Review of ‘My Recurring Dream’ directed by Andre Chocron

1. Start by writing a overall review of this video, discussing your personal viewpoints regarding the
video.

When watching the 'My Recurring Dream' video you can see that so much planning went into each and every transition,scene and movement was planned with care and attention to insane detail. The very video focuses on just making everything look good while maintaining a one shot video look by crafting a transition style that uses a link to each sequence as a beginning and the end for every clip. Its something I have not seen in many forms of film or anything else for that matter but if you are looking for examples, look no further.

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqEdGq0h-pdFfN5KpKtb7ZVyuB1hK7wabKl-4lHYPhXQ7bxjt1)

The tone of the video I believe was and is designed to be all about the quirky and unexplained things that appear in the video. The Director Andre Chocron I believe takes us on a journey through all of these different locations in a way that is certainly a lot different to anything else I have seen. The combination of shots that are both reversed footage and normal forward shots is something that doesnt happen without immense planning and attention to detail and it is definitely something that works very well in the overall aesthetic of the film and is definitely the bread and butter of the video.

The way the music fits the the video is probably my favorite thing about it so far. The music doesnt need to be in sync. The video tells enough story that the music almost becomes secondary in my eyes. But it also wouldn't be the same without it. The music is a great compliment to the video as it just adds to the way you feel as you watch. I personally think that the music itself is great and deserves credit as well.

(http://www.juliusdesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dream1.jpg)

Out of all the Transitions that appear in the the video, my personal favorite has to be the TV transition in the stairwell.The way they used the older fashioned TV as the transition to a train looked great. The effect  of moving through a TV into the Train is just something that appealed to me because its a clever mechanic that to me was great for the stairwell that looked somewhat old fashioned. The TV effect, that I cant seem to pin a name on just makes the transition look better and stand out as the camera dives into the TV and then clears up to follow the women in the yellow dress. All in all its just my favorite transition because it just flows so well between shots.

So lets get to the 3 words that I would use to describe this video.
1.Precise (like hitting a bulls-eye ehh ehhh)
2. Planned
I choose Precise in conjunction with Planned. Purely because its the truth. Everything about the video screams precision and planning because of just how cleverly portrayed and filmed it is. The way the scenes and the actors are coordinated shows how much they really cared to plan and make sure that they are not out of place or a distraction from the scenes destination. Taking care over everything that is seen is the reason why I have picked these words.

(http://keenetrial.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/precise-evidence-e1392352782163.jpg)

(http://www.silentradio.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/carefully-planned.jpg)

3. Inventive 

How can you say the video isn't inventive? You cant, to me everything I see has obviously has been inspired by something. But everything they are inspired from is worked with  to make it their own, from the water pouring from the painting to the static on the TV screen. Its just clean, quick and visually intriguing. Something Andre Chocron seems to be an expert at, like his other video Havoc.    

(http://www.parking-net.com/Upload/ContentManagersPictures/InventiveIT/inventive-it-2013.jpg)

Floor Plan

Link to My "Recurring Dream" (https://vimeo.com/95960796)

FOLEY RESEARCH

1. Who exactly is Jack Donovan Foley? Well to state is simply, the pioneer behind the Foley technique named after him. The movie business was already using and adding in sound after recording scenes thats no myth. So what does Jack Donovan Foley so that was so pioneering? What Jack Foley did was tailor make  sounds for each scene so that each sound was unique and felt much more real then using generic and often bland sounds. Its a line of work that until his death was never credited. He was never featured in the credit of any film he created sounds  for. The foley industry has become massive and there are awards given to films for their sound effects and other sound related arts. But to think it all really started from one man thinking about making something just sound better. Its amazing to listen to just the noises of a film and realise how a silentfilm looks just so out of place.
 (Picture Right http://filmsound.org/foley/foley.jpg)

2. The technique that Foley created was and still is a way of creating sounds after filming to be edited in after. One example that seems to be very prominent in his career was working on the film "Spartacus". This is a quote from http://filmsound.org/foley/unsung-hero.htm "Director Stanley Kubrick wanted to reshoot the Roman army marching to battle because the location sound was no good. Foley ran out to his car and retrieved a large ring of keys, which he then jangled in sync to the march step, creating the rhythmic "ching" of the armour and saving production the expense of a two-day shoot with soldier extras."As an example of what foley is, this cant get any better. Using everyday objects to create sounds for a film is basically as simple as it gets. Many people who work in the business have their workshops full of hundreds of different objects to create unique and varying sounds for many films. Its a form of work that I view myself as a form of art and I think could be very enjoyable to do.



3. When it came to creating the Foley technique it was done under a bit of commercial pressure. When he was at the age of 23 he was working with Universal Studios in 1914. He worked with them on some of their silent films but when the world of film decided its time for sound made its entrance he and a sound team were brought in by Universal studios to make their silent musical Show Boat a fully sounded film. Due to the fact the Microphones could only just about record voices and singing Foley and a team were given the task of creating the sounds for the rest of the film. This is possibly the first film to unofficially use the Foley technique.
(Picture Right http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Broadcasting_a_radio_play_at_NBC_studio.jpg/330px-Broadcasting_a_radio_play_at_NBC_studio.jpg)

4. To me the reason Foley is still used is because its just so darned effective. I mean watching any film behind the scenes has evidence of it being used, but there is no way you could tell that the sounds were added in after, its something that never occurs to a viewer until told about it. Like I mention above I believe its a great form of art and is very much ingrained into film making itself as a key component. I don't think any great film that has been out in the last 20 years would be the same without the hard work that goes into each and every sound recorded by a Foley Artist. Is there any doubt that it shouldn't be replaced in my mind. No is the simple answer. The work is amazing and its a essential part of every film and if done right can make or break a film. Thats why to me it is a crucial part of film culture and deserves to be part of it for as long as we create films.

(All quotes http://filmsound.org/foley/unsung-hero.htm)