Communication Design: History & Theory

Using History in Your Future Work

2010-12-03T14:28:00.000+08:00

Jim Jarmusch is an independent film maker and this is one of his five rules for filmmaking. I think you should make it one of your own personal rules for any kind of communication design, graphics, animation, still photography, motion picture photography, interactive, whatever...

Thank your for a good class. I hope that you will all be better in the future because you have been exposed to the past.

- Dr. W -

The Period Poster

2010-11-28T23:47:00.000+08:00

The Period Poster is due on 6 December 2010, Monday, by 5:00pm. Please bring it to my office or hand it in at the Communication Studies Dept. Office. Be sure to follow the directions for this project found in the syllabus.

Use one of the following slogans:

Breast Milk, 100% Pure

or

Second Hand Smoke Is No Joke

You can add more verbal information to your posters but one of these quotes must appear on the poster.

Here are links to the examples I quickly showed you in class:

Breast Milk #1    Breast Milk #2     Breast Milk #3
Breast Milk #4      Second Hand Smoke #1
Second Hand Smoke #2      Second Hand Smoke #3
Second Hand Smoke #4     Second Hand Smoke #5

You can work in whatever medium you feel the most comfortable working in. This means you do not have to create something using digital tools unless that you are comfortable using digital tools. You can use paint, pencil, watercolor, pastels, ink, photography, Illustrator, Photoshop.... whatever. Just be sure to follow the guide lines given in the syllabus.

- Dr. W -

Here is the Blog Tally!

2010-11-28T23:27:00.001+08:00

THESE ARE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE CLASS BLOG AS FAR AS I CAN TELL. YOU NEED TO TELL ME HOW I CAN CONNECT WITH YOUR BLOG TO READ IT.

Kayu YIP Ka Yu

Yuka LAI Man Ting

Chimi CHUNG Chit Man

Ting CHAN Hei Ting

Bill CHAN Chu Kei

Shadow TSE Nim Tung

THESE ARE THE BLOGS THAT I CANNOT CONNECT WITH STUDENTS IN THIS CLASS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE ACTUAL NAME OF THE OWNERS OF THESE BLOGS

Tomato
9 entries

Siutingtsi
6 entries

Waitthetrue
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

鍾婕雯
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

zaizailove
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

THESE ARE THE STUDENTS WHO ARE SUBSCRIBED TO THE CLASS BLOG. THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF CLASS RELATED POSTS I HAVE FOUND ON YOUR BLOG. IF I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LINK TO YOUR BLOG FROM YOUR SUBSCRIPTION THEN YOU NEED TO TELL ME HOW TO FIND YOUR BLOG.

Yu NG Ching Yu
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Xearo SUEN Yuen Ling
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Belle LAO Un Teng
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Amy HO Wai Man
Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Lily CHENG Lai Lai

There appear to be only two posts that are directly related to History and Theory.

Sinde CHEUNG Sin Yi

16 entries and they are very solid.

Isaac CHONG Wai

7 posts to this point ending at the end of October.

Creamo FUNG Wing Shan

14 entries and they look very interesting. I like your honesty in talking about G.O.D. and just about everything else. You have done what was intended in this assignment and that is good.

Hoyan HO Wai Yan

13 posts. I think you are right about the building. It is far too sterile for its intended function. I would spend as much time as you can at the Kai Tak Campus which I find invigorating.

Ashley IP Wai Ting

13 posts. Silly Things looks like an interesting enterprise.

Apple NG Po Yiu

32 entries for the semester. I am glad you are doing this as you have collected some very interesting pieces of inspiration and even a bit of humor.

Orbit CHEN Feng

17 posts. You’ve got some great posts. I really find the Einstein-Monroe image interesting. I see Marilyn from a distance and also from the side.

Gloria WONG Po Yin

You have 14 posts on your blog and the ones I have read so far are really worth seeing. Thank You.

Gloria CHEUNG Hoi Ki

I see you have 10 entries on the blog and you have given me a printed visual diary.

Kaiyan CHEUNG Kai Yan

Okay so you are beyond being a serious blogger. You have 42 entries for the year. I am seeing about 23 related to this class. I am not sure about the poems. You have put up some interesting things.

Candy CHUI Lok Ching

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Akira GU Xin

18 entries. The record of a real journey.

Dawn KWAN Hay Yun

22 entries and some really beautiful photography.

Kris LAM Kit Ying

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Koey LEE Lai Chong

Wow, 27 posts in one month. That is an impressive number. I will be taking a closer look.

Yoyo LEUNG Tan Yiu

19 posts. Interesting information and I look forward to reading them all.

Isabelle NGUY Hing Wei

24 posts and lots of very interesting ones.

John WONG Siu Wai

You are a serious blogging individual. I see that you have 21 posts for the semester and I have already looked at a few and they look good.

Jill YE Yingchan

15 posts. Some interesting stuff. I like the visual words, shows that we can read things even when you think you shouldn’t be able to. Wow, the Backstreet Boys!?!

Salina YEUNG Sin Ying

27 entries in the month of November, that is very impressive. I am also blown away by the miniature NYC video. I think the key attribute is pulling out frames so that the motion is a bit unnatural. Then they probably also reduce the number of colors so that it has more of a model feel. Then there is the use of depth of field and and the strengthening of the contrast to create more of an unreal 3D effect.

Ada LEE Chung Yan

18 posts and I am looking forward to reading them.

Hampus ALVARSSON

I count 13 posts. And you are not half bad at Photoshop. You have definitely accomplished the goal which is to show that “even you” can do a better job than someone who apparently got paid for designing the ad. I think you did better than “even you” level. You may be more creative than you are letting on.

Alba BATISTA LOPEZ

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Guss KINDE Gustav

So I see eleven posts related to the class. These are in Neon Groupie.

Marie LEE Ju Hyun

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

Jake MASIN Jacob

So 15 entries more or less. The LIppo building, “the dream building,” is notorius for bad financial Feng Shui. It used to be the Bond Building. Architect is Australian and the building is supposed to be Koala climbing bamboo.

Lucas NG Lucas

14 entries. Did you know that the guy who wrote Seven was working in a video store when he wrote the script. He is a graduate of the Penn State film program.

Carmen LI Kar Man

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

KC LI Man Yee

Not able to link to your blog from your identity page connected to the class blog.

J WU Wai Lan

You have 13 blog posts. They are interesting and yes the latest one with product designs are definitely Japanese so you have good instincts. How did you get a post on 1 December when November is not over yet?

Outline for Design Ancestors Presentation

2010-11-18T12:08:00.000+08:00

The presentations will not be more than 6 MINUTES. So this presentation is about knowing what you want to say, saying it clearly and then being done. You need to think in a very focused way and present the information in bullet points:

1) Here is the piece of communication design I am looking at (it can come from any media form).

2) Here is one previous piece of work that I think inspired it.

3) This is why I think so.

4) Here is another previous work that I think inspired it.

5) This is why I think so.

6) This modern piece was inspired by these two pieces that preceded it.

7) Any questions?

You can create the presentation in PowerPoint, Flash or PDF and you will send a soft copy of your presentation to me through email after it is completed.

Any Questions?

- Dr. W -

today's exam

2010-11-17T22:38:00.001+08:00

Clearly today's exam was more difficult than I anticipated. The sheer availability of information was perhaps overwhelming.

I know that everyone worked hard and put forward their best effort. This is my first time having students take this exam on the computer with the availability of more graphics and video, as well as the search and review capabilities.

So I will be looking at your tests, grading your answers and looking for trends in the results.

Don't panic if you didn't finish the test. Don't panic if you aren't totally satisfied with your answers. I will keep in mind that this is the first time you have taken this kind of test to balance everyone's performance on what was given.

You do need to check the schedule for Design Ancestor presentations.

Be sure to ask any questions you have!

- Dr. W -

Design Ancestors Presentation Order

2010-11-17T15:00:00.000+08:00

Here is the presentation order for the two days of Design Ancestor Presentations.

Regardless of your day and time on the list you need to come to class and support your classmates because attendance will be taken and it is just rude to not support your peers by listening to their presentations.

The presentations are not long and that should keep each day pretty interesting. You have a maximum of six minutes for your presentation so practice it to get it down to five.

At the end of the first day we will have an activity at the end of class and that is why there is a big gap at the end of the day's schedule.

24 November

1:35 Belle

1:41 Isaac

1:47 Kaiyan

1:53 Chimi

1:59 Yuka

2:05 Apple

2:11 J

2:17 Ashley

2:23 Xearo

2:29 Jill

2:35 Jake

2:41 Ada

2:47 Orbit

2:53 Kris

2:59 Hoyan

3:05 Ching

3:11 Dawn

3:17 Amy

1 December

1:35 Alba

1:41 Akira

1:47 Lily

1:53 Creamo

1:59 Lucas

2:05 John

2:11 Salina

2:17 Guss

2:23 Kayu

2:29 Hampus

2:35 Sinde

2:41 Marie

2:47 Shadow

2:53 Yoyo

2:59 Gloria Cheung

3:05 Isabelle

3:11 Gloria Wong

3:17 Koey

3:23 KC

3:29 Ting

3:35 Bill

3:41 Carmen

3:47 Yu

3:53 Yuen

If you have any questions write them as a response to this post or check out the Design Ancestor post on 10 November and ask them as a response or comment on that post.

I look forward to hearing about your theories of relationships between modern designs and their predecessors.

- Dr. W -

An Example of Bad Design

2010-11-12T11:59:00.000+08:00

I just got this in my email and I wanted to put it up for you to see as an example of poorly executed communication design. Think about why I think this is not good is a good way to think about how you should analyze images on the exam.

So what makes this less than desirable communication design?

- Dr. W -

Study Guide for Exam

2010-11-12T11:34:00.000+08:00

DGC 1180 Final EXAM – Study Guide

Exam Date: 17 November 2010

The exam will have two parts. Part 1 is worth 60 points and Part 2 is worth 40 points.

Part 1 is a review and description of facts with some analysis in the last question.

Part 2 is thinking, comparing and using information learned in class for analysis of attempts to communicate.

You will be able to bring to the exam any and all of the notes you have made. My suggestion is that you organize them in a single sheet or some way to be able to access them efficiently while you are taking the test. You will be taking the test in a computer lab. This means that you will have access to the Internet and everything else that is possible to access on a computer. There will be parts of the test where you will need to access content on the computer and/or the Internet.

You will need to be able to recognize and describe the following:

The basic elements of the AIM model for communication
The precepts and laws of Gestalt perception
The impact of culture on various aspects of communication design
The categories of type described in class
The methods for handling color using digital tools
Technological developments that changed and/or expanded communication design

You will need to be able to do the following:

Define communication design according to the AIM model
Describe media forms on the basis of the experiences they enable
Describe the differences in typefaces or fonts based on their
Identify your favorite designer and justify your choice
Identify your favorite design period, style or movement and justify your choice
Explain why Sergei Eisenstein is important in the history of film
Identify classic films and the subsequent films they inspired
Describe the ways music has been used in movies across time
Discuss the impact of technological changes in communication design

In part two of the exam you will be given groups of communication designs. You will then choose two of those designs for comparison.

First, for EACH of the designs you choose you will provide the year it was created, the name of the designer (if known), and the movement, school or era with which it can be associated.

You will then compare and contrast the two designs on the basis of
* the psychological factors in the composition
* the cultural elements in the design
* the aesthetic elements of the design
* the typographic features
* relevant technological aspects
* the apparent objective of the design; and
* the possible audience for the design.

You will perform a similar task of comparison and contrast between two animated films and between two live-action films.

You will give your answers on a word document on the computer and turn it in to a folder on the computer.

YOU NEED TO BRING HEADPHONES TO THIS TEST

Please post any question you have as a comment to this post!

- Dr. W -

Comprehensive List of the Movies we have watched this semester

2010-11-12T08:24:00.001+08:00

In order of year here are the movies we have seen bits of in class:

1894 Glenroy Brothers Boxing
1895 The Gardener

1896 The Kiss

1897 Seminary Girls

1899 Ben Hur - Stage Play

1902 Voyage to the Moon

1907 Ben Hur

1911 Little Nemo - Winsor McKay

1915 Birth of a Nation

1915 Charlie Chaplin

1925 Battleship Potemkin

1925 Ben Hur

1925 Strike

1927 Laurel and Hardy

1927 Metropolis

1933 Duck Soup

1934 It Happened One Night

1937 Snow White

1939 Gone With The Wind

1939 The Wizard of Oz

1940 Pinocchio

1941 Citizen Kane

1941 Dumbo

1942 Bambi

1950 Cinderella

1951 Alice in Wonderland

1952 Singing in the Rain

1953 Peter Pan

1954 Seven Samurai

1959 Ben Hur

1960 Psycho

1962 Dr. No - Bond

1963 Sword in the Stone

1964 Mary Poppins

1964 My Fair Lady

1965 Sound of Music

1968 2001: A Space Odyssey

1970 The Aristocats

1971 Bananas

1971 Fists of Fury

1974 Blazing Saddle

1974 Young Frankenstein

1977 Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope

1979 Life of Brian

1979 Moonraker - Bond

1982 Blade Runner

1984 Adventures of Andre and Wally

1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off

1986 Luxo Jr.

1987 Untouchables

1990 Home Alone

1991 Beauty and the Beast

1991 Once Upon a Time in China - Wong Fei Hong

1992 Waynes World

1993 Jurassic Park

1994 Fist of Legend

1994 Lion King

1995 Pochahantas

1995 Toy Story 1

1999 Matrix

1999 Notting Hill

1999 Toy Story 2

2001 Barbie in the Nutcracker

2001 Moulin Rouge

2001 Shaolin Soccer

2001 Shrek

2001 Zoolander

2002 Die Another Day - Bond

2005 Wallace and Gromit

2006 Casino Royale - Bond

2007 Hairspray

2008 Mamma Mia

2008 WALL-E

2009 Night at the Museum 2

2010 Barbie in a Mermaid's Tale

Think about them in the same way that you think about a single image or poster. Movies are aesthetic, psychological, cultural and communicative designs. It is interesting though because movies seem to be more dated than most posters. Because of their nature they have a more difficult time in holding up across time. They are more reliant on the time when they were created. May be it is just because of their nature and that we don't control the amount of time required to experience them?

- Dr. W -

Design Ancestor Examples for After the Exam

2010-11-10T01:14:00.001+08:00

Here are two very simple examples of Design Ancestors:

This is the design for which I am seeking ancestors.

Here is Ancestor 1:

This one is directly related as it provides the visual and the concept for the later work. This is a poster for the original movie "Endless Summer" that was made in 1964 or thereabouts (you need to be more accurate). The movie is about a group of guys traveling the world in search of the perfect wave. Thus we have a great deal of the content in the modern design shown above.

But the new design shows some changes and here is a possible ancestor:

This is the sign on the southern edge of Las Vegas that has become a trademark of the city. It demonstrates strong use of the diamond shape which is the added element in the modern work above. It also has strong associations with the 1960s which connects its use in the final poster as well, "Searching since '64."

Here is a second example of design ancestors:

I am hoping that at least one of the ancestors for this piece is obvious to you already so here it is:

Andy Warhol did a number of these silk screen repetitive pieces of famous people. This is a clear predecessor to the work above with added notion that Photoshop made the modern piece a lot easier to do.

Now here is a second possible ancestor to the modern work above:

It might have been possible to choose any portrait as an ancestor of the modern work but this photograph is particularly relevant because it has the feeling of a self-shot self portrait of a photographer and it includes the camera in the shot. So there is a logical connection between this photo which pre-dates the work shown above.

In your presentation you will need to give specific information about each image, the modern and the historical.

Your images and their ancestors do not have to come from anything shown in class.

You will not have a lot time so you need to show us the modern work, then show us two works that you believe have the possibility of being ancestors to that work. They may have provided some ideas or inspiration. You need to make a few logical arguments for their connection even though the relationship may be obvious.

Be sure to post your questions as comments to this post.

Attendance will be taken on both days so you are expected to come to class and support your fellow students.

The AFI Top Film Lists

2010-11-10T01:07:00.000+08:00

The AFI is the American Film Institute and in 1998 the members of the Institute voted for the best 100 films of the first 100 years of the medium.

1998
1. Citizen Kane 1941
2. Casablanca 1942
3. The Godfather 1972
4. Gone with the Wind 1939
5. Lawrence of Arabia 1962
6. The Wizard of Oz 1939
7. The Graduate 1967
8. On the Waterfront 1954
9. Schindler's List 1993
10. Singin' in the Rain 1952
11. It's a Wonderful Life 1946
12. Sunset Blvd. 1950
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957
14. Some Like It Hot 1959
15. Star Wars 1977
16. All About Eve 1950
17. The African Queen 1951
18. Psycho 1960
19. Chinatown 1974
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975

Ten years later in 2008 the members voted again and the order changed a bit because calling something the best film is very much a matter of opinion.

2008
1. Citizen Kane 1941
2. The Godfather 1972
3. Casablanca 1942
4. Raging Bull 1980
5. Singin' in the Rain 1952
6. Gone with the Wind 1939
7. Lawrence of Arabia 1962
8. Schindler's List 1993
9. Vertigo 1958
10. The Wizard of Oz 1939
11. City Lights 1931
12. The Searchers 1956
13. Star Wars 1977
14. Psycho 1960
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
16. Sunset Boulevard 1950
17. The Graduate 1967
18. The General 1927
19. On the Waterfront 1954
20. It's a Wonderful Life 1946

Animation

2010-11-09T22:22:00.002+08:00

Disney did not make the first animated short film in the world or even in North America. Disney did not make the first feature length animation in the world but Snow White was the first feature length animation made in English. It is also the first of 50 animated films to be made by the Disney Studio. This month the movie "Tangled" will be the 51st.

Disney's first film made for the China mainland market was 宝葫芦的秘密 mand it was made it 2007. It was a cooperative production between Disney and Centro Digital Pictures in Hong Kong. It mixes live action with 3D animation. The lead animator for Centro was Ralph Poon who is a DGC graduate and now owns XD Communication Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Here are some facts about animated films made at Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks.

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1940 Pinocchio
1940 Fantasia
1941 Dumbo
1942 Bambi
1942 Saludos Amigos
1944 The Three Caballeros
1946 Make Mine Music
1947 Fun and Fancy Free
1948 Melody Time
1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
1950 Cinderella
1951 Alice in Wonderland
1953 Peter Pan (came from the stage)
1955 Lady and the Tramp
1959 Sleeping Beauty
1961 101 Dalmatians
1963 The Sword in the Stone
1967 The Jungle Book
1970 The Aristocats
1973 Robin Hood
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
1977 The Rescuers
1981 The Fox and the Hound
1985 The Black Cauldron
1986 The Great Mouse Detective
1988 Oliver & Company
1989 The Little Mermaid (The Rebirth of Disney Animation) (Now a Stage Show)
1990 The Rescuers Down Under
1991 Beauty and the Beast (First to use Digital Animation Technology)
   (The First to become a stage show)
   (The First Animation to be nominated for Best Picture)
1992 Aladdin
1994 The Lion King (Second to become a stage show, extremely innovative, prize winning)
1995 Pocahontas
1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1997 Hercules
1998 Mulan
1999 Tarzan (Now a Stage Show)
1999 Fantasia 2000
2000 Dinosaur
2000 The Emperor's New Groove
2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire
2002 Lilo & Stitch
2002 Treasure Planet5
2003 Brother Bear
2004 Home on the Range
2005 Chicken Little 3-D
2007 Meet the Robinsons 3-D
2008 Bolt 3-D
2009 The Princess and the Frog
2010 Tangled

Pixar    cost revenue academy award
1995 Toy Story $30,000,000 $361,996,233 Special Achievement Award
1998 A Bug's Life $60,000,000 $363,398,565
1999 Toy Story 2 $90,000,000 $485,015,179
2001 Monsters, Inc. $115,000,000 $525,366,597 Best Original Song
2003 Finding Nemo $94,000,000 $867,893,978 Best Animated Feature
2004 The Incredibles $92,000,000 $631,442,092 Best Animated Feature
   Best Sound Editing
2006 Cars    $120,000,000 $461,982,881 Lost to Happy Feet (George Miller)
2007 Ratatouille $150,000,000 $621,426,008 Best Animated Feature
2008 WALL-E $180,000,000 $521,268,237 Best Animated Feature
2009 Up    $175,000,000 $731,338,164 Best Animated Feature
2010 Toy Story 3 $200,000,000 $1,060,026,000 The most successful animated film to date

Dreamworks Animation    cost revenue
1998 Antz    $60,000,000 $171,757,863
1998 The Prince of Egypt $70,000,000 $218,613,188
2000 The Road to El Dorado $95,000,000 $76,432,727
2000 Chicken Run    $45,000,000 $224,834,564
2001 Shrek    $60,000,000 $484,409,218 Best Animated Feature
2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron $80,000,000 $122,563,539
2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas $60,000,000 $80,767,884
2004 Shrek 2    $150,000,000 $919,838,758
2004 Shark Tale    $75,000,000 $367,275,019
2005 Madagascar    $78,000,000 $532,680,671
2005 Wallace & Gromit: Were-Rabbit $30,000,000 $192,610,372    Best Animated Feature
2006 Over the Hedge $80,000,000 $336,002,996
2006 Flushed Away    $149,000,000 $178,120,010
2007 Shrek the Third $160,000,000 $798,958,162
2007 Bee Movie    $150,000,000 $287,594,577
2008 Kung Fu Panda $130,000,000 $631,744,560
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $150,000,000 $603,900,354
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens    $175,000,000 $381,509,870
2010 How to Train Your Dragon $165,000,000 $492,591,956
2010 Shrek Forever After    $165,000,000 $734,036,937
2010 Megamind    $130,000,000 $66,494,833 released Nov. 5 in the US

A Few Communication Designers

2010-11-09T21:56:00.000+08:00

In class you have seen just a small taste of some very talented communication designers. If you would like to know more about this designers they have all written at least one book or had at least one book written about them. Most of these books are in the library. Some of the books include thoughts about design, communication and business and some are just great collections of their work. I know there is a very good book on Kan Tai Keung in the HKBU library and it is written in Chinese and contains a great collection of his work.

Design Periods

2010-11-09T21:53:00.001+08:00

Understanding the design periods is very important for you and for the rest of the work you will be doing in class. You will need to have some understanding of them for the test. You will potentially need to talk about them in your design ancestor presentation and you will need to use them in your period poster.

You can go to look at various work from the design periods through the resource page in the course syllabus. There you will find examples along with a general description for the style.

Science Fiction

2010-11-09T21:51:00.007+08:00

Science Fiction has been a part of moving making since the earliest years of the medium. There are actually very few forms of movies that were not already a part of the stories that people told using the media available to them.

But doing Science Fiction movies required the use of special effects and we can see that these have clearly developed and changed across time. In fact Science Fiction is the genre that has most pushed the development of special effects in film.

1902 Voyage to the Moon we see speculation on what it would require to get to the moon and what the people who visit there might find. In terms of special effects we see the rocket landing in the eye of the man in the moon (there is nothing wrong with a little comedy mixed in with science fiction) We also see the use of painted scenes, composited scenes, jump cuts to make things and creatures appear and disappear.

1927 Metropolis we see probably the most influential film within Science Fiction. The visuals are absolutely stunning and it doesn't really matter that there is no sound. This is a film that every person who creates any kind of motion picture should see. You may as well be directly influenced by it since you will be indirectly influenced. The backgrounds are painted and the effects are basically crude but the quality of the visuals has inspired others to make these kinds of effects work better.

1974 Young Frankenstein is a comedy homage to the Frankenstein and monster movies that are also a variation on the Science Fiction genre. Every one of the movies in this category owes a deep debt to Metropolis is the form of the laboratory and the depiction of the mad scientist. We have seen this guy in motion pictures too many times to count. In Young Frankenstein they used the actual static electricity machines that were used in the 1930s Frankenstein movies.

1977 Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope is directly influenced by Metropolis in the character of 3P0 who is very similar to the robot Maria. The Star Wars prequels also pay their respects to Metropolis through the visualization of the government planet.

1982 Blade Runner is Ridley Scott's masterpiece and it was co-produced by Sir Run Run Shaw. This movie is also a visual treat and it owes a great deal to Metropolis in terms of the cityscape of future Los Angeles as well as the Robot as Human story line. You should watch this one as well out of respect to Sir Run Run Shaw and to see the shots inside the Bradbury Hotel in Los Angeles. The closing monologue by Rutger Hauer on the nature of humanity is also worth the time. Plus there is great action.

1954 Seven Samurai was also an influence on the Star Wars movies and the characters of C3P0 and R2D2. Akira Kurasawa was the director of the Seven Samurai and the Hidden Fortress as well as many other Japanese language films that must be seen. He was a phenomenal story teller and his work influenced many of the films that came after regardless of their country of origin or language spoken in the film. His translations of Shakespeare's plays into the context of Japan are also amazing and are probably the most innovative translations of Shakespeare to the screen.

1968 2001: A Space Odyssey was also created by a very interesting director, Stanley Kubrick. 2001 is the only film that can rival Metropolis for its influence on the films that followed. What is particularly interesting in the film is that the computer is the bad guy. It reflects a much less favorable view of computers that one that is held in the world today. At the core of the computer's evil though is conflicting instructions so that the in-out logic of the computer cannot deal with nor process the complexity of human thought or instructions. Computers are still not human and appear insane when randomness and complexity are structured according to programmed logic. The red eye of the HAL 9000 computer has become the symbol of evil computers.

2008 WALL-E pays direct homage to 2001 in the Auto-Pilot. This use of HAL is in the red-eye and the story of conflicting human instructions. WALL-E is extremely interesting for a lot of different reasons and this is one of them as the 40 years between 2001 and WALL-E have not made the red eye any less scary.

REMEMBER: There is nothing new under the sun and great ideas come from many different places. Use other people's creations with respect and you can tap into the great storytelling and cultural or aesthetic connections that have built up around that work. Respect means not stealing everything they did in the past but using their executions to inspire the story you want to tell. Respect also means admitting the source or your inspiration either explicitly or implicitly.

- Dr. W -

Musicals

2010-11-09T21:51:00.005+08:00

Wizard of Oz - 1939

AFI Top Ten Movies of All Time

AFI #3 Movie Musical

Singing in the Rain - 1952

AFI Top Ten Movies of All Time

AFI #1 Movie Musical

Mary Poppins - 1964

AFI #6 Movie Musical

My Fair Lady - 1964

AFI #8 Movie Musical

Best Picture

Sound of Music - 1965

AFI #4 Movie Musical

Best Actress - Julie Andrews

Life of Brian - 1979

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986

Moulin Rouge - 2001

AFI #25 Movie Musical

Hairspray - 2007

movie to broadway to movie

a number of inspirations from Sound of Music

Mamma Mia - 2008

Highest grossing musical film of all-time globally

The most successful British-made film of all time

AFI is the American Film Institute

What these movies represent is the flow of music in movies over the first century of the medium.

Originally there were musicals created specifically for the movies. This was followed by a big push for translating Broadway musicals into film musicals. Mary Poppins was an original musical for the screen and it has now been translated as a musical for the stage.

In the 1970s and 80s the traditional musical almost completely disappeared with the outstanding excepton of Grease that traveled from the stage to the screen. Music largely became a supporting player in films. Music also began to rely on popular music that supported the storyline of the film. And sometimes, as in Life of Brian the notion of the happy musical number becomes the focus of a very funny joke.

The new millenium has seen new life for musicals with an emphasis again on stage to screen adaptations even though Hairspray went from non-musical movie to Broadway musical and then movie musical. Mamma Mia was on stage but is based on the very popular songs of ABBA so it also has a strange route. Moulin Rouge is also very unusual in its approach as a movie musical. The songs are current pop songs intertwined into a story about the Moulin Rouge at the turn of the 20th century. It puts modern sensibilities into an historical setting. And it is an historical setting that had a great deal of influence and connection to the Art Nouveau movement in Communication Design. Toulouse-Lautrec is a key character in the film as he was an important character in this part of Paris at the turn of the Century. The Black Cat was a club in Paris at this time.

Colors, Type and Comedy Film

2010-10-19T12:52:00.000+08:00

Color

Our understanding of color begins with black and white or dark and light. The next color to be identified is red. From there different cultures react to and identify colors in different ways. Understanding color requires a scheme that is useful for the communicator as well as the user and in the digital age it requires a scheme that can be easily understood by the computer.

The subtractive primaries are red, yellow and blue. They are subtractive because when you add them to each other they become black. They are seen by the fact that their particular color of light reflects off of them. Thus when they are combined then all of the light is absorbed and no color is apparent. They are used for painting and printing. The subtractive secondaries are orange, green and purple (violet). These are understood in the digital realm as CMYK or four process color. C-cyan, M-Magenta, Y-Yellow and K-Black. They are expressed in color finders as the percentage of each element present in the color you are using.

The additive primaries are red, green and blue. They are additive because when you add them together they combine to create white. These are radiant and not reflective colors. They come from a light generating source. We see these divisions in a rainbow as the white light of the sun is divided into its color elements by passing through drops of water. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet are the colors we can identify in this division but it only requires red, green and blue to combine and create white light. These are understood in the digital realm as RGB colors. They are expressed in the amount of each color in a number from 0-255 or 8 bit color. This is actually 256 different colors event though I said in class that it is 255.

Munsell's scheme involves a color solid that provides the three dimensions of color: Hue, Saturation and Brightness. Hue is the identification of the "color" or "chroma" and all possible hues exist on a 360 degree circle. Saturation is the amount of hue in the color and it is considered as a percentage from 0-100% where 0 means no hue is present and color appears as its underlying white, gray or black and 100% means pure hue and the color is the most intense that it can be. Brightness is the amount of Black, Gray or White in the color and it is expressed in a percentage with White being 100% brightness, Black being 0% brightness and Gray being anything in between. This conceptualization of color makes it possible for the human and the computer to understand exactly what color they are both dealing with and to build color schemes through mathematical variations in any of the three elements.

Check Munsell's Color Form to see these different combinations that can be built mathematically.

Typography

Looking at The Anatomy of Type you will get the fundamentals for understanding the differences and similarities between the different type faces used in design and the different typefaces we will review through history. Printing technology created the opportunity for creating typefaces and it became an area of dramatic creativity within the first 100 years of the western invention of the moveable type and the printing press. It is still an absolutely important area of creative endeavor and invention.

Movies

Comedy is probably the most universal of the film themes and motifs. The first group of comedy films we have looked at express the very physical forms of comedy. In silent films this was necessary because there was no sound to create witty discussions and jokes. The jokes all had to be visual. But this carries on even with the inclusion of sound and it is something that can still make us LOL. But making people laugh can be very cultural and it requires a great deal of practice. The Marx Brothers practiced their bits in public to see what was funny long before they put it on film.

We also looked at Sergei Eisenstein and his sequence "The Odessa Steps" from "Battleship Potemkin." Eisenstein is credited with creating the grammar of the moving image where there is variation in the Field of View: wide shots, medium shots, close ups--and angle of view. He was the first film maker to use the medium to create the sense of a three-dimensional space rather than use the camera as a simple observer of what could be done on a stage in a theatre. We then saw two homages to the Odessa steps, one that is very violent and a second that is very short and funny.

Any questions?

- Dr. W -

First Moments of Video & Visual Lexicons

2010-10-06T18:00:00.001+08:00

Hello Students,

Everyone needs to understand that there is a strong connection between technology and communication design. Technologies are what make it possible to communicate and different technologies make different approaches possible.

Communication Technologies include writing, printing, painting, photography, motion photography, sound recording, computers and a whole lot of other things. With the introduction of a new technologies come new possibilities in communication design.

The motion pictures we watched and why:

Muybridge Motion Studies made way for the development of motion pictures.

Silly Boxing, The Kiss, Pillow Fight and the San Francisco Earthquake because they are all firsts in terms of motion content.

Lumiere Brothers Gardener story: It is considered the first motion picture story as there is action, consequence and then revenge. In reality the guy with the hose got punked and then he got revenge.

These all show that everything that is touted as new has roots in something that has gone before. Even these short-short films have their roots in stage productions.

Ben Hur is important for a number of reasons:
1. The story migrated from book to stage to film to animation (though we didn't see the animation)
2. It has been successful by many different measures in most of these forms.
3. It is an epic story that created the opportunity for innovation and creativity in production, on the stage and on film.
4. The use of the content by the first filmmakers created the precedent for the protection of intellectual property for book authors when their work is used as the basis for a film.
5. The Chariot scene in the 1960 film has stood the test of time as a well produced moment in movie-making.

The Great Train Robbery is important because it is the first Western Movie and it is also the first motion picture blamed for inciting violent behavior. It also demonstrates the single camera aesthetic of early films with continuous action and a minimum of cutting.

Birth of a Nation is important as the first large scale scandalous movie. DW Griffith used this scandal to promote the film and get people to the theatre to watch it. It also shows a transformational aesthetic where lighting techniques and masking are used to help the audience focus on specific characters and an increased dependence on visual editing to tell the story. It also sets the standard for branding one's own intellectual property.

Gone With The Wind is another movie based on the US Civil War, but in this case the focus is on the characters involved and the social situation is the context for the action and not the focus of the action. Like Ben Hur, GWTW is based on a very popular book. The movie itself if beautifully shot and brilliantly acted even though we didn't see enough of the move to demonstrate that point.

Next week we will get into Sergei Eisenstein, Charlie Chaplin, The Odessa Steps and Comedy. We will also take a look at Color Theory and get our first look at the history of Typography.

Visual Lexicons are due on 20 October so get to work on them. You need to have 50 entries that include all of the elements found in the guidelines.

Also remember to make entries in your Visual Diary (Personal Blog).

- Dr. W -

Visual Lexicons & Visual Diaries

2010-09-29T16:58:00.000+08:00

Hello Everyone,

Your visual lexicons are due in three weeks on the 20th of October.

These need to be physical books with at least 50 entries.

If you have questions feel free to ask and I will help you understand. I have the examples in my office.

Also remember that you need to be making entries in your visual diaries. I will be checking up in the next couple of weeks.

If it makes it easier think about each entry in relation to the class discussion:

For last week find some interesting designs that use the laws of Gestalt Psychology.

For this week find some designs that make or break the rules of composition I showed you.

Find some designs that express your culture in a powerful way or designs that show that the designer does not understand your culture.

Or, find some designs that have a connection to some of the ancient objects you saw in class.

I will see you next week.

Dr. W

If you need to see a simple version of a visual diary entry, one with an image, a comment and a link go back to my entry in September 2009 called Eric Tan's Blog...

Your AIM presentation

2010-09-20T13:34:00.003+08:00

For class next week you will be doing a presentation on who you think passes through a particular MTR station based on the ADVERTISEMENTS you see inside the station.

First Rule: The station needs to be a stand alone station and not serve as a junction between train lines.

Second Rule: Your presentation will include the following information: 1. A demographic and possibly psychographic description of the people who come through the station. 2. The proof of your hypothesis in the form of pictures of posters and other advertisements within the station. 3. A detailed description of how three of these advertisements connect with your hypothesized audience.

Third Rule: Your presentation should be at least 5 minutes long but not be more than 10 minutes long.

Fourth Rule: All group members need to participate in the presentation.

Fifth Rule: There is no exactly right answer for this exercise. You are HYPOTHESIZING from what you can see in the advertisements. Use the AIM structure to help you understand who advertisers think are walking through the station.

Here are the groups so far and the stations they are analyzing (each group analyzes a different station):

Sham Shui Po - Yoyo Leung, Belle Lao, Dawn Kwan, Bill Chan

Shek Kip Mei - Gloria Wong, Ada Lee, Creamo Fung

Ngau Tau Kok - Hoyan Ho, Shadow Tse, Waiting Ip, Yuen Yuen

Tung Chung - Gloria Cheung, Yuka Lai, KaiYan Cheung, Kayu Yip

Causeway Bay - CHAN Hei Ting, YEUNG Sin Ying, HO Wai Man, LAM Kit Ying
( be careful because this is a really big station, you should focus on one exit and the pathway leading to it)

Kowloon Bay - YE Yingchan, CHEN Feng, GU Xin

Choi Hung - LI Man Yee, WU Wai Lam, LI Kar Man

Lok Fu - Lucas Ng, LEE Juhyun, Jake Masin, Alba Batista

Wong Tai Sin - Lily Cheng, Sinde Cheung, Isaac Chong, Apple Ng, Xearo Suen

Tsuen Wan - John Wong, Koey Lee, Chimi Chong, Yu Ng

There are 4 people who are not in groups and/or who have not told me what station they are going to study. Please do this as soon as possible.

Dr. W

Class is Over but the Learning and the Work are not!

2009-11-25T13:49:00.000+08:00

Okay class is over. In general the presentations were very good and very much to the point, good job.

Here are the numbers of entries in your Visual Diaries

Rainbow Cheng 13
Wendy Cho 7
Iga Fung 18
Hugo Ghiglia 6
Veronica Jin 17
Katy Liu 13
Casper Mardahl 12
Lucie Neubergova 0 - found no link
Henry Ng 0 - found no link
Arne Stokholm 14
Bonnie Tam 13
Simon Tran 0 - found no link
Terence Tsang 0 - no subscription
Sara Wong 16
Windy Wong 4
Graham Wong 5
Careen Wong 43
Zoyo Zhao 28
Christy Chan 15
Ding Ding Chan 0 - found no link
Chan Fly Chan 15
Sandy Cheng 14
Kevin Cheung 0 - found no link
Eddie Choi 15
Candy Chow 0 - no subscription
Sharon Keung16
Calvin Ho 18
KaHei Kwok 19
Janet Kwok 16
Tim Lai 15
Chak Chak Lam 18
Celesty Lee 19
Helena Li 12
Cindy Lo 15
Kitty Ng 10
Cuttle Ng 15
Bryan Tsui 21
Ester Wong 16
Laura Xue 13

I will look more closely at your posts and their spread across the semester to determine a grade.

If you have a question, send me a link or send me an email or comment to this post. I am glad to clear up any confusion.

See you next year,

Dr. Williams

Period Posters - link to syllabus

2009-11-18T09:16:00.000+08:00

Period Posters are due on 5 December and Your Visual Diaries will be complete on 25 November.

Here is an example of a Period Poster from Last Year:

Your choice of themes are Breast Milk 100% Safe or Second Hand Smoke is No Joke

Go to the online syllabus to get the exact requirements for the assignment: Period Poster

Good Luck on your Presentations this week and next week. Be sure to come a little Early to get set up.

Design Ancestor Example

2009-11-11T09:17:00.000+08:00

Here are two very simple examples of Design Ancestors:

This is the design for which I am seeking ancestors.

Here is Ancestor 1:

But the new design shows some changes and here is a possible ancestor:

Here is a second example of design ancestors:

I am hoping that at least one of the ancestors for this piece is obvious to you already so here it is:

Now here is a second possible ancestor to the modern work above:

In your presentation you will need to give specific information about each image, the modern and the historical.

Your images and their ancestors do not have to come from anything shown in class.

Be sure to post your questions as comments to this post and know the schedule below. Attendance will be taken on both days so you are expected to come to class and support your fellow students.

Design Ancestor Presentation Schedule

2009-11-05T14:08:00.000+08:00

Design Ancestor Presentations

18 November 2009

9: 35 Laura Xue

9: 42 Bonnie Tam

9: 49 Chak Chak Lam

9: 56 Cindy Lo

10: 03 Veronica Jin

10: 10 Candy Chow

10: 17 Casper Mardahl

10: 24 Zoyo Zhao

10: 31 Katy Liu

10: 38 Hugo Ghiglia

10: 45 Bryan Tsui

10: 52 Celesty Lee

10: 59 Lucie Neubergova

11: 06 Henry Ng

11: 13 Iga Fung

11: 20 Helena Li

11: 27 KaHei Kwok

11: 34 Kitty Ng

25 November 2009

9: 35 Wendy Cho

9: 42 Christy Chan

9: 49 Careen Wong

9: 56 Sharon Keung

10: 03 Eddie Choi

10: 10 Sandy Cheng

10: 17 ChanFly Chan

10: 24 DingDing Chan

10: 31 Calvin Ho

10: 38 Rainbow Cheng

10: 45 Windy Wong

10: 52 Graham Wong

10: 59 Simon Tran

11: 06 Ester Wong

11: 13 Arnbjorn Stokholm

11: 20 Tim Lai

11: 27 Janet Kwok

11: 34 Terence Tsang

11: 41 Kevin Cheung

11: 48 Cuttle Ng

11: 55 Sara Wong

Make your presentations no more than 6 minutes

1 minute to introduce your chosen modern design

2 minutes to introduce an ancestor and say why it is an ancestor

2 minutes to introduce another ancestor and say why it is an ancestor

1 minute of buffer time in case you run into a problem

Time will be short so please arrive early to upload your presentation on the classroom computer and check to make sure everything is okay.

You need to remember that powerpoint does not carry fonts with it so any font you use must be available in the classroom computer or it will not appear correctly. If you use Flash this will not be an issue.

4 November 2009

2009-11-04T17:07:00.002+08:00

All of the lectures are complete.

Today I wanted you to see that there is more to the communication design history of the PRC than just Cultural Revolution woodcuts. There is a variety of work which has been done in a variety of media and since the 80s there has been a great deal more freedom in design practice which has led to some very interesting work. All of these designers have a stake in the propaganda which was created under a great deal more political stress than is felt right now. As you look at the various pieces of design it is interesting that you can get a real sense of the mood in China from the types of works that were created. Whether this is a matter of actual mood or strategic public relations planning is beyond my knowledge, but it has appeared to become a more planned activity in the years since the Cultural Revolution.

You must always remember to be a good example to you juniors just as Lei Feng was a good example to you and the nation!

We will come back to the Universal Principles as you work your way through DGC or take future DGC courses.

Always remember Harry Beck and the London Subway Map. It is the communication design model for the world. So, it is also not bad to have some British influence in your historical heritage. They did start a great subway system and modeled the information design on the example set by Beck in London.

More than 20 minutes late to class:
Rainbow
Wendy
Iga
Bonnie
Terence
Sara
Graham
Zoyo
Christy
Cindy
Ester

Absent:
Kevin
Calvin

Notes for the Final EXAM

2009-11-04T17:00:00.000+08:00

DGC 1180 Final EXAM – Study Guide

11 November 2009

The exam will have two parts. Part 1 is worth 70 points and Part 2 is worth 30 points.

You will be able to bring to the exam one sheet of A4 paper filled with notes.

You will need to be able to recall the following:

The basic elements of the AIM model for communication

The precepts and laws of Gestalt perception

The impact of culture on various aspects of communication design

The six basic categories of type described in class

The methods for handling color using digital tools

Five technological developments that changed and/or expanded communication design

You will need to be able to do the following:

Define communication design according to the AIM model

Describe the difference between type categories

Identify your favorite designer from those in the class materials and justify your choice

Identify your favorite design period, style or movement and justify your choice

Explain why Harry Beck is important to communication design

Explain why Sergei Eisenstein is important in the history of film

Identify classic films and the subsequent films they inspired

Discuss the impact of technological changes in communication design

You will need to choose 3 designs from those presented in class for analysis on the test:

All three must have been made since the year 1890.

One must have been made since the year 1960.

One must be of Chinese origin.

One must be of Western origin (Europe, U.S., Cuba, Australia).

One can be from anywhere (Japan, Europe, U.S., Cuba, Australia, China).

For EACH you will need to:

Give the year, designer and associated school, period or movement of the design

Write a detailed description of the design.

Analyze the design according to a range of factors discussed in class

Please bring a black and white copy of each design with you for the test.

I will supply you with a booklet for writing your answers for the exam.

Please post any question you have on this blog!

28 October 2009

2009-10-30T06:21:00.001+08:00

Here is a list of what we were actually able to view over the past two classes:

Muybridge Sequential Photography

Glenroy

The Gardiner

The Kiss

Seminary Girls

The Whole Dam Family

Ben Hur, Book to Play to Film, Film, Epic

Voyage to the Moon

Great Train Robbery

San Fran earthquake

Little Nemo

Birth of a Nation

GWTW

Chaplin

Odessa Steps:

Eisenstein,

DePalma,

Woody Allen

Laurel and Hardy

Duck Soup

Bananas

Blazing Saddles

Ace Ventura

My Cousin Vinny

Metropolis – Young Frankenstein

Metropolis – Blade Runner

Snow White to Enchanted

Singin in the Rain

Life of Brian

Moulin Rouge

Hairspray

GWTW

Dirty Harry

Jaws

The Shining Johnny

The Shining Twins

Shawshank

Das Boot

Apocalypse

La Dolce Vita

Notting Hill

Deeds

Psycho

Bonds

Once Upon a Time in China

Fist of Fury sign break

Game of Death

Kill Bill

Shaolin soccer

Beauty and the Beast

Run Lola Run

Here is what is important about that viewing:

Muybridge set the precedent for creating motion pictures through his photographic sequences of animals and people in motion. Yes, he did answer the question of whether a horse completely leaves the ground when it runs, it does.

Themes that exist in motion pictures have existed since its earliest days. Plays, short comedy sketches and story telling existed long before the ability to record them and these are the traditions that underpin the content of motion pictures, in the early days and in the present.

The first motion picture story was a guy getting tricked by someone he knew and then delivering revenge to his tormentor. The Lumiere Brothers created this story about the Gardener and it looks a lot like something we might see on a Funny Video show or on YouTube today.

Sergei Eisentein created a distinctive grammar for storytelling with motion pictures. His classic scene the Odessa steps has been homaged in many other movies, seriously and humorously.

Much of the comedy we enjoy today has not changed a great deal from the earliest days.

Fritz Lang in Metropolis created a visual treat. The shots are beautifully composed and interconnected. Much of the acting is overdone and the story is very simplistic but the film is beautiful and has inspired many films after it.

Ultimately there are many ways to shoot many kinds of stories and all of them have not yet been tried. One of the most interesting trends in the past twenty years has been film-makers manipulating the timeline in films. The one piece I was able to show you, Run Lola Run or Lola Rennt, is a truly original film for its depiction of time and its mix of media that even includes sequential still photography.

Until the next time....

21 October 2009 - X Minutes of Film History

2009-10-21T15:03:00.000+08:00

Here is the list of clips we have seen and we are going to be seeing. As you can see we didn't get very far today so next week will be lots of great bits and pieces from film history... The gray bits are clips I don't have yet. I will have some by next week but our plate is full regardless.

X minutes of Film History

The Open – The Meaning of Life – Monty Python

Sequenced Still Images

1887 - Eadweard Muybeard-Sequential Still Images-“Animal Locomotion”

Horse

Cat

Women Meeting

Man

Woman

Early Short Films

1894 – Glenroy Brothers Comic Boxing – Thomas Edison

1895 – The Gardener – Lumiere Brothers

1896 – The Kiss – Thomas Edison

1897 – Seminary Girls – Thomas Edison

The Evolution of Ben Hur

1899 – Ben Hur – The Play

1907 – Ben Hur – The First Movie

1925 – Ben Hur – The Silent Movie – Fred Niblo

1959 – Ben Hur – The Epic Movie – William Wyler

1902 – The Voyage to the Moon – George Melies

1903 – The Great Train Robbery – Edwin Porter

1905 – The Whole Dam Family – Thomas Edison

1906 – Aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake – American Biograph

1911 – Little Nemo – Winsor McCay

Reliving the Civil War

1915 – Birth of a Nation – DW Griffith

1939 – Gone with the Wind – George Cukor & Victor Fleming

1915 – Charlie Chaplin

1925 – Stachka (Strike) - Sergei Eisenstein

The Odessa Steps

1925 – Battleship Potemkin - Sergei Eisenstein

1987 – Untouchables – Brian DePalma

1971 – Bananas – Woody Allen

Physical Comedy

1927 – Laurel and Hardy – Hal Roach producer, Leo McCarey supervising director

1933 – Duck Soup – Leo MaCarey with Marx Brothers

1971 – Bananas – Woody Allen

1994 – Ace Ventura – Tom Shadyac with Jim Carrey

Verbal Comedy

1933 – Duck Soup – Marx Brothers

1971 – Bananas – Woody Allen

1992 – My Cousin Vinny – Jonathan Lynn with Joe Pesci & Marisa Tomei

The Mad Scientist and Visions of the Future

1927 – Metropolis – Fritz Lang

1931 – Frankenstein – James Whale

1974 – Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks

1982 – Blade Runner – Ridley Scott (produced with Run Run Shaw)

1977 – Star Wars: Episode IV

Romantic Comedy

1934 – It Happened One Night – Frank Capra with Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert

1995 – French Kiss – Lawrence Kasdan

1999 – Notting Hill - Roger Michelle with Julie Roberts & Hugh Grant

Princess Power

1937 – Snow White –David Hand Supervising Director

2007 – Enchanted – Kevin Lima

Movie Musicals

1939 – The Wizard of Oz – Victor Fleming & King Vidor(Kansas)

1952 – Singing in the Rain – Stanley Donen with Gene Kelly & Donald O’Connor

1979 – The Life of Brian – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

2001 – Moulin Rouge – Baz Luhrmann

2007 – Hairspray – Adam Shankman

Great Lines

1939 – Gone with the Wind – George Cukor & Victor Fleming

1971 – Dirty Harry – Don Siegel with Clint Eastwood

1975 – Jaws – Steven Spielberg with Roy Scheider

1976 – Outlaw Josey Wales – Clint Eastwood

1980 – The Shining – Stanley Kubrick with Jack Nicholson

1987 – Predator – John McTiernan with Arnold Schwarzenegger

True Classics

1941 – Citizen Kane – Orson Welles

1946 – It’s a Wonderful Life – Frank Capra with Jimmy Stewart & Donna Reed

2003 – Bruce Almighty – Tom Shadyac with Jim Carrey

Bert & Ernie

1979 – Apocalypse Now – Francis Ford Coppola with Robert Duvall

1981 – Das Boot – Wolfgang Petersen

The Master

1954 – Seven Samurai – Akira Kurosawa

1960 – The Magnificent Seven – John Sturges

1966 – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Sergio Leone

1957 – Throne of Blood – Akira Kurosawa

1989 – Henry V – Kenneth Brannagh

1999 – Titus – Julie Taymor

Paprazzi

1960 – La Dolce Vita – Federico Fellini

1999 – Notting Hill – Roger Michelle with Julie Roberts & Hugh Grant

2002 – Deeds – Steven Brill with Adam Sandler and John McEnroe

1960 – Psycho – Alfred Hitchcock

The Bonds

1962 – Bond: Sean Connery

1967 – Bond: David Niven

1969 – Bond: George Lazenby

1979 – Bond: Roger Moore

1987 – Bond: Timothy Dalton

2002 – Bond: Pierce Brosnan

2006 – Bond: Daniel Craig

Venus emerging from the sea

1962 – Bond: Ursula Andress

2002 – Bond: Hallie Berrie

2006 – Bond: Daniel Craig

Wong Fei Hung

1991 – Once Upon A Time in China – Tsui Hark with Jet Li

1992 – Once Upon A Time in China – Tsui Hark with Jet Li

Bruce Lee

1971 – Fist of Fury – Lo Wei with Bruce Lee

1994 – Fist of Legend – Gordon Chan with Jet Li

1999 – The Matrix – Andy & Larry Wachowski

1973 - Enter the Dragon – Robert Clouse with Bruce Lee

1978 – Game of Death – Bruce Lee

2001 – Shaolin Soccer - Stephen Chow

1962 – To Kill A Mockingbird – Robert Mulligan with Gregory Peck

The Evil Computer

1968 – 2001: A space odyssey - Stanley Kubrick

2008 – Wall-e – Andrew Stanton

The Godfather

1972 – The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola

1974 – The Godfather, Part 2 – - Francis Ford Coppola

Steven Spielberg

1975 – Jaws – Steven Spielberg

1993 – Jurassic Park – Steven Spielberg

2007 – Transformers – Michael Bay – Steven Spielberg, executive producer

Sinking Ships

1997 – Titanic – James Cameron

1979 – The Black Stallion - Francis Ford Coppola

Riding in Circles

1979 – The Black Stallion - Francis Ford Coppola

2005 – Dreamer – John Gatins

2003 – Seabiscuit – Gary Ross

1979 – Breaking Away – Peter Yates

Stephen King

1980 – The Shining - Stanley Kubrick

1994 – Shawshank Redemption – Frank Darabont

The Opening Scene

1981 – Road Warrior – George Miller

1960 – La Dolce Vita – Federico Fellini

1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark – Steven Spielberg & George Lucas

Australian Action

1981 – Road Warrior – George Miller

1982 – The Man from Snowy River – George Miller

Budget Matters

1984 – Terminator 1 – James Cameron

1991 – Terminator 2 – James Cameron

And Now for Something Completely Different…

1983 – Meaning of Life – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Locked in the 80s

1986 – Ferris Bueller – John Hughes with Matthew Broderick

Royalty: Real & Imagined

1987 – The Last Emperor – Bernardo Bertolucci

1987 – The Princess Bride – Rob Reiner

1988 – Die Hard –John McTiernan with Bruce Willis

Choices

1989 – Do The Right Thing – Spike Lee

1989 – The Last Crusade – Steven Spielberg

Digital Animation

1991 – Beauty and the Beast – Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise

1995 – Toy Story 1 – John Lasseter

1999 – Toy Story 2 – Lee Unkrich

1992 – Waynes World – Penelope Spheeris

1991 – Chung King Express – Wong Kar Wai

Time Matters

1994 – Pulp Fiction – Quentin Tarantino

1991 – Run Lola Run – Tom Tykwer

1993 – Groundhog Day – Harold Ramis

2000 – Memento – Christopher Nolan

Hong Kong moves West

1997 – Face/Off – John Woo

2002 – Infernal Affairs – Lau Wai Keung & Alan Mak

2006 – The Departed – Martin Scorsese

2003 – Pirates of the Caribbean – Gore Verbinski

2005 – Sin City – Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller

2008 – Cloverfield – Matt Reeves

2008 – Slumdog Millionaire – Danny Boyle

The END

1983 – The Meaning of Life – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

until then... be sure to get blogging and stay up with your blogs.

Absences:

Sara Wong

Calvin Ho

More than 15 minutes late:

Kevin Cheung

7 October 2009

2009-10-07T19:36:00.000+08:00

Lots of ground covered from the 16th century to the 21st century in typography.

Here's what you need to take away:

The anatomy of type.

The classification of type.

You should never mix different typefaces from the same category of type in a single document. It will look like a small mistake and that is a big mistake. You can use multiple fonts within a single design but be sure that they do not come from the same category.

Also at the more practical end of typography be sure to remember that computerized bold, italic and underlining are based on mathematical calculations and not aesthetic needs of the font. These can be fine for use in a letter or an academic paper but professional design requires professionally designed font families and the variations which are based on the character of the font.

In the history we once again saw the development of typography as a profession, a reversion to what appear to be more traditional renderings of words and letters in the 19th century and then, with Lewis Carroll, the embracing of letterforms as actual visual elements within communication design. The words themselves became a part of visual design. Typographers and graphic designers created memorable designs long before the advent of the computer. With the coming of the computer the opportunity to become a typographer is available to nearly everyone. What has also come with the advent of the computer is the need to find ways to startle and grab attention as exemplified by Stefan Sagmeister carving the words into his own flesh and then taking a picture of himself in 2000.

Some names to remember are:
   Caxton
   Durer
   Tory
   Caslon
   Bodoni
   Carroll
   El Litsitsky
   Sandberg
   Sagmeister

Some work to remember is:
   The type guides
   The William Blake Poem
   The Lewis Carroll Poem
   The Japanese Forest
   The Go Out Ad

I will be posting the images with names in the next day. When it is posted I will make the title of this blog a link to the flash movie.

Attendance:
More than 15 minutes late to class:
   Henry
   Bonnie
   ChanFly
   Kevin
   Eddie
   Calvin
   Ester
   ChakChak
Absent:
   Rainbow
   Windy
   Graham
   Christy
   Candy

30 September 2009

2009-09-30T14:55:00.000+08:00

Things to take away from today's class:

Culture:

Remember that communicating is more than words and pictures, it involves understanding the culture of the people you want to reach.

People in Chinese culture and People in Western cultures learn to read in completely different ways. For people in the West it is all about starting from the left and moving to the right. For Chinese people a text can start at the top on the left or on the right and it can move vertically or horizontally. Thus, western people are more likely to read an image from the left to the right while Chinese people will understand and read an image differently. You will need to experiment exactly what that way is and you will need to have a good sense of how direct people's attention around an information space.

The same applies to how you use color, how you use objects and shapes and how you use language. Every aspect of a person's cultural experience impacts how they design communication and how they respond to communication design. Look into the notes for the various factors.

Early History

There is strong evidence that language in China and the West developed on a very similar though completely independent path. There are fewer artifacts from early Chinese pictograms and writing because of the materials used and the various climates in the country. The use of stone and clay in the Fertile Crescent and the dry climate have preserved many more artifacts in this part of the world.

Language developed from pictures, pictures led to pictograms (e.g. hieroglyphics) and pictograms led letterforms and letterforms were refined over time. In the West this led to an array of abstracted alphabetic written languages. In China this led to a complex character-based written language which has been essentially intact for more than 2000 years.

Earliest writing was done on stone, clay, bones, and turtle shells. In China bamboo became the medium for writing text. In Egypt reeds were the basis of papyrus sheets for writing. In Egypt and elsewhere animal skins were used for parchment which was an extremely expensive medium but has been preserved quite well. With the invention of paper in China printing became viable. With the arrival of paper in the West printing also became more viable.

Pi Sheng invented moveable type but the nature of the Chinese language and the use of wood made it a bit impractical. Metal moveable type was then invented in Korea where an alphabetic language and the use of metal were much more practical. Finally, Gutenberg invented moveable metal type in the West and the potential for mass publication became a reality. With printing simplified verbal literacy became a possibility and a necessity. Printing also made the access to information available for everyone where it had been primarily available to the rich and priests previously. Printing technologies for images also improved in the era of moveable type. While China stayed with wood block printing Copper Plate Etching and very detailed images became possible in the West.

Technologies and recording media have always played an important part in communication design. The technologies and media present the limitations and possibilities for image making, type setting and distribution. When a new technology or recording medium expands the possibility for characters, letterforms and images there is an expansion of creative communication design. When a new technology or recording medium expands the opportunity for message distribution there is an increased demand for creative communication design.

so:
   pictures
           pictograms
                         characters & letterforms

and:
   stone & clay & bones & shells
           papyrus & parchment & bamboo
           paper
then:
   handwriting
   cut forms
     moveable type
as well as:
   drawing & painting
           woodcut printing

plate etching

Moveable type then created the possibility for the development and creation of varied letterforms for myriad printed materials.

audiences for communication design were made up of:

royal & priestly

wealthy & scholarly

everyone

and verbal literacy went from:

non-existent

limited

necessary

Remember:

There are no new ideas in communication design there are only new combinations and the synthesis of old ideas. Even an ancient piece of work can inspire what you do now and understanding the technological limitations of its creation can inspire you even more.

until next time...

23 September 2009

2009-09-23T23:15:00.000+08:00

You now have the basis for a more systematic understanding of communication design. We will be applying some of these psychological theories to the work of famous designers and the work in various movements. You will need to get a good handle on these concepts as it is an important part of developing your understanding and abilities in Communication Design and you will be using some of these concepts and principles in the course exam.

Alan Chan v. Tommy Li

2009-09-22T23:37:00.000+08:00

To compare two different identities for the same company checkout:

http://www.alanchandesign.com/acd/main.html

click on portfolio > total branding solutions > one2free

THEN

http://www.tommylidesign.com/

click on portfolio > 01. branding and visual identity > one2free

Also compare their work for Maxim's

Alan Chan: MX

Tommy Li: Maxims Cakes, Qian Shao Bai Wei, Simply Bread

In the morning I will talk a bit about the MX logo

16 September 2009

2009-09-16T15:17:00.002+08:00

There was a good set of presentations today. You all did well with a limited set of instructions and I think most of you understood to focus on the audience represented by the advertisements. The concern with the quality, composition and elements of the advertisements were only important when these factors told us something about the audience for the advertisement.

Here are my comments based on stations covered:

Choi Hung
Excellent presentation, well organized and delivered, and well designed. Giving the percentage of ads in a particular category is an excellent basis for comparison and the pie chart was definitely a strong method for presenting the information. Your analysis was good. I understand why you did the analyses of the individual ads and you did a good job of it but it was really unnecessary for the assignment and it made your presentation run too long.

Sham Shui Po
You did a different but appropriate approach to the assignment. You were brave to follow the first presentation because it was very well done. Your method of presenting the target audiences and then showing the ads which fit the category was a good one. It places your analysis directly into the presentation of your information. It was an appropriate level of analysis for first year students, but it could have been a bit more detailed in why you fit particular ads in particular categories.

Causeway Bay
You did a good job in spite of the fact that you are unfamiliar with the products and advertising in Hong Kong and you don't read traditional Chinese. Your humour helped cover any gaps in details and was well received by the audience. You saw the amount of repetition and did your best to avoid it which means you were aware and focused on the task.

Kowloon Tong
Extremely well organized analysis. I particularly like the fact that you provided a detailed description of the neighborhood in which the station is located. You laid out all of your information well visually and verbally. Your conclusions were well presented and supported by the content of your presentation. I was wondering if the Jean Luc Goddard Poster or the Il Divo Poster were seen by you or other students in other MTR stations?

Mong Kok
The images in your presentation were good. You showed us many different ads and you analyzed them aesthetically but overall you provided too little discussion of the possible audiences for these ads. The visual is really what we all know best but we all have to try and dig deeper to understand why the aesthetic choices were made and what audience(s) are being targeted with the advertisements.

Central
It is good that you focused on the unique ads within the station. You definitely portrayed a distinctly different audience than we saw in the presentations from the other stations and I think you identified it correctly. I do think that you made a bit of a mistake by leaving out the beauty and fitness ads because those would also be direct appeals to upwardly mobile office-girls and office-boys. I think you also hit on a unique feature with the Qantas and Emirates and the travel agency but you do have to remember that Central is connected to the IFC, the Tung Chung line and the Airport Express. This means that people in the station may want to travel, have the means or money to travel and that they may already be traveling and are going through Central to get to the Airport. This was a very good presentation and you had a strong analysis.

Kowloon Bay
As I said in class I was a bit surprised by the upscale ads you found in this station alongside lower income advertisements, but when you consider the changing nature of the neighborhood and the presence of two major shopping centers it makes sense. I am not really sure that the large scale Chinese restaurants are really that expensive as they make their money on the large number of people they can accommodate, but you rightly identify the people in the station as primarily local through the presence of these ads. You did seem to find a lot more food ads than found in other stations. You did good work coming up with your conclusions.

Tsim Sha Tsui
You did a very detailed job of describing the various target audiences by listing the 8 characteristics of each from the description of audience in the AIM lecture. This is an extremely strong demonstration of understanding the nature of the assignment. It was about the people passing through the station as indicated by the advertisements that are in the station. Visually you could have designed your presentation slides better so that we could see the text and the advertisement clearly. You have the content down which is the most important part but you need to work a bit more on the presentation of your solid findings.

Wong Tai Sin
Excellent presentation in terms of content and visuals. You pursued the information is a clear and logical manner and you presented it in a concise way. It was very smart to do comparisons with other stations as this highlights the uniqueness of the advertising in the Wong Tai Sin station. Your conclusions were clear, concise and well supported. They also make sense from the neighborhood that surrounds the station. Overall this was the best presentation of the day.

Shek Kip Mei
Overall I think you understand the Shek Kip Mei and the station very well and you presented that to the class. You gave a good overview of the people that pass through the station but when you showed us the individual ads you discussed more of the look, aesthetics, than the audience for that particular ad. I like that you used flash for your presentation but when you use a group of images on your main screen and not a linear progression in the presentation then you need to be sure all of your team members know where the location of each of the images they will need. You did, however, do a good job addressing my question which may have thrown off the plan for your presentation.

Prince Edward
It is not always good to go last because then it becomes harder to talk about things other people have already presented. You did, however, draw strong conclusions from the evidence you showed, generally and specifically. Using the specific ad to break down the analysis of the audience was a good technique to support your more general discussion of who passes through the station according to the advertising. You do need to be sure that all of your team members are up to speed on the presentation and have previously seen the slides and/or images you will be showing.

We have lost of bit of time but we will catch up over the next few weeks. Next week we will discuss psychological theories related to communication design with a specific emphasis on the Gestalt theory of perception. Thank you for your diligence and creativity in the presentations today. Not everyone did it the same but that shows that there are different ways to effectively approach a given assignment.

Also next week I will bring in some good and bad examples and discuss the Lexicon a bit more so that everyone understands exactly where we are going with it.

Please Remember:
Each one of you needs to start a blog and subscribe to this blog. In setting up your blog please use a picture of yourself that will help me identify you with your name. I will start following your blogs this week.

Absences of the Week: (if I am incorrect please let me know)
Windy Wong (first)
Zoyo Zhao (first)
Wong Kwun Ho (second)

Fine Tuning the Media Dimensions

2009-09-15T22:40:00.003+08:00

I have made an adjustment in the dimensions and media forms. I will show it in class tomorrow. The change is that:

You start with space (3 dimensions) and get discrete media forms,

you add the sequence dimension and you get textual media forms,

you add the synergy dimension and you get integrated media forms,

you add the time dimension and you get temporal media forms,

you add the control dimension and you interactive media forms,

you add the intelligence dimension and you get representational analogical media forms,

you add the distance dimension and you get connected media forms, and

you add the presence dimension and you get un-mediated virtual forms.

I have also added research as one of the intentions for communication design. This can be academic research which is for the pursuit of knowledge, applied research which is for the improvement of processes or commercial research which is for the measure of audiences and financial success or the substantiation of a technique or content or the improvement of content for the purpose of making money.

Thus the intentions are:
information
connection
attention
research
persuasion
entertainment
expression

I am looking forward to your presentations.

The Grail, Your Exercise and Media Forms

2009-09-09T15:49:00.003+08:00

Everyone needs to be sure to start their own blog and use it to create a visual diary. There need to be entries for each week of class. You should include sketches, inspirations, images, clips and thoughts about these objects. I need to get your blog addresses so that I can attach them to the course site and so that I can sign up as a follower of your blog.

The HOLY GRAIL of AUDIENCE is that products of communication design should reflect the people who use the product ... or ... if you know the profile of the audience then you should be able to choose the design they would use, read, watch or listen too. It might not be life or a hideous face-melting death but a communication designer must develop the ability to "Choose Wisely" more times than not.

Your exercise for next week:

Go to your chosen MTR station (you do not have to go into the paid area of the station) and shoot pictures of all the advertisements within the space. This can be posters, light boxes, ads stuck on pillars, ads on the floor, wherever and whatever. You should also shoot pictures of the retail shops around the station.

Taking all of these images of advertisements and retail outlets determine if there is an audience which connects them together. The more pieces you can connect the stronger the advertisers feel about the people who move through the station. Many of the ads are for general audiences, hoping to hit interested people with the shear volume of traffic, but you will need to spend time thinking and talking as a team to find a thread that connects at least some of the ads and outlets.

When you find even the smallest thread then create an archetype character, a person who embodies the features of the audience advertisers are trying to reach in that train station. Give his or her age range, first language (and if the person has a second language), hometown, home district, education level, income level, job situation, area of residence and then go beyond demographics and round out the person or character with values, attitudes and interests. Create these audience attributes by looking back at the thread(s) in the business content of the station.

Come to class with your pictures and ideas. Put them together in a PowerPoint or a Flash presentation. You will give a short presentation of your ideas and by showing your images it will be possible for the other class members and the professor to offer their thoughts on the focus of the advertising within the station.

We will then complete the description of audience and move on to Psychological Theories behind Communication Design.

Some points on MEDIA FORMS:

1. Each form is made up of a particular set of dimensions.

2. As you add a dimension you change the form and creative possibilities of the medium.

3. You start with space (3 dimensions) and get discrete media forms,

you add the sequence dimension and you get textual media forms,

you add the synergy dimension and you get integrated media forms,

you add the time dimension and you get temporal media forms,

you add the control dimension and you interactive media forms,

you add the intelligence dimension and you get representational media forms,

you add the distance dimension and you get connected media forms, and

you add the presence dimension and you get un-mediated forms.

4. Each dimension builds on the foundation of the previous media form. E.G., to fully exploit the possibilities of representational media forms requires an understanding of discrete, textual, integrated and textual media forms. You may stop adding dimensions to your work and become expert at a particular media form but your success in adding dimensions depends on your mastery of the media forms that act as the foundation for the added dimension. Design teams can be built around the idea of expertise in a particular media form and working through the various dimensions will at least provide the communication designer with the ability to work with people specializing in a variety of media forms.

5. The thing that changes with each media form is how the content is experienced. Looking at poster does not provide the same experience as watching a moving, reading a book does not provide the same experience as playing a computer game, having a face-to-face conversation does not provide the same experience as posting to your wall on FaceBook...

We will talk more about this in the coming week...

Please post your questions.

The Audience Grail

2009-09-08T18:59:00.001+08:00

This is a video I will show you and explain in class. It is a large file so we will have to see what happens with the available technology.

2009-09-02T14:55:00.000+08:00

I have updated the calendar and the student list on the class website. Check it out if you want to see the small changes.

Here also is a great design website: http://www.tommylidesign.com/

Tommy is a great designer and a good guy. DGC graduates Javin Mo and Wilson Tang, Milkxhake, made the website for him.

Here is the address for Milkxhake: http://www.milkxhake.org/

Have a nice day.

2 September 2009

2009-09-02T12:54:00.000+08:00

The first day of class is done. The students seem to be energetic and interesting in learning the variety of things we are going to cover in class. We went over the syllabus in detail, everyone knows exactly what is on it.

Changed the self introduction portion of the class. Gave the students about 15 minutes to write about themselves and then I read it out to the class. I learned a lot about the students and the objective is for them to learn about each other as well. The process of my reading took longer than anticipated so it will flow over to the next class. I try to use the introductions of students as a way to introduce concepts that they touch on in their stories. We will need to take more time to finish up the last few next week.

We did not get to the "What is Communication Design?" slide show so I will do that at the beginning of the next class. Use this to make sure everyone gets the breadth of the field we are introducing to them through DGC.

Next week we will then jump into the AIM lecture and then send out students with the AIM exercise.

Until the next time...

Eric Tan's Blog

2009-09-01T13:40:00.003+08:00

I really like this style of art. Eric is very introspective about his work and you can learn a great deal from his thoughts on his own and others works. He also has lots of great connections to sites by other designers, illustrators, animators, etc.

2009-09-01T12:48:00.001+08:00

This is the blog for the DGC 1180 class at Hong Kong Baptist University. Each week after class I will write a review of the day's activities and give everyone a feel for where we are. I will also post when I find interesting sites on the web related to communication design history and theory.

So keep your eyes peeled...