing title sequences.
My Poster
My poster publicizing the fight for women’s equality – unfortunately there is no official march on 10/28; but if anyone is interested in starting up a protest, let’s do it. 
haha!
March on Washington Poster
Poster for 2007's March on Washington
During my freshman year here at AU, these flyers were all over D.C. – on street corners, at bus stations, and in stacks in buildings all over AU’s campus.
It really caught my attention at the time because I’ve always had strong personal and political convictions against the War in Iraq, and was so excited there was a march against it downtown only a couple of weeks into my freshman year. But upon looking at the poster again, there are certainly quite a few design aspects that drew my attention to the poster.
First of all, the choice of bright yellow on a black background certainly pulls in the eye. It’s a stark contrast that demands attention. Secondly, the message is simple and sweet – it tells you the date, the time, and the message in as few words as possible – as well as text in simple, easy to read type about where to go to find more information.
There’s also a sense of classic protest and rebellion reminiscent of the 1960′s anti-war protests, with the simple black type on a bright background and the strong political images – the capitol building and the woman yelling into a megaphone a message that was strong both in the 1960′s and now – “END THE WAR NOW!”
Museum Visit: National Portrait Gallery
This past weekend, I visited the National Portrait Gallery’s Feature Photography exhibit. Although it was small, there were certainly some striking portraits of people that were unique and unexpected.
The pictures that struck me when I first walked in to the exhibit were the ones by Steve Pyke. The first one that really interested me was the portrait of Normal Mailer. The picture has Mailer looking straight-on into the picture, which makes him seem down to earth, straight forward, and honest. There was a little stubble still on his chin, and he was dressed very casually, wearing a sweatshirt. It was a photo that made it seem as though Mailer was looking directly at me.
The very open eyes of Pyke’s subjects and the black and white colors in his photos added to the intensity and conveyed a certain amount of emotion that a color photo might have distracted from. A perfect example of this is the photo of Ian McKellen – we are drawn to his intense gaze, not his elaborate costume and jewels; which gives us a feel of his serious character, acting career, and how phenomenal it truly is since we aren’t even looking at his outfit.
Another photo by Pyke which really stood out to me was the photo of Henry Kissinger. He is one of the only full-body shots in the collection and is standing in front of a background meant to replicate the shape of his glasses, which I found to be an interesting choice. Kissinger is a controversial political figure, and photographing him from farther away made him seem less accessible than the other subjects; and the background made him seem less real – like more of a prop on a movie set.
The second artist whose portraits I found really interesting were Alec Soth’s. I really enjoyed his picture Teresa, of the young girl at Niagra Falls. It’s such a picturesque, classic location and the picture of Teresa in her towel, presumably coming back from a swim, made me feel almost nostalgic – even though I’ve never been to Niagra Falls, NY; and have only visited the Canadian one for a couple of days.
I also loved his picture of Sydney, the little girl with pink hair from Tallahassee, FL -it was of a little girl with faded pink hair, laying her head on a quilt or blankey with classic Cape Cod-like scenes. It reminded me of the idea of innocence with a twist, and seemed like Soth was playing with and almost challenging conventional ideas that we may have about little girls and Cape-Cod like scenes.
Henry Kissinger by Steve Pyke
Sir Ian McKellen by Steve Pyke
Norman Mailer by Steve Pyke
Teresa by Alec Soth
Sydney, Tallahassee, FL by Alec Soth
Annie Leibovitz
Celebrities are a major part of our popular culture. They take over the cover pages of almost every major magazine, dominate water cooler conversations and the headlines everywhere. Many would even say that celebrities are seen as royalty – and yet every celebrity dreams of having Annie Leibovitz take their picture.
Liebovitz is known for photographing famous people. She lends an air of classic, earthy glamour to her photographs, but is also known for taking more controversial photographs than most.
Reports from numerous fan websites have said that she has been known to use a Canon 1DS M2, a digital Hasselblad, or a Mamiya 645.
Some of her most famous photographs include the photo of Miley Cyrus on the cover of Vanity Fair, the photo of John Lennon & Yoko Ono taken on the morning of his death, and Annie’s reimaginings of an classic Disney scenes.
To examine Leibovitz’s body of work more closely, I chose the photo of Lennon & Ono and two of the photos from the Disney Dream campaign.
In this photo, earlier on in Leibovitz’s career, we can tell alot about her style already. She likes to photograph subjects in a more natural state, not using alot of makeup and trying to capture more candid moments instead of staged ones. She is unafraid of using color – or the absence thereof – to make a point. The relationship between these two is clearly very caring and loving, as we can tell by their body language and the way John is kissing her. They’re very comfortable with each other, and the way Leibovitz chose to photograph them in such natural tones shows this.
I also love this picture, because it shows a lot of the same qualities – Leibovitz’s use of color and trying to not make the picture fully staged. The vivid colors in the picture portray a sense of wonderment, just like Disney’s original Alice in Wonderland film, but there is a darker undertone in the corners of the picture, almost creeping into the bright world of Alice with the dark coat of the Mad Hatter. The fact that not all of the subjects are looking at the camera also shows her tendency to try to catch a certain emotion or moment in time through candid shots.
