The designer that I have chosen to analyze and evaluate is Shepard Fairey, best known for his work with Obama portraits; these portraits had an extreme impact on the President’s campaign, as it is said that Obama wrote Fairey a thank you note after he was elected.  However, the mass success of his work was slightly tarnished by the theory that Fairey had plagiarized the portrait when he used a copyrighted photograph to create his most famous piece.  Before this happened, however, Fairey was also affected by plagiarism with his street work in the early 90’s, most notably with his “Obey Giant” campaign.  Since then, Fairey has made significant strides to speak out for his art work and challenge the notions of fair trade art (Vallen).

Think hostel but in terms of a dorm room. It is a dark and gloomy night at American University. Students are starting up, sharpening their pencils for finals. Christmas decorations are surrounding the hallways. It is a time when students are restless and oblivious. Their minds are in their books and papers in the hallways and study rooms. The library is packed full of caffeinated, Starbucks induced students.

The safety at AU is one that every parent can count on. The blue lights surround the entire university. Public safety officers have eyes in the back of their heads. Crazy students are involved all throughout campus. No one is ever alone or afraid.

Two students, JOHN JAMES and SALLY SANDERS were slipped tranquillizers into their lattes while in the library. John stumbles back to his dorm room in Centennial.

Later John wakes up handcuffed to his desk chair, with a bag over his head and sees a man entering a room; it is his professor. He examines books and things on his desk while John asks to be let go. The professor takes a drill and begins torturing John by drilling him to the desk. After he is done, the professor sits down and tells John his unfulfilled dream of being a surgeon. John begs to be let go. He then frees John from his chair and tells him that he can go. John gets up but falls over as he tries to escape. The professor then murders him by cutting his throat.

Across campus, Sally is reported missing to the public safety officers. Public safety is proven unhelpful as they do not believe anything suspicious is going on. The professor had kidnapped Sally and takes her to where John’s body is.

Upon traveling to where John is. Sally questions what has happened to her and who the professor is taking her to see. She does not know that John is her former boyfriend. When she gets to the scene of John’s body….

THE SCREAM!

The clip above is not only the most famous scene in The Battleship Potempkin, but it also sufficiently exemplifies the entire Soviet montage genre.  The Odessa Steps sequence perfectly embodies the main concepts of the genre, as it is known for its severe cuts and editing techniques.  As the chaos at Odessa Steps is emphasized by the dramatic editing that cuts from one shot to another quickly and without transitions (in order to evoke a particular response from the audience), the scene represents the editing of the Soviet montage genre.  Below is a shot breakdown of a series of shots in the middle of the scene.

Number…Abbreviation…Timing…Angle/Movement…Description

1. ECU…1 second…Static…Extreme close-up of a civilian’s face (person has wide eyes and looks very scared).

2. CU-ECU…2 seconds…Static (but subject moves toward the camera, filling the screen)… Civilian from previous shot walks toward the camera with his hands on his head, looking both distraught and disheveled.

3. WS…4 seconds…Static…Civilians are running down the Odessa Steps, looking frightened and freaking out.  Random people are shot by the Tsar’s men and fall down.

4. MS… 0.5 second…Static…Shot lasts for the blink of an eye as the editing of the Soviet Montage genre is showcased.  Shows women going up stairs.

5. MS… 5 seconds… Static…Women are running up the stairs in distress, but then turn around suddenly and start running back down.  An elderly woman paces herself going down the stairs.

6. MS… 1 second… Static, high angle shot… Man is shown covered with blood as he dies on the steps.

7. WS… 2 seconds… Static… The elderly woman is walking down the stairs again, as everyone around her runs.

8. EWS… 4 seconds… Static… Civilians are running down the steps and jumping over the dead bodies that are strewn across the stairs.

9. MWS… 4 seconds… Static… Woman carries a dead child in her arms as she walks up the stairs slowly, then turns around to face the camera.

10. EWS… 5 seconds… Static… Civilians are running down the steps as even more dead bodies are in their way.

11. WS… 2 seconds… Static… Civilians are hiding against a wall, one begins to stand up.

12.  MS… 1 second… Static… Clip shows the same civilian from the previous shot standing up again.

13.  CU…1.5 seconds…Static… The civilian adjusts her headpiece and yells something.

14.  MWS… 3 seconds… Static… Man carries an injured boy in his arms as he walks up the steps.  The boy’s limbs dangle awkwardly.

15.  MS… 3 seconds… Static… The woman with the headpiece waves her arms forward as she says something again.

Although the shots alternate in their type, the movement stays static throughout the scene, cutting from one static shot to the next.  As the subjects are depicted in their moments of distress, the quick change of shots reflects this to make the audience afraid for the civilians.

The poster uses the concept of lines to create an interesting background.  Because these lines are contrasting values, the background is slightly distracting.  The poster also uses texture to emphasize the lifelike nature of Max’s imagination; while the creatures and places he invents may not be real, the viewer is supposed to feel as though they are tangible and alive… the texture displayed in this poster provides a bit of reality to his imagination.

Although my favorite photograph was different than the one I included in the post, I also enjoyed this one by Gordon Stillman of Richmond, Virginia.  I could only find the photo winners in various categories online, and this winner of the “Americana” section was my favorite of the  six winners.  I think the most interesting aspect of this photograph is that the composition is so busy; it doesn’t quite align with the rule of thirds.  Instead, the column of the ride centers the photograph and the people surrounding it provide an element of chaos, as the blurred background emphasizes the motion of the individuals around the column.

• The steps to creating a narrative: conceptualizing, organizing, and editing.
• It’s important to make judgement on instinct.
• Choose a subject you’re familiar with.  Then images will be easier to acquire.
• If you’re creating a project for profit, make sure the subject is engaging and marketable.
• The key aspect of editing is juxtaposing the language of words with the language of images.

The second speaker was Megan Rossman, a specialist in new media who works for The Washington Post.  She was  a finalist for a pulitzer prize, and really knows how to format videos to tell a story.  She spoke to us about developing many of her stories, and stressed the importance of choosing a story first, then deciding if it should be represented in print or video (not deciding you want to do a print or video piece, and then choosing a subject).  Some advice Rossman gave:

• A successful audio slideshow has natural sound and interviews with strong “feeling quotes.”
• Interviewing for an audio or video piece is completely different than for a print story.  For instance, while background information is important for clarification, it’s not as powerful for viewers as it may be in a print story.
• If you’re creating a video, you should use natural sound to break up an interview.  Layer the sound by bringing in the natural sound underneath the interview.
• When your subject starts talking, you should show them so viewers know who is speaking.

Here is a video created by Rossmann for washingtonpost.com:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/05/04/VI2009050403187.html

http://www.monoscope.com/quickimagepost/2007/08/davidreport.com_blog_wp-content_uploads_2007_08_richard_avedon_3.jpg

I chose to review Richard Avedon’s work because it presents fashion and beauty as a preeminent aspect of pop culture; while his photos may not always showcase prevalent models and fashion designers, he created a way to showcase the fashion beautifully.  In each of the photos that I included, the clothing is clearly the most engaging aspect of the photograph.  Consequently, even when the subject of the photo is Marilyn Monroe, the viewer’s eye is drawn to her dress.  While her face looks charming and pretty, and a viewer can tell that she is wearing the dress (and not vice versa), the concentrated gaze provokes a sense of confusion… Why is a woman who looks so concentrated, yet spacey, wearing such a bold and powerful outfit?  The story of Monroe and the troubled life she led (with a persona of complete confidence and a mind of intense insecurity), however, provides insight as to why Avedon may have photographed her in this way.

http://theruffian.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/richardavedon3.jpg

This photo aligns with the style of many of Avedon’s photographs.  While the figures are often emaciated beyond comprehension, thus presented as mere figures in the composition of the photographs, the clothing they wear is displayed prominently.

http://tobyspinks.com/images/richard-avedon31.jpg

This photograph also aligns with the concept I mentioned above.  While the subject is thin, as is fitting for a fashion photograph, the coat she is wearing consumes her body in a beautiful way.  While it may take up the majority of her figure, it highlights many features that are regarded as womanly and elegant: a long neck (with the large, exaggerated collar), her tiny hands (with one hidden in the pocket, and the other squeezed tightly around the umbrella handle), and her long legs (which the viewer can assume are lengthy by the proportion of her calves to the rest of her hidden body).

Each of our photos fits together to represent solitude; while all of the photos utilize different elements of photography, they are similar in their themes of color and composition.  Each of the photos uses dull colors, some of which are cool greens and some of which are medium grays.  I like how the element of color ties each of the photos in the essay together.  In the first photo, value is minimal as the only bright white evident is the sky in the upper right-hand corner, while the darkest color is shadowed under the bench in the lower left-hand corner.  In the second photo, the medium grays are juxtaposed with the cool greens of the trees, connecting with the brighter value in the center to create an ethereal effect.  The third photo (the one I selected) utilizes a small depth of field to focus on the neutral beiges of the chipmunk, surrounded by the bright greens of the grass and leaves.  As the rushed, harsh lines of the grass lead the eye toward the chipmunk, the organic lines of the leaves project a sense of tranquility that mimics the theme of solitude.  Line and value are the main elements of the fourth photo, while the rule of thirds provides the photo with an interesting composition.  The last photo is unsaturated and the landscape in the background almost blends together.  This causes the flower and the water bottle to stand out and thus plays into the theme of solitude.  The lines in the background run down which leads the viewer’s eye to the flower.  This photo also demonstrates the rule of thirds.

The asymmetrical structure of this photograph by Christian Ziegler makes the composition active.  It seems as though the orchids may be blowing in the wind, as the one Ziegler focused on in the foreground takes precedent over the blurred orchids in the background.  As the objects in the background are blurred, they align with the active nature of the photograph; the viewer may assume they are blurred as they move in the wind. 

The vivid implied texture in Ziegler’s photograph prompts the viewer to want to glide his or her hands up the stem of the orchid to the petals.  Because the petals look fuzzy and the stems look so smooth, the implied texture is evident as a visual aspect of the photograph.

The most evident visual aspect of this photograph by Tim Laman is the use of line to create a pattern.  While the pattern is more organic than structured, it provides the photograph with a background of substance that is not too distracting.  As the red lines carry the viewer’s eye to the focal point, the fish, the plant with the leaves that protrude out beyond the fish do the same thing.  I feel as though the way these two sets of lines cross is one of the the reasons this photograph is so strong; as each set leads the viewer to the focal point, they also interact with each other, creating the bold pattern that intrigues the viewer.

Another pattern in Laman’s photograph is the series of light dots on the dark leaves in the background.  The dots, along with the darker parts of those leaves, create a surprising color combination with the coral, the background, and the fish.  The photographer clearly used the concept of primary colors to set up his photograph.  The red coral, blue background, and yellow fish contrast with the neutral colors of the spotted leaves.

The use of light and color in Laman’s photograph is also notable.  The warm colors in the foreground contrast intensely with the cool and neutral colors of the background.  As this happens, the viewer’s eye is coaxed into assuming the layers of the photograph are in their actual position; by ensuring the warm colors are in front of the cooler ones, Laman avoids playing tricks on the eye.  Had the warmer colors been behind the cooler ones, we may have been too distracted by the hot reds and yellows to realize they were actually in the background.