I found this documentary to be very interesting. Looking into the lives of coal miners and their families was very engaging and I really enjoyed the narrative of the film. I do believe that the camera work and editing of the film made it more riveting and engaging than it would have been otherwise.
One thing I really enjoyed about this film was the close up shots. When the camera was closed in on the face or fingernails of the miner and showed all the dirt and coal that was caked into them, it really conveyed that coal was the lifestyle there. One time I found this particularly effective was at the end when the father is at the beauty pageant, surrounded by glitz and glamour, but his fingernails are stained black with coal. I think this really shows that coal in ingrained in the culture of West Virginia.
Another thing I found particularly effective in this film in terms of close ups, was the comparison between the mothers hand, the fathers hands, and the daughters hands. Like I said before, the fathers hands were always dirty and covered in coal. The mother had clean hands, but her nails were't painted and she wasn't wearing much jewelry. The daughter had a different manicure in every shot. The differences int he hands of the characters spoke volumes to me about how women are seen in a town where coal mining ("mans work") is the focus.
The film followed three different miners and their families, interviewing everyone. The story board was set up in a way that it would follow one family for a while, then switch to another, but connect the two in some way. There was also some shots that would follow a family member to an event, whether that be a doctors appointment or the beauty pageant.
This film was very effective, mostly because of the cinematography. The use of close ups was very powerful. Al together, I really enjoyed watching this documentary.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
J.Crew vs. Old Navy
When comparing the websites for Old Navy and J.Crew there is a clear difference. They are targeted for different audiences and the visual rhetoric reveals that.
The J.Crew website is mostly colorless. It keeps a simple black and white theme through out the site, the only exception being the navy clothes. The font is sleek and black on a white background. The site is steam lined. For the most part, this website conveys a sense of style and being fashion forward. It is "classy" and understated. The website reflects the clothes that J.Crew sells. The purpose of the website is to advertise and sell the clothes they produce. This is done by making J.Crew seem stylish and sleek. They are targeting an audience that is looking to be fashionable, as well as a wealthier audience than the audience Old Navy targets. For the audience that they are targeting, J.Crew does a good job of conveying the style and exclusivity that J.Crew embodies.
The Old Navy website is quite different than the J.Crew website. While the J.Crew site was streamlined, sleek, and used minimal colors, the Old Navy website is full of different colors and patterns. This site gives more of a fun and exciting vibe. The colors are all bright like yellow, pink and light blue. Old Navy is targeting a less wealthy audience than J.Crew and doesn't give the vibe of exclusivity that J.Crew does. Old Navy is marketing to families, as there are many pictures of children as well as adults. For the audience that Old Navy is trying to reach, the rhetorical choices made are effective. The bright colors and patterns are attractive to children, and parents of children, and they give the idea of openness. In a way, Old Navy markets itself as the clothes of the people.
The differences between the Old Navy and the J.Crew website are extreme, which is surprising because they sell a lot of the same style of clothes. The main difference that governs almost everything about the two websites, is their audiences. While J.Crew is trying to market to the "elite," Old Navy is marketing to normal everyday people.
The J.Crew website is mostly colorless. It keeps a simple black and white theme through out the site, the only exception being the navy clothes. The font is sleek and black on a white background. The site is steam lined. For the most part, this website conveys a sense of style and being fashion forward. It is "classy" and understated. The website reflects the clothes that J.Crew sells. The purpose of the website is to advertise and sell the clothes they produce. This is done by making J.Crew seem stylish and sleek. They are targeting an audience that is looking to be fashionable, as well as a wealthier audience than the audience Old Navy targets. For the audience that they are targeting, J.Crew does a good job of conveying the style and exclusivity that J.Crew embodies.
The Old Navy website is quite different than the J.Crew website. While the J.Crew site was streamlined, sleek, and used minimal colors, the Old Navy website is full of different colors and patterns. This site gives more of a fun and exciting vibe. The colors are all bright like yellow, pink and light blue. Old Navy is targeting a less wealthy audience than J.Crew and doesn't give the vibe of exclusivity that J.Crew does. Old Navy is marketing to families, as there are many pictures of children as well as adults. For the audience that Old Navy is trying to reach, the rhetorical choices made are effective. The bright colors and patterns are attractive to children, and parents of children, and they give the idea of openness. In a way, Old Navy markets itself as the clothes of the people.
The differences between the Old Navy and the J.Crew website are extreme, which is surprising because they sell a lot of the same style of clothes. The main difference that governs almost everything about the two websites, is their audiences. While J.Crew is trying to market to the "elite," Old Navy is marketing to normal everyday people.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
No Seconds vs. The Last Meals Project
I think that "The Last Meals Project" was more effective than the "No Seconds" website. I think that "Last Meals" focused more on the person eating the last meal, and "No Seconds" focused more on what exactly the meal was. Associating the meal with the person was more effective because it connected the two and made the person eating the last meal more visible. "Last Meals" also included information about what makes up a lethal injection as well as how much an executioner is paid to execute. This information makes it more real that someone is dying after eating the meal shown.
The color of the text on the two websites also has an effect. In "No Seconds," the text is black on a white background. The text on "Last Meals" is red on a white background. The red has more of an effect because it is reminiscent of blood. The black on white gives a factual vibe that doesn't really give any emotion, while the red adds emotion and intensity to the page.
The photography in "No Seconds" is much more impactful than the images in "Last Meals." The focus of the "No Seconds" is more about the food than the person, and the way the food is presented shows this. The food (or lack of food) is made to be colorful and over the top. The colorful table cloths and serving dishes as well as the plethora of food contrast with the situation at hand. The photos juxtapose the dark idea of the death penalty and people committing serious crimes with a bounty of food and colorful place settings.
In "Last Meals," the focus is placed much more on the person. The person to be executed's picture is the majority of the the page. The photo's are grainy, low quality and black and white, which leads the viewer to look a little harder at the photo. There are smaller and less emphasized images of the last meal, but the main focus stays on the person. The "criminal" is humanized as their crimes are not described like they are in "No Seconds." Without knowing what the person in the photo has done to deserve the death penalty and subsequently a last meal, the viewer can feel for them a little more and sympathize.
The two pages are similar in many ways, but their focuses are different. "No Seconds" focuses on juxtaposing the two opposing ideas of a death sentence and the American tradition of choosing a last meal. "The Last Meals Project" focuses instead of those who have been given the death sentence and what they chose to eat. Both are effective, but I think that "The Last Meal Project" was more effective.
The color of the text on the two websites also has an effect. In "No Seconds," the text is black on a white background. The text on "Last Meals" is red on a white background. The red has more of an effect because it is reminiscent of blood. The black on white gives a factual vibe that doesn't really give any emotion, while the red adds emotion and intensity to the page.
The photography in "No Seconds" is much more impactful than the images in "Last Meals." The focus of the "No Seconds" is more about the food than the person, and the way the food is presented shows this. The food (or lack of food) is made to be colorful and over the top. The colorful table cloths and serving dishes as well as the plethora of food contrast with the situation at hand. The photos juxtapose the dark idea of the death penalty and people committing serious crimes with a bounty of food and colorful place settings.
In "Last Meals," the focus is placed much more on the person. The person to be executed's picture is the majority of the the page. The photo's are grainy, low quality and black and white, which leads the viewer to look a little harder at the photo. There are smaller and less emphasized images of the last meal, but the main focus stays on the person. The "criminal" is humanized as their crimes are not described like they are in "No Seconds." Without knowing what the person in the photo has done to deserve the death penalty and subsequently a last meal, the viewer can feel for them a little more and sympathize.
The two pages are similar in many ways, but their focuses are different. "No Seconds" focuses on juxtaposing the two opposing ideas of a death sentence and the American tradition of choosing a last meal. "The Last Meals Project" focuses instead of those who have been given the death sentence and what they chose to eat. Both are effective, but I think that "The Last Meal Project" was more effective.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)