Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tostitos
The story of the new Tostitos commercial is fairly simple. It focuses on a salsa dancer who chops up all of the ingredients for the Tostitos salsa. Yet when the action is analyzed we see how detailed it actually is. The commercial begins with a flower opening to reveal a woman dressed in vegetables. She begins to walk down a step-way made of sliced onions. After picking a clove of garlic from a tree she opens her face with a whoosh to reveal knives. As she continues down the rolling hills of vegetables she spins and chops the ingredients for the salsa. At one point the animation is slow motioned while a tomato is spiral sliced. The camera pans back so we can see a large tomato, which is then cut in half down the middle as the dancer swirls through. Once she reaches a valley she pauses and watches the mountains of produce disintegrates in the background. The climax occurs as she spirals into the air and all of the land is chopped apart and then whirlwinds around the camera. After this the Tostitos logo appears and a bag of chips and salsa appear on a cream toned background.
I feel that this commercial is a different, modern approach to their advertising. It is incorporating the Latin heritage into the commercial by having a salsa dancer create the actual salsa. The vibrant colors of all the ingredients catch the viewer’ eye and keeps the attention on the commercial because it is so fast pace. The music also adds to the experience because it is salsa dance music, which has an upbeat tempo. The 3D design is impeccable. Laika House did a phenomenal job with the creation of this commercial. The detail in the vegetables, especially the tomato when it is sliced in slow motion, displays their talent perfectly. The elements of the film all come together to create a pleasant commercial that, in my opinion, mimics the flavors in the salsa perfectly. The animation is zesty, bold, and vibrant. The colors chosen can be seen in the label on the jar of salsa, which is a good use of color palette.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Power To The People
This week I looked at the collaboration between Airside and Demos. Together they have created a visual essay delving into the problem with the Power Gap. The first thing that grabbed my attention in The Power Gap was the graphic style of the animation.
The designers have used the iconic character found on many bathroom door signs and street signs. The animation is very smooth and keeps the viewers attention throughout the entire film. The story begins with a simple question, "What is power?” The narrator then continues to give us an overview of what power is. It began with strength, which then turned into intelligence. This is illustrated in a comedic manner by having the stick figured beat each other with clubs. Eventually, one of the cavemen creates fire, which is symbolic of the caveman becoming intelligent. The narrator also discusses how imagination is also power, which is shown as when the cavemen create what I interpret as Religion. The religious leaders turn into Kings and Queens to illustrate how power moved from religious leaders to Kings and Queens. The evolution of power moves onto citizens that wanted the power given to the people. Yet the people who were helping to spread the power would take more for themselves and their "cronies". Therefore a power gap was created again.
We continue to how a person gains power throughout his or her lifetime and what may decrease power. The narrator discusses how an individual’s power takes two forms, Resilience and Agency. Resilience is the power to be, which is a defensive power. This is shown to us as a robber stealing a briefcase from one of the two characters when discussing crime rate. The narrator also tells us that health is part of a person’s resilience. In this section two doctors examine the two men and the person who wasn't robbed contracts a disease and becomes covered in spots. We move onto the power of Agency, or the power to do. The men are given cell phones, which emit a signal beacon that makes sounds like a Star Wars light saber for a comedic effect. This is done because Agency is an offensive power. Education and money are things that allow gaining more options and moving further. During this narration the man on the right is becoming wealthy and successful because of a good education. He is shown as a businessman while the man on the left is shown as a laborer that has a hard time gaining power.
Power is able to take other forms such as power over others and the power of influence, such as the boss telling the worker what to do as illustrated. Political power is another form of power. The polling station pops up and the men place their ballots in the box. The narrator goes further to illustrate how power is still held by the rich elite, and that people may be able to gain some of this power if they have the services to become more Resilient and access to tools they need to help themselves. She goes further to say, "Power doesn't belong to these people (The Elite), it belongs to the people". I think the symbolism of having a average person with a picket sign pulling "The Rich Elite" out from underneath the Kings, Queens, religious leaders, and business men is a very power image.
The color palette used is comprised of mainly vibrant yellows, blues, green, and oranges on a dark brown background. This creates a focus on the characters because they are the brightest things in view. I feel that this creates an interesting effect. The colors also add to the comedic cartoon style that has been created. The transitions in the animation are for the most part characters popping in and out of the camera. By using this method of transferring to another topic it creates a smooth flow throughout the animation. The viewer isn't left hanging wondering why something just happened because of the narrator’s story. All of these elements combined form a very cohesive graphic animation that is entertaining as well as informative.
The designers have used the iconic character found on many bathroom door signs and street signs. The animation is very smooth and keeps the viewers attention throughout the entire film. The story begins with a simple question, "What is power?” The narrator then continues to give us an overview of what power is. It began with strength, which then turned into intelligence. This is illustrated in a comedic manner by having the stick figured beat each other with clubs. Eventually, one of the cavemen creates fire, which is symbolic of the caveman becoming intelligent. The narrator also discusses how imagination is also power, which is shown as when the cavemen create what I interpret as Religion. The religious leaders turn into Kings and Queens to illustrate how power moved from religious leaders to Kings and Queens. The evolution of power moves onto citizens that wanted the power given to the people. Yet the people who were helping to spread the power would take more for themselves and their "cronies". Therefore a power gap was created again.
We continue to how a person gains power throughout his or her lifetime and what may decrease power. The narrator discusses how an individual’s power takes two forms, Resilience and Agency. Resilience is the power to be, which is a defensive power. This is shown to us as a robber stealing a briefcase from one of the two characters when discussing crime rate. The narrator also tells us that health is part of a person’s resilience. In this section two doctors examine the two men and the person who wasn't robbed contracts a disease and becomes covered in spots. We move onto the power of Agency, or the power to do. The men are given cell phones, which emit a signal beacon that makes sounds like a Star Wars light saber for a comedic effect. This is done because Agency is an offensive power. Education and money are things that allow gaining more options and moving further. During this narration the man on the right is becoming wealthy and successful because of a good education. He is shown as a businessman while the man on the left is shown as a laborer that has a hard time gaining power.
Power is able to take other forms such as power over others and the power of influence, such as the boss telling the worker what to do as illustrated. Political power is another form of power. The polling station pops up and the men place their ballots in the box. The narrator goes further to illustrate how power is still held by the rich elite, and that people may be able to gain some of this power if they have the services to become more Resilient and access to tools they need to help themselves. She goes further to say, "Power doesn't belong to these people (The Elite), it belongs to the people". I think the symbolism of having a average person with a picket sign pulling "The Rich Elite" out from underneath the Kings, Queens, religious leaders, and business men is a very power image.
The color palette used is comprised of mainly vibrant yellows, blues, green, and oranges on a dark brown background. This creates a focus on the characters because they are the brightest things in view. I feel that this creates an interesting effect. The colors also add to the comedic cartoon style that has been created. The transitions in the animation are for the most part characters popping in and out of the camera. By using this method of transferring to another topic it creates a smooth flow throughout the animation. The viewer isn't left hanging wondering why something just happened because of the narrator’s story. All of these elements combined form a very cohesive graphic animation that is entertaining as well as informative.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Honda: Living With Robots
The video Living with Robots is very interesting. It caught my eye due to the science fiction background of the video. Going in depth about how the future of humanity will eventually be overrun with robots that help us or hurt us is something I have not seen lately. The cinematography of the eight minutes film is stunning. There are a slew of lighting changes, 3D design elements and text effects throughout the film. Ultimately the video makes the viewer wonder, "What form will robots take next?" We see an evolution of robotics through time and the background of Honda' research projects revolving around robotics. After watching the video a few times one gets an appreciation for the depth of the transitions used in throughout the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF0WsvfG_nI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF0WsvfG_nI&feature=player_embedded
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