Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver has a bunch of amazing scenes that are worth analyzing, but one of my favorites is with Scorsese himself. The scene takes place in the main character’s taxi. Scorsese makes a cameo as one of his passengers, and it is obvious that he is deranged very early on in the scene. The music becomes ominous and drawn out as Scorsese’s character makes demands. Most of the dialogue comes from him and it is extremely vulgar as Travis keeps quiet. Besides the underscore, the framing and editing adds to the unease that Travis feels. Their one sided conversation is shown through alternating shots of the characters from different angles. The scene is watched from the three different perspectives: the director’s, the passengers, and Travis’. The director shows us both characters in the frame sitting in the taxi and medium close ups of each character. Through the passenger, we see an over the shoulder shot of Travis, for example, when he fixes his rear view mirror. Travis’ perspective is used to follow his eye line of the building they are parked in front of. The passenger’s dialogue guides Travis’ perspective until he finally lands on the lit window where a woman’s shadow can be seen. The director’s perspective is where we get the most information about the characters. It captures the subtle eye movements from Travis as the rest of his body is stiff. It also captures how ardent the passenger is about the discussion of the murder of his wife. The cuts feel seamless because we want to see both the crazy passenger ranting and Travis’ reactions. Sometimes the passenger’s dialogue will spill over to a shot of Travis’ facial expression, which adds to the smoothness of the conversation. This scene is essential to the overall film because we see Travis really listening, and this is sort of inspiration for his actions that follow.

Project 1 from Daniella Fuentes on Vimeo.

Trip to MOMI

The Museum of Moving Image is an incredibly interesting place to walk around in. One could spend hours there, especially in the arcade section. My group focused on an interactive soundtrack demo for the Hitchcock film Vertigo. The demonstration showed us a silent version of the famous museum scene where James Stewart’s character notices similarities between Kim Novak’s character and the painting she is staring at. Without watching the entire film, the importance of this scene is still apparent through the camera work, specifically the close ups and zooms of the similarities. Our tour guide showed us four options of underscoring. Each one imposed a different mood or tone to the scene. The first few options were wrong for the scene for different reasons, for example, being too romantic or too theatrical. The importance of the soundtrack was obvious because this was a dramatic scene and the wrong music made it seem almost comical. The last option was the correct one, and we were told it was especially composed for the film by Bernard Herrmann. The sound perfectly matched what we saw. It emphasized every close up with a subtle ring, and the tone was dramatic enough for the subtle acting of James Stewart. Connections were made for the viewer that contributed to the narrative while setting the appropriate mood for the pivotal moment. The demo really underlined the importance of sound, and the effect it has on the audience.  

What I Hear

I go through Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights almost every day of my life. I am on a bus or walking, either way I’m wearing headphones. If I am alone and in public, I am wearing headphones. The sounds around me are always being cancelled out and ignored. Simply strolling through Roosevelt Avenue, without any barriers from the world, I noticed the chaos around me. Chaos that has always been visually apparent, but now I could not escape from. The 7 train thunderously roars above me every ten minutes. All other noises are drowned out during this brief period. I hear several different languages being spoken, mostly Spanish. Cars are honking, they sound annoyed. I hear the hiss and beeping of the bus as it lowers itself for its elderly passengers. Someone is yelling about the business behind them; his voice is effortless and rehearsed. I hear the sizzling of meat as orders are being taken in Spanish. Right across from this cart a woman monotonously sells her batteries; “baterias, baterias, baterias” is repeated over and over again. Her short chant is unconvincing. Occasionally, one car will stand out from the rest. Rap will be blasting from their speakers and my attention is immediately grabbed, but it quickly fades away as they keep driving. After awhile, I decide it’s time to put my headphones back in. Sound adds to the commotion of Roosevelt Avenue and it is not something I can handle for long.

Artist Statement

My work is more for amusement than anything else. I am not trying to influence anyone's social or political perspectives. When someone looks at my work, I would rather they get a smile out of it. Even if it's just for a second, it's gratifying because it means they relate to something that I'm addressing.

I found that the creative part of being an artist could be fun, but I am more interested in the technical side of it. I have always liked mastering new skills and using that to perfect something I am working on. 

I am in awe of the comedy world, which includes stand up, podcasts, television, and films. I am inspired by the amount of talent and courage it takes for people like Amy Poehler and Mindy Kaling have to make people laugh. They are famous for their hilarious television shows, but there are crews that make that possible. They are my idols, but not because I want to be like them. As an artist, I want to be a part of aiding people like them in order to execute their visions. I would like to be a contributor to something I think is worth making.

Overall, I intend to find myself as an artist so that I can one day be a part of these worlds that has always fascinated me. I hope to create and help to create in the future.