My Interview with Kevin Pena (squiggly line over n for Pena)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXAt-Mgp8jA&feature=youtu.be

What I Heard...

I decided to take a walk after Hurricane Sandy visited my neck of the woods. As I walked through the wrecked streets of southern Brooklyn, I was listening to my shoes cracking the branches beneath my feet.  There were very few cars driving by, but there were some cyclists ridding around. As I walked on, closer to the major sites of destruction, I was comforted by the rotating chains of the bicycles.  Their monotony soothed my into feeling safe, somehow.

I listened to the bass of the pumps sucking out the water from the flooded homes.  I heard so many different sounds that created music all together. They created a beautiful and soothing melody in the wake of all the destruction.  I heard the running water, more like the gushing water, from several pipes.  This noise filled me just as it filled the unusually empty streets.  I almost felt like I was walking in a ghost town, with it’s own background music. 

My neighborhood is generally buzzing with cars, buses, and people at this time of day – the late afternoon.  But today, today was literally the aftermath of a disaster. And though I was curious to look at what had happened, I was walking alone.  And alone I listened to the echo of my footsteps and to the sounds around me, which almost overpowered the natural sounds of the wind, the trees, and the birds.  Maybe that’s because so many of the trees fell and we were left with their arms lying around the pavements.  However, this break from my technology allowed for me, ironically considering the situation at hand, to organize my thoughts.  

Mise-en-scene

You can start watching from 7:25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUp6YobNEk

         I chose one of the final scenes in Luky Number Slevin, where the entire story essentially comes together. 

         In this scene, the two mob bosses, The Boss and The Rabbi, are tied up without a clue of why and by whom.  The mighty descend of Slevin from the spiral staircase, which belongs to The Boss, dictates an authoritative tone.  A spiral can also be seen as a turning point; namely one in which the tables have turned. The dimly lit room speaks of a mystery air that frightens more than it pokes at ones curiosity. 
         The close-up of The Boss and of The Rabbi portrayed the exasperated looks on their faces.  The scene began with the two waking up in The Boss’s main room.  The director, Paul McGuigan, used close-ups to focus primarily on the individual faces of the two mob bosses to emphasize their fear and confusion.  
         Once the two realized they weren’t alone, they began talking at each other, which is where McGuigan changed to a medium close up to capture the profiles of both the bosses and to express the cumulative fear in the room.  And just as the The Rabbi and The Boss realize neither one is to blame for the recent deaths on both ends, Slevin made his way into the shot and McGuigan used a long shot to capture the mighty descend.
         This changing up of shots, from smaller to larger, was a build up of the situation.  From focusing to one face, the director moved to two people’s faces, and finally to a long shot with a spiraling staircase, Slevin, and the entire free space Slevin had before him.  This much room is also helpful in portraying the liberty that Slevin had over his victims; where he had plenty of unfilled space, they were virtually immobile due to the rope that was binding them to their chairs.
         An interesting transitional element incorporated into the shot where Slevin made his descend was a fading into the scene. As Slevin walked down the stairs, the fire burning in the fire pit slowly appeared in the transparent background, bringing light to his prevailing position.  Also, visible in the background, were the terrified faces of the two mobsters who were now the defenseless captives.            
         This powerful scene, though at the end, was very well done and essentially tied the missing pieces together.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUp6YobNEk

Mise-en-Scene Assignment

Theme: Thomas Hunter

Here are a collection of shots my teammates and I took in Thomas Hunter.
The song in the video is by Coldplay, titled "Fix You"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcxWzgTKKb4

EXTRA CREDIT

            This past semester I had interned at 5W Public Relations, which was founded by Ronn Torossian.  I spoke with Mr. Torossian about his company’s ascend to one of the top 25 U.S. Public Relations agencies, the responsibilities of a public relations specialist, and of course, of his success.

            Mr. Torossian started his company in 2003 on his own with just one intern.  The company now has over 100 employees and is on the Inc. 500 list.  5WPR’s headquarters are in Manhattan, though they also branched west with an office in Los Angeles.  Mr. Torossian is under 40 years old and is the only CEO at 5WPR!

            The world of public relations is very hectic and stressful.  However, by working at Mr. Torossian’s company, I left feeling that it was all worth it.  

            PR helps people.  Whether it is large corporations or small businesses, PR gets their messages across to the masses.  I feel that PR is fundamental to the success of oneself or of his/her business, for it not only helps communicating, but it also helps market the company.  The name grows and spreads and that is what everyone wants in order to gain success.

            Mr. Torossian is someone I would like to mirror in the future.  The courage and the boldness are qualities that I work on myself.  His constant incorporation of new ideas and information is slightly overwhelming, though incredibly beneficial.  Everyone must stay on their toes and their noses must be in the news.  My time interning at his company has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of establishing oneself.

-->FULL<--

Masaye Fratkin and I took shots of what we felt resembled the adjective "full"...

Thinking Back...

          Looking back at the class as a whole, I feel that I have come so far.  When I first started, I had never used Photoshop, I had never held a video camera, and I had never wanted a blog.  Now, I not only know how to use all those things, but I want to continue using the tools (even a blog).

          I really enjoyed the hands-on exercises we did and I felt that they allowed us to absorb the information we learned at lecture and through the readings.  Practice sure does make perfect.

          If it were not for this class, I doubt I would have learned HTML and CSS – even if it were just the basics.  I had fun constructing my own page and I even want to work on it some more.

          I feel that professor Lucas and professor Portlock did a swell job in informing us of their field of study.  My section leader, Makia Harper, hardened the material from lecture by having the class participate in class discussions and elaborate on what we had learned.  The overall flow of the semester went very smoothly and was full loaded with informational tools that are applicable to our everyday lives.