Visual Story Telling

Compositional Utopia

Following on from last week's task, and by using research into Mise En Scène, composition, semiotics and visual narrative, we were tasked to create a piece that was the Utopian dream of the manifesto we created. Since, for the last task, I focused more on a specific element than building on the manifesto to create a Utopia, this week, I will solely be focusing on creating a Utopia to the manifesto I created. 

The term Utopia was coined from the Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the Atlantic Ocean. The word comes from the Greek ού (not) and τόπος, (place) and means "no place", and strictly describes any non-existent society "descirbed in considerable detail".

Mise en scène is the arrangement that appears in the framing - actors, lighting, décor, props, costume- is called mise en scène, a French term that means "placing on stage". The frame and camerawork can also be considered part of the mise en scène of a movie.

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Composition is the term used to describe the arrangement of the visual elements in a painting or in other artwork. It is how the elements of art and design- line, shape, colour, value, texture, form and space- are organized or composed according to the principles of art and design- balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity/variety- and other elements of composition, to give the painting structure and convey the intent of the artist.

Renaissance painting differed from the painting of the late Medieval period in its emphasis upon the close observation of nature, particularly within regards to human anatomy, and the application of scientific principles to the use of perspective and light. 

Linear perspective is a type of perspective used by artists in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects is determined by drawn or imaginary lines at a point on the horizon.

Rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.

Golden Ratio looks very similar to the rule of thirds principle, yet it has one very important difference. Instead of dividing the fame into equal thirds of 1:1:1, the golden ratio is applied to divide the frame into sections resulting in a grid that is 1:1.618:1.

Pyramid composition is when subjects are placed within the outline of either a triangle or a pyramid.

Visual Narrative is a story told primarily through the use of visual media. The story may be told using still photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, voice, and other audio.

Semiotics is the study of meaning making, the study of sign processes, and meaningful communication. This includes the study of signs and sign processes, (semiosis) indication, designation, likeness, analogy, allegory, metonymy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication. Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics, which is a study of the structure and meaning of language.