What I See

MEDP150

Martin Scorsese is one of the most original, and entertaining modern filmmakers, and one of my favorites. Scorsese films are known for innovative camera lighting and filming techniques. One of his best known films is Goodfellas.

One of the most famous scenes in Goodfellas is when Henry (Ray Liotta) and Karen (Lorraine Bracco) are going on their first date at The Copa Cabana. What’s really interesting and different about this scene is how it’s shot. Scorsese strapped a camera to the camera man and had him follow the characters to their table. The shot is continues and expertly executed. By following Henry and Karen at a fast pace through the basement entrance of the club, navigating the kitchen and down to the stage the viewer gains the sense that Henry is an important person. People stop to greet Henry and his date, we can see in front of the camera as waiters down the path from the camera are urgently setting a table for the VIP mobster.

Filming the shot this way conveys to viewers that Henry is an important guy, moving quickly as things fall into place for him. The shot is also exciting for viewers who don’t know what’s going to be around the next corner. Scorsese may have done the shot this way to communicate the way that Karen feels as she enters this new interesting place with someone who’s clearly important.

Another technical choice that stands out is the use of the color red in the scene where Henry and his friends murder a rival mobster in the trunk of a car.

Even later in the film when Henry is on cocaine and believes he’s being watched. Scorsese films everything very quickly so the viewer also feels like they’re on uppers. Choppy shots from the car window up to the sky convey paranoia to the viewer. On top of this Henry having to complete multiple tasks and run from place to place, task to task makes the viewer feel anxious, again conveying the feeling of being on coke.

Overall I loved Goodfellas, as much this time as the last 150 thousand times I’ve seen it. It’s a classic and always will be!

UPDATE: Here's a video of the scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCYwcObxl78

A Night at the Museum

MED150

Media sounds like a very exciting major, in theory. In reality it can be a little repetitive, largely because most major media innovations have only taken place over the past hundred years. Last week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to experience these innovations first hand at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, in a much more interesting fashion then via textbook. Probably the most exciting thing that I was able to see was a working Kinetiscope. If you are not sure what a Kinetiscope is, then you are probably not my media professor. It is nice to imagine that I have another reader, so I will explain that a Kinetiscope is Thomas Edison’s first moving image machine, also referred to as a peep-show (not the kind that you are thinking of). The Kinetiscope allows one person to watch a short film, about forty-five seconds long, through a single viewfinder. The absolute masterpiece, which I viewed, was about a bodybuilder named Eugene. I am probably being a little critical as a spoiled child of the new millennium, but I can imagine the awe of living in 1894 and seeing a moving image for the first time. I was also able to participate in an ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), having my voice dubbed in for the title character in the movie Babe. Although it was the ADR and Kinetiscope which, really stood out in my mind, it was nice to utilize inventions such as the Lumiere Brother’s Cinemetographe and Marey's Photographic Gun, which I have spent over a year studying. Although many of the exhibits were replicas or reproductions, it was great to have a tangible experience to relate with day-to-day coursework.

Check out the Museum's website - http://www.movingimage.us/site/site.php

WhiteHouse.gov The New Political Model

POLSC 217
A brief overview of President Obama’s new White House may sound something like the mission statement of a late 90’s tech company. Where colleagues at all levels may sit at the same table with aspirations to engage new ideas through open dialogue, the image is more Southern California than Washington, DC. This fresh approach to white house staffing very much reflects the image presented by Obama himself who ran on a platform of change. Beyond the marketing, there is substantive innovation to white house selection processes and staffing structure. This innovation is literally a page out of Obama’s book. In Dreams from My Father, the President touts the value of education, drawing lessons not only from personal experience but from history, and applying knowledge in the most relevant of ways to make informed and confident decisions. It seems that as a student of history, Obama has selected from the best organizational models to formulate administrative policy in the west wing.
Corporate principles of specialization and synergy, led Obama to create a number of new staff positions, bridging Cabinet positions to address issues with specificity and allow for the inclusion of many more voices. This corporate inspiration is as evident as the missing link between the administration and actual business leaders. High profile corporate players are a long-standing executive tradition. It seems absurd that no such player would be included in a Cabinet with the heavy burden of managing the worst economic climate of recent history. Perhaps to address this obvious absence, President Obama has created the White House Economic Advisory Board. Included in this panel of economic experts are Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and Caterpillar CEO James Owens. These experts present a specialized financial experience. And yet it would appear that Obama does not hold such experience sufficient for administration of a cabinet level position.
Diversion from the corporate connections of preceding administrations may reflect criticism of past cabinet members. All three of President Bush’s Treasury Secretaries, former CEOs, have performed less than satisfactorily in years leading to the country’s current economy. Former corporate executive Robert Rubin, and Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, has been publicly disgraced. In addition to opposing regulation of mortgage-backed securities largely responsible for the recent market crash, Rubin has been removed as chairman of Citigroup and recently named one of the "10 most unethical people in business” by Marketwatch. Recent scandals and poor economic decision making have lead to a general distrust of corporate america. However, this shift from defererment to the private sector on economic issues may signify a concious philosophical shift rather then a default decision resulting from a lack of untainted corporate players.
General Motors President Charles Wilson, secretary of defense under President Eisenhower, famously said: “What’s good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa”. Rather than viewing government objectives through a single market lens, it is clear that the new president prefers to view a narrow issue across a broad spectrum. Advisory committees allow for a specific focus, such as economic recovery, to be considered by economists, bureaucrats, and executives across market sectors. In his selection of cabinet members, President Obama appears to have selected those with specialized and relevant experience capable of understanding and evaluating a broad range of information to formulate solution driven policy; opting for a Nobel prize winning physicist, in contrast to the preceding Energy Secretary, chairman of a pharmaceutical company.
President Obama’s changes to White House administration reflect his own leadership experience as a scholar, professor, community organizer, and senator. However, this model lacks practical efficiency in a governmental setting. Many voices lend to innovation and comprehensive resolution but do not facilitate corporate minded principles such as efficient resource management. The challenge of inefficient management within government organizations will be especially present in an expanded administration. It is here that Obama borrows from corporate models, providing for administrative synergy by implementing a strong managerial structure. An intention evident in his selection of Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff, a “pitbull politician” with a temperament reminiscent of NBA referee rather than passive administrator. Obama has created the position of Chief Performance Officer, employing a former management consultant to eliminate government waste and improve efficiency. With pledged accountability for agency directors and a system for review, Obama brings corporate performance standards and cut the fat policy to eliminate bureaucratic coasting, a feared element of big government.
President Obama has framed a new model for White House administration. Where President Clinton sought to form a cabinet reflecting the face of America, Obama builds a cabinet reflecting American principles, including those of the free market.