Museum of the Moving Image

I remember going to the Museum of the Moving Image when I was a child in elementary school. It was quite very boring because, if my memory is correct, it looked very drabby inside and honestly, I didn't care about the moving image or flip books of myself saying "hello" to the camera (which we got to make at the end). All I wanted to do was go home and watch some cartoons. Now, over a decade later, this place is amazing. This renovated building is so cool with its modern, space age design with eyecatching LED lights placed throughout. Furthermore, it has some very interesting exibitions.

One memorable exhibition for me was the "Behind the Screen" exhibition. This exhibition featured some of the most fascinating equipment ever used to creat films, it also has interactive exhibits to explain the process of film making. One of the demonstrations that I really enjoyed was the demonstration on sound design for the movie Titanic. We learned of the many layers required into creating a soundtrack which included the dialogue, music and sound effects. It was especially interesting when he started presenting the dialogue or rather...people screaming. Not much emotion was present when all you can hear are panting screamers. But if you add in more layers of sound effects and music (all recorded independently from one another)you will have something completely believable.

Here's the kicker. These sounds were recorded independently from one another. You would think that they actually broke a ship, or threw people around to get the sounds they needed, right? Wrong. The methods these sound engineers employed are ingenious and definitely not something someone would think of immediately as a means to achieve their desired sound. For example, when Rose fell, she did not make any of the sound that you hear; it was made seperately by throwing a chair to the floor. It was absolutely mind blowing when I learned this and it really made me wonder what other 'shortcuts and techniques' the crew of a movie would employ to achieve their goal.

Beyond the demonstrations, what I really loved was being able to get so close to the props and costumes used in famous movies. I couldn't peel my eyes off of them. The level of skill, time and dedication it must have taken someone to complete these works of art is truly admirable and laudable.