Trip to Museum of Moving Image

On my tour at the Museum of Moving Image, we discussed the various optical toys on display. The tour guide explained how toys like the thaumatrope (disc with bird and cage on each side) and the zoetrope(sequence of drawings in cylinder) were in the early stages of motion storytelling and how each became more and more advanced over time. We also looked at models of old cameras and televisions and discussed their changes over time. What struck me as interesting in particular was the fact that people used to think shows would be watched on a circular TVs because of the way our eye is shaped. Hence, some of the old television sets were completely round. All of the old TVs were pretty bulky too because they had to fit the huge cathode ray tubes inside the box. In addition, I think I came to a greater appreciation for those involved in sports television real time editing. Looking at the display of screens with different images from different cameras looked quite confusing and overwhelming. To be able to know which camera’s moving image to show to an audience at the right time on the spot, is an incredibly hard skill to master. After the tour, I went with two friends (Melissa and David) into the small voice acting interactive exhibit. I’ve gone to this many times in my past visits to this museum, so I watched my friend David record lines to the movie Babe. It was confusing for him at first and he messed up his lines, but I think David understood eventually that when the words “three, two, one,” showed up on the screen, he had to start speaking. Needless to say, David’s voice acting days are over. After going here though, I’ve noticed over the Thanksgiving break just how much voice acting and foley effects are used in movies to ensure the sound quality is clear and to enhance the tone of the scene.