Here is my Hyper Haiku. Click the link below.

http://fmundergrad.hunter.cuny.edu/~murphyi/Sites/HAIKU-160FA11/html/index.html

Interview Porduction Notes

While I've filmed videos sporadically in the past, I've done something over the past number of weeks that I've never done before: edit my own video interview. I felt the first step was to choose something simple to question my partner, Andrew Rice, about. After giving it some thought, I chose my topic to be about the most difficult challenge Andrew had faced in his life. It was a solid choice for an interview, but therein was the problem: how would I convey that idea in video? At that point, I felt like I hardly had any plan at all. But thanks to a simple, brief discussion with my instructor on video ideas, such as filming my subject while he was in contemplation, things slowly began to fall into place. Filming my subject was simple enough as it was something I had done before, and even editing the video became simple as I became more and more accustomed with using the editing program. However, because it felt so simple, I began to feel as though I wasn't putting as much effort into the project as I felt I should have been doing; unlike my video, which had no background music and sounded in a way that made it seem clear to me that I had cut things out sloppily, everyone else's videos were more smoothly edited, like professionals. But by that time, I had already cobbled together a full video, and even managed to upload it in my free time days before I was supposed to while following the directions of another instructor who happened to be in the room. I didn't feel all that confident by the time I was chosen to show my video to the class, but I felt uplifted when the audience saw past how crude and simple the video looked in comparison to the others and gave it good reception. It's that feeling of fulfillment that I wish to experience again, so if I were given another opportunity to make a new video, I would. But because of the lack of confidence that I had felt, I now feel that it requires much more work (and more than luck) to make a good video.

Interview with Andrew R. (with video)

Ian M. interviews Andrew R. (with video) from Ian Murphy on Vimeo.

In this video, Andrew Rice responds to my question of what the most challenging moment in his life so far was, and how he overcame it.

Interview with Andrew R.

Ian M. interviews Andrew R. from Ian Murphy on Vimeo.

In this video, Andrew Rice responds to my question of what the most challenging moment in his life so far was, and how he overcame it.

Sound-Image and Image-Image Relationships

The piece of media I chose to examine is a trailer for the upcoming video game, Batman: Arkham City. Being a trailer for the game, it is generally meant to represent the atmosphere of the game it is promoting in a way that seeks to get the interest of potential players. One element I found notable in the trailer is the dialogue, which serves as the backbone for the story that's being told in the trailer: Batman's archnemesis, the Joker, is sick and disheveled, yet still remains a major threat and prepares to engage Batman in what may very well be their final battle. There are only a few scenes in the trailer that actually show the characters speaking the dialogue, and only for a few seconds. The rest of lines are spoken over a montage of scenes featuring Batman fighting against the Joker's henchmen amidst a chaotic setting filled with explosions. These scenes are many in number, and change from one to the other rather seamlessly and quickly, providing a very gripping scenario that I can't keep my eyes away from. For this reason, I believe the trailer is built up from the dialogue, and actually serves to amplify the intensity and chaos depicted in the dialogue. The quick and chaotic pace of the trailer also gives insight on the psychotic personality of the Joker, who very much seems to be the primary focus of the trailer despite it being for a game in which Batman is the main character.

For your interest, click here for the trailer.

What I Hear

I performed my listening spree while commuting to Hunter College on the Staten Island Ferry on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 (mind you, I was sitting in the lower cabins). After hearing the prerecorded announcement stating that the ferry was about to leave for Manhattan (as I usually do when I take the ferry), I heard a constant humming noise, which was surely generated by the propellers of the ferry so it could move (I don't know much of the structure of ferries, so that's what I guessed). The doors to the outside of the ferry were open, and I could hear this rattling noise outside. That's normal for me, as I would usually go outside and see that the noise was caused by a short chain rattling against a metal post (though I didn't go outside that day). Soon, however, I heard a repetitive snapping noise. It wasn't anywhere too close to me, but judging from the sound, it must have been a person snapping to some music, given the rhythm of the snapping. It was very obnoxious (I had never encountered someone snapping so loud before on any of my commutes, and I doubt it was meant to entertain other people), so I moved to the other side of the ferry where the sound was thoroughly drowned out by the humming of the propellers and clanking of the chains. This gave me an opportunity to listen to other people on the ferry. Despite nearly being crowded, there was not a lot of chatter, so I figured that not everyone knew each other and were thus unwilling to talk to one another. But just when I thought I'd managed to get some peace, there was a rhythmic tapping noise nearby, like someone was tapping their nails on one of the seats. Just then, there was a recorded announcement saying the ferry was preparing to dock, so I didn't bother moving to get away from this obnoxious new noise; fortunately, the tapping noise ended with the announcement. The humming noise then died down, and I could hear something I didn't notice before because of the humming: a plethora of muffled songs, like they were blaring through multiple earphones. It seemed clear to me then and there that I'd found the reason for all the obnoxious noises that I had never noticed on any of my previous commutes.