Final Project

Final Project: Monday from Oliver Reyes on Vimeo.

The Third Work Symposium

Last Friday, I attended the What’s the Score: Contemporary Sound Design in Documentary Cinema presentation of the Third Work Symposium event hosted by filmmakers Pacho Velez and David Barker. The goal of the presentation, as stated in the event description is to “develop distinctions within the category of ‘sound design’ in order to articulate in more precise terms some of the ways that sound affects image and how this relationship has altered over time”. The main thesis put forward by Velez and Barker in the presentation is precisely the following:

There are 3 elements to sound design in film; Foley, Ambiance, and Score. Through Velez and Barker’s observations, they’ve propose that these elements function in the following manner;

Foley: sounds that pull your attention to the center of the frame.

Ambiance: sounds that pull your attention to the edge of the frame.

Score: sound that relates to an abstract or the “invisible”

Velez and Barker screened footage from many films in an attempt to display these functions at work, and I have to admit that I didn’t notice the questionable use of terminology here that others in attendance would bring attention to as I was focusing on listening to what Velez and Barker had to say. It turns out that what Velez and Barker were trying to say was somewhat half-baked as some people in attendance took issue with their definition of the term Foley when it already has an established definition (that being sounds that are produced after production). Compounding the issue is that in most of the footage screened, a lot of the sounds that Velez and Barker were labeling as Foley under their definition can also be construed as ambiance; the sound of a campfire in the woods, a waterfall, etc. Velez and Barker didn't have much of a defense or stance after this point was brought up, which gave me the impression that whatever concepts and definitions they were trying to propose was under developed and needs more work, starting with coining a new term that be used with the definition that they are forcing on the term Foley.

Audio Portrait of a Person

What I Hear

Walking through the shopping strip that comprises Steinway Street at the cusp of the evening (a little after 5PM), the sounds that fill the area are not the kind of sounds that one would think to hear in a shopping strip.

The keynotes that can be frequently heard at irregular intervals are the sounds of cars quietly passing by, the honking of car horns, music blaring out from the radios of other cars passing through, and the distinct sound of MTA buses slowly driving to a stop as they approach bus stops. One distinct keynote that occurred once was the sound of a police siren blaring through the strip as a police cruiser runs down the street on the strip at an accelerated pace.

These keynotes are typical of an urban setting, but for a shopping strip, the absence of keynotes specifically designating the area as a place of commerce is unusual. The only keynotes that I heard during my time on the strip that could be considered a designation of places of commerce was bland country music emanating from a mom & pop electronics store and generic techno music leaking from a gym, and that's a generous classification.

The sound signals that were occassionally present on the strip mostly consisted of chatter from people on the strip as they passed by. Overhearing brief excerpts from conversations in English and Spanish, the statements heard were mostly unintelligible out of context. The statements that were intelligible were of a woman telling another woman about a person not yet accepting their friend request, a woman exclaiming that "the bus isn't here", and most memorably, a woman declaring that "I don't have no meth, I don't have nothing."

Other sound signals that can be heard infrequently are the sounds of strollers rolling on the sidewalk, the screeching of babies and the clopping of some peoples' shoes as they walk. The strip was moderately populated with pedestrians, but the sounds of the strip was mostly low-key, allowing any sort of emerging sound to pronounce their presence effectively. Certainly not the kind of sounds one would think they would hear in a shopping strip.

Define a Space

Define a Space from Oliver Reyes on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

For as long as I can remember, I have always been an avid fan of cinema. Spending the majority of my formative years watching films at home, I had developed an appreciation for the 'escapist' aspect of cinema early on as watching films such as those of James Cameron (prior to Titanic when he was primarily know for sci-fi and action films) allowed me to see things once relegated to one's imagination be brought to life.

It wasn't until I was a teenager that I started to consider the idea of becoming a filmmaker, thanks to films like Reservoir Dogs and El Mariachi showing that you didn't need millions to make a film.

The filmmakers that have been influential to me are Cameron, Tarantino, Scorsese, Park (South Korean director), Nolan, and Spielberg. Concerning the films that I want to make, one of my biggest interests (or obsessions) is that of moral ambiguity.

Growing up, we are taught to view morality as something immutable; almost as if it is a law of nature like gravity. "Good is good, bad is bad, and that's all there is to it", to summarize this view of morality. But as everyone reading this statement knows, that is so far from the truth, it borders on the realm of fiction. With the cultural dominance of superhero films going on at the moment, we see a relentless reinforcement of this 'black and white' perspective, leaving those tired of 'good vs evil' stories deprived of authentic depictions of morality, which is dynamic, multifaceted, and subjective.

I'm interested in showing that the model of morality we were taught is faulty and inadequate and hinders our ability to understand each other, human nature, and society at large.