Thursday 7 March 2013

Unit4: Fantastic Voyage- OGR

1 comment:

  1. OGR 09/03/2013

    Hey Anass,

    Lots of interesting development going on here - not least the idea of an interactive Youtube component; that's very exciting, and I know Dr Klappa will respond positively to interactivity etc. I also like the direction of your retro aesthetic, but right now you need to focus your visual concept a bit more, because right now it does feel a little to 'generalised' in terms of 'retro' and also the actual 'purpose' of this art direction.

    For me - I really like those most simple of designs on page 6 of your OGR - the 'retro' of simple, science-derived forms. Back in the 1950s - the atom age - lost of product design, wallpaper design etc. derived from scientific shapes and diagrams because in this sense and at this time, science was very fashionable (in a way that it's not now); known as 'atomic age design' - here are some examples:

    http://www.walkerart.org/archive/2/B373992E9FB5D4EE6161.jpg

    http://i1.cpcache.com/product/645638990/atomica_cork_coaster.jpg?color=White&height=460&width=460

    http://furnish.co.uk/photos/items/original/wallpaper/228028/wallpaper-1663692.png

    http://blog.thefoundary.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Cancan-Print-by-Rex-Ray-765x1024.jpg

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xwzqmDzcL._SL500_SS500_.jpg

    http://24.media.tumblr.com/16ebabebf9209919e967910cbe4e9bb8/tumblr_mhcjoo7FOG1s4bemvo1_500.jpg

    If you look again at your own thumbnails, you'll see just how closely - and how satisfyingly - they recall the icons and images of 'atomic age design' when a public interest in science and its discoveries was at its highest. It does seem to me if this project is about the link between science and new audiences, then to focus further on using atomic age design as a visual concept might be a valuable exploration.

    This leads me onto the 'point' of the interaction idea: there are some lovely 50s era 'educational' films out there that might give you some more pointers re. how you might get people engaging with your videos: take a look at these, with particular emphasis on the voice track and also the use of typeface and animated elements:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5JGA3KmOYE
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQlELlkzvGo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1G5GJwfAKk

    It just seems if your going to create a 'quiz' feel with retro-style, then perhaps you should model your whole approach on this style of video - a homage to or pastiche of 1950's 'atomic age' 'science can be fun!' style films?

    My more general point is this: right now you've got a decorative approach to your topic (a retro aesthetic) and another idea about turning your content into a quiz. I'm suggesting, not only are these both interesting ideas, but also that they combine nicely in the genre outlined above. Personally, I'd suggest you keep your style clean and graphical, but perhaps think about 'ageing' your film in After Effects etc - because the retro effect + those very textural, 'dirty' backgrounds expressed in your concept art are cancelling each other out a bit. The bottom line is I think your chosen style could and should give your project more than just a 'look' - it could also give your scenario a while cultural context too.

    I'm challenging all students to produce a 'thumbnail animatic' for the early part of next week so there's time to really look at structure and sequencing etc before you commit time and energy to your presentation animatic for the pitch. See what you can do!

    ReplyDelete