Workshop: AFX

Motion Graphics from Jennie Chinn on Vimeo.
This was our second workshop on After Effects in which we were shown how to put together our chosen music clip and the different images we had previously created using Photoshop, and make a short animation clip which we then uploaded to Vimeo. I think the most effective part of the clip is the second series of images. I originally intended this part of the clip to look like the neon face-paint many people wear at festivals however I think given the effect I have used, it works more effectively as flashing lights. Overall, I found this task quite challenging as I have never used this software before or created any sort of motion graphics before but I thought for a first attempt it went fairly well. If I was to make another one, I would add more images to it to make the final clip look more slick and professional.

Culture and Representation

This lecture was about different cultures and what represents them, we looked at various examples such as culture club and bits of Yinka Shonibare's work. 
Culture is about shared meanings and representation is the way we make sense of and share meanings.

'We use the word culture in these two senses: to mean a whole way of life – the common meanings; to mean the arts and learning – the special processes of discovery and creative effort. Some writers reserve the word for one or other of these senses; I insist on both, and on the significance of their conjunction...Culture is ordinary, in every society and in every mind.'

Raymond Williams

culture club

Lecture: Typography

'font is what you use, and typeface is what you see.'

-Norbert Florendo 

Johannes Gutenberg

Adolphe Cassandre - posters

Jasper Johns - painter influenced by the pop art movement

Marinetti

Neville Brody (ad for Nike)

Dan Friedman

bornmagazine.org

Physical Process; Interior Drawing

Our task this week was to do some sketches of the interior of the Creative Arts building. I found parts of this quite difficult as it was hard to get the perspective right in the drawing. To help with this, I first took a photo of the area I wanted to draw as sometimes I find it can be easier to draw from a photograph than from a primary source. After doing a rough sketch, I scanned the drawing in to my computer and tried editing it on photoshop to add colour.

Seminar: Urbanized

We watched the film Urbanized which is a documentary about the design of cities by Gary Hustwit. 

I enjoyed the film as it looked at the reality of redesigning a city and the problems and challenges that can occur. For example Stuttgart 21 was featured; this was a railway and urban development project which planned to destroy a popular woodland area in order to build an underground train station. Many local people were unhappy about the proposed plans and therefore protested against the demolition. The film also included parts on the design and construction of modern buildings in big cities such as Brasília which I found particularly interesting to look at.

Seminar: Convergence

Convergence means to forcibly bend together.

During this seminar, we reflected on Mondays lecture which was on the same topic. 

To help us further understand the meaning of this word in a graphical context, we looked at William Burroughs cut up method.

We were given newspapers which we had to cut up and collage back together in whichever way we wanted. I only had one double sheet of newspaper to play with therefore I wasn't able to be too imaginative with my collage, however I enjoyed this exercise as it was something different and it gave us the opportunity to further understand convergence.

              

Lecture: Convergence

'Convergence is doing journalism and telling stories in the most appropriate medium.'

-Quinn 2006  

Convergence example; Disney.
-like their own economy as they have dvds, books, costumes etc.