Learning Outcomes

Visual Storytelling
Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a comprehensive and critical understanding of the techniques and methods relevant to visual storytelling in various contexts.

        The following images document the process of creation for a key moment and the three teaser posters, from thumbnail stages through rough drafts to the final pieces. 

chronological creation process for 'Abduction' key moment

chronological design process for teaser posters

2. Demonstrate a systematic and critical understanding of the breath and depth of knowledge in a range of techniques and methods appropriate to the field of visual storytelling.

In the creation of the teaser posters a range of relevant skills were applied in order to create the final result:

Research and design process for teaser posters

The methods use during development of the images reflect the current model of procedure. First a mood board of useful and informative images was gathered, after which came a series of thumbnails, followed by experimentation, utilising many different effects available in Photoshop to inspire a broad range of possible directions in which to take the final images.

3. Research and synthesise diverse visual materials to inform design solutions

Creation of the key moment above was informed by research such as that shown on the mood board next to it. These are screen captures from science fiction or fantasy films and television that demonstrate the storytelling capability of a single camera shot. The successful features include unusual camera angles, an appearance of distance, inclusion of character, silhouettes, light and darkness, action.

4. Develop argued conclusions regarding industry and professional requirements

key moment 3 - playing

The role of a piece of concept art affects the style and level of polish to which it is executed: for example, the above Key moment is made to convey the mood and character of a potential film to parties who may get involved with producing it.

Elements which may be looked for by the target audience of this type of concept art are character, environment style, mood and story, among other things. It is therefore important that the art convey the vision of the art director (in this case, the concept artist) in all of these categories, which means that emphasis should be placed on generating something approaching the final shot that would be seen in the film rather than a highly detailed illustration.

The art could reasonably contain a percentage of ambiguity in character representation and the function of environmental features, for example. Ambiguity can create the basis for discussion of what these details could potentially be. As a concept artist is essentially the propagator of an idea that may be taken up and changed during the production of a film (for example), producing too polished an image might be counterproductive, not to mention too time-consuming, although the image should be inspiring enough to encourage an investment in the idea set forth.

5. Plan and implement appropriate skills in the creation of visual work

The images below demonstrate skills necessary for the creation of concept art. 

Clearly executed sketches are invaluable tools during the creation of a polished image. These line drawings helped me to plan key moments and the story board, respectively.

A well-conceived base layer improves the standard of the final images by providing a clear direction for the art.

6. Systematically gather and evaluate information from a diverse range of sources relevant to visual storytelling.

In the creation of the poster a large range of relevant skills were applied in order to create the final result.

Images of similarly designed pieces were gathered and their successful and comparable characteristics identified to be applied to an original design.

The production of the poster piece was a process of trial and error, applying different colour and content within the identified guidelines of poster design.

The potential story behind ‘Sphereprison’ is hinted at through the inclusion of  sympathetic and antagonistic characters, their roles shown through their presentation via placement and colouring: the sympathetic characters are better lit, their stances open but cautious as they approach the viewer, and they are dwarfed by the shadowy, monochromatic face of the psycho warden character at the top. The decision was made to reduce the intensity of the environment colour in order to centre the viewers’ attention on the more colourful characters. This decision was also made based off the research which shows that high-contrast monochrome serves well as an attention grabber. It is also for this reason that the borders of the poster are dark, which is a predominant feature of the images in my research.

The sci-fi genre of the film is made clear through the use of spacecraft and futuristic costume, ensuring that the poster serves the purpose of attracting the right audience to the cinema.

7. Demonstrate independent learning and continued personal development. 

Creating a storyboard for a set script was a learning process as I had never previously tried to do this. It taught me a lot about camera angles, light and the role of image manipulation to create slight adaptations from previous images in a time efficient manner.

final 9 panels of storyboard

8. Reflect on practice and identify strengths and weaknesses in own work

This Visual Storytelling module has been incredibly useful in encouraging practical, professional skills and practices. Many weaknesses that were apparent in the beginning were identified and worked on, such as rendering environments. One weakness that stood out especially was representation of distance within a scene. In an early attempt at the ‘abduction’ key moment, the image was very flat, objects in the distance too vivid. I was forced to find solutions that would help imply distance and increase the picture’s interest. Environments have remained a weak spot, but improvement has started to take place and I have gained confidence in tackling them.

A stronger piece is the poster. The reason for this is that it fulfils its purpose well of being eye-catching from a distance through its high contrast, centrally-focused composition and characters. An effort was made to keep the design simple and ensure the compositional elements did not let the eye wander from the centre of the frame, which I think has paid off.