ITEM #3: Media Critique

            For my creative piece, I have chosen the opening clip from the movie August Rush. August Rush is a movie about a young boy who runs away in search of his real parents. He searches for his parents through his love of music and amazing drive and talent. In this opening clip we first see darkness and the opening titles along with the narrative voice of the main character, August. Next, we slowly start to hear small background noises such as flutes, humming noises, and the sounds of nature. These sounds are all casual sounds. We hear the sounds of wind instruments and nature, and then we actually see all of these things making the noises. We then see a close up and out of focus shot of the sun and some grass in a field. After this comes a shot of the main character playing in a field. He is imagining that he is directing the wind and grass to make music. This is a form of reduced, or acousmatic sound. This is true because we see the grass blowing but hear sounds of violins and other orchestra like sounds. The main character is imagining that he is directing an orchestra, so the grass and winds are representing the instruments being played. I believe that this is a great opening clip because of its use of both casual and reduced sounds. I like how it goes from casual to reduced because it encourages the audience to use their imagination. There is also the element of figure and ground. This means that we can see the grass moving and the insects flying while they are making their noises. The music also has good tempo and rhythm that draw the audience in and captures their attention. The music and sounds perfectly match up to the movements and rhythms of the picture being shown. It is upbeat and happy music that makes you want to keep watching the movie. Another thing about this clip is its use of medium shots that pan rom up to down. This gives the scene a larger feel and makes everything seem wider and bigger. There is also a lot of close up shots that are out of focus. These also give the clip an interesting feel. In conclusion, this opening clip has a lot of technical aspects that draw the audience in and give the movie a warm and magical feeling. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyDwYmYpDwE