Do You Hear What I Hear?

Walter Murch makes a good point that often sound is put second to visuals many times in life. However, I don't think it always necessarily takes a backseat to visuals in film. I think sound in film is a huge part of a film. Without sound many things wouldn't be possible to understand. I think maybe with newer generations who have never had the experience of a silent film will indeed take sound for granted, but for me I definitely can see the huge importance in sound. I also find sound to be a huge part of my life. Being half blind has led me to enhance my hearing and I really appreciate all sounds in film. I am taking a class on musicals, and I have learned a lot about sound in film. I have learned to appreciate the addition of sound with music, dialogue and sound effects. I think sound adds a whole new element to film and without it film wouldn't be the same as it is today.

Sound Observations: Blockbuster

Working at blockbuster there are very many different sounds that can be heard throughout the store. Firstly is the DVD that plays trailers all day long. I pretty much know all the trailers by heart from the number of times that I hear them. I also can hear the humming of the drink machine. I can also hear the door chime as each person enters. After the person enters I hear the chorus of "Hellos" that greet each customer as they walk in. I also hear the clunk of movies being dropped into the bin. Then I hear the rhythmic sound of my co-worker checking and locking the movies. The movies make a popping sound as they are opened and closed. The locks make a click as they go into place in the movie. I hear the scraping of the movies against the tables, and the clunk of the movies being placed in alphabetical order in the cart.

Sound Observation: Horse Barn

I figured that since I do lease a horse at the moment that I would take advantage of all the sounds the barn had to offer. As I first pull up into the driveway to the barn I hear the cracking of my tires on the gravel. The car creaks a little as I pull it to a stop in front of the barn. As I get out I can hear the neighbors dogs howling-sounds like they are in constant pain I must add. I Open the gate which groans from old age. The two horses make their way to greet me. I can hear their hooves softly padding on the grass. Brandi-the other horse- makes soft murmuring sounds as I near her. I can hear the sound of the radio coming through the door of the tack room-I hate when they leave the radio on. i open the door to the tack room which makes a loud thumping noise. I turn the radio off so I can hear better. If I listen very closely I can hear the bugs buzzing around outside. I hear the sound of Brandi nosing at the wire mesh that separates her from peeking into the tack room.

Film Art Introduction Avant-Garde

The Film As An Original Art Form:
I think it is very difficult to claim film as just one particular art form. FIlm is a mesh of many different art forms. Literary, musical, and visual. All these art forms combine to create what we know as film. By itself film is just a moving picture on the screen. The closest that film gets to be an original art form is perhaps in the Avant-Garde films. Usually there are no literary structures in these films. The documentary does get close to being pure film, but it still has elements of story involved so the literary form is still a part even in a documentary. It's hard to claim film as just one art form.

Introduction To Avant-Garde Film:
I agree that most people do not see Avante Garde as a "Film," most people do think of films as being narrative. Even I when first confronted with an Avant-Garde film was very much confused with what I was watching. Some of what I saw even disturbed me a little bit. I especially remember watching Stan Brakhage "Window Water Baby Moving," and barely being able to watch through the entire short film. I also remember seeing other films that I remember questioning why they were important. I'm hoping to learn more behind some of these films so that I will be able to understand them more.

Artist Bio

When I was younger I never saw myself having anything to do with art and film. I was always so sure that I was going to be a veterinarian. As I continued to grow up I realized that messing with the insides of animals is not exactly what I wanted to be doing. In high school I discovered video editing. I began by making small slideshows to music. I absolutely loved making the pictures turn perfectly in sync to the music. Then I got a small camera and began to video tape everything. Then I put those videos to music. At that point I knew that I wanted to do more with film. I came to UNCW and I joined Flickr. I was able to work on a set with the club, and I absolutely fell in love even more than I already was. I loved every second of making a film. Not only do I love film, but I also just love photography. I love being behind a camera and capturing memories. I love learning about all kinds of film and I really want to learn even more. I want to broaden my ideas by doing experimental film and I want to test my abilities to make different kinds of film.