LECTURE NOTES FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION

sense, select, and perceive | light and color
eye, retina, and the brain
visual cues: color, form, depth, and movement
visual theories | visual persuasion
media stereotypes
visual analysis perspectives
typography | graphic design
informational graphics | cartoons
photography | motion pictures
television and video | computers
world wide web
the more you know; the more you see

Chapter 1: To Sense. To Select. To Perceive.

The Visual Process

  • Aldous Huxley
    • Brave New World
    • Retinal Disease
    • The Art of Seeing
    • Sensing, Selecting, and Perceiving
    • "The more you know; the more you see."
      • How is that True in Your Life?

Abstract Analysis

  • How Can You Find a Picture's Meaning?
    • Graphic Clues
    • Symbolic Clues
  • Look for the Literal and Symbolic Messages
  • There is No Meaning Without Words

Other Examples

  • Moving from Sensing to Perceiving

Visual Communication's Circle Dance

  • The More You Know; The More You Sense, Select, Perceive, Remember, Learn, And Know

Possible Visual Materials:

Child's drawing, confusing photograph, abstract art, Nick Park's Creature Comforts

return to the top

Chapter 2: Light and Color

What is Light?

  • The Nature of Light

Where Does Light Come From?

  • Empedocles (Light Comes from the Eyes)
  • Alhazen (Light Comes from Light Sources)

What is the Speed of Light?

  • Albert Michelson's Experiment

Is Light Particles or Waves?

  • Sir Isaac Newton (Particles called Corpuscles)
  • Thomas Young (Light Acts as Water Waves)
  • Max Planck (Light Photons Work Both Ways)
  • Albert Einstein (Proved Planck's Theory)

Electromagnetic Energy and Other Forms

  • William Herschel (Each Light has a Unique Temperature)
  • James Clerk Maxwell (Combined Electricity and Magnetism for the Word)
  • Heinrich Hertz (Radio Broadcast Waves)
  • Albert Einstein (Ultraviolet Radiation)

What is Color?

  • Physical Aspects of Color
  • Leonardo da Vinci (Six Primary Colors)
  • Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz
    • Tri-Color Theory of Color

Sociological Uses of Color

  • Red (Power and Curative Agent)
  • Purple (Dignity, Sadness, and Tinky Winky's Favorite Color)
  • Blue (Protection since the Gods Live in the Sky)
  • Green (Fertility or Envy)
  • Yellow (Activity and a Cure for Jaundice)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides showing technical and artistic aspects of light, paintings of Edward Hopper and Claude Lazar, scenes from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner

return to the top

Chapter 3: The Eye, the Retina, and the Brain

Historic Eyes

  • At Least 50 Million Years Old
  • Eyes Evolved for Walking and Safe Eating
  • Windows to the Soul

Parts of the Eye

  • Sclera ("White of the Eye") and Cornea (Clear Front)
  • Iris (Color)
  • Pupil (Where Light Enters)
  • Aqueous Humor (Gel in Front)
  • Lens (Focuses the Image)
  • Vitreous Humor (Gel that Gives Shape to the Eyeball)

The Retina

  • Foveal (Sharp Focus and Color) and Peripheral Regions (Movement and Dark Vision)
  • Rods (Movement and Dark Vision) and Cones (Sharp Focus and Color)
  • Optic Nerve ("Blind Spot")
  • Optic Chiasma (Newton's Discovery - Redundant Vision)

The Brain

  • Thalamus (Sense information is Filtered Except from the Eyes)
  • Visual Cortex (Back of the Brain-Where Images are Processed)
  • Hippocampus (Where Long-Term Visual Messages are Stored)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides showing the technical and artistic aspects of the eye, clip from Alanis Morissette music video, scene from Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein

return to the top

Chapter 4: Color, Form, Depth, and Movement

What the Brain Sees

  • Nobel Prize Experiment
    • David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel
  • Brain Cells Combine to Show Color, Form, Depth, and Movement

Color

  • Objective Color (Scientific)
    • Wavelengths
    • Temperature
  • Comparative Color (Definitional)
    • Sky Blue
    • Fire Engine Red
  • Subjective Color (Emotional)
    • Symbolic and Emotional Responses

Form

  • Dots
    • Pointillists and Halftones
  • Lines
    • A Series of Dots Gives Lines Power
  • Shapes
    • Parallelograms (Rectangles)
    • Circles
    • Triangles
    • Polygons (All Other Shapes)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides showing the artistic aspects of color and form, Nick Parks' Wrong Trousers (color), and Bill Plympton's Your Face (form).

Depth (A Matter of Foreground and Background)

  • Space (Frames Matter)
  • Size (Small Objects in Front)
  • Color (Red in the Front; Blue in the Back)
  • Lighting (Backlighting for TV Studios and Photography)
  • Textural Gradients (Sand Dune Effect)
  • Interposition (Something in Front of Something Else)
  • Time (The Higher the Interest, the More it Will Be in Front)
  • Perspective (The Most Complex)
    • Illusionary (Eyes Can Be Fooled)
      • Linear (Painters Had to Learn the Technique)
    • Geometrical (Placement of Elements is Important)
      • Ancient, Native, and Children's' Artwork
    • Conceptual (Relies on Symbolic Definitions)
      • Multi-frame (Many Views at Once)
        • Pablo Picasso
      • Social Dominance (Who is in Front?)

Movement

  • Real (Not a part of this Class)
  • Apparent (Motion Pictures Give Illusion of Movement)
  • Graphic (Directing Eyes Through a Design)
  • Implied (Using Designs and Colors for Internal Vibrations)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides showing the artistic aspects of depth and movement, scene from Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (deep focus--depth), opening sequence of "NYPD Blue," and scene from Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (movement)

return to the top

Chapter 5: Theories of Visual Communication

Sensual Theories

  • Gestalt ("The Whole is Different From the Sum of Its Parts")
    • Max Wertheimer (While Riding on a Train)
    • Gestalt Psychology (Holistic Way of Treating Patients)
    • Visual Organization (How Does the Eye Notice Elements?)
    • Camouflage (Edgar Rubin-What the Eye Doesn't Notice)
  • Constructivism (Short-Term Memory Builds Images)
    • Julian Hochberg (Columbia University)
    • Eye Tracking (Machines that Measure Eye Movement Through a Design)
  • Ecological
    • J. J. Gibson (Importance of Ambient Optical Arrays and Environmental Testing)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides demonstrating each sensual theory above. Excerpt from Koyaanisqatsi, Godfrey Reggio, director, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, and music by Philip Glass (imagine yourself as a brain cell).

Perceptual Theories

  • Semiotics (The Study of Signs)
    • Ferdinand de Saussure (Swiss Linguist)
    • Charles Peirce (American Philosopher)
      • iconic signs (Direct One-to-One Relationship--Photographs))
      • indexical signs (An Assumed Connection--Smoke From an Exhaust)
      • symbolic signs (Meaning Must Be Learned--Words)
    • Codes (Collections of Complex Rules and Elements)
      • Metonymy (Viewer Makes Assumptions--Advertising Images)
      • Analogy (Viewer Makes Comparisons)
      • Displaced (Viewer Is Not Shown the Truth--Phallic Symbols)
      • Condensed (Viewer Creates New Messages--Music Videos)
  • Cognitive (Your Mind at Work)
    • Memory (The Past Affects the Present)
    • Projection (Giving Objects Added meaning--Tarot Cards)
    • Expectation (Assumptions About What Must Be Present)
    • Selectivity (Active Looking)
    • Habituation (Normal Appearances Can Dull Vision)
    • Salience (Relative Importance to the Viewer)
    • Dissonance (Distractions--Noise, Personal Problems, Temperature)
    • Culture (What and How We Learn to Get By)
    • Words (Explanations Are Always Needed)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides demonstrating each perceptual theory discussed above. Excerpts from David Lynch's Fire Walk With Me and Lost Highway, "Wayne and Garth" on "hello" (confusing) music videos, "Losing My Religion," REM music video directed by Tarsas (the myth of Ithacus), and a "Saturday Night Live" clip demonstrating the importance of words.

return to the top

Chapter 6: Visual Persuasion

Mixing Advertising, Public Relations, and Journalism

  • Benetton Clothing Company Campaign
  • Shock Advertising (Created to cause Public Outcry)
  • Journalism Condemnation
  • Free Public Relations
  • Free Advertising
  • Jump in Sweater Sales

Persuasion

  • Aristotle (How to Persuade Someone)
    • Ethos (Credible Source)
    • Logos (Logical Argument)
    • Pathos (Emotional Appeal Including Images)

Propaganda

  • "Propagating the Faith" (From a Catholic Church Directive)
  • Negative Connotation (From Dictatorships and One-Sided Information)

Advertising

  • Buying Space or Time
    • Commercial
    • Non-commercial
  • Advertising Growth Since the industrial Revolution
  • Movie/TV/Web Placements
  • Advertorials (Fake Stories in Print)
  • Infomercials (Fake Shows on Television)

Public Relations

  • Free Space or Time
  • WWI and Rise ("Four-Minute Men")
  • Advertising and PR Firms Combine
  • Lobbyists and Spin Doctors
  • Journalism and PR
  • Most Stories (75 Percent) Are from PR Sources

Journalism

  • Reporting the News
  • Corporate Influences
  • Sixty-eight Percent of a Newspaper is Advertisements

Back to David Kirby

  • Life Mixes Advertising and Journalism

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides demonstrating various points above. Excerpt from Stop the Church (showing propaganda).

return to the top

Chapter 7: Pictorial Stereotypes

Stereotyping in the Media

  • Jerry Lewis Telethon (Helpful or Harmful?)
  • What is Stereotyping?
  • Dominant Culture in Control of Media Messages
  • Media Coverage and Prejudicial Thinking

Common Stereotypes

  • Irish Americans (Drunk and Disorderly)
  • Jewish Americans (Greedy and Powerful)
  • African Americans (Criminals, Sex-Crazed, and Musical)
  • Latino Americans (Illegal Immigrants and Gangsters)
  • Asian Americans (Smart, Greedy, and Bad Drivers)
  • Women (Place is in the Home and Sexual Objects)
  • Gays and Lesbians (Outlandish, Child Predators, and AIDS Carriers)

Possible Visual Materials:

Pink Floyd's "On the Turning Away," concert film, "NYPD Blue" excerpt, "Jerry Lewis Telethon" clip, repeat Young Frankenstein clip opening, "Chess for Girls" from "Saturday Night Live," Volkswagen commercial, "Da, da, da," spoken introduction to slide show with music by Enya, "Boadicea" and Joan Osborne, "One of Us."

return to the top

Introduction To Chapter 8: Six Perspectives for Analysis

Personal

  • Initial, Gut Reaction

Historical

  • The Images' Place in Time

Technical

  • What Makes the Image Possible?

Ethical

  • What is the Moral Responsibility of Those Who Create Images?
    • Categorical Imperative
      • A Rule is Always Followed (News Justification)
    • Utilitarianism
      • Greater Good is Served to Educate the Public
    • Hedonism
      • Live for the Moment (A Personal Motivation for Actions)
    • Golden Mean
      • A Compromise Between Two Extreme Points (Aristotle)
    • Golden Rule
      • First Do No Harm (Do Not Add Grief to Others)
    • Veil of Ignorance
      • Empathy for Others (Greatest Hope for Overcoming Stereotypes)

Cultural

  • Societal Impact (What Messages are Produced?)

Critical

  • Reasoned Opinion (From Subjective, Quick, and Emotion Responses the Viewer Moves to Objective, Long-Term, and Rational Analyses)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides demonstrating each perspective above.

return to the top

Chapter 8: Typography

Johannes Gutenberg

  • Born in Mainz (Learned Metallurgy Early)
  • Fled to France because of Guild Wars
  • Borrowed Heavily (Experiments were Expensive)
  • Hot-Tempered Personality (Sued because of his Anger)
  • "Secret Art" (Afraid to Tell of his Idea)
  • Lost his Press in Court Case with Johann Fust
  • A Broken Man (Poor and Frustrated)
  • Buried in Mainz (Not Sure Where)

Gutenberg Bible

  • 50 Pounds
  • Two Volumes
  • 11 x 16 Inches
  • 180 on Paper; 30 on Vellum (Completed in 1456)
  • 47 Exist Today
  • Johann Fust's Printing Mark is in the Book
  • Fust Died from the Plague while Selling Bibles in France

Gutenberg's Secret Art

  • Acceptable Type Mold (Gutenberg Invention)
  • Removable Type (Already Well-Known)
  • Suitable Alloy (Gutenberg Invention)
  • Suitable Ink (Already Well-Known)
  • Suitable Paper (Already Well-Known)
  • Book-Making (Already Well-Known)
  • Converted Grape Press (Gutenberg Invention)
  • All Combined to Create a Commercial Press

Gutenberg's Legacy

  • In 50 Years, 1,120 Print Shops in 17 Countries
  • Established a Need for Literacy
  • Spread Humanism, Democracy, and the Renaissance
  • Began the Dominance of the Word Over the Picture

Personal Perspective

"Typography is to writing what a soundtrack is to a motion picture"
---Jonathan Hoefler

  • But Typography Decisions Are Seldom Noticed

Historical Perspective

  • History of Writing
    • Cave Paintings
    • Sumerians (Where Iran and Iraq are Located)
      • Cuneiform (Highly Stylized Letting System)
    • Egyptians
      • Hieroglyphics (Aesthetically Beautiful Letterforms)
    • Chinese Letters (Originally Over 50,00 individual Forms)
    • Phoenicians (Concept of the Alphabet--Symbols Stand for Sounds)
    • Greek Symmetry (Natural Forms for Letters)
    • Romans (Completed Western Alphabet)
  • Hot Type (Hot Metal)
    • Richard Hoe's Press
  • Cold Type (Photo or Computer Technology)
    • Photo, Digital Typesetting, and Desktop Publishing

Technical Perspective

  • Typeface Families (Each has a Mood and Purpose)
    • Blackletter (Religious Mood, Seldom Used)
    • Roman (Most Common and Readable)
    • Script (Invitations and Diplomas)
    • Miscellaneous (Advertising Roots)
    • Square Serif (inspired from Egyptian Conquest)
    • Sans Serif (Art Deco and Computer Uses)
  • Typeface Attributes
    • Size
    • Color (Type and Background)
    • Font (Bold, Italic, and so on)
    • Text Block Size (Column Width)
    • Justification (Left, Right, Centered, and Justified)
    • White Space (Kerning, Leading, Alleys)

Ethical Perspective

  • Readable versus "Garbage Fonts" (Conflict Between Literal and Symbolic Messages Conveyed--Is It More Important to Read the Words or to Derive Emotions from the Pictures?)
  • Appropriation and Theft (Easy Because of Computer Technology)

Cultural Perspective

  • Pre-Gutenberg Era (Before 1455)
    • Words as Pictures (Both Were One)
  • Gutenberg Era (1455 - 1800)
    • Printing and Word Dominance
  • Industrial Era (1800 - 1900)
    • "Dark Ages" (Because of Advertising Uses)
  • Artistic Era (1900 - Present) (Showed Designers Displays Could Be Pleasing)
    • Art Movements (Discussed Fully in Graphic Design Chapter)
  • Digital Era (1984 - Present)
    • Desktop and Online Publishing

Critical Perspective

  • The best typographical designs match the mood of the aesthetics with the content of the piece. Designers must always consider the audience.

Future Directions

  • Web Zines and Personal Typefaces

Possible Visual Materials:

Slide examples, excerpt from James Burke's television program concerning Gutenberg, Van Halen's music video, "Right Now"

return to the top

Chapter 9: Graphic Design

Saul Bass

  • Born, 1921, NYC
  • Bauhaus Influenced (Read Books on the Train to Work)
  • Warner Bros. (Champion--First Poster that got him Noticed)
  • Howard Hughes and RKO (But Didn't Like Control over his Work)
  • Formed his Own Agency in 1952 with his Wife
  • Bass/Yaeger Associations in Brentwood, California
  • Died, 1996

Saul Bass's Work

  • Posters and Titles
    • Movie Posters
    • Carmen Jones to Casino
  • Film Work
    • Psycho
    • Why Man Creates (Won Academy Award)
  • Logos
    • Quaker Oats, Minolta, GSA, United Airlines, AT&T

Personal Perspective

"Design is thinking made visual."
---Saul Bass

  • Multivariate Decisions are Often Overlooked by a Viewer

Historical Perspective

  • Pre-Gutenberg (Before 1455)
    • Cave Paintings
    • Books of Dead
    • Greek Symmetry
  • Gutenberg Era (1455 - 1800)
    • Printing Remained the Same
  • Industrial Era (1800 - 1900)
    • Steam Presses (Richard Hoe Press, 1847)
    • Lithography (Aloys Senefelder, 1800)
    • Photography (Joseph NiŽpce, 1827)
    • Advertising Uses
  • Artistic Era (1900 - Present)
    • Art Movements
  • Digital Era (1984 - Present)
    • Desktop (Personal Computers and Laser Printers, 1984)
    • Online (World Wide Web, 1994)

Technical Perspective

  • Contrast
    • Color
    • Size
    • Symbolism
    • Time
    • Sound
  • Balance
    • Symmetrical
    • Asymmetrical
  • Rhythm
    • Arrangement of Elements in a Display
    • Number of Elements in a Display
  • Unity
    • Related Content
    • Stylistic Consistency

Ethical Perspective

  • Utilitarianism (Educating) or Hedonism (Personal Messages)
  • Pictorial Stereotypes
  • Harmful Products
  • Appropriation of Designs

Cultural Perspective

  • Free Form Styles
    • Art Nouveau (Inspired from Japanese Art)
      • Henri Toulous-Lautrec, Will Bradley, Max Parrish
    • Dada (Anger Over World War I--Break All the Rules)
      • Marcel Duchamp, Sergei Eisenstein, George Herriman
    • Art Deco (Commercial Version of Dada)
      • Erte, Chrysler Building, Miami Beach District
    • Pop Art (Everyday Objects are Special)
      • Andy Warhol, Robert Frank, Peter Max
    • Post Modern
      • Punk (Modern Dada)
      • New Wave (Commercial Version of Punk)
      • Hip Hop (Clothing, Music, Display Art)
  • Grid Approaches
    • De Stijl (Harmony After World War I)
      • Piet Mondrian, Stefan Lorant, Modular Design
    • Bauhaus (Designs, Furniture, and Skyscrapers)
      • Paul Klee, Gyorgy Kepes, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

Critical Perspective

  • A "Good" Design is a Cultural Artifact--the Audience Matters

Future Directions

  • Virtual Reality (Get Inside a Design)
  • Teleputers (Telephone, Television, and Computer Combination)

Possible Visual Materials:

Slide examples, selected movie titles by Saul Bass, and a scene from "Mad About You".

return to the top

Chapter 10: Informational Graphics

USA Today Weather Map

  • Allen Neuharth
  • Gannett Newspaper Chain
  • Eye-catching, Easy to Read, National, and Much Copied

Weather Maps

  • Edmond Halley (Known More for his Comet)
  • Newspaper Fad
  • NASA Satellites
  • TV Weather Segments
  • The Weather Channel (Began Same Year as USA Today)
  • George Rorick and the USA Today Weather Map, 1982

Personal Perspective

"God is in the details."
---Mies van der Rohe

  • Converts Data into Pictures. Shows Information that is Hard to Grasp Otherwise.

Historical Perspective

  • Sumerian Maps
  • Greek Maps
  • Chinese Maps
  • Three Infographic Pioneers
    • William Playfair (Scotland--Economic Charts)
    • Dr. John Snow (England--Discovered a Cause for Cholera Outbreak)
    • Charles Minard (France--Visually Described Napoleon's Downfall)
  • Infographics In Newspapers
  • Infographics Used for War Explanations
  • Computers Make Production Much Easier

Technical Perspective

  • Statistical Infographics (Convert Numbers to Pictures)
    • Charts or Graphs
      • Line, Relational, Pie, and Pictographs
    • Data Maps
      • Snow, Minard, and Weather Maps
  • Non-statistical infographics (Relies on Pleasing Aesthetic Values)
    • Fact Boxes (From Little Space During World War II)
    • Tables
    • Non-Data Maps
      • Locator
      • Explanatory
    • Diagrams (Most Complex)
    • Miscellaneous
      • Courtroom Drawings
      • TV Schedules
      • Icons and Logos
      • Time Lines
      • Editorial Illustrations

Ethical Perspective

  • Inaccurate Charts, Inappropriate Symbolism, and Chartjunk

Cultural Perspective

  • Be Clear about the Cultural Context of Signs

Critical Perspective

  • Computers Make Production Almost Too Easy
  • Infographics Should Always Be Filled with Content

Future Directions

  • More, not Fewer Informational Graphics in All Media

Possible Visual Materials:

Slide examples, videotape from a WGN weather segment, diagram from C/Net showing the Nicole Simpson/Ron Goldman murders.

return to the top

Chapter 11: Cartoons

"The Simpsons"

  • Matt Groening (From Springfield, Oregon)
  • Son of Homer, a Filmmaker
  • "Life in Hell" (Original Idea for TV Show)
  • Tracey Ullman Show (First Appearance of Simpson Characters)
  • James L. Brooks and Sam Simon Producers
  • Marketing Genius (More Money Made in Toys and Shirts)

First Aired January, 1990

  • Show Has Working Class Television Roots
  • Social Satire (Makes Fun of Society's Conventions)
  • "Itchy and Scratchy" (Toon Within the Toon--Ultra Violent)
  • Syndicated, 1994
  • Made in Korea
  • Longest Running Cartoon in Television History

Personal Perspective

"From a purely semiotic point of view, comic strips constitute one of the most complex and sophisticated areas of drawn communication."
---Clive Ashwin

  • Not Considered Serious
  • One of the Oldest Forms of Communication
  • One of the Most Complicated Art Forms

Historical Perspective

  • Single-Framed Cartoons
    • Caricatures (Anti-Portraits in England)
      • Cave Drawings (Exaggerations)
      • Egyptian Artwork (King Tut and Cleopatra Despised)
      • Pompeii Ruins (Drawn on Buildings)
      • Leonardo da Vinci (Notebook Drawings)
      • The Carracci Family (Agostino, Annibale, and Ludovico Carracci)
      • Al Hirschfeld (The New Yorker)
    • Editorial Cartoons
      • William Hogarth (England, Always Controversial, Died Penniless)
      • Benjamin Franklin (American, Revolutionary Cartoon)
      • James Gillray ("Little Boney" Cartoon of Napoleon)
      • Thomas Nast (American, Santa Claus and "Boss" Tweed)
      • Bill Mauldin ("Willie and Joe" and Civil Rights Cartoons)
      • Herbert Block (Nixon's Five-O'clock Shadow)
      • Paul Conrad (Inspired by Bauhaus Movement)
    • Humorous Cartoons
      • Sigmund Freud, "Wit and Its Relationship to the Unconscious"
      • New Yorker Magazine (Premiere Place to Find Cartoons)
      • Charles Addams ("The Addams Family")
      • Gary Larson ("The Far Side")
  • Multi-Framed Cartoons
    • Egyptian Continuous Paintings
    • Greek Vases that Turn
    • Japanese Continuity Paintings
    • Bayeux Tapestry (Mural Tells Story of the Battle of Hastings, 1066)
    • Flip Books (Animation Beginnings)
    • John Newberry (Children's Books)
    • Comic Strips
      • Wilhelm Busch (German Master)
      • Richard Outcault (First American Strip, 1895)
      • "Yellow Kid of Hogan's Alley"
      • Hearst and Pulitzer Fought over Outcault ("Yellow Journalism")
      • George Herriman, Krazy Kat (Dada-Inspired Violent Cartoons)
      • Buck Rogers (Action-Adventure)
      • Peanuts (Charles Schultz, Enormously Popular)
      • Robert Crumb (Strange and Disturbing)
      • Doonesbury (Garry Trudeau--Controversial)
    • Comic Books
      • Max Gaines (Cheap Little Books)
      • Superman (Two High School Students)
      • MAD Magazine (William Gaines)
      • Spiegelman's MAUS
      • Japanese Manga (Popular With Adults)
    • Animated Films
      • George Melies (Magician and Master of the "Jump Cut")
        • A Journey to the Moon
      • Walt Disney (Anti-Dada Family Values)
        • Snow White (Traditional techniques)
        • A Bug's Life (All-Computer Techniques)
      • Looney Tunes (Dada-Inspired Zaniness)
        • Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Friz Freleng of Warner Bros.
      • Hanna and Barbera
        • "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons"
      • Japanese Anime (Popular World-Wide)

Technical Perspective

  • Frames (Word Placement)
  • Settings (Simple or Complex)
  • Characters (Crude or Sophisticated Drawings)
  • Motion Lines
    • Agitrons (Wavering)
    • Briffits (Puffs of Smoke)
    • Dites (Diagonal)
    • Hites (Horizontal)
    • Plewds (Sweat Beads)
    • Vites (Vertical)
    • Waftaroms (Smells)
  • Typography (Readers Become Actors)
  • Balloons (bubbles, icicles, perforated lines, spiked outlines, tiny words, trailing tails, unbroken lines, zigzagged lines)
  • Types of Animation
    • Cel (Looney Tunes and Walt Disney)
    • Dimensional (Willis H. O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, George Pal, Henry Selick, Nick Park, and Will Vinton)
    • Paper (Terry Gilliam and South Park)
    • Computer (Dennis Muren, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Cool World, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Antz, Tin Toy, Toy Story, The Matrix)

Ethical Perspective

  • Marketing to Children
    • "Yellow Kid" fans to A Bug's Life Backpacks
  • Stereotypes Supported
    • Racism during WWII
  • Political Messages
    • "Li'l Abner," "Pogo," and "Doonesbury"
  • Inappropriate Themes
    • Sex and Violence (Conflict over Compromise)

Cultural Perspective

  • Our First Introduction to Reading
  • Symbols Change with the Times and Culture

Critical Perspective

  • A Sophisticated Art Form Worthy of Serious Study

Future Directions

  • Cartoonists as Rock Stars; More Collectibles
  • A Wide Range of Offerings
    • Fox ("The Simpsons" "King of the Hill" "The PJs" "Family Guy" "Futurama")
    • UPN ("Dilbert" "Home Movies")
    • WB ("Baby Blues")
    • MTV ("Beavis and Butt-head" "Daria" "Celebrity Death Match")
    • Comedy Central ("South Park" "Dr. Katz")
    • Cartoon Channel (All Day All the Time)
    • Motion Picture Productions
  • Continued Concerns Over Harm to Society

Possible Visual Materials:

Slide examples, clip from "Futurama," a "Ren and Stimpy" cartoon, Tin Toy, Bambi vs. Godzilla, "Believe in Me," music video clip from Smashing Pumpkins, racist cartoon, "All This and Rabbit Stew," Tex Avery, 1942, various cartoons on video.

return to the top

Chapter 12: Photography

The Migrant Mother

  • Photographer (Dorothea Lange)
    • Columbia University
    • San Francisco Portraits
    • Paul Taylor--Husband (Concerned with Homeless)
    • Joined the FSA (Farm Security Administration)
    • Life Magazine Photographer
    • Complained About Being Labeled A One Shot Wonder
  • Subject (Florence Thompson)
    • 32-years old
    • Five Children
    • Nipomo Camp, 1936
    • Complained about Privacy and Payment Issues
    • Colon Cancer
    • Public Support When News was Reported

A Moving Portrait

  • Close-up Portrait with Few Distractions
  • Is she sad or wishing the photographer would leave?

Personal Perspective

"I would willingly exchange every single painting of Christ for one snapshot."
---George Bernard Shaw

  • Our First Visual Imaging Machine
  • Frozen Memories of Time, Space, and Relationships
  • Reminds of Watching versus Participating

Historical Perspective

  • Heliography (Joseph Niepce, 1827, Eight-Hour Exposure)
  • Daguerreotype (Louis Daguerre, 1839, One-of-a-Kind, Middle-Class Popularity)
  • Calotype (Henry Talbot, 1839, "Negative" and "Positive" Terms)
  • Wet-Collodion (Frederick Archer, 1851, Civil War and Western Images)
  • Color Materials (James Maxwell, 1861, Louis Ducos du Hauron, 1869, Lumiere Brothers, 1903, Kodak Laboratories)
  • Gelatin-Bromide Dry Plate (Richard Maddox, 1871, Made Amateur Photography and Motion Pictures)
  • George Eastman (Kodak camera, 1888)
  • Holography (Logos and National Geographic cover)
  • Instant (Edwin Land, 1948, Polaroid)
  • Digital (Mavica camera from Sony, 1984)

Technical Perspective

  • Lens Type (Wide, Normal, and Telephoto)
  • Lens Opening (Small or Large)
  • Shutter Speed (fast or Slow)
  • Film Type (Color, Black & White, Fast or Slow)
  • Camera Type (Throw-Away, Instamatic, Instant, Rangefinder, Single-Lens Reflex, Twin-Lens Reflex, View, Press, Digital)
  • Lighting (Available and Artificial)
  • Image Quality (Exposure and Contrast)

Ethical Perspective (Five Major Journalism Concerns)

  • Victims of Violence
  • Right to Privacy
  • Manipulation
  • Stereotypes
  • Persuasion (Corporate Control Over Images)

Cultural Perspective

  • Portraits
    • Julia Margaret Cameron, Richard Avedon
  • Paintings
    • Oscar Rejlander, Henry Robinson
  • Landscapes
    • Timothy O'Sullivan, Ansel Adams
  • Artists
    • Alfred Stieglitz
  • Documentaries
    • Jacob Riis Lewis Hine Mary Ellen Mark

Critical Perspective

  • Photography did not cause the death of painting
  • Tells stories sometimes better than words alone
  • Pictures entertain, educate, disturb, and persuade

Future Directions

  • Digital Camcorders (Still or Moving Options)
  • There Will Always Be the Need for the Still Moment

Possible Visual Materials:

Slide examples from the above.

return to the top

Chapter 13: Motion Pictures

Citizen Kane

  • Shown April, 1941
  • Rated the Best Film Ever by Critics
  • Cast and Crew
    • Joseph Cotten
    • Agnes Moorehead
    • Herman Mankiewicz, screenplay
    • Robert Wise, editor
    • Vernon Walker, special effects
    • Bernard Hermann, music
    • Gregg Toland, cinematography
  • Financial Disaster Because Link with William Hearst

Orson Welles

  • Wisconsin Born
  • "Boy Genius"
  • First American with the Abbey Players of Ireland
  • Mercury Theatre, "War of the Worlds" and Martian Panic
  • Hired by RKO
  • Given Complete Independence
  • Labeled a Trouble-Maker
  • Wine Commercials and the "Tonight Show"

Innovations

  • Images and Words Combine
  • Deep Focus
  • Ceilings in the Shot
  • Optical Effects
  • Sound Effects (from his radio days)

Analysis of Citizen Kane

  • Such Independence is Rarely Given
  • Obvious Link with Hearst
  • A Brilliant Work of Art is a Composite of Many Elements

Personal Perspective

"A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet."
---Orson Welles

  • Movies Capture our Imagination
  • Many Terms Describe the Medium (Movies, Film, Cinema)
  • Movies Tell Human Stories we Respond To
  • Theaters are Magical Places
  • Fun to Watch with Other People (success of Stars Wars: Episode I)

Historical Perspective

  • Side-Show Amusement
    • Gelatin-Bromide Dry Plate Photo Process
  • Thomas Edison
    • Individual Works for Fiction Dramas
  • Auguste and Louis Lumiere
    • Audience for Documentaries
  • Action-Adventures
    • Edwin Porter's The Great Train Robbery
    • D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation
      • First Feature-Length Film, 1915
      • Tremendous Cost
      • Ku Klux Klan was Reborn
      • Protests Throughout the US for Controversial Content
      • Formed United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford
  • Silent Era
    • Motion Pictures Became a Business
    • Directors Learned the Craft
    • Hal Sennett Max Roach, Cecil B. DeMille, Sergei Eisenstein, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton
    • Star System Developed with Tremendous Profits
    • Scandals (Fairbanks and Pickford, "Fatty" Arbuckle)
  • Academy Awards Established for Positive Publicity
  • Sound Innovations
    • Vitaphone (Disk), Edison's invention
      • Warner Bros.
      • The Jazz Singer, 1927
      • Problems with Synchronization
      • CD-ROM Sound (The Last Action Hero, 1993)
    • Phonofilm (Film)
      • 20th Century Fox
      • Made Widescreen Films Possible
  • Color Innovations
    • Hand-Tinted Color (The Great Train Robbery)
    • Cartoon Color (Disney's Flowers and Trees)
    • Technicolor (None But the Brave)
    • Public Acceptance of Color (The Wizard of Oz)
  • Widescreen innovations
    • Cinerama, 1952 (Not Widely Accepted)
    • CinemaScope (Later, Called Panavision), 1953 (The Robe and How the West Was Won)
    • Imax and Omnimax (Tremendously Expensive, yet Popular)
  • Other Innovations
    • 3D and "B" Movies for Drive-In Movies
    • Fall of Single Theaters; Rise in Multiplexes
    • Rise in Television Production

Technical Perspective

  • Visual Considerations
    • The Shot (Static or Dynamic, Objective or Subjective)
    • Film Stock Choices (Color or Black and White)
    • Text (Credits, Headings, and Translations)
    • Special Effects (Backscreen and Digital)
  • Audio Considerations
    • Speech (Narration and ADR)
    • Music (Sets the Mood)
    • Noise (Wild Sound, Foley, and the Lout behind You)

Ethical Perspective

  • Stereotypes
    • African Americans, Native Americans, and Women, Among Others
  • Sex and Violence
    • More Explicit than Mainstream Television
    • Many Movies Produced for Overseas Market

Cultural Perspective

  • Myths and Symbols of a Culture are Employed by Directors
    • Comedy (City Lights and Something About Mary)
    • Crime (Basic Instinct and LA Confidential)
    • Epic (Malcolm X and Elizabeth)
    • Horror (Frankenstein and Bride of Chucky)
    • Musical (The Sound of Music and Blues Brothers 2000)
    • Romance (Casablanca and You've Got Mail)
    • Science Fiction (2001 and Lost in Space)
    • Social Impact (The Grapes of Wrath and Smoke Signals)
    • Thriller (Jurassic Park and Psycho)
    • War (Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line)
    • Western (Stagecoach and Unforgiven)

Critical Perspective

  • Motion Pictures Adapt to Competition with Innovations
  • As a Business, Bottom Line is Stressed
  • Few Mainstream Movies Break New Ground

Future Directions

  • Continued Rise in Independent Movies
  • Better Food, Seats, and Other Inducements
  • Movies on Large, High Quality Home Sets

Possible Visual Materials:

Excerpts from various motion pictures (The Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith, 1915 (silent era); The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming, 1939 (color); Citizen Kane, Orson Welles, 1941 (words and image combination); Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray, 1955 (close-ups); Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock, 1960 (subjective camera); In Cold Blood, Richard Brooks, 1967 (terror of black and white); Woodstock, Michael Wadleigh, 1970 (montage); The Passenger, Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975 (slow rhythmic pace); Annie Hall, Woody Allen, 1977 (documentary style); Blue Velvet, David Lynch (symbolic images); Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese, 1991 (slow zoom-in); Boyz N the Hood, John Singleton, 1991 (family values); Freejack, Geoff Murphy, 1992 (terrible art direction); Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982 (beautiful art direction).

return to the top

Chapter 14: Television and Video

Rodney King

  • Troubled Family, Alcoholic Father
  • Newly Released Convict
  • Difficult Finding Work
  • High Speed Chase
  • Beaten and Arrested

George Holliday

  • Oil Executive's Son
  • Grew Up in Argentina
  • Plumbing Company Manager
  • Heard Commotion Outside Apartment
  • New Video Camera, a Sony HandyCam

Video and Its Consequences

  • Sold to KTLA; Distributed Through CNN
  • An Example of Reality-Based TV ("Cops" and "Funniest Home Videos")
  • An Instant Public Uproar (Everyone Knew What they Saw)
  • April, 1992 Riots (After Police Were Acquitted in Criminal Trial)

Analysis of the Rodney King Video

  • Shocking Content
  • Reminds Many Civil Rights Pictures from the 1950s
  • Dramatic, Subjective Camera Work
  • Hedonism Wins as All involved Want Money
  • Stereotypes Supported (Police, Criminals, Lawyers)
  • Shows the Power of Television When the Public is Linked

Personal Perspective

"Our lives have been irrevocably transformed in
ways that make pre-TV America seem like the dark ages."
---Meg Greenfield

  • Easy to Criticize (Chewing Gum for the Eyes)
  • Always the Promise of a Better Program
  • Part of our Culture and Society--Pervasive Medium
  • But How will it Change with the World Wide Web?

Historical Perspective

  • Allen Dumont and the Cathode Ray (His Network Failed)
  • Phil (Philo) Farnsworth (High School Student with Working invention)
  • NBC, 1926 (First Broadcast Network)
  • RCA, Felix the Cat (Cartoon Character Transmitted During First US Test)
  • David Sarnoff (RCA, Invented the term, "Television")
  • 1940s
    • FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Regulation to prevent Channel Overlapping
    • WWII Freeze (Due to Parts and Labor Needed for the War Effort)
    • Networks Begun (After World War II the Freeze was Lifted)
  • 1950s
    • "Golden Age" of Television with Classic Programs (Form Established)
    • Dominance with Public Over Other Media
    • Game Show Scandals (Serious Public Relations Debacle)
    • Blacklisting (As with Motion Pictures, Joseph McCarthy Communist Hunt)
  • 1960s
    • Cable (Initially to Bring in Pictures for Remote Locations)
    • Video (Discussed Below)
    • Violence Shows Condemned ("The Untouchables")
    • Inane Shows Criticized ("The Beverly Hillbillies")
    • Satellite Technology Offers Live Broadcasts
  • 1970s
    • FCC Becomes More Politically Aggressive (Not Just Regulating Technical Items)
    • Spin-Offs Become Popular
    • TV Criticism Increases
  • 1980s
    • Cost-Cutting of News Operations
    • Buy-outs from Unrelated Companies (Westinghouse, General Electric)
    • Mergers with Movie Studios for Added Production Work
  • 1990s and Beyond
    • One Billion Sets Worldwide
    • Major Networks in Decline with Competition from Cable and Other Media
    • New Media Delivery Methods and Equipment (HDTV and World Wide Web)
  • Videotape
    • Charles Ginsberg Inventor, 1956
    • Ampex System
    • Initially Used for West Coast News
    • Hand-Held Equipment
    • Reality-Based Ethical Problems (Amateur Video)
    • Video Tape Rentals Helped Movies, not Television

Technical Perspective

  • Cameras
    • Scanned Images
  • Transmission Modes
    • Air
      • Broadcast (Traditional Method)
      • Satellite (Powerful Dishes with Short Orbit Satellites--DirecTV)
    • Earth
      • Cable (Digital Television with Cable Set-Top Box Converters)
      • Fiber Optic (Makes Teleputers A Reality)
  • Receivers
    • 525 Lines (Initial American System)
    • 625 Lines (European System--Better Quality)
    • HDTV (High Definition Television--Motion Picture Quality)
    • DTV (Digital Television--Linked with Telephone and Web Services)

Ethical Perspective

  • Ratings (Almost Anything to Bring in Viewers)
  • Stereotypes (Any Group Can Find Offense)
  • Sexual and Violent Themes
    • But Most Shows Are Not Violent

Cultural Perspective

  • Television is a Combination of Theatre, Radio, Motion Pictures, and Comic Books
  • Television Brings Familiar Stories in Serial Form Into Homes

Critical Perspective

  • All Other Media Suffered, But Not Out
  • Television as Baby Sitters
  • Wars and Tragedies are Diminished
  • Social Problems are Exaggerated
  • Finding Quality is a Viewer's Responsibility

Future Directions

  • Television in Movie Theaters
  • Home Teleputers Linked to the World Wide Web

Possible Visual Materials:

Rodney King video by George Holliday, The Accident, "NYPD Blue" episode, and The Contest, "Seinfeld" episode.

return to the top

Chapter 15: Computers

Computer-Generated Images (CGI)

  • Edward Zajac at
    • Bell Labs, 1963
  • 2001, 1968 (HAL Computer Diagrams)
  • Futureworld, 1976 (Peter Fonda's Face)
  • Star Wars, 1977 (Deathstar Blueprints)
  • Tron, 1982 (Greatly Publicized for "Cycle Race" Scene, But a Financial Disappointment)
  • "Sharkey's World" (Music Video from Laurie Anderson)
  • Labyrinth, 1986 (Brilliant Work from Muppet Master, Jim Henson)
  • Jurassic Park, 1993 (Seven Minutes of Effects by Stan Winston)
  • Toy Story, 1995 (First All Computer-Animated Motion Picture, John Lasseter)
  • Twister, 1996 (Well-Done Tornado Effects)
  • The Matrix, 1999 (Virtual-Reality Fears Featured)

James Cameron

  • Born in Canada
  • Grew up in Brea, California
  • Worked with Roger Corman
  • The Abyss, 1989 ("Water Weenie" Effect)
  • Terminator 2, 1991 (Anything Conceptualized Can Be Realized)
  • Titanic, 1997
  • Terminator 3, 2000

Personal Perspective

"Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
---Arthur C. Clarke

  • A Dominating Technology
  • Almost Invaluable
  • Symbolic of a New Age
  • Access, Privacy, and Many Other Concerns
  • The Potential is Still Largely Unknown

Historical Perspective

  • Charles Babbage
    • Analytical Engine (First Computer, but Never Made a Working Model)
  • ENIAC and UNIVAC (Room-Sized Computers)
  • IBM
    • Herman Hollerith
    • Punch Card Electronic Calculator Used by Census Bureau, 1890
    • Started the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR)
    • Thomas Watson (Worked for CTR--Became President)
    • Renamed CTR to IBM in 1924
    • Son, Thomas Watson, Jr. Started Computer Interest
    • Eighty Percent of All Computers in the World are from IBM
  • Microsoft Corporation
    • Altair Computer (First Amateur Computer)
    • Bill Gates
      • Harvard Dropout
      • Richest Person in the World ($60 billion)
    • IBM DOS (IBM Paid Royalties for System Software)
    • Paul Allen (Also a Multi-Billionaire, No Longer with Microsoft)
      • Charter Communications (Cable, Telephone, and Computer Alliances)
      • Seattle Seahawks Football Team and Portland Trailblazers Basketball Team
  • Apple Computers
    • Stephen Wozniak (Technical Genius) and Steven Jobs (Business Sense)
    • Apple II, 1977 (A Great Success)
    • Macintosh, 1984 (Started Desktop Revolution)
    • iMac, 1999 (Reborn Macintosh)

Technical Perspective

  • Memory and Storage
    • From Bits to Gigabytes and Beyond
    • RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read-Only Memory)
    • From Floppy Disks, Zips, R-CDs to Network Storage
  • Central Processing Unit
    • The Heart of the Computer
    • Clock or Chip Speed (The Faster the Better--500Mhz)
      • PowerPC (Motorola Product)
      • IBM PCs (Intel Products)
      • Pentium III (Intel Product)
  • Switching Devices
    • Connectors (Fancy Electrical Cords--SCSI and Bus Interfaces)
    • Peripherals
      • Incoming (Keyboard, Mouse, Tablet, Voice, Scanners)
      • Outgoing (Monitor, Printer)
      • Interactive (Touch-Screens, Modems, Direct Internet Connections)
  • Software
    • Word, QuarkXPress, PhotoShop, FrontPage

Ethical Perspective

  • Violent Themes
    • Mortal Kombat
    • Doom, Quake II (Violence in Littleton, Colorado Partly Blamed)
  • Sexual Themes
    • Sex Drives Media (From Printing to Videos)
    • "Teledildonics" (New Term for Virtual Sex)
    • Virtual Valerie (Popular Teledildonic Program)
  • Manipulations
    • Journalism Concerns with Credibility of Images

Cultural Perspective

  • Computer Nerd, Fear of Computers, Computer Mystique are Fading
  • But a Fear of Virtual Reality Seen in Motion Pictures (Blade Runner, 1982, Dark City, 1998, eXistenZ, 1999, The Lawnmower Man, 1992, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, 1996, The Matrix, 1999, Open Your Eyes (Abre los Ojos), 1997, The Thirteenth Floor, 1999)
  • Y2K (Prepare as if for an Earthquake or Hurricane)

Critical Perspective

  • Computers Reflect on Culture that Makes and Uses Them
  • Computers Cannot Solve All Problems While Causing Some
  • Equal Access to Computer Technology is Vital for Participation by All

Future Directions

  • Better Encryption for More Commercial Applications
  • "Invisible" Computers (Wired Without Knowing It)
  • Teleputers

Possible Visual Materials:

Apple's "1984" Macintosh commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, short portfolio pieces from various companies, excerpts from cgi motion pictures: Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Tron, The Abyss, Terminator 2, The Lawnmower Man, and others.

return to the top

Chapter 16: World Wide Web

Interactive Multimedia

  • From Alice to Ocean Alone Across the Outback (First Photography Book with a CD-ROM)
    • Robyn Davidson
    • Rick Smolan
      • National Geographic Photographer
      • Day in the Life of Australia (And Other Countries)

Many Uses for Interactive Multimedia

  • Government Programs
  • Business Training and Sales
  • Consumer Education and Entertainment
    • Myst and Riven
  • But Still a 600mg Controlled Program to Be Replaced by the World Wide Web

Personal Perspective

"The World Wide Web is the most important single outcome of the personal computer. It is the Gutenberg press that is democratizing information."
---Bill Atkinson

  • Bill Gates (Interactive Multimedia is a Transitional Phase)
  • Fiber Optic Links Offer Unlimited Data and Speed

Historical Perspective

  • Dr. Vannevar Bush and the "Memex"
  • ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense--Communicate Despite Nuclear War), 1969
    • Quickly Used by Educators for E-mail
  • Videotex (Television/Telephone-Based Interactive Networks)
    • Ceefax, 1974 (British)
    • Minitel, 1981 (French)
    • Viewdata, 1981 (US, Coral Gables, Florida--A Failure)
  • Bulletin Boards (Computer/Telephone Based Networks)
    • America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy
  • Internet, 1983 (ARPANET Renamed with International Use)
  • CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics, Switzerland)
    • Tim Berners-Lee Creates the World Wide Web, 1990
  • Mosaic, 1994 (Marc Andreeson, University of Illinois Student Creates a Practical Web Browser)
  • Netscape, 1995 (Andreeson Forms His Own Browser Company)
  • Internet Explorer (IE) (Microsoft Corporation's Browser)
    • "Browser Wars" Unfair Advantage Claimed by IE Competitors
  • Cable Regulations
    • AT&T Breakup, 1984 ("Baby Bells" Established, Telephone Companies Couldn't Provide Programs and Services While Cable Companies Couldn't Provide Telephone Service)
    • Telecommunications Act, 1996 (Telephone, Cable, and Satellite Companies Can Offer Telephone, Programs, and Services)

Technical Perspective

  • Fiber Optic Cable
    • Enormously Expensive to Install
    • But a Great Potential for High Profits
    • Number of Possible Channels is 1,000 Greater Than all Radio and TV Channels Combined
  • Digital Convergence (Media Becoming One--Makes Teleputers Possible)

Ethical Perspective

  • Free Speech vs. Censorship
  • Privacy Concerns
  • Equal Access

Cultural Perspective

  • Portal/Commercial Sites are Used the Most
  • What Does that Say About the Medium? (Same as All the Others?)

Critical Perspective

  • How Do You Use the Web?
  • Look Up Details in the Starr Report or Take Courses Through an Online University?

Future Directions

  • Little Difference Between Newspapers, Television, and Portals

Possible Visual Materials:

Demonstrations of Passage to Vietnam and Riven. My bookmarks on the World Wide Web.

return to the top

Chapter 17: The More You Know; The More You See

  • Pictures aren't Simple
    • Key is Using Words and Pictures in Equally Respectful Ways to Help Educate, Entertain, and Persuade
  • Light is the Link
    • Light of Day
    • Light of Reason
    • Light of Compassion

Possible Visual Materials:

Slides from all the previous lectures.