Joseph Maugeri, IDC4001H

Timescapes at the Museum of the City of New York is a multimedia/multiscreen production that gives a brief history of one of the greatest cities. Spanning from Manhattan’s days as a simple farm land to what we know today.

I think it is easy to criticize the video for not including everything about the city, but I think that James Sanders and his team did a fine job with this project. It is only a twenty two minute flick that throws a lot of information at it’s audience in a easy to digest fashion. The scenes on each of the three screens were engineered to allow your eyes to jump from one image to the next organically. I sat in the back of the room, and many times I saw multiple people moving their heads in the same way to follow the projections. The music was fitting but not overwhelming, simple piano melodies to more orchestrated pieces set different tones easily. The narrator’s voice was perfect; it was clear, well-paced, and actually interesting. I think it that the creators of Timescapes optimized the 22 minutes that the show lasts. Plus I even got to meet Duke Ellington.

The only thing I would have liked was a locking door (rather than a curtain) to separate us from the outside hallway without interruptions like people leaving/poking their head in, I lost the connection to the film a few times because of that. Other than that I really enjoyed it.