MOMI, Oh My!

I'm a pretty big fan of museums, so this recent visit to MOMI wasn't my first, but it still held significant weight. Since starting this class I've grown a deeper appreciation for things like the zoetrope, Luminaire films, and the technology behind most of my favorite art. I even openly geeked out over displays featuring the advancements in sound and film recording. My conversations around all of the equipment weren't about how "cool" or "old" anything was; all conversation was imbued with a deep historical appreciation and of its development and importance in furthering today's recording strategies. 

One of the more notable exhibits was a station where guests could experiment laying down a variety of musical tracks to the same scene, illustrating musics powerful unconscious effect on tone. By playing with the options presented, I was able to manipulate a very tense scene from Paul Thomas Anderson's much underrated Punch Drunk Love. 

It was a lot of fun to play with the score of an emotionally weighted scene and explore the different potential avenues. It was a wonderful reminder of how sound does subconsciously tell the audience how to feel. The simple change in score can make an off kilter romance feel like a psychopathic man hunt, or a crime drama, or as if the action was too light, negating the tension on screen. I've had fun experimenting in my own work but this was the first time I was given the opportunity to play with another filmmakers project. It's powerful and reassuring experience.