Viz Topic of Interest

        The world of graphic design is a continuous creative process; whether it be through branding, publishing, or advertising, good design is essential to conveying important ideas and information. Visually graphic elements, typography, and interface design are the core foundation of what makes a graphic design piece successful. A company will never be fortuitous with out a strong graphic design concept as the backbone behinds its advertising. 

Advertising relies solely on how the consumer interprets a company’s image or product. It is essential to capture the consumer’s attention in a way that not only promotes the companies image in a positive manner but leaves a lasting impact in their mind. The graphic design used in advertising and marketing needs to be easy to understand as well as attention grabbing to the eye. The marketing campaigns that are successful are the ones that perfectly incorporate both of those characteristics.

There are several types of ways graphic design can be used in advertising. One of the most essential parts is the creation of logos. The established logos must convey the meaning behind the company and be easily recognizable in the public eye. One simple logo holds the key to identifying the brand, conveying the intended meaning of the brand and reflecting brand value. 

Also, branding incorporates different types of graphic design in a variety of ways. Branding is how a corporation is emotionally perceived by the consumers. A company does not have a “personality;” it must earn it. This is done by using different aspects of graphic design when conceptualizing products and packaging, signage, marketing collateral, or visual and audio communication. These techniques are all types of communication that rely on the power of brand association. 

The use of graphic design in direct relation to advertising and marketing is an interest to me. I know that I want to work in the artistic field that concentrates on creating identities for companies through good use of graphic design. Right now, I’m minoring in business because I know that one day I’d eventually like to work business side of the art realm as well. Art has always been my first love and I’ve known that I would like to work for a major corporation one day. The world of graphic design is one that will allow me to mesh both of my passions and pursue a job that deals with creative processes in corporate environments.  

Short Sequence Analysis

                              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-3x2khwZ0&hd=1

War Horse is a movie well renowned for its stunning use of cinematography. I remember sitting down in the theater to watch this movie and being blown away by the visual components in it. The scene I chose to analyze is one where the war horse is being chased, gets tangled up in barbed wire, and ends up in “no man’s land.” Camera movements, distance, scene editing, and time compression will be addressed in this analysis. 

Throughout this entire scene, the majority of the camera movement changed its position to keep up with the occurring action. All of the shots that compose of this scene have the horse as the main focal point. Since the horse is constantly moving, up until reaching the barbed wire, the camera is consistently moving as well. For the majority of the scene, tracking was used as the camera followed the horse horizontally through the obstacles it encountered. There were a couple shots that involved using a dolly as well; being when the horse was in the barracks with the soldiers and it moved towards the camera to make the audience feel as though they were part of the scene as well. Once the horse became tangled in the barbed wire, the scene became static to help emphasis the importance of the horse being trapped. 

Two camera distances were used for this sequence; a long shot and a close up shot. As this scene concentrates on the action of the horse, the long shot was used for most of it. This long shot allowed the entire body of the horse to be seen throughout, helping to build the momentum up until the horse becomes ensnared. A full close up shot was used when the horse was caught in the wire, allowing the audience to feel near the horse.

A master shot combined with smaller fragments of the scene was the style of film editing used in this sequence. The main shot involved the horse running haphazardly throughout obstacles up until the very end. Much of the camera shots stayed true to keeping a consistent feel of having the whole scene shown throughout. In order to keep in interesting, several smaller shots were intertwined that moved the camera in front of the horse instead of directly parallel to it. A good example of this is the very beginning of the sequence. The smaller shots of the front view of the horse help introduce it to the viewer before the main action begins. 

This sequence was indeed effective. It meticulously combined both fast paced action with a deep level of emotion. In order to improve upon this sequence, I would include more variety of shots when the horse is actually running. Along with having full shots and close ups, including medium close up shots would allow more detail of the horse to be shown in the middle of all the action. 

Creating a 3D Model

         3D modeling is a tedious process that requires preparation before it can actually occur. The model I’m analyzing is a set of oil bottles that were modeled for a previous class using Blender. In order to make these, reference images and concept sketches were used. Once the oil shakers were conceptualized, the actual creation of them began. 

To begin the modeling process, I placed a reference image into the 3D space in order to accurately model the bottle with the correct proportions. Next, I used a flat circle as my original shape to build on. This idea of using this circle came from the concept of box modeling, in which a simple cube provides the basis from which the object is formed. Once the circle was created, vertices were given to it. These vertices were then extruded upwards to give the shape of the bottle. Throughout this process, difference vertices were manipulated through extrusion and scaling on different axis’s in the 3D space. 

         Before I began modeling this oil bottle, I added a mirror modifier to it. This modifier allows anything modeled on a specific axis to be mirrored. The mesh of what is selected is replicated across its center point. Any changes made to the original oil bottle that I applied the modifier to would be mirrored on the bottle next to it. Once this option was in place, the different structures of the bottle were planned out. The components needed to form this oil bottle were the base of the bottle, the neck, the angular funnel part, and the container used to hold the bottles together. These components were structured in a hierarchy. The base of the bottle was defined first, followed by the neck and funnel. Once these basic shapes were all in place, horizontal and vertical loop cuts were used to help give it a more defined oil bottle shape. By continuously messing around with the vertices and loop cuts, the model took on the bottle shape I had envisioned. To give it a clean and smooth surface, a modifier was used. The subdivision surface modifier was applied to even out the choppiness and give the effect of smooth glass that would eventually be complete with the appropriate texture added. This particular modifier defines the mesh of a model used a control cage. The more subdivision levels used, the smoother the model will render out to be. 

All of these decisions were made with the intent of creating an accurate representation of an oil bottle. From conceptualization to the actual creation, each step in the process was important in producing the finalized product.