Final Exam Videos & Sounds!

This is a video of Doc Chris talking to us at Charm City Cupcakes. Marissa brought a friend for the trip – she’s not even in our class and Doc put her on trial! After doing a headcount of who showed up, Doc put all the guys except for John on blast because none of them showed up! In the background, you can hear some of the girls shouting enthusiastic “Yeah’s!” when Doc is reprimanding the guys that didn’t show up. There are also other noises in the background me trying not to laugh in the background…clearly I couldn’t hold it in – Doc Chris was being too entertaining! Charm City Cupcakes is located pretty close to a main road so you can also hear cars passing by. 

In the next video, Doc Chris is explaining to the class what the final exam will consist of. In the beginning, you can see that Alex is also recording Doc! About halfway through the video, someone turns music on, making it a little more difficult to hear Doc. It’s great to be able to record Doc in class because if I ever need to refresh my memory on a topic we covered or an assignment that is due, I can just go onto my phone and see exactly what Doc and my other classmates said about it! It would be so much easier if I could do this in all of my other classes when we reviewed for the final exam or went over a really important topic in class.

 

I took this video (below) in Boston when I was waiting for a train. You can even hear a train passing by about 40 seconds into the video! There are usually people performing underground on the train platforms and I thought this was a perfect opportunity for me to capture something in real life that demonstrated the importance of sound, sight, and motion in our world! I love how you can see people behind him walking in and out of the subway or walking past him, going about their daily lives while he stands still, making beautiful music. There is something to be said for just taking a moment to appreciate something beautiful, even if we are constantly running around trying to get from one place to another.

I was also really happy that this guy was cool about me video taping him. Earlier that week I tried to record a video of another subway performer who was singing an Elton John song that I love and he stopped singing to tell me to put my camera away! I understand that everyone has a right to whatever privacy they want, but you would think that, as a subway performer, he would want as much exposure as possible! In this generation, so many famous young artists have been discovered on sites like YouTube (i.e. Justin Bieber!!!) He should definitely take advantage of the new world of social media!

I was VERY close to not posting the next video because it is so silly and embarrassing, but then I thought, “who cares?!” It is a video I took over Thanksgiving when a few of my cousins and I stayed at my aunt and uncle’s house. My Uncle Joe is a great musician! He plays the piano, a little drums, and is learning the bass guitar now. When he and my aunt were building their house in the Cape, he made sure that he would have a place where he could go, jam, and forget about the stresses of work and everyday life. As you can see in the video, he installed an amazing karaoke system that my cousins and I love to use! In this particular video, we are singing “Smile” by Uncle Cracker. Even though the video isn’t great quality, you can still see some of the posters on the wall – peace signs, the Beatles, Bob Marley!

To the right of where I was sitting (and filming), there are drums, guitars, a mic stand, and more, all plugged into an amazing sound system. My Uncle and I do open mic nights during the summer and we always use this room to practice!

My roommate showed me this video last year during finals when we were both completely overwhelmed with work. Once we watched the video, however, we couldn’t help but smile! It is so adorable and hilarious all at the same time! I decided to include it in this portion of my final exam because it demonstrates how, even as babies, we react to sounds! Sounds have the ability to make us happy, sad, anxious, relaxed, etc. One sound or song can evoke such strong emotions, influencing our mood like we see so clearly in this video. The baby was clearly very unhappy about being put in his car seat, but all it took to calm him down was one Bob Marley song!

 

I chose this video (below) from YouTube because Deadmau5 incorporates SO many sights, sounds, and motions into his shows! He is a really popular DJ that plays “house” music, which is basically techno/dance music. I said earlier that music has the ability to influence our mood and actions, and Deadmau5’s tracks are no exception! I have seen him live, and I can say from personal experience that when you listen to this music, you won’t be able to resist the urge to dance! The lights really add to the insane beats in the music. Also, having everyone stand on a dance floor, rather than sit in seats for the show, makes you feel as though you are celebrating and dancing with everyone there! It is an amazing feeling!