mirahistorygmu

Assignment No. 4, in written form

Mary Miraglia November 3, 2004

Preliminary Video Story Board – History 615.002, Fall 2004

Scene One: (Video Opening)
Open on scenes of Washington, DC with Scroll over of title, etc.

Scrolling Text:

Mira Productions

Presents

In Search of Barker Hall --
Rediscovering a Forgotten Jewel

Image track: (historic stills—Library of Congress collections)

[Frame one [Frame two [Frame Three

US Capitol White House Washington

] ] Monument ]

Music track: Classical Piano Music – GMU Music Student

Narration track: (GMU Acting Student Narrator—voice starts as first
images end and continues with the next set of
images.)

Text – “People coming to the Nation’s Capitol to live and work during the
1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s came to a city, more small town in
nature than other world capitals.

Many institutions helped young men and, especially, young women adjust to life in Washington by providing shelter, food,
spiritual and cultural substitutes to replace those services of their homes.”

Segment A: (Text on black background): “Where to live”

Image track: (photo/stills by producer)

[Frame Four [Frame Five [Frame Six [Frame 7

Meridian Hill Springer’s 1711 19th Intl House

Residency ] ] St., NW ] R St., NW]

Print over images: test: names of places or addresses

Music track: classical guitar music --Washington teacher/performer

Narration track:

Test – “Many young government women’s first home was the Meridian Hill
House on 16th Street, near Columbia Road, NW, while other young
women and men lived in boarding homes around Dupont Circle—some
buildings exclusively for female residents, like Singer’s on 19th Street
near R Street, NW., and others for international students of both sexes
like the International House on R Street, near 18th. ”

“They discovered numerous locations to pursue popular pastimes, like
popular music performances at the Uline Arena, 3rd and M Streets, NE ,
listening to the radio (everything from mysteries to popular and serious
music from special locations around the country), playing cards and
games, or attending amusement parks, like Glen Echo in Maryland.”

Segment B: (Text over black screen): “Where to Play”

[Frame 8 [Frame 9 [Frame 10 [Frame 11

women couples couples people at

listening playing playing amusement

to radio ] cards ] games ] Glen Echo ]

Music track: find swing music (free, royalty free, copy right free)
Segment C: (Text over black screen): “Where to Eat”

Narration track:

Text – “Most boarding house residents ate outside their rooms at drug store counters,
like former Peoples Drug Store (now CVS) lunch counter at Dupont Circle.”

Image track: photo/stills by producer of former locations:

[Frame 12 [Frame 13

Old People’s Old Drug

now CVS ] lunch counter]

Print Over above images: former name of drug stores and location.

Narration test continued: “or nearby cafeterias like Scholl’s on Connecticut or K
Street, NW, where reasonable priced meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) were
not only possible but an excellent alternative to hot plates and expulsion from a
room.”

Image track: historic stills – Library of Congress collection

[Frame 14 [Frame 15 [Frame 16 [Frame 17

Scholl’s dinners at dancers Swing

line ] cafeteria ] at Uline’s ] at Uline’s ]

Segment D: (Text over black screen): “Where to attend concerts”

Narration track:

Test - “Young people participated in attactivities as different as attending
church, passing social time in bars, and participating in social
organizations and functions. However, they still found time to attend
serious music recitals and concerts at a variety of facilities, both public
and private before the Kennedy Center opened in 1971. Washington also provided some unusual locations for performances like Watergate concerts on the Potomac, outdoor pavilions at the edge of Rock Creek Park like those at Carter Baron amphitheater, and performances on the US Capitol’s East Front or White House lawn.”

Image track: historic stills from Library of Congress Collections

[Frame 18 [Frame 19 [Frame 20 [Frame 21

Images of my photo of Concerts Concerts

Watergate] Carter Baron] Capitol ] White House]

Narration text continued: “Numerous public and private indoor facilities
also provided excellent opportunities to hear free or inexpensive
performance by soloists, chamber groups, and small symphonies.”

Printed Labels/Titles over images and identifying images:

[Frame 22 [Frame 23 [Frame 24 [Frame 25

Ext. & Int. Ext. & Int. Ext. of Ext. of

Anderson Cosmos Club] Meridian Phillips

House ] House ] Gallery ]

[Frame 26 [Frame 27 [Frame 28 [Frame 29

Ext. & Int. Ext. & Int. Ext. of Coolidge

Corcoran National Library of Auditorium,

Gallery ] Gallery ] Congress ] LOC ]

Music track (over the images of the recital rooms and halls (private
and public): Both free chamber music and piano performance, GMU student.

Scene Two: (Text Over Black Screen): “Why is Barker Hall Important?”

Narration Track: (start with images of Coolidge Auditorium)

“Although most musicians and critics considered the Coolidge
Auditorium of the Library of Congress to be the finest room or
hall in which to perform chamber music or recitals because of its
magnificent acoustics and exquisite setting. Washington once had a
hall of equally fine acoustics and setting, although on a much smaller
scale, and with one major advantage for most Washingtonians—it was a
hall for hire to performances that were open to a paying audience and
not a room limited to performance by invitation only and attendance to
a narrow opportunity. It was the Barker Hall of former YWCA, located
at 1629 K Streets, NW, Washington, DC.”

Image track, along with video track of interviews and images:

Images:

[Frame 30 [Frame 31 [Frame 32

(pending) (pending) (pending)
Historic Historic Historic

Image of image of image of

17th Street 17th Street Barker Hall
YWCA ] YWCA ] YWCA ]

Video/sound Interviews: (Interviewees’ names imposed on image)

[No. 1, Musician/teacher/presenter of performers at Barker
Hall and other rooms talks about what the “Y” meant
to him and why Barker Hall was so unusual and whom
he saw perform there -- please note that excerpts of
this interview will be inserted, if any of his interview
reflects on previous images and text to add
explanation. ]

[No. 2, recital attendee of various rooms halls and also
presenter of performers at Barker Hall and other
places speaks to why the “Y” was important to her and
why recitals and concerts that she attended,
throughout Washington since the 1960s, especially
those at Barker Hall, were important to her personally
note that excerpts of her interview are used in video.]
Music track: performance of piano music by GMU student and
Guitar performer through images and words about Barker Hall.

Scene Three: (Final Part of Video and Conclusion) – Insert Text on black
Screen: “What happened to Barker Hall?”

Images: (current photos by producer)

[Frame 33 [Frame 34 [Frame 35

Image of Image of Image of

Kennedy Kennedy Current

Center, Ext.] Center, Int.] 1629 K St., NW]

Insert Text on black screen: “The Answer is that ‘Things Change’”

Video images: (current images by producer)

[No. 1 current state of 1619 K Street, current downtown YWCA –
showing the Bank bldg that replaced the old “Y” and
showing the new “Y” with its new mission. ]

[No. 2 exterior of Kennedy Center to show replacement of former
site at Constitution Hall—for Constitution switch to stills of
Ext. and Int. ]

Narration Text: (over video images and closing still images)

“Things change, times change, things go in and out of fashion. The story of the
17th Street YWCA was one of progress, changing mission, and changing needs.
The ideal location and financial situation of former downtown “Y” placed
pressure on the leadership of the “Y” to think to the future and different societal needs then those served in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.”

“The Kennedy Center arose out of the 1960 drives to create an appropriate setting in Washington for the performing arts, including serious recital and ensemble music. The final push for raising the money and creating the center came out of the desire to create a fitting memorial to the martyred president, John F. Kennedy, especially by his wife, admirers, and friends.”

“The final blow for the 17th Street “Y” and Barker Hall came from a developers offer to give not only money for the old location but free land upon which to build a new smaller building than the former “Y,” with no room for the luxury of a “Jewel” of a concert Hall.”

Insert Narration final text and statement over the final image of
Capitol.

“One wonders whether progress and changing priorities might still have found room to save Barker Hall and preserve an homage to a different age, with room for elegance and intimacy in an age of impersonality.”

Final Image tract: closing credits scroll over some historic images

[Frame 36 [Frame 37 [Frame 38

own photo own photo Historic

Kennedy White House] image of

Center ] Capitol ]

Music track: piano music by GMU student “Moon Light Sonata”

Sound track: sounds of applause rising and fading out.

Assignment No. Four.partd

Classmates and Dr. Petrik,

Just to bring you up-to-date on my progress with final assignment, etc.

Problem No. 1: lost 36 images or photos (to replace poor quality images and to add new images needed to complete the video) either because the developing firm had a problem or the Canon 35 mm camera that I bother had a mal-fuction. Either way, I have to retake the images.

Concern No. 1: wondering if the images that I captured on a Zip disk will burn correctly on CD, so that I can use the historic images that I took time to download.

Problem No. 2: I am having trouble with the blog, which I hope to work out this weekend. I lost the first version of this message. Hope this one gets through.

Concern No. 2: I am still waiting on verification in writing that I have permission to use images, sound, interviews etc. Without such confirmation in writing, I am unable to put many images or sounds over the net.

Found a resource when I was at the Copy Right Office of the Library of Congress (LOC). Check out www.copyright.gov. Look at Copyright Notice, Copyright Registration for Motion Pictures including Video Recordings, In answr to your query, fair use. You can simply add a circule with a c in the center and your name and date typed to touch the circle--this gives you copyright over your own intellectual work--of course, without registering it at the LOC.

I am going to try and send my Assignment No. 4 and see if it gets through.

See you in class,

Mary

Assignment No. Four.print

Download f04h615.02StoryBoardF#95068.doc

F04H615.002.Second Assignment.NarrativePlan.JrnlArticl.

Assignment Two M. J. Miraglia
Fall, History 615.002 September 29, 2004

Narrative Plan – adopting journal article to video format.

Robert Orsi, “The Religious Boundaries of an Inbetween People: Street Festa and the Problem of the Dark-Skinned Other in Italian Harlem, 1920-1990.” American Quarterly 44 (September, 1992): 313-347.

Proposed Film Title: “The ‘Inbetween’ People: Finding a Place in the New York City’s East Harlem American Scene, 1920 to Present – based on Robert Orsi’s theory of ‘Skin Color’ and Americans of Southern Italian heritage or an interpretation of Italian-American History.”

Opening Narrative over the opening title and the first historic images of 19th and 20th Century Roman Catholic Street Procession celebration of the Madonna of 115th Street, the annual festa of “Italian” Harlem’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel, first initiated by immigrants from Polla Italy in the province of Salerno near Naples.

Act One, Scene One: Exposition of Author’s theory.
Narration: “Swarthy, kinky-haired immigrants from southern Italy (as they were almost always described by the press in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) were . . . fascinating to white Americans . . . they could not figure out what they were looking at. Were the olive-skinned newcomers white or black, the only two possibilities in the domestic racial taxonomy [Orsi, pp. 338-339]?”

Video images will change from historic stills of Southern Italian immigrants entering the United States (debarking ships and processing at Ellis Island), streets scenes of “Italian” Harlem, and Italian immigrants in their homes and at work.

Music played under narration during segments of debarkation will be traditional folk music of Italy and during the images of East Harlem will emphasize the folk tunes of the Neapolitan area. Music played during the scene of the street procession will be traditional Italian marching band or open-air concert music. Arias from Italian operas will underline the scene of family life and religious devotion. The popular Italian song “Mama” will underscore the images of mothers, especially those showing devotion and cooking/serving food for a celebration (scenes of the home). Scenes (images) of tension between communities (Italian and Puerto Rican conflict) might be underscored by orchestral music from ”West Side Story.” If possible, in the scenes depicting the cooperation between the Haitian and Italian-American communities during the festa will feature music of contemporary processions in which the communities play each other’s music.

Scenes Two, three, and four: Narration exposes the themes of “inbetweenness.” The images and narration (especially using the author’s own words) explore the author’s belief that the experience of separateness by Southern Italians and their families, in Italy and during three periods in East Harlem’s history, exemplified the total Italian-American experience in America. Especially featured in the narration will be 19th century (probably still existing) negative attitudes and policies of discrimination of Northern Italian officials’ (and people) toward Southern Italians (with all the stereotypes) and the extension of these attitudes and beliefs to the New World (United States).

The use of the street celebrations (festas) not only demonstrates (first) their special way of celebrating their faith, traditions, and importance of family. It (second) also demonstrates their “Americanness” and visualizes their acceptance as different and distinct from the new “dark skinned” community that moved in and began to replace them in East Harlem, just as they had replaced earlier immigrant groups of German and Irish immigrants and their children when those groups moved up town and to the suburbs.

Next (third) the festa is used to demonstrate the exclusion of Puerto Rican faces from the celebration, again demonstrating their (those Italian-Americans who remained) state of inbetweenness. Hopefully, there will be images that demonstrate the growing tensions (images and words to quote from newspaper articles and the diaries and letters from both communities besides those quoted in the article). The narration (fourth) must indicate that the Italian old-timers’ anger demonstrated toward their growing new neighbors was two fold. First, it meant change in their way of life. Second, the anger toward the newcomers (“the so-called Puerto Ricans”) was an outlet for their unexpressed anger toward their children for leaving the community (allowing space for the newcomers) and, most important, betraying their most important and precious value, belief system, or possession of identity and worth, the “familia.” Finally, (fourth) will be the absence of the Puerto Rican presence or images in the celebration, except to show their ignoring or interfering with the procession, and the recent arrival of accepted Haitian immigrant faithful (devoted to the Madonna of Mount Carmel), some how perceived as non-dark skin and as co-religionists.

Video images with include historic maps of Italy (before and after unification), maps of upper New York City’s East side, (if possible) stills of the early Italian immigrant settlement, the entrance of Puerto Ricans (after World War II and the 1950s), the relocation of the Italian immigrant’s children in the Bronx, etc., and the remaining Italian-American population.

Act Two, Scenes One, Two and Three: This section will explore contemporary images of celebration today (both stills and video) with interviews of participants, priests, neighborhood residents (Italian-Americans and Puerto Rican immigrants, as well as descendents) to test the author’s themes. See if it is possible to interview the owners of Rio Restaurant on their views—they are located a block or so from the church and the procession. The narration underlines the evidence airing from the images and the interviews and examines the evidence to confirm whether the author’s findings of over ten years ago still hold up.

Act Three: The video concludes with narration over images (both fictional—movies and television depictions of contemporary Italian-American life—and actual—historic stills of Italian-American suburban communities). There were four converging factors constituting “inbetweenness.” The mid-suspended state in which the immigrants of Southern Italy and their descents found themselves was based on first, “the use of racist categories by northern Italians to distinguish them from and to exclude southern Italians.” Second, it was based on “the assumption of this same discourse by American commentators on southern Italian immigration.” Third, there was the coincidence of this migration with the movement of other darker skinned peoples into North American cities.” Finally, there was “the determination of southern Italians to make dignified lives for themselves in the terms of the new environment [Orsi, p. 314].”

“Urban street religion generally, and the festa of the Madonna of 115th street in particular, cannot be simply cast either as the site of racist exclusion or of solidarity and community in ‘the inner city. It was rather the place where the dilemmas and dangers of inbetweenness in the complex circumstances of American city life were encountered, explored, enacted, and narrated [Orsi, p. 341].”

Video images close on the features of the Madonna and a historic or contemporary female figure (if possible, American of Italian Heritage) in prayer, and mixture of images of festa.

Narration concludes over the closing credits and above images: “ . . . urban street religion is one of the privileged sites as which different peoples with a variety of complexions encounter each other and enact their understandings of themselves in relation to the other, in ritual and story, for themselves and others to see and hear, over the changing movements of their histories. This is why violence is so often dreaded at such events, even though it erupts less frequently than it is feared. People understand that these public religious occasions are times of conflict and contestation, when the world and one’s place in it are played out in the streets [Orsi, p. 339].” Final Comment in different narration voice: If you wish to read Dr. Orsi’s definitive study on Italian Harlem, please consult: The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem. New Haven: Yale University Press, c 1985, 2002.

F04h615.02.SceneAnalysis

History 615.002 Mary J. Miraglia
TypePad Blog Entry September 15, 2004

Response to Questions and presentation of Scene Analysis:

Ken Burns wanted to approach telling the story of the American Civil War (1861-1865) in his own visual terms and from his own point of view. His study, a series of videos, was to be no repeat of the traditional “Guns and Drums” written approach with its focus on the military, political, diplomatic and economic history or story of the war. A format normally based on the reenactment and analysis of battles of the war, whose causes rose solely from economic and political issues.

It took only seconds (roughly a minute or two) for Burns to introduce his vision and purpose for creating the series. He did this by not only utilizing visual images but also by using music, sound and narration. He chose images captured in photographic stills, posters, illustrations and art, newspaper accounts, maps, and recently shot interviews with his human resources (consultants such as historians, especially Barbara J. Fields, and writers, Shelby Foote), and videos of battle sights or evocative iconic visualization of his message (the opening shot of a single canon disrupting an idyllic scene).

He also used the other tools and effects of the documentary in telling his version of a well-known story. He effectively used the documented historic words of major and minor actors of the historic era by having well cast performers or actors speak their words from letters, diaries, reports, and speeches. He effectively merged the gripping images of slavery and war with haunting original music (which was so reminiscent of the period as to be confused as being era music). His also used authentic music of the period (especially the gospels), along with creative sound effects (slaves in the cotton field or the furiousness of the sounds of the battlefield or crowd scenes), to bring history alive.

Most importantly, he used a running narrative and description of the history, events, and story (effectively and authoritatively voiced and delivered by author, David McCullough). The narrative delivered Burn’s cultural and social interpretation of the war’s story. Here was an interpretation that codified his theme of an indictment of slavery’s culpability in creating the tension between the North and the South in causing the war, as well as his theme that the war was also a human story in search of freedom and possible redemption, both at the time and projected to the present.

“The Cause” had many impressive scenes and images, as well as evocative sounds, which made a significant impact on me as a viewer. The most central scene of the first episode was the interviews and words of Shelby Foote and Barbara Fields (coupled with the narrative) that followed the graphic scenes of slavery and the newsreels of the aged veterans long after the war. Foot’s and Field’s words gave an underlying documentation and summation of Burn’s themes for the episode and potentially for the series.

The importance of the series (Burn’s documentary) for history was at two levels. First, it reached a far broader and larger audience on public television than anticipated. The series informed educated and stimulated interest in reading and studying American history, particularly the Civil War. Its success may have signaled the return and resurgence of the documentary as a manner to reach the American people, outside of traditional commercial television or films.

Second, video provided a new avenue for presentation of new interpretations of American history for an audience beyond the academic one. Its ability to pack numerous and sometimes contradictory ideas, interpretations, and perception of a topic through images, music, and words meant that a young audience might be reached. Hopefully, the audience would not only be entertained but also encouraged to learn more about a topic, like history.

The use of video, in a rapid succession of images, sounds and words, presents a vision of history that might be more acceptable and accessible for most people than the standard text. It also provides and opens avenues for new interpretations of American history by new voices that might have difficulty finding an audience or expression through traditional venues.

The Burn’s documentary of the Civil War demonstrated both the strengths and weakness of the medium and the methodology (use of images that may be historically incorrect or misleading). However, the strengths of visualizing a story (with complicated issues and ideas) to making it accessible to a large audience were unmistakable. The “Civil War’s” hook was true to history and story telling and effective enough to reach its audience.

F04H615.02.ProposalsVideoTopic

History 615.02 Sept. 8, 2004 Miraglia Video Topic Proposals

Here are three potential topics to consider for class assignment: historic video documentary.

Listed By Preference:

Lost Washington Cultural Icons, their history, and role in D.C. Social, Cultural Life:

Barker Hall, YWCA, 17th and K Sts, N.W. -- recital hall that some considered with the best accustics
Title: Forgotten Gem--Barker Hall, YWCA

Uline Arena, 3rd and M Sts., N.E. -- unusual setting for ballet, Beatles and folk music concerts, also
circus
Title: Unusual Cultural Resource among the "Ice."

A little known story of immigrant history:

Holy Rosary Church, 3rd and E Streets, N.W. -- an Italian immigrant story in Nation's Capitol
Title: An American Roman Catholic Church with an Italian accent and history