Its only when you are fortunate enough to have time on your hands, enough time, that you (and by you I mean me) put off doing the stuff that you (I) really should. As they say life is what happens when you are making plans, and for me this is definitely true.
Between daytime TV and infuriatingly addictive American reality shows the urge to be utterly productive slips away. I remember the time when I could look through the TV schedule and find a plethora of programs that would delight me, and not in the realm of chavs screaming at each other in the mornings! Minutes filed with enlightenment, debate and culture. Programs seem to me so dumbed down these days, not even an attempt to use the expanse of the english language, of course this is not true of all programmes, just a copious amount of them.
Not that I am some holier than thou head of broadcasting, or that my opinion could actually change anything, or anyone would even agree with me. I guess there comes a time in most peoples lives, where they want to stick the telly on and just watch some crap. I am one of those people too, and to be honest I do enjoy watching something completely mind numbing from time to time, just not all the time.
Okay enough griping now, I will get to the real point of this post... Documentaries!!! I am really in love with this artform. The range is enormous, wether you want to laugh, cry, or learn something new its all there for you in the word of documentary film. One thing that is really appealing is that whatever genre of film you watch it is showcasing other opinions and another perspective of the world. From biographies to drug culture, to society or economics whatever you are interested in, its all there to learn from.
Its amazing to think how far documentary film making has become. When it started in the 1900's it was a purely scientific venture for French surgeon Eugene Doyen, he used the films to watch over operations he performed to spot errors made. From this, documentary film has evolved in every which way you can perceive, even to the lengths of trying to sway people with political propaganda during the 20's to the 40's people even thought of documentaries as political weapons.
In more modern times I come to think of this as a purer artform, with the camera acting as a porthole into other peoples lives, and what is happening around us. Importantly documentaries can inform us and open our eyes to things we would not usually question or think about. A fundamental part of this can be giving a voice to people who have something to say, and a platform for which to share ideas or try to change something for the better.
Expand your horizons, documentaries are not boring and just for academic types, as perceived by some people. Turn off the 'reality TV' and tune into the real world!... Try this to get you started, and hooked like me!...
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
How Can I Forget?
You can check out some of my illustration and graphic design work at http://coroflot.com/charlotterollason
3D CG love it or hate it... LOVE IT!
One of the most new popular media design forms is emerging in 3D and CG artists. It seems as though whatever your design persuasion you can find an aesthetic to suit your needs within this realm. I have to appreciate the technical ability of these creatives, from simulating elementary design ideas in product visualisation to creating other worlds in more fantasy driven work, there is no doubt this discipline is spreading like wild-fire!
If you havent witnessed any CGI on your television sets and in the cinemas yet you must be living under a rock, or come to think of it, a more unfortunate part of the world. The emergence and growth of this medium has been advancing since the 70's and it has no sign of slowing. More recently mixing the popular special effects techniques with 3D projection technology on the big screen has uplifted the previously lagging ticket sales of cinemas, who needs to argue with the proof... one word, Avatar.
Enough about cinema, the beauty of this technology to me is that it is so versatile. Moving and still images can be as inventive as your own imagination or as realistic as a photograph, and can be used in an umbrella of art and design principles, taking a lead in developmental stages end stages or progressively through any given project.
Thinking about how CG has boosted revenue for our cinemas, it can be said that many companies in various design processes take more of an active step to support and embrace these technological advances. My favorite example of this is the automotive industry. Moving away solely from photographers its always fun to spot the real or computer generated images, usually for the launch of new designs and commercial brochures. and no doubt the artists in this field are extremely skilled.
One of my favorite photoreal 3D renderers of the moment is Richard Thompson of http://www.richrenders.com/ His online portfolio gives an insight into the flexibility and fun that can be created with a range of automotive vehicles. Each image has its own aesthetic principles in turn reflecting the character of the vehicle in the spotlight, for example the antithesis of the Fiat 500 and Audi R8.
Love it or hate it CG is definitely here to stay, becoming more commercial by the day and is opening up new and exciting possibilities for the creative industries. In my opinion this can only be a good thing!
If you havent witnessed any CGI on your television sets and in the cinemas yet you must be living under a rock, or come to think of it, a more unfortunate part of the world. The emergence and growth of this medium has been advancing since the 70's and it has no sign of slowing. More recently mixing the popular special effects techniques with 3D projection technology on the big screen has uplifted the previously lagging ticket sales of cinemas, who needs to argue with the proof... one word, Avatar.
Enough about cinema, the beauty of this technology to me is that it is so versatile. Moving and still images can be as inventive as your own imagination or as realistic as a photograph, and can be used in an umbrella of art and design principles, taking a lead in developmental stages end stages or progressively through any given project.
Thinking about how CG has boosted revenue for our cinemas, it can be said that many companies in various design processes take more of an active step to support and embrace these technological advances. My favorite example of this is the automotive industry. Moving away solely from photographers its always fun to spot the real or computer generated images, usually for the launch of new designs and commercial brochures. and no doubt the artists in this field are extremely skilled.
One of my favorite photoreal 3D renderers of the moment is Richard Thompson of http://www.richrenders.com/ His online portfolio gives an insight into the flexibility and fun that can be created with a range of automotive vehicles. Each image has its own aesthetic principles in turn reflecting the character of the vehicle in the spotlight, for example the antithesis of the Fiat 500 and Audi R8.
Love it or hate it CG is definitely here to stay, becoming more commercial by the day and is opening up new and exciting possibilities for the creative industries. In my opinion this can only be a good thing!
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