Music Videos Through the Ages Write Up

Part 1
1. Overall, all of the music videos throughout the decades were very creative and interesting. There was a wider range of themes and ideas that the artistes used in their videos. From a teddy bear committing suicide to Missy Elliot singing and dancing in front of a large light. I found it really interesting that even though it is such a wide range of music videos all of them are considered to be some of the best music videos out there.
2. I considered Kanye West's music video for Runaway was a work of art. I think its a work of art because its a 30 minute film accompanied by music. Also just like a movie all of the music in the video matches the theme and tone of the video. One of my favourit parts of the video is how visually pleasing it is. The colours Kanye used are so  pretty and work so well together. Also the story it told was so interesting. Although I was unable to watch it all due to the length of the video, the first bit was very interesting. They way Kanye was able to tell this complex story with almost no dialouge was very impressive. Over all  think the music video for Runaway by Kanye West is a work of art.
3.  Throughout time music videos have changes a lot. In the more recent years music videos have become more outrageous with their costumes, sets and concepts. For example Lady Gaga makes some the most well known music videos because they are outrageous. But earlier in music video history they were more dramatic. They used simple camera angles and lighting to create simple looking music videos. There was a part of time when music videos were more like movies for example Michael Jackson's Thriller or Kanye West's Runaway. Over the course of many years music videos have changed drastically.
4. The Arcade Fire music was much more interactive with the viewers then music videos of earlier years.
5. I think music videos will become even more crazy with sets and costumes. But I do hope they go back to the basics and have meaning to the videos.

Portraits

To create these photos I used studio light. I took the 1 large light, raised it to full height and hovered it over the subject. I chose to use the dark background; I had to pull my subjects farther away from the background then usual to make the background look really dark. I wanted a mix between serious expressions and happy expression for these photos I used studio light. I took the 1 large light, raised it to full height and hovered it over the subject. I chose to use the dark background; I had to pull my subjects farther away from the background then usual to make the background look really dark. I wanted a mix between serious expressions and happy expressions; I didn’t want everyone to have the same expressions because I wanted some variety.  I placed all of my subjects in the center of the frame because I wanted a simple composition. The overall theme I have for all of the portraits isn’t conceptual but physical; I made the theme dark backgrounds and cool lighting. I wanted a physical theme because I wanted the photos to look similar. Overall I am really happy with the photos I took.

Art History Presentation

Art History Project

Lighting Workshop

This photo uses studio light. I used the 2 small lights and I placed them, behind Basma, 4 feet from the wall. They were pointed toward the wall and the wall bounced the light back at the camera. I placed Basma a few feet away from the background, I also chose a white background because that was the background that we spent time using during the workshop. Basma has a very slight smile on her face as the expression I really think it ties the whole photo together because the soft expression matches the soft lighting. And finally I chose to shoot this photo horizontally because during the work shop we were told to only shoot that way. Over all I really like this photo for the soft lighting and dramatic feel.

This photo uses open shadow as the lighting. I really love this photo because we were outside and the lighting was still very soft. It was completely over cast that day so I was able to create the soft lighting with out to much trouble. I placed Basma in front of this blue door because it was a very pretty solid background. Also because the blue contrasted very nicely with Basma's dark shawl. I love the facial expression Basma is making in this photo. The smile looks very genuine and I feel like it ties the whole photo together. Just like the previous photo I shot this one horizontally because of the work shop. Over all I really like this photo because of how cheerful it looks.

This last photo is shot using open shadow, but I also used a reflector with the white side pointed up. I like this photo because the lighting causes Basma's skin to look so clear and healthy. I placed her in front of the brick wall because I wanted a simple background so that Basma was the main focus. I like the smile that Basma has in this photo because the lighting makes her teeth look very white and bright. Also because it gives the photo a very happy feel. I placed Basma in the middle of the frame because its an easy way to make her the focal point of the photo, also because it looked really nice with the geometric brick wall.

Protraits

 This is a photo of Marlia using window light. I really liked this photo because of the soft lighting, by using window light I was able to create lighting that wasn't harsh and complimented Marlia. I also like it because of the placement of Marlia, unlike my other photos Marlia is placed off to the side this makes for a very appealing composition. One of my favorite parts of this photo is the expression on Marlia's face, she looks like she is generally happy and that makes the photo much more visually pleasing.

This photo of Sebastian is using open shadow for the lighting. I chose this photo because of the composition. Although Sebastian is placed directly in the middle of the frame I think it makes for a very interesting photo. I also like it because lighting is soft and it really makes all the colors he is wearing and in the background vibrant. And finally the expression on Sebastian's face is very genuine, and genuine expressions always make for the best photos. One thing I would change about this photo is the lighter blue spots on the dark blue background. I think they are very distracting from the rest of the photo.

This last photo is using the direct sunlight. I really like this photo because of the very harsh contrast of the shadows on the face. I think the harsh shadows add a very interesting look to the photo. I also like this photo because of the composition and the expression on his face. Just like the photo above Sebastian is placed in the center of the frame which works very nicely with the patterned background. And finally the expression on his face is very different from the previous photos, instead of being happy and smiling he looks more serious. I think the serious expression ties the whole photo together.

What to Do About Online Art Theft & Plagiarism - Respons

One of the most pressing issues that artists face today is art theft and plagiarism. This article highlights the affects that theft and plagiarism can have on an artists work and the artist them selves.
It informs us that artists are missing oppartunites and losing money when their artwork is stolen, especially when big companies are using their  artwork for commercial use.

This article also talks about the proper legal actions someone should take when they want justice for their stolen artwork. There are 7 steps someone should take, 1. Find out your countries copyright laws 2. Prepare, Monitor & Protect all artwork online 3. Locate stolen artwork online 4. Consider potential gains 5. Gather evidence 6. Send a cease and desist letter and finally 7. Class action lawsuit. Each step is a good way to protect art work or a good way to take action when your artwork is stolen.

I think this article is very helpful for young and even old artists who are struggling with keeping their art. It provides useful steps to keep art safe and it explains all the steps throughly so readers can understand is easily. Over all I think this article is a helpful tool that provides important information that makes the process of saving your artwork from theft and plagiarism slightly easier then before.

Portrait Photos

 This photo is an example of open shadow.  I like this photo because it uses shadows in a very interesting way. I also like it because it uses very muted colours which I think looks very nice with the shadow. The muted colours also add more drama to the photo.

 This photo is an example of direct sunlight. I really like this photo because the subject (the boy and the gerbil) are very interesting and cute to look at. Also even though it is direct sunlight the light is soft and isn't harsh. I also like it because of the colours, their very vibrant and pretty.

This photo is an example of window lighting. I like this photo because the lighting is very soft and it frames the subject very nicely. I also like it because the photo is in black and white, which adds more emotion and drama to it.

Photography Homework

Shutter Speed

These photos are examples of different shutter speeds. The first photo is using a high shutter speed I know this because the photo is very crisp and clean. You are able to see all of the detail in the photo. The second photo is an example of a low shutter speed, I know this because the cars on the street are very blurry. You are unable to see any detail.

Depth Of Field 

The first picture is an example of wide depth of field, I know this because you are able to see all the detail of the photo. Also everything is in focus in the first photo. The second photo is an example of shallow depth of field, I know this because not everything is in focus. There is only one section of the photo that is in focus.

Kinetic Typography

Still Life Drawing

This is my still drawing. 

Kinetic Typography - Story Board

https://vimeo.com/88875617

This is the kinetic typography I used for the story board exercise.

12 Principles of Animation and Kinetic Typography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XQxyRO8T98

This video is called "Kid President Pep talk" and it is by Taylor English. I chose this kinetic typography because it was very funny audio and also the actual video was really well done. The video used principles of design like timing, staging and squash and stretch really well. For example in the first 2 seconds of the video the created staged the first statement really well, making it the centre of the audiences attention. Also through out the entire video the words had amazing timing, they were never to late or to early. And between 22 seconds and 24 seconds the words squashed and stretched, which looked really nice. Over all this is definitely on of my favourite kinetic typography videos that I have seen.

Helvetica Movie Quotes

"The designer choosing typefaces is like a casting director choosing their actors" - Jonathan Hoefler

I believe this quote describes perfectly what the movie Helvetica is trying to convey. It talks about how important type face is to a designer and for the over all message of the piece of art. It describes choosing a type face is like choosing actors for roles in movies, I believe this is true. I believe type is one of the most important parts of any art work. This quote also conveys how some type faces are more appropriate then others in certain situations, for example helvetica is used more commonly for clothing stores, while comic sans is used for anything related to children. Over all this quote is a prefect example that shows how important type face is.    

Kinetic Typography

https://vimeo.com/channels/kinetictypography/77535934
This kinetic typography video is called The Most Astounding Fact and its by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I really like this video because it is very visually pleasing. The space background and words look very beautiful together. Neil deGrasse Tyson also added music behind the audio and that fits very nicely with the words, background and audio. Overall this was my favourite kinetic typography video I found.

Tattered Seams Poster and T-shirt

T-shirt
The first step I took to design the shirt was picking if I wanted to do a traditional shirt or an Amardo Family t-shirt. I chose the Amardo Family Circus t-shirt because it was a different design from the years previous. I really wanted to incorporate a circus tent and some sort of a ringmaster. I put the words and design inside tent to make it feel unified. Finally I really wanted some sort of border around the design and I decided on stars.
I wanted to make my t-shirt red because red is a color that is usually associated with circuses. Also a black and white graphic looks really nice on red. I really wanted to focus on the brighter and happier side of the circus that the Amardo Family Circus is trying to convey. So I tried to use white in as many places on the shirt as possible to create the happy feel of the shirt. I chose a non traditional circus font because I felt sometimes traditional ones looked a little to western for my liking.
I started the process of creating my t-shirt by drawing it out in my sketch book. I then found pictures of a circus tent and a female ringmaster to trace over in illustrator. It took me a few tries to trace the ringmaster, I kept having trouble connecting the shapes so they could be filled in. But after 3 or 4 tries she was colored in and the tent was done. I chose the font and put the border on and called it done.
I am satisfied with the finale product. I feel it met the original request from the client, I think it portrays a happy and family friendly circus. Over all I am proud of myself with the final product that I created.

Poster

The idea for the poster is originally Cheyenne's idea. I had another idea, I tried to execute it on Photoshop and failed, so I joined Cheyenne to create this poster. We really wanted to show the darker and sadder side of the play through the poster. By using the dark blue and facial expression of the actors we were able to convey the sadness and darkness. I am not sure how Cheyenne came up with the original idea for poster.

As I said before by using dark colors and the actors we were able to show the darkness and sadness in the play. We chose white writing so it would show up on the dark background and it had a nice contrast with the background. We chose the same font for the Tattered Seams and the info to create unity throughout the poster. We wanted the quote to stand out from the rest of the writing on the poster so we made it a different font. We chose to make the poster landscape instead of portrait because to fit the pictures of the actors the poster needed to be landscape. 

The first step we took to make this poster was picking out colors of font and background and picking font. We spent 1 class discussing the layout and other small details of the poster. We had the actors come in and took pictures of them. The next step was putting ever thing together, we spent around 2 classes putting the pictures and words on the poster and playing with masks and opacity to create the faded look. 

I am not fully satisfied with the final product. I feel like if I spent a little more time on the pictures of the actors the poster could have turned out better. I am also not to happy with the font we chose for the quote, I feel like it looks to out of place with the rest of the poster. With more time these posters could be better. 

Street Art Presentation

Here is the link to my prezi on street art.
https://prezi.com/j741_4lpmug8/street-art-1980-2000/

Advance Photoshop Technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3EXCPfY4w

This is a link to a video that shows you how to blur a photo. In the video the man goes into great detail to blur the back ground but it only takes a few easy steps to blur the entire image. The first step is to place an image in a new file and then duplicate it. Then hovering over the file tab you press the lens blur option . You then can play around with the options for blurring that are given to you. I could use this technequie if I ever wanted a background of an image to be blurry or an entire image.

Masks and Blending

The first step to completing this assignment was finding the photo of a celebrity that I liked. I picked Daisy Ridley. I then put that photo in a new photo shop file and chose a photo to change the background too. I created a new layer and added the background to the photo shop file, I then created a mask over the picture of Daisy Ridley and using the pencil tool in the color of white started to color in the mask so the ocean back drop would show through. I continued this process until the original background was completely gone. I then played around with the blending tools but didn't use any because I didn't like the way they looked. And that is how I used masks to finish this assignment.  

Pixel Portraits

            The first step of completing the pixel portraits was finding the right photo to use, this took a couple tries because when you enlarged the photo it would become very pix-elated and hard to see but eventually I found a photo that would work. I then created multiple layers over the photo for each feature of my face and by eye, started to trace over my face using the pencil tool. I used the dropper tool to get the right colour for things like skin and eyes.
           The two images saved as a png and a gif look similar in terms of colour, quality and when they are enlarged. They both become very pix-elated when they are enlarged, they both have the same quality and they both share the same colours that don't differ in both formats. I wanted to accentuate my eyes, mouth and nose in the avatar because they are the features on my face that make it easiest to recognize that the portrait is me. I chose a skin tone with a pinky undertone because it had a nice contrast with the brown hair. I chose a light colours for my eyes and mouth because I wanted them to pop out on my face.

Chinese Brush Painting

         

Flower and Bird Chinese Brush Painting 

                           

            Chinese brush painting started around 4000 B.C and developed through the next 6000 years.  At first this style of art was closely related to other types of art like, pottery. The subjects of Chinese brush paintings have also developed over the past years and now can range from landscapes to historical figures, techniques were also changed.
            Landscaping had become its own style of expression during the 4th century, it then branched into 2 different styles, blue and green landscapes and ink and washed landscape. Blue and Green landscape used brightly colored greens and blues to create a richly decorative style, while the ink and wash landscape used types of brushwork and intensity of ink to portray what the artist was feeling. Another style of expression that became it's own genre is flower and bird painting in the 9th century. The subject of this genre were a wide range of flowers, bugs, fish and birds including plum blossoms, orchids and bamboo.
            Chinese brush painting used a variety of new materials to create the art work. The artists would use a Chinese brush, Chinese ink, Chinese paper or silk. The Chinese brush is similar to the water color brush used in the west , but it has a finer tip making it more suitable for a wider range of subjects. The next material is the ink, they ink is prepared by taking a solid block of ink and mixing it with fresh water to make it a liquid. You can change the consistency depending on how much water is used. The last material is Chinese paper or silk. Chinese paper is usually known as rice paper in English, the paper is very absorbent and the size will dictate the amount of ink used for each painting. Chinese silk is also used to paint on, it is first coated with alum and glue to make it less absorbent then paper.
            Chinese brush painting created many new techniques as it was being developed. For example artists would use color to express characteristics of different subjects. Most landscape paintings would be painted from a birds eye view while flower and bird paintings artist would make them unlike the original subject while still trying to make them alike. For example they would put plant from different seasons in one painting. When it came to space Chinese brush artist would have complete freedom over how much space was needed or how little, many times artist would leave the background of their paintings blank. Usually artist would use calligraphy in their paintings. This would help convey the message the artist is trying to say through the painting. Some of the simplest calligraphy would be the artists name or date the painting was finished.

Four Seasons Chinese Brush Painting