MOMI

My trip to the Museum of the Moving Image was an exciting one. I've always been one to geek out about things related to film, and to go to a place that is completely devoted to it was like a dream. One of my favorite parts of the Museum wasn't actually covered by my tour group. However, I noticed in a corner near the costume section was a glass case full of screenplays. It was super exciting for me to be able to see an original copy of the screenplay of Taxi Driver. I actually make it a point to mention it to anyone who cares to ask. My favorite part though was when we got to play around in the ADR booth. I personally didn't get a chance to contribute my voice, but I got to see three classmates do it. I guess I never realized that there is a whole intricate setup in place purely devoted to replacing lines of dialogue should something happen in filming/sound recording. It kind of opened my eyes to how many roles go into the production of a film. Often times we only see directors and actors receive accolades for their achievements, but I this little demo really opened my eyes to how talented the sound production has to be on a film. This trip to the MOMI really educated me on just how far film has come, and has filled me with the drive to want to be a part of what film will become. There is always room for new innovation, but at the same time it's important to know where the process evolved from.

LARP Audio Project from Dennis Ragone on Vimeo.

Sound Walk

I went walking near Penn Station while waiting for a train that was an hour away. This was a particularly interesting night to do a soundwalk because I encountered 2 different groups of street musicians. The first that I encountered was a group of 3 bucket drummers using old paint cans as instruments. The metal made an interesting sound especially contrasting the sound of the cars on the street. The second group I encountered was a small Jazz band with a japanese man playing the saxophone leading them. This was by far my favorite of the three. It reminded me of this show I used to watch called Cowboy Bebop that had a soundtrack that was very heavily jazz influenced.  Although finding music itself on the streets is always fun, what struck me most about the walk was how different I heard the sounds of the city. When you are making it a point to listen to the sounds of the city you can be surprised. The sounds of car horns, people talking, and living there lives takes on a whole different meaning. It actually opened my eyes to what I could use in video to add depth to what I'm trying to showcase.

Project 1: Define a Space

Music @ Hunter

Artistic Statement

My name is Dennis James Ragone, and I hope to be a future writer, and director. I have no shame in saying that the reason I am so interested in film is because of a man named Quentin Tarantino. I first fell in love with him when he released Kill Bill Volume 1. I was aware of his previous works but Kill Bill was the first film of his I was exposed to. I was even more enthralled when Volume 2 was released. The funny part is, my parents would not let me see these movies so I had to obtain a pirated version. This allowed me to actually edit the footage, and audio found on the disc. I spent the next year making faux commercials for Kill Bill. It's then I realized that I loved film and would love to be any part of the filmmaking process.

I also find music to be a tremendous inspiration when it comes to creating characters. Some characters i've created are entirely based on a song i've heard. I think this also stems from Tarantino. The soundtracks he incorporates into his films are absurdly iconic, and cool.

I would like to be a part of films that deal with LGBT characters as I feel we are vastly underrepresented in media. I think there is a lot of potential for LGBT story lines to really become very popular in film, because a big part of it is representing the human condition. In my opinion, there are no better representations of the human experience than groups of people who have been discriminated against for a very long time. I feel like I want to be a part of this new wave of films focused on the hardships of the LGBT community.

I also have a large interest in science fiction type films. A dream of mine would be to have a large sci-fi project that includes LGBT characters. I think there is a lot of narrative  potential to have characters not seen as "normative" to mainstream society being thrust into situations outside of reality itself. Random note: my favorite plot device in sci-fi is the concept of time travel (but only when it's done right!)

I am also very influenced by video games. I have been ever since I was a child. I think they are a very underrated art form. Especially with the current generation of video games, some of them have become very good narratives told in a very interactive form. A current narrative gem,  in my opinion, right now is a game called The Last of Us. In my opinion it is one the best post apocalyptic narratives ever told. The medium keeps evolving to include more narrative focused games, and I feel like it gives me another unique perspective in regards to my film making.

I hope to combine all my inspirations to truly create a name for myself that I can be proud of. All I really want from life is to create things that invoke thought within people.