Vislang: Communication Model vol 5.0 Final Statement and artifact

This was a great project for me. Experimentally, I decided to render my entire animation using cut paper and minimal digital effects which is a style I had never attempted before. After learning about the communication models general principal I decided my view of it became something that was very hands-on for all participants. The cut paper reflected the hands-on nature and physicality of the process. I decided to take a very linear approach in order to form a narrative. This allows for a more engaging and entertaining learning experience for the viewer of my animation. This project really drove home all aspects of the communication model and I realize that it is something that I need to focus on every day I work as a designer. Even while making the video, I constantly thought about clarity and tried like hell to minimize noise. 


Narration: Written by myself, read by Jason Gongaware
Song: Edited and looped by myself, from the original riff of Xoxo, Panda's "The Boys and Girls (Good Morning)." 



Untitled from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This year really helped me step out of my box. I experimented and opened myself to failure with the expectation of self-improvement and gain. Though I may not have always acted receptive in critiques, I really took each comment to heart and will use those small utterances to shape my design-mind and my work process and ethic. Every failure was a success. Every mistake was (eventually) a blessing. This year it has become my new-found goal to continue pushing myself beyond my own limits and find my own brand of greatness. 

VisLang: Communication Model vol 4.0 Video

With a Chance of Rain: An Illustration of a Communication Model from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This is the first round of an actual video. I've since made a few changes. I'll post the final piece in the next day or two.

Vislang: Group discussion

• abby, cameron, bryan, jonathan

1. As a group, what is your common denominator, or shared critical approach, to the problem?
          Screen based- almost narrative, Brian isn't doing a movie but it's still screen based unless he focuses more on the 
          idea of a commercial for the program he is building in flash- then it still remains a narrative and the "final" piece 
          is still something the viewer has to watch. 3-4 of the 4 are movies or will be movies as a final basis.

2. Considering the project scope/objectives, what should be added, altered or eliminated from individual solutions?
          Jon still needs text 
          Cam needs the bar that Jamie talked to him about, denoting what specific part of the com. model is going on    
          during individual parts of the video. He's also thinking about a voice over instead of music. 
          Brian needs to add an opening page/home page and a voice over (tutorial or commercial) that further clarifies his
          program and receiver/sender. 
          Mine seems to be good as long as the execution of the actual movie works out. 

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.75

The top image and the very last shows the hand cut/placed type used to denote the title of my movie, "With a Chance of Rain: An illustration of a communication model"

The next three images are just a bit of a teaser of my movie. Jill's hair has changed.

Fifth image down is some furniture made for Jack and Jill's studies.

Second to last image is a shot of the rooftop of Jill's apartment building, where she will send off the pigeon (who has no name.)

The New (new and edited) Dialogue

___________________

This is Jill. In this illustration of how a communication model works, Jill represents the Sender. The Sender is in charge of distributing a message that he or she wants others to receive. A Message does not deal only with saying something, but how it is said and the treatment of the actual content. The Receiver in this context is Jill's brother Jack.

After writing her letter, she will attach it to the pigeon and send him off to deliver the message. A channel is how a message gets from a Sender to a Receiver. The pigeon is the channel.

If there are any problems with the delivery of the message, the problem is called Noise. Noise alters how the Receiver perceives the message. Since the paper got wet and the ink smeared, the rain acts as noise. Jack now has to fill in the blank based on his personal knowledge and cultural background. His response to Jill will act as Feedback to let her know how her message was received.

Minimal noise will allow for a clearer communication of the message and keep everyone happy and unconfused. The End.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 3.5 Further character/prop/scene set up

Per Jamie's suggestion, I decided to add a bit more to the faces of Jack and Jill. Jill's lips are gone again. They seemed too wrong for my type of character design. Jack's mustache and the twins eyebrows stay. 

I needed to make a larger version of Dmitri for his solo flying scene. I created the larger version like I created everything else- sketch to cut out to tracing onto new paper to cut to tracing out rest of the parts. 

The very bottom photo is of the individual rain drops I cut out for the sake of the big storm that will be the cause of  noise in the communication model.

VisLang: Communication Model vol 1.5 feedback

I met with Micah and Brian about my choice of annotation. After conferring with the two of them, they both agreed that this was a good way to annotate my animation. They agreed that it was clear and easy to follow, as well as interesting. Brian suggested I add in a line about the channel.

Originally I simply stated: Whatever path the message takes is called a channel.
I believe I will change it slightly, possibly into: The path the message takes from the Sender to the Receiver is called a "channel." A channel is generally constructed by smell, sight, taste, touch and sound. 

VisLang: Communication Model vol 1.0

Narration from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This is the first round of annotation that I'm trying out. My animation is going to tell a story of the communication model, and thus I thought a narrative approach for annotating my story would be an appropriate approach. I put the first iteration of the narration on vimeo, which is above. Below is the monologue. You can see where it is broken up and sort of how it will "appear" in my animation.

1-This is Lucy. In this ridiculous illustration of a communication model, Lucy represents (what we in the business like to refer to as) the Sender. The sender is in charge of having a  message that he or she wants to distribute to someone else.

2-This is Fargo. Fargo is a dog, that is true, but for this purpose fargo represents Lucy's message.

3- Now that he is free of Lucy, Fargo is going to start looking for that "someone else" I mentioned earlier. From here on out, let's call him the Receiver.

4-Whatever path the message takes is called a channel.

Between The Sender and the Receiver, Fargo (as dogs often are) is going to be distracted by many things. Any thing that causes the message to run astray of it's original purpose is known as Noise.

6-The message has been found by Joe, the Receiver. After looking at Fargo's tag, Joe decides to look for lucy and return Fargo to her. Since Fargo is now traveling from Joe to Lucy, he acts as feedback. Feedback is the way the receiver communicates with the sender, generally in order to improve the sender's original message.

7-Now that Lucy and Fargo are reunited, Lucy can train Fargo to avoid distractions so he reaches people like Joe in a more timely fashion, and the circuit starts all over again.

8-The end.

Vislang: Presentation notes/feedback

 she's typically smitten by dangerous types

gun control, buy cookies, gay marriage

BRYAN

you spent a lot of time thinking about factors. How are they applied? They all determine how you perceive a message, they all create or discuss noise... but what is your point? There is nothing engaging, there is no connection with your postcard beyond the idea of a discussion.

the last graphic red/yellow was pretty, but it almost gets muddled. why is the white sender hogging the message. The only thing physically shared between the two is the feed back, and seemingly, the noise. The message needs to connect the two.

DMITRI

organic growth:

"define experience" - hi-lighted words makes me think of online (wiki), make me think text, makes me not want to read it, needs more objects to make me interested in continuing. Is there an end in sight? ((LEAST successful and interesting)) The more text there is, especially when it seems endless, makes me fall asleep and stop caring. people shy away from things that are too text heavy. command Q.

casual conversation:

love the idea of hand illustration- very visually interesting

book form for this concept is good, brings in interest, makes me want to follow the conversation- be careful that it doesn't start looking too comic-book (cliche)

has the possibility of continuing on the back, looping back to the start, an endless circuit

-don't introduce too many characters, maybe a max of 3. I want to know more about the characters and what they do and how they interact than how many characters you can draw and cram into a book.

stop motion:

also a good idea, very interesting, could still include lots of humor, less interactive but still very fun- try having physical letters/type on a wall- don't make the text computer generated. Your photo quality will have to be very high. The worse the photos look the less interested I will be in what you have to say. You have a chance to include your personal style with how the people look, how the photos look, etc.

LANCE

Your little book is the most interesting idea

- don't add too much information, keep it simple, get away from the "sharing" idea or make that your key note and main point

-think about making many books- several versions, different characters/messages? (probably about 4-5 would be nice)

the balls are a good way to show the metaphor of progression, but its fairly boring and would get too repetitive

luke

connect the dots is a very interesting idea, could be a flash, click 2, line appears, fact appears- click three, line appears between 2 and 3... etc. That could be very fun and definitely is interactive and entertaining.

or could be a physical, with overlays bringing in the information, something dry-erase style. Bottom page has the numbers, info builds up on itself

bottom page has the numbers, next page (transparency is connected to it, hi-lighted first to points to connect?

VisLang: Communication Model ideas

I feel like this whole concept is very linear and thus I am going to take the information and form it into a narrative. My rendering style will be based on my 3rd round postcard, cut paper. I want to use very bright colors. Between the rendering style and the bold colors, I believe this will speak to the younger graphic designer (as opposed to older, more seasoned, who probably already knows this information). 

As of right now I have two animations and 1 book idea in mind.

In this storyboard, (animation one), the sender sends a message, wild animals maim the message (noise), the receiver gets the message and sends back feedback, which is also maimed by an animal.

In my second animation idea, the dog becomes the message and it is distracted by many things (which is the noise), then the dog is found by the receiver and is eventually given back to the owner/sender as feedback. 

The book idea would have very simplistic illustrations with probably one key word. any additional information would become secondary.

VisLang: Notes 11-02

communication models

-simplicity/universality

sender > message > receiver (author process audience centered [in order])

sender < message < receiver/ R>S

berlo model- priority: relationship between source and receiver

source and receiver both have same attributes

still one way mode of communication

tv- one source that goes out to the masses

^- encoding-decoding a message Dec- through reading/listening

examples of different skill levels through process of encoding/decoding

-what stylistic choices are you making

-personal bias towards the subject (are you altering their opinion?)

the more equal the source/reciever- the less breakdown of the message

message: How do you structure/code the content? what symbols are you using- decision of the source- how do you select/arrange the content? This objectifies the message

examples encoding/decoding message:

- choice of music? colors? imagery used? lighting... tells the source- for or against

- newspaper vs blog deliverable- newspaper has more credibility- for an older generation? blog- not necessarily professional or credible

decoration?: good if it reinforces the message, otherwise it becomes noise

channel: effects the experience.

-what your client wants/can afford

-what is the best way to communicate?

mechanical- technical (internet/tv)

presentational- physical outlet

representational- photos/renderings/drawings

we have changed the way we operate- texting, to get a message across, you text things differently. Ok. vs Okaaaayyy..... vs OK! lol? jk? adapting our messages

weaver model:

transmitter/receiver

- actual technology (as a designer, what is your technique/talent?)

noise

-the information that comes between your message and the receiver

-alter the audience's understanding

feedback

-originally ignored this is the method now we know our message has been received

-real-time system that allows you to change/rethink your pitch

emmert/donaghy model

priority: contextualization; sender/receiver duality

noise and feedback

environment/context: what is the message? how you're processing it? background of sender/reciever- everything is judged based on context

perception motivation reasoning: both A and B have same things

what type of symbols that you the sender are going to select

message cycle- meredith davis

priority: designed messages impact on culture; design as cultural production:

-culture shapes design, impact of design on culture, design can recreate/construct culture - trends, social networking (has produced culture, it has changed the way we function as a society)

circulation- if endless, circulation becomes a means of itself. becomes different if sucked into pop culture

reception of individual: from friends? from company? looking at social networking as a means of promotion- friend vs tv

consumption by culture: based on past messages, design is a form of culture production, we are designing messages that will stay around and be included in cultures beyond what we intend them for.

_____________________________________________________________________________

You know you're a design student when:

you start wondering what font your keyboard is in.

you cringe at comic sans.

you know you'd get laughed at for using Rosewood.

you make herbal-essence sounds when you feel good quality paper.

you find ways to kern between individual letterforms in any computer program, including email.

you start worrying about the kerning in your hand writing.

you go to the hospital for cutting yourself with an exacto knife and the nurses ask you if you go to the art school.

you cut yourself with an exacto knife and think, "F#@$, I'm bleeding all over my project."

you know the difference between poster board and illustration board.

you know the benefits of using spray mount over glue stick.

you own at leas one piece of clothing that is CMYK in color.

you're saddened when someone tells you your handwriting is too messy to be considered "hand-rendered type."

you point out ligatures when you're reading a novel.

you congratulate yourself for knowing what type face different things are in.

you refer to non-graphic designers as "civillians"

there are things you can't say to your non-graphic design friends without looking crazy or like a design-dork

_____________________________________________________________________________

shooting arrows through a bullfrog

pigeons in the park, eating rocks

pages streaked with red and gray, letters on a sheet, ink on a blade

long-distance conversations, cans on a string

you are here, deer in the headlights

everything grins in death, a baring of teeth, wide, sightless eyes

smiling faces and champagne bottles

babies in jugs and jars, lined up on a shelf

the lights blink, fade, change, distort and sway. a bare bulb swinging from side to side

white picket fences gray with age, hard to maintain, effortless immobility

VisLang: POSTCARD 3

VisLang: Kodak- first sketches

Since my original ad was created with logos in mind, i need to recreate the poster in Ethos and Pathos. The first three images are of Pathos- they have an emotional element attached to them. The 1st and 3rd image talk about loss. They can steal a camera but they can never steal your memories. Or your house is on fire but at least you have photos of your time there. The second image is a photo of a photo of a photo... just kind of showing the viewer what they can do with 100 exposures.








This last image takes a quote from George Eastman (the man that invented Kodak). This is his camera, admire it. I believe this will be a completely typographic representation of Ethos. George Eastman created a world renowned company and he thinks you should admire it. Thus, you should.

VisLang: Redo- Kodak Camera ad.

This camera company's ad from 1888 is representational of the historic events leading to mass production of photographers everywhere.

September 1888

Tuesday 04:

George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camerawhich uses roll film.


The word "Kodak" was first registered as a trademark in 1888. There has been some fanciful speculation, from time to time, on how the name was originated. But the plain truth is that Eastman invented it out of thin air.
He explained: "I devised the name myself. The letter "K" had been a favorite with me -- it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with 'K.' The word 'Kodak' is the result."


Eastman built his business on four basic principles:

• mass production at low cost
• international distribution
• extensive advertising
• a focus on the customer

In 1889, the Eastman Photographic Materials Company, Limited, was incorporated in London, England, to handle distribution of Kodak products in countries outside the U.S. At first, all goods were manufactured in Rochester. Before long, the combined international and domestic demand outpaced plant resources.

This link leads to a page talking strictly on advertisements for Kodak in the 1880s.

I believe this particular ad is targeting upper-class adults that wish to try their hands at photography. The above link talks about the first Kodak camera costing the equivalency of about $500 in the year 2000. Thus it is not something the poor could afford at the time. This was to be a rich-mans sport. 

This link is about Paul Nadar, who was Eastman's agent. He was an artist, though photography seemed to be his forte. There is no listed artist for the ad I have chosen to recreate, but the illustration of the camera was used in several Kodak ads. 

The ad is broken down into paragraphs, thus hierarchy are important. There is a good combination of serif and sans serif type faces. It is simple, and yet contains a lot of information. 

I believe this ad falls under the idea of Logos. The ad is very factual  and logically stated in order to show the public that this is something easy to use and for the public. Easy to use over and over and over again. 

visLang: Peplowski, It's the Final Countdown

These are some of the final iterations for the Ken Peplowski promotional poster. No one but I seems to enjoy the beige.

This one seems pretty okay... BUT!

















THIS ONE is better. Someone thought the date was still too big, but Rick suggested bringing down the opacity and that seemed to work just fine. Then I dropped the opacity on the "Benny Goodman" tag-line and liked that as well. I believe this is the one I will end up tiling for the final day. 

visLang: Poster digital first iterations

These are some of my first iterations for the Ken Peplowski project. I wanted to us a style that could represent his playful, upbeat musical style. The clean lines of Helvetica, I feel, help to make a bit of contrast between my clarinet portrayal.

I believe the blue color will be what I end up choosing. It furthers on the idea of clean/playful music, but it also will make sense since my show will be held in December.

VisLang: 3x5=15

These are examples of my three possible poster directions. The first two images are for Irony- the idea of Going to Get your Hair done- bouffant hairstyle. Something old and out dated for the new, in the future, show. Ken Peplowski is bringing back Benny Goodman. I'm bringing back the Bouffant.

The second two images will show a Benny Goodman cd playing on a record player. This idea of Bringing back the Classics is shown through anthesis and metonymy.

The last three images are showing a pun. Turning the classics (the clarinet) upside down.

VisLang: Matrix Remastered

The first image is of the entire board, remastered with specific ideas further explored. the right column is of old ideas that I think I'm going to discard. My primary focus is going to be on taking something old, and putting it in todays context. Either though the words that I choose or through a fusion of the two ideas. 

 

The second image here (in black and white because blogger enjoys inverting my images) are a few excerpts from the newly remastered matrix. As I said before, fusing new and old can be seen in the idea of a Dyed Green Beau font hairstyle. The same idea could be procured by using a black and white photo in addition to the words "Get your hair done Tomorrow." 

VisLang: Brainstorm/Matrix

This is the initial list of things I came up with. I worked on this list while also jotting down ideas on note cards. From here I made a list of Icon Index and Symbols that I could use to represent Mr. Peplowski. 

The Icon/Index/Symbol list: 

ICON: 100 "Years", 100 clarinets

INDEX: Benny Goodman's grave with music notes, upside down clarinets, recreation of a benny goodman poster, Old microphone/radio/radio dial, 100 "years" making up a clarinet

SYMBOL: baby playing a clarinet, cd on a record player, bee with movement lines, branch with a berry or leaf, playing a branch with berry or leaf

I also included a "Random" Category for things that don't quite fit the bill of any one icon/index/symbol category. For example, the words "TELL YOUR FRIENDS" and then having a picture of an old circle-dial phone and a cell phone to comment on the past/present aspect of Mr. Peplowski's music. 

Below are the matrix-to-date photos. I wrote some of the note cards with pink pen which was hard to photograph. I apologize for the quality. 

VisLang: Jazz Visual Research

These are photos I got off the net of Ken Peplowski, Benny Goodman, and general images of clarinets and a couple of album covers. I think the "This is Benny Goodman" cover may end up being one of my biggest inspirations for this project.









These images are horrible quality because they were taken with my phone, but I took them while we were at the Jazz Museum down in the Jazz District. 18th And Vine baby!