Audio and Video

Silent movies may look cool, old and antique to us now, but back in the day, that was all they really had. When audio and video first began to work together making "talking pictures", there were many challenges presented. (Side note - Professor Santiago would wish that I emphasize that Audio and Video are two VERY different and separate things. Yes, they can synchronize but audio did it's own completely separate and video did it's own thing). One of the challenges was the microphone, because they were not very high-tech in the beginning. The microphone had to be positioned so that the sound was consistent in volume even when the actors and actresses turned their heads or away from each other. Another challenge was the synchronization. This meant they had to get the audio to match the video so every word, expression and sound matched together with the lip movement and motion of objects. 
Actress Myrna Loy said to New York Times writer Guy Flatley in 1977, ‘This is ridiculous!  Who wants to hear people talk?" Many People didn't understand why there needed to be a change. Silent films were appreciated because that's all they had and weren't used to talking pictures. People didn't understand them. It is like how I often go to the movies and purposely choose the normal movie over the 3D version, because I just don't see why it's necessary sometimes. 
Sound affected every person in film though. It must have been extremely frustrating for the directors, producers, and confusing for the actors and actresses who were forced to change their job description. 
Singing in the Rain from 1952 is a great example of a movie made right at the beginning of the sound in film era. 

The Great Train Robbery / Napolean

"The Great Train Robbery" was filmed in 1903 by Edwin Porter. The following is a list of observations while watching it on the effects and camera angles.

 

-When the robbers first boarded the train I noticed how camera moves along and you can see from the train opening how quickly the train is moving as the surrounding whiz by.
-the smoke when the explosive sets off inside one of the train cars was colored when the
-As the robbers move on top of the train, the camera is positioned in the back of the train so that the audience can see what they are doing, and feel as if they are on the train moving with it.
-the camera gives a perspective of the size of the train and when all the people jump off and put their hands up, you can see the big jump to the ground.
-when the man who tries to escape runs out of the crowd and towards the camera, it symbolizes that where we are as the audience is freedom and escape from the robbers, yet he is shot.
-To me the camera felt like a third-party bystander, like someone watching from the outside looking in. Perhaps this was because of the lack of sound. The people who the train robber's stole from and killed were avenged in the end as they were shot themselves and had their stolen possessions stolen once again.
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"Napoleon" is a French silent film directed by Abel Gance in 1927 that depicts the Napoleon's life in his earlier years. The reason why it is famous is because of the fluid camera motion. Most films during this time had a lot of static. The following are new innovative effects used in the film that were fairly new in the technological world -
-Fast cutting
-Extensive close-ups
-hand-held camera shots
-location shooting
-point of view shots
-multiple-cameras
-multiple exposure
-superimposition
-underwater camera
-kaleidoscopic images
-film tinting
-split screen
-mosaic shots

A Trip to the Moon

Georges Melies' black and white twelve minute film from 1902 was the first science fiction film and first animation.  film was projected at 16 frames per second, which was how films were measured in the earlier film days, and this actually was the standard frame rate at the time. You would think Melies would have made a nice profit, writing, directing and producing the first fiction film and animation, but unfortunately Thomas Edison's film technicians were secretly (now what would be called 'illegally') making copies and selling them. This film came right before the Nickelodeon Era, where people could pay 5 cents (NICKELodeon) to individually view a movie.

During this film, a rocket is carefully constructed  and the shell is seen being launched. Then "the shell pierces the eye of the moon", which to me looks like a giant cheese pizza with a face. The animation of it is the comedy of the film, quite different than comedy today. The shell crashes down and the men who had been contained inside get out and explore the landscape. There are stars with women for faces, explosions, and snow. This is before the astronomers are captured and taken to the King. At last, the shell drops into the sea. This film not meant to be serious, but a narrated fiction with real people and a fake background.

7 Video Excerpts

After viewing the Stage Door blog and looking at all of the videos, I have selected 7 to share along with a description of why I thought the technology added to the clip.

1. The video begins off dimly lit but quickly the special effect of lightening wakes the audience up using visual and sound effects. Then towards the middle, the mixture of red and yellow spotlights creates a warm friendly environment and the use of background dancers excites the crowd. At all times, a mixture of smiling people surround Harris as he sings out about the proposition of life becoming more like theater. If that were true, we would need a constant crew of people trailing us around the handle the lights, camera, make-up, costumes etc.

2. If you watch the curtains behind the bed right as the video begins, you can see light coming from behind them and you can see them blowing which gives off a feel of outdoors in her bedroom as she sings. Also if you look at the ground around 2:05 you can get a good view of a colorful disco effect. There are several blue green and yellow circles spiraling across the ground the give the whole scene a star-gazing kind of feel.

3. In the video, the entire set is the yellow couch upon which Kristen sits, but the use of the spotlight that follows her around on stage makes her shine even brightly as she sings. I laughed at the interaction between her and the orchestra in the beginning. It made the audience laugh and reminded me that music really is a technology because it is one of the main factors when it comes to mood.

4. Oh my gosh! The amount of colors, extravagant costumes, lights and glitter. I see the electric "passionelle" sign in 0:04, petals falling from the sky in 0:25, and the black background with the twinkling sparkles in 2:45. This Broadway show seems to revolve around glitz and glamour at first glance but as I watch the brief previews of the rest of the clips it seems to be a conflicting tale based on Genesis from the Bible. Any show with Kristen is entirely glamorous in my opinion. 

5 and 6. Look at the difference between the sets and costumes in the first video in 1960 and the second from the 21st century! I am just amazed how far theater has come. The 1960 Peter Pan video reminds me of the video style from the Brady Bunch. Their costumes are a plain cloth brown while the second video has belts, colors, different textures and add-ons. The background in the second video is also much more elaborate. The trees in the 1960 video look crafted by an elementary school child whereas the audience can really believe Peter is in a mystical world in the more modern video. The    updated technology gives the story a more "real" feel.

7. While most stages have three walls and one "fourth/imaginary" wall, this stage is very uniquely set up, sort of like a game show. The walls and floors both lit up and the lights not only change color but move. This video has similar technologies to the Patrick Neil Harris video. The flashier stages also tend to break the fourth wall (like Glitter and Be Gay). I think it would have been an added touch if the inner circle of the circular stage span while everyone was singing in unison. If not possible, they could make the stage rise at the end and then when the lights go off, an attached staircase at the end would get them down safely.

Jazz in the 20's

  If you go to any dance club today, you might be appalled at the moves you see on the dance floor. This is how many people felt about the Charleston! If you have never seen the Charleston live before let me give you a brief summary. This dance can be done by yourself, with a partner or in a line. It involves kicking of the legs and swinging of the arms done oppositely. There are four basic moves done loosely with the limbs. The dance was done mostly by flappers, rebellious young women who cut their hair short, wore bright lipstick and wore shorter hems. This dance was a representation of enthusiasm and life, and a way for people to express themselves. The Charleston was a precursor to the Lindy Hop, another popular dance from the 1930s. It is amusing to us how flappers and Jazz music were so scandalous because of our culture today, and makes me wonder what the dress and social change will be like in the next decades to come.

When Jazz Music was especially popular in the early 20th century, it also served as a symbol for social change. Black musicians were beginning to be able to record or be known as artists. It was a gateway that helped many people have less prejudice towards the African American race during the Civil Rights Movement. Jazz music was a culmination of black music, spirituals, gospel, and music from the westindies. A few famous black jazz musicians were Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington.

Broadway!

I LOVE Broadway. Maybe that's just the Thespian inside me talking, but something about the eager excitement mixed with the detailed costumes really grabs my attention. It's funny because I hate signing - I am a terrible singer for one. I even switched out of chorus....So you would think I would lack any appreciation for this genre and just stick to plays. Nope. My very first Broadway show was Wicked when I was in the seventh grade. I even read the book after because I was so captivated. I have since seen Memphis and Lion King and off-Broadway productions of Jump, Rent and Stomp. Rent is probably one of my absolute favorite movies and I might have watched it 10 times before going to see it. I one day hope to see Rock of Ages and Chicago.

 I watched Wicked Behind the Emerald Curtain to get a better look at what kind of technology was used that the audience might not necessarily be thinking about  while watching. The video on the left is just an example of one of the many videos available to watch. I realize that in the making of a musical, there are so many different aspects that must be looked at and put together, which all involve different technologies. If you listen to the description of how the monkey costumes are made, you realize how much time has to be put into just one costume. I liked the idea of the wing harness screwed into the back harness. These costumes aren't just thrown on loosely, they fit together perfectly and are mechanical. The hair is so life-like and comes from Susan Humphrey's original sketches. I also didn't know how many measurements went into making the wigs!

Think about the number of people and amount of time has to be put into the ENTIRE musical. Every single detail has have thought put into it from the color of tights, to lip color, to architecture.

The Birth and Life of Opera

After watching so much opera in and out of class, I have come to see that the Opera can be a way of life. I could see how someone so immersed in the Opera culture could come to live, think, and dream in an opera-style. Imagine how funny that would be if you were at school and your best friend lied to you and suddenly twenty people behind you angrily began singing Italian Opera at the top of their lungs? It's so unrealistic, but can be very entertaining.
The film The Birth and Life of Opera did not captivate me as much as Madama Butterfly but still sent out a good message. After opera was "born" in Florence and in Verona, 10,000 people a night would flood into the arena to experience the opera. The movie describes the opera as the "fusing of music with universal stories and ideas".
During the film, different examples and clips are shown to further explain the history and development of different kinds of operas. My favorite part was the part on Monteverdi and the Italian revolution he was a part of, turning opera into national propaganda. The phrase "viva verdi" was graffitied all over the streets, which could be translated to "love live Victor Emanuel, king of Italians". Opera began to give people a send of unity and nationalistic pride, and this idea was used by Wagner in his operas. Wagner was also responsible for the Ring Cycle.
Whether one loves the opera or not, it is undeniable that opera can be an escape from ones own reality into another, no matter how dramatic the plot is. Opera is filled with passion, love, and drama, giving it life.

Madama Butterfly Animation Interpretation

First off, the use of barbies immediately grabbed my attention because I thought the video was going to be a parody joke, but the film was actually produced well with a nearly accurate plot and great graphics.
The movie begins with the Japanese woman, who we know from the actually opera is a prostitute, with a butterfly on her head to symbolize the story to come. The captain comes into the picture and the two lay together. The woman falls deeply in love with him but shortly he leaves, but with a promising end note, leaving his hat on her head. As far as we know, he does not ask her to wait, but day after day she stands where he left her, committed to the idea of his return. Her belly soon grows with his child while we listen to opera music floating out of the player beside her. Instead of a real birth, a fishbowl and fish are used to represent the fetus growing inside her, and her water breaking is the fishbowl cracking. When her daughter is born, she seems to be the only joy the woman has. The child must be a comfort because she was made from the woman's lover, so the woman loves and clings tightly to her.
Then, just as it appeared he wasn't going to return, the music changed and we hear a ship's horn blowing from the distance. It's the captain and his ship! The Japanese woman puts a flower veil on top of her head and climbs to the exact spot where he left, but with their daughter. When the captain pulls up in his car, he is not alone. While gone he has found himself a new woman, and they have a car full of children. Of course in the animation, the new woman is a 'stunning' blonde barbie that matches the Ken doll exactly. The captain takes away the Japanese daughter and places her into the car with his new woman. The Japanese woman is horrified and cannot bear a second of the pain, running away to end her life. In the opera, she takes a sword and plunges it into her abdomen. In the animation, she peels off her skin, revealing a mechanical figure which she disassembles with what looks like a screwdriver or other tool of some sort.
I found the animation to be a great way to summarize the opera in just 10 minutes and would recommend it to anyone with limited time wanting a taste of the real thing.

August 29th

Our topic discussion in class began in the 1300s with the Renaissance. We talked about how preserved culture leads to a Renaissance for everyone else and dove into a brief history covering the Baroque era which I found to be interesting. In this time, people began to get richer leading to a transformation in culture including the dress, music and art (a.k.a Nouveau Riche). Why did this happen? Gold! When Spain came over and discovered the Americas, they not only wiped out a large portion of the Native American population but came to find gold, tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, chocolate and sugar.

 I remember in American History we talked about Eunuch's which were also males who were castrated to become better servants for the royal court. In AAT class, we began talking about Opera and the castration of males to preserve their boyish voices and prevent the changes of puberty. One example is Farinelli. This is a type of body modification. When "body modification" was mentioned, piercings, tattoos and crazy hair immediately popped into my head, but the gender modifications are even more of an actual body modification if you think about it.

I have never been a huge fan of opera, but maybe that is because I have never given it a fair chance. Maybe I do like opera? I suppose I will find out when I complete this weeks homework and watch an opera made before 1920. I believe Les Miserables is an opera but I will have to double check. If so, I will definitely invest my time into watching it.