Size, Scale and Distance (Drawings)

(Apologies in advance for my rough child-like drawings but they have just being used to illustrate the point I am making)

The size of the figures within an image can have a completely different effect on the narrative - in the image above there is a clear close chase between the two figures, where as in the drawing below there is a much more distant, unclear and less tense chase. The drawing above appears unrealistic in comparison to the drawing below - in relation to the size of the pathway the larger character should be a lot smaller to fit in with the size of the other objects and figure within the drawing. The character which is supposed to be in the background appears to be much larger than the character in the foreground and also appears much closer to the viewer. Where as in the image below the only difference is that the figure in the 'background' has been made smaller making the distance of the path look greater and the character a more realistic size.

New Moon Film Poster

Firstly, the title of the film is in a golden colour which makes it stand out from the rest of the poster, and the style of writing and font is simple. As the film is predominantly for a young teenage audience, the poster has to be reasonably simple and information should be preferably presented through imagery rather than text. The date of when the film is released has also been included underneath the film title - reminding the audience that this is an important date.

The thick mist along the bottom of the poster creates a supernatural and eerie feeling to the image. It also relates to the fact that the theme of the film is mysterious and unclear. The main light is on the characters' faces which draws your attention to their facial expressions, the background is also in a sepia tone which makes the main characters stand out and shows that they are the main focus of the film - in a film poster the key image is the most important feature as it's what draws the viewer in and gives a good indication as to the narrative of the film. The positioning of the characters within the key image show that Edward (the antagonist of the narrative) is being 'pushed out' - it gives the impression that the other male character (Jacob) is trying to protect the female character (Bella) from him as he has been positioned with his back towards Edward. The two males also have their fists clenched which emphasises the tension and anger between the two characters. The antagonist also has a tense look on his face and his face is turned towards the other male character which delivers the message to the audience that there is in fact, some tension between the two males.

The female character appears to be looking straight ahead at the viewer, this somewhat draws you into the poster as she is engaging with the audience on a more personal level than the other two characters which makes you concentrate on how she is being expressed as a character - her facial expression gives the impression that she is confused and her face looks very vacant. This portrays to the audience that perhaps she is the reason for the tension between the two male characters (perhaps a fight for her affections). Bella looking ahead could also be representative of the fact that she is impartial and isn't taking sides. However, after noticing that her hand is placed on Jacob's arm I got the impression that she feels safer and more secure around him - it also emphasises her vulnerability.

I have realised that body language is always an important element to consider when creating art or any form of media product in general as it is often the most important feature that carries hidden meaning and will sell itself to the viewer.

Colour is also an important factor in establishing meaning. In this case, Edward's dark clothing has connotations of him being evil and sinister in comparison to the other two characters who are wearing lighter shades of clothing. This could suggest to the viewer that he is the 'bad guy' or somehow going to be placed in the wrong within the narrative.

The trees in the background also add a sense of mystery and darkness to the image - especially as the trees become less clear as they are positioned further into the background - to me as a viewer this creates a sense of uncertainty because some of the background is covered by fog and mist. The moon in the top right hand corner fits in with the title of the film, it is also bright as it is emphasised by the saturated background and therefore stands out - perhaps expressing the fact that the moon may be highly relevant in the films narrative.

Avatar Trailer (Mise-en-scène & Camera Shots)

Avatar (2009) is such a visual film that has gained fantastic reviews for it's amazing special effects. The film is set on the mysterious moon Pandora in the year 2154 and the films narrative revolves around the story of marine Jake Sully and his interaction with the native inhabitants of Pandora, the Na'vi, through his avatar body.

At first minimal information is portrayed within the trailer - this seeks to build tension. The pace then begins to pick up as the action on scene becomes more dramatic, giving the trailer a sense of urgency. There is also an adequate amount of gentler shot pacing to emphasise the 'mysticalness' of the shot.

In terms of mise-en-scène, Avatar is predominantly CGI, therefore the trailer provides a preview of the amazing technology used within the creation of the film. From the portrayal of creatures and terrains within the video clip, it is made obvious to the audience that the films narrative is futuristic and set in 'another world.' In the opening shots complex computer and medical facilities are shown which emphasise the futuristic nature of the film. I think that mise-en scene is one of the most important elements of a trailer as what the viewers see within the short film effects their opinion on the entire movie.

There is a huge variety of camera shots within the trailer - ranging from extreme close ups to grand wide shorts. The first shot is of, presumably, the main characters eyes opening. This is really effective because it is almost symbolic of where the narrative begins. Then, by huge contrast the second shot is of a large spaceship/satellite - this is exciting and creates a certain degree of tension for the viewer, as well as establishing the genre of the film.

There are two genres of shots within the trailer - 'action' and 'mystical' ... there is a combination of imagery of military machinery and weapons combined with images of 'alien-like' creatures within their own mystical world.

Overall, the trailer successfully engages the audience with it's unusual/exciting imagery and amazing display of fantastic computer generated imagery. It also successfully makes the viewer want to watch the entire film - as it draws the viewer in by inferring war.

Verdadism - Soraida Martinez.

The word Verdadism was coined by Soraida Martinez to describe her hard-edge painting body of work. Her contemporary art style was created in 1992 and her work juxtaposes figurative abstract paintings with written social commentaries. This technique used is mixed media (with oil or acrylic on canvas paintings alongside written social statements). Much of the statements are based upon Soraida Martinez life experiences and observations. Her work addresses issues affecting American society from the late 20th century to present such as stereotyping, abortion, feminism, relationships, racism, and sexism. This is a very stimulating art style as there is so much meaning within the work which prompt tolerance and a deeper understanding of the human soul.

What Prejudice Looks Like (1993)

The figure in What Prejudice Looks Like embodies the unbalanced psyche of the prejudice human being. The arms which cross the neck of the figure show the strangling of the soul when it is prejudice. Initially the unusual appearance of the painting and the bright colours within it draw the viewer in. The separate blocks of colour make the audience engage with the image on a much higher level - although at first glance it is obvious that within the painting is a figure of a person, the viewer has to somewhat concentrate and put the shapes together to establish meaning within this picture. The text which anchors the painting also communicates on a more direct level the overall meaning and purpose of the painting.

The figure within the image clearly has unusual characteristics and is perhaps symbolic of the way in which prejudice people see people with a disfigurement. The unusual shapes and green sharp teeth somewhat signify the fact that prejudice is ugly, and to me as a viewer of the painting, the disproportionate shapes, sizes and coloured sections within the image which come together to create a figure with highly unusual features - which to a certain degree communicates to me that everyone is different and that different can be beautiful and colourful too.

Interracial Family: The Way Society Sees It (1992)

"This painting is about the second marriage of my mother to my stepfather, who died six years ago. My stepfather was a Puerto Rican of African ancestry, while my mother is a fair skin Puerto Rican of Spanish ancestry. As a teenager, I always liked to observe people and evaluate situations. I remember the looks they both got when they would walk into restaurants and other public places. But the worst part was when my stepfather was dying and I overheard a nurse joke to another nurse that she didn't know that my mother was his wife because "she's white and he's black." - (Soraida Martinez)

The two large figures within the painting portray different races, and the third smaller figure represents the union of these two different races. The child figure adds a great degree of meaning to the image as it represents the in balance and awkwardness with how society sees interracial relationships. This shows that size can be successfully used to not only establish an action narrative or for empowerment but to establish hidden meaning also. This painting creates the eerie feeling to the viewer which prejudiced people experience when they see two people of different races together. 

The figures are featured standing very close together, and also within the shapes you can see that they have their arms around one another. This creates some sort of 'stand' against colour prejudice - there is nothing wrong with interaction between those belonging to different races and I personally think that even at a first glance this is presented clearly within this painting.

As I live in a very mixed race city, I have decided that within my product it would be a good idea to include people from various races and backgrounds, perhaps making a discreet stand against social issues surrounding prejudice.

My Poster.

Above is my attempt at making a poster advertising a hair volumizer product. I decided to create a rough basic poster design just as an attempt at creating meaning using layout and signifiers. Firstly, I chose my product (hair volumizer) and tried to fit and relate the rest of the content of the poster to it.

I then found an image of Kate Moss with volumized hair. I decided upon using Kate Moss as a form of celebrity endorsement for my product (those who idolise her are more likely to puchase the product) - and also because she is well known within beauty and fashion industries. I cut around her hair and face and positioned her at the top of the poster - which somewhat empowers her. This will allow those who have interest in purchasing the product to relate it to the feeling of being empowered.

I then positioned the image of the product which I made in the bottom left hand corner behind a cartoon sun, allowing it to stand out - the product can now also be associated with warmth, summer and brightness. These are all often aesthetically pleasing for the typical audience. The sun is also positioned in a way so that it overlooks the boat, the boat can be associated with the luxury of the product and the waves surrounding the boat with the volumized hair, and also a possible effect of the product. Once again this gives a more summery feel and allows the product to be seen as a 'holiday product.'

The logo which is featured in the bottom right hand corner allows the poster to not only advertise the product but also the brand 'BOOM' (Which I made up.) The text within the poster anchors the images, and all of the text in general allows the poster to make much more sense to the viewer - it has made it much more obvious to the audience that the posters aim is to sell and advertise a product and brand.

The angle which I have positoned the text '...' and 'volume' are symbolic of the way that the product makes your hair increase in volume, i.e. both are positioned in an upwards direction. The use of the gold/yellow colours within the text are sybmolic of luxury and summer time, and the red for 'volume' can be associated with courage, confidence and perhaps 'danger/voltage' in the way that the hair volumizer styles your hair - as well as making it stand out. The bold text and capital letters also make the poster more eye-catching and forceful.

Gaze.

Gaze is a term used to describe the anxious state that comes with the awareness that one can be viewed;

Kress and van Leeuwen describe a two-valued relation to people depicted: either they look at the viewer, and so make a “demand” for recognition, acknowledgement, response, or they are not looking at the viewer, and in a sense “offer” themselves for viewing as “third persons” ( Reading Images, pp. 121-130.)

Hieronymus Bosch's - The Conjurer.

While the other figures within this painting above observe other objects, the woman in green observes the viewer. The painting thus makes the viewer aware of being on display (the woman in the green is holding an extra-diegetic gaze and the others are displaying an intra-diegetic gaze.)

As a viewer this makes you feel more included in the painting, as well as more aware of the presence of the woman wearing the green drawing much more attention to her than the rest of the women within the image. Perhaps this was a technique used to highlight her importance because it definitely makes her character stand out. In this case, Bosch has successfully managed to establish some-sort of relationship between this character and the viewer. In order to highlight someones importance or role within the narrative of an image this is clearly a successful technique to use...

Fashion (Juicy Couture)

The image above is an advertisement promoting the brand 'Juicy Couture.' Juicy Couture is a contemporary line of casual and dressy apparel based in Los Angeles California and they are known for their signature velvour tracksuits as well as other clothing and accessories. The line is sold in upscale department stores such as Bloomingdales, Gus Mayer, Nordstorm and Saks Fifth Avenue. Juicy Couture is marketed as a high-end clothing line aimed at people within the age category for 10 and 26.

In terms of graphic design, the 'Juicy Couture' text brand logo within the image accompanies the visual message - by including this the image now makes much more sense to the audience as it informs them of its purpose. It has also been used as a device to persuade the audience to purchase the products that they are discreetly advertising within the picture.

With the use of advanced technology this image has been made to look particularly flawless; it looks somewhat unrealistic and almost magical in the way that it is presented (the content is far from what you would percieve a picnic with friends to appear like in a real-life situation) - it is farfetched, glamourous and provides escpaism for the audience. Perhaps a hidden meaning here is that if you purchase and wear their products you can be and act like the people portayed - unique, free and exciting.

As the image is very different to those that you generally see in fashion advertisements it stands out. Elements such as the busy foreground of the picture (made up of unsual objects), uniquely dressed models displaying 'random' actions, and the bold, bright(ish) colours within all contribute to this. The colours used in particular create a very summery, adventurous feel. The narrative of the image (the enjoyment of a picnic), the clothing i.e. skirts and t-shirts, and the use of natural and bright colours allow the audience to depict that a purpose of the image is to attract their attention to Juicy Couture's summer product range. The background also appears out of focus in comparrison to the foreground, this makes the more important details within the image stand out at the same time as allowing the more natural setting to still be depicted.

The whole mise-en-scene of the image is very unusual in the way that it appears to present it's narrative, it takes the viewer to a happy place and expresses the enjoyment of the people within the setting. The setting is peaceful, and the combination of the trees in the background and the model playing the guitar make this more obvious to the audience (the sound of a guitar is often associated with a sound that soothes us). There is great contrast between the bold colours, the actions of the models, the different objects and vibrant characters and the somewhat peaceful narrative the image portrays. This makes the image interesting, individual, and almost 'dream like' - as the viewer of the image you are almost there wrapped up in this everyday event which has been made so look so unusual, peaceful, colourful and vibrant all at the same time. This image is very fun, it almost makes you want to join in with their party. Perhaps a message here is that if you purchase their products you can share the same kind of excitement being portrayed.

The viewers eye moves around this image with curiosity, the overall picture keeps the eye very busy and definitely holds the viewers attention. As a viewer you want to know what each of these characters are doing and find some sort of explanation for their behaviour, they obviously look comfortable and relaxed in this setting enough to behave and dress so unusually - this promotes their comfortable, attractive clothing range and the confidence associated with wearing it. The eye is led around the entire image before focusing on specific interesting images, for example; as a viewer I was attracted to each of the characters clothing, their actions and then to the random objects which (when given time to think about it) actually fit into the setting just in this case in a 'loud' kind of way. Perhaps this shows how much thought was put into the creation of this image - the creator wants you to notice the clothing then associate them with the actions and surroundings.

As the viewpoint of this image is also at eye-level, it allows the image to connect with the audience much more - you become the models' equal allowing you to identify and relate to them more easily. It also makes you feel much more like you are there with them.

The physical appearance of the models within the image also cannot be evaluated on a personal aesthetic level or by artisic preference as there are no universally agreed upon principles of beauty and ugliness, and in this image there is no specific focus on any particular model or their beauty. This not only allows their products to reach out to a mass audience but allows the clothing which the models are wearing to make a statement as opposed to the models themselves - which relates to the aim of selling their products.

It is obvious to the viewer that the intended target audience for the image is both male and female as models of both sexes are portrayed, and also those belonging of a young age similar to that of those presented within the image. All the models are also posing differently perhaps this was a technique used to portray individuality  - reaching out to a majority rather than a minority.

As a person who likes Juicy Couture, I found much meaning within this image. For exmaple, the cake that has been positioned within the center of the frame (perhaps to draw the viewer in as the cake itself is a piece of art) can be associated with 'sweetness' - as a large amount of their clothing is of pastel, 'sugary' colours (although not expressed so much in this image) this sweetness may relate to the appearance of some of their popular clothing lines. The sweets within the foreground may also relate to this.

Another Juicy Couture image that interests me is the one above, which is advertising one of the brands signature perfumes. Once again this image contains unusual objects which do not appear to 'fit together' to create a whole; such as the zebra's head placed on the wall, the surf board and the oversized shoe on the floor. These objects once again make the image unique and are certainly intriguing to the viewer; they almost draw the audience in. The light coming from the window also makes the picture bright and stand out rather than dull as much of the foreground appears. What interests me most in this image, however, is the size of the perfume bottle, it absolutely dominates the picture and takes up a large amount of the frame. This to me, was an obvious attempt at showing how empowering the perfume can be -  and the models within the image are almost worshipping the perfume by surrounding and touching it. This perhaps represents the quality of the product and how sucessful it is.