Final Presentation: Individual Artifact

aaronnhall.wix.com/kooks

KOOKS WAREHOUSE:

In my design of the website, the objective was to make an artifact that was easily navigable and visually appealing.  The website follows the guideline of the style guide, mostly relying on neutral colors.  In each page, everything rests around the center of the page, creating a symmetrical feel. This felt more fitting as opposed to a strong grid layout.  This also helps so it's easier to navigate on mobile devices.
On each page, the company logo is displayed on the top of the page, and points down to lead you to the rest of the material.  A flat row of page links rests right below the logo.  In the axioms of web design, it's mentioned that the area of most contrast is the area where you want to draw the majority of your focus.  This, obviously, was in the body of each page below the navigation menu.  Black text was placed against a white background, in addition to colorful photos.
In terms of the content of each page, each text box was written to have a conversational feel to it.  This was meant to bring the reader in and help them feel like a friend, or soon-to-be friend.

Final Presentation: Kooks

Everything you'll need is on the website.  Ben made the video on the homepage, I designed the site itself and outfitted it to be compatible with mobile devices, and all of Matt and Rachel's work is included on the "GROUP STUFF" tab.  Thank you!

aaronnhall.wix.com/kooks

Mise-en-scene Presentation: Edward Scissorhands

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

What I noticed in Edward Scissorhands was a huge use of wide lenses.  I think this effect was used to create an eerie, wide-open feeling.

The eerie feeling is obtained through a lot of the tracking shots in the courtyard.  The wide lens, when focused on an object in close proximity, almost makes the subject seem to bubble out from the center of the frame.  It's very subtle, but effective.  The DP creates a feeling of eerie wonder through this use.

Secondly, the wide-open feeling needs to be explained because of the context of the film.  As you can see from the shots below, the castle is among some prim, way-too-perfect homes in a suburban neighborhood.  The citizens match them perfectly.  Even though they live these perfect lives, Edward, who lives in a creepy castle on a nearby hill, is by far the most innocent character in the whole movie.  So this challenges our perspectives on what's considered good and innocent.  We need to keep our eyes open to what may be whole and beautiful, because it may be behind an ugly mask.

As for the lighting, a lot of lighting in this scene comes off as very natural.  Even the castle is mostly illuminated by natural light, seeping through windows or gaping holes in the ceiling.

Distortion through wide lenses and camera movement create a fantasy-like feeling.

Peggy is framed very tightly by other objects in the frame, making the audience feel restrained and uneasy.

A very cool camera movement exists between these two frames.  Peg backs into the frame, looking small and vulnerable in front of this creepy statue, her figure just visible above the hips.  When she hears Edward upstairs, the camera tracks to the right and cranes upward as she ascends the staircase.  It ends with a wide shot of the whole staircase.

Again, natural lighting floods the floor, also representative of Edward's unfinished body.

Natural lighting is used as a backlight as Edward hides in a corner, so his entire body is silhouetted.  It's not until he slowly creeps out into the foreground that the lighting from the bigger hole illuminates him, so we actually see who he is.