final project

Here is the link to my final video project, for Hunter College's MEDIA 1600 class. I was the video editor and sound designer for the project. A horror satire, the film is about a student vampire slayer. Enjoy!

MOMI Reflections

I found the trip to the Museum of Moving Image, to be a great learning experience. Not only was it super convenient for me as an Astoria resident, but as an aspiring filmmaker, it was everything. It was great to see everything that we have been learning in class, in action, and on display. An aspect I found particularly interesting and not covered in class was the set and costume design. It was great to see all the life like costumes and props that make some of my favorite movies come alive. For example, they had the dress, and mask from one of my favorite childhood movies, Mrs. Doubtfire.

I also really enjoyed the section of all the old displays of moving images, like the zoetrope. Behind the Screen included early four hours of audio-visual material that ranged from film clips related to the artifacts on display; projections of the earliest kinetoscope films,The Great Train Robbery, and selections from The Jazz Singer and Nanook of the North, all of which bring key moments in film history vividly to life. I also really enjoyed playing with Foley sounds in the sound booth. Each student got to do a voice over to a Marylin monroe movie. It was really fun and intresting how sound designers have to match up the voices of actors after the film has already been shot. Just shows how meticulous and detailed postproduction is. 

Perhaps my favorite part of the museum, was walking through the King Tut Fever Movie Palace. Tut’s Fever is a working movie theater and art installation created by Red Grooms and Lysiane Luong, an homage to the ornate, exotic picture palaces of the 1920s. It as if this idea might come back from its past, as moviegoers rather wait for a feature film to premiere on Netflix rather than the big screen. I thought it was a great idea to get people back into the theatre chairs again. I thought it was a cool and interesting aspect of film history, and history in America in itself, creating another world for personal viewing. All in all, I found the trip to be very educational. 

Relationships Between Shots

Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited Scene “Play Witih Fire

One of my favorite movies of all time would have to be Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. The movie is about 3 estranged brothers who just lost their father, are reunited on a trip to India. In this particular scene, the 3 brothers are on a quest to find their mother, played by Anjelica Houston, who has become a nun in a convent in the foothills of the Himalayas. In this particular scene, I entitled “Play With Fire” , has editing that makes a significant contribution to the story and feel of the piece. The scene starts off with, Anjelica Houston (who plays the mom) turning off the lights in the room. The sound of her flicking the switch, makes the frame go completley black. When she turns the lights on again, the 3 boys are surround by her. She then suggests that instead of talking through their issues, she wants them all to communicate with their eyes.

This scene is incredibly strong. The 3 family members are sitting in a circle. A nondiegetic sound starts the scene, playing a song by the Rolling Stones entitled, “Play With Fire”. The color and lighting in this scene all have a similar sepia tone. The lighting is not natural and depends on lamp lighting, and throughout the scene it remains consistent, indicating that it might be set in the evening or at night. The relationship between the images and the sound of the song is extremely compelling. As the song plays, the scene begins with a close up shot of Anjelica Houston, who’s eyes are closed. As she opens here eyes, wide open, the lyrics start.

 What is remarkable about this scene is that the first shot, is a continuous shot. As Anjelica Houston eyes point to the right, The camera pans from Anjelica Houston over to the right and lands on the first born son, Francis (Owen Wilson), then for 5 seconds, pans over again to Peter (Adrian Brody), 5 seconds goes by then pans over to the right to the youngest brother, Jack (Jason Schwartzman). The Close Up shots in this particular frame are very compelling and powerful, each shot focusing on the eyes, as if we are looking into the souls of each member of the family.

The scene then jump cuts to another part of the monastery showing the orphans in their room. This part was a perfect example of Graphic match, matching color, and frame compositions to tell the story.The camera pans to the right, and jumps to another separate shot, a match action edit, where we are back on the Darjeeling Limited train. Each train car represents a memory to the boys, or a thought, that they are expressing to their mother. The remaining shots on the train, continue in the same style of panning. For 3-5 seconds, the camera focuses on each subject in the train car, pans right to the next car, and so on. The scene ends with a dim shot of a tiger, then jump cuts to the monastery room’s window. The camera tilts down and we find the mom, a close up shot, almost as if she’s taking in all the images that were shown before, and ends the scene.  The purpose of this particular shooting technique was  to emphasize what is going on in the minds of all three of the brothers. It is a deep and complex way of providing meaning to the story, all done with simple shooting techniques. I think what’s great about this scene is that if feels continuous, and seamless. It is obvious when the camera cuts to the train that the shots were out of order and not shot at the same time but still contributes greatly to the plot of the story in a metaphorical way.

Audio Project

Health And Wellness Audio Project 

What I Hear Blog Assignment #2

New York City's symphony is immersed with colorful sounds. In Astoria, Queens, where I start my day, can be as different as night and day when I get to school in Manhattan. When I walk out the door, I hear the sounds of small black birds chirping in the trees. For a moment, There is a ambient sound of rubber tires rolling across the black pavement from an avenue afar. Next, a train car rattles on the tracks two blocks away from my apartment. The long eerie call, sounding like a foghorn, goes off into the distance. I just missed my train to the city. I know, because of these sounds, the next train to take is just a mere 7 minutes away.

As I walk toward the station, the sounds of the city increase. I can hear the soft chatter of people on their cell phones, talking through my headphones. I hear the sounds of car horns, metal gates flying up from the ground declaring a store is open, and the taps of shoes of people in transit. I get to the N train platform, the vibrating sounds grow closer and closer to me. The train has arrived.

The most meaningful sound to me is the rattling of the train. I live two blocks away from the NQ station and the sound of the trains passing and going have become apart of my everyday routine. The long drumming, vibrating noises are my alarm in the morning, alerts me when the next train to the city is, tells me when it has left, and lets me know when it is arriving. It is the background music of my neighboorhood. Next comes the foreground sounds like, birds chirping in the trees, the faint cry of children on their way to school, and the sound of construction digging away on an early morning project. These sounds represent my neighborhood of Astoria.

Define a Space

Artist Statement

My name is Samali Bikangaga and I was born in San Francisco, CA. I am the daughter of  immigrant parents from East Africa, Uganda. I'm currently a senior at Hunter College pursuing a degree in Media Studies with a concentration in Journalism. I moved to NYC to escape the comfortable bubble that surrounds California. I fell in love with the art of photography in my early college years, playing with black and white film cameras, trying to document the world around me.

 Growing up, I lived with a single mother and two brothers. Our household was a broken one, but what brought us together around dinner time was the news. Programs like World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and 60 minutes, connected us through our love of information and our knowledge that we were not quite American, yet not quite African either. Hearing the stories of people from around the world I feel humbled me and brought me closer to finding my identity. The first time I found my passion to do photography was during my last trip to Uganda. I was fascinated by the way we all live in different worlds; western vs eastern, third world vs, the first. I really wanted to capture those moments and tell the stories of people not quite that different from me. I came back after a summer spent traveling around Uganda and decided to pursue photojournalism.

Iam eager to also graduate from photography to film. This past summer, i was interning at VOA for a broadcast program in their Africa Division. I worked on short video docs, as well as creating news packages. It was then I decided to take on the documentary road. Telling stories in a visual form is my passion. I think it is important to do profiles on subjects to rid the world of ethnocentric bias and ignorance. My goal is to create a site/business/media company, from the perspective of a first generational American. I believe that I grew up very differently from my peers and would like to not only document my experiences, but the experiences of other first generations; more specifically of the African Diaspora. There is so much cultural appropriation in this society that comes from this community, that I feel gets silenced. The up and coming music, art, fashion, and eco sustainability within the African Diaspora community I feel has not been represented in the media.My goal is to help bridge that gap.

 My work has been inspired by my favorite artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Lauryn Hill, and Kendrick Lamar who have all used visual art alongside their lyrics as a form of  protest. Filmmakers such as Spike Lee, Ava Dunvealy, and Justin Simien, and Wes Anderson inspire me to think experimentally, visually, and socially aware when taking photos or making films. I hope my work helps others to become more socially conciseness.