A Brief Look at The Sound of Music

http://videobb.com/video/QJUUDSHFZDnr *

	"I think one of the major things a director has to do is to know his subject matter, the subject matter of his script, know the truth and the reality of it. That's very important." - Robert Wise

Robert Wise is an American Filmmaker whose work precedes the digital age, even though it inspires many people living in it. He is best known for his editing of Citizen Kane and the direction of West Side Story and the Sound of Music. Although his greatest critical successes were musicals, he is thought of as a man without a particular style or genre. He made many films ranging in style from film noir to horror to science fiction to historical.

Wise originally turned down The Sound of Music because he felt it overly sacherine in nature. He eventually took the job, after the hired director quit in pre-production, and the war movie he was worked on suffered production delays. The Sound of Music became one of the most financially lucrative film productions of all time and Wise received a Best Director Academy Award for his role in it. Even though the director was somewhat reluctant, it is easy to see how he utilized the strategy discussed in the above quote with great success.

The opening scene of Robert Wise’s the Sound of Music, which plays before the credits, is truly iconic.

In terms of actual action, very little occurs. A simply clad women sings a slow, light hearted song about a timeless tradition of freedom within and about the gorgeous mountains of Austria and her desire to merge with them and stay there forever, before grabbing a nun’s habit from the ground and running off to the next scene away from the hills.

Presentation brings it together beautifully. Wise knows his subject manner. The main subjects of the scene and of the movie itself are both the European countryside environment and Maria. It is amazing, how within the first few minutes both are characterized so well.

In this part of the movie, both benefit from bright, dramatic coloring. Long Aerial views of stunningly gorgeous countryside are shown in succession, for two minutes before the viewer becomes aware of Maria’s presence and vocals. The land is desirable and grand. A shot of the Von Trapp Manor serves as foreshadowing.

When Maria is introduced, the camera zooms in briefly on her upper body. She spins and remains in motion for the rest of the scene. Yet, she never takes up more than half of the screen. The hills and big blue sky never leave the frame, even as the central figure’s body is shot from different angles. Her singing is good and adds further to the tone and land characterization. It becomes clear that Maria is an uncommon person and that there is some absurdity in her song and dance. This depiction of Austria, however, is not absurd. The environment has an uplifting, strengthening power. It is the screen composition and artistry of her surroundings that marks Maria as a person on a path of self-discovery that will surely be a pleasure to watch.

It is lighthearted beginning to what is mostly a lighthearted film. This scene also has lovely contrast with the following scene, which takes place in a nunnery, amongst others. Eventually Maria will find herself in her interaction with the Von Trapp family and their adventures in cities and countrysides. After the film reaches the climax, she outshines and escapes the war torn hills to freedom with her family.

The central theme or to use Wise's terms "truth and reality" of The Sound of Music is that the spirit or song of people is what makes the spirit or song of a country. This theme is overly sweet and idealistic but it is easy to see how it might suit a media maker as they create a sound and look that brings hills to life.

* I do not condone the illegal streaming or pirating of movies, making a special exemption in this case because I feel as though every household in America probably has or had at one point possessed VHS tape of this one. Yet when pushed, I could not find a YouTube-esqe 3 minute clip of this movie that had not been digitally manipulated at some point to make a joke of it.

What do you mean it isn't finished yet....

Shanice and I worked very hard on our project, which utilized many editing settings on iMovie, including some not taught in class and others that we were not familiar with. Although the finished project looks pristine on our school iMovie viewer and we believed that we followed Prof. Herrera's directions with the the Quicktime conversion, it falls apart on the Quicktime player and Vimeo.

The auto-steady does not work and deleted ambient noise blasts at the full sound. All the clips played faster and in reverse are especially glitchy. But don't take my word for it, see it yourself.

http://www.vimeo.com/23652656

I don't like thinking that "Forwards, Backwards" is of production quality typical of mine or Shanice's. Rather it is an example of how things can still go poorly at the last minute in the digital age.

Has something like this ever happened to you? Do you know how I can fix it? Please tell me in the comments!

Can you hear me now? My life as a talking pig!

A month ago, we took a week off of lecture and took a “field trip” to the Museum of Moving Image in Queens. It was a bit of a schlep and I got lost getting there, but it well worth my travels. I would say it was an unforgettable experience, the sort of which I can still easily recount months later….and not just because of my self imposed humiliation for the sake of science

I hope you find satisfaction that it was wonderful learning experience. I actually think that it was fortunate that I was able to learn from the experience through interaction with production tools without the immediate pressure to report on my findings.

The Museum of the Moving Image is a truly unique environment for learning about the field. I appreciated the fact that tour guides assumed that the visitor knew some things about movies and pop culture, but no more than the average observer.

Although I enjoy the creation process, I have always been more of a media consumer. I greatly prefer the shows that I watch on Broadway to the skits I pen for Odyssey of Mind. I rather see a big budget documentary or art exhibit to my upcoming film project or the projects profiled below. I think my writing for the Bellmore Life is quite decent, yet it pales in comparison to that put out of the New York Times

Still as a fan of animation and foreign films, I had seen enough “making of” pieces to be aware that voice actors record lines in sound booths while wearing headsets and watching the footage they were contributing to. I did not know that a large portion of action film dialogue is recorded in such a manner, but none-the-less, I was excited when my tour group walked into the sound filming room. Little did I know, I’d get to learn about the media production process first hand.

I was one of three who volunteered to dub over part of the movie Babe. I listened to the words in the headphones, speaking along with them while the titular pig spoke on a screen that was built in to the wall. Voice acting is hard because one has to match lip movements and project oneself to a physical form whose body is uncontrollable and bears no resemblance to oneself. A microphone caught my lines exactly as I said them and the scene replayed, now with my voice. My noises were instantly synced in, although we did get to see how a sound editor might add or monitor sound effects. It was a challenge, but would have involved some physical labor and splicing before the digital age. I would have never been part of such a quick, fun demo.

And I’d be lying if I didn’t personally believe that animated and non-human actors hadn’t appeared better at “speaking” their lines, than they had in years past.