Directed Study - Colour&Photographic

When finding images to modify, adapt or build upon, for example, creating text from images; it is important to source them from reliable places and to make sure you aren't breaking any rules that the owner of the image has put in place. To locate an image, firstly, I went onto creative commons which gives me a few options of where I might want to retrieve this image from. I am able to tick boxes that allow me to A) Use for commercial use and B) Modify, adapt or change, this allows me to use the image in whatever way I want without going against any rules and regulations. 

I click the websites that specify 'Image' and begin my search, as an example, I searched 'Beach', the obvious choice would be google images but I decided to use Pixabay, I found an image straight away and made sure it was the right size and double checked the enhanced License TIFF, which told me I was allowed to use this image for commercial purposes and I was able to change it to how I wanted. I then downloaded the image and was able to use on indesign to recreate the image to however I wanted. 

Sourcing the following images were just as quick and easy. 

So far I have looked at how typography and shape are used for advertisement and logos, I am now going to look specifically at how colour and photographs are used to create meaning and add depth to a message. I have decided to look at chocolate and how different brands have used specific colours and why. Looking at the brand 'Milka' purple has been used, purple has connotations of royalty, success, wealth, 'Milka' could be suggesting they are the most luxurious chocolate bar from every other brand. Purple also has connotations of divine, pure, transcendence; this could be to represent how chocolate is seen; as being a guilty pleasure, chocolate causes the brain to release endorphins which increase feelings of pleasure. Using purple, has connotations of how chocolate makes you feel, it attracts people to buy this product because of how the colour purple makes them feel. Purple is a very warm, appealing colour, this type of purple isn't too much, its quite neutral. 

Toffee crisp have chosen to use orange, which has connotations of excitement and enthusiasm, I think this ties in with the brand because of how playful and cartoon-like the typography and the brand itself is. Orange represents a friendly, cheerful and confident brand, this makes sense as toffee crisp is mainly aimed at children and teenagers. Orange also has slight connotations of royalty, toffee crisp could be suggesting through the use of orange they are also a wealthy, successful brand. I think the connotations of orange really fit in with toffee crisp as a brand because of who it targets and how fun and creative the product is. 

As well as colour, photographs are also used to add depth to a message. For example, this poster adds more depth because the images used gives the title a visual, which emphasises what it is advertising and captures audiences attention through the images. The images are essentially the title in a picture, without having to use text to describe what the poster is looking for, the images are children which shows audiences who it is aimed at simply just through the title. The title itself is quite self explanatory, but when I first saw this, I first saw the image before the title and soon after the two came together and I got the message the poster was trying to create. Overall it is successful and enhances the poster, attracting audiences and getting out a message in just two words.

Here is another example of how images are used to enhance meaning. I think this example is very effective the images are different types of 'Energy', the images flow together nicely and is overall very powerful. The images create a message and shows audiences how energy is used and how it is used by us. This image shows the world from a different perspective, they're images we don't tend to see on a daily basis or really think about but this image makes you think about the energy we use, how the world is affected by it and how we don't think about the world in this way, we go about our day without thinking about the energy we use that we don't necessarily need to use. 

MED4104 - Directed Study Week 3

For this weeks task we had to create a presentation as a group about the Language of TV/Film, in our group we decided to look at Sherlock Holmes (Film). 

First we looked at the background history, for those who have never heard of Sherlock Holmes as a film franchise, here is a little bit of background information. It was disrupted by Wanner Brothers Studio in late 2009.The film is set in the late 19th century in London.The main protagonists in the film are Robert Downey Junior playing as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr Watson. The main antagonists are Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood and  Rachel McAdams as Iren Adler.  The film plot is about murders committed by lord blackwood, once captured by Holmes and Watson, Blackwood is executed. Days past but can lord Blackwood rise back from the grave? Holmes and Watson investigate into Backwoods return, with some help from Iren along the way. We chose to look at semiological analysis because it offers a few ways to understand the language behind the film. Semiological analysis is a theory by Theorist Ferdinand de Saussure, it literally means the study of signs, imagery in this case. It is broken down into two parts, 'Signifier’ – sound/object (physical properties) and ‘Signified’ – concept/mental construct that the signifier invoke. This is perfect for a breakdown analysis of a film such as Sherlock Holmes because it can offer more details into the language behind the film. We will be using theory from Ellis, John and Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey to get a better understanding of the media texts. 



We used the trailer for our clip, looking into the language used in the clip briefly, there was a lot of editing elements, quick cutting, slow motion. The editing was done in a sense to create ties with the audition, it creates emotion and fear. The choice of music was rather dramatic and well placed, which can create a certain edge of urgency and can effect the pace of the media text as well. Use of costume to give a character a better sense of who they are, even before they open their mouth, for example, Lord Blackwood wearing Black, which give the audition an understanding that he is villain in this film, which is suggested by Nowell Smith “Even before the character opens their mouth, the spectator can gather what sort of character they are likely to be playing"(Nowell-smith, 2000). Special effects are used to keep it explosive and exciting for an audience. There are other language elements used in this clip, such as sound and lighting. Later on, the media language we discovered were; editing, music, costume, special effect, sound and lighting, which will be looked at in more depth. But first, here is a look of three different scene that we picked up on.

Big Ben

Looking at this image from a semiological point of view, the director is trying to communicate a number of ideologies to its audience, through imagery. Big Ben has many signifiers, it is tall, well decorated, loud when it strikes the hour, it is a tower above all others, it is part of the one of the most powerful buildings in the world, parliament and the sky being dull and grey. In further detail the signified of Big Ben being tall is reflection on the film being set in powerful era of the late 19th century. Big Ben being well decorated could suggest that iconic places such as Big Ben reflects British culture being rich. However, the clashing of the dull grey clouds could suggest that London has a rough side to it, that London culture and the character in the film are not living to the standards of Big Ben. The clock of Big Ben open up as a timer of the plot of the evolving over time. However, Big Ben being part of the parliament could suggest that Big Ben lives in in its shadow, which could reflect sherlock Holmes living in the shadow of Lord Blackwood. One of the great things about film, suggested by Nowell Smith, that film can make an audience question what is happening in the scenes to further make sense of what the film producer is trying to narrate (Nowell-Smith, 2000).

London Bridge

London bridge signifies that it is a technological advancement, it is iconic, it has a rather dull construction with the color grey, rather tall, it is surrounded by water. Looking into the scene in more depth, London bridge is like the films crown jewels, it is an advanced piece of technology for the time period the film set in, the construction being tall has been purposely done to make the audience's attention focus on the London bridge, for how iconic is it today in British society. Breaking down the colour of London bridge being grey could suggest that London society is dirty and unclear for this time period, which can be also backed up by the dirty water that surrounds the bridge. London bridge being constructed could also suggest that it is a metaphor of the joining of two sides, the audience and the film maker, in creating a relationship that works.

Saussure's theory of semiological was not originally intended for film, Saussure's theory was based around the understanding of language in other cultures. Why do words mean this, for example when we associate an object such as a pen, why do we associate the word pen with it? Saussure's theory was to question language for its meaning, breaking it down, Saussure's theory was then put into practice for film by theorist Christan Metz. Christan Metz wanted to prove something, but what did he want to prove?. 

River Thames

The River Thames from a primary level looks ordinary, unclean water, surrounded by boats and it is a network for transport. From a secondary point of view, it has been purposefully made to look ordinary to fit the time period that the film is set in and the plot of the story, also to fit the society and culture of the industrial revolution. The scene being unclean could make the audience more interested in what's going on. The boats going up the river could be another form of transporting the audience through the films story. Expanding on the boats on the river, the different coloured flags could show deeper meaning of how aesthetics   play a part in film industry.

Looking back on the history of the language of cinema, there were a lot of debates around whether cinema was a language, Nowell smith clearly states “Cinema is a language” (Nowell-Smith, 2000:11) and explores this idea and looks at different theorists such as Metz who claimed that “Cinema had to be seen as a composite artistic language”(Nowell-Smith: 2000). However Saussure’s inspiration was that languages exist as networks deployed as it were horizontally, so that concrete instances of meaning need to be analysed. He believed language was a system, where everything holds together. Eventually Metz recomposed the world of the fiction film as an elaborate web of filmic and cinematic codes and sub codes, systems and subsystems (Nowell-Smith, 2000:12). Theorist Bordwell rebelled against Metz’s semiotic apparatus, Bordwell’s theory was what he called the narration, his model saw the film producing not so much signification as information. This information is contained in the dialogue and in the various movements of the picture shots (Nowell-Smith, 2000:13). This meant the language of TV/Film was not only about dialogue but about analysing the film itself, analysing how it was filmed and edited.

Today language of TV/film consists of:

•Lighting

•Music and sound

•Performance

•Direction

•Editing

•Special effects

•Camera angles

•Costume

From looking at the trailer, you can see the different elements of language throughout, for example:

•Different types of lighting have been used to create mood, suggest time of time and to set the scene, the clip begins with a scene in an old prison, candles have been used to create light and to suggest the location is dark, gloomy and is underground, there is no natural light

•Sound effects are used to create tension and mood and at times to make the film seem more naturalistic, the sound of thunder and lightening is used when Sherlock is stood on London bridge with the sky behind him, sound effects used in the trailer builds up tension and excitement putting audiences on the edge of their seats

•Special effects are used in fighting scenes, slow motion is used to capture the whole scene, this is affective for the audience because Sherlock gives a dialogue throughout the fight to tell audiences how he is injuring his victims, the camera zooms in on this, for example on the line “Cracked rips” the shot is a Close up of Sherlock punching someone in the ribs in slow motion therefore making the scene more effective.

•The camera shots of London show audiences the location of the film and famous sights E.G Big ben, London bridge, because they are iconic and the trailer is trying to showcase this through visuals instead of dialogue 

         
In conclusion, Film language can be understood in different forms of theory, whether it be  
through the narration or the connotation and detonation. No matter what the theory is, film 
theory as a whole is based around the relationship of portraying reality, society and culture. 
However, the description of the films image can substitute the films plot interlay and can 
create new meaning and understanding to each individual watching the film. I believe the 
language of film can be understood to fit a person particular view or point on culture,  
society etc. Which in effect, creates an even stronger relationship between film maker and 
audience. 



References: 

Ellis, John (1982) Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video, Routledge: London - pp. 127-159

Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (2000) ‘How films mean, or, from aesthetics to semiotics and half-way back again’ in Gledhill, C and Williams, L. (2000), Reinventing Film Studies. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

MED4104 - Directed Study Week 2

This week in our lecture we looked at the context of TV and film and key concepts such as political economy and the public sphere, an idea that came from theorist Jurgen Habermas. In terms of political economy there are three key aspects; funding, organisation and regulation. In relation to the political economy the public sphere gives the space for rational debate and deliberation. We explored how the public sphere gives opportunity for anyone to voice their opinion on how they think things in the industry should be run. From the set readings we can see how audiences can be seen as commodities, Dallas smythe (1981) believed the media produced audiences, hollywood blockbusters are constructed, promoted and distrubuted in order to appeal to a particular demographic (Long, 2012: 172-185). We can also look at how audience-as-market and audience-as-public are two alternative configurations of audience, each connected with one of the two major institutional arrangements- commercial and public service of broadcast television (Ang, len, 1991: 1-7). Both readings explore audiences in depth in terms of production.

For this weeks reading I have looked at the affects political economy has over TV/film, I came across an article about the political economy of transnational cinema called 'Database economy and transnational cinema' by Sean Cubitt. From reading the abstract, the article discusses the possibilities for developing an alter-globalizing public sphere in digital cinemas (Cubitt, 2009: 1) and political economy in relation to this. Looking specifically at the headings and the introduction I have once again created some questions that I will be able to answer once completing my reading, the questions are as follows:

1) How does database economy affect cinema audiences? - The database economy commutes the formulation of consumers as data, as behaviours and producers of content, such that behaviours and user-generated content become marketable. 

2) How could a transnational public sphere affect digital cinema? - Re-opening the utopian dream of transnational cinema would give digital cinema a chance to span national boundaries in order for the interaction between film-makers and actively producing audiences.

3) Has data economy helped towards producing cinema audiences? - Database economy has given cinema the chance to create audiences and has essentially created digital cinema which has created new cinema audiences through the use of technology and motion pictures developing more and more.


4) Has digital cinema been created to exploit a demographic? - Digital cinema has been created to make profits from new audiences, by using technology in motion pictures to show new things such as CGI. Digital cinema targets a specific demographic and it would be fair to say they are exploited to make money thus the chance to expand digital cinema. 

From reading in depth through Cubitt's 'Database economy and transnational cinema',Cubitt discusses briefly the relation between political economy and digital cinema, he discusses 'The possibility of developing an alter-globalising public sphere in digital cinema' (Cubitt, 2009: 1). Cubitt uses many references to support his argument; that political economy can be described as a database economy. He uses books and also youtube to research how database economy rather than political, sees audiences as data, exploiting the demographic to create profits. In relation to the set readings, I can see that audiences are seen as commodities, they are exploited for marketing reasons throughout TV/film in order for companies to make profits.

References: 

Chapter 2 ("Audience-as-market and audience-as-public") in Ang, Ien (1991) Desperately Seeking the Audience. London: Routledge.

Cubitt, S (2009) Database economy and transnational cinema, Studies in Australasian Cinema.3(2), pp. 155-166. 

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Political Economy of the Media’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp. 172-185

Directed Study - Shape and Form

Typography is interesting to look at but more interesting is shape and form, for example different logos that are used and how they are created to stand out to audiences and be recognised simply by a logo. I have decided to Look at three different logos; Burger king, Dominos and Pizza hut. I have looked at the use of the colours, blue, yellow and red, I have noticed most fast food places use these colours because it connotes food. Looking firstly at this Burger king logo, first of all the words itself has been put into a burger to represent what its about, not just using the title but also the image. Seeing an image of food itself makes it more appealing, you instantly think of eating the burger, its a sensual image. The blue curve that has been used almost ties it all in together, it gives it an overall shape and contains the Logo which gives it a nice touch. The text used it very bold and all capitalised to stand out and immediately draw your attention to it, 'KING' is a slightly bigger font size than 'Burger' to suggest the best, the most successful, the most popular, the king of burgers.

                                    

      

Looking secondly at the Dominos Logo, again colours such as red and blue have been used to connote food. This logo is more simplistic but is everything it needs to be to represent Dominos pizza. the shape of a square has been used to represent Dominos, which you can see from the dots used on the red squares but it also represents a pizza box. This is a really clever idea because straight away the image instantly makes you think of pizza, this logo is easily recognised without having to read the text. The text is quite simple and ordinary, however I think the simplicity of the logo is successful because it doesn't need to be over the top the domino shape is creative and attracts attention, the text doesn't need to stand out, this could also represent how sometimes, simple is better, even a Dominos' simple pizza (Margherita pizza) is the best.         

                                                           

The final Logo I have looked at is Pizza Hut,  another logo that uses the primary colours to connote food. This logo has more of a creative feel to it, the roof that has been created to represent the 'Hut' is very fun and easy going, it represents itself in a clever way. The text is bold and almost an italic font which could be to tie in with where pizza originates from, Italy. It has a playful feel to it, which I feel pizza hut is quite fun, there is a salad bar you can have all different sorts of pizzas, pastas, the ice cream machine, it is very fun loving. The 'I' has been dotted with a herb to represent a pizza which is a clever idea, the yellow diagonal line underneath has been used to make the logo look like a complete hut, almost like a house, this represents Pizza hut, like the Burger king and the Dominos logos the images represent the brand name itself and all three logos are very creative, clever and eye-catching. 

Directed Study - Bright Ideas Business card

Here is another example of a business card I have created using Adobe Indesign CS6. This week we were given the name of a company 'Bright Ideas' and had to create a business card without using the cliche lightbulb image. As well as typography we looked at shape and colour, also using Adobe illustrator. I used yellow, orange and red for 'Bright' because it connotes warm colours and contrasting the text with a black in order for it to stand out and be eye-catching. I used small circles to create one big circle to represent a sun which has connotations of being bright, I chose three different colours to give the logo some depth and also I thought only using yellow would be too much and quite simple. I think the three colours make the idea of representing a sun quite subtle but also creative and clever. I chose this text because I wanted to use only the initials of the words because I thought it looked more effective rather than using both words, I think it would have taken away the nice simplicity of this design. I also liked how I could connect the 'I with the 'B' by using lower case, I think it ties in nicely to show the company as cooperating together and to suggest teamwork. I chose this design because I thought this logo was appealing and would be easy to recognise and I wanted to be simple rather than over the top. Because the front cover of the business card doesn't tell readers the company name I decided to design the back of the business card. 

I chose to design the back of a business card to give readers more information, I didn't want to include it on the front because I wanted to keep it simple, using only the logo to capture readers attention. I decided to again use the initials of the words but this time have the words connecting together using the same font. I chose to do this because I wanted to keep the text on logo but I also wanted readers to know the name of the company, and I thought using the text in this way was effective. I chose another text for the details to contrast with the title, I thought this text was suited as it has a cartoon like feel to it and this company is quite fun. I chose to remove the tittle from the 'i' because it came in between the 'B' and 'r' which looked quite confusing and made the tittle look too jumbled together. I decided to use the circles again to keep in with the logo, I didn't want the back of the card to be too plain and boring but I still wanted to keep it simple. Overall I am really pleased with this business card and believe it would be affective if it was to be printed. 

Visual Design - My first business card

Here is my first business card design using Adobe Indesign CS6. I chose this design because I wanted to go for an elegant, sophisticated business card, this font is one of my favourites because of how fancy it is and it looks really classy. The capitals are what I like most about this text, the swirls are attracting and they make the card really stand out. I also found it fun to play around with letters and shapes, I made the love out from question marks and the flower from C's, I enjoyed finding different ways  to be creative using only typography. I created the image of what is suppose to be a camera out of feminine, classic words such as 'Beautiful' and 'Divine', this wasn't my first idea, I originally used the words in a basic way across the business card but realised it was quite difficult to read due to how I had positioned them. After looking at other examples I decided I would use the words to create an image and since my business card was about photography I thought it would tie in nicely if I created a camera. I decided the words around the edge would be black to stand out and be somewhat really but the words inside I wanted to be emerging together only making a few words stand  out by using a darker pink. I didn't want to attract away the attention that it was in fact a camera I had created and not just a box of words, I hope this would be affective to audiences. For the text I decided to use a light pink shadow behind them to give it more of a 3D look and to also make the business card more appealing and to show my target audience is women and the type of photography is professional events such as weddings and private parties, I think I have achieved this through the use of colours and images I have created such as the love heart, I have really enjoyed creating this piece and hope to improve my skills further. 

Directed Study - Type and Typography

                                                                 

Looking at different examples of typography, I decided to look at VOGUE because of how iconic the magazine is and I like how simplistic the typography is although sometimes the image is played around with the title, mostly the G is replaced with the models head which is a classic style VOGUE tends to use. However like this cover here, the O has been used as part of her hat, the O looks like feathers, this has been done really simply but cleverly I think. The text on this cover stands out a lot more than normal, it is very bold and has a handwriting font. I particular like this cover because it hasnt taken on the cliche VOGUE covers that normally appear, simple colours such as black and white have been used however it stands out because of the boldness and the monocrome feel. The text isnt the same font either they all take on their own form of what looks like it has been handwritten in marker pen.  





Here is an example of a typical VOGUE front cover, the writing is mostly sans serif bold and the G has been replaced with Lana Del Rey's head. The headlines are all capitalised to make them stand out and emphasise their boldness. The words that the editor wants to stand out to readers are in capitals, even words that are mid-sentence. 'Oh so pretty!' has been given a completely different font to the rest of the cover, I think this is to be more feminine as the rest of the text is quite standard, it also makes more of statement, it is in a bigger font size to the rest of the texts.In comparison to the other cover this one has a more simplistic style but uses attracting colours and has a warmer more appealing look whereas the other cover is quite dull and dark but uses typography to change the original cliche design which makes it more interesting, the cover doesn't give away what is inside unlike this cover of Lana.

                                                               




This cover is the most interesting because typography has been used in a clever way, the title has become part of her clothing to emphasise the magazine is based around fashion and modelling. The writing ranges from capitals to lower case to emphasise on the most important words in order to stand out from the rest. Other than the title the cover is quite simplistic using black writing however I think this is good because it doesnt draw your attention away from the creativity of the title and the model herself. The word 'Top' has been capitalised to attract readers attention, the model is on top, she is almost knocking the title out of the way to show she is on top. This cover attracts my attention the most due to the creativity of the title, the text doesn't really appeal to me due to most of it being in french, I think this cover only makes words like 'TOP' and 'Models' in english to appeal to readers with only a few simple words to engage them with the cover and make them want to look inside. 

Looking back on older VOGUE covers, here is an example of one from 1950, it is obvious how massive the change in layout and text is.The title is a lot bigger, I think this is due to lack of text on the cover. The cover is quite bare and doesnt contain much context at all, this in a way does bring readers in because they want to find out what is inside the magazine. The image is quite bold and stands out, the use of the red lips makes the cover quite sensual, her lips stand out the most, her eye is very bold as well and elegant. In the 1950s this type of makeup was in fashion, the red lips, the fake 'beauty spot', the wings on the eyes, this magazine has always been iconic and aimed at women, this simplistic cover illustrates and stereotypes the 1950s and we can see how different the style of VOGUE is from then to now. More text is used on the cover to tell readers what they can expect inside, celebrities are now used on covers to appeal to readers and the magazine cover focuses more on fashion and the image as a whole rather than just a face. 

MED4104 - Directed Study Week 1

In our lecture this week we have discussed in depth, TV and public service broadcasting, the main areas we focused on regarding this topic were industry, institution and history and
how these were and are relevant in big national television companies such as BBC and ITV. In the key readings we can look at the history of TV and film, historiography (Long, 2012: 453- 463) and the origins of public broadcasting (Creeber, 2003: 22- 26). Both readings will help me to understand historiography and how it is conveyed through TV and film. We also explored theorists such as Hall and Arnold who had different opinions on how TV was run. Hall believed the broadcasting industry was a 'Containment of democracy' he said that their was a fear of democracy and made the point that there needed to be a reform (Hall, 1986c: 38) whereas Arnold stated it was 'A way to prevent anarchy' he disagreed, saying that it transcended class conflict and kept everything 'Sweet and light' (Arnold, 1869).

In relation, the reading I have acquired for this week looks at public service broadcasting in more depth, from the history to the present and the independency in the industry. I have chosen to explore 'Inside broadcasting' by Julian Newby (1997) after reading the introduction I can see Newby explains the growth in the broadcasting industry and how although in the past broadcasting was a small private organisation run strictly by the government, there is now more room for positions in broadcasting than there ever was. From viewing the chapters and headings briefly I have formulated some questions in regards to the industry itself before reading this text, the questions are as follows:


1) How did the coming of ITV change public service broadcasting? - 'ITV brought regional
television, advertisements and a slightly lighter, brighter more advertiser-friendly form of
programming' the birth of ITV changed the ratings of the BBC creating the two stations to
compete in a ratings battle that still goes on today, this eventually opened up the opportunity
for other channels such as BBC 2 and channel 4 to appear.


2) How did independency change national television? - Independency 'Reduced the core workforces and therefore union strength' people wanted to 'Force the BBC out of the pure public sector and into the quasi-mixed economy in which it now finds itself'. Independency also opened up job opportunities for everyone.


3) How did other channels such as channel 4/5 change the industry? - Creating new channels such as BBC 2 and channel 4 changed the ratings causing ITV and BBC to be allowed more air time thus making more money, ITV 'Not only was stealing audiences with quiz shows and westerns but it was stealing trained BBC staff' both ITV and BBC still remain independent rivals.


4) How has broadcasting today changed? - Broadcasting now offers more job opportunites than before, the rapid growth in television has put more of a demand on employees, with a lot more technology having been created and still developing more opportunities in technical and administrative areas are available.


5) How has the history of public service broadcasting shaped it for the future? - Without the history of public service broadcasting existing, the industry wouldnt be what it is today, with not only satellite being invented, television is now streamed all over the internet, the development of television might not be what it is now without the independency of broadcasting and the famous fued with BBC and ITV which caused the development of national television and PSB.

After reading throughly through Newby's 'Inside broadcasting' I was able to answer my questions above. 'Inside broadcasting' can be considered a historiography as it discusses the background history on broadcasting, it explains the major differences from the past to the present and how broadcasting changed and offered people and audiences more opportunites. Newby provides me with background information on PSB and the changes that were faced by the BBC. Newby touches on a lot of areas that the set readings also make points of, from reading all texts I now understand the history and development of public service broadcasting and how this has all had an impact on broadcasting today.

References:

Creeber, Glen (2003) The Origins of Public Service Broadcasting (British Television Before The War) in Michele Hilmes (ed.) (2003) The Television History Book. London: BFI. Pp.22-26.

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) 'Media Histories' IN Media studies: Texts, production, Context (2nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 448-481.  

Newby, J. (1997) Inside broadcasting. London: Routledge. 

Directed Study - Visual Design in the wild

City of colours

When looking around Digbeth, there were a few pieces of graffiti/artwork that caught my eye due to the bright colours but also the simplicity of the pieces. This one in particular caught my eye firstly because of the different range of colours used and how they all merge together. When I look at this piece I think of time and space and I can see how woman is surrounded by circular objects which could represent planets or orbs to maybe suggest a connection with earth and space. This is a 2D piece and focuses mainly on circles/spheres which could be planets. When looking at the meaning of circles I discovered they symbolise the moon/earth, infinity and wholeness, this could relate back to how the woman being a human life form and space surrounding her is the two sharing a connection. The  circle symbol is universal, sacred and divine, it represents the infinite nature of energy and the inclusivity of the universe, the circle also embodies a spiritual energy. This could be part of the message that the painter has tried to create. 

The colours are all very bold which makes every individual colour stand out, both warm and cold colours are used together, although more cold colours have been used to represent space, this also creates the mood which seems to be quite desolate but the woman looks peaceful, as if she is taking in her surroundings. The painting is very detailed and the circles have been painted perfectly, shadows and the blending of two different colours have made some of the circles almost 3D, the spheres look like they're floating towards you. As the piece has been painted onto bricks, which some of the circles highlight, it gives the piece a rough and rocky feel which I think emphasises the planets. Spray paint has been used to create this piece and possibly the use of paint brushes to define the circles, shape the woman's face and blend colours together. 

I think this piece of artwork says a lot about the connection between time and space, the woman being time and space that is surrounding her. I feel this piece could possibly be illustrating how for humans time is so important whereas in space time is pretty none existent. She is almost becoming a part of space, it is emerging all around her. I think the creator of this piece painted this to express time standing still, the woman is in an environment where time does not exist she seems content with her surroundings and isn't in a world where everything is controlled by time, thats what i think the creator is trying to say in this piece. 

I think this piece is very engaging, the colours immediately attract my attention, although this piece does have a message and I have interpreted that message in my own way, personally I don't share a connection with this piece myself, it doesn't mean anything specific to me. However it does make me feel maybe us, as humans, take time for granted and that I wish I could go to a place where time doesn't matter and I don't have to think about it, like the woman in this piece. 

After looking around Digbeth I decided I would look around my home town, Nottingham. When walking around one of the most popular parks in my area, I came across the skate park which has been professionally spray painted to represent the town. This is very memorable to me as it is where my childhood is, me and my friends used to hang around at this park and when I think of it it reminds me of good childhood memories. I really love the idea of spray painting the skate ramp as it stops people from vandalising it in their own way, instead it has bright contrasting colours to appeal to the younger generation and  it means something to the people who live here and use this park on a daily basis. Before the skate ramp was falling to pieces and was plain, old, boring wood, these colours have really livened the park up instead of being dull. 
This piece of art is really appealing and eye catching and is attracting to the target audience and also attracts other people. As a former user of this park, when I first saw this I felt happier because finally something interesting had been brought to the park and something that we all liked and could relate to, before other people had graffitied on the ramp which made it look ruined and old, now it looks almost brand new. 
In comparison to the graffiti in Digbeth, this one isn't as detailed or as skilled however it is reaching out to a different audience and doesn't have to necessarily be the best art work, as the target audience is children, detail isn't an essential, the use of colours and graffiti itself is enough to capture their attention and amaze them. Whereas in Digbeth it is known as the 'City of colours' and it is important for art work to stand out and have meaning, especially around the time of the graffiti festival. However both pieces of graffiti stand out individually in their own way and each represent and have meaning for different people, as this piece means something to me and represents my home town, this has to be my favourite.