Bathroom Impossible from Bobby Herman on Vimeo.

BLOG POST #4: Relationships Between Shots

The Sequence I selected for blog post four is the bicycling scene from the Stanley Kubrick Film "The Shining" where the young child Danny is seen biking around the hotel on his big wheel. The scene is a three minute long tracking sequence which follows young Danny biking around the Overlook hotel, in the scene Kubrick builds on the isolation we feel as an audience by show how vast and maze like the giant and isolated hotel is while Danny rides around. The scene is mostly music free except for when Danny passes room 237 which is the focal point of horror in the hotel. As Danny bike around Kubrick creates a sense of emptiness and terrifying silence, the only sounds we hear are the sounds of Danny's bicycle moving along different surfaces and his peddling of the big wheel. The tracking shot is mostly shot from behind except when Danny comes to a stop at room 237 and we have a low angle point of view shot showing Danny and the room number in one shot while the eery yet subtle music plays in the background. The complexity of these shots as one watches seems very uncomfortable and off balance, this could be due to the fact Kubrick's shot is impossible. The path Danny takes around the hotel is physically impossible to do in real life, if you look at a map of the hotel you find Danny takes turn that should not be there and jumps floor levels. This was no mistake on Kubrick's he filmed this on purpose to subconsciously throw off the viewers equilibrium and make the movie that much more uneasy and terrifying. The relations between sound and image is what makes this scene most terrifying because of the calmness one feels of the big wheel riding on the carpet and wooden floors but at the same time the emptiness and size of the hotel fills us with terror because we do not know what is going to pop up after ever corner.

Blog #3 Museum Of The Moving Image

On my recent trip with the class to the Museum Of The Moving Image in Queens I learned about all different aspects of film making and the technology behind the camera and microphone. I was most impressed by the well put together exhibits in the museum especially when it comes to the sound effects exhibit. The museums exhibit on sound effects goes into extreme detail on the sound effects process of movie production. I learned about the foley guy/gale and how his/her job description. I learned how they take sounds that you would not usually associate with other sounds and combine them to fit a totally different type of sound. One example the used was in the Titanic the foley people used a gun shots with a silencer attached for the sounds of the cables snapping in the scene where the large smoke columns collapse. Over all I would highly recommend going to the museum again to take everything in because it is so large it was hard to see everything in one trip.

Interview w/Casey MED160

Blog Assignment #2: “What I Hear”

I decided to walk around the lower east side around 8pm on a weekday without my headphones and paying careful attention to the sounds that make up my environment. First thing I noticed was the constant sound of car engines and squeaking breaks, then as I walked into my local deli I noticed the bell noises the door makes as I entered and the sound of Spanish guys talking to each other at the register. Inside I noticed they had been playing some type of Latino music on low and the noise of the hum of the refrigerators in front of the counter. As I left the deli I walked towards Houston street were I noticed the loud sounds of construction, I could make out some type of hammering and what sounded like a large dumpster rolling down a large hill. I noticed the workers were sliding a huge metal plate over a hole they had dug using a large bulldozer and the noises the bulldozer made and it swung its claw up and down. After walking around for sometime I noticed how silent side streets were compared to the main streets, I would hear random dogs barking, all different kinds of music, people yelling and car doors slamming. One thing that really stuck out was how much more I was aware of my surrounding when I would purposeful listen to background noises. Usually I just blast my headphones and walk and never notice anything, now with listening I notice smaller minute details I had never paid attention to before. I always look around and make sure to be aware of my surroundings but during this exercise I noticed more when I just relaxed and listened. I found myself focused on the sounds of the city instead of thinking too much about other things.

Define A Space

Acid Trip from Bobby Herman on Vimeo.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I enjoy above all things in life making people feel good and relax through comedy. I enjoy the brutal honesty that can be accomplished with comedy and still be accepted just as long as it is comedic no matter how unacceptable it may seem in society.

I very much enjoy that when it comes to being authentic in comedy it is almost impossible to fake. In many other art forms you can pass being unauthentic but in comedy this is for the most part futile, your audience will eventually pick up on it and make you pay.

Ever since I was a child I was always drawn to comedy and honesty. Growing up I would watch George Carlin and be blown away by how much he made me laugh and think at the same time. 

I remember sneaking in the room while my older siblings and parents would watch “adult” comedy specials on HBO and laugh till they were red in the face and knowing that that was everything I wanted to be.

I remember getting in trouble for answering Stand-up comic in the black space for what I wanted to be when I grew up in my elementary school yearbook. I remember having to add another profession because my teacher did not think that was a credible response and being the only kid in the school who had two professions for in the yearbook.

Everything I do now I apply the same standards I apply to my comedy. First and foremost is honesty, second is knowing exactly was your audience needs and wants and third is working things out till I get them perfect.