Final Literary Reviw

Natalie Blundell - Level 3 Media Production
Unit 12
Literary Review
A big part of this project is about research; in fact a whole unit is
dedicated to it. Several areas of research were explored throughout unit
12 with the help of online and literary resources. My main areas of
research being; colour, animation and design. I grazed through many
books, some proving useful whilst others did not. There were three books
in particular though that I looked at in great detail, these were:
Animation 1: Learn to Animate Cartoons Step by Step by

Preston Blair (1980)
Logo Design Love: A Guide To Creating Iconic Brand
Identities by David Airey (2009)
Palette 01: Black and White New Monochrome Graphics by
Victionary (2012)
These three books all explored different subject areas, all relevant and
addressing my particular chosen areas of research. Working collectively
these books helped me to form and shape possible ideas for my final
major project.
The first book I looked at was Palette 01: Black and White New
Monochrome Graphics by Victionary (2012). This book explored how
using a simple palette consisting of solely black and white could benefit
your work; as well as the impact it has on an audience. It started with
some facts, discussing the science behind colour. I learned within the first
few minutes that black is the result of all four colours being overlaid when
using an 'additive colour system'. "By overprinting a few - generally four transparent inks, we can create countless colour tone. If all four colours
are printed on top of each other, the result is a deep black". On the
contrary white is the result of using a different colour system. "on screen,
only three colours are relevant. And when these overlap, the result is a
dazzling white".
These statements are true facts but the meaning we derive from this can
be a matter of opinion. I think that the way black and white are created
suggests that they are 'whole' colours; they contain condensed
information, a sum of colours combined together. In a way they are a final
product of colour, the highest value when all are added together. Pinks
and blues may stand out but in terms of the science of colour, they only
contain a finite amount of information, they contain much less than white
and black do. "Brightly coloured is measurable. Black and white are
infinite".
Once the science behind black and white was presented to the reader and
a basic understanding was achieved (rather quickly), the book then went

Unit 12
on to discuss the connotations associated with the palette. It didn't just

look at the good connotations such as the white of doves, angels and
bridal gowns or the black of oil and the night sky or new underwear. It also
weighed up the negatives; "a writer's terror when facing the ghostly white
of blank pages", the white of a surrender flag, a politicians dread of a
mental black out. A varied argument was addressed making the colours
seem both good and bad. All in all this only convinced me even more to
use them as they are universal and can mean many specific things if used
correctly. Yellow can only ever mean happiness or maturity, it will
never indicate sadness. This means that colours as such lack usability
whereas black and white do not.
A few other interesting and true points were made. One which stood out
to me was the fact that film credits are never in colour but always in black
and white. This is because of the great contrast between the two. No other
colours can provide this form or readable contrast. There is nothing better
than the use of black and white together.
The views within this book contradicted greatly the former research I had
carried out online regarding 'colour'. I had looked into the importance of it
and how it can add meaning to storytelling. Whilst still true; this book has
given insight as to how black and white can also have a similar effect.
Colour is not necessary, or if so perhaps it should be used sparingly to
exaggerate the meaning or impact.
After reading my first book I moved onto looking further into the idea of a
design project. As a result of this I began reading: Logo Design Love: A
Guide To Creating Iconic Brand Identities by David Airey (2009). This
book focused on 'branding', which is an area within graphic design.
Although this contained a lot of information I didn't find it very persuasive
or helpful in terms of research. A lot of things I already knew of; such as
how important it is to research a brand before rebranding it. I found it to
be quite obvious.
Saying this, it did present me with a few examples of rebranding which I
hadn't heard of which went terribly wrong. For example the 2009 PepsiCo
rebrand of popular fruit juice Tropicana. Sales dropped by 20% in 2
months. Finding these things out were useful as they allowed me to see
that sometimes a rebrand isn't necessary. People trust what they know
and by rebranding you risk losing that trust between product and
consumer. Overall I don't regret the fact I chose to read this book. The
main thing I took away from it was that I wasn't in fact as ready as I

Unit 12
thought I was to do a design based project as good design takes a lot of

practice and experience. An interesting quote I took from the book was "It
took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to
draw it in a few seconds". - Paula Scher.
Finally after having felt I had looked at design enough I ventured over to
animation (a comfortable balance between film and design in my opinion)
and began reading: Animation 1: Learn to Animate Cartoons Step by
Step by Preston Blair. Preston Blair is an ex-disney animator and the book
focused on character types as well as motion/walk cycles. I made notes
and tried some of the techniques out for myself. The book was extremely
informative, great for a beginner like me although I couldn't help but feel
overwhelmed. The concept of a full animation terrifies me after seeing the
work and time that goes into it. It was then at this point that I took to
researching 'rotoscoping' an animation technique incorporating real life
footage.
In conclusion I found the book: Palette 01: Black and White New
Monochrome Graphics by Victionary (2012) to be the most useful in
terms of my research. It included many scientific explanations of colour
and true facts or quotes from key practitioners such as Johanna
Bonnevier, the creative director of 'Off Black Magazine'. It also conflicted
former research I had done, leading me to question and think about things
further. It has served to be a very thought provoking read and has
absolutely had an impact as to how I view colour.
Logo Design Love: A Guide To Creating Iconic Brand Identities by
David Airey (2009) was possibly the least helpful of the three books. It
provided information which was very similar to what I had already found
online, offering me nothing exclusive or relevant to its time of release.
Also after reading it I didn't feel like I was ready to go and take on a
rebranding based project, it focused more on what to do instead of telling
you how. This is disappointing but it did help me eliminate the idea of
going with a design project as I believe I am not quite ready yet.
Animation 1: Learn to Animate Cartoons Step by Step by Preston
Blair was an interesting and fun read which I'm glad I picked up. It
introduced me to the very basics of animation as well as opening my eyes
as to how much patience and effort it requires.
From looking at these three books I have been able to both gain and
dismiss further research areas. I won't be looking any further into design

Unit 12
on this project whilst on the other hand I do plan on looking at possible

animation techniques suitable for beginners like myself. Colour has been a
big part of my research recently too and picking up Palette 01: has given
me a whole new insight to colour, more specifically black and white. Not
only is all of this information I've gathered going to be helpful in my
project but I also believe it will be able to be applied later on in life,
especially at university.

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Natalie Blundell - Level 3 Media Production

Animation 1: Learn to Animate Cartoons Step by Step by

Natalie Blundell - Level 3 Media Production

on to discuss the connotations associated with the palette. It didn't just

Natalie Blundell - Level 3 Media Production

thought I was to do a design based project as good design takes a lot of

Natalie Blundell - Level 3 Media Production

on this project whilst on the other hand I do plan on looking at possible

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