Okay - your OGR doc starts well in terms of presentation, but goes rapidly downhill! Not sure all those scanned pages from the book is the most eye-catching way to present that info... and all your thumbnails are rather marooned in the middle of all those deathly white pages... anyway, onto the content:
I think you may need to re-read the 'hall of death' sections as it's my understanding that seated around the table are bodies that are slowly being turned into stone?
Remember you're being asked to create concept art for a new CG animated adaptation of King Solomon's Mines - which means that, in terms of realism - artistic licence is to be encouraged. So, for example, you might consider thinking more carefully about your visual concept; if, say you were to look at the indigenous art of the culture in which the book is set for guidance; at the moment, you've got a 'grim reaper' style death statue - but come on, this isn't a western culture's view of death, it would be an African view, so this changes things, doesn't it, in design terms? Consider:
There are colours, motifs, designs, shapes, ideas, rituals etc. associated with the specific culture of the geography of your story, and if you want to avoid producing just generic 'scenes' of temples etc, then I think you need to actually drill more deeply into the design potential of your original source. Again - you've got those three statues, but these need to be properly researched and thought about too. Remember - it's a cg adaptation, which means you need to identify a visual concept that unifies your scenes in design terms - you're not just drawing pictures from the descriptions in the book, as a production designer, you're justifying why your world MUST look the way that it does.
Your essay is much, much too vague. I don't think you've got any clear idea about Toy Story 3's visual concept. Anyway, why choose the 2 sequel, when the film's language was pretty much established in Toy Story? What I suggest you do, Lloyd is approach this assignment in an 'evidence first' way - find a film about which much has been written in regard to its production design - that way, you know the supporting evidence is there. Toy Story 3 is very new - unless you've got access to lots of insightful commentary from the Pixar people in regard to the underlying principles of the look of the film, you may find yourself running out of things to say,,, Give it some thought.
Also - your film reviews are very thin, Lloyd. Yes, they're not designed to be major academic undertakings, but your Alien review was pretty basic and I suspect you're more than capable of writing something a bit more sophisticated and 'content-rich'. I suspect you're simply not reading enough BEFORE you start to write your reviews. There's a reason why I publish the film lists early - it's so you can do a bit of reading around the subject BEFORE you watch them! You may not know it just yet, but refining your skills in terms of writing, reading, research and critical thinking are basics in terms of improved self-confidence and the world taking you more seriously as a designer and young creative. Don't short-change yourself, Lloyd. You're a degree student now. It's a badge of honour - don't miss out!
OGR 07/11/2011
ReplyDeleteHey Lloyd,
Okay - your OGR doc starts well in terms of presentation, but goes rapidly downhill! Not sure all those scanned pages from the book is the most eye-catching way to present that info... and all your thumbnails are rather marooned in the middle of all those deathly white pages... anyway, onto the content:
I think you may need to re-read the 'hall of death' sections as it's my understanding that seated around the table are bodies that are slowly being turned into stone?
Remember you're being asked to create concept art for a new CG animated adaptation of King Solomon's Mines - which means that, in terms of realism - artistic licence is to be encouraged. So, for example, you might consider thinking more carefully about your visual concept; if, say you were to look at the indigenous art of the culture in which the book is set for guidance; at the moment, you've got a 'grim reaper' style death statue - but come on, this isn't a western culture's view of death, it would be an African view, so this changes things, doesn't it, in design terms? Consider:
http://0.tqn.com/w/experts/Africa-3167/2008/12/Zulu-Secret-Mask.jpg
There are colours, motifs, designs, shapes, ideas, rituals etc. associated with the specific culture of the geography of your story, and if you want to avoid producing just generic 'scenes' of temples etc, then I think you need to actually drill more deeply into the design potential of your original source. Again - you've got those three statues, but these need to be properly researched and thought about too. Remember - it's a cg adaptation, which means you need to identify a visual concept that unifies your scenes in design terms - you're not just drawing pictures from the descriptions in the book, as a production designer, you're justifying why your world MUST look the way that it does.
Your essay is much, much too vague. I don't think you've got any clear idea about Toy Story 3's visual concept. Anyway, why choose the 2 sequel, when the film's language was pretty much established in Toy Story? What I suggest you do, Lloyd is approach this assignment in an 'evidence first' way - find a film about which much has been written in regard to its production design - that way, you know the supporting evidence is there. Toy Story 3 is very new - unless you've got access to lots of insightful commentary from the Pixar people in regard to the underlying principles of the look of the film, you may find yourself running out of things to say,,, Give it some thought.
Also - your film reviews are very thin, Lloyd. Yes, they're not designed to be major academic undertakings, but your Alien review was pretty basic and I suspect you're more than capable of writing something a bit more sophisticated and 'content-rich'. I suspect you're simply not reading enough BEFORE you start to write your reviews. There's a reason why I publish the film lists early - it's so you can do a bit of reading around the subject BEFORE you watch them! You may not know it just yet, but refining your skills in terms of writing, reading, research and critical thinking are basics in terms of improved self-confidence and the world taking you more seriously as a designer and young creative. Don't short-change yourself, Lloyd. You're a degree student now. It's a badge of honour - don't miss out!