Nam June Paik at Asia Society

    Before taking this course, I never heard of Nam June Paik, since I never paid much attention to modern art. Actually, I don't think I've ever paid any attention to modern art. And going to check out Nam June Paik's exhibit "Becoming Robot" at the Asia Society in New York, I remember why. I won't go as far to claim that the work I saw was pretentious; but I honestly wasn't able to grasp the idea of the exhibit in its entirety. The work he put on some old fashion technology was certainly unique, but it's not much I could commend.
    I personally felt that it lacked any elegance or personality. There's this lack of the 'wow' factor of the spectacle in art recently, it seems. In the old days, we would have Greek sculptures or beautiful paintings by Van Gogh and Monet. But today in art, or rather modern art, it's all 'ironic' kinds of pieces that 'tackle' society; that don't really tackle society. And if it does, than it does it so ambiguously that it could mean anything else.
     However I'm not discrediting Nam June Paik's work. Since I'm not active in the 'art' world, I probably just don't have the ability of dissecting the meanings behind his artwork. But it was certainly interesting to look at how he manipulated inanimate objects to make them look like people; albeit, I've seen many children also do a very elementary form of the same kind of 'art'. And like I said, it's very likely that I just didn't get the message, because I don't normally pay attention to modern art. So I probably have no knowledge of the entire field.

Excuse Me

        Excuse Me is a playful film that follows a man tracing the steps of what seem to be a complete stranger, who is unaware of his presence. The piece was actually filmed backwards, which I think is a fun fact. We started shooting on the subway to Grand Central, filmed on location in the terminal with real pedestrians of course, and made our way to Times Square and Hells Kitchen where the film starts. The entire movie was shot handheld, to get the 'shaky adrenaline' feel in order to capture the main character's frantic emotions as he tries to reach this stranger. It was also shot in night and saturated with juxtaposed colors to emphasize the fast nightlife of the city.
         I wanted New York to be a character as well, I wanted to give midtown its own personality. So I shot it with a hint of grain that gave it a backstage Broadway/Late Show/SNL kind of feel. As if each angle is the perspective of a passing pedestrian. I didn't want the film to take place in New York, just because we're situated here; I wanted there to be a reason as to why we were in New York. So I used Manhattan's density and crowd as an obstacle for our main character to achieve his goal. In ways it mirrors the idea that in New York, achieving what you want isn't easy. You see it in front of you, but you have to chase it here in order to grasp it.  I later on used music, that mainly only consisted of fast-paced wacky drums, to saturate this feeling. The music is from Birdman, a film that 'half' inspired this piece, in terms of atmosphere and cinematography.
         The two actors I had are Rene Sun, a fellow classmate in the Media 160 class, though she is in a different section, and Adehm Geller, a veteran student of the same course. I directed, shot, and edited this piece.

Blog 4 - The Relevance of James Bond

       Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road), is, in my opinion, the best James Bond film currently; also it is one of my most favorite films of all time. The entire movie is not only shot beautifully by my favorite cinematographer Roger Deakins, but reinvents the entire franchise of 007. In many ways it's one of the best action films to exist, not just because of its genius directing and it's gorgeous cinematography, but because of its messages. Skyfall is much like a statement that justifies the fact that James Bond can still matter and be cool to the new generation.
       There are many moments in Skyfall that reflect this statement, such as James Bond 'coming back from the dead' or when James Bond meets Q, who makes a sly remark on Bond's old gadgets. But it is this moment in the film that brings everything today. In this scene three messages are being told by M. One message, is for the film's story, where M persuades the British Prime Minister that the 00 section shouldn't be shut down. This is simple enough to understand, and is the most superficial argument in her speech.
       The second argument is about modern day security, especially regarding to acts such as the Patriot Act. In the scene, M mentions that 'our enemies...are in the shadows'. Because most of our enemies are no longer nations or figures, they are rather terrorists and other criminals who lurk within. They don't represent any nation or leader, which makes the situation much more 'frightening'. While, she gives this speech, we intercut moments where Bond emerges from a Tube station in London that was attacked; and not so long ago, the London underground was struck by terrorist. This imagery is sure to remind the British the horror of that attack, and begin to understand that security is still important and should be handled carefully.
       Finally the third argument is a finishing statement on how Bond is not irrelevant, that Bond still matters. And that we shouldn't forget about James Bond. There is a legacy to this franchise, and it's not ending anytime soon. Even, if I've never been a fan of the Bond franchise before Daniel Craig's takeover, this movie has allowed me to understand how impactful the character can be. And what makes this scene all the more better is the amazing track that Thomas Newman composed for this moment. It generates a growing buildup to the scene's climax, and to the film's message's climax.