Entertainment Design Week 1: Assignment 1
11.1.2018 // Week 1
Chia Yee Hsean (0322352)
Entertainment Design
Assignment 1
Lecture/Tutorials:
Earlier in the week, Mr. Mike and Ms. Anis explained the module outline and assignment briefs to us. He then proceeded to discuss several topics related to the film industry, including matte paintings and concept art. He also briefly discussed royalties and fair use, as well as the industry organisations like Creative Commons and MyIPO in Malaysia.
Instructions:
Assignment 1: Event Poster (30%)
The Brief
Produce an Event Poster for a fictional Movie, Video Game or Music Concert. Strive to produce the most creative and innovative poster that engages and interactive. Do consider 3D pop-up designs, augmented reality, scan art etc.
Duration of Assignment
2 Weeks
DEADLINE
Week 2
Description & Requirements
Produce an A3 size print for an Event Poster. The event should be a fictional (non-existing) and should be an original Intellectual Property. A detailed proposal for the event poster should include the event type, the purpose, the uniqueness, target audience, date, time and venue and the visual concept. The design technique and method could be based on photography key art or it could be a combination of photography and digital graphic imagery. All design development must be supported by in- depth research and informed rationalization.
You are encouraged to be as original as possible in your design and idea conceptualization.
Submission
Please submit your digital artwork in .jpg format on a CD/DVD together with the coloured A3 printed version in an envelope with a clear identification label. A design journal should also be submitted to support the work.
Assignment Progress:
I wanted to work on movie poster, and looked around for interesting, off-kilter stories for my fictional movie to be based off. I figured an eccentric story could make for a fun challenge and also allow me to introduce some interesting elements of interactivity to the poster. And I started by looking for visually interesting posters and figuring out an interesting backstory for each of them:
I finally came up with a historical drama based on the true life story of French film pioneer, Georges Méliès. The movie will focus on the peak of his career including his famous film A Trip to The Moon (Le Voyage Dans La Lune) and his eventual decline. Méliès works lean towards the fantastical and surreal, which I look forward to capturing in the final poster.
Research Question:
How was Hollywood born and how does that shape your perception of it? And how does it influence the world's society, culture, and history? How has the film industry changed now?
Hollywood was largely the product of six movie studios, all of its Jewish founders with strikingly similar backgrounds. These Jewish immigrants who eventually started Hollywood grew up under less-than-ideal circumstances, and sought to create better lives for themselves. And it was through the creation of Hollywood that they were able to climb the social ranks of American society.
Although Thomas Edison first helped usher in theatrical exhibition with the creation of the Kinetoscope, he and his peers saw film as an amusement for the middle working class. Adolph Zukor bypassed Edison and started importing foreign films and premiering them in American theatres. Not wanting to depend on Europeans for quality films, the Jewish then began producing their own films.
Edison had brought the representatives of the biggest film companies in the United States together in December 1908 to form the Motion Picture Patents Company, also known as the Edison Trust, which collectively held 16 major film patents. In addition to requiring producers and exhibitors to use its patented equipment, the trust mandated that every theatre owner pay $2 a week simply to hold a license to purchase and screen its films. The Edison Trust sued any “pirates” who screened or made films without its permission. It fixed a standard price of admission no matter how expensive or cheap a movie’s production, which meant studios had little incentive to produce quality films. Plus, the Edison Trust banned film credits for movie stars because it feared that actors gaining celebrity status would demand more money. However in 1915, a federal district court ruled the trust was indeed a monopoly, and it was soon dissolved.
The Jewish producers had headed West to California to escape Edison's threats, where they eventually settled and created Hollywood. With the creation of Hollywood, the executives had the primary input and supervised all aspects and stages of film production. These movies were their portrayal of America, which ultimately came to represent the "American dream". By creating their own idealised America, this shadow image of America became so widely popular and disseminated that its images and values influenced the real America.
During the Golden Age of the Hollywood film industry, studio heads started a movie guild where the movie moguls could honour themselves by giving each other awards. In this way, they went from being a group of immigrant Jews to award-winning American producers, successfully integrating into the upper classes of American society. But Jewish founders of Hollywood also contributed to the dissemination of Black culture by consuming it, and then introducing them into their film productions which were screened to American citizens, a large number of them being white Americans.
Common themes found in these films, such as the idea of the outsider made the films relevant to audiences and exportable to many markets. Hollywood musicals were classic stories reinterpreted from a Jewish perspective, and Irving Berlin did more than any composer to americanise Jewish aspirations: to seek a better life and to fit in.
But even the Golden Age of Hollywood had to come to an end. The first 50 years of Hollywood was just the studios making a lot of money, with no competition and full control over the films' contents. The studios also owned the theatres and could decide how long those movies stayed screening. The arrival of television changed the industry and brought competition. Hollywood thought it would be a passing fad, but people started to prefer watching TV programs in the comfort of their own homes. All of a sudden, America had an insatiable desire for TV. Most of the studios suffered, although Universal Studios embraced TV and utilised the film stages to make sitcoms. The advent of DVDs also contributed to the decline of the Hollywood studios. And now, online streaming of films and television shows will change the way Hollywood produces and distributes its films.
Today, it can be said that Hollywood culture is popular culture, as films still hold a strong influence on society's perceptions, values, and beliefs. Five of the eight big studios that dominated Hollywood's Golden Age are still there albeit under new conglomerate management: 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, and Columbia. With the recent allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein and director Woody Allen, Hollywood is now forced to confront its deeply-entrenched system of sexual exploitation and dismissal of women's contributions to the film industry.
Personally, I was quite surprised to learn about the Jewish founders who created Hollywood, and to know that all those film productions represented a deeper desire to be accepted by society. The glitz and glamour of Hollywood is still sustained by how society worships its stars, the fame and fortune they carry. But the Hollywood empire was also built upon the oppression and exploitation of women, and the swift actions by Hollywood insiders to oust sexual abusers (and their supporters) is long overdue. The industry has also been making improvements in its representation of women and people of colour. I think it's important for me to acknowledge Hollywood's darker undertones, and to support its transformation into a more inclusive, empowering version of itself.
References:
French, P. (2010). How 100 years of Hollywood have charted the history of America. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/feb/28/philip-french-best-hollywood-films (Accessed: 31 January 2018)
Klein, C., (2012). The Renegade Roots of Hollywood Studios. Available at: http://www.history.com/news/the-renegade-roots-of-hollywood-studios (Accessed: 31 January 2018)
Chia Yee Hsean (0322352)
Entertainment Design
Assignment 1
Lecture/Tutorials:
Earlier in the week, Mr. Mike and Ms. Anis explained the module outline and assignment briefs to us. He then proceeded to discuss several topics related to the film industry, including matte paintings and concept art. He also briefly discussed royalties and fair use, as well as the industry organisations like Creative Commons and MyIPO in Malaysia.
Instructions:
Assignment 1: Event Poster (30%)
The Brief
Produce an Event Poster for a fictional Movie, Video Game or Music Concert. Strive to produce the most creative and innovative poster that engages and interactive. Do consider 3D pop-up designs, augmented reality, scan art etc.
Duration of Assignment
2 Weeks
DEADLINE
Week 2
Description & Requirements
Produce an A3 size print for an Event Poster. The event should be a fictional (non-existing) and should be an original Intellectual Property. A detailed proposal for the event poster should include the event type, the purpose, the uniqueness, target audience, date, time and venue and the visual concept. The design technique and method could be based on photography key art or it could be a combination of photography and digital graphic imagery. All design development must be supported by in- depth research and informed rationalization.
You are encouraged to be as original as possible in your design and idea conceptualization.
Submission
Please submit your digital artwork in .jpg format on a CD/DVD together with the coloured A3 printed version in an envelope with a clear identification label. A design journal should also be submitted to support the work.
Assignment Progress:
I wanted to work on movie poster, and looked around for interesting, off-kilter stories for my fictional movie to be based off. I figured an eccentric story could make for a fun challenge and also allow me to introduce some interesting elements of interactivity to the poster. And I started by looking for visually interesting posters and figuring out an interesting backstory for each of them:
Research Question:
How was Hollywood born and how does that shape your perception of it? And how does it influence the world's society, culture, and history? How has the film industry changed now?
Hollywood was largely the product of six movie studios, all of its Jewish founders with strikingly similar backgrounds. These Jewish immigrants who eventually started Hollywood grew up under less-than-ideal circumstances, and sought to create better lives for themselves. And it was through the creation of Hollywood that they were able to climb the social ranks of American society.
Although Thomas Edison first helped usher in theatrical exhibition with the creation of the Kinetoscope, he and his peers saw film as an amusement for the middle working class. Adolph Zukor bypassed Edison and started importing foreign films and premiering them in American theatres. Not wanting to depend on Europeans for quality films, the Jewish then began producing their own films.
Edison had brought the representatives of the biggest film companies in the United States together in December 1908 to form the Motion Picture Patents Company, also known as the Edison Trust, which collectively held 16 major film patents. In addition to requiring producers and exhibitors to use its patented equipment, the trust mandated that every theatre owner pay $2 a week simply to hold a license to purchase and screen its films. The Edison Trust sued any “pirates” who screened or made films without its permission. It fixed a standard price of admission no matter how expensive or cheap a movie’s production, which meant studios had little incentive to produce quality films. Plus, the Edison Trust banned film credits for movie stars because it feared that actors gaining celebrity status would demand more money. However in 1915, a federal district court ruled the trust was indeed a monopoly, and it was soon dissolved.
The Jewish producers had headed West to California to escape Edison's threats, where they eventually settled and created Hollywood. With the creation of Hollywood, the executives had the primary input and supervised all aspects and stages of film production. These movies were their portrayal of America, which ultimately came to represent the "American dream". By creating their own idealised America, this shadow image of America became so widely popular and disseminated that its images and values influenced the real America.
During the Golden Age of the Hollywood film industry, studio heads started a movie guild where the movie moguls could honour themselves by giving each other awards. In this way, they went from being a group of immigrant Jews to award-winning American producers, successfully integrating into the upper classes of American society. But Jewish founders of Hollywood also contributed to the dissemination of Black culture by consuming it, and then introducing them into their film productions which were screened to American citizens, a large number of them being white Americans.
Common themes found in these films, such as the idea of the outsider made the films relevant to audiences and exportable to many markets. Hollywood musicals were classic stories reinterpreted from a Jewish perspective, and Irving Berlin did more than any composer to americanise Jewish aspirations: to seek a better life and to fit in.
But even the Golden Age of Hollywood had to come to an end. The first 50 years of Hollywood was just the studios making a lot of money, with no competition and full control over the films' contents. The studios also owned the theatres and could decide how long those movies stayed screening. The arrival of television changed the industry and brought competition. Hollywood thought it would be a passing fad, but people started to prefer watching TV programs in the comfort of their own homes. All of a sudden, America had an insatiable desire for TV. Most of the studios suffered, although Universal Studios embraced TV and utilised the film stages to make sitcoms. The advent of DVDs also contributed to the decline of the Hollywood studios. And now, online streaming of films and television shows will change the way Hollywood produces and distributes its films.
Today, it can be said that Hollywood culture is popular culture, as films still hold a strong influence on society's perceptions, values, and beliefs. Five of the eight big studios that dominated Hollywood's Golden Age are still there albeit under new conglomerate management: 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, and Columbia. With the recent allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein and director Woody Allen, Hollywood is now forced to confront its deeply-entrenched system of sexual exploitation and dismissal of women's contributions to the film industry.
Personally, I was quite surprised to learn about the Jewish founders who created Hollywood, and to know that all those film productions represented a deeper desire to be accepted by society. The glitz and glamour of Hollywood is still sustained by how society worships its stars, the fame and fortune they carry. But the Hollywood empire was also built upon the oppression and exploitation of women, and the swift actions by Hollywood insiders to oust sexual abusers (and their supporters) is long overdue. The industry has also been making improvements in its representation of women and people of colour. I think it's important for me to acknowledge Hollywood's darker undertones, and to support its transformation into a more inclusive, empowering version of itself.
References:
French, P. (2010). How 100 years of Hollywood have charted the history of America. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/feb/28/philip-french-best-hollywood-films (Accessed: 31 January 2018)
Klein, C., (2012). The Renegade Roots of Hollywood Studios. Available at: http://www.history.com/news/the-renegade-roots-of-hollywood-studios (Accessed: 31 January 2018)
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