Games contract Tess & Jess

Movie: Cowboys Vs Aliens
            
Jessica and Tess both formally agree to follow the formulated assessment plan created by myself and Tes which examines the duties needed to form my share of work in correspondence to our major gaming task. We will both act as a primary back to the other, examing the works of the other in retrospect to timing and clarity.

 Jess will move dilligently, swiftly through her assigned section, focusing primarly on the creative and visual conglomerate of the gaming task. She will review prior lectures and other research in effect to help design the geograhical map behind our theme. She will take into account visual and literatery aspects in relation to gaming including:

• Display of pivital information such as keys & rewards, (wk 12)
• Consider playable and non- playable aspects (wk 11)
• The use of layout and deisgn to create a vidually appealing non linear structute.(wk 12)
• Analysis goals such as health and progressive and link them to key situated tasks. (wk 11)
• Include tasks for different levels of gamers i.e easy/hard (wk 11)

I, Tess will move dilligently, swiftly and thoroughly through my assigned section, focusing primarly on the theoretical and literary elements behind our overall games concept in relation to prior readings supplied by the unit. I will:

• Examine Cowboys vs Aliens and the parallels in plot in creating an effective video game (wk 11)
• Formulate situations that is both appealing and enteratining to an audience. (wk 11)
• Display the current goals including short, medium and long term, (wk 11)
• Write a descriptive rationale will co-incides with our video game concepts displayed on the goegraphical map and ideas discussed by researched journalists. (wk 12) Write with clarity in correlation to the games overal elements including genre, rules, objectives and rewards (wk 12)

42888794 (tess) & 42866367 (jess)

42117801 Photo Essay

Rationale:
Having been inspired by various websites throughout the Internet  I have come to see that I sight might not always be the best, and sometimes looking a bit closer can be regretful. For this photo essay I took a number of macro shots, preceded by a general picture of the item. I did this for a number of common household items, such as fruit or plants outside, just to gain a more in depth perspective.

Photo Essay by Christopher Rylatt, Genevieve Enright and John Ardic

Christopher Rylatt
Genevieve Enright
John Ardic

'Achromatic Alleyways'

Rationale

The everyday aesthetics of contemporary digital photography are primarily focused on the ‘immediate, fleeting display…and framing of the small and mundane (Murray, 2008:147), as opposed to the warmth of nostalgic, domestic living. In considering the disposable, temporary nature of photography, we chose our theme of alleyways and our subtheme of being colourless, or as it is better described, achromatic. Alleyways serve as the intermediary between destinations such as a workplace or shop, yet they are often overlooked due to their decay and perturbing nature.                                                                                   

The effects of sepia and black and white, colours that are traditionally typical of domestic photographs, have been manipulated in the photo essay to convey an ironic message that instead of ‘embalming moments of time’ (Bazin, 1967, as cited in Murray: 2008:154) that are warm and inviting, they have instead assisted in encapsulating an environment that is ever foreboding.                                                                                                                                

Exploring the urban eye, one might still find that there is beauty in the mundane, as was our experience visiting the alleyways of Eastwood, Parramatta and the Rocks. The texture of decayed bricks, the vector lines of the paths and the tessellations of the bricks reveals a fleeting fetish for an achromatic style that may be initially perceived as desolate and disarming, but under a second glance, features a slight liveness.The industrial, capitalist urban landscapes of Parramatta and Eastwood and the historical landscape of The Rocks are connected in this stream. Initially, we disregarded some earlier photographs due to their blurry/grainy edges, but as (Murray 2008:160) ascertains, there was an ‘attraction to the imperfect,' that portrayed an aesthetic of mundane authenticity.                                                                                                                            

Conversely, the music score ‘Afterwards’ (2012) by cis minor was chosen due to its melancholy style, and we aligned the timing of each photo to a new piano chord being struck as to further highlight the sense of immediacy and disposability that follows the appreciation of each photograph. Just as the beauty of the mundane alleyway is displayed, it is replaced by the experience of reaching the destination.

 

 

 

References

Journal

 

Murray, S. (2008), 'Digital images, photo-sharing, and our shifting notions of everyday aesthetics', Journal of Visual Culture August 2008, vol. 1, no. 2:147-163.

Music by cis minor (2012) "Afterwards", CC Attribution License, Source : http://snd.sc/WEIZZw

 

Photo Essay - Petra Schulzer & Michael Felicetti

Photo Essay - MAS 110

by Petra Schulzer & Michael Felicetti

'Urban Decay'

 

 

‘Urban Decay’ is a photographic story about the abandonment and decay of establishments in Sydney. The photographs aim to convey the ‘Beauty in the Broken.’  The word decay is often associated with negative connotations however, the photographs in this film aim to represent another side of this idea. The decay presentation ranges from wreathing on windows to the production of new life through plants and shrubs entwining itself within the urban environment.

The photographs have been visually manipulated to make emphasis on the aesthetically appealing colours, lines, shape and contrast which are presented surrounding the decay through digital enhancement. In doing this we have presented the darkened abandonment in great juxtaposition to the vibrant display of the beauty which is contain through these scenarios.

Music has been selected in order to incorporate the idea of isolation and neglection through the sombre tones of the piano, whilst the violins represent the intricacy and beauty within each photograph.

The images have been captured throughout the Sydney suburbs of Redfern, Ramsgate Beach and North Strathfield. Each suburb is able to present different notions of socio-economic status, however, they each similarly present the same notions of decay through their buildings, factories and work sites. Whilst some areas presented signs of neglection and abandonment others were able to presentation notions of rejuvenation and re-establishment.

 

Industry : By 42866367 and 42888794

Industry: The Re-definement into beauty 

Throughout our photo essay we have established a theme of urban beauty, focussing particularly in that of the industrial, previously assumed ‘rough’ elements of our city and history. Murray (2008) discusses how the social boom of “easy-to use” (pp.151) film cameras pushed a divide between amateurs into brackets of serious amateurs and those that only documented special events and almost sensationalised everyday life. Technology such as social media and Flickr invite the human element in and critically influence the way in which these images are digested. Our intent was to return photography to its raw form and highlight the beauty in the mundane, where photography formerly grounded itself. We chose to visit industrial hot spots such as Redfern, Newtown, St Peters, Alexandria and centre our process on using angles, focal length and apertures to capture these seemingly old and at times abandoned components of our city’s everyday life and history, to elevate them and exhibit that the ordinary is what makes the city intrinsic and wholly beautiful. Edith Piaf by Jungle Weed offered a fragmented experimental feel to the original piece. Parallel to the theme of the Photo Essay, the song provoked his empowering historical and classical feel to the piece, illustrating the detriment of an almost timeless environment. Industry itself like the classicial song however worn out will always be seized by society as an opportunity for revamping to create something anew.

By Jessica Shaw
Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture August 2008 vol. 7(2). 147-163.

Industry: a Photo Essay. 42888794 & 42866367

Throughout our photo essay we have established a theme of urban beauty, focussing particularly in that of the industrial, previously assumed ‘rough’ elements of our city and history. Murray (2008) discusses how the social boom of “easy-to use” (pp.151) film cameras pushed a divide between amateurs into brackets of serious amateurs and those that only documented special events and almost sensationalised everyday life. Technology such as social media and Flickr invite the human element in and critically influence the way in which these images are digested. Our intent was to return photography to its raw form and highlight the beauty in the mundane, where photography formerly grounded itself. We chose to visit industrial hot spots such as Redfern, Newtown, St Peters, Alexandria and centre our process on using angles, focal length and apertures to capture these seemingly old and at times abandoned components of our city’s everyday life and history, to elevate them and exhibit that the ordinary is what makes the city intrinsic and wholly beautiful. The song choice was very organic to our theme, much of modern pop is very superficial. We felt an older style, more sophisticated melody fit the tone of our images, which had minimal manipulation and were of historic nature. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiWnrJQUys&feature=youtu.be

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture August 2008 vol. 7(2). 147-163.

Font - Tori O'Sullivan 42876664 and Alexa Arcamone 42912989

 

Font

A Photo Essay: by Alexa Arcamone and Tori O'Sullivan

Theme: Fonts

Subtheme: Society's texual portrayl



Our digital project represents our interest in the way words are captured and portrayed throughout society. We believe that text has the ability to create a new dimension of expression, demonstrating a sense of visual diversity. The way that font is projected helps develop a sense of presence and meaning for various text. We felt we could capture and present these fonts through a myriad of photographic forms.

We attempted to such capture images of familiarity – the everyday aesthetics commonly disregarded within society, such as an informative sign or the nonchalant writings of the every day person. Clearly, the font and words captured are pervasive within everyday contemporary society, as depicted through our project. Overall, it represents the diverse portrayals of the written word and various facets of contemporary urban decay.

Our project demonstrates the photographic techniques of contrast and texture, coupled with interesting angles of perspective in displaying various examples of the written language. These techniques are employed in order to convey our thematic concern of font and its varied dissemination within our contemporary society. We feel the accompanying choice of sound track furthers the reflective mood of our work and encourages audiences to ponder on the way through which society encourages the diversity of textual expression.

MAS110- Photo Essay - Old and New Forms of Architecture

Photo Essay - Old and New Forms of Architecture

By: 

Ryan Maher    43005799

Vivek Vastrad  42917417

 

Main Theme: Old and New Forms of

       Architecture

Sub Theme:  Reflections          

Music: Casual Most Days         

By: J̌ą̊ɱës•Ɓųsīnęsš       

Music Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
( CC BY 3.0)

http://soundcloud.com/jamesbusiness/casual-most-days

Photo Essay Rationale

For the photo essay we decided that our main theme would consist of capturing old and new forms of architecture. Reflections appear throughout the photos which form the foundation of our sub theme as they represent the ‘everyday aesthetic’. The photos of the buildings were taken from various angles which assisted in highlighting the reflections which appear in the windows of the newer buildings. iPhoto was employed as a way to edit these photos, and through enhancing the colours as well as editing the contrast and exposure of each photo, these reflections became significantly more prominent. In addition to iPhoto, iMovie was used to create various transitions, such as fades and cross dissolves. The Ken Burns effect was also utilized in order to effectively highlight aspects of the mundane such as decay and modernization. Correspondingly, the photo essay is accompanied by music which provides urbanized and reflective characteristics, all of which are visually present throughout the photo essay.  The occurrence of clouds is also prevalent throughout, as reflections are evident in all the photos of the modern buildings and consequently supports the notion of the mundane and ‘everyday aesthetic’. 

References

Murray, S (2008) 'Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics', 
Journal of Visual Culture, vol. 7(2), pp. 147-163. 



 

'Bridges Overlooked' by Rachel Andrada and Isabella DiManno - Photo Essay

'Bridges Overlooked'

By: Rachel Andrada                  Student Number: 4284 8709
By: Isabella DiManno                Student Number: 4305 0271

Rationale 

Bridges overlooked is an appraisal of the often unappreciated image of bridges. The idea was inspired by the urban landscape and our only manipulation of conquering natural obstacles. Bridges facilitate every day activities, an enhancement that helps us travel, either publicly or privately. Each bridge ages differently and expresses individual characteristics: from the Iron Cove bridge to the Gasworks bridge, humans rely on them without acknowledging their significance. 

The film demonstrates a transition from black and white images to a more vibrant and colour filled perception of the structures. This technique was purposely applied to highlight our own awareness regarding society’s reliance on these bridges. We decided not to feature Sydney’s most icon bridges such as the: Sydney Harbour bridge and the ANZAC bridge, because bridges are not just a part of our national identity, but rather, part of the everyday aesthetic as well. This is identified in the second last image of the: Meadowbank Railway line bridge, where the supporting columns give the appearance of bleeding, which we interpreted as man kind using and not appreciating its fundamental presence.  The film is accompanied by compelling, soft, instrumental composition by Spune to enhance the atmosphere of the urban bustle.

While bridges may be overlooked they continue to be an ever present authority in society and its structure. 

Desolation and Decay - Tim & Zach

Zach Odgers & Tim Blundell

Desolation and decay

Zach 42820014, Tim 42856981

For this photo essay we drew inspiration from things that look decayed and areas that look desolate, hence our theme 'Desolation and Decay'. In the modern world, man has left many built up areas to decay after their usefulness has expired. the original idea came from the developement of homebush for the one-time event of The 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Unfortunately we happened to pick an incredibly busy time for the Olympic Park, therefore we had to change the location of our photo-shoot. We picked areas within suburban neighbourhoods that had either been subject to low maintenance, abandonment, or even half finished projects. In the process of editing, we managed to keep the images as close to original quality as possible, although cropping and minor adjustments allowed us to enhance our theme whilst still maintain a real and minimally edited quality. The sound file use was recorded by Zach to also reflect the theme further, as a group we decided to create our own music so that we could twist the theme whatever way we wanted. The sound gives the photos a feeling of detachment.

(video originally 33s, youtube extended to 35s)
Music: Zach Odgers - 'Decay'

photo essay 43021212 &41786505

Group members: Diana Villegas & Stephanie Harrison

 In order to display every day aesthetic we chose to focus on two major concepts from the reading, the rise of urbanisation in photography and photography as "the display and collection of one's discoveries" (Murray; 132). Keeping this in mind our main theme is the duality of cityscapes with the sub-theme of repetition. These choices not only display urbanisation but also add interest through the attempt to mimic the concept of duality. We demonstrated duality by juxtaposing locations. For example the picture of the underground train station and the walkway on the harbor bridge represent the duality between earth and sky, night and day. We also represented duality by the reflection of buildings off of the windows in order to mimic the reflection of mirrors and to allude to different personalities within one. Through this we attempt to give human like characteristics to inanimate objects which gives a different perspective and locates beauty in the mundane. Our choice in keeping the photos monochromatic along with repetition refer to the notion of photography as a means of collection. It also gives cohesiveness to our project and adds texture and dimension. In order to represent duality in the pictures where repetition is the dominant factor we focused on juxtaposing and bringing up the contrast between shadows and highlights, thus bringing the duality of light vs darkness. In addition some of the photographs were purposely blurred, out-of focused or grainy to refer to the fetishization of low-end work. The project also focuses on close-up shots of the building in order to display every day aesthetic by framing the mundane in an unusual way. The music chosen serves to set a sombre tone in order to complement the images and not over power them. Thus, the viewer can focus on the detail of the pictures and the themes they display. The video  also shows the same transitions and Ken Burns effect in order to give the video unity and cohesiveness.The fact that both members of the group used phone-cameras or simple point and shoot cameras adds authenticity to the pictures and blurs the line between amateur and professional. The photos were taken in Sydney CBD and Norwest Business Park.

Murray, S (2008) Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture August 2008 vol. 7(2). 147-163.

(project was finalized in iMovie with the duration of 30 seconds but Youtube reads as 31 s)

Photo Essay - Fraser Little (42797861) & Paul Simmons (43030707)

The theme Paul and I have selected for our photo essay is urban pathways. This theme was chosen as pathways are commonplace in the everyday aesthetic; however they are deemed to be mundane and are overseen as a result. Therefore we chose pathways to examine the interesting aspects of pathways, which led to the photo essay sub-theme of texture. There are various textures in which pathways are produced and made up of. The textured pathways, when explored, show the interesting nature and minuscule aspects which make the photographed pathways interesting and part of the urban form.

Our video is below:

Thank you,

Fraser and Paul

Photo Essay Stephanie Lewis and Rachel Winship

Photo Essay- Letters and Numbers

Our photo essay is themed “Letters and Numbers”, with a focus of colour and font as our sub-theme.

We chose this theme as we believe it reflects Murray’s notion of the “everyday aesthetic” (2008) in a number of ways. People in urban environments are constantly surrounded by words and numbers: on street signs, traffic signs, billboards, posters and shop signs. However often the finer points of these are overlooked- the differences in font, the colour of a sign, and any wear and tear that it has weathered. These are indeed examples of the “small and mundane” (Murray 2008, p. 147) that can be made beautiful.

We took our photos in the urban centres of the Central Coast, mainly Gosford, as we both live on the Central Coast, therefore this was a place that was convenient for us, and also that we were familiar with. As well, there is a lot of talk at the moment about attempting to renew Gosford as the CBD of the Central Coast. However the reality of this is still far from being achieved, and thus there are many examples of urban decay and also nostalgic elements that have survived. 

Stephanie Lewis and Rachel Winship