Museum Trip

The Museum of the Moving Image had many artifacts that detailed the progression of movie and television production from its infancy to the present day. One of the first areas that I saw contained a multitude of filming cameras. Just by looking at their changes in construction materials, size, loading method and lens style from one camera to the next, I was able to see the progression of the cameras from bulky, fragile models to the compact and portable ones that we use today. The music mixing room was interesting to me as it highlighted the significance of music in the ability of movie to properly convey its message. Just by changing the instrumentals on a video clip of an alien spaceship emerging from a cloud bank from the movie Independence Day, the entire feel of the clip could be changed. It was an ominous feel with the original track, but the other samples had you rooting for the aliens or happy that they have returned after being gone for so long. The museum really made the effects of technology on media production apparent. Signals went from analog to digital, pictures went from black and white to color, and movies went from Kinetoscope films of people flexing or sneezing, to full length features with plots, action and music.