sound walk

Yonkers born and raised, I know it like the back of my hand. So I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood, leave the comfort of my bed for a while. Between the ambience of nature and the moving people and cars it was a great opportunity to take a sound walk. The smell of fresh air put me in a daze, I felt as if I was back home in St Martin. The sound of the wind blowing howling quickly woke me up from my fantasy. When i snapped back to reality I heard the screeching of tires braking from down the hill, I figured that car must have been going pretty fast to screech that loud. I heard squirrels fighting and when I looked up there they were, fighting over a nut on the branch above me. In the distance I could hear a woman on the phone having a conversation, she was hanging out the window. She seemed as if she was looking out for someone to arrive. I guess I picked a pretty good day to do a sound walk or maybe I was  just lucky. A police car pulled up to the building not to far from me with their sirens wailing, I didn't even turn to see what the issue is. The siren alone was an indication of a issue I wanted to know nothing about. As I walked down the hill I could hear the screeching breaks of the bus approaching the bus stop, I could only imagine the hustling and bustling of the people trying to get on the bus. I continued down the hill as I passed the local Dominican barbershop I could hear the laughter and competitiveness in the air of the guys, I just knew they must have been playing sometime of card game or dominoes. When I passed the corner store I heard the little boy whining and begging his mother to buy him candy and it was obvious he wasn't getting his way. Soon I decided to head home before the street lights went out. Walking back was not as interesting as when I first began my walk but it was understandable once the street lights come on the streets clear. The most I could hear was the nearest catholic church ringing its bells for the new hour. Taking this sound walk really opened my eyes to the various sounds you encounter on a daily basis but complete ignore or maybe just mute out. The ambience sounds in life really help to establish settings and realism. Thinking about a movie with out all the various sounds that I heard on my sound walk would make a film seem less realistic.

Audio Assignment

Bruce Interview

Bruce Interview



Granted this is a late assignment but I just realized we had this assignment. I am obviously not good with emails I've just realized about the "in between assignments" we were given, but what ever this is my loss and I completely understand. This is the work in progress assignment but I will be critiquing a completed project because they don't have a work in progress uploaded to complete.

1. I dont exactly find it necessary that Bruce included the introduction for Jonathan because as a class we know who they are. In the beginning it almost sounds as if Bruce accidentally left that segment of the interview in.

 2. I feel as if Bruce should have have Jonathan slow down a bit I think he is talking a bit to fast and it is a little difficult to understand him in the beginning.

 3. I like when Jonathan talks about his creativity and imagination. I think it establish a sense of nostalgia and all students listening even adults can resonate with section of the interview. i think the sound effect with the children really take your mind back a bit and your really start to listen to the words Jonathan is saying because you can in a sense feel and understand him.

 4. There is a jump from Jonathan saying he composes symphonies to him continuing and saying "when you're a technician.." I think there needed to be some type of connecting moment between the two because it sounds very jumpy although he is still talking about music and the creation, its just two different thoughts that maybe shouldn't have been combined. Jonathan gets very passionate about being the best when it comes to creating sounds and I think it would have just been better if they weren't combined.

Mise en Scene

“Good Fellas” is a great film that supplies endless examples of Mise en Scene. For example lets take the “Dinner in Prison” scene. The scene opens up with a close-up of  Polly’s fingers slicing the garlic. No need to wonder the purpose of the shot, the audience already knows by the way Polly is taking his time slicing the garlic with precision this garlic is important and essential. The audience is now fully aware that these men are currently incarcerated from the narrator’s narration. In another shot the guys receive a delivery and when the package is placed on the ground the camera does a close up on the package to reveal exactly what was in the package and the relevance to the scene. Inside the package were fresh Lobsters on ice. If it wasn’t clear to the audience before it was certainly clear now that these guys didn’t live your typical jailhouse lifestyle. These guys were living the lavish life. I think another vital shot to this scene is the panning shot. The camera pans the whole room capturing everything in the room from the furniture, to the sink- to the bottle of dishwashing liquid, to the kitchen table. The camera obviously wants to audience to understand the type of lifestyle they are living. The dishwashing liquid stood out to me because these guys were the only inmates with access to a kitchen. They could eat what ever they wanted whenever they wanted because they called the shots. The shots are well organized. The order in which the shots are put together one by one tells a story to how the guys are living. First we are presented with the shot of Polly slicing garlic, then the delivery of the package with lobster; an expensive meal and lastly the panning or their current residence to show us exactly how lucky they are to be prisoners in jail. The sound in the scenes is equally important as the shots as well. Through out the scenes the guys are making small talk about not putting too many onions in the sauce. The meal is relevant because right now that’s what most important to them. They are stressing about being in prison, not being with family with their wives or just be free. They are living so swell that its okay that they are in prison, they can make this work for as long as they need to. From class I learned that nothing is in a shot for no reason, every item in a scene serves a purpose. For anyone who has never seen the movie “Good Fellas” this scene is a perfect introduction to the lives these guys lived. It was obvious they were in control and they were important members of society.  

Artist Statement

I can tell you who she is, I can tell you what makes her into unique but to define would be unfair and almost impossible. 

Shantel, 19 years of age and a student is what makes her who she is. 

A young naturalist with a defiance for the acceptance is what makes her unique. 

A zest for culture and black excellence is what keeps her striving for success.

Most importantly waking up everyday is what keeps her humble and reminds her that she is blessed. 

An empty canvas is how I would describe me. 

A sketch present, but no drawing and most importantly no paint.

You see I have so many ideas for my future and so many paths but like the days change so does life.

So many visions for life, so little time. 

So for now I'm here in Media 160, taking it day by day.

Developing, learning, watching and experimenting.

Every skill I learn and develop will bring me one step closer to painting my canvas.

I believe everything I am going to learn, will with out a doubt help me develop this masterpiece i have carefully depicted in my mind.

Nothing learned by the mind is useless but just another stroke with your pencil on your canvas. 

You see I have visions, visions that I need to be captured and it seems like nobody can ever do it better than how you can.

So I will learn first-hand. 

I will make this my craft.

I will be dedicated to producing the best work I can.

Although, I am a beginning artist, I will be a great artist.

Egg and Olive Oil Treatment

#NaturalRoadto24Inches

People have this ignorant belief that because you're of black decent you can never have long luxurious hair like other races.. BUT that is completely false. There are many black individuals with long, beautiful hair. It's    all    about    the    MAINTENANCE. Black hair is extremely gentle and it must be treated with care. So I've decided along with going natural I want to have a goal, a healthy hair expectation for my self. 24 inches!! This is my personal goal and self motivation. How am I going to achieve this goal you ask? Well for one during these cold months I am going to focus on protective styling, in addition with out a doubt I am going to egg protein treatments ( Click link to watch Tutorial on Egg Treatment >> Egg and Olive Oil Treatment Link ! ) also I will do a lot of hot oil treatments and oil soakings. Of course my care routines wont end there but I'll keep you posted on new techniques and style I try. I encourage you guys to join me. It can be a wonderful adventure we take on together. As always God Bless.