Final Blog: Reflections

My favorite parts of the class were the interactive, hands-on lab exercises. In particular, I really enjoyed going out on the Hunter campus to shoot different film shots and angles. There were 8 different required shots and, unknowingly, my partner and I took a different approach than the rest of the class. We tried to connect all of our 8 unique shots into some sort of cohesive narrative, all within 30 minutes, and it was a very fun exercise. In addition, I liked the still photography assignment. Generally, I prefer shooting on moving images on film/video and I think I have a better stylistic eye for it, but I was pretty happy with how my still photographs for this exercise turned out. I also really enjoyed the lighting exercise, especially since we were able to work in groups, which is pretty realistic for an actual film set. Lighting wasn’t something I had very much practical knowledge of beforehand, and this exercise really helped me to visualize and understand the reasoning behind why all of the lights are used and how they should be positioned. It also taught me a new way of setting up a shot stylistically. I think that exercise alone has greatly improved my lighting skills and overall knowledge and familiarity with on set production. The only other thing I would have liked to learn more about, which I know is addressed in greater depth in 160, is video production and post-production. With all of the many programs we were introduced to, I would have liked to also gotten a glimpse of perhaps editing software like Final Cut Pro or Avid. Overall, though, I definitely feel like I am leaving this class with a better understanding of various areas of digital media, which I think is very useful. Although it’s virtually impossible to gain expertise in any of the individual areas in such a short semester with so much material to cover, I am glad to have a relatively broad knowledge base of digital media and familiarity with several programs.

Design I Like: The Fashion Show

I particularly like the design on this poster and advertisement for the first season of The Fashion Show on Bravo. Of all the advertisements for series throughout the years that I see in the office on a daily basis, this has always been my favorite. I think it is aesthetically pleasing and, furthermore, it is relevant to the content of the program and therefore clever and interesting.

First of all, I think the design and layout of the poster is aesthetically pleasing because it is very well balanced. The layout employs the rule of thirds, with the two hosts prominently featured in the center and the contestants distributed on either side of them in the remaining two vertical thirds. Horizontally it is also divided into three, with the series logo and tagline in the upper third, the cast members in the middle third, and the show and network information in the bottom third.

All of the typography is easily legible. The font used in the logo is reminiscent of many high fashion magazines’ logos, such as Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, which all use similar all capital letter typographies. Beneath the logo, the tagline is featured in a font that mimics handwriting, which is appropriate for a show that involves sketching for fashion design.

Moreover, along with this theme (and the reason why this poster is my favorite), is that the contestants are illustrated characters rather than photographs. Although theses sketches were based on original photographs, it was a deliberate decision to draw them in the poster instead because it conveys the fashion design theme of the show in the poster. The contestants are displayed much like fashion sketches that a designer would create before producing their garment. It gives the poster an artistic edge that is relevant to the concept and frequently seen throughout the series. It is also, in my opinion, more interesting to look at than photographs. Additionally, it makes the two hosts, Izaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland, really pop out in the image. They are in a position of power over the contestants and the image conveys that. If the contestants’ photographs were featured instead of the illustrated characters, the hosts would not be as prominent and would probably get lost in the crowd. Although I think these messages about the show are conveyed by the poster, I think they are still subtle enough that the poster remains simple, direct, easily legible and neat.