Scene Analysis

One of my favourite films is Hot Fuzz. I adore Edgar Wright's style. I think it's brilliant and it really shines in Hot Fuzz. So, for the last blog assignment, it makes sense for me to analyze one of my favourite scenes in cinema.

Hot Fuzz plays like an homage to action cop films. Wright makes it obvious that he's paying respect to Bad Boys 2 and Point Break. So there has to be a chase scene. Starting with a medium shot of the perp stuffing his pockets with cookies with Pegg sliding into the shot behind him, we then get point of view shots of the two looking at each other figuring out the next move. It's quick close up shots zooming closer at each cut with the non-diagetic sound of a ticking clock counting down to the start of the chase when the perp finally moves. A jump cut to Frost reading the Supercop DVD cover without the non-diagetic chase music. As soon as he looks up we get a POV shot of the chase and the chase music is back and then a cut to the DVD being tossed back. When the chase hits the streets we get tracking shots as they run down the street. The cuts are fast. Some shots are POV shots like when Pegg halts and it cuts to a bunch of stroller pushing moms clogging the path. There is more POV shots when he sees the swan and decides to let it go. The starts of some shots are already in movement. It's as if Wright was panning but started recording mid pan to the action. It gives the scene a realistic feel. It puts the action in this action homage film. The only shot where the camera is mostly still (besides the beginning of the scene) is when Pegg jumped the fences which was a shot following the rule of thirds.

Most of the brilliance in Edgar Wright's films is due to the editing.
Nothing compares to it in my opinion.

Zoo

Central Park Zoo from Krystle Ortiz de villate on Vimeo.

Ingrid

My Second Favourite Museum: MOMI

I love the Museum of Moving Image. I have visited many times. Anytime I would tell my friends "let's go to the museum today", they knew I mean the MET, but after MOMI was renovated, I fell in love and now my friends get confused when I say "the museum". But enough about my love affair with MOMI... 

My favourite thing about MOMI is the stop motion workstation. I think I've made about 50 films there. When I first encountered it, I thought it was just for kids. But I sat down anyways. Now I mostly see adults amusing themselves. A good stop motion film takes forever. I usually grab Shakespeare and the spiral looking circle first. They make for funny science fiction shorts. All the time I spend making these films makes me marvel even more at the meticulous work on stop motion films like my childhood favourite The Nightmare Before Christmas.

 I also adore the sounds effects table. My niece and I got a huge laugh at making the velociraptors meow like a kitty. It truly demonstrated the importance of the right sound effect to set up the tone of a scene. The third floor is full of gadgets that illustrate how far we've come. Nowadays you can make a film with your cell phone and even watch other films on that same cell phone. Looking at all the cameras and televisions, it truly feels like I'm living in the future. Still waiting on the jetpacks though.

 I'm also loving the Chuck Jones exhibit. I love Chuck Jones' work. He's a genius. I've loved that singing frog for most of my life and seeing sketches of him thrills me.

MOMI can do no wrong.

 Krystle x MOMI 4eva
Day After Shakespeare from Krystle Ortiz de villate on Vimeo.

What I Hear

The dominant sound in my lovely neighborhood of Elmhurst is the sound of cars. The humming of their engines and crunch of tire to gravel. It's a slightly windy afternoon, so I hear the rustle of leaves on the ground and on the branches of trees. I can hear the flutter of wings going from branch to tops of buildings. Always the hum of cars zooming by. The Long Island Expressway is nearby as well as Queens Blvd. I can hear the birds chirping. And if I listen closely enough, the sound of a confused cricket or some weirdo insect. The high pitched twinkly sound of wind chimes. More cars. The hum of school buses getting ready to pick up kids from the 3 schools nearby. The Q72 rolls by making a louder hum than the other cars and the screechy sound of it's brakes as it stops and makes an air release sound and a thump of the doors opening. Steps of people getting off and teenagers making their teenage noise of not shutting the hell up. I hear the sound of doors opening and closing.Some are loud when closed, others you can hear the air being released from them as they open and close. A dog starts barking at another dog and that dog starts barking and you can hear the pull of the leash and tinkle of it's name tags hitting it's medical information tags. More automobiles pass by making that humming noise. An obnoxious car speeds by making a nasty loud noise that almost sounds like an angry feline. What an arse.

Sense of Space

Train Time from Krystle Ortiz de villate on Vimeo.

A Picture of Myself

The term "selfie" is not tolerated in my household and for good reason. It's widely misused and therefore is confusing when heard from people. So above is a picture someone took of me so everyone can know what I look like [in prison solitary: pretty content.]