The brief will have directed you to this blog.

You can now copy this to your own WordPress Blog and use it as both a Research Journal and Sketchbook.

You can, if you prefer make a digital sketchbook in InDesign or even Word – but you’d be creating work for yourself!

You can obviously do a traditional Sketchbook – but it will be more efficient to do your reflection and research here

AS YOU WORK– on digital still or moving images
SAVE THEM ONTO HERE

AS YOU WORK – on hand rendered  images
PHOTOGRAPH AND UPLOAD TO HERE THEM ONTO HERE

There is a prompt below about where to put your work in relation to the written work

 

For this project a great deal of the RESEARCH is here – you need to know certain essential pieces of cultural history and Moving Image based information.

Anything marked in BLUE is where you come in – although there will be lots of prompts and vocabulary to assist you. This work MUST be carried out as HOMEWORK!

Analysis of Credit Sequence History

The Purpose – Credits as Visual Communication

Although the main purpose of a title sequence or opening credits is to introduce the film and entertain the audience, there are a huge range of legal , copyright and marketing information that must be shown – I won’t bore you with that – for this we’ll just stick to the visuals and sound.

Here’s a  really well made little film to introduce the masters of this craft:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/26278283

Titles In Silent Film

Words and lettering played an important role in films of the SILENT ERA. They were the only way the audience would learn the title and stars of the film.

Alongside these were the letter cards (or inter-titles), which provided context and dialogue.

Here is an example of a sequence from 1916:

Everything is explained – in writing. But the effectiveness might have been lessened by the fact that even in Europe and the USA – not everyone could read.

Once sound arrived

The incorporation of sound into films didn’t immediately change how film titles were handled – until the work of  Oskar Fischinger changed the way sound and image were juxtaposed.

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Juxtaposed or juxtaposition means means putting things that are not related together for good visual effect – for example

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Fischinger was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter, notable for creating abstract musical animation many decades before the appearance of computer graphics and music videos. He experimented with the relationship between visual effects and music, synchronising the visual rhythm to the audio beat .

Here is an example:

 

 

Fine Artists working in film in a similar way: Duchamp

At the same time – the mid 1920s, Marcel Duchamp also worked on Moving Image in an abstract, experimental and conceptual form.

By 1926 people were already familiar with abstract art, moving image and text on screen. Rather than communicating a message Duchamp was simply challenging the audience to train their eyes to recognise ‘art’ that moves and appreciate that as viewers they may have to work at ‘decoding’ what was placed before them in a personal way rather than simply ‘reading’ a narrative.

 

Fine Artists working in film in a similar way:
John & James Whitney

Between 1943 and 1944 John and James Whitney created  their remarkable series of Five Film Exercises. These films were visually based on modern composition theory:

the use of basic shapes arranged to create an aesthetically pleasing result based on classical composition (the golden section etc.) 

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Aesthetically Pleasing
To call something aesthetically pleasing is in essence to call it beautiful, i.e. pleasing to the senses, but particularly the senses of sight and hearing

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The carefully varied examples of form are manipulated with cut-out stencils so that the image photographed is pure light, rather than what science by now was explaining to us -images that are light reflected from drawings or photographs as in traditional animation.

John Witney continued alone into the 60s, creating work that was based on similar fine art experimentation, but was directly related to the op-art work of the period – such as that created by Bridget Riley.

Here is an example of Bridget Riley Op Art work of early 60s London:

Look into her work if you like this style – it’s all VERY Graphic in style.

Personal Critical Analysis:

Respond to these prompts- delete the questions or change the text so it is written in the FIRST PERSON:

• Does this film work make you appreciate that the line between Fine Art and Graphic Visual Communication is blurred – that means it’s difficult to tell one from the other?
• Can you give another example of Fine Art influencing Graphic Visual Communication learning from one another – you might look at:
  Piet Mondrain (Fine Art)  and Theo van Doesburg (Graphic Design)
  John Heartfield (Fine Art) and Herb Matter (Graphic Design)
  Jean Arp (Fine Art) and Armin Hoffmann (Graphic Design)
• Describe the influences using words such as:
  Colour, concept, composition, form, shape, abstract, suggestion rather than literal interpretation, expecting more from the audience, emphasizing the importance of ‘art’
• If you like or dislike any of this work – explain why.
  Do not simply dismiss ANY of this work – they are all master of their art – you are not (yet).

 

Back to Visual Communication

Many of the experimental themes explored by investigative, abstract artists were developed for some of the most iconic opening credit designs by Saul Bass, including The Man with the Golden Arm:

 

Independent Research

Find AT LEAST 2 more examples of Saul Bass film credits that incorporate ABSTRACT shapes – copy the clip URL from Vimeo or You Tube and paste in here (the films will then show up).

• Use independent Research on the internet to comment on the effectiveness of abstract shapes, the speed of the animation and the audio to represent the  mood of the film.
  This website might help:
• http://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/10-of-saul-bass-greatest-title-sequences-252339/
  DON’T just copy it all – or include an nonsense about personal life! 

 

More Iconic Credits

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Iconic means the work is so well known and admired it’s the first example of the genre that comes to mind

Genre means the style

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Maurice Binder:

 

Pablo Ferro

 

 

Stephen Frankfurt

 

Kyle Cooper – a God

 

Another God-like being – the amazing Danny Yount

 

This sequence influenced one of the KA Media students last year, who produced this title sequence as part of his FMP:

 

A few more professional credit sequences to look at:

The Pacific

https://player.vimeo.com/video/10167175

 

Jo

https://player.vimeo.com/video/64875669

 

Not a title sequence but a little intro piece of film for an Oscar category:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/38705523

 

Finding Sophia

https://player.vimeo.com/video/161781418

 

Personal Critical Analysis:

Respond to these prompts- delete the questions or change the text so it is written in the FIRST PERSON:

• Look at this site as well:
  https://thisisnotadvertising.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/26-movie-opening-sequence-with-a-great-idea/
• Read the comments and use the information to make notes here about the films included on this blog or from the website above – or credits that YOU have found
• IN YOUR OPINION WHAT MAKES A GREAT FILM CREDIT SEQUENCE?
  You might consider:
  An abstract interpretation of the film mood
  Cinematography that is as professional and considered as the film itself
  An outstanding audio track
  Immediate introduction of the main character
  A little film in its own right with no obvious visual or thematic association to the main film
  Strong focus on the credit text through noticeable typography
  The typography should NOT interfere with the little narrative of the sequence
  The typography should be a key part of the moving image
• DON’T feel your own opinions aren’t important – there is NO RIGHT ANSWER HERE. Write what you feel – it can be adapted or amended as you learn more

Experimental Film Makers: Bruce Conner

Some of you might want to delve more into experimental film. A good practitioner is Bruce Conner:

His work is particularly liked by Graphic Designers because he makes use of found footage.

 

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Found Footage: In film-making, found footage is the use of existing film as a found object, re-used in collage films, (a little like a documentary).

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Avant Garde Films of Bruce Conner

Bruce Conner  was one of the new experimental artists in the American group of the postwar era.

Like many of the Abstract Expressionists and Pop Artists, Conner’s work touches on themes of postwar American society, from a rising consumer culture to the dread of nuclear apocalypse.

 

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What are these genres?

Abstract Expressionist 

Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell in the late 1940s and 1950s, often characterized by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity:
  
Pollock                                                 Rothko                                 Motherwell

Gestural
Gestural is a term used to describe the application of paint in free sweeping gestures with a brush (sometimes as large as a garden broom)

Spontaneity
Art proceeding from natural feelings or personal instinct without external influences or he need to represent an object

Pop Art

Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s in America and Britain, drawing inspiration from sources in popular and commercial culture such as advertising, Hollywood movies and pop music. Key pop artists include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha,

  

Warhol                                 Lichtenstein                        Ruscha

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Back to Conner
Conner worked simultaneously in a range of mediums, but film has been the most influential. He worked initially in collage and assemblage art:

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Assemblage

Assemblage is art that is made by assembling varied elements which are often scavenged by the artist, or sometimes bought specially

Scavenged
to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material.

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He brought the concept of finding material created or rejected by others to produce new ‘art’ to film-making.

He used film footage from a variety of sources—news programmes, training films, and documentaries –  focusing on disturbing, thought-provoking current themes.

For their structural innovation (how the found film is edited together) and daring subject matter, films like A MOVIE (1958) and CROSSROADS (1976) have become landmarks of American experimental cinema.

This website will give you a broader view of his work:

http://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1614

 

This one will show you the film A Movie. When considering this – remember WHEN it was created and the fact that the video based immediacy (at the fingertips) aspect of social media hadn’t even been thought about.

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ccManager/clips/bruceconneramovie50deinterlaced.mp4/view

 

This one will show you clips from Crossroads – again, remember the period in which it was made – Cold War etc. Scroll down to end of site to see film:

http://www.vogue.com/3621677/bruce-conner-restored-crossroads-film/

 

Joe Shaw

Most of you will know Shaw – this is his FMP – Conner was an influence and also Andy Warhol – Joe’s film first, then Warhol’s:

 

Analysis of your skills

Think about the purpose of this Project. As well as making a title sequence – or if you prefer the still images that could become part of a title sequence – you also have to consider your own skills at the moment and use this activity to test some of your existing techniques and abilities.

From this you will be able to carry out then update your own SKILLS AUDIT and choose the Workshops you will follow up to half term.

With that in mind build up your Skills Audit like this – you can return to it and change as you progress through this project.

Skills I have and want to use again 

Photography
Typography
Digital Illustration in Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
etc

 

Skills I have and want to use again, develop and improve

Photography
Typography
Digital Illustration in Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
etc

Skills I want to gain as I build my portfolio

Photography
Typography
Digital Illustration in Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
etc

 

The process BEFORE starting ANY visual responses
Considering  a theme for the imagery

Rather than jumping straight into a genre, method, technique or title – begin by considering the mood you want to communicate

Remember – the MOOD of the credits will be based on the film genre – but the STYLE of the imagery and graphics might be quite different.

So – animated, graphic shapes in the credits  will not necessarily mean that the film will be animated. (See Saul Bass).

THINK TECHNIQUE:
What are you good at?
What do you want to show your new tutors?
How can you impress?
If you love photography – go with that.
If you have a developing illustration style – show it off.
Do you work at home in a different piece of software that we use at the ADC – get it on a laptop, bring it in and use that!
Have you seen a style in your own personal research you want to use – try it out
Do you want to develop an idea from Year 1 that never got off the ground – do it and use the Year 1 work as part of your development
Are you more interested in AUDIO – what about a soundscape that can synch with existing film footage?

 

REMEMBER – YOU DON’T HAVE TO CREATE A FILM AT ALL – AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO FINISH IT IN 3 WEEKS, EITHER. STILL IMAGES TO COMMUNICATE THE MOOD ARE PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE AND WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR MARKS

 

DO YOU WANT TO DO AN ALTERNATIVE CREDIT SEQUENCE FOR AN EXISTING FILM?
You may love the film Zoolander2, but you will literally be kicked out of an interview if you use that and put it in your portfolio! Why? Because it’s mainstream and naff.

The best way to choose a film is to look at this site
http://altermovieposters.tumblr.com/
which show MINIMALIST alternative film posters designed by contemporary graphic designers – the films chosen by working designers tend to be the best – interesting and often classic.

 

DO YOU WANT TO WORK IN A SPECIFIC GENRE OF FILM?
That’s fine – just nothing that is disrespectful to specific groups – so avoid racism, sexism and anything that insults your intelligence

Something you LIKE may not be a film to work with because it may prejudice University lecturers AGAINST your work so

Absolutely Avoid:
Deadpool
Angry Birds
Anything with 2 or 3 or more after the title
Dirty Grandpa – or anything to do with Spring Breaks
Behaving Badly – or anything to do with plastics and jocks and teenage romance

Films about terrorism are possibly acceptable – but nothing that would be offensive to any religious group and nothing that is biased to one ‘side’.
No porn – obviously although something like Boogie Nights would be OK.
Tread carefully with Horror – absolutely none of the Human Centipede franchise for obvious reasons!
Anime? Oh – go on then! Studio Ghibly preferred – but try looking at classic Japanese films instead. Ran, Seven Samurai, Tokyo Story
Avoid cheesy films – Special Correspondence, Never Say Never, The Darkness, Mother’s Day etc , films about getting married, bridesmaids – anything ‘popular’  etc – University lecturers will think you’re thick!

Now over to you – use the above to set out your plans and start experimenting – upload all work – even mistakes and analyse each piece

What inspired you? Show an example perhaps
What were you aiming for?
Why?
How did you do it?
Did it work practically or did it go wrong? Explain
How will you improve/develop this

 

I need more Research!!!!!!! Some extra inspiration

Some ideas – not related to any particular project that might spark off a few ideas and provide inspiration. The image above is by Ed Ruscha

Feel free to use any of the annotation here – I will aim to use lots of useful terminology and analytical vocabulary.

Illustration & Typography:  Linda Vachon  see on:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/les-brumes

 

Vachon covers seemingly dark subject matter in an intense, frank and honest manner. It can be poetic and soft and then bring in a harsh reminder of reality with brutally created text or the addition of found images. It clearly sets out to shock rather than to create an aesthetically pleasing body of work, but I find it highly considered with strong graphic elements. I also find this work far more satisfying than the quasi-comic book style that can be overused in this genre.

Quasi – resembling but not having all the main elements

Genre – Style

Techniques

Looks like soft focus photographs perhaps roughened by hand – sand-paper(?). Not Photoshopped using transparency – that might be too wishy washy. Might have added scratches by hand or downloaded from internet. Scanner with lid open – possibly? Lower red area could be ink or done on Illustrator using transparency 99% and ‘darken’ from drop box. Text probably digital – downloaded from something like Da-Font.

 

Ideas for posters, page backgrounds, books – whatever:  Yuko Kimura

See on   http://yukokimura.com/

   

 

The whole purpose of Kimura’s work is to experiment and investigate and learn from the making.  The work incorporates multiple processes, including scratching, scribbling with charcoal pencil, watercolour and ink. She also seems to dye pleated  or twisted paper with inks or veggie dyes  – there are lots on the internet – but I think the juice you get from non-pickled beetroot vacuum packs works well too.

She uses the worn old pages of books – I have lots of Indian silk paper and you can use tissue or tracing paper too.
You can obviously create exactly the same ‘look’ by experimenting in Illustrator – Photoshop will always look Photoshopped.
These can be treated in an illustrative, craft based manner – or used for contemporary Graphic work.

Historic Reference

Both of the above have a hint of Cy Twombly about them:

You either love him or hate him – I love him, it may be a load of old scribble, but the composition is spot on.

See More   http://www.theartstory.org/artist-twombly-cy.htm

 

Photography and Digital: Georges Rousse

This is the sort of think Millie Cameron and Tom Holland were doing for their FMPs. The website’s interesting and shows a good range of his work across the years. The process of what he does seems to be highly important to him – but sorry, life’s too short to read it all. Maybe he creates all the painted areas for real – not sure. Basically it’s overlapping a good, considered abstract, composition based photograph with another interesting shape and hitting ‘darken’ again. The final images are striking and powerful. There is no obvious depth to the concept, but they work particularly well when they appear to be an object floating, so the space within the photograph and the physical feeling of the object occupying space lends a tension to the image.

See More:  http://www.georgesrousse.com/en/selections/

 

Some Similarities

I saw these by Mark Wapples on:    http://butdoesitfloat.com/

 

The artists’s work is at:   http://projectgallerytoronto.com/exhibitions/matt-waples-solo-nov-13-19/

If anyone else can decipher the pretentious gobbledegook of the text – then please let me know how he does this – something to do with film and liquid. Having said that, I think the images are powerful and strong – particularly the painterly look to the left one and the glass bubble effect on the right . But the Japanese graphic designer Mitsuo Katsui does something similar in a more graphic style.

 

See More: http://www.katsui.co.jp/works/works01.html#

You have to take pot luck and click on Japanese picture captions – but it’s all good. The abstract concepts link to all the work on the blog so far.

Painterly – The term painterly is used to describe a painting done in a style that clearly shows, and does not flatten or hide the paint medium that it is created and the nature (usually thick) of the paint.

Techniques

I think the work done by Amina Tahir for her FMP links strongly with this. She took photographs of cooking oil and paint in a white sink and also just did some brush swirls on paper with different ink or paint, then scanned them and simply ‘played’ in Photoshop and created posters and postcards in Illustrator. She also made marbled paper and did the same. On her Behance site the name of the pieces are a hint to the filters she used.

Aminah’s Behance Site: https://www.behance.net/aminahtahir

 

Mystery Objects!

Just a few random images that have caught my eye – trying to research them – but hitting a brick wall at the moment!

 

I’ll revisit them.

 

Link

Found this on It’s Nice That:
http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/atelier-a-propos-lise-braun-identity-140616

There’s a big trend at the moment – Les Graphiquants are typical – for cutting letterforms – some of you might have already tried this. But the pic above reminded me of this iconic image of Wim (pronounced Vim) Crouwel:

 

Crouwel was a highly influential typographer and although his work can appear a bit dated and constipated now – he was still a big name when I first started studying. He broke down the shape elements of letterforms rather than simply cut out parts of the characters. He was doing it in a mathematical, modular grid-bound manner which was ‘the only way’ at the time.

See More: http://www.iconofgraphics.com/wim-crouwel/

Atelier a propos look interesting, I particularly noticed this simple, clean design – this one half of an ink blot in course halftone looks far better than the double version (see website).

See More:  http://www.atelier-a-propos.com/

Also: http://les-graphiquants.fr/
One of the best contemporary studios
If you come away from this site without lots of ideas, then there’s no hope!!

:

 

 

 

How do I solve Problems? Instructions only for FMP

Problem solving

Interpret research activities to develop ideas and creative proposals.

Under the title PROBLEM SOLVING the UAL says that to gain the highest grade at FMP you must show:

Independently identified, thorough and sustained research and investigation of a range of relevant sources, insightful interpretation and synthesis of information used to inform, support and develop ideas.

You have probably already set yourself a Creative PROBLEM in the proposal for your FMP

Consider the meaning of a CREATIVE PROBLEM – it is similar to a brief – but YOU must set the purpose, the subject, the perspective, the client, the audience

Using a heading

WHAT IS A CREATIVE PROBLEM? 

Creative problem-solving, a type of problem solving, is the mental process of searching for a new and novel creative solution to a problem, a solution which is novel, original and not obvious.

use your own projects AND those of professional practitioners to explain the concept of a CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVED SUCCESSFULLY

Using a sub heading

 

• Develop this – through mature consideration foresee any PROBLEMS that may occur by reference to previous projects – HOW did you SOLVE the problem back then?

What is CONTEXT: Instructions only – copy, add your own text and put in your blog

Under the title CONTEXT the UAL says that to gain the highest grade at FMP you must show:

Comprehensive understanding and knowledge of subject context used to communicate complex concepts, articulate ambitions and clarify purpose.

Lets simplify this.

SUBJECT
You have a subject you want to explore such as:

• nuclear mutation
• the alphabet and reading
• random thoughts that come by chance
• the promotion of a band

CONTEXT
You are viewing this subject within a certain context

• nuclear mutation in a Japanese influenced context of graphic novels, gaming and music
• the alphabet and reading in a contemporary Key Stage 1 and 2 Educational and Home Learning context
• random thoughts that come by chance in the context of a tradition of contemporary artists and designers such as Stefan Sagmeister and Alan Fletcher, showing random examples of their creativity and knowledge in book form
• the promotion of a band in the context of the practice used since the early 60s of promoting rock and pop bands through animated, cartoon versions of themselves – as in the case of the Beatles, the Jacksons, Gorillaz etc

 

COMMUNICATE COMPLEX CONCEPTS
You have your SUBJECT, the CONTEXT in which you will view or interpret your subject and you now need to COMMUNICATE COMPLEX CONCEPTS effectively

• nuclear mutation in a Japanese influenced context of graphic novels, gaming and music. The HISTORICAL concept of the Japanese fear of mutation through nuclear disasters will be addressed.
• the alphabet and reading in a contemporary Key Stage 1 and 2 Educational and Home Learning context. The concept of learning as fun will be addressed both theoretically and visually
• random thoughts that come by chance in the context of a tradition of contemporary artists and designers such as Stafan Sagmeister and Alan Fletcher showing random examples of their creativity and knowledge in book form. The concept of the historical importance of free creative thinking and open minded, playful observation will be addressed visually and theoretically.
• the promotion of a band in the context of the practice used since the early 60s of promoting rock and pop bands through animated, cartoon versions of themselves – as in the case of the Beatles, the Jacksons, Gorillaz etc.  The concept of the effectiveness of simplification of features, illustration style, animation technique and narrative will be explored technically and visually.

 

ARTICULATING AMBITION
You have your SUBJECT, the CONTEXT in which you will view or interpret your subject and you have explained briefly the COMPLEX CONCEPTS you plan to COMMUNICATE. You can now – or perhaps later, after a period of experimentation – broaden some or all of these points ARTICULATING (EXPLAINING FULLY) YOUR AMBITIONS

• nuclear mutation in a Japanese influenced context of graphic novels, gaming and music. The HISTORICAL concept of the Japanese fear of mutation through nuclear disasters will be addressed. I plan to create a back story to a group of illustrated characters because the I feel audience for this sort of project will become deeply involved with the background to the individuals. I will research into subjects such as the animals and appendages that will be used in the process of ‘mutation’ and explain decisions that a Dr Frankenstein-like character might have made in relation to this. This information will be treated visually with the same dedication as the character development illustrations themselves.
• the alphabet and reading in a contemporary Key Stage 1 and 2 Educational and Home Learning context. The concept of learning as fun will be addressed both theoretically and visually. I plan to research into contemporary theories of education for Level 1 and 2 students in relation to letter and word recognition and contemporary learning schemes such as those published by GOV.UK, The OXFORD OWL scheme. The NATIONAL LITERACY TRUST and OFSTED’S READING BY SIX FINDINGS. Through this research I will be confident that I’m remaining objective rather than just creating work that ‘looks good’ to adults and children but has no educational impact.
• random thoughts that come by chance in the context of a tradition of contemporary artists and designers such as Stafan Sagmeister and Alan Fletcher showing random examples of their creativity and knowledge in book form. The concept of the historical importance of free creative thinking and open minded, playful observation will be addressed visually and theoretically. I plan to start by researching the subject of chance in an art & design context from which I can learn about the psychology of this phenomenon and relate my initial ideas to this method of working. Having built a solid foundation about the reasons behind this method of working I will be more able to relate back to this premise as I  reflect on each outcome during the creative process.
• the promotion of a band in the context of the practice used since the early 60s of promoting rock and pop bands through animated, cartoon versions of themselves – as in the case of the Beatles, the Jacksons, Gorillaz etc.  The concept of the effectiveness of simplification of features, illustration style, animation technique and narrative will be explored technically and visually. I plan to use the historical example I discover while researching to stretch and broaden my work from the basic characterisation to a range of publicity and marketing possibilities suitable for my chosen band.