ae unfolding cityscape

MGMT - All We Ever Wanted Was Everything from oneedo on Vimeo.

In this lesson experimented with the page-turner technique on After Effects and used cameras to give an effect of a slow pan out from a 3D environment. We looked at the MGMT music video presented above, for inspiration and took not of how the scene seemed to unfold as the video progressed.
The first task was to create our own scene on illustrator ensuring that each of the areas of the scene which I wanted to unfold were on separate layers. I then added texture to one of the layers in order to add a sense of depth and to better differentiate these layers more effectively. Next I applied the page turning effect to each of the shapes from the bottom to the stop in order to convey the effect of them being slowly pasted into place. The final step was to add a camera which panned from the background to the foreground of the vector environment which I feel really rounded off the video.

I went for a simple landscape in order to ensure a better understanding of the techniques used and I was quite happy with the way my unfolding city turned out.


Unfolding City from Elissa Boswell on Vimeo.

3D Typography

3D Typography

In this week's typography workshop we were given the challenge of creating 3D type which was presented in a way which connected both the definition of the word and the three dimensional format.

I chose to use light cushion stuffing as my medium and came up with the word 'float' as the material immediately brought to mind the image of clouds. The difficult part was figuring out a way in which to present the word and how to physically form the letters out of the material. Although the stuffing was easy to mould into the desired letters I struggled to find a way in which to ensure that it remained in shape. I thought about using things like glue or even something like hair gel/spray/wax to keep the light material in place before coming to the conclusion that I could mount the letters on the underside of clear tape. This meant that the word would remain almost weightless which in turn would connect the word with it's form of presentation. Above is an example of how I created the letters.

After creating all of the letters I next had to come up with an appropriate way of displaying them which resonated with the message I was conveying. I thought about ways in which I could make the word appear to be levitating and decided to use thin transparent wire to achieve this. However after experimenting with different compositions I chose to use a more visible means of hanging the work such a string. I felt that displaying it against the window connected the word float with it's meaning as it appeared at one with the clouds while at the same time the message was contradicted as onlookers can see how the font is clearly tethered and has constraints.

Typography

The challenge in this week's process and production studio session was to experiment in type creation and form a sentence beginning with 'I am' within a 4x4 grid. I began by making a small mock up on A4 paper before moving up in scale. Pictured above is type I created using masking tape and ink in order to ensure the lines were straight resulting in better legibility. I really wanted the font and the message to be intertwined which is why I chose to have only parts of the block-style letters on show.

The next stage was to move up in size again to not only make a bigger impact but also to show that the typeface could be scaled up or down and continue to be effective. This time I thought more deeply about the message I was aiming to convey and decided on a change of medium. If a person was in hiding then they are likely to be self-conscious and lacking in confidence. I did not think that the straight structured lines within the first grid pictured, gave off this feel. The typography pictured above was hand painted which gives off a personal touch and also makes the text appear vulnerable and not quite as structured as the first time around.

Finally I thought it would be fun to display my type in a way which related to the message it conveyed. Setting the grid out in a very public place contradicted the message and I thought this would be a good way to challenge the concept of self consciousness.

The Graphic About Town

Finished Cereal Box Design

Primary Research

When thinking about gaining primary research I decided to gain knowledge around the subject of online anonymity.  I chose to use the website Reddit. Reddit is commonly used as a forum-based website whereby users post talking points and things that they find interesting in order to engage with other online users and hopefully find common ideas between people. You can also post questions which anyone is free to answer without leaving your full name or any personal details. I decided to ask the question ‘What conversation would you have with your 10 year old self?’ I thought this would be appropriate to the project as it is a rather personal question which still recieved a large amount of responses which I probably would not have recieved if I had asked these questions to strangers face-to-face. Some responses were more personal than others touching upon childhood issues and things that they may have found inspiring at the time with hindsight. 

After receiving a few comments from my first question I decided to try again with the question;  ‘Why is it so wrong to break up with someone via text message?’ I thought this again would be relevant as it connects the themes of people and relationships and also the theme of the ability to hide behind a screen and somehow feel less responsibility. The replies I recieved were exactly what I expected and gave off the general feeling that it is incredibly disrespectful to do this to someone. This however begs the question; Why? So many of our relationships these days are based around instant messaging and social media so why can we not discuss the starting and ending of relationships through this media?

I also came across the website Omegle which is slightly controversial. It has a webcam feature which allows strangers to connect from all over the world in a face-to-face scenario. Naturally this results in some content which is NSFW to say the least however I came across a feature whereby I could anonymously ask a question and watch two strangers discuss it on my screen. Again I chose to ask a really personally question in order to hopefully show how people may be more comfortable to discuss said topics without embarassment or responsibility. 

I have presented just one of my responses above which touches upon personal issues experienced by these strangers and how their experiences may have the ability to bring them together. I personally found this incredibly interesting and started to think about how strange and completely differently these conversations would unfold in a real-life scenario. This again highlights how people are ultimately more comfortable behind a screen than they may be in person.