Final Short Film

The story of every procrastinating student ever.

Storyboard: Final Project

MOMA Trip

Charles Harry Jones
British, 1866-1959

TOP TO BOTTOM:
Peapods c. 1900
Onions c. 1900
Gelatin silver printing-out-paper prints

The photographs of peapods and onions are also tranquil photographs that portray everyday vegetables in an elegant manner. The careful arrangement of the vegetables allow one to see the different views of the same vegetable in one photograph. It gives these everyday foods acknowledgment in a different light and with the attention to detail.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Japanese, born 1948

Adriatic Sea, Gargano 1 1990

Gelatin silver prints

Hiroshi Sugimoto's Adriatic Sea piece is one of my favorite from the exhibit. The three photographs capture the same environment and shot but do that in a way that continues one photograph to the next to the next. In a way I find it to symbolize the calmness and stillness as well as the extensiveness of the sea. The closer you look at the photographs, the more detail it reveals including waves that are not as visible from afar. The choice of printing in black and white also gives the photographs a sense of emotion that could be very calm and halcyon.

JoAnn Verburg

American, born 1950

Still Life with Serial Killers 1991

Chromogenic color print

This portrait is beautifully depicts our world today, as we consume endless amounts of crime in media. I see this still life as realistically portraying the adverse parts of our everyday lives through the newspaper seen in the portrait with the mug shots of criminals. It is interesting that this newspaper is crumbled into this vase where perhaps flowers would instead rest. The women in the post cards pictured to the left look dismal and adds to the overall feeling one gets from this portrait. This portrait is certainly thought provoking from the title and choice of arrangement of the objects.

Relationship Between Shots

The 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film, Psycho, is one that I truly appreciate. He is able to build up these characters and story through his meticulous shots. The last scene in Psycho is one that gives me the chills.

            The camera follows the police officer down the hallway to give someone a blanket. One of the officers is guarding the door, and as the door opens the camera stops outside of the door, you can only see the guarding officer standing across from the camera as the other officer goes inside to give this person a blanket. We hear a “thank you” from an older female voice, but see no one. The officer locks the door and it cuts to Norman sitting on the left side of the screen on a chair with the blanket wrapped around him in this empty room with a mug on the floor. The camera slowly zooms closer into Norman as the narration of his mother speaking continues. It becomes clear that Norman is the mother in this scene and the thoughts are happening in his head as he thinks he is his mother. He nods his head as he sits there and the thoughts continue to be narrated as she blames Norman for the killings.

            “They’re probably watching me, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am”, the mother says as the camera zooms into to a close up of Norman as his eyes wonder around the room to imply he is being watched. He looks down and a smooth cut is made to show a close up of the back of his hand resting on the blanket while a fly lands on him, and the mother continues to say she isn’t even going to swat the fly. This cuts to a mid shot of Norman as his head slowly comes up with his gaze still aimed down towards his hand. His head and gaze slowly look up and directly to the camera with a creepy grin. He is addressing the audience at this point and gives this scene a further creepier vibe. This shot of him directly looking into the camera and grinning fades smoothly into the car being pulled out of the ground, however if one looks closely durin the fade, you can see how as the shot fades Hitchcock manages to overlap a skull-like face on top of Norman’s face. This perhaps symbolizes the dead mother taking form through Norman’s mind. Norman and his mother are one and his mind is like the empty room projected in this scene; just Norman’s body and his mind taking over to believe he is his mother. The eerie music in this  scene also add to the overall creepy vibes and chills that it gives off as we learn that Norman believes he is his mother. The cuts are seamless and so smooth, they go very well the music and give plenty of time to develop feelings for the way the film ends.

Interview Assignment

Codes & Modes: Extra Credit

On Thursday, March 16^th I attended the opening reception for Codes and Modes in the glass café of Hunter College. Although I was unable to attend the three days of the symposium I did enjoy the atmosphere and knowledge shared on Thursday night. As we sat down we noticed the television screen in the front corner of the room. After a brief introduction the speaker acknowledged the screen and asked to text “Csmart” to 270-02 followed by anything we wanted to be displayed on the screen for the audience to see. The screen was flooded with responses. Later it served the purpose of answering questions presented by the speaker followed by an image related to the words we responded with. This interactive instillation is a prime example of the innovative new art and new media advancements we have made between film, virtual reality, augmented reality, machine learning, and other experimental media.

One of the observations that I made was the diversity within the room between ages and cultures. Martin Lucas too mentioned the importance and significance of media bringing us together as well as the impact that can be created through media. From what I understand, this symposium has been going on for years now. I find it magnificent to be able to hold a symposium of such diversity and array of speakers and media creators that can share their ideas, work, and passion with anyone who has an interest in media here at Hunter College.

Sound walk

Everyday I walk through Central Park, it allows me to unwind and clear my mind from the noise of the busy NYC streets. As I enter the park the sounds of the streets are still fresh in my mind and heard loud and clear. I hear children swinging on swings, giggling, and yelling to one another. I hear bikes speeding by as I make my way further into the park. Once I make my way through the Castle and into the trails I hear less speech and noise and more of the natural sounds of birds and rustling of leaves. I hear shoes crushing the wet pavement from the melted snow. As I walk past the lake I hear ducks bobbing in the water and the birds chirping. Some chirps are longer than others. One of the chirps sounds like an echo.   

At this point the city noise has been forgotten and can barely be heard until I once again reach an area full of tourists taking pictures. I hear skateboards hitting the paved floor once, twice, again and again. People are speaking different languages that I can not understand and laughing. I can hear a motor like sound of the food truck I walk by. It is loud and stands out in the natural sounds of the park and the speech. The wind blows across my face and past my ears whispering "woosh."

As I walk to the East side of the park, the faded sounds of honking and screeching return and slowly get louder. I hear the local bus's motor come towards me and fade away as the bus zooms by. The screeches of cars stopping fill my head and break the calm mind I obtained in the park.

Assignment1: Defining a Space

Project1:Defining A Space from Ellie Perez on Vimeo.

In class exercise: Scavenger Hunt

Shot Scavenger Hunt from Julia Agostino on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

I grew up in an earthy area surrounded by the ocean, farms, bays and woods on the East End of Long Island, specifically known as the Hamptons. Mother nature is close to my heart and a significant part of the work that I create. I am in love with the wondrous waves that break upon the salty shore of my hometown’s beaches. I find the rich tones of the earth absolutely mesmerizing. Capturing organic moments through photography allows me to share that vision and serenity with the world.

Living in Manhattan has given me the opportunity to experience the nature of city while furthering my studies. I often travel home on weekends and am fortunate to get to live in these two diverging worlds. Both locations give me a better understanding of who I am and how location shapes our lives and perception of the world. 

I am experimenting with new media by creating works that still allude to nature's natural creations while contrasting it with the ubiquitous digitalization of our time. Manipulations of my photographs further portray the relationship I believe exists in our lives todays between technologies and nature connectedness or lack of. 

My integrated relationship with nature has also exposed my interest in holistic health and nutrition. Living sustainably while keeping our minds and bodies healthy and happy in the process is imperative. Our health can keep us going or cut us short from completing any goals or work we dream of doing. My understanding of these and foundation in media are what will allow me to continue thriving. I am driven to further my ability to do the things that bring me pure happiness while impacting the lives of others. I look forward to experimenting along the way.