Mini-Darth Vader Sells Cars

After watching this commercial in class, this is definitely my favorite video. It brings you in right away - there are not words, just the famous 'Star Wars' song everyone knows, followed by the cutest kid in the world dressed up as Darth Vader.

However, there is more to the story.

The 'Darth Vader kid' is actually six year old San Clemente, and he has a heart defect.

"He had his first surgery when he was 3 months old at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles," she said during the interview. "They saved his life and gave him back to us. About a week after his first surgery he had to have a pacemaker. He has maintenance on that. So he's seen routinely at the hospital ... he's a real inspiration ... he can do anything."

His mother is quoted in the article --> OC Register Article.

This commercial offers more than a minute of 'something cute', but a great story behind it. I applaud you, Volkswagon.

It's a Beautiful Day

My best friend from high school, Sara, visited me from Thursday to Sunday, and I wanted to show her what Philly and SJU was all about!

Walter Murch's Afterwood

Mr. Murch's novel, In The Blink Of An Eye proved to be very helpful when creating films. I never thought of a movie to follow my eye-blinking, but after watching different movies, I realize this is idea is extremely important to make the video, movie or television show more of a reality.

In his afterword, the best way to sum up the section is when he explains:

So the queasy feeling in the pit of the stomach of every editor beginning a project is the recognition - conscious or not - of the immense number of choices he or she is facing. The numbers are so huge that there is no possibility of turning film editing into a kind of automated chess game, where all of the different options are evaluated before making a move.

I can only imagine how difficult, chaotic, and intense this must be. There are so many shots, and so much detail into every single second of every single movie. It must all make sense, create an awe from the audience, and keep the attention of everyone watching the film.

After reading Walter Murch's book, I have come to respect the editors of each film in a completely different way. I had no idea, that one of America's favorite past times - watching a movie - was so in-depth, intense, and time consuming. I tip my hat to you, film editor's of the world. I thoroughly enjoy your work.

Walter Murch

VMA-worthy Music Videos

This music video is one of my favorites among the list, and one of my favorites in general. I showed my roommates and they all loved it as well. The simplicity in the shots along with a fun, laid-back feeling make the music video feel 'personal', and like the people are 'real' - unlike in other videos where even the extras seem like super-cool people.

One thing about a video like:


One thing I personally do not like are the jumpy clips - it kind of makes me blink a lot and makes me nauseous. So when we make a video, although the different clips can look cool, maybe put little buffers of actual video so it is not so intense?

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes!"

Walter Murch's description of the role of the editor in the film making process in his novel, In the Blink of an Eye, made me realize how trivial and somewhat annoying it must be. The most interesting depiction of an editor's job is when Murch explains, "the editor is actually making twenty-four decisions a second: 'No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes!'" (16).

I watched one of Walter Murch's films, The Talented Mr. Ripley to witness his technique, and I could not help myself, for the first 20 minutes of the film, to say "'No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes!" every second (which is actually kind of fun!) and see what it must be like to watch a movie not for enjoyment, but as work.. very detailed and meticulous work.

Murch also explains the importance, in his opinion, of what a movie should portray to the audience.

1. Emotion
2. Story
3. Rhythm (The 'right' moment)
4. Eye-trace (audience's personal focus)
5. Two-dimensional plane of screen (like a photograph)
6. Three-dimensional plane of screen (The character and their relation to the space in the shot)

Throughout the entire movie Murch's editing skills are clearly portrayed, yet one scene in-particular (one that I cannot stop thinking about) includes every aspect (emotion, story, rhythm, eye-trace, two-dimensional, three-dimensional) perfectly - the moments before, during, and after Ripley murders Dickie with an oar.

The two friends are on a small sailboat, in the middle of the ocean, and get into an emotional fight, which quickly turns from callous words to physical.



This picture is during their verbal altercation, and as you can see, Walter Murch makes the entire controversy feel very claustrophobic; I especially felt as though I could not breath in the two minute scene. Murch not only illustrates the emotion in this scene, but he purposely makes the entire altercation fit the entire screen, zooming in on the actors' extremely intense emotions.

Their verbal fight quickly turns to physical as Ripley hits Dickie in the face with an oar, and the audience, just like Ripley, is face to face with a bloody, terrifying Dickie, as you can see in the picture below.



Walter Murch brilliantly portrays the emotion of the characters in this film. You knew what each character thought, even if they did not say one word. Murch believes emotion is the number one most important part in editing the film, and because of it, The Talented Mr. Ripley is now in my 'must-see movie recommendation' list.

Bringing Social Media to the Classroom - No Matter what Your Major is.

Social Media and Social Innovation becoming part of a Curriculum on Prezi

Bringing social media sites and tools to the classroom, I feel, is extremely important. Social media strategies are used by people, companies, non-profits, campuses ,anything! Anyone and everyone can use this wonderful tool. It is necessary to understand what 'social media' actually is, but most importantly - how to use it. It is like a new gadget - it seems confusing at first, and you get annoyed with it at times, but at the end of the day, you do not know how you survived without it.

One thing I mentioned in the Prezi that I want to bring attention to, is the idea of starting a 'Social Innovation' major. That does not seem too far off; it is like the cousin to the Communications major. The possibilities are endless - the class can teach the philosophy of Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes, who helps children in third world countries receive shoes, and he is a business man making a profit. Gone are the days where non-profit meant you had to choose between food or paying your rent.

Social media is not going anywhere, anytime soon, and the more people who are educated on this matter, the greater it can become.