Experiment 3: Student Evaluation

Experiment 3: Power Mashup

Power Mashup

This was my word Mash Up that explores the concept of Power and its different paths through different influential people. The quotes come mainly from newspaper or magazine articles, and allows a more comprehensive and professional view on these three Clients. 

References

Lady Gaga

1. Hattie Collins, "Lady Gaga: The Future of Pop?," The Sunday Times, accessed May 11, 2011 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5325327.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

2. Derek Blasberg, "Lady Gaga: The Interview," Harpers Bazaar, accessed May 11, 2011, http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/feature-articles/lady-gaga-interview

3. Jonathan Van Meter, "Lady Gaga: Our Lady of Pop," Vogue Magazine, accessed May 11, 2011, http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/lady-gaga-our-lady-of-pop/

Jonathan Ive

1. Patrick Fraser, "Jonathan Ive," Fast Company, accessed May 13, 2011 http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2009/jonathan-ive

2. Bryan Chaffin, "Museum names Apple's Jonathan Ive "Designer of the Year," Babon Multimedia, accessed May 14, 2011 http://babonmultimedia.com/news_articles80.babon

Oprah Winfrey

1. CynthiaLY, "What is a good quote about overcoming adversity?", Yahoo!Anwers, accessed May 13, 2011, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090613185449AAYCvYX

2. Gabriella Osamor, "Oprah Winfrey: 'Most Influential Woman in the World'", This Day Live, accessed May 13, 2011 http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/profile-oprah-winfrey-most-influential-woman-in-the-world-/91761/

Experiment 3: Motion Textures

Motion Textures

Here are the textures that relate to motion required for Week 3. They explore the different concepts of motion. Not just the direction, but also the magnitude of the motion and the nature of the object itself. By doing these textures I have developed a greater knowledge of conceptual motion, and assists me with my thoughts on the elevator that is to be implemented in my re-created Yosemite Valley.

Experiment 3: Two-Point Perspectives

TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVES

The task for Week 2 was to use the method of Two-Point Perspectives to draw a series of 6 sets of 3 sketches. The objects were similar to Week 1 in that they were 3 T-shaped prisms, but with the added effect of the second perspective. They loo much more abstracted and artistic, and for these reasons I loved doing these over the One-Point Perspectives.

By adding a second perspective to these sketches, a deeper understanding of the prisms can be reached and we begin to see the depth and conceptual side of shape drawing. Although these took much longer to produce than the One-Point Perspectives, they returned a better result.

Experiment: The Clients

THE CLIENTS

"Possession of controlling influence. That is power."

                                                                                          -Anon 

We all define our lives and our worth through the concept of power. Its hard not to, when seemingly the only way to become successful now is to control something or someone. We as humanity tend to measure ones existence through their influence on others: their power. 

The people held in high regards in today society automatically become in a position of great power. In the age of instant globalisation of media and information (such as news and social networking i.e. facebook), we build interpretations and will base our lives around these people. When others around you follow or act like these powerful people, it is hard to not become influenced by your peers

In the case of the Three Clients, Jonathan Ive, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga, these extremely influential people have been thrust into this position of immense importance through their gradual and consistent contribution to society, regardless of form. 

Jonathan Ive

Jonathan Ive, the  Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple, alongside with Steven Jobs, are literally at the pinnacle of technological dominance. In recent years, millions of people have chosen Apple as their prefferred choice of media players and laptops. Apple has become the household brand for handheld media players and hence has an overwhelming influence on society and what direction the next generation of media is both recorded and viewed/experienced. Ive has had executive supervision over the design of most of Apples latest products, and hence it is largely his actions that influence the publics gradual technological evolution. Apples two newest products, the iPhone4 and the iPad, have reinvented the way that people can connect with each other and with the internet. The new FaceTime, a program similar to Skype, allows people to video call people anywhere in the world and transformed the definition of phone calls. Through this Ive has become a person of great influence in society.

Oprah Winfrey

Arguably the most powerful woman in the world is Oprah Winfrey. The most popular T.V. personality in the world today, Winfrey has entertained and won over millions of viewers through her emotional episodes and has even managed to build up an amazing repertoire among the highly-esteemed society. Her rise to fame was through the viewers sympathy in various situations where people have run into or overcome extreme adversity. What deepens this relationship between the viewer and Winfrey is her own struggle with different situations, such as weight loss/gain and her disturbing recounting of childhood abuse. Through her extensive relationship with her viewers, she has been able to achieve amazing things through inspiring entire masses. In recent times, she has addressed large-scale issues such as natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina), sexual abuse among youth, drugs and many others. Oprah has managed to unite millions of people and left them with a 'feel-good' sensation.

Lady Gaga 

In the past few years, no other musician/pop icon has made it bigger and in more style than Lady Gaga. Regardless of demographic, Lady Gaga has exploded on the pop music stage, with more than just music as her claim to fame. Her unique fashion and style on and off-stage has redefined the interaction that can be had between performers and the audience. Her music transcends age, as different age groups and social divisions are united under her performances and personality. She is an advocate of clean health, a trait that is admirable among celebrities, where temptation and drugs are too easy to come by. She has churned out many songs that have hit the top of music charts, all in the space of 2 and a half years. Her dominance in the music scene has become a task to control for her, as the influence she carries has provoked a lot of controversy among critics. In saying this, she manages the pressure and workload well, and has created a new dimension of pop music. 

These Three Clients are at the definition of influence; power. They are at the pinnacle of their industries, and have recognisable control over their followers. The Clients will be credited in history for their extensive contribution to society's exploration of these aspects; humanitarianism (Winfrey), technology (Ive) and entertainment (Gaga).  

Experiment 3: Valleys

YOSEMITE VALLEY

The Yosemite Valley I have chosen sits within the western edge of North America. It lies approximately 500km inland of San Francisco, and is part of the Yosemite National Park. 


The landscape is dramatic and perfect for the scene I wanted to re-emulate. It is much similar to alot of the Swiss Alps, a mountain range that I love. I wanted scenery like this to re-create in Crysis as I think this would be the perfect scenario for Experiment 3. 


The vegetation is filled with pine trees, low shrubbery and fallen logs. Mountain dew sits on the tips of the short grass blades in the early morning, and the sun penetrates the valley, dousing the surroundings with a radiant glow. The rocky cliffs drop hundreds of metres down to the valley floor, and cradle a pristine lake below. Small wildlife gather around the water to quench their thirst, whilst off in the distance, moose graze on the open meadows. Fish flutter about in the slow-flowing rocky river-beds, anxious as to whether they will be a brown bear's next meal, or they will survive another day to make the annual migration through the river system.

A waterfall cascades off to the side of the cliff-tops, crashing into a weathered but strong rock, surviving. Eventually the water weaves through the forest floor, creating small rivers and streams for insects to brood in.

I cant wait to play around with Crysis and see if I can make an environment similar to the Yosemite Valley. Game on.

Experiment 3: One-Point Perspectives

ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVES

I found, after doing extensive sketches in the last two Experiments, that One-Point Perspectives are the most rewarding. The results of these drawings are quite interesting, as they show so much more abstraction and depth in just one small sketch. The word association with power was also quite interactive, as I could easily find the right words to describe the certain view points. The power words were the perfect way for us to understand the concept behind these drawings, and I already have an idea of what is going to become of these structures later on in the Experiment.

These were my favourite set of drawings as I seem to have drawn them the neatest and also the words associated with power are quite contrasted throughout the three point-of-views.

Electroliquid Aggregation

"Freud's severe medical problems led him to believe that he was an artificial construct."

-Sigmund Freud

The mind is always known to be powerful. It can invent some amazing things. It can also be the root of its own destruction. When delving too deep into ones mind, we find flaws and a bottomless pit of self-discovery that can become overwhelming.

"She was modelled from a combination of polygons."

-Maria Agnesi

Agnesi was a brilliant mathematician whose life was surrounded by complex numbers anf figures. She managed to create a world for herself where she was submerged in statistics and algebra. As a result, she eventually developed a mind that was attuned to seeing things mathematically. She believed that the human form could be conceived entirely of intangible masses such as numbers.

The concept of electroliquid aggregation is the fluid adaptiveness of two differing components and merging into one entity. The formed substance holds characteristics of both components, and still manages to create its own traits on top. The combination allows the more powerful attributes of the objects to transcend through the contrast.  

"It seems that the transcended mind perceives the human form as a degenerated fusion of inconceivable complexity..."

The mind is limitless in its bounds. We usually take the constructive path to success and progress. However, under extreme circumstances, where the mind is utilised in a completely new way, we venture deeper into the mind itself and can become lost in ourselves. The two Clients, Agnesi and Freud, had immensely brilliant minds, but through this they were attuned to seeing more than the normal individual. The average human uses only a tiny fraction of the mind, and we seem to have tunnel vision.

Where the mind is more powerful, we create. The structure I have created portrays this effectively.

The two columns show the two minds of Agnesi and Freud being present in the scene, and how much more laterally they think compared to the rest of the structure (the rest of humanity). There are holes going through them, which explains that they are oblivious tot he traits of the normal world, and all constraints of society go straight through them.

The steps taken from one corner to the other represent the journey that the mind takes in order to transcend normal living. It shows that we don't actually 'rise', but actually delve 'deeper' into our minds in order to become more philosophical. It further represents that as the overall humanity strives to become more advanced, we actually become less human and more programmed. More easily persuaded by a twisted mind.

My created hypothesis also reflects the age-old proverb "Ignorance is Bliss". The simpler that you live your life, the more enjoyment you will have. Life is not about discovering everything there is to know, but rather keep it simple and relax. The more you learn, the more you WANT to learn. And hence become trapped in a downward spiral of wanting to know more. And the sad thing is there is no bottom to the spiral. No one ever comes back up with a concious mind.

The Final Step

Over the Mid-Sem break we were asked to do a few things. One was to add three gradient/textures into our chosen Electroliquid Aggregation to reflect the Clients perspective on the world.

I then added to the terrain, with more trees, grass and more ambient material.

I played around with the lighting, and managed to achieve a very beautiful sunset effect which I was proud of. It added to my final scene so much and I love it.

I uploaded the Crysis Files to 2shared.com. The link is below to access my files.

http://www.2shared.com/file/DnnEqW0d/z3377204_objects.html

Here are my close-ups of my textures.

 I love this picture. It encapsulates everything that I wanted to get out of this Experiment. The scenery and shadowing is amazing, and portrays the Clients views very effectively. 

I love this waterfall I created. It adds so much to the scene. It makes the scene complete, and adds a depth to the structure and surrounding environment.

Textures/Gradients

Here is a sample palette of  Textures. The final uploaded ones are below.

This one is my favourite. I like it because it is a dynamic gradient. The picture itself changes with every darkness setting. It transitions from straight lines into a tessellating set of arrow heads.