Lecture 8, ITAP - Production for Visual Communication

When we talk about production, it is not instant that we think of visual production, but with some thought, a lot of production is visual communication. We’ve been visually communicating through out the whole of time, even through wet clay markings in 2000 BC. We advanced to pictures for instances the earliest recorded history were the pictures of Babalon from around 3300 BC. Moving on to 400 AD, the world’s oldest dated book is recorded on silk, called ‘The Diamond Sutra”. The first printed book in America was ‘The Whole Book of Psalms’ printed in 1664. But the history of the printing of books is rich in history well before is reached the United States. The first printed book in Europe was printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany in the 1450s, it was called the Gutenberg Bible and was printed with a movable type printing press. It was printed in black letter type style that was later to be known as Texualis and Schwabacher, which was printed by an oil-based ink that would adhere to his metal type. The ink was mainly carbon but also had high metallic content with lead, titanium and copper predominating. Although William Caxton was the person to introduce this art, the printing press, into England after the Dutch, German and French. He set up a press in Westminster in 1476 and the first book to be published there was an edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. He was also the first person to print a book in English.

If you try and think about the 10 key developments which helped in the production of graphics to how it got here today, there’s a lot to think about. What counts as a milestone rather than just a development what makes history to how we conjure and manipulate images today, what production of technology makes graphics what it is? Well, looking through from 3500 BC through to 2008, there’s a lot that has gone on, I have chosen 10 key milestones which I feel have truly benefitted and changed how we do graphics in the current day. The first milestone is from 3200 BC when Sumerians use cuneiform alphabet on clay tablets, this is important because this first introduces language and communication into the world, how to talk/communicate to one and other. In 105 AD paper was invented in China by Ts’ai Lun, without paper we would be without resource that was accessible and easy to use, and today without paper, we would not be at the visual communication stage we are at now, without paper, how do we have portable communication? In 445 Johannes Gutenberg printed the first book in Europe, without the invention of printing we could not replicate and communicate the same thing several times without having to draw/write it over and over. Without printing we wouldn’t be able to communicate efficiently and productively. In 1790, Thomas Bewick perfected the process of wood engraving, without wood engraving we would never be able to get the exact replica over and over again for an image. In 1875 Offset lithography was used for printing on tin, without other forms of printing we wouldn’t be able to print onto other malleable surfaces, tin is much more hard warring that paper to therefore lasts longer, meaning a message/communication can last longer. In 1887 Monotype machine was invented by Tolbert-Lanston, which was more versatile that linotype. It was used for commercial printing, it produces individual characters to print and can switch between fonts also special symbols were easily incorporated such as math’s equations. Without the monotype machine we would not be able to print complicated communication and changing types, which are a big part of graphic communication. In 1948 the colour scanner was invented by Kodak and was a revelation for graphics, this now meant that things could be scanned into the computer and manipulated in a different way. In 1987 Apple Macintosh launched its first computer, and without computers we would not have Adobe Illustrator which was invented in 1987 which dramatically changed the way images could be views, images could now be drawn and manipulated in a completely new way that the human hand could not do before. And this was all made possible and to be views by the world through the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) introduced in 1992 by Tim Berners-Lee of CERN. Without the web we would not be able to broadcast work and communicate to people, clients, supporters and buyers of graphics without computers and the internet. It changed how graphics worked and how it was scene to become a global market accessible to everyone.

Lecture 7, ITAP - Idea and Structure in moving image

All story development can be link to the pinnacle 3 act structure, Jean-Luc Godard (a film maker) famously said that: “Every movie needs a beginning, middle and end. But not necessarily in that order.” When looking move thoroughly there is an establishment, a crisis and a resolution, where characters start in equilibrium, something then stirs it/crisis and then all parts become out of balance, and then as to resolve a new equilibrium is formed. When looking into the structure of films there are many different genres to follow, a recent film that I watched and which I am going to base the 3 act structure around is ‘In Time’ directed and written by Andrew Niccol. In Time has the classic 3 act structure, the establishment of the setting, time and storyline are the first things to be laid out. It starts will Will Salas, the main character, explaining the world he lives in, where people are genetically engineered to live to 25 and then a year after that to gain more time, the currency is now time, and people have to work to live. We see that he is from ‘the ghetto’ aka. Dayton, which is a very poor, no time district. Will meets a man who has a century on his watch and saves him from thugs at a bar. When they run to an empty warehouse and fall asleep, this is when the first change happens, the 105 year old man, Henry Hamilton gives all his time to Will and commits suicide himself by ‘timing out’. It is then that Wills mother also ‘times out’ on her way back from working and dies in Wills arms. This is the crisis. It is then that Will decides he will travel to the top of the time districts to New Grenwich – where time equals immortality to the rich. Although the ‘time keepers’ are on to Will thinking he has murdered Henry and they catch up to him in the richest man in the worlds house Philippe Weis, where he captures his beautiful daughter Sylvia Weis and goes on the run. Between them and the running they become closer, and this is where the romantic encounter appears, causing Will and Sylvia to work together against her father, whilst running away from the time keepers and the thugs of Dayton to overcome the hardship and the stolen time, giving the poor a chance to live, this is where the resolution occurs. Will and Sylvia over power her father my stealing his 1 million time clock in his safe, therefore over turning the currency of time, giving people more time to live. So to end the film, the good has conquered the evil, partly, and it is left with Will and Sylvia about to steal more time. 

Every aspect of a character is designed to communicate with the audience so as they fulfill their role and are appealing to the audience to watch. When looking at the third series of FRIENDS I looked into the second episode called: “The One Where No One is Ready”. Ross was the main character for this episode, so I decided to look into his character and how he is depicted and carries out his role. The episode is based around the fact that no one is ready for Ross’ museum benefit event where he will be making a speech. So it opens when Ross walks into Monica and Rachel’s flat, dressed in a tux, with slick gelled hair, shaven and neat, from this you can tell that they are suppose to be dressing for a smart event and that it is very important to Ross by the way he has presented himself. Ross walks in to find no one else is ready and is exact by the minute of how many minutes they have to get ready, he is also twitchy and nervous which Joey points out because he is doing a speech. Ross then has to reason between Joey and Chandlers argument over who should sit in the chair and starts to become nagging and angry. Rachel then comes out not dressed and Ross hurry’s her back into her bedroom because he needs her to be dressed. Phoebe arrives, the one person Ross is happy with because she Is dressed as “is his star”. Monica arrives home and listened to her answer machine messages and has a message from Richard, her ex, sending her into a fit of paranoia and longing, so she doesn’t get dressed, you can tell that now that Ross is getting anxious and egger for everyone to hurry up. Joey and Chandler are still arguing over the chair and flick humus at the dressed and ready Phoebe making Ross repetitive and apprehensive because now no one is ready. It starts to rain which makes Ross angry because it’ll be harder to get a cab. He then goes to pick an outfit out for Rachel because she STILL isn’t dressed and picks a Halloween costume, so she is still not dressed. Joey then walks in asking Chandler where his pants have gone and Ross has to intervene to get Joey to go back and get dressed, by this point Ross looks exasperated and slightly sweaty as if worried and stressed. He then checks the time as he has been counting down the minutes till they have to leave and his watch has stopped working, which then makes him even move agitated. Rachel then comes out comparing shoes and Ross shouts at her for taking to long and that she should wear anything. He then tries to get Monica off the phone but she pinches him, depicting that they have had this retaliation since childhood and that they are brother and sister, but gets her to go and get changed again. Rachel then comes out of her room, undressed, but now in pajamas because Ross humiliated her by shouting at her in front of everyone, Ross and Rachel have a conversation, Ross is trying to get her to understand that he still has to go, and tries to give her a kiss but she turns away. This body language shows that Ross and Rachel are together but she is unhappy about the way he treated her so is retaliating. Joey then appears with all of Chandlers clothes on as revenge and Ross is at breaking point and he tells them off, because all he wants is for Rachel to go, who he then apologizes to, to try and seek forgiveness and asks what he can do to prove it to her. Joey suggests drinking the cup of fat and Rachel agrees that that was a good idea. Ross goes to drink it, because he wants to prove to Rachel and she stops him and forgives him. Ross then goes back to commanding everybody to get ready and runs down stairs to get a taxi. Ross then comes back upstairs with 2 taxi’s waiting, now looking happier and relieved because everyone is ready and they’re going to leave on time and Rachel looks so amazing he now wants to be late, but she drags him out the door after all the fuss.

            It is important in character building that the character’s movements and speech reflect their tone of voice and mood and what their personality is like as a character. For instance with Ross he is punctual, twitchy, intelligent, precise, caring, sensitive, brotherly annoying, cares about his appearance, loves his job and what he does, is always right and has his funny moments, which I think is in keeping within “The One Where No One is Ready”.

Lecture 6, ITAP - 'Productions and Outcomes' Influences and Reactions

When we talk about interpretation we talk about how something has been changed, why it has been interpreted differently, how has the message that it originally portrayed differed.  When we look at something so influential to be reproduced in so many forms Alice in Wonderland is pretty high up.  It is by C.S. Lewis, originally a book but turned into film by Disney and then by Tim Burton, with thousands of illustrations, animations, photographs, the interpretations go on. But specifically looking into photography there are thousands of adaptations from famous fashion photographers using Alice and her wonderland as inspiration for fashion shoots such as Annie Leibovitz for Vogue or Tim Walker who uses the ideas scale and extravagant staging used by Lewis through the ‘drink me’ bottles as inspiration for his shoots. Both are particularly effective in creating a surrealist, magical, unreal world in a very real surrounding, adapting the famous story to suit what they want to create and achieve. Where as others take the theme to brand new levels such as the photographer Elena Kalis who adapted Alice to a surreal underwater world with her underwater digital camera, taking certain themes and famous props from the book to reestablish the theme and cleverly calling it Alice in water-land. This change updates Alice into current day technology, what can be achieved by twenty first century standards. Even back in 1903 Alice was being turned into a short 12 minute film by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow based on the original illustrations in the book. It was made 37 years after Lewis’ novel’s publication and eight years after the birth of cinema and was the longest film produced in England at that time but there is only one incomplete print known to have survived. So even then the novel was perceived to be something that of visual brilliance and to be envisaged for all to be swept up into the world of Alice and her wonderland.

When you are an artist you have to test your work, apply yourself to an audience and find out what works, what they like and what they don’t like. But also to be able to open yourself up to new audiences and new mediums and styles to keep your style current and desirable. Bec Winnel is one of my favourite illustrators, and although she isn’t a photographer, I love how she captures the female face through the colours and the positions of the models, she makes portraiture calm and distinctly beautiful. She lives in Australia and is a self taught artist, she isn’t massive or well known but she does have a huge fan base for her work. Her work can be seen in many exhibitions and shows and just these last few months she’s been in ‘Rancho Notorious, etcc and Twitching’ and ‘1000 Pound Bend – Just Another Agency Group Show’ in Melbourne, ‘Rivet’ in Columbus, ‘Watt Space Gallery – Look See 2011’ Newcastle, ‘The National Grid Gallery – Eclectica’ in Sydney. She is able to get her name and art work out there through mediums such as shows and thousands of blogs, but she’s also done magazine work for Mecca and Peppermint and her work is beginning to be put on to clothing such as her collaboration with Element Eden. Bec is lucky enough that her work sells, and is sold all over the internet and she sells many prints on her website, also, her work is to a very particular audience but can be seen as beautiful by any eye.

Examples of my practitioners used: