Week 4 - Typography

Again staying with the movie poster theme I will examine the typography in movie posters.
First I will look at a poster from the first Pirates of the Caribbean film. The typography used in this poster is quite effective at encapsulating the feeling of the films. The font conjures up images of sea charts and maps and several of the frilly bits cross much like swords which are featured in the film. The smaller sub title font is a sans-serif font like arial however the main title is probably a custom serif font.The second poster is for this summers comedy Tropic Thunder. The lettering in this poster is quite prominent and a main focal point of the poster. The main title is quite rigid and portrays the military plots in the film. The font also has an effect as if it is coming out of the page at you. This helps it jut out an emphasis its strength in the poster. The inside of the letters is filled with a metallic design that also strengthens the position of the letters. The typography in this poster is used to fortify the themes of the film and to this end they are highly effective.
The final poster is for another comedy that was released this summer, Pineapple Express. The Fonts used in this poster are simple sans-serif fonts that portray a less simple mindedness of the characters in the film. It is also intriguing that the words Pineapple and Express are different thicknesses which places emphasis on express and draws attention to the title. The title also has a design that features a dirty worn look much like the characters in the film. The typography in this poster is simpler than the others and in that sense is less connected, although it does not directly detract from the poster it is not doing as much as other fonts do.
References: http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/PineappleExpress.jpg
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2008/05/23/tropic-thunder-poster.jpg
http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/onlinetexts/potc/images/1poster2.jpg

Week 3 - Colour

This week in digital media lecture we learned all about colour. Some of the key ideas where different systems, terminology, and ways to match colours together. We looked at several different examples of the use of colour both well and not so well.
When I begin to think of colour I immediately think back to elementary school art class and mixing paints. This was the basis for my knowledge on colour, which was the colour wheel and primary colours. However now I have learned the importance of colour and making the proper colour choices in all media I create.
We first learned the basic terminology that is used to describe the colours we use. First hue which is another word for colour, therefore a hue is the colour being described. Next is saturation which describes how bright or how pale the colour being described is. There are then two terms which describe the colour: tint and shade. Tint is used to describe when you add white to a colour and shade is when you add black to a colour.
The colour wheel which most people are familiar with was also demonstrated however I did learn new systems to match colours using the colour wheel. As most people learn as children colours across from each other on the colour wheel match well together. The new systems I learned where the triad, analogous and monocromatic. Each used to match colours well and create different looks.
These principles will greatly help anyone creating media that uses colour as they an easily find colours that math well. There was a really good website example shown in class that can e used in class to find the right colours and their respective hexadecimal number The site is: http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorwizard.asp

Week 2 - CRAP Principles in Film posters

CRAP Principles in Film posters
Film posters are designed to catch the eye and attract viewers. They must draw interest for the film and communicate information such as key actors and most importantly the opening date the film will be in theatres. As a way of evaluating these poster I will examine their effectiveness using the CRAP principles.




http://myfos.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/the-best-movie-posters-of-2007/
This poster for the film 300 is quite effective in its use of the CRAP principles.
Starting with contrast, there are several examples. The largest example is the light area on the left contrasting with the darker area that is the cliff. This focuses our attention on the two sides, one depicting action from the film, and the other side displaying the information they are trying to convey. There is also contrast in the Font Colour, text and size. The different colours of the text draw attention to different information. The title being the biggest in size is where the focus draws.
Repetition is also a key factor in this poster. The main area of repetition is the red text. The title, the catch phrase "Prepare for glory" and the release date are all the same colour which connects them all together. This makes it easy with a quick glance to catch all the important information since the repetition draws the eye to these three aspects of the poster.
The alignment of this poster does not play an integral role in this poster however it is still present as the white text is all aligned on the left side making it look organized and appealing to the eye as there is a clear line on the left side of the poster.
Finally proximity plays an important role. All of the information is located on one half of the page. This makes it very easy to find the correct information and creates good space throughout the entire page since they are grouped in a small area.

http://videogum.com/img/thumbnails/photos/batman_poster.jpg

In this poster for the film The Dark Knight the use of contrast is most evident with the red Bat sign against the the blueish building. This technique immediately draws our eyes towards the Bat sign as it becomes the focal point of the poster.
Repetition is less prominent in this poster, however the use of white font is repeated allowing us to connect the information all together and make it easy to locate.
The whole alignment of the poster is aligned to the centre which usually does not work, however this poster manages to use it effectively. Since the large building runs vertically on the whole page it is much more appealing to have the text of the whole poster aligned in the centre creating good visual space along the side of the page.
Again the proximity of the information on the page is grouped at the bottom making it much easier to locate.

http://eu.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-19409/Star_Wars.html

In this poster from the original release of Star Wars there is distinct contrast between the characters in the forefront which are light and the darker images in the background, which moves the focal point towards the two character that are lighter. There is also contrast between the image and the text on the bottom as well as contrasting texts in the bottom creating visual appeal especially towards the title.

However repetition does not play a large role in this poster.

Alignment also is not a key aspect of this poster although the text at the top of the poster is aligned with this light that is rising from the characters.

Proximity, is important in this poster because the information is grouped together allowing for easy access. Also the character groupings establish a narrative especially because of the use of light and dark to highlight the characters morale standing.

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/h/images/hot-fuzz-poster-1.jpg

The main area of contrast in this poster for the film Hot Fuzz is the sizing of the letters for the title. This draws our attention to the centre of the page and to the title. The costumes of the characters also contrast with the background allowing them to stick out as focal points.

There is very little repetition in this poster unless we consider the fact that there are two characters repetition although that would probably be stretching it.

As for alignment the two characters create two vertical lines on the page with the text aligned in the space created in between the two. What this does is centres everything and creates unity among the characters and the information of the posters.

As for proximity there is a cluster in the centre that has the title, the starring cast and a promotion stating past projects. This puts all the information that will attract viewers in one area central on the page.

All of these posters demonstrate the CRAP principles in one way or another to attract viewers attentions to one key point of there posters.

Week 1 - First day in RTA

To me digital media was essentially media based through the web and computing. Based on the first lecture this was almost true. Digital media was presented as ones and zeros. It is apparent why students of RTA should be taking digital media courses, because traditional media outlets must embrace digital forums such as web based media in order to advertise and reach a large audience becoming increasingly devoted to the Internet.

It is very exciting to be in this program because it presents an excellent opportunity to learn areas of media I'm interested in as well as other areas i had not previously considered. Digital media was one of which i had not thought all that much about the summer before coming to RTA, however after the first day in lecture and in lab it has become more interesting and appealing. Hopefully this experience will continue as we explore the other areas of media.

While not my first day of University it is my first day at RTA. I previously attended McMaster University in Hamilton. I was taking Theater & Film, however wanted to produce media rather that simply study it so the decision was made to transfer to RTA. It also presents has the benefit of living at home which will save money...especially on food.