Ciao amore mio

Well, the time has arrived. The end of Digital Media class has come before me, and I am sad to let it go. I have learnt so much more than I ever could have imagined, and have learnt programs I never thought I would know how to use. I remember the days not too long ago when I wish I knew how to work Photoshop and AfterEffects, and now I do! Surprisingly, they are not as hard as they seem to be. A little confusing, yes, but only at first. You get the hang of it very quickly.

I always looked forward to the lectures and labs, for they were both very fun, and organized. I knew what I would expect going into each lab, and that made me comfortable with the class. Ginger is so helpful, kind and knowledgeable with anything digital media so it was great to have her as my professor. If I had any questions I knew she could answer them. If I were to change anything, it would be the 9 am lecture gets moved to sometime after 12pm!

This course has helped me understand what exactly "digital media" is, what it means, and has opened me up to a whole new world in terms of what I can achieve with a career in digital media. I am so happy to finally know how to work Photoshop, and how to work AfterEffects, for these programs are very beneficial in the digital media world. I definitely prefer working with Photoshop - only because you can be A LOT more creative in terms of designing and recreating. As well - the layout of the program is much more organized.

The most important thing I have learnt overall from this course is to be creative! To go outside of the box. To create from scratch - drawing, contouring or painting - your own design/image and scan it in the computer.

Thank you Ginger for an amazing first term! You rock!

Artist Statement: Down With Love

Down with Love. One of my all-time favourite films. I love it for it's setting, plot, music and of course, its digital media aspect. That is the sole reason I chose Down with Love for this assignment - I knew I could create a very funky, shape-oriented teaser. I decided to split the teaser into three frames: orange, turquoise and pink. These colours, and their exact hues, were chosen specifically to reflect the "mod" colours of the 1960s. I wanted three different frames because I was going for a quick and adjacent feeling. If the three frames transitioned fast enough, and the shapes inside did as well, this would reflect the fast paced world of Manhattan (where the movie takes place.)

I used arrows before each of the text, (Down, With and Love) to focus the viewer's attention to the words more so than the shapes.

I used quirky shapes and affects that are used in Hollywood to create the "60's Look." Arrows, circles, spirals, and lines are used in films such as Down with Love, Catch me if You Can, and Across the Universe, just to name a few. Take a look for yourself on my teaser and tell me what you think!

After Effects: My Rating

After Effects is an interesting program...to say the least. You can do virtually anything on it, (in terms of digital media that is) which is what I love. From what I've heard through the grapevine, it is also much, much easier to work with than Flash. So that's a plus.

I've been using After Effects now for about 3 weeks, and I have come up with a list of positive attributes that the program holds:

1. The layout is clean and easy to look at.
2. The "help/search" option is wonderful.
3. You can nicely "go back in time". So if you make a mistake, or erase something you did not mean to, you can retrieve it.
4. There is an enormous variety in terms of shapes to choose from.
5. Great "tools" option in order to create what you want to.
6. EASY TO USE.

Number 6 is the key highlight in this review. Nothing about the program is complicated. I guarantee you, you will NOT be sitting in front of this program for more than 10 minutes trying to figure out how it works. Long story short: You can easily master the basics of this program in 10 minutes. The basics being: how to write text, create shapes, make motion, where tools and effects are located, how to export projects and so on. The foundation as to how any program operates is key before you start advancing in it, and that is why I really love the fact that I can master the foundation is just 10 minutes, and continue from there.

As you've read in my previous post, I am creating a project on After Effects, and next week it will be up and you will be able to view it! Myself and you included will be astounded with the level of professionalism that was created with this program...by an amateur!

Stayed tuned for the final product!

After Effects: First Project!

The first project I have to construct in After Effects is an exciting one! Some may call it "insignificant", but this is the assignment I have been waiting for! The task is to create a trailer or "opening sequence" for our favourite movie or novel. And you see, anyone who knows me, knows that I have always wanted to dabble into the movie trailer making business, and this assignment allows me to have a nice taste of what it is like! The first idea that popped into my head was the film "Down with Love". A romantic comedy taking place in 1960s Manhattan, it stars heartthrob Ewan McGregor and screen comedy favourite Renee Zellweger as rivals! The film is quirky, fun, vibrant and very in tune with shapes and colours! That is why I feel it will be a perfect movie to create off of! The trailer is a total of 5 seconds in length, and my idea is to incorporate many bright colours and shapes like hearts, arrows, flowers, and spirals into the clip. I want to go for the "futuristic" feel that was very popular in the 1960s. A feel of 1960s vogue mixed with the Jetsons...so to speak. I want a lot of fast paced action in terms of the movement of the text and shapes to play off of the "Manhattan" vibe. Stay tuned for the final product, folks! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

What's my Type?

When it comes to designing, choosing the proper font is crucial. Below are three of my favourite typography designs, for their use of font enhances the look and feel of the product and/or service.

Design 1:

The New York Times is a prestigious newspaper that has been printing for over 140 years! It has won over 106 Pulitzer Prizes and is the leading newspaper today in America for news. The typography for this paper is exceptional because it portrays a certain feel that screams "The New York Times." That is, it has a brand. The font is very traditional, and so is the newspaper, so that is one way in which the typography is great. Tradition can mean that there is a strong trust between the product and the consumer. When people pick up the New York Times, they know that they can trust the news their reading, and they can be rest assured that the quality of news is exceptional. This old-fashioned typography perfectly depicts the image of prestige, trust and professionalism - qualities readers look for in a newspaper.

Design 2:

This magazine advertisement, for designer Vera Wangs perfume, "Princess", has a sweet and girly typography that fits perfectly with the image that this perfume is trying to sell. It also has a handwritten feel, as if a girl was writing out her signature, giving the typography a very feminine look. The fact that all the letters are lower case and not upper case is also a nice touch, for it doesn't give off a harsh look - instead an innocent one.

Design 3:

Mac cosmetics is the modern make-up company. They're makeup is bold, mod, and classic, and the typography used for their logo shows this very well. The use of a large and wide font shows that they're makeup is bold (bright reds, electric blues), the dots in between each letter give off a modern feel, and the fact that the colouring is black and white gives off the classic look.

Motion Graphics

Everyone behold the epitome of motion graphics. Well, okay, so maybe it's not the THE motion graphic...but it's one of the best motion graphic opening sequences ever. It left an impact on me the the first time I saw it back in 2006, and today, you will see why.

The movie: James Bond: Casino Royale

This opening sequence is riveting for it's use of colour and line. The constant motion and connectivity of the images creates a wonderful flow that keeps the viewer captivated. The incorporation's of the classic James Bond images, like a bulls-eye, are noticeable, yet subtle in the fact that they blend so well with the "chaos" of the rest of the graphics. The use of silhouette for Bond and his enemy are a classic touch, and giving them a specific colour (black for Bond and red for the enemy) creates the perfect atmosphere and tone of good vs. evil.

Another great aspect of this opening sequence is the typography. It is a very plain font, not to distract or interfere with the exuberant graphics. The designers of this sequence really played off the story of the film into the beginning, and this is what stood out to me the most. This is also what I really loved about the whole thing. If someone in the sequence is "shot" or if an image is somehow dispersed, it breaks off and becomes red spades - one of the suits in a card game. Now, spades as we all know are black, but, the spades are representing blood. Clever, huh? I think so!

It's all about the minor details in this sequence like the one I just mentioned that make it so very special and unique. Definitely my favourite motion graphic!

Poster

For this assignment, I decided to create a Hollywood –esque movie poster. I did this because I have always had a fascination with movie posters and typography, and I knew I could create something very original and fun using the typography on PhotoShop. My favourite thing about this movie poster is how much it reminds me of a film-noir. I played off of the “film-noir” look by keeping a very basic colour scheme: red, black and white. I chose a pinkish-red instead of a harsh red because I didn’t want the feeling of fear coming across to the audience. Speaking of audience, the target audience for this movie poster are female’s ages 30-55 who are film buffs and enjoy a good drama. The title of the film is written in Italian, and this had a great influence on what type of font I was to use. I wanted something classy and traditional, yet also modern, and I felt that this font expressed this feeling. Because I was going for a film-noir look, I did the traditional “actor names across the top of the poster”, for this style was very popular in the 1940’s to 1960’s. I wanted this movie poster to look as professional and acclaimed as it could, so I added reviews on the poster. Finally, to fill the negative space, I created a diagonal effect by making the text size from smallest to largest, across the right side of the poster. I did this to balance out the left side of the poster where the movie title is placed. Overall, I believe this poster does have a classy and professional, film-noir look to it that I intended.

Colour Me Crazy!!!

What’s your favourite colour? Whatever it may be, it has a lot to say about who are - for example - what your likes and interests are. While the colours you like can reflect your interests, they can also reflect and change your mood. In media, colour is very important because it can create the specific message or tone needed in order to appeal to a specific target audience. For example, one of the most common colour schemes used for a particular target audience is Red, Blue and Yellow, a.k.a. the Primary Colours. This colour scheme is used commonly to target children 7 years old and under, as primary colours are a reflection of youthfulness in Western society.

Many companies that have been in business for a significant amount of years rebrand their image every decade or so in order to appeal to a new audience – whether it be older, younger, or the same demographic.

An example of this “colour rebranding” has been done with the fast food chain McDonalds. In the early 1990’s, McDonalds used primary colours (Red, Blue and Yellow) in their advertisements to attract young kids ages 5-12. Now, in 2011, McDonalds has rebranded themselves to appeal to an older audience (ages 13-25). How did McDonalds do this? They simply changed their colour scheme. Instead of using happy, youthful colours like yellow, blue and red in their advertisements, McDonalds’ new main colours are black and white. Black and white are more sophisticated colours, giving their restaurant a classier look, ergo, appealing to an older audience.

Beyond primary colours, there is what is called complimentary, analogous and monochromatic colours. These “types of colours” balance with one another to create a uniform look, while still appealing to a target audience. Have you ever watched the Academy Awards and noticed that the majority of the red-haired women on the carpet wear green dresses? It looks nice doesn’t it? Why is this? Cause green and red are complementary colours! So are purple and yellow, and orange and blue!

It is very important to choose your colours wisely when decorating a bedroom, website, or branding a company, in order to make it appealing not only to the eye, but also to the target audience!

CRAP!

Say what?! Sorry, let me make myself a little more clear:

Contrast

Repetition

Alignment

Proximity

Make sense now?...No?...Really?....Oh....

Well then, CRAP is an acronym for the Principles of Design. These key elements listed are crucial when creating a poster, website, advertisement, CD cover, etc. Any piece of printed advertisement you see consists of at least one of these principles. To prove this point, I randomly selected four images that I found on the internet that pertain to each of the principles of design.

Principle of Design Numero Uno: CONTRAST

Example: DRIVE Movie Poster

This example holds a revolutionary use of contrast. This movie poster shows the contrast of image - that is, the contrast between the photograph of Ryan Gosling, and the typeface of the title. If we were to separate the photograph from the typeface and analysed the two images as individual graphics, we would get a very different interpretation of what the film could be about.

First let's analyse the image of Ryan Gosling:

Ryan's white V-neck shirt is covered in what appears to be grease, sweat and dirt, his face is very tense, and there is a bridge in the background. These "images" give off an industrial, masculine feel. Possible genres of the film could be action, drama or thriller.

Now let's analyse the typeface:

It's pink, and it's cursive. What type of "image" does this give the viewer? Usually, cursive typeface, especially when it's pink, is used for, and resembles: a wedding invitation, a cake shop, a flower shop, a clothing store, etc. Possible genres of this film could therefore be romance, comedy, or family.

The contrast between these two images adds a unique style to what the poster is trying to tell us. Now you decide: Do you like this contrast or not?

Principle of Design Numero Due: REPETITION

Example: BREAST CANCER brochure

This brochure for Breast Cancer has a nice use of repetition, giving the pamphlet a clean and professional look. The brochure achieves this look by the repetition of colours and images.

The brochure's front cover has the organizations breast cancer logo at the bottom-centre of the page, and it is the first thing you see. It is also the last thing you see when you close the brochure, for that same logo is in the same spot, but on the back of the brochure. The typeface is all the same colour giving the brochure a clean look, and the whimsical design at the top and bottom of the brochure is the same for each page, allowing for a design that is not too overdone, but instead, polished.

Principle of Design Numero Tre: ALIGNMENT

Example: MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA novel cover

The cover to the novel Memoirs of the Geisha by Arthur Golden has a specific alignment (left) that is appealing to the eye and creates a visual connection. The placement of the letters correlates to the image of the Geisha's sweeping hair, allowing for a nice, dark background for the light letters to rest against. This works well because it does not create a cluttered look, but instead, a polished an even one. It is easy for the eye to read and that makes a book cover very appealing - because if the cover is confusing and disorientated, what can you expect from the actual novel?

Principle of Design Numero Quattro: PROXIMITY

Example: WEDDING INVITATION

This wedding invitation is an exemplary example to show proximity. Proximity first of all, is grouping of like terms of events to create a neat and clean look to an advertisement, invitation, etc. As we can see on the invitation, the "special couple" is separated from the invitee, which is separated from the location, which is separated from the date, and finally the RSVP. I enjoy this wedding invitation because it looks formal, professional and royal! What do you think? Yay? or Nay?

Size 11 Footprint

You're digital footprint is what you leave behind on the internet. Traces of yourself: Images, comments, videos, etc. Some people have a small digital footprint, while others, like myself, have a fairly large digital footprint. My footprint, however is deliberate. Everything you find on the internet about me is okay with me because I intend it to be there. If one were to type in "Nicole Correale" on google search, they will see:

• a link to my Twitter account
• a link to my Stage Agent account
• a link to my YouTube channel
• a link to my Form Spring
• a link to this blog
• a link to my CNN interviews
• etc...

What you will not find of me are:

• Drunk photos
• Rude comments
• Embarassing videos
• etc...

Now why would such things not appear?

A. I don't drink.

B. I'm not a rude person.

and

C.I'm not that much of an idiot to post such things online if I ever did said things.

I am happy with my digital footprint and wouldn't change anything. I feel I have just enough information online that lets people get a taste of who I am and what I do. I definitely believe in free speech, and when I want to speak my mind I do! But that doesn't mean I go crazy wild and write like a trucker. I state my view clearly and concisely without using profanity because I feel this is more effective in the first place when trying to get your opinion across, and two, it doesn't look to good when a future boss googles me and finds that I wrote, "You little f*****, shut the f*** up and realize...." What kind of professional speaks like that? I would never get hired. People may think I'm just being paranoid about it all, but I don't.

This leads me to the question: should people share anything on the internet?

Simple, simple answer: If it will benefit you - yes!

If you are an actress and you want to join twitter and tweet out the new production you're in so hopefully a casting director will see your tweet and subsequently come to the show, or if you're an up-and-coming band and you tweet a link to your YouTube channel, then yes! Put that information on the internet because it can open wonderful doors for your future! But what's the benefit of putting drunk photos of yourself online? Simply ask yourself before you post anything: Will this benefit me? If it will, go ahead, press POST! Otherwise, spare yourself the trauma you will have to endure when you realize it was a big mistake.

Viva Las Vegas!

Clueless Cher

First class of Digital Media at Ryerson University and I am in love. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this course. What does "Digital Media" even mean? Yeah, I thought about what the term could mean before I stepped into class, but I was clueless. Wasn't all media digital?

Well I'm officially an idiot, thanks to what I learnt the first day of BDC192. For those who were a little clueless like moi, digital media is:

• E-Books
• Social Networking
• Cell Phones
• Video Games
• etc...

Digital media is a not only beneficial, but necessary in today's fast-paced world. Digital media is a great tool for marketing and networking, and this is the sole reason as to why any RTA student should study a course like such.

As to whether Marshall McLuhan was correct when he said "The medium is the message", I believe the answer is yes.

For example, we can still read paperback novels, but what does it say about society today, what message are we receiving from society when we realise that E-Books are rising in popularity and selling out paperbacks? Think about it. Kinda strange, dont'chya think?

See you next week, y'all!