Photography - Composition

    

In today's lesson we were taught the rules of composition and different types of photos that you can capture using them.

These are :

- Rule of thirds

-Balance elements 

-Leading lines

-Symmetry and Pattern

-Viewpoint

-Background

-Depth

-Framing techniques

-Cropping

For our first task today we had to look through the National Geographic magazines and take pictures of the rules listed above.These are a few of the images we shot.

                                            The first photo is a background shot.

                                         This second shot is the rule of thirds

                                            This shot is viewpoint.

                                               This shot is cropped.

                                           This shot is framed.

                                             This shot is 'symmetry'

                                            This shot is 'shadow'.

Unethical Companies

An unethical company is a company which lacks moral rules/ standards towards their employees. Basically the way they manage their businesses can be unfair and cruel to those working within the business.

The unethical company i have chosen is Apple.



Apple -

Apple is an american multinational technology company that designs, develops and sells electronics ,computer software and online services.It was founded on  April 1st 1976 in Cupertino , California, USA.

Apple relies on child slave labor , working in dangerous conditions for 10 hours a day .These children are also exposed to cancerous vapours which could potentially kill them .The conditions are developing badly as they now have installed anti suicide nets to prevent losing workers.Living in poor conditions and barely surviving , its hardly fair at all for the amount they produce daily.

Apple have hired illegal staff that are owed millions of dollars in unpaid wages for the hours they have worked.The training for new members of staff lasts for only 2 hours and includes no safety information.All of this is due to the high and popular demand of apple products; as they continue to release new products yearly.


My task is to produce a subversive advert on Photoshop . My plan  (mock up) is shown below.Apple's original slogan is think different , i have changed this to think slavery as i think this will have a powerful effect upon viewers and make them think twice about what they purchase.

Shown below is my subversive advert created on photoshop and underneath was the plan for it before it was designed.

Creating a banner - Photoshop Owain

For our second session with Owain , we were asked to create a banner using the Photoshop software.

Following the tutorial given and using skills previously learnt i began by drawing a simple rectangle . Then i right clicked on the pen tool and selected 'Add Anchor' , this was then added to the middle of the rectangles side. Holding down shift , i then moved my arrow inwards and repeated this on the other side of the rectangle afterwards.

Then holding down shift again , i created a square using the rectangle shape option. Next i chose the 'direct selection tool' and selected the bottom right corner of the square. Which lead on to me pressing 'backspace' or 'delete' to create a triangle shape.Double clicking on the layer with the triangle , it should come up with a box. I had to double click on the gradient overlay option , setting the angle to -90 degrees and the scale to 150.Then i had to left click on the triangle and manually change the gradient of the shape . Repeating this for the other side ( create another layer for the second triangle) . Flip the original triangle horizontally by going on edit - transform and then flip horizontal options.

Next i added a text box over the banner and typed in the word 'Freaky'.Then i needed to hold down shift and select all the layers i had , then going on to click the link button at the bottom of that section.This links all of the shapes and text together.

The next step was to add another layer underneath the previous ones , using the paint bucket i filled the page in with a colour and once that was done i double clicked on that new layer and selected gradient overlay once again.I double clicked in the gradient and chose the type of gradient i wanted for my background.I then went to 'adjustments' above the layers and selected 'posterize' .
Then i had to adjust the slider to create a background for my image.

Finally, my last job was to use previously learnt Photoshop skills to create a 'freaky' or 'unique' image .This then completed the task.

Creating Ghostly Images on Photoshop - Owain lesson 2

Today we were asked to create 3 'Ghostly images' on Photoshop. Using the skills we learnt last week and by following a tutorial we began our challenge.

First of all we had to find a background image which we could use to put our ghosts on.Then after we made another layer for our ghost and searched google images for a person/figure to use for the product we were producing.

To cut the ghost out you have to use the 'free transform pen tool' to cut around the face or whole body of the person selected.The you have to right click the cut out and press 'make selection' , after this you have to go onto 'select' and then 'Inverse'. After i did this i pressed 'backspace' or 'delete' which enables you to cut out the parts of the image you do not want and you then have your main aspect ready to use.

The next step was to 'duplicate' this layer and then go on to hide the original . Then you have to go onto 'Image' and click on 'Desaturate' which drains the colour from you model (person) so it will now be in black and white. The next step we were taught was to change the opacity of the picture to make it fade out slightly and altogether look like a ghost. You can also blur the picture by selecting 'Filter', 'Blur' and then 'Gaussian Blur' which also adds hints of spookiness to your picture or ghost.

These skills i have learnt today in Photoshop have enabled me to process new ways of creating freaky or unique images and i now feel that i can create a better individual advertisement  for my assignment.


Below are my 3 images that i created during my Photoshop session today .

As a whole i feel i still need a bit of development of my skills but i am overall feeling a lot more confident each time i go onto the Photoshop software. I am looking forward to producing more work like this in preparation for my assignment advertisement.

Filming and Editing with Marissa

Today in our lesson we had to pair up and shoot some video footage with the aid of the tripods.The shots we had to collect were a panning shot , tilt shot and a moving painting shot.Each shot taught us new functions of the tripod and how to make our clips look more professional and tidy.We had to take it in turns filming each other in these shots in different areas around the college , altogether testing our creativity and skills.Also we were introduced to the editing software called Adobe Premiere Pro which we shall go on to use to create our advertisements and short films in the future.

We were briefly taught how to set up the files and were you go to save the videos after editing . We will be taught more skills in upcoming lessons.

Photography Introduction

Today we had our first photography lesson , in which we learnt the basics about cameras and how to use them. We learnt the different settings on a camera e.g. Aperture , Program ,Speed and Manual. We also had the task of going around the campus with a camera in groups and recreating photos which we chose from magazines or newspapers . It tested our skills and we all discussed improvements for the photos. we also learnt what each mode on the mode dial does to the picture / how it changes a picture . For example , The macro setting allows you to get up close to something in detail such as a flower or a bee.

Sound and Advertising

Car Adverts -

1. Volkswagen( The force) is from star wars , the tempo is at a slow / moderate speed and it is very dramatic overall.It is in the major key and the music adds suspense and excitement to the advert. The advert uses diegetic sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

Makeup Adverts-

1. L'Oreal (Jennifer Lopez) The music is very upbeat and the tempo ranges from slow to fast .It is very modern so the target audience could mainly be aimed at the younger generation.Mainly using the major key.Uses non diegetic sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvngwDic7A

Sofa Adverts-

1. These adverts are particularly aimed at adults and an older generation audience . The music is older with slower tempos which make them sound more relaxed.Mainly using the major key but also can use minor to portray different emotions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfD6ED3f4LU

Boots Advert-

. This advert uses non diegetic sound (voice over) along with a backing track that is quite upbeat with a fast tempo .It creates a positive atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ7BUFyN63g

John Lewis Christmas advert 2012-

. Slow tempo , minor key creates quite a sad atmosphere but the overall message is thoughtful and happy. Non diegetic until the end ( there is a voice over).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IaTVlOvv14

Xbox One (Halo we will rock you )-

. This ad is upbeat and catchy with a moderate tempo.It Creates a dramatic feeling.It is non diegetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFT2fgF0G3o

Throughout this session we learnt some key terms to do with music . These terms will help us throughout our advertisement work when it comes to selecting suitable sounds and tracks for our short films ' adverts etc.

The terms and explanations we learnt were ;

. Tempo- The speed of the song
.Key- The range of notes used in the song
.Major key-Tends to sound sad/ negative  ( for example- Fix you by Coldplay)
.Minor Key- Tends to sound happy/ positive
. Diegetic Sound - Film or advert sounds - you should be able to see where the sound comes from
.Non Diegetic Sound- When you cant see where a sound has come from ( for example - Voice overs or background music)