Blog 2

How I Met Your Mother is an interesting show in many ways. It takes place both in the present and the not so distant future. Creative editing plays a key role in creating this sense of the future looking back at the present. Voice-over narration is a key element in HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother). Each episode begins with a narration setting the scene of that night's episode. The episode Mystery vs. History begins with the camera moving down a New York City sidewalk as the narrator discusses what life "was like" in 2011. A wipe from left to right with wooshing sound effect is used to transition through time back to the year 2005 where the main characters are seated in a bar. Another transition through time occurs moments later when the scene cuts to the actors in the same positions but with very different clothing. Almost like a purposeful jump cut to shock the audience into a new year. From there the continuity editing style is employed as the scene cuts from wide shot to 3 medium shots of each of the 3 sides of the table (the 4th being where the camera is positioned). The Scene then cuts away to an exterior shot of the pub with a time stamp reading October 2011 to indicate yet another change in time. The sound of Neil Pattrick Harris's voice is layered over the music for a few seconds before the image cuts back to an interior shot of the table at the bar. Once again continuity editing practices are employed as the camera cuts back and forth between the three sides of the table while the characters converse. After a few seconds of dialogue the wooshing sound and a wipe from right to left transports the story back through time and to another location entirely. After a few brief moments the woosh and a wipe from left to right bring the viewer back into the safety of the pub.

Audio

Mia's Interview Project from Mia Fantaci on Vimeo.

Sound Walk

I chose to perform my sound walk in my neighborhood, Stuyvesant Town. Stuyvesant Town is structured so that there are residential buildings spanning from 14th Street and 1st Avenue to 20th Street and Avenue C. At the heart of Stuyvesant Town is the oval. The oval is a large oval shaped fountain surrounded by a quarter mile oval shaped pathway. It functions as the main park at the center of Stuyvesant Town, similar to the way Central Park is at the center of Manhattan. The pathway is bordered by residential buildings, playgrounds, chess tables, and the Oval Essentials (lounge, film center, children's center and a library). I chose to sit at the chess tables to complete my sound walk.
During my sound walk the population of the area I was sitting in slowly shifted from bustling young professionals with clacking heels to nannies and mothers with little ones. I mainly heard the sounds of children playing: Giggling, laughing, and on occasion, screaming. I heard the low rumble of skateboards on concrete and the thwack of a foot meeting a soccer ball. As I sat at the concrete chess tables I heard the rustling of the leaves overhead as squirrels scurried up the trees. I also noticed that despite being approximately 3 blocks away from the main streets of Manhattan, I did hear sirens from either the ambulances at Beth Israel Medical Center or the fire trucks coming from the station located on 14th Street between first and second avenue.
I didn't really get bored like I expected to during this sound walk. I found it rather relaxing and peaceful to sit in one of the greener areas of the city and enjoy nature and the life all around me. I felt like my head was clearer after this little break from all of the electronic distractions that regularly occupy my time.