Sound Observation 1

One sound that I had noticed, while out and about while doing my project, was the sound of a filter in a water fountain. The fountain is the one by Morton Hall and Leutze Hall. The filter was something I wouldn’t have noticed due to the loud, overlaying sound of the running water. The filter had made quiet, and has made the sounds of bubbling, every time it opened. The filter was slow-paced. Once it closed, it didn’t open a split second later. It would be closed for about a second or two before it would open back up again.

Belazs and Sound

What struck my attention about Bela Belazs’s article is the section in which he discusses the picture forming the sound. It is mentioned that the connection of a picture to a sound may be different than if a spectator just had the sound, in terms of the objects look, function and so on. The comparison to the use of colors in paintings came to my liking as though Belazs implying that without a picture, or any visual source, to go with it, sound is not complete. I think it all goes down to what George Lucas has said, “Sound is fifty percent of the movie going experience, and I’ve always believed audiences are moved and excited by what they hear in my movies at least as much as by what they see.”

Sound Observation 2

Another sound that I had observed is the bubbling sound of fish coming to the surface of water. While my group and I were at ponds recording various sounds, and that was something that caught my attention. Like the filter at the water fountain, it was a very quiet sound, something I wouldn’t have noticed while walking passed. Also, like the water fountain, it wasn’t something that happened within split seconds of each other, each bubble came up a few seconds after the previous bubble. The pop of almost each bubble was followed by a slight splash, that was only slightly louder than the bubbles.

Experimental

The first sentence in Fred Camper’s article about experimental film states that it is difficult to define these kinds of films because there is a broad range of styles within the form. With that being said they do share a few qualities, such as they are usually made by one, single person or a small group of filmmakers, or that they the stories are very unclear. Camper states that experimental films usually don’t have to follow the all of the qualities to be classified as an experimental film, but they should all be considered. There are a few films that actually do meet all of the qualities, an example being Meshes of the Afternoon, by Maya Deren.    

Amateur Vs. Professional

The article had made me look at the difference between amateur and professional filmmakers in a completely different way and that the word “Amateur” is actually Latin for lover, the latter which indicates that someone would do something thing more for the love of it rather than the economic aspect. I never thought that amateurs (while having envy for professionals for the actors, the amazing sets, and so on) would have something that professionals envied, which is the freedom. The amateur is able to focus more on their film as an art form, rather than a paycheck. They don’t have to worry about the products and the deadlines when it comes to making the professional industry.  

Biography

I am Michael J. Mantsourani, Jr. I was born on April 12, 1993, in Beverly, Massachusetts. I have loved movies since I was very young, and have wanted to be a filmmaker since I was about ten years old. I moved to North Carolina in February of 2007. In the world of filmmaking, I strive to be a writer and a director. I enjoy coming up with stories and feel that that direction is the best outlet for that. As hobbies, I enjoy drawing and writing parodies of songs, the latter I try to incorporate into my filmmaking resume by recording the songs and creating music videos for them, with friends.