Sebastian Brajkovic- Prezi

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Music Videos Through the Decades (Part 2)

Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai (1997)

In this music video,  the pacing is very funky and smooth. Jay Kay is dancing in a bright room, and the floor appears to be moving. That's the whole gimmick of this video. The walls are actually moving, not the floor.  With his funky dance moves and the illusion trick, it fits to the meaning of the song. The video is the virtual insanity: it's a man wearing a huge hat, dancing around, with the floors moving. My head hurts just from thinking about it. There are also roaches, a bird, and some people getting blown away by the wind. It was weird, but that's what makes it compelling to watch. I think that this music video predicted what will happen to our world today. This world's technology is growing, and we use that technology for good and bad. There are also the presidential election for 2016 and terrorist groups like ISIS. It's like we are in a "virtual insanity". The weird dance moves and the illusion is like the confusion we have in our world today. The stark room and lighting reflects to our modern technology today.

Overall, I think that this music video is a compelling video.

Music Videos Through the Decades

1. From what I seen, the music videos were bizarre. There was definitely more variety of ideas and creative gimmicks in the music videos. even though the technology wasn't advanced as it is today, the music videos had some inspiring dance routine, costumes, and camera shots. There was also some great story-telling. Some was adventurous, like in the music video, "Take on Me" by a-Ha, while others were silly like "Coffee & TV", by Blur. And there was some simple illusion tricks like the one from "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai. Overall,

2. I consider the music video, "Here it Goes Again" by OK Go, to be considered works of art in their own right. The video only consist of a simple camera shot, but the choreography was very complex-and it was all on treadmills. They even got the dancing in sync with their music, which is very hard to do when you have to film this in one take. And the fact that they have to attempt this 17 times to get it right is impressive. This is why I consider this to be a work of art.

3. Throughout the decades, music videos change overtime. In the early music videos, technology wasn't that advanced compared to music videos today. The techniques used with technology was much simpler like in the music video "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads with the fake water background. Many of the videos at the time have to come up with creative ways to make a good music video using the tools that they have at that time. Later on, technology has advanced and became much more accessible to people. Visual effects are more flashy and costumes are starting to become more extravagant like in the music video "Telephone" by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce.

4. The fire arcade video compared to the earlier decades both have something familiar: a neighbourhood. Your childhood neighbourhood is already personal, so the fire arcade video makes it like your own music video. The video was much more interactive than the earlier decade videos. You get to move around the birds and write a letter to your younger self. In the earlier ones, you can really do much except watching it.

5. I think that technology will further advance, possibly making videos more interactive like the fire arcade video. They also might make the costumes and sets more crazy. But I hope that in the future, there will be more creative music videos, unlike some music videos where you just shake your butt.

5 Portraits

I took all of these photos of my brother outside in the Mimico Centennial Library Park. These were taken at sunset so the lighting was good. It's has a soft looking touch on the subject and the things around it. Most of the photos here are direct sunlight except for the last one. The subject was in a playground tunnel so it's open shade light  These shots also show the park in the background. The theme for this is that I made all of the photos B&W, and that the park was used to make some interesting shots. The conceptual part of the theme is that all of these photos are to tell about a teenager visiting a park that he used to go to when he was a child.

 In this photo, the subject's face has a curious look to it, as he watches something over in the distance. And the pose works well with the background because the bars and his arms lead your eyes up to where his face is. The composition of this photo is nice because he is off-center,and the bar acts as a frame, which is appealing.

In this photo, I like his face because it looks like he's talking with a hint of a smile. Also, his hand pose adds personality to the photo. The composition here is simple. His hand is kind of pointing to his face, which can lead your eyes to it.

In this photo, he is looking straight at you. I like the intensity of his expression on his face. I also like the symmetry with his arms. It goes well with the playground set behind him. The background and his arms gives a solid frame around him which I think is a nice composition.

In this photo, his expression on his face has a gentle look and a little bit of a smile to it, which actually fits him well. The pose is different is different from the others, but I like it because it gives more variety. And the composition is fine because the slide acts as a line that leads your eyes to him.

In this photo, the expression on his face makes him look vulnerable. The pose is different too, because the hand got blurry as it got closer to the camera. In the background, there are graffiti inside the playground tunnel. I feel like that it gives more personality to the photo. And the composition has lines from his arms that lead you to his face. 

Overall, I'm satisfied with these photos and I had fun with my brother while taking these shots.

Neoclassicism

My Prezi on neoclassicism

Portrait Lighting Workshop

We got into a workshop with the cool photographer Steve Carty! :DD Here's the photos we took with him.

This photo was taken outside in open shade with a gold reflector underneath her face. You can tell because there is a bit of a golden glow under her chin.The weather at that time was slightly overcast, so the sunlight was not that powerful. That was our only light source. The camera was close to her, maybe about an arms-length. The subject Alex was a step away from the background so that there will be no shadow. I like the background because it contrasts with her black shirt, making it look darker and her face brighter. The expression on Alex's face is very lovely and makes the whole photo brighten up. The placement of the subject was a bit far from the wall in the center and I took the photo in a vertical stance. Overall I like this photo because of that glow on her face.

This photo was taken in the CyberARTS studio with a white background with 2 rim lights shining on the background to make that hazy effect. The main flash light was not used in here and there was no reflector in here. Here in the diagram, it shows the placement of the subject, lights, and camera. The lights were 4ft from the background on the same power. And the lights were placed in an angle so that it can make a X on the background. That way, we can be sure that the background will have even lighting. I used the white background because that's what everyone is using at that time and it will be a hassle to change it. I also was sitting down close to the subject Kris when taking this photo so that we can have an even viewing level. For the subject Kris, his expression is very dramatic against the soft lighting in the background. I love it because it contrasts and also because Kris has a handsome face in that photo. The placement of the subject was in the center a bit far from the background so that there will be no shadows. Again, I took the photo in a vertical stance. Overall, I like this photo because of the dramatic expression and the contrasting lighting.

And lastly I took this photo outside with direct sunlight. But the sunlight was not powerful because it was slightly overcast on that day. No reflector was used in this photo. The only light source was the sun. I was an arms-length close to the subject Basma and she was close to the blue wall which creates the shadows on the wall. The lines in the background frames nicely on the subject and it also leads your eyes to her. Also, the blue works well on the subject. The expression on Basma's face is beautiful and brightens up the photo. The sunlight on her face also helps. I had to crop the photo so that the composition would work out. And I took this photo differently: it was in a horizontal stance. Overall, I like this photo because of the lighting on her face and the lines in the background making a nice composition.

Yeah. Steve Carty was a cool guy. :)

My 3 Best Portrait Photos

Direct Sunlight

The reason I chose this photo is because it shows a lot of personality. You can see Faye laughing with Farren smiling, her arms crossed. It was captured at the moment, and you can see a story behind the photo. The lighting from the sun was good because it's not too powerful, and it gives a warm feeling, making this photo effective. The background is out of focus, but you can see where they might be. The tall light poles and the building leads to the girls, making it a nice composition. Overall, it's a good photo.

Window Light

The reason I chose this photo is because of the mood/atmosphere it's giving. You can see Marlia up close looking at something other than the camera. She's off-center which makes it appealing. The photo is in B&W so you can focus more on Marlia. The wood also helps because it makes a line to Marlia. Speaking of Marlia, her facial expression is very calm, making the photo mysterious and giving it a story. The lighting is soft, adding to that feeling. And I love the light on her eyes. You can see it sparkling. Overall, it's a cool photo.

Open Shade

The reason I chose this last photo is because of the expression Basma is giving. The photo is taken right at the moment, freezing Basma's facial expression, telling a story. Her expression is very loveable and it's in focus and very clear. The wall in the background gives it a nice frame for Basma. And the exposure in the background is a nice contrast to Basma and is a nice lighting. She is also off-center, too. Overall, it's a fine photo.

What to do About Online Art Theft & Plagiarism- My Thoughts

In our world today, one of the big things artists worry about a lot is art theft and plagiarism. The article shows how it affects many of the artists who are sharing their art and making a living out of art. It shows us that some people steal artists' art and claiming it as their own and maybe making a profit out of it, especially the big companies. It also shows the legal steps to take if someone stole an artist's art and wants justice for their stolen art. And it tells you how you can protect you artwork from theft. The process requires a lot of work and patience, but the end result is worth it as they get their justice and money if the art thief uses their art for profit. 

As an artist who shares their art online, I would want justice if my art was stolen. But the process can be difficult for an artist depending on who stole the art. Some individual would be easy, since you can report it, but if it was a big company, it requires legal work which could be overwhelming to many young artists. 

In the Internet, it's so easy to steal or plagiarize someone's artwork, sometimes without even knowing. And sadly, there's no way to stop this. There's too many people online doing this. One of the reasons people do this is to get attention. and some would say that it's great for a small artist like you because it expose you or that they love your art and would like to show it off. So then they could have easily gave credit to the artist by saying it's by them. But even so, some big platforms such as Instagram and Deviantart makes it easier to get justice by reporting the thief's account to get it banned. And many artists have gotten their justice by reporting and with the support of their followers reporting it. 

It's really sad for art theft and plagiarism to be normal in our society. It has become so common that people are giving advice to people online like the article. I think to really end art theft and plagiarism is to stop making art. Then there will be no art to steal in the first place. But that would be telling us to stop what we love doing. It's like telling someone to stop being that part of you. It's still you, and no one could take that away. So we will keep doing what we love, even if it means that we will have enemies as thieves, we will still be able to express that part of us in our art.

(Wow, I think I went a little too deep with this O.O")

Lighting Situations

Window Light

What I like about this photo is that mysterious feeling you get from the photo. He's looking out the window, and the window light creates a soft look on his face. And since it's B&W, you have 2 things to focus on. One is the man, and the other is the window, because you could be wondering what's he looking outside.

Open Shade

What I like about this photo is the relaxed look the woman has in the shade. When you're in shade, you relax. This makes this photo natural. And it has a shallow depth of field, so it focuses on her.

Direct Light

What I like about this photo is the use of the aperture. It's a shallow depth of field, but you can partly see that the woman is in a field. I also the lighting on this photo. It's a bright photo, but it's not overly exposed. And the woman looks natural in the pose, not stiff.

And Some Cool References to Help People

Cool Photos

So here's my 20 photos that appeal to me:

Now there is a key part to all of these photos. Their eyes are not looking directly to the camera. This is the theme that I want to go at when we take photos. The model looking away from the camera makes it seem like there is something beyond the photo. It makes you wonder what are they looking at. This appeals to me a lot.

Photography Stuff

This is a fast shutter speed photo because a humming bird is very fast and in the photo, the bird looks frozen and there is no blurs. The camera needs to have a fast shutter speed in order to get this photo.

This is a slow shutter speed photo because of the blur in the photo. If it was in fast shutter speed, we would see more crisp detail. The camera sets the shutter speed slow to get this photo.

This is a shallow depth of field photo because it only focuses on the flower closest to the camera. The background became out of focus. The camera was set in a higher aperture to get this photo.

This is a wide/deep depth of field photo because the foreground and background are in focus. The camera has to have a lower aperture setting to get this photo.

PONPONPON Typography

Here's my typography. Hope you like it. Yay school's over! XD

Still Life Drawing

Here's my still life drawing. Peace.

PNG Version

Jpg Version

Reference

Jpg

Png

Principles of Animation

Soooo, here's the same video from my last post. This time, I will analyze the video for some principles of animation. So one of the principles of animation is the exaggeration on 0:25. It was a good use of exaggeration because putting all of that into one word gave it a lot of energy and it clearly sends the viewers that word to their face. Another principle that I spotted was both arcs and staging in 1:05. The words were coming into view in an arc, sitting on top of the world. It was a good use of both of those principles because it sets the stage of the world with the line, "Now the world is torn apart". The stage matched with the line and it fits well with the video. And in 1:24 , there was a squash and stretch with a bit of follow through and overlapping action. The line, "I'm howling at the moon", was stretched at first and then it was squashed down for the words to rest. It was a good use of squash and stretch because it gives the line some weight and adds variety to the typography.

And that's it....

Kinetic Typography Inspiration

The pacing of the video was fast, and the lyrics were on sync with the audio. It was pretty impressive, since the singer was usually singing fast. There was a lot of emphasis on some words like "Discord" which is the entire point of the video. I really love how they exaggerate the words that are sung the longest. Like when he does the "aaaaallllllll" and "aaaawwwaaayyyyy". It added a lot of emotion to the video. Since the video is long, there are a variety of movements to be seen. But I like how they still used the same animation everytime the chorus came up. It gives unity and it's not a bunch of random movements. It also has a lot of fonts. Each font was used effectively on every word. The theme of this is dark, which is fitting for the song. The overall design was really great. It was dark and had a lot going on, especially with the fast pacing, which is fitting since it's about discord. But it was balanced with a few slow things here an there so you can still be able to read it. Overall this kinetic typography stood out to me the most because of the way the words are moved, composition and the exaggeration.

Helvetica Movie Quotations

"Maybe the feeling you have when you see particular typographic choices used on a piece of packaging is just "I like the look of that, that feels good, that's my kind of product." But that's the type casting its secret spell." -Rick Poynor

I believe that fonts are used to express or communicate something to the people reading it. I think that this quote means that with the right font on the right product or other things, it impacts many people. It clearly shows to the readers what they want to express or communicate. In the movie, it shows how fonts are everywhere and has impact to us. If fonts are used on the wrong things, it can give off the wrong message. Every font has a meaning to its own and its own personality. And with the many fonts that exist now, we are able to make our text have expression and personality.

With the popular font Helvetica, many people love the font because it's balanced, clean, and very neutral. You can write basically everything with Helvetica. In the movie, it really shows that Helvetica is everywhere like air. But I think that it's overused and boring now, since everyone is using Helvetica. It's like a cliché. People just use that font because everyone is using it. That's a problem because that font may not express the right thing they want to express. Since Helvetica is so neutral, it doesn't have a personality or character to it.

I believe that Helvetica is a fine font, and would be a go to font to use for formal or business stuff or for advertising, but Helvetica is not the best font to always use all the time. I believe that there are better fonts to use that better communicate what you want to show.

Tattered Seams T-shirt and Poster

                                       

   

T-shirt

Poster

So these are my work for the school play Tattered Seams.

T-shirt

When I was coming up with the t-shirt, I thought of the a person upside-down smiling. The reason for this is that the whole play is about a small, family-run circus who appears happy on the outside, but really a mess in the inside. So I decided to make the ringmaster as my person because I feel like that she is the person who tries to keep the family together, and has to carry most of the burdens to keep the circus running. I tried to make the t-shirt have a dark theme to it, so I made her have a creepy face (sorry actress) and used mostly black. Then I used white for the lines and most of the text because it unifies with the black. I then used red because red is a common colour for circuses and to add variety to the shirt. For the font, I used the Sancreek Regular because I liked the overall look of it and it has a circus feel to it. I decided to use "Tattered Seams" instead of "The Amardo Family Circus" because the first one has less words and it would be easier to tie it in into the short. And for the text, I added some red to some of the letters and characters to balance off the black and white.

I made the t-shirt through Adobe Illustrator. I first used the pen tool and traced the actress' face and drew in the eyes and smile. Then I traced a hat which I got from the internet. Next I put the hat over top of the face so it would look like she is wearing it. I downloaded the font and change the colour of it. After that, I was done. I couldn't remember any hard part. It was overall easy enough to do. I'm kinda satisfied with my product because I got the image that I wanted at least. Although I wished we had more time for this so that I can make it better. But because of the time limit, I have to work with what I have.  

Poster

For the poster, I wanted to take the word, "seams" and do something with it. I thought of the Amardo family with a huge rip in the middle for the seams. The family is dysfunctional, but not totally destroyed, so I drew in some treads to shoe that the family circus is still hanging on. Later on, I decided to do a circus instead of the family to get it done on time. I wanted it to have that same dark theme to it like the t-shirt. With the rip in the middle of something that's normal/happy, I got the image. I used black for the borders, lines, and the rip to give it that dark feeling. For the circus, I went with the classic red and white because the Amardo family is poor. They don't have money for exquisite colours. I made the background as the night sky because I feel like it gives the circus this magical feeling to it and makes the poster look happy-if it weren't for that rip. 

I made the poster through Paint Tool Sai. I used my Wacom tablet to draw the outlines and colour it. This was way much harder than the t-shirt. I am not really that experience with digital art and I'm forced to take it slow so that I won't miss something important. When that's done, I emailed myself so that I can access to it from the CyberARTS lab. I added the text through Adobe Photoshop. I made the title of the play big enough so that people can see it from far away and hopefully come an take a closer look so that they can know about the play. Also, that's the same for the t-shirt. I used the same font from the shirt but added a black outline into it. I did that because I learned that a white text with a black outline are always legible when put on any colour. After that, I was done with the poster. I'm very satisfied with the poster because this was my first time using my tablet for school. I think I did pretty well with this. Your eyes focuses on the rip, the colour of the circus adds variety into it, and the night sky unifies the poster together. I think that it's pretty good on the short time we have. If I had more time, I would probably add more details into it. 

Masks and Blending Modes Effects

So for my celebrity, I did Eir Aoi, who is famous for making music for animes. What I did first is masking out Eir Aoi so that it's only her in the background. Then I played around with the blending modes so that she looks like she's at the beach. I thought water ripples would be a good texture effect because she's in the beach. I placed the water ripples image on top of her and then masking it out so that it's only on Eir Aoi. After that, I lowered the opacity of the water ripples to blend. Then I played with the blending modes again to blend the water ripples with her even more. And that's how I got my celebrity on a beach. :)