Post #13 Informational Graphics

-http://www.vizworld.com/2009/07/health-care-reform-obfuscated-by-infographics/

A good example of an infographic that, in my opinion, obfuscates the information is the Health Care Reform bill graph. House Republican John Boehner released the graph on July 31, 2009. The graph could be one of the worst infographics out there because it doesn’t make the bill or the process any easier to understand. The infographic is flowchart with so many arrows leading in so many different directions that it is easy to simply get lost in the multitude of it all.  A flowchart usually has a clear starting point from which the viewer can then move to the next point and so forth and so forth. On this infographic there doesn’t appear to be any sort of starting point and if there is then it is so covered up by all the other stuff that it is easy to miss. The graph also uses a multitude of colors and usually that wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Colors help us distinct different elements in the same graph. In this graph there are so many different colors and they don’t appear to follow any set rules. Some boxes that are colored have the same colored arrows leading from them but then at the same time there are colored boxes that have totally different colors coming from them. Apparently in an effort to make the graph more understandably the makers also included some cultural symbols but there are only three of them and the symbolism doesn’t appear to follow any rules either since there are red and white lines that come from the symbols. 

Post #12 Film titles/credits

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJUJxKQegR8

I choose Austin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me title sequence that best suits the film. In the screen shot we see Austin Powers looking directly at the camera butt naked with the title of the film covering his private area. There are women, on the stairwell staring at him as if he was completely insane, which he might be. Around the title there are different colored flowers that in the title sequence spin in place. The title sequence is such a great fit for this movie because it doesn’t take itself very seriously, just like the movie. From the very beginning Austin Powers is ridiculous and funny and does the most absurd things like walking through the hotel lobby naked and dancing. Through out the title sequence there are sexual innuendos that are reappearing throughout the film, but they never go too far. The different colored flowers also go well with the film since it is a throwback to the 60’s from which Austin Powers is from. The colors and the flowers remind me of the hippies and Austin Powers can be considered to be one. The colors and the font of the title also creates contrast to the Austin Powers and his dancing in the hotel lobby in that every time we are about to see something inappropriate the letters or the flowers cover it up. The title sequence is basically a situation comedy that is happening right inform of our eyes. The rhythm in the sequence is also very memorable since Austin Powers seem to be dancing to the same music that we are hearing and therefore the camera follows him in a very fluid motion. The title sequence plays on the viewer’s imagination by having very suggestive objects all around Austin as he is walking around.

Post #11 Typography

-http://www.luckymanpress.com/teach/pages/Links/Guide2Fonts.html

My favorite computer font that I use almost exclusively is Times New Roman. The modern Times New Roman is a typeface that has its roots in the old Latin lettering. The excepted font size for Times New Roman is 12 points because it is the easiest to read at this size. The reason why I like Times New Roman so much is because of the ease with which it is to read. The letters are all spaced out accordingly and there is enough of a curvature in every letter to distinct them from each other. The numbers also show up very well in Times New Roman. The curves are probably the most distinctive aspect of the font and it almost seams like somebody hand wrote the letters. With the letters put together there is a flow to the text that that not many other fonts can follow and that is without using the italic function on Word. Its easy to see why Times New Roman is used in books and newspapers, it has such a distinctive style that is very familiar to us all, even to those who have never seen it. I can almost relate my handwriting, if I was writing neatly of course, to the font of Times New Roman.

Post #10 Technical Perspective

-http://robsmovievault.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/robin_batman1966.jpg

An example of an image with low production value comes from a 1966 film Batman the Movie. The image depicts Batman and his sidekick Robin running down a street in New York City. There are a number of clues that show the low production quality compared to what we are used to seeing. The background is probably the biggest indicator of the production quality. The background is of the City of New York and is quite blurry. In fact the background appears to just be a picture of the street that was made into a poster and then put behind Batman and Robin. The background is painfully obvious to be a fake and the whole running seen was probably done on a green screen in some studio. Another sign of low production value are Batman and Robin’s costumes. The costumes appear to be made of spandex or some sort of very cheep material. Robin’s mask also seems to be poking him in the eyes and sliding off his face. Batman’s utility belt appears to be just a plastic belt with some blocky yellow things, which look like bags, glued to it. The whole image appears to be fake, which is understandable since the movie was made over forty years ago. Today with tools such as Photoshop average people can easily make a more believable image that what a studio could have done back in the 1960’s. But that’s advances in technology for you.

Post #9 Stereotype persistence in the media

http://static.emedco.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/Smoking-Signs--Smoke-Free-Workplace-Law-79719BBVPLYALU-lg.jpg

I choose the “Smoking is not permitted” sign as the stereotypical piece of media that can be found just about anywhere. The “Smoking is not permitted” sign is designed to show areas of public or private places where smoking is prohibited by the inhabitants. The sign depicts a cigarette with smoke coming from it with a red slash mark across it, and a white background. I believe that the sign was made to be very stereotypical and we don’t even realize it since we have seen the sign for most of our lives. The sign has become iconic, indexical and symbolic. It is such a successful sign because it can be viewed in many different perspectives. It can be viewed from personal, ethical, cultural or critical perspective. The sign is stereotypical because cigarettes are not the only form of implement that people can use to smoke from, yet for some reason the sign specifically targets them. I have never seen the same “Smoking is not permitted” sign, but with a big fat cigar or pipe on it. Apparently the media has shown that all the smokers simply smoke cigarettes and therefore there is no reason to put other products on the sign. I don’t think the stereotype is fare to the companies that produce cigarettes or the smokers, since it makes them seem like one trick ponies. 
     

Post #8 Advertising of Social Causes

-https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3ef_QG4MJsia3Jqqrl2fIWqaB1NRF1O5fW96wb-jEOAbz1qnnM1BO7VvgKJV7LTy2-XBePlhsSj4zdBYo4hH8ekFv779-fX8oGo_xBuVSMnYxDnsmWYjwg9V7utbcTf9kofrT-CGpCZr/s400/India-Ads.jpg

An advertisement for a social issue that I choose is an Indian advertisement about talking on the phone while driving. The image is quite striking. It depicts an Indian woman who is talking on the phone and all of the sudden a huge splatter of blood shoots out of the phone. Right next to the phone is the message, “Don’t talk while driving.” This is obviously an advertisement that wants people to stop talking on their phones while driving and make them concentrate on the road instead. The advertisement uses a pathos or emotional appeal to its advantage to capture our attention. The huge amount of blood that comes out of the phone defiantly shocks us as well as drawn our attention. The underlining story behind the picture is that somebody was driving and talking on the phone and wasn’t paying attention. The blood coming from the phone is the driver who wasn’t keeping his eyes on the road and got into an accident. Fear is another tactic used by the advertisement. The image makes the viewer consider that the blood coming out of the phone could be theirs, and makes them afraid to drive and talk on the phone. It also makes a logos or logical appeal as well with the argument of since you are driving shouldn’t you concentrate on that so “this” doesn’t happen? The designers also made the focus point of their advertisement to be the blood. They did this by making the background lack a lot of colors and then making the blood so huge and dark red that the viewer immediately recognizes it.

Post #7 Visual Cues

- http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjMyOTM4MDMxNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjIyNzExOA@@._V1_SX214_.jpg

For an example of an image that uses one visual cue above all others I chose the poster for The Amazing Spider-Man movie. The poster depicts Spider-man surrounded by his webs with the city of New York in the background. He has two diagonal cuts on his chest that seems to have been done by something with claws. Spider-man also seems to be staring at the viewer although it is hard to tell because his eyepieces are reflective. In his eyes we see the reflection of the rest of New York City. The poster uses all the visual cues but the one that is most dominant, in my opinion, is color. Spider-man is wearing his trademark blue and red costume, which simply captures our eyes because blue and red are some of the most eye drawing colors out there. There also seems to be some sort of blue light right behind Spider-man, which illuminates him further and punctuates the blue side of his costume. The blue tint of his webbing all around him also make a kind of frame around Spider-man, further making him the focus of the poster. By making the background darker our eyes are instantly drawn to Spider-man. The white letters at the bottom of the poster also catch our eyes. The designers made the poster so that our eyes lock on to Spider-man and then down to the white letters and only then do we focus on the city behind him.