Blog #4: The End

My perception of what I thought the class would be like is completely different to what I now think of it. I thought there would be more print media, and I didn’t realized how much it would go into film. When I watch a film now, I understand the choices made more, and it adds to the information you can absorb from a film. I enjoyed the class a lot as well as learned a lot more from the class then I expected. I loved that there was a lab, and not just a lecture. Hands-on learning is always a great way to make what you learn stick with you. Kathy made the class very interesting by including her experience in the field, which was showing a section of her documentaries. It would have been a bit better if we could have gone deeper into print media just because I have a lot of experience in it, but it is an introduction to all media.
The PowerPoint’s were very useful, although, if they were posted online before class, the professors would be able to get through more information because we wouldn’t be worried about writing everything down, we would have it in advance. Also, what I’ve noticed while studing the PowerPoint’s, some of the slides just had images and no description. I understand that in class we go over what the importance of the images are, but it would be more useful to have it in the presentation as well.

Blog #3: Billboard

After looking for a while, I realized that a billboard gives a greater opportunity for artistic license of expression. The one that spoke the most to me is above. Billboards as opposed to book covers or DVD covers gives you a larger space to work with, but the message has to appeal to a larger majority of people. Also, billboards have to be able to portray its message in a short period of time, usually a few seconds, because people see them when they are on the go. The design also uses a one point perspective (corner of pool, below the boy), drawing you into the image. The imaginary lines in the image create invisible organization, though there is much to take in, in such a short time, your eye knows where to move.

Like reading a book, you'd most likely read this message from left to right. At first you'd see the boy swimming in the swimming pool underwater (nothing out of the ordinary). A half second later, you see the city skyline in the back of the image, on the pool wall and all of a sudden the imagined image and writing about it give the viewer a clear, quick, and straight forward message of what the poster is trying to tell you. The message above the city skyline is in San Serif, leaving no chances for confusion as well as also being short and to the point.

As for Norman’s Constraints and affordances, the amount of information provided is neither limited nor indefinite. The viewer cannot directly interact with this particular billboard advertisement, but it does stay with you. Using the common image of the pool, the next time you go swimming in one or see one, this image will come back to you. The message this billboard is portraying, “save our rainforest, stop global warming” is something that I highly believe in. The message underlying the design gives the viewer and gave me a straight forward image, that if we continue on the path we are on, our future may be underwater, just like the boy in the pool and the image of the city skyline on the pool wall.

Blog #2: illuminating film

After learning much about film, and film making the experience of watching moves has greatly changed for me. What I would usually pay attention to plot of the film, but now after closer observation, I see that there are many technical choices that were make which make huge differenced in movies. I thought it would be a great idea to pick a movie that I've seen before and loved for its amazing shots before I took this class, and find out what I missed in the shots the first time around.

"Everything is Illuminated" was a movie that forced me to observe more about the characters then just what they were saying, as well as more about the background then just the fact that it was where the characters were. During dialog between the three main characters (grandfather Alexander, grandson Alexander, and the visitor Jonathan), the shots were extreme close ups of their faces, neck, and a bit of shoulder; the tops of their heads were sometimes cut off. This technique might have been strange for other films, but it was perfect for this one.

The extreme close ups during the dialog between the three main characters created a sense of closeness, as if you were right there with them, partaking in their journey to find Trachenburg. The three of them were strangers to each other's pasts (even both Alexanders) when they set out on the journey, with much discussion learned more and more. As they learned more throughout their journey, the viewers learn more about all three. All their emotions and thoughts are shown through their facial features, which are easy to see because they are so close up. The relationship between these characters seem to be the most important part of the movie, which is why I think it is so emphasized.