MDIA5003 Assignment 4

1. Visuals in Multimedia MDIA5003 – Assignment 4 By Izzard & Kirstin Visuals in Multimedia

2. Table of Contents Summary Analysis Question Time Visuals in Multimedia 1

3. Summary 2 1960s and 1970s Rationalisation of western culture Emergence of ‘counter-culture’  free love, equal rights Visuals in Multimedia

4. Summary Visual art created a contemporary attitude towards critical social and cultural issues Visual = meaning Surrealist and fantasist H.R. Giger Science-fiction movie Alien (1979)  ‘visceral response’ 3 Visuals in Multimedia

5. Summary Reading the visual New ‘genre’: Websites Meanings of texts Viewer Multimedia text/website 4 Visuals in Multimedia

6. Analysis – Part I Visual artist: H.R. Giger  eroticism & extremity of the physical  Representation of Gothic  Focus on intimate parts of the body  Confronting people‘s comforting images of normality 5 Visuals in Multimedia

8. Analysis – Part I Alien film: Chestburster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JehjqlzXwIQ 7  Alien http://www.giger.cz/2.html Visuals in Multimedia

9. Analysis – Part II 8 “A ‘genre’ is a particular form or style of texts that generate certain meanings in different discourses about the world” (Cranny-Francis, 2005, p.41) Websites are a relatively new form of ‘genre’ Every website has a unique look and feeling to it Websites themselves can be broken down into ‘sub genres’ Visuals in Multimedia

11. Analysis – Part II 10 Raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving Commercial & educational website Highlights:  creative use of Flash within a website  Flash does not irritate the user Visuals in Multimedia

12. Analysis – Part II Websites are more than just information tools  Identity  minimalistic approach Usage of black & white ensure simple navigation colour harmony  good environment for the user 11 Visuals in Multimedia

13. Analysis – Part II 12 Reading the visual: Apple.com.au Website http://www.apple.com/au/ Visuals in Multimedia

14. Analysis – Part II Organic forms to build website Gothic Organic Style “intricate, overblown and all-encompassing” (Cranny-Francis, as cited in Curt Cloninger, 2005, p.43) Self-directed activity 13 Visuals in Multimedia

15. Analysis – Part II 14 Reading the visual: Immersive-garden.com http://www.immersive-garden.com/ Visuals in Multimedia

16. Questions What do you think about H.R. Giger’s visual art work? Is it contemporary art or just grotesque commercialisation? Can today’s websites be considered as artwork? How can one define that a website is not just about aesthetics, but contributes to a set of meanings in visuality behind it? Is visual text in multimedia going too far in terms of layout, colour, image, and font? Gen Y vs. Gen X? 15 Visuals in Multimedia