had a lecture with james.
indexucal qualities in phoyography in rendering truth.
photo manupulation
censorship in advertising
censorship in art/design.
- amnself adams -
makes stereotypically beautiful images.
- soviet union-
pravda and photo censhorship .
- 21st century -
new tecvhnology - digital allows for in depth photo manipulation
ad buster style ads about 9/11 - could be bad taste? or exposing advertising companies for their lack of humanity?
photo editing of humans - models/celebrities changed appearance on magazines etc.
photos can be combined to change the message.
- robert capa -
death of a loyalist soldier. (not actually called robert capa) is it real or set up? does it matter? is the communicative element still the same?
at the time of ww2 most people believed everything they saw in the media/school.
persuasion.
- jean baudrillad -
mostmodern writer. simulacrum/sumilation.
1.reflection of basis of reality.
2. masks and perverts a basic reality
- peter turnley -
photogrphy in 1st gulf war was completely controlled and restrictions based on what could be presented based of what us govt wanted people to see. turnley refused to comply and took his own photos.
mile of death - photo of loads of cars blown up etc.
bauldrialld argued gulf war was just an immitation war not like a realt war - based on the media coverage it received.
black n white in doccumentary -
does it add an aestheitc or take away from the dietail of the image?
ken jarecke - iraqi soldier - on front of news papers in 90's - colour image - very impacting.
the gulf war did not take place book -
branded faces delivered over the prostitiution of the image. no image of the field of battle.
- an-my le - small wars -
docc photographer in giuf war. took beuatiful images of horrific scenes - does it mask horrors of war? does aesthetic quality take from seriousness of war?
- censorship -
morals and ethics
in advertising - everybody wants to recostruct world around them and introduce some sort of purposeful and distorting alleviation.
- united colours of benetton -
shocking and controversional advertising for nothing.
question of nufdity -
when is it appropriate and not? ads have naked people n get banned but national gallery has hundreds of naked women.
art as serious artistic value - who defines the value?
the miller test - supposed to dteermine a pice of arts value.
obscenity law -
protect art while prohibiting trash
sally mann.
how much should you believe the truth?
should we be protected from it?
is manipulation fair in capitalist society?
should art sit outside censorship laws?
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Friday, 22 November 2013
OUGD504. Design Production. Deisng for Print Lecture.
we had a lecture with from evolution print.
they are a print company
min 70gsm max 450 gsm.
talked about uncoated orints - images are flatter because when dot hits paper theres a spread of ink so less sharp. silk and gloss printing much sharper. 80gsm gloss will feel really thin.
litho - plate printing in cmyk, better quality but more expensive and a limited process. they use veg based inks. can do 5 colour print - very costly.
charge based on make ready charge - set up and running of machine. also plate costs for each colour.
digital - sora3 is max size in commercial digital print. digital uses powder based inks. also everything has to be full colour so spot colours might look different etc.
job costed using a clip charge - charged per sheet (5-10p for one colour one sided, 60p per sheet for one colour 2 sided). cant run a 5000 job on digital - too costly.
things designers get wrong -
- bleed - 3mm. include ticks, strokes, crop marks.
- business cards need to be layed separately
- booklets - send as single pages - they put together. if perfect bound with 5-10mm send the cover separate so they can work it out.
- send in pdf and original format.
- make sure in cymk.
- transparencies only work in over print
- any cuts or perferations they need to be set as over print and spot colour so can see the difference. set each one as a different spot colour in a separate file.
- image size - dont use 60mb images for smaller frame. keep at 300dpi and use same size image as frame or try to.
-if doing a booklet work in 8,16,32s not 4s.
.work and turn - each side matches up with the other - when one is done then its flipped and printed again.
.sheet work - 8 plates - for many different print jobs on one.
they dont do spot varnish or laminating.
they are a print company
min 70gsm max 450 gsm.
talked about uncoated orints - images are flatter because when dot hits paper theres a spread of ink so less sharp. silk and gloss printing much sharper. 80gsm gloss will feel really thin.
litho - plate printing in cmyk, better quality but more expensive and a limited process. they use veg based inks. can do 5 colour print - very costly.
charge based on make ready charge - set up and running of machine. also plate costs for each colour.
digital - sora3 is max size in commercial digital print. digital uses powder based inks. also everything has to be full colour so spot colours might look different etc.
job costed using a clip charge - charged per sheet (5-10p for one colour one sided, 60p per sheet for one colour 2 sided). cant run a 5000 job on digital - too costly.
things designers get wrong -
- bleed - 3mm. include ticks, strokes, crop marks.
- business cards need to be layed separately
- booklets - send as single pages - they put together. if perfect bound with 5-10mm send the cover separate so they can work it out.
- send in pdf and original format.
- make sure in cymk.
- transparencies only work in over print
- any cuts or perferations they need to be set as over print and spot colour so can see the difference. set each one as a different spot colour in a separate file.
- image size - dont use 60mb images for smaller frame. keep at 300dpi and use same size image as frame or try to.
-if doing a booklet work in 8,16,32s not 4s.
.work and turn - each side matches up with the other - when one is done then its flipped and printed again.
.sheet work - 8 plates - for many different print jobs on one.
they dont do spot varnish or laminating.
OUGD504. Design Production. Design for Print. Chronologies of Print Lecture.
today we had a lecture with amber on the chronological progression of print throughout history.
print is seen to be true - taken as truth becuase its physical. a news paper is a physically existing reference which people consider to be more reliable. if its printed then its correct.
doccumentation. communication. reproduction. distribution.
first eastern print 200 A.D europe later.
first moveable type in asia . 1450 in europe as community grows so does communication so there becomes a higher need to record it. literacy helped form and shape the class system. talked about the trickle down effect.
printed books in europe increased massively between 1450-1800. religion and science were both on the rise - wanted to record findings/preachings.
gutenberg press changed the world to a visually communicative world
marshal mclewen - "mediums the message". talked about community and predicted the web 30 years before its existance. printing started promoting individualism, capitalism, democracy, nationalism, because print was about the communication of people to people.
lino type revolutionalised print again - allowed to print whole blocks of pre written type.
lithography much cheaper then william morris - floral patterns changes the print. made the world more aesthetically driven.
made way for promotion and propaganda - goes back to the idea of print being physical to its true. nazism spread by printed emphemera. layering and block aesthetic - multiple colour prints enabled detail.
print is seen to be true - taken as truth becuase its physical. a news paper is a physically existing reference which people consider to be more reliable. if its printed then its correct.
doccumentation. communication. reproduction. distribution.
first eastern print 200 A.D europe later.
first moveable type in asia . 1450 in europe as community grows so does communication so there becomes a higher need to record it. literacy helped form and shape the class system. talked about the trickle down effect.
printed books in europe increased massively between 1450-1800. religion and science were both on the rise - wanted to record findings/preachings.
gutenberg press changed the world to a visually communicative world
marshal mclewen - "mediums the message". talked about community and predicted the web 30 years before its existance. printing started promoting individualism, capitalism, democracy, nationalism, because print was about the communication of people to people.
lino type revolutionalised print again - allowed to print whole blocks of pre written type.
lithography much cheaper then william morris - floral patterns changes the print. made the world more aesthetically driven.
made way for promotion and propaganda - goes back to the idea of print being physical to its true. nazism spread by printed emphemera. layering and block aesthetic - multiple colour prints enabled detail.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
OUGD501. COP2. Lecture - Globalisation, Sustainability & the Media.
today we had the lecture with richard on globalisation and sustainability.
the medias role perpetuating consumerism and capitol trade.
- globalisation -
/socailist - process by which the world unified into a single society
the unification could be figured as a positive, not communism though.
/capitalist - elimination of state enforced trade restrictions and embargos
to work the system needs to keep growing so globalisation is well interlinked.
both systems see globalisation as a positive but for different reasons.
word not just used in an economic sense but also about consciousness - to do with the dominance of of a culture (e.g. america) like westernisation. technology makes us all interlinked - a sort of globalisation.
- cultural globalisation -
part of westernisation into 3rd world countirs has brought a spread of one dominant culture including its attributes and values. called macdonladsisation - idea that american big business taking over the world and spreading owns ideas of life and global and political organisation. also refers to idea of fast as opposed to slow food - just eat, dont think, dont have nice meals, just eat quick and efficient - idea of work under the capitalist system like a 'mcjob' unrewarding, mundane but necessary jobs - only form of profit - no job satisfaction.
- marshal mcluhan -
in 60's people got excited about idea of globalisation. mcluhan a philosopher argued that new technologies will have a massive impact on the way we communicate and connect with each other. predicted way before the internet. rapidity of communication echoes the senses.
global village thesis - an implosion of the world and distances between cultures and countries and now just a little village and everyone is aware and alert to the global construct.
the internet has proved this expenentially except for the togetherness and connection between humanities and clutures because people dont sympathise, empathise, feel together. instead we are individualised through our identity off and online so much that epople feel separated from each other.
whats actually happening is a forced and conflicting spread of western imperialism met by reststance from countries and cultures being taken over.
there is no global embrace.
- 3 problems of globalisation -
1 - sovereignty - challenges to the idea od the nation state
2 - accountability - transnational forces and organisations: who controls them?
3 - identity - who are we? nation, group, community.
MNC's have escaped governemt sanctions and controls by operating internationally.
- cultural imperialism -
if global village run with a certain set of values would become an assimlialted community.
rigging the free market -
-oligopolies
-collusion
-trade pacts
-media dominance
timewarner owns everything!!! then BskyB NewsCorporation.
the world is divided into geographical markets -
-north america
-western europe, japan, australia
-BRIC countries
-the rest of the world
markets with highest profit value are targeted the most by these organisations.
US media a new form of imperialsism a new war on individual thought -
not about violence but about indoctrination to a western train of thought - consumerism. the 2nd and 3rd world has already been hit by these ideologies.
EG big brother
look at noam chomsky
- propaganda model - 5 basic filters -
. ownership
- e.g. rupert murdoch who has a particular political agenda - the profit motive. his umberella companies perpetuate his own image. papers helped sway the outcome of the elections. people like this have incredible power and influence politically and econommically.
. funding
. sourcing
- whats allowed to be reported by the editors, owners, political affiliates, funders for media organisations because they are businesses and follow the profit motive. all news is biassed.
. flak
- lobbying groups. us based global climate coalition - lobbyist group for exxon, texaco and ford and gthey get ads on tv/in magazines, stop and nay sayers, creative support and like for these companies.
. anti left ideology
an inconvenient truth - so over the top.
flat earthers - still deny co2 rise, global warming etc and say its propaganda etc.
- Sustainability -
'sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' - if system is based on capitalism and the profit motive powers will never be concerned with the future or the next generation becuase it would limit business so sustainablity is fundamentaly unattainable.
all attemps to promote sustainability are essentially capitalist - buy this to sollve the problem, use this product which creates more subsidiary pollution than what its replacing.
greenwashing - making thins have an eco aestheic makes them more reliable and trustworthy from the eco aware point of view.
the medias role perpetuating consumerism and capitol trade.
- globalisation -
/socailist - process by which the world unified into a single society
the unification could be figured as a positive, not communism though.
/capitalist - elimination of state enforced trade restrictions and embargos
to work the system needs to keep growing so globalisation is well interlinked.
both systems see globalisation as a positive but for different reasons.
word not just used in an economic sense but also about consciousness - to do with the dominance of of a culture (e.g. america) like westernisation. technology makes us all interlinked - a sort of globalisation.
- cultural globalisation -
part of westernisation into 3rd world countirs has brought a spread of one dominant culture including its attributes and values. called macdonladsisation - idea that american big business taking over the world and spreading owns ideas of life and global and political organisation. also refers to idea of fast as opposed to slow food - just eat, dont think, dont have nice meals, just eat quick and efficient - idea of work under the capitalist system like a 'mcjob' unrewarding, mundane but necessary jobs - only form of profit - no job satisfaction.
- marshal mcluhan -
in 60's people got excited about idea of globalisation. mcluhan a philosopher argued that new technologies will have a massive impact on the way we communicate and connect with each other. predicted way before the internet. rapidity of communication echoes the senses.
global village thesis - an implosion of the world and distances between cultures and countries and now just a little village and everyone is aware and alert to the global construct.
the internet has proved this expenentially except for the togetherness and connection between humanities and clutures because people dont sympathise, empathise, feel together. instead we are individualised through our identity off and online so much that epople feel separated from each other.
whats actually happening is a forced and conflicting spread of western imperialism met by reststance from countries and cultures being taken over.
there is no global embrace.
- 3 problems of globalisation -
1 - sovereignty - challenges to the idea od the nation state
2 - accountability - transnational forces and organisations: who controls them?
3 - identity - who are we? nation, group, community.
MNC's have escaped governemt sanctions and controls by operating internationally.
- cultural imperialism -
if global village run with a certain set of values would become an assimlialted community.
rigging the free market -
-oligopolies
-collusion
-trade pacts
-media dominance
timewarner owns everything!!! then BskyB NewsCorporation.
the world is divided into geographical markets -
-north america
-western europe, japan, australia
-BRIC countries
-the rest of the world
markets with highest profit value are targeted the most by these organisations.
US media a new form of imperialsism a new war on individual thought -
not about violence but about indoctrination to a western train of thought - consumerism. the 2nd and 3rd world has already been hit by these ideologies.
EG big brother
look at noam chomsky
- propaganda model - 5 basic filters -
. ownership
- e.g. rupert murdoch who has a particular political agenda - the profit motive. his umberella companies perpetuate his own image. papers helped sway the outcome of the elections. people like this have incredible power and influence politically and econommically.
. funding
. sourcing
- whats allowed to be reported by the editors, owners, political affiliates, funders for media organisations because they are businesses and follow the profit motive. all news is biassed.
. flak
- lobbying groups. us based global climate coalition - lobbyist group for exxon, texaco and ford and gthey get ads on tv/in magazines, stop and nay sayers, creative support and like for these companies.
. anti left ideology
an inconvenient truth - so over the top.
flat earthers - still deny co2 rise, global warming etc and say its propaganda etc.
- Sustainability -
'sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' - if system is based on capitalism and the profit motive powers will never be concerned with the future or the next generation becuase it would limit business so sustainablity is fundamentaly unattainable.
all attemps to promote sustainability are essentially capitalist - buy this to sollve the problem, use this product which creates more subsidiary pollution than what its replacing.
greenwashing - making thins have an eco aestheic makes them more reliable and trustworthy from the eco aware point of view.
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
OUGD501. COP2. Progress Tutorial.
today i had a progress tutorial with richard involving my progression so far and a talk about what i was thinking about doing for my essay.
having spoken briefly about some of the topics ive been interested in from the lecture programme; identity, the male gaze/feminism, advertising, stereotypes and so on, we went on to consider what i might choose as the topic for my essay.
because i have a considerable interest in feminism and the male gaze, partially arisen from past studies, i thought that this would be an appropriate topic to pursue.
we talked about the representations of gender in modern culture and through advertising. we also discussed how stereotypes and media driven roles are more apparent yet less recognised as negative portrayals/persuasions.
so i decided that i wanted to look at male gaze theory and the representations of women applied to examples of past and contemporary advertising.
in terms of my practical responses for the module we talked about considering an editorial path and how a publication could create awareness about how women are portrayed and how this affects female equality in the modern day. we talked about possibly looking at redesigning ads to achieve this or to mock the concept that it promotes.
he told a website that archives old ads that are examples of this topic and other similar topics:
http://genderads.com/
having spoken briefly about some of the topics ive been interested in from the lecture programme; identity, the male gaze/feminism, advertising, stereotypes and so on, we went on to consider what i might choose as the topic for my essay.
because i have a considerable interest in feminism and the male gaze, partially arisen from past studies, i thought that this would be an appropriate topic to pursue.
we talked about the representations of gender in modern culture and through advertising. we also discussed how stereotypes and media driven roles are more apparent yet less recognised as negative portrayals/persuasions.
so i decided that i wanted to look at male gaze theory and the representations of women applied to examples of past and contemporary advertising.
in terms of my practical responses for the module we talked about considering an editorial path and how a publication could create awareness about how women are portrayed and how this affects female equality in the modern day. we talked about possibly looking at redesigning ads to achieve this or to mock the concept that it promotes.
he told a website that archives old ads that are examples of this topic and other similar topics:
http://genderads.com/
Thursday, 14 November 2013
OUGD501. COP2. Lecture - Ethics and creative practice.
what is it to be a good person?
we live in an un just system based on exploitation and inequality. how can we exist within that and stay positive?
media and writers over associate advertisers (creatives) with the consumer society we live in as opposed to the companies funding and directing the advertising for their capitol gain.
- first things first - Ken Garland, 1964.
a creative manifesto produced in boom time. felt frustrated that creatives were wasting talent on marketing pointless products/services. was a call for designers to do something more with their talent - a sigh on the waste of creative talent in the capitol system. about proposing the reversal of priorities.
was replaced by FTF2000 by ADBUSTERS mag which advocates middle class revolution to the middle class - think of selves as a very political and active journal. decided to redraft the manifesto. the tone changes from a cry about wasted talent to a more critical stance particularly on advertising in line with capitol progression. talks about designers applying their skills to promote the most mundane products and their time and energy is used to manufacture demand for rubbish and waste. eg - involvement in promoting credit cards is encouraging peoples involvement in capitalist debt cycle and are trapped in consumer system.
manifesto states designers are uncomfortable with this, stating that it changes the way people think and feel unnaturaley. say that there are other causes that require creatives help - but then what is worthy and unworthy and how do we judge that? becomes very preachy depending on how causes are chosen. say that if a creative who promotes comapnies that produce consumer items you are unethical becuase you perpetuate a consumer/capitalist society.
they do things like culture jamming - messing with logos and doing 'political' street art and have things like 'buynothingday' and 'turnofftvweek'. in favour of visual communication and anti capitalist politics.
milton glasyer signed the remaifesto - none of the signers have any problems becuase their all reslly rich and successful and so can afford snobbery and the freedom to act how they want.
should be targeting capitalism and consumerism as opposed to advertising and advertisers.
- meme warfare -
memes can change behaviour and minds supposedly but really just replacing capitalism with anti capitalism and still the same basic machine - not exactly ethical in its own rights.
- victor papanek -
'most things are not designed for the needs of the people but for the needs of the manufacturer to sell to the people'
mnost design wasteful and exploitative and he tries to achieve ethics but goes over the top and targets advertisers overly as opposed to the companies etc. however, he sees a grander purpose for creatives and the individual. people are ignoring design solutions for the sake of profit.
- the design problem -
all creatives in the world only touch the tip of the iceberg making thinks sell whereas the 90% underwater is untouched and ignored by all.
- how do we determine what is good? -
creatives pretty much automatically have to work within the system but we can choose to work ethically still. have to refer to the age old philosophical debate of good vs evil.
. subjective relativism
- there are no universal moral norms of right/wrong
- all persons decide right/wrong for themselves
. cultural relativism
- the ethical theory that right/wrong depends on time/place
- not all cultures are the same though
. divine command theory
- good actions are aligned with the will of god
- bad actions are contrary to the will of god
- the holy book helps make decisions
- kantism -
- peoiples wills should be based on moral rules
- therefore its important that our actions based on appropriate moral rules
- determine appropriate moral rules kant proposed 2 categorical imperatives:
1. act only on moral rules that you can at the same time universalise - if your act would cause probems if everyone followd it then dont do it.
2. act so that you always treat yourself as ends in themselves, and never only as a means to an end - using people for your own benefit is not moral.
- utilitarianism -
john stuart mills theorised principles of utility - greatest happiness principle.
- an action is right if it increases total happiness of the affected parties and vice versa. happiness has many definitions; advantage, benefit, good, pleasure.
- a rule is right if it increases total happiness of the affected parties and vice versa.
both pertain to rules and you have to give up your liberty to do them.
- social contract theory -
hobbes/russeau
- an agreement held between individuals by common interest
- avoids society degenerating into a 'state of nature'
- morally consists in the set of rules
- we trade some of our liberty for a stable society
these ethical theories can provide possible solutions for critique of FTF.
should be aiming for socially and ecologically responsible design.
do a mix of pro bono and salaried work. social tithe.
we live in an un just system based on exploitation and inequality. how can we exist within that and stay positive?
media and writers over associate advertisers (creatives) with the consumer society we live in as opposed to the companies funding and directing the advertising for their capitol gain.
- first things first - Ken Garland, 1964.
a creative manifesto produced in boom time. felt frustrated that creatives were wasting talent on marketing pointless products/services. was a call for designers to do something more with their talent - a sigh on the waste of creative talent in the capitol system. about proposing the reversal of priorities.
was replaced by FTF2000 by ADBUSTERS mag which advocates middle class revolution to the middle class - think of selves as a very political and active journal. decided to redraft the manifesto. the tone changes from a cry about wasted talent to a more critical stance particularly on advertising in line with capitol progression. talks about designers applying their skills to promote the most mundane products and their time and energy is used to manufacture demand for rubbish and waste. eg - involvement in promoting credit cards is encouraging peoples involvement in capitalist debt cycle and are trapped in consumer system.
manifesto states designers are uncomfortable with this, stating that it changes the way people think and feel unnaturaley. say that there are other causes that require creatives help - but then what is worthy and unworthy and how do we judge that? becomes very preachy depending on how causes are chosen. say that if a creative who promotes comapnies that produce consumer items you are unethical becuase you perpetuate a consumer/capitalist society.
they do things like culture jamming - messing with logos and doing 'political' street art and have things like 'buynothingday' and 'turnofftvweek'. in favour of visual communication and anti capitalist politics.
milton glasyer signed the remaifesto - none of the signers have any problems becuase their all reslly rich and successful and so can afford snobbery and the freedom to act how they want.
should be targeting capitalism and consumerism as opposed to advertising and advertisers.
- meme warfare -
memes can change behaviour and minds supposedly but really just replacing capitalism with anti capitalism and still the same basic machine - not exactly ethical in its own rights.
- victor papanek -
'most things are not designed for the needs of the people but for the needs of the manufacturer to sell to the people'
mnost design wasteful and exploitative and he tries to achieve ethics but goes over the top and targets advertisers overly as opposed to the companies etc. however, he sees a grander purpose for creatives and the individual. people are ignoring design solutions for the sake of profit.
- the design problem -
all creatives in the world only touch the tip of the iceberg making thinks sell whereas the 90% underwater is untouched and ignored by all.
- how do we determine what is good? -
creatives pretty much automatically have to work within the system but we can choose to work ethically still. have to refer to the age old philosophical debate of good vs evil.
. subjective relativism
- there are no universal moral norms of right/wrong
- all persons decide right/wrong for themselves
. cultural relativism
- the ethical theory that right/wrong depends on time/place
- not all cultures are the same though
. divine command theory
- good actions are aligned with the will of god
- bad actions are contrary to the will of god
- the holy book helps make decisions
- kantism -
- peoiples wills should be based on moral rules
- therefore its important that our actions based on appropriate moral rules
- determine appropriate moral rules kant proposed 2 categorical imperatives:
1. act only on moral rules that you can at the same time universalise - if your act would cause probems if everyone followd it then dont do it.
2. act so that you always treat yourself as ends in themselves, and never only as a means to an end - using people for your own benefit is not moral.
- utilitarianism -
john stuart mills theorised principles of utility - greatest happiness principle.
- an action is right if it increases total happiness of the affected parties and vice versa. happiness has many definitions; advantage, benefit, good, pleasure.
- a rule is right if it increases total happiness of the affected parties and vice versa.
both pertain to rules and you have to give up your liberty to do them.
- social contract theory -
hobbes/russeau
- an agreement held between individuals by common interest
- avoids society degenerating into a 'state of nature'
- morally consists in the set of rules
- we trade some of our liberty for a stable society
these ethical theories can provide possible solutions for critique of FTF.
should be aiming for socially and ecologically responsible design.
do a mix of pro bono and salaried work. social tithe.
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
OUGD501. COP2. Communication Theory Session/Study Task 1.
today we had our first seminar with richard about communication theory and the shannon-weaver amthematical model of the communication process -
although not completely accurate and relatable the model does give a good basic illustration of the design process however the design process is never a linear one.
we then talked about what noise meant in design terms and what examples we could think of. richard made the point that noise is not always a negative like how zines being low cost means often there are errors in design/production but that these have now become a part of the zine aesthetic - offset print etc becomes communication in itself.
- redundancy vs entropy
redundancy is high predictability, low information, widely understood, the most basic.
entropy is unexpected, unpredictable, high info, less widely understood, more intricate.
in design redundancy is a desired thing because it usually means the most successful method/form of communication meaning the most effective design.
we were then given the task to analyse a piece of visual communication in line with the model and taking into consideration redundancy/entropy.
having looked at some peices of visual communication i decided to choose the promotional poster for the 2011 film 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
richard asked us to consider some questions when writing our response to the task as a 'guidance' to our writing:
we tried to relate the design process to this model in groups talking about what each stage could be in design terms. having discussed and debated we each had slightly different opinions.
- information source - the client - provides designer with brief/spec i.e. information
- transmitter - the designer - recieves information and through self reinterprets it to form of communication
- channel - the product - the media/format of the design produced
- receiver - the audience - anyone who sees or comes in contact with the design
- destination - the target audience - the audience who is intended by the designer to see the design
- noise source - reasearch/understanding - how much the designer knows about the topic/aims
having discussed our theories as a class richard then went on to talk about there being 3 main levels of communication problems -
level a - technical problems; how accurately can a message be transmitted
level b - semantic problems; how precisely is the message conveyed
level c - effectiveness problems; how effectively do the recieved message and its meaning affect behaviour.
an example of each -
a - technical problems - the printer broke
b - semantic problems - the client gave a poor brief
c - effectiveness problems - the promotion of a club compared to its attendance levelsalthough not completely accurate and relatable the model does give a good basic illustration of the design process however the design process is never a linear one.
we then talked about what noise meant in design terms and what examples we could think of. richard made the point that noise is not always a negative like how zines being low cost means often there are errors in design/production but that these have now become a part of the zine aesthetic - offset print etc becomes communication in itself.
- redundancy vs entropy
redundancy is high predictability, low information, widely understood, the most basic.
entropy is unexpected, unpredictable, high info, less widely understood, more intricate.
in design redundancy is a desired thing because it usually means the most successful method/form of communication meaning the most effective design.
we were then given the task to analyse a piece of visual communication in line with the model and taking into consideration redundancy/entropy.
having looked at some peices of visual communication i decided to choose the promotional poster for the 2011 film 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
richard asked us to consider some questions when writing our response to the task as a 'guidance' to our writing:
What are the main communicative functions of redundancy?
What are the ways in which convention can be said to facilitate understanding?
How does your chosen piece of visual communication break or extend specific conventions?
How does this effect the desire to communicate or the intended audience?
the information source (client) has relayed the themes of the film to the transmitter (designer) which he has translated into an appropriate channel (media/format) that is left to the receiver (audience) to decode.
The poster above is a promotional design for the film 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' designed by Jack Crossing of Empire Design. It uses photo layering accompanied by a soft, pastel aesthetic to give a seeming beauty and serenity while subtly implying a disturbing undertone. The grid style layout of the sans-serif text co-exists well with the theme of the poster as it remains neutral and so doesn't affect how the poster is otherwise interpreted. The themes of uncertainty and danger masqueraded by the calm and uplifting beginnings are fantastically visualised through the overlapping photographs of Marcy and the dark stranger in the background. The sun glare and the desaturated colour both communicate placidity yet her facial expressions and the macro style focus suggest otherwise. The form of a poster is appropriate to the reason for the design (film promotion) and, furthermore, when seen printed, extends the look and texture of the design in line with its communicative aims. On the surface, the design's aesthetic is very simple and easily absorbed. It's clean, inoffensive and generally aesthetically pleasing but, on a deeper level, the redundancy of the design is questionable. a film poster, in its most basic justification, should communicate to the target audience what the film is about. This poster, a good example of entropic design, does not really follow convention in its aims as the methods through which the designer is trying to communicate are cryptic and require greater analysis to understand. The poster, to an extent, is contradictory in its purpose and execution because, to truly understand the poster and relate it to the film, you have to watch the film and this, somewhat, lessens its promotional value. Inversely, the design could be interpreted as purposefully misleading to the audience or promoting a false sense of security about the film which would be wholly appropriate because this is the point of the film itself. The design and its methods of communicating the film break away from typical promotional conventions in that it is very mysterious and doesn't really tell the audience much. Instead, it follows more contemporary and progressive methods in targeting peoples curiosity and desire to learn, especially when presented with something they don't understand or know about. This could be considered a risky method because it relies on the assumption that the audience is curious enough to do further research which should, in turn, interest them more in the film. With the common ownership of smart technology and near global access to the internet, however, this is a much safer assumption and is really appropriate to a 21st century audience who are likely to engage with the promotion more-so. I think the poster is a fantastically executed and considered piece of promotion that relates so perfectly to the themes of the film and its intended audience and that appropriately excludes those outside that target market.
Monday, 11 November 2013
OUGD501. COP2. Lecture - The Gaze and the Media.
the lecture looks at the impact this has in the everyday, and how the prevalence of
the male Gaze normalizes these perceptions of women and their bodies and is
internalized by women themselves. This is a complex area of investigation, and
rather than a simple ‘reversal’ of the Gaze onto the male body, the lecture seeks
to address and question image makers as to the possibility of an alternative
portrayal of the body.
'men look at women. women watch themselves beeing looked at' - john berger.
'men look at women. women watch themselves beeing looked at' - john berger.
The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of
the male gaze at women on the streets. fashion/photography/.advertising all based on idea of sex sells and because most people straight means women are the icon to target men to sell. so in turn over exposure of women and depiction of nude form in global culture lessens the sanctity of the female form and nover normalises the naked women making it appear ok for men to objectify women.
xVoyeurism:
the compulsion to seek sexual gratification by secretively looking at sexual
objects or acts; the actions of a Peeping Tom.
Male
nude as challenging the gaze
Gym-
sports-power
Cult
of fitness – male ideals of body image.
•Women ‘marginalised within the masculine discourses of
art history’
•This marginalisation supports the ‘hegemony of men in cultural practice, in art’
•Women not only marginalised but supposed
to be marginalised
"I'd
say it's a constant undercurrent, when women write about feminist issues or are
exposed in a lot of media for speaking out about sexism they tend to get a
barrage of abuse and threats,"
social media furthers the theory of the male gaze and is used by both men and women to objectify and sexualise women and the female form.
The
body is broken into fragments-could be any female
Plays
on teenagers body consciousness, potentially carrying those perceptions into adult life
The act of photographing is more than passive observing. Like sexual
voyeurism, it is a way of at least tacitly, often explicitly, encouraging what
is going on to keep on happening' susan sontag
reality tv furthers the ideas of voyerism and gives the viewer seemingly free invitiation to 'the gaze' however there is no freedom of viewing or really freedom of thought - editing and camera angles etc means the production company can sway the viewer any way they want an it becomes so much more entrenched because the viewer thinks they have the freedom and the autonomy to come to their own conclusions about what their watching but in actual fact there is no freedom and only the re affirmation of the male gaze and women being lesser.
Looking
is not indifferent. There can never be any question of 'just looking'.
Victor Burgin (1982)
Victor Burgin (1982)
OUGD501. COP Lecture - Identity.
- essentialism -
our biological makeup makes up who we are
physiognomy, phrenology - informs how people read identity. a study of good mental health and where in the brain it occurs. links with the ideas of criminal tendencies being somewhat hereditary. supposedly the straightens of your face dictates how intelligent you are - dated thought because based on caucasian face being straighter. physiognomy legitimises racism. physical features exaggerated in fine art to portray a certain stereotype or identity or to challenge one. post modern thought disagrees with essentialism and theory of human identity made up from biological make up.
- pre modern identity -
personal identity - defined by long standing roles
- modern identity -
modern society offers wider range of social roles
- post modern identity -
accepts a 'fragmented self' identity is contructed.
- physiognomy/phrenology -
dated pseudo-scientific theory of shape of brain and skull in relation to 'scientific' proof of intelligence, personality traits, thought process etc. basically grounds for racism and segregation of race. also related to the theory of criminal tendencies being inherited (genetic) and not due to social factors.
- chris ofili -
black artist who looks at rcism and stereotyping and makes comments on societys attitude and opinion to these topics through his art. uses things like elephant poo to visualise native roots and mocks western thought.
- pre modern identity -
based on social heirarchy (in uk heirarchy of the church and monarchy) - your job title and living conditions deterimed your social status.
- modern identity -
baudeleire introduced idea of the 'flaneur' - the gentleman stroller who walks the city and 'observes' society.
accepts a 'fragmented self' identity is contructed.
- physiognomy/phrenology -
dated pseudo-scientific theory of shape of brain and skull in relation to 'scientific' proof of intelligence, personality traits, thought process etc. basically grounds for racism and segregation of race. also related to the theory of criminal tendencies being inherited (genetic) and not due to social factors.
- chris ofili -
black artist who looks at rcism and stereotyping and makes comments on societys attitude and opinion to these topics through his art. uses things like elephant poo to visualise native roots and mocks western thought.
- pre modern identity -
based on social heirarchy (in uk heirarchy of the church and monarchy) - your job title and living conditions deterimed your social status.
- modern identity -
baudeleire introduced idea of the 'flaneur' - the gentleman stroller who walks the city and 'observes' society.
Veblen – ‘Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure’
the flaneur was upper class so associated with a style/fashion/outlook/personality - to appear a higher social class lower classes would mimic upper classes in look and dress etc but then upper classes would move away to reaffirm the twos separation and the cycle continues - trickle down theory.
- george simmel -
‘The
feeling of isolation is rarely as decisive and intense when one actually finds
oneself physically alone, as when one is a stranger without relations, among
many physically close persons, at a party, on the train, or in the traffic of a
large city’
- post modern identity -
considers the 'discourse analysis' - identity is constructed from the discourses culturally available to us. main discourses to be considered -
these factors along with many other social factors are consiidered to determine and shape ones identity which leads into the theory of otherness. the self is considered to be a series of facades that are objective and not really there.
Introspection is a
disappearing act. Faced with moments alone in their cars, on the street or at
supermarket checkouts, more and more people do not collect their thoughts, but
scan their mobile phone messages for shreds of evidence that someone, somewhere
may need or want them.’
leads into social networking and how people create new identities on line - second life best example.
Thursday, 7 November 2013
OUGD501. Context of Practice 2. Lecture - Cities and Film.
lecture is about:
photographs about 9/11 - people looking at the towers falling.
the city starts to feature as a figure of investigation in modernism - urban sociology.
contrasts between public and private.
the city in postmodernism
georg simmel-
a german sociologist. writing influenced the frankfurt school of thinkers.
was part of dresden exhibition - talked about the controversial role of the city on the individual. at a time leading up to freuds writing on psycho analysis.
urban sociology -
was looking at how the individual might escape the city and not be swallowed up. this resistance was captured by lewis hine.
louis sullivan -
creator of modern skyscraper. influential to the chicago school, mentor to frank lloyd wright.
coined the phrase ''form (ever) follows function''.
built guaranty building - divided into four levels considered for practical use.
chicago fire made way for his new buildings like carson pririe scott store in chicago.
saw clips from manhatta
charles scheeler -
fordism - gramsci from americanism and fordism - the human becoming the machine and a continuous cycle of consumption and waste.
modern times - charlie chaplin. typical farce.
the factory makes use of the man not the other way.
wall street crash helped this and lead to great depression
the man with a movie camera - 1929. uses new and interesting techniques and angles.
flaneur - a gentleman who strolls - posh person.
charles baudelaire -0
19th cent french poet says flaneur someone able to see the city.
walter benjamin -
adopts the concept of the urban observer as an analytical tool and as a lifestyle.
susan sontag -
photographer a type of flaneur whos involved but removed from society looking in on it.
then was introduced the concept of flaneuse - female flaneur
sophie calle - follows people on the street and takes photos of them.
cindy sherman - untitled film stills protray a film noir style stills with her in dramatised poses.
weegee (arthur felig) - press photogropher reporting on emercencies in the city. thought he had a weegee board becuase he was always there exactly when it happened. actually he had a police radio to find out wt was goin on.
a link to this and those sort of films with l.a.noire - semi film video game that allows user to create own film through gameplay.
lorca di corcia - heads - looks at the idea of the individual and their relation to the crowd - an experience within the city. he hides lights on the pavement and then photograhs them in a smal light - he is removed from the scene. photos look like film stills but subjects dont actually know theyre being photographed.
walker evans - many are called
takes photos that look like subject aware of camera but actualy are unaware so fully natuaral photogrphs.
postmodern city in photography -
joel meyerowitz looks at broadway in all its brieght colour and doesnt have a focus - its busy and theres nothing telling us where to look. mimics the overwhelming info in a city without the unity we need to understand the photograph.
events of 9/11 mark the end of the existence on a flaneur becuase there is no way to be detatched as a recorder because everything constantly monitored and recorded and the fact that everyone can record everything and be their own independent journalisty/photographer.
thomas ruff - looks at images of twin towers and messes with them like pixelating it saying that docc photography isnt enough to represent/portray an event.
surveillance city - since 9/11 everythin recorded and so no room for the individual photographer. 'we now seek machines to look at picutres on our behalf'.
photographs about 9/11 - people looking at the towers falling.
the city starts to feature as a figure of investigation in modernism - urban sociology.
contrasts between public and private.
the city in postmodernism
georg simmel-
a german sociologist. writing influenced the frankfurt school of thinkers.
was part of dresden exhibition - talked about the controversial role of the city on the individual. at a time leading up to freuds writing on psycho analysis.
urban sociology -
was looking at how the individual might escape the city and not be swallowed up. this resistance was captured by lewis hine.
louis sullivan -
creator of modern skyscraper. influential to the chicago school, mentor to frank lloyd wright.
coined the phrase ''form (ever) follows function''.
built guaranty building - divided into four levels considered for practical use.
chicago fire made way for his new buildings like carson pririe scott store in chicago.
saw clips from manhatta
charles scheeler -
fordism - gramsci from americanism and fordism - the human becoming the machine and a continuous cycle of consumption and waste.
modern times - charlie chaplin. typical farce.
the factory makes use of the man not the other way.
wall street crash helped this and lead to great depression
the man with a movie camera - 1929. uses new and interesting techniques and angles.
flaneur - a gentleman who strolls - posh person.
charles baudelaire -0
19th cent french poet says flaneur someone able to see the city.
walter benjamin -
adopts the concept of the urban observer as an analytical tool and as a lifestyle.
susan sontag -
photographer a type of flaneur whos involved but removed from society looking in on it.
then was introduced the concept of flaneuse - female flaneur
sophie calle - follows people on the street and takes photos of them.
cindy sherman - untitled film stills protray a film noir style stills with her in dramatised poses.
weegee (arthur felig) - press photogropher reporting on emercencies in the city. thought he had a weegee board becuase he was always there exactly when it happened. actually he had a police radio to find out wt was goin on.
a link to this and those sort of films with l.a.noire - semi film video game that allows user to create own film through gameplay.
lorca di corcia - heads - looks at the idea of the individual and their relation to the crowd - an experience within the city. he hides lights on the pavement and then photograhs them in a smal light - he is removed from the scene. photos look like film stills but subjects dont actually know theyre being photographed.
walker evans - many are called
takes photos that look like subject aware of camera but actualy are unaware so fully natuaral photogrphs.
postmodern city in photography -
joel meyerowitz looks at broadway in all its brieght colour and doesnt have a focus - its busy and theres nothing telling us where to look. mimics the overwhelming info in a city without the unity we need to understand the photograph.
events of 9/11 mark the end of the existence on a flaneur becuase there is no way to be detatched as a recorder because everything constantly monitored and recorded and the fact that everyone can record everything and be their own independent journalisty/photographer.
thomas ruff - looks at images of twin towers and messes with them like pixelating it saying that docc photography isnt enough to represent/portray an event.
surveillance city - since 9/11 everythin recorded and so no room for the individual photographer. 'we now seek machines to look at picutres on our behalf'.
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