blog 4

During the piece “Say Something to Bunny” by Alison Kobayashi, several key elements on film and art are represented and displayed, in which we as students were lucky enough to witness in our own lecture. During this work, multiple facets stick out; such as the archival material. The archival material is extremely significant because it gives the viewer a sense of a viable source and background in what is going on in the work as a whole. Once the viewer garners this deluxe understanding, everything else becomes more organic and easy to learn. Additionally, the archival material formulates a nostalgic point of view which evokes emotion in the viewer. By making her work interactive, Kobayashi constructed “Say Something to Bunny” she makes the viewer feel as if they are part of the film, in which forms again an organic source of a work gaining a relationship with the viewer and a positive space for the audience to feel important, even if they are not. By rescuing meaningful histories from obsolete media, you are making something that does not seem important, very valuable to a couple of people which is a beauty in itself. Many things in life go unattended to, even if they contain a massive sentimental value. This is something, we, as people seem to forget. While we are so caught up in the material fads life tends to give us (which is totally understandable) we tend to forgot/abandon the root of life. Which is human interaction, family and good friends? The relationships we construct do not have to be left behind, as many of those experiences can be documented and once bought back to life can evoke wondering emotions in a small group of human beings, which can turn into a large mass.

Project 3

https://vimeo.com/manage/305630974/general

BLOG 3

The film scene I have selected is the final scene of the classic 1998 film: American History X. In this scene we first see Danny followed by a camera into the bathroom in a wide shot, showing both setting an indication the vibrant and almost ‘at peace’ look on Danny’s face. This scene is shot at first in a school hallway, where everyone is minding their business and going about their day; definitely constructing a happy, outgoing emotion in the viewer. However; once Danny steps foot into the bathroom the lighting darkens as well as the mood. You feel the tension as a viewer especially because Danny got into a previous altercation in the same bathroom earlier in the film. As the scene progresses the moment is cut into a tracking shot of Derek casually walking down the street, who once is shown to have a sneaky suspicion that something is off, just after dropping off his brother an extreme close up is drawn to Derek’s face. The scene strikingly ends in a series of extreme close-ups once you see that the other kid in the bathroom is the rival gang member Danny’s previous altercation was with. You see the impeccable camera work as the faces go back and forth in the frame until, BOOM! The gun is fired and Danny is dead. After this shot, Derek is shown beaming down the sidewalks in the glaring California sun, he gets to the school in a slow-motioned film rate and sees his brother, shot beaten and in a vulnerable state. His brother is dead and you can tell my his face his face, Derek’s soul is dead as well.

https://soundcloud.com/user-214115041/benny-d-sits-down-with-jason-gill-to-dive-into-the-emergence-of-new-age-storytelling

Blog #2

For the first time in awhile, I took time out of my day, sat down and embraced the environment in which I get to call home every single day. On a brisk fall afternoon, I headed over to the heart of central park and took an unconventional approach to this sound walk assignment. I desired not to make the sound formulated by the hustle and bustle of New York but, to find a unique medium in which, nature teamed with background voices and continuous vibrations from animals, vendors and exquisite, sometimes under-appreciated jazz steering in the surroundings. At first, once I took a couple of minutes to get settled and let my domain take control of my energy; the initial sound signals that stood out to me was the musician playing away on his saxophone, a wide variety of tunes including one I recognized which was the ‘careless whisper’. In addition, the sound-marks that added energy to the environment were the diverse passer-by’s, which illustrated New York in an extremeley ‘New York’ sort of fashion. Whether these groups and individuals were on their phones heading back to work or family’s navigating their way through the sprawling fields with New York’s skyline in the backdrop, the sound marks unified every aspect of sound. I additionally heard the barking of dogs collaborating with the ringing’s of bikes in which, also added an exterior texture to this venture (keynotes). In total, this assignment can directly translate into a hobby and/or passion due to it’s relentless pursuit of calming and meditation: listening without concrete purpose perpetuates organic and natural human intellect, something today’s society lacks.

defineaspace_BenDimirco_1 from Benjamin dimirco on Vimeo.

Hi, nice to meet you my name is Benjamin DiMirco; it is a pleasure.

Ever get confused with the 'art' of first impressions these days? I do. The internet has substituted the authenticity of  ACTUALLY meeting someone in-a-ways like never before. Throughout the course of this class, I want to thoroughly examine the role the internet & film plays in modern society while also using this class to transform my passions onto the screen. 

Across the duration of my childhood, I was oddly obsessed with two things: drawing & football. Yes, kind of an odd team to pair together; however, looking back at those years I am extremely grateful for those moldings. Drawing foreshadowed my passion and respect for all forms of the arts (film & movies being my favorite) and my love for football foreshadowing my passion for fitness and athletics still do this date. By taking this class I want to absorb creative techniques that will set myself apart from others inside the fitness space so that in the long run I can eventually use the same learned creative skills to formulate my own unique businesses that will have a strong and lasting impact on both the city of New York and beyond. 

Some movies that inspired me to pursue this course were/are American History X, Platoon, The Godfather Trilogy. Just to name a few. Each of these films showed me that there is a deeper meaning to film than I had ever thought before. The way scenes are cut, music is used, the representations of characters is what altered my perception of all facets of this art. And in a way began my everlasting and forever growing knowledge in media and in film.

I will hopefully meet you all soon,

Benjamin DiMirco