A film inspired by Gordon Smedt’s painting “Converse High Tops”.  Created by Madeline Giaquinto, Farah Mohamed, and Eliza Bertrand.

This is the video I made with Madeline and Farah.

The 2003 movie Down With Love is a hokey romantic farce set in a very stylized 1960′s New York.  The movie revolves around two couples who fight but fall in love due to the series of slapstick situations they get caught up in.  The opening credits set up this light-hearted, comedic mood as well as expressing the many silly twists and turns in the plot and the 1960′s setting of the film.

The credits begin to set this tone from the very beginning, by using overly-bright colors that are reminiscent of a 1960′s technicolor film style.  The font that is used is block-like, but still a bit twisty.  This expresses a fun mood, and also seems to mimic a classic 60′s style.  The credits begin by pairing the first typography on the screen with several vertical and horizontal lines that move slightly while the words appear, reminiscent of earlier styles for credits (such as Saul Bass’ work), but begin getting jumpier and bouncier as the sequence continues.  As the lines move, the lettering of the names move with them, expanding and contracting in a bouncy manner.

When Ewan McGregor’s name appears, it bumps the line on the screen, forcing it into Renee Zellweger’s name, and causing the lettering to jumble.  The letters of Zellweger’s name then bump the line right back, attacking McGregor’s name in a similar way.  This represents the battling/arguing nature of their characters in the film, the two constantly arguing love interests.

After this an arrow theme is introduced which continues through the title sequence.  The arrows illustrate both the word DOWN in Down With Love and the arrow in the symbol for male (soon seen entwined with the symbol for female).  The arrows, along with the other paper-cut-out-style images (the New York sky line, the sun, a type writer) help to integrate the following typography into the pictures in a style that both flows easily and maintains the upbeat, playful nature of the sequence.  The letters for Sarah Paulson’s name appears to come from the type writer as if they flew off of the page.  The next several names bounce on a horizontal line, which becomes a rope in a tug of war between men and a woman.  The playful “battle of the sexes” imagery continues to express the theme of the movie, and then flawlessly transitions back to the arrow theme, as the various lines on screen twist to reveal arrows that become entangled with each other.

The typography continues to bend and bounce around the imagery in the sequence, expressing the fast-paced, playful tone of the movie.  Bright colors and line are used to move the eye from one image and word to another.  The straight lines of the beginning become curvy lines, and eventually mold to a more circular theme as the imagery gets larger and more complex towards the end of the credits.  The transition from fairly orderly to chaotic and twirly prepares the audience for the movie to follow, and very effectively sets the scene for 1960′s romantic mayhem.

This poster was used as a promotion for the 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog.  I think it is a very effective ad for several reasons, most of which contribute to the tone of the poster.  The overarching theme of the poster is a sense of excitement and magic.  This is accomplished through the choices in colors, circular layout, and the amount of smaller images incorporated into the larger, central image.

The vibrant colors in this poster are the first thing to draw attention.  The movie takes place in New Orleans, largely on Mardi Gras, and there is a definite theme of celebration and festivities in the movie which the poster imitates very well.  The bright and colorful confetti that hovers on the edges of the image help to express that sense of fun and celebration, as well as cleanly filling in the gaps between the smaller pictures. These smaller images are comprised of a plethora of color, which mimics the colors of the confetti.

The choice of blue for the background is very visually pleasing, since it echoes the blue tones of the princess’s dress.  The darker tone of blue acts as a weighty, stabilizing force in the poster, especially when compared to the lighter colors of the central images.  It also adds a sense of magic and mystery - definitely something that will lure the viewer in and make them want to know more.

The several smaller images at once each stand out on their own and blend in together, giving the viewer a sense of motion, music, and excitement, and they appear to dance around the central image of the Princess.  The circular layout helps to keep the eye constantly moving from image to image, so that the viewer can feel the energy and life of the movie without evening watching it.  The largeness of the central picture in comparison with the others acts as a stabilizing force within these swirling, lively images, and draws the attention the most important aspects of the movie – the princess, and the frog.

There were a few works that especially drew my attention.  The first was a set of two prints of the same image – Portrait of a Woman and Child by Jean-Baptiste Frenet.  The first photograph was a salted paper print from a collodion negative.  The second was a waxed salted paper print from a collodion negative.  The difference between these two methods of treating the photograph was very evident.  The waxed image was made of richer, brown tones while the first was entirely shades of gray.  There was also a visible difference in the sharpness of the images that was very interesting in the context of the exhibit – it had several examples of different methods that were developed and the different purposes photographers could use them for.

There were several examples like this where a single image was reproduced using different methods and photographic technology developed and photographers experimented with techniques.  There was an interesting work by Alfred Stieglitz called Georgia O’Keeffe – Hands.  The photograph was first printed in 1919 as a palladium print.  It was printed a few years later as a gelatin silver print.  The information about the two prints talked about how Stieglitz had been one of the first to see photography as an art form rather than just a means of producing an real image of life.  The photograph of O’Keefe’s hands was especially interesting considering this, because Stieglitz had clearly returned to it years after he first took it and played with the method of printing in order to manipulate the image for an artistic purpose.

Although I really liked the exhibit and how well it showed the changes in photography over time, I was disappointed that there was not more about more recent photographic developments.  The last room of the exhibit briefly touched on the manipulations of photographic images that were beginning to be used in the 1960′s, 70′s, and 80′s, but it was not as thorough as the previous parts had been.  And although the exhibit was about film photography and not digital photography, it felt strange that nothing about recent photography was mentioned.  I think the exhibit would have felt more cohesive and relevant if it had shown how the history of photography has effected contemporary photographers.

Migrant Mother, 1936

Dorothea Lange was a photojournalist in the first half of the 20th century, who is particularly known for her photographs documenting the Great Depression.  She worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which was established to combat rural poverty in the 1930′s.  As part of the FSA, a photography program was established to document and report on the realities of rural life during the Depression.  Lange’s powerful and beautifully haunting photographs focused on the hardships and exploitation of sharecroppers and migrant workers.

Lange’s most famous work, Migrant Mother, is one of my favorite photographs.  It’s intense focus on the eyes of the weary, dust-covered woman really conveys the emotion of her situation, creating a compelling image that tells a more emotional story than a simple written description would be able to.

Hands, Maynard and Dan Dixon, ca 1930

One of her lesser known, but equally beautiful works is Hands, Maynard and Dan Dixon, a photograph of her husband and their son.   I like the picture because it demonstrates Lange’s ability to capture human emotion, even without facial expressions.  I also really like the use of texture in this picture, with the contrast between the old man’s rough skin and the boys smooth, youthful hands.  The textures of the denim and corduroy pants also adds to the dynamism of the image.  The picture truly shows Lange’s skill at capturing human connection and personality in a photograph, emphasizing her interest in the human condition.

Crossroads Store, 1939

Lange’s work, while focusing on the human condition, and particularly rural poverty, was still varied and extensive in its subject and composition.  In Crossroads Store, she photographs the same sort of poverty and weariness that is seen in Migrant Mother, but the two works look entirely different.  While the powerful emotion in Migrant Mother comes from the extreme close-up Lange chose, the distance between the subjects and the photographer, and the wide-panning view, are what make Crossroads Store resonate with both life and a unexpected stillness.

Dorothea Lange’s style is about true life and what are often harsh realities.  While some of her earlier work (such as Hands) are more posed and artistic, her later photographs attempt to capture fleeting moments of reality.  Images such as Migrant Mother and Crossroads Store are not meant to appear posed to deliberate.  Her images show actual scenes of life, expressing truthful accounts of rural life in the Great Depression for those who cannot see it first hand.  As one of the defining figures in photojournalism, Lange is one of my personal heroes, and one can clearly see why her work has remained so well known for over 70 years.

DESIRE

(photo credit, left to right: Farah Mohamed, Sarah Kreshtool, Nikki Hornstein, Jenny Haining, Eliza Bertrand)

For this assignment everyone in the group had to take one picture that they felt represented the word desire.  As one can see in the above pictures, each member had a different interpretation of how to illustrate the word.

In Farah’s image, a girl looks  longingly out a window.  The lines of the window and the slight reflection from outside give the impression that the window is closing in on her and trapping her.  The picture seems to express her desire to be free.

Sarah’s image is of sailing gear, put away in a closet.  The image of the sailing suit confined within the straight lines of the closet with the door closing on it represent her desire to enjoy this summer activity, which she can’t do during the winter.

Nikki’s image takes an interesting spin on the word, as her photograph shows desire in the form of an animal’s desires.  The dog looks out at the snow-covered yard, clearly wanting to play outside. Not seeing the dog’s face because of the turn of his head really emphasizes how much he wants to be elsewhere.

Jenny’s photograph is also of a girl looking out a window, however it has a much different feel than the first image.  Because the viewer sees the girl from the side instead of through the window, the feeling of being trapped is slightly less.  With her arms outstretched and her eyes so focused, it appears almost as if she desires a single thing that is just beyond her reach.

The final picture is my interpretation of the word desire.  When the group first began thinking about how to illustrate desire, we thought about the synonyms for desire – words like want and crave.  In thinking about the word crave, I began to think about the foods and tastes we crave–things we desire intensely, if superficially.  I immediately thought of Starbucks.  I chose the Passion Tea as the drink to photograph because of its rich red coloring, which catches the viewer’s attention and helps to convey the connection to the word desire, as red is often associated with desire and wanting things.  The word passion is also closely associated with desire, because people can desire things passionately.

The hand holding tight to the drink in my photo is supposed to represent the person who desires it, and the impulse to have it at all times, never letting it go or truly putting it down.  It is also a strong visual element that adds weight to the bottom of the image, grounding the drink which otherwise appears to have a light, weightless quality.  I placed the cup slightly to the left of the photograph to make it more visually interesting than if it were a plain, centrally focused image of a cup.  The last main element of my  image is the light coming through the cup.  When experimenting with different angles and viewpoints, I really liked the look of the drink with light shining through it.  It seemed much more visually interesting, and gave the drink the impression that it was glowing, which seemed to make it look more desirable and desired.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/WackyStories/Food-that-fools-you

This picture is very visual pleasing because of its bold shapes and bright colors.  The use of shape is very important to this photograph, as the two overlapping rectangles of cloth provide a simple but dynamic background for the objects placed on them. The blue fabric placemat is placed horizontally, echoing the shape of the photo itself.  The smaller yellow piece is then turned 90 degrees to counter balance the parallels created by the first placemat.  The smaller yellow fabric also draws the eye to the center of the photo, along with the items that are placed on it. The flat plain of the rectangular placemats is then cut up by the various shapes (circles and rectangles with rounded edges) of the plates and cups placed on top of the fabric.  The juxtaposition of these rounded, three-dimensional shapes with the flat, angular ones further adds to the bold, dynamic look of the image.

Pattern and repetition are also carefully and artfully used in the image above.  The boldest and most evident pattern is of course the yellow and white striped placemat.  This provides for a much more visually interesting look than if the photographer had chosen as second plain-colored fabric.  The vertical lines of the mat help to further cut through the plain parallels the blue fabric makes with the photo’s borders and help the eye to move around the image, and not focus on one spot.  Although the stripes are the most obvious form of pattern, it is not the only one.  The grill lines on the vegetables in the foreground echo the lines of the placemat.  The careful arrangement of the vegetables emphasizes the circularity of the plate they are on, and their overlapped, oblong shapes are repeated in the overlapped, oblong slices of bread on the plate above them.

Finally, the bright color choices make the items in the photograph stand out in a way that catches the eye and brings together the objects to form a more cohesive composition.  The rich red-brown of the turkey is repeated in the wooden breadboard and the brown of the potato, forming a central triangle within a picture composed almost entirely of circles and rectangles.  The red and green of the vegetables are repeated in the red strawberries and green garnish in the top right ice cream bowl, and then in the red drink and green garnish at the top left, forming an opposing triangle.  All of this is placed on a bright yellow, blue, and green background, which contrast the darker hues of the food and give the entire image an overall feeling of brightness and light.

I like this picture a lot.  It’s bright and fun, making the viewer want to climb inside and enjoy the feast.  It was created to go along with an article about food aimed at children, so it’s playful patterns and colors help it to target a young, energetic audience and set a fun tone for an otherwise serious and informative article.