Labyrinth

 

Scene Breakdown: Mal's Death - Inception

In this highly emotional scene from Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film “Inception”, a combination of various shots and editing choices aid in defining a space, situation, and tone. The scene is divided mainly into two spaces, the interior of the hotel room, and the exterior on the window ledge. As Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Cobb enters the hotel room, the first shot is a close up revealing an alarmed and confused facial expression. This is immediately followed by a point of view shot giving a general shot of the messy, ransacked room. Following shots show various details of the room, including extreme close ups of specific, small objects. Within the first 20 seconds, the director alternates mainly between 5 different angles, all aiding in defining the space of the hotel room. This single space montage approach creates context in a swift and effective manner.  

After defining the interior of the hotel room and establishing valuable context, the scene shifts to the exterior window ledges, where Marion Cotillard's character Mal is sitting on a ledge of a next door building. The shots follow the 180 rule and follow eyeline matches to establish the confrontation between Cobb and Mal, even as the two characters are on opposite ledges. The climax of the scene, signaled by intensifying music, relies on a more focused strategy of shots. As the emotional stakes increase, the scene shifts almost exclusively to close up shots between the two characters. These close ups effectively reveal a contrast in the characters’ emotional states, as Cobb appears bewildered, fearful, and desperate, while Mal appears calm and composed. As the scope of the scene gradually becomes more focused on the characters' expressions and appearance, the emotional gravity of the scene overall is fully realized in the closing moments of the scene.

Project #2: Audio Portrait

 

leevitate · Leevi Antturi Audio Portrait

Soundwalk

For my hour-long “Soundwalk”, an exercise in sonic awareness, I spent my time in the East Village after work. I often walk towards this neighborhood in the evenings after work, mainly due to its vibrant energy and consistent presence of almost movie-like characters. Typically, I experienced this neighborhood in a mainly visual sense. As I walk through the neighborhood and observe the different people and businesses, I do it with noise canceling headphones as a form of distance from complete immersion into the area. With this soundwalk however, I had a noticeably different experience as instead of listening to music the whole time, I tried my best to focus on the surrounding sounds. Being that it was a Friday evening, many of the sounds were closely related to “night life”. Bars, restaurants, and clubs on every block of Avenue A all sent out loud, thumping music, accompanied by scores of laughter and loud discussion coming from people in the bars and on the streets. At times this constant noise, coming from a sober, outside perspective, felt overwhelming and oversaturated. This made it difficult to discern between specific sounds and their sources. In a way, the majority of the sounds were “sound signals” noises, as they all in a way are motivated by an intent to draw attention. The various bars and clubs emit loud music as a way to attract patrons, while individuals speak in increased volumes as a way to attract attention socially. This high level of sound signal noise creates a high energy atmosphere sonically. This is typical for the neighborhood, especially during evenings, and is part of its identity as a lively and energetic neighborhood.

Defining Space - Leevi Antturi

 

Artist Statement

 I am an aspiring interdisciplinary artist using photography, film, and digital art to examine the relationships of places and people around me. Growing up in an expansive urban environment, it became clear to me at an early age that space is interpreted, explored, and understood in vastly different ways by people in close physical proximity to one another. Having studied urban sociology, this interest in urban experiences only grew, creating a strong desire to present the ideas I studied in a more emotional and tangible way. I am seeking to communicate these ideas through an intimate view into the lives of individuals and communities as a means to examine the reasons for these varied interpretations of space.