NA: Information Project Response/ What I learned.

In my information project for Narrative, I set out to create an instructional video to operate a Holga 120 CFN. We've done demo's and went roughly over creating and moving text in space in after effects. However, after the past lomo projects, I've been using analog methods and combining them with digital methods to create interesting effects. So with this project I decided to shoot my text as print with a video camera, and then bring that in on top of my recorded video.

In the process of filming Casey (My subject for handling the Holga), stability was a major issue. Walking with a camera creates a lot of shaking, so I set out to learn to make a poor mans steady cam. Essentially I filled 3 water bottles and attached them to the legs of my tripod. This greatly reduced the shaking when lifting it with the camera on top.

Shooting the text on paper creates a lot of shadows. Other than levels, I learned to use white clean surfaces (paper in this case) behind my white subject matter. With less shadows in the recording, there were far less shadows flying around the screen. I particularly enjoyed the areas where the cameras focus blurred the type. If I had created the text in after effects, it all would have felt too perfect and clean.

In the process of overlaying the text and video, I had to cut the video. I learned that shooting from multiple sides of a subject can create for interesting jump cut transitions, and can help cut down time that would have taken for the camera to move or pan around the object. The text movement was a learning experience as well. Rather than trying to line its movement up perfectly with Casey's movement in the video, I learned that letting the movements be drastically different helped to create contrast. This was essential after choosing to pause the video in the places where text entered the project. In this way, the type wouldn't distract from the video, and the text could be easily taken in and legible. The relationship in the narrative in terms of timing was a difficult process as well. I didn't want it to feel to start and stop, so in several cases, I learned to combine several type segments together, eliminating a few stops and letting the video continue for a while. That jumpiness also got in the way of some of the cut transitions in the audio editing.

The text acts as the instruction in the video, and the video sort of confirms the text or the action the text was trying to convey. I thought this relationship was more interesting than having them run simultaneously and stopping the video also creates a reference to photography.

Throughout the project, I was greatly limited by the recourses. It occurred to me too late into the project that I should have started finding a lomo to use at least a week earlier. I could have shot and had more time for editing had I done that. I was also bonded to the Media centers schedule in using the hd sony handicam. Having more time in the check out would be nice.

In the integration process, I've learned basic green screen idiology, though I did it with black and white. It was an interesting experiment in using the switches/ modes in after effects to knock out flat planes of color. I am frustrated that I couldn't figure out how to make my type white rather than black after applying those effects. I hope to figure out what went wrong in future projects. Perhaps it was just an error on after effects part.

Throughout the narrative, the contrast between video and text times was a key part in the informative process. Keeping the 2 channels separate but still integrated was a great learning experience in creating multilevel narrative.

Visual Language: SoyJoy Process Post

So the final critique for the modes of appeal project starts tomorrow. This post will show some of my process throughout the project and explain some of my concepts and reasonings.

To start out the project, we learned about the 3 modes of appeal, and how to use those effectively to persuade an audience. The project was to redesign a products packaging using the 2 modes of appeal that it isn't currently using, and to make it look better of course.

For my packages, I chose Mrs. Meyers basil liquid hand soap, SoyJoy fruit and nutrient bars, and Nescafe instant coffee. The 3 backages were different materials and had considerably different forms. Mrs. Meyers was using Ethos, SoyJoy was using Logos, and Nescafe was using Pathos.

After passing our package choices by Jamie, we started doing thumbnail sketches for each product, attempting to create concepts for the 2 modes of appeal that each product was not utilizing.

My best sketches seemed to be SoyJoy's. I think I might have been biased toward SoyJoy from the beginning, but the relation between fruit and the human body was an interesting concept. After deciding on which package we wanted (SoyJoy), then we began a round of digital iterations. I also couldn't find an online eps of SoyJoy's logo, so I had to vectorize it myself.

The Berry direction worked best for Pathos. The bright colorful and fresh fruit helps to pull at the consumers hunger and healthy habits, while the words represent the benefit of each berry eaten. For Ethos, I liked the direction using a SoyJoy bar in place of a fitness aid. This created an interesting dialogue between the importance of SoyJoy's nutrients, and the activities of reliable and consistent athletes. They create a sense of trust in the consumer that SoyJoy is a necessity to their diet/ work out routine.

The Berry direction however was too crowded, and very illegible. The full bleed imagery also didn't work well with SoyJoy's persona. The bike direction also didn't hit it off to well with my peers, and while working, the idea of being 100% U.S. grown popped into my head.

With our concepts firmly in hand, we began to fully design them, and mock them up in real size. The photographic images in both directions switched into vector artwork, using flat plains of color and representing the simplicity of ingredients that SoyJoy uses in their ad campaigns. I created my first box, designing around the sides for my Ethos direction, and I created many iterations for the placement of text and image for my Pathos direction.

The colors needed to be worked out for the Ethos direction. The soil was too dark, and the sky wasn't quite blue enough.

The side was also begging for a mission statement. I digitalized the nutrients table so that it would be clear, and because I thought it was a necessary experience. Overall, the design for the box went well, and I moved on to the final box. As for the Pathos direction, I chose a pale yellow, with luscious reds and magentas for the berries. Things popped, and I moved on to designing the final box for it as well, using the same template as the Ethos box. The berries were arranged in a sort of balancing act, reflecting the life of the consumer.