IT IS ALL ABOUT PRODUCTION !

A Brief History of Production

A double-page spread of
Gutenberg's Bible

Production has undergone a monumental transformation and has evolved to bring it a step closer to perfection. Printmaking is a very important means of production as it enables us to freely communicate visually in order to convey a message. That being said, there are various printmaking techniques used such as woodcut printmaking, engraving, etching, mezzotint, monoprint among many others.  

Johannes Gutenberg

 Nevertheless, despite the earliest printed book said to have been the Diamond Sutra (in Asia) in about 400 A.D by means of woodcut printmaking, the first book ever printed in Europe was the Bible in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg subsequently to his invention of the movable type printing press. The device was contrived in 1440 and works with the application of pressure to an inked surface resting on a print medium (paper, cloth…), transferring the ink as a result. Gutenberg developed apparatus and techniques for molding letters from matrices using an instrument called the hand mould.

Gutenberg's first print-press

To print the Bible, red and black ink were used as part of the rubricating process, with several sheets printed twice. He developed an oil-based ink proving ideal for metal type as opposed to water-based inks used by scribes. The type was a number of unique characters, each with both uppercase and lowercase forms; the printing of the Bible thus required the use of 290 characters.

All in all production was once a very long process, which required a lot of patience and meticulous precision that nowadays appears to be hard to come by.

The Experts    

From the experts listed, the work of Neville Brody caught my attention. Firstly, I completely agree with his point of view on design.

“There is no such thing as bad design – 

                  only inappropriate design”

Design is mostly subjective and cannot appeal to everyone, but that doesn’t make it bad design.

Brody’s work has definitely enabled him to qualify as an expert in the field because he has grasped how to get a message out by grabbing the attention of viewers, thereby intriguing them to look closer by his clever combination of type and image manipulation.

His work shows diversity and more importantly experimentation. It was condemned back at university by his tutors who emphasized more economically safe strategies as opposed to a more free expression through experimentation. He has worked on the artwork in the music industry, magazine cover designs (Time, The Guardian…) and what’s more, he has pushed boundaries, creating new typefaces in order to find new ways of communicating using visual text. Having obtained a Fine Art Foundation and a Printing Degree Brody has broadened his creative mind, which is reflected in his strongly expressive creations.

To put it in a nutshell, it is by the means of experimentation with type as well as image in addition to working for magazine, music records and pushing the limits to create new and original productions that Neville Brody has earned his name to be part of the experts for aspiring artists of the field to be inspired by.

Development of Ideas and Structure in Moving Image.

STORY DEVELOPMENT: THREE ACT STRUCTURE

The three-act structure is present not only in the film industry, but also in stories, theatre, etc. It is the base of the story, dividing a screenplay into a three parts called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution. It is perceived as the storytelling law as it is the most logical approach to writing a story or screenplay.

I will explain the three-act structure by analyzing it within the animated film Megamind, released in 2010.

Part 1: the Setup.

The Setup introduces us to the different characters, their relationship to one another, in their normal setting. Here we have an ongoing rivalry between Good (Metro Man) and Evil (Megamind), with Metro Man continuously defeating Megamind following a repetitive and routine pattern and the television reporter Roxy, constantly kidnapped by Megamind. Roxy despises Megamind and praises Metro Man.

Finally, he defeats Metro Man, and takes over the city. Now purposeless, Megamind decides to create a new hero.

Part 2: the Confrontation.

The Confrontation denotes a disturbance in the stability of the situation.

Megamind develops feelings for Roxy and discovers he doesn’t HAVE to be bad.

Megamind and his right hand man Minion have a falling out because of Megamind’s weakness for Roxy who makes him good instead of evil.

Roxy discovers Megamind’s deception and trickery to seduce her by hiding his identity.

Cal who was chosen to be the Hero turns evil and terrorizes the city.

This creates a turn of events, as Megamind is now in the position of the Hero as opposed to the start of the film, where he was in fact the villain of the story. He must stop Cal and save the city.

Part 3: The Resolution.

The Resolution is as the name suggests, the resolution of the story and the overcoming of all the obstacles from the second part. The third part leaves the protagonist and the other characters with a different and improved perception of who they really are.

Megamind stops the villain, Roxy sees the good in him and they are united, and he becomes a symbol of Good.

FUTURE FILM: DIGITAL STORYTELLING

For a TV series, a game or a film to be successful, word of mouth will just not do the trick. These days, the point is basically to plaster the series, film or game everywhere on order to “seduce” as many as possible. That is the spark, and then it spreads like wildfire. The series True Blood is the perfect example. It is a series involving many mythical creatures, but it is not appealing solely to fantasy freaks. Many elements have been incorporated in order to touch a vast audience. There’s violence, blood, romance, comedy, sex.

 It is not just for women, not just for men, but for both. The advertizing and the use of different platforms allow this large diverse public to discover the series; evidently, different websites devoted to it were put in place. However, documentaries were produced, appealing posters. A comic book was also created later based on the series, thus attracting perhaps comic readers who wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Now, the series is an immense success, and word of mouth becomes obsolete.

The Internet, magazines, comic books, and television; their combination touches all kinds of audiences, guaranteeing an engaged audience.  

            

PRODUCTION & OUTCOMES - influences & reactions

Interpretation


Where does inspiration come from? To be inspired, creative’s do all sorts of things, reading books, taking a stroll in the park, among other things. They can be inspired by things they’ve seen, heard, touched, tasted or even smelled, just about anything. They take in whatever is happening around them, in a specific time and place that are surely revealed in their work, though not always in the most obvious way.
Works of literature are entertaining and interesting, but one look into the background of the author as well as his time will teach you a great deal more and consequently make much more sense.
I’ve decided to use the illustrations of Robin Hood as an example, as it is a classic and there have been many interesting interpretations throughout time. 

The first, dating back to 1845, is by Daniel Maclise. Despite Robin Hood being an English folktale from medieval times, we find ourselves in a time when industrialisation was at the heart of either the improvement or severe depression of living standards, as well as the bad treatment of the poor. This, you can see, can easily relate to the historical context of Robin Hood, who ‘steals from the rich to give to the poor’ in a difficult economic situation. The illustration is a rather realistic depiction of Robin and his merry men, with looks of hopelessness and despair on the faces of the poor. There is a young man at Robin’s feet, clutching his stomach from hunger. 1845 also marks the time of the Irish potato famine. A coincidence perhaps? Or inspiration to discreetly protest with an obvious reference?

1973. Disney brings to life Robin Hood using anthropomorphism. Incidentally, it is the time of the 73-74 stock market crash. Sure enough, Disney remarked that it was to ‘get out of their financial woe’, this using vivid colours, as well as their signature anthropomorphic characters.

We can see that Maclise’s work aims to make a bold statement in regard to the dire situation as opposed to Disney, who worked toward recognizing the situation, all the while uplifting morale by presenting a positive outcome in the end. 

Testing your work

It is hard to find success as an artist, a visual communicator, because there is so much competition. There are plenty who may have superb work, but without showcasing it, there is no way success will come and find them. 

Italian artist Blu, rose to fame as an artist by displaying his work in the open, starting with illicit graffiti painted in the historical centre in Bologna. He developed his own style  and began recording and displaying his work online, where art galleries noticed Blu’s artistic value and invited him to take part to one-man or collective shows. Expanding into the moving image network with his crossover to stop-motion animation as well as setting up a website has made him widely known and popular as an artist.

It is important to use all platforms available to showcase one’s work in order to appeal to all kinds of people with different styles. It builds up confidence, with positive as well as negative feedback motivating and influencing the work, making one worthy of success in the art world. You never know who is watching!