Analysis of Speaker: Frank Van Riper, photographer and journalist

When Frank Van Riper came to talk to the class along with a panel of photographers I was really excited. They talked mainly about the positive and negative aspects of modern day photo journalism and journalism ethics. I feel very strongly about this subject because I think that with the Internet available now for almost any job it is easy to steal work from others. I liked that they pointed this out because with billions of images on just Google alone are enough to supply many with work that they have not done.
Technology is all well and good, until someone gets hurt. It is easy to get lost in cyberspace, but there needs to be something that brings us back to reality. We, as humans, have become more perfectionists and in doing so technology has facilitated hours of work that it could have taken in the field. Photoshop, one of the most popular photo manipulation programs, makes it easy to crop out that one thing in the background and to make that picture front-page worthy. The problem with that is morals.
Photography used to be something more, a way to visually tell a news story. How can we tell stories and place them in newspapers and magazines if they are not true. Journalists get a lot of heat for fraudulent material, as should photo journalists. Although technology is awesome and can do many things, when it comes to photo journalism, it just is not ethical to change and manipulate photos.
Journalists, of all kinds, should be accurate and tell the truth. Photo journalists must be digitally truthful. There is further pressure to get out new and exciting images and ideas, but a person can only work so hard. Sometimes Photoshop is the means to doing so. With newspapers and other publications putting out more than one issue a day, including online news, it is hard to keep up without the help of the digital materials that we have available to us.
I enjoyed the subject and what the panel had to say. I think that morals and ethics in journalism is a huge issue and should not be taken lightly. One false image could equal thousands. What are we if we are just reproducing others’ work? We have then lost all originality and authenticity which is what papers and publications pride themselves most on.

Help Fill Empty Bowls Across the Globe!

Final Project Paper: Digital Campaign Poster

I chose to do a digital imaging project. When I started out with the project, I had a few goals and objectives in mind. I knew that I wanted to do something involving human relief or the environment. I feel very strongly about the world hunger crisis, and I wanted to be able to deliver the message that people can help and that it is just that, a crisis. I wanted the images and the typography to blend together so I chose bold colors in order to catch attention but also to encourage people to take action.
The trials and errors of design are many. Knowing this, I wanted to make sure that I had a concrete idea in my mind before I started. I did some research on world hunger and what the world was already doing to advocate feeding the hungry. I learned that children are the most captivating when trying to gain viewers and responses in a campaign. The ONE campaign works diligently towards gaining awareness about the world hunger crisis, and gaining volunteers and donations. I realized that it was important to read through their website in order to see what they were doing for their food program and how I could visually represent that in a poster.
I chose the ONE campaign because they work very closely with college campuses and people my age are changing the world one program at a time. I thought that their views on world hunger and individual contributions were really interesting and full of gratitude and gratification. The ONE campaign works for many issues. However, I feel that since enough grain and land and nutrients exist to feed every person on this planet fairly, that world hunger is a major cause that I would love to be a part of. “Under-nutrition contributes to almost half of all child deaths and more than 20% of maternal deaths.” (ONE website) That fact alone is enough to draw me in.
It turns out that the main focus or idea is to feed people! When I was thinking about images to use the first thing that came to mind, aside from the children, was a bowl. What better way to represent hunger or lack of food than an empty bowl? I got the idea of putting the children in the bowl in order to further emphasize that these children live with empty bowls and that there is something people can do to help. Although there is no main genre that influenced my style of design, the cause spoke to me and the images I chose are the ones that first came into my mind when saying world hunger.
Knowing just the minimal amount of technical skills that we learned over the semester, it was difficult for me to start out. I knew the size had to be 11in x 17in and that was about it. The rest I learned by trying. Getting the images set up and using Adobe Illustrator to change some of the images was also a challenge. It took a while for me to have all of the things I wanted to put on the poster in place. I got the contact information from the http://www.ONE.org website and the rest of the typography just came to me.
The production took me about three days each consisting of six or more hours. My first attempt was not a complete failure, but it got me going and thinking. My first project consisted of the image of a bowl, a starving/dying child in the middle, the text and the phrase “help fill empty bowls” repeated along the background. The colors I chose ended up not working and the image of the dying child was not hopeful at all. For the next attempt I took out the text from the background because it was too distracting to the eye, and I changed the color of the font to mainly red and some black. I chose red because it worked well with the bold font and the message that I was trying to send out. The background went through a couple of phases as well. From the repeated text I went to a light blue solid color. This looked good, but I found that with a more purple color, the bowl and even the text stood out more, which is what I was going for. Lastly, I changed the image of the child to two hopeful looking children looking out at the viewer and it ended up being more captivating because the viewer was able to look the children in the eye and feel as though they can help.
Color is a huge issue when speaking through images and tight text. I first had my text not bolded and in a navy blue. It was not grabbing my attention and my eye went directly to the chaotic background, which was in green. Although I may have been going for earthy tones and for scare tactics with the shriveled body I had initially placed in the bowl, I found that using a more hopeful image and bolder colors for text such as black and red was a lot more effective. The red said to me “take action.” The black was bold and made a statement, and the purple or light blue background pushed the text and images off the page a bit more. The contrast was greater with the purple, which is what I ultimately decided to go with.
The location was mainly my apartment and the computer lab in the Mary Gradon Center. I used mainly Photoshop for the manipulations and to create the layers of images and typography. I also used Illustrator in order to change some of the images that I chose to use. I played around with the opacity on Photoshop along with colors, fonts, textures and shading. I found that I worked better at home though.
I feel that I was able to visually convey what I wanted to. With the technology I was somewhat limited, but I think overall, the message that I wanted to put out there can be gained from the images and placements that I have chosen. There are a few minor techniques that I could not quite work out because of my limited knowledge on the programs, but I like how the project turned out. The final result is ultimately what I had first envisioned before I started the project. However, it is only slightly different than the beginning piece. Other than the background, colors and image of the children, the total project did not change that much. However, I do believe that the message changed from beginning to end. The beginning was a bit scattered and had too much going on. The final result contained boldness where necessary and captivating images that really send out the message: “we need help now!”
In order to improve the poster I may have learned a little bit more about how to play with texture and color for the bowl and the background. After exploring Photoshop for three days I have come to know quite a bit, but I still think that there is a lot more to learn. I think I would have added more texture to the edges of the bowl and done more to make it stand out more dramatically from the background. The text wrapping was also a little difficult. I think that if I were to start over I would try to position the top text so that it was going straight across the page.
I really enjoyed this project because it got me to think and really play around with things. I have learned a great deal about how to visually convey a message and I think that in such a fast-paced world as we live in, it is important to be able to convey a message quickly and concisely. What better way than visually? We are an increasingly more visual species so it is crucial to use images and text in an effective way. I think I would really enjoy making advocacy posters for an organization like the ONE campaign. I would love to try and come up with different ideas for all of their causes and issues that they advocate and work for.

An Artist’s Reflection

Throughout the semester in my Visual Literacy class we have explored many different areas of visual art.  As the semester went on, I feel as though I have refined my skills as an artist and as someone “reading” art.  I have found what I enjoy and what I do not enjoy and that is all a part of the process.  I found that I was not as interested in the techniques of film and the motion picture, but more so photo and even more graphic design.  I have chosen to do my final project as a digital imaging poster for a campaign.  I enjoyed using the technology involved in photo and graphic design.  I have learned a lot about becoming visually literate and how a simple image can portray a more complex message. I think that i have definitely grown as an artist and I have learned to see things from a different perspective. In the fast-paced world that we live in, it has become almost required to be able to see things through the “visual literacy lens.” People are moving so fast and it is important to be able to get a message across effectively in a concise way. I have really enjoyed exploring my artistic ability and where I am most comfortable. As an artist I have gone through the uncomfortable exploration process learning through trial and error. I think that this class has helped me know myself as an artist much better.

Newseum: 9/11 Gallery: Reflections

After visiting the Newseum, there is one exhibit that stands out in my mind. That is the 9/11 Gallery. The event itself really touches home with me because I am from New York and when it happened I was so close that I saw the actual smoke. I had friends who had family members escape and then those that were not so lucky. It is interesting to me to see the different perspectives of journalists looking for a headline. Having been personally attached to the attacks, I thought it was amazing to read the front pages of papers across the country. It is set up so that the light shines as spotlights on each of the pages. It was also interesting to see the video about those who covered the tragic day. It is hard to say how one should go about setting up an exhibit on something as horrible as the attacks that really shows the people’s reactions. I think that the Newseum exhibit did a wonderful job at captivating the audience and only portraying front page news, or initial reactions to the attacks. It was a challenge to deal with the attacks living so close to them as a part of a public school or even in a household. I can only imagine the difficulties that the journalists had when attempting to write something effective, yet accurate on the attacks without stirring up too much emotion within each of them. Just the different perspectives really got me to stand there and to look at each page for a few minutes each. As I reflected on the day of 9/11/2001, I was able to bring myself back to exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out about the attacks. Visually, it is simple but it is definitely effective. This exhibit sufficiently brought out my emotions and my feelings.

Scavenger Hunt Film

Here, my group put together a film that portrayed many of the different angles and camera shots by using different scenarios or emotions in order to get used to using a real camera.

Nightmare At Katzen

This is the film that my group created to bring the Edvard Munch Painting, “The Scream” to life.

Film Genre Analysis

I could not find a good clip of the Pearl Harbor scene, but it was 20:00-24:52 in the entire movie.

Pearl Harbor, produced in 2001, and Casablanca, produced in 2001, are both epic love stories with a dramatic war setting in the background. The two selected scenes represent unrequited love and the sacrifices that the protagonists of the stories are able to make for the women that they are in love with.

The scene in Pearl Harbor is set with the hardships of saying goodbye. The camera follows the main woman character as she shares with Reigh, the protagonist, that she is pregnant with his best friend’

s baby. He gets a little angry, but he accepts it and knows that allowing them to be together is the only thing that he could do. There are a lot of over the shoulder shots between him and her talking. The color does add a little bit more to it though. The music is consistent throughout the movie and into this scene before they embark on their private mission. The camera angles vary and some include both people with one in focus and one blurred. When depicting Danny, the best friend, there is an upward tilt shot and there are also planes making noise with other voices screaming in the background, along with music. There is a nice angle of the two guys before she comes over to say goodbye to them. The variation in angles emphasizes the different emotions. The sun in their faces and the music pushes the sadness of the scene. She says goodbye to the one she truly loves in order to be with another for a child.

The movie Casablanca is in black and white setting a whole different mood. The end scene is one of the best of the entire film. There are some over the shoulder shots and two shots that show the reaction of the protagonist and the woman as well. The entire time the woman thinks that she is helping to get her husband out of the Nazi track. But the protagonist has planned that she will leave and escape with her husband. The black and white sets a gloomy mood that emphasizes the actors, not the background. All focus is on the acting, whereas in Pearl Harbor the beautiful and colorful Hawaii backdrop is somewhat distracting. There is a nice medium close-up of the two of them arguing about her departure as well. There are alternating over the shoulder shots that allow the viewer to see the other reaction just as if he or she was speaking. The music playing is the song that connects them together throughout the entire film. It drills home the fact that they are in love, but he is doing what is best for her. He is letting her go. The excitement of the plane and the noise from the propellers along with the music makes it all the more inevitable to the viewer that it is goodbye. The camera angle barely changes, but instead the camera focuses mainly on the faces of the actors and mainly straight on.

Both scenes hit home, but the music and the color makes Pearl Harbor stronger, whereas in Casablanca the greyness makes it all gloomy and harder to watch. There is a lot more said in the Casablanca scene, whereas a lot of the images shown in the Pearl Harbor scene are silent with just music and background sounds.

The Story of The Screaming Man

“The Scream”

by, Edvaard Munch

A young artist is strolling around the town, looking for some inspiration. He is growing annoyed because nothing around him seems to spark his interest. He continues to search high and low, in the seediest parts of town, to the swankiest neighborhoods, nothing. He visits parks, museums, nothing seems to speak to his artistic soul. He begins feeling doubtful, and defeated, so he decides to make his way to a local pub in the middle of the afternoon, where he proceeds to drown his pity in a few pints of alcohol.  There he notices a man, sitting across the bar from him, staring at him with this expression of fear on his face. The man gives the artist the chills, so he leaves, and begins aimlessly stumbling around the town, continuously being let down by the lack of inspiration around him. He watches couples doing what couples in love do, children playing enjoying youth, even the elderly seem to be happy just sitting on benches, enjoying one another’s company. Before long he realizes that the sun is beginning to set, and he finds himself standing on the pier, just gazing off into the horizon. He suddenly snaps out of his daze to the sound of a bone-chilling scream. The artist turns around to see the same man who gave him chills in the bar, running towards him clasping his face. The artist doesn’t know what to make of it, because there seems to be no one chasing the man. The artist races away to avoid the screaming man, and he runs, and runs, until he is safe inside his apartment. Out of breath, and heart racing a mile a minute, the artist finally falls into a deep sleep. Throughout the night he can’t shake the image of this man racing towards him, clasping his face. The artist awakes the next morning to find a paintbrush in his hand confused he begins looking around his room. His eyes meet with his canvas, where before him he sees, a painting of the screaming man who ran towards him on the pier. 

 

 

Individual Photo Essay: Pizazz