GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

Visual Coding Basics:

Line, Shape, Color, Tone

Recognition of the Edge and Frame

The apparent line around the borders of any 2D object is called edge. Edge is defined by lines to the eyes even though there is no actual lines like in the shadow image seen here. Most art work images are presented within a frame, which always implies a selection processwhat to include and leave out. Always bare in mind that the frame is often meant to lead imagination of what is outside the frame.

Lines Generated by Points of Interest

From the 4 dots in the first picture, we create a square in our mind. From the first shot, we create an imaginary line; and from the second shot, we create an imaginary triangle. These imaginary lines are generated from the points of interest within a frame. Recognition of such lines would help us to create tension in a picture. For instance, the tension in the second shot is greater than that in the first.

Recognition of the Contour

The apparent line around the border of any 3D object is called contour. Most objects in the world are 3D, but we perceive lines around them. If the ball and the background are the same tone, the lines (and the ball) will disappear, because line needs tonal contrast to be seen. Always bare in mind that many lines we see are not actually there in the first place. We only perceive them. Thus we can manipulate perception of others by various means.

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei

GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

Recognition of Invisible Axis

Many objects have an invisible axis that runs through them, which is perceived as a line. The axis becomes difficult to define when the tonal contrast between the object and the BG is reduced. Note every object has an axis. A square has no definite, single axis, but a rectangle does. The shot on the left here has two vertical axis.

Intersection of Planes
When two planes meet or intersect, they appear to create a line. Every corner of every room can create a line if there is tonal contrast between the two planes. Intersection of two planes is an extremely common way to produce lines. The corners of furniture, windows, doorways, and the intersection of walls can all create lines if there is tonal contrast between the two plans. Changing of the tonal contrast can make the lines more or less visible, as illustrated by the two lower images on the left.

The Linear Motif

Any picture can be reduced to lines. This is called the linear motif. Here is a picture and its high contrast version that simplifies the tonal range, and reveals the linear motif. Using a contrast viewing glass, which is like a monocle but extremely darkbrown or blue, a photographer can see the linear motif. Squinting increases a pictures contrast, reduces detail, and emphasizes the lines that create the linear motif. The linear motif of the shot on the left is diagonal.

The Linear Motif

A pictures linear motif can be any combination of straight, circular, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines. It is essential to analyze the line on the 2D screen, not the line in real life. In the real world, the fountain has two round bowls. In the screen world, the bowls curved lines are nearly straight. That is, only the straight line here matters to the artist and viewer. In-class exercise to recognize lines.

Contrast and Affinity: Orientation

Line is used to produce contrast or affinities in 3 ways: Orientation is the angle of lines created by nonmoving or stationary objects. The least intense and dynamic is the horizontal line. The vertical line is more intense and dynamic, but the most intense is the diagonal lines. Contrast of orientation can occur within a shot, from shot to shot, or from sequence to sequence.

The first shot on the right illustrates contrast of line orientation within the shot; while the second shot illustrates affinity of orientation within the shot. The first two shots below illustrate affinity of orientation between shots as the angle of the stationary lines is the same. The second two shots below illustrate contrast of orientation between shots.

Orientation

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei

GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

Contrast and Affinity: Direction

Direction refers to the angle of lines or tracks created by moving objects. In the drawing, the arrow indicates the direction of the track made by the moving object. Shot 1: Affinity of direction within the shot is created when two or more objects move in the same direction. Shot 2: Contrast of direction of line within the shot is created by objects moving in different directions.

Contrast and Affinity: Quality

Quality of line refers to the linear (straight) or curvilinear (curved) nature of a lines. Certain emotional moods often are associated with quality of line. Generally, a straight line is associated with characteristics like direct, aggressive, bland, honest, industrial, ordered, strong, unnatural, adult and rigid. A curved line often relates to indirect, passive, childlike, romantic, safe, flexible characteristics. Your own feelings about them will affect your using of them. The two shots on the right illustrate contrast and the two shots below affinity.

Basic Shape Recognition

In order to control the images effectively. The recognition of basic shapes is crucial. The same emotional characteristics associated with curved and straight lines can be linked to round & square shapes, and triangular often relates to bold, aggressive, dynamic, angry, menacing, scary, chaotic, disoriented, unorganized qualities.

Contrast & Affinity in Shape

Among the 2D shapes, the circle and triangle have maximum contrast. Using 3D shapes, the sphere and the 3-sided pyramid have maximum contrast. Shot 1: an example of contrast of shape within the shot. The triangles contrast with the squares; Shot 2: affinity of shapes within the shot formed by rectangulars and squares.

Track & Linear Motif Storyboard

When certain objects move, they leave a visible track or line behind them. Most objects do not create an actual track or line when they move, but their movement do generate a virtual or invisible line. A storyboard is a series of drawings illustrating the composition of shots, but they can be drawn just according to the linear motif, so the visual intensity can be shown in a straightforward manner. The most intensive frames are 12-13-14 as the orientation moves from diagonal to horizontal to diagonal. The Principle of Contrast and Affinity is the key to structure the linear motif of the sequence.

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei

GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

Controlling the Tone

Tone refers to the brightness of objects, and the range of brightness can be illustrated with a gray scale. Three ways to control the tone in a shot: reflective control (art direction), incident control (lighting), and exposure (camera & lens adjustments). Top 2 figs shows reflective control in dark and light tones; lower 2 figs shows reflective control and incident control (lighting) respectively; normal and lighter/darker exposures are show below:

Tonal Contrast & Affinity

Maximum contrast of tone is black and white. Maximum affinity is any two grays next to one another on the gray scale. Fig 1 below illustrates contrast of tone, Fig 2 condenses the tonal range into the middle third of the gray scale. Kill Bill (Fig 3) shows how contrast and affinity of tone are achieved through a wide range of lighting system, which is designed to separate different sequences in the story.

Coincidence and Noncoincidence of Tone

Refers to the relationship between the tonal organization of the shot and the subject of the shot. CoT occurs when the tonal range reveals the subject, NCoT when tonal range obscures the subject. The first still on the right obscures the subject due to lighting, while the second due to darknessboth are NCoT. The third still clearly reveals the subject and is an example of CoT.

Conception of Color
It is difficult to resist the attraction of bright colors. At the beginning of the film history, filmmakers already began to color black and white films. Goerge Melies once had 23 girls in his factory to hand color his film frame by frame. Our color education tells us that color can be cold or warm or neutral. In the early years of film, red tint is used to suggest fire and heat while blue night scene. We think colors have meanings, but they dont.

Visible Spectrum from Light

We take sunlight as white. A glass prism will refract the light into a rainbow or the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Different light sources will also generation the visible spectrum, where the proportion of each color varies. As shown in the figure on the lower left, a candle produces a reddish light, a 60-W light bulb orange-ish light, stage lights less orange, and daylight predominantly blue.

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei

GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

Additive and Subtractive Color Systems

The additive system uses two light sources, and its color wheel has the primary colors of red, blue and green. [RED+BLUE=MAGENTA;
GREEN+BLUE=CYAN; RED+GREEN=YELLOW]

Basic Components of Color

Hue: refers to the position of a color on the color wheel and there are only 8 huesred, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet, and magenta, no more. Brightness: is the addition of white or black to the hue. On the left black and white are added to a red hue. Saturation refers to the purity of a hue. A saturated red is a red that hasnt been contaminated by any other hue. The opposite of saturation is desaturation, which leads to grayer, less vivid color.

The subtractive system uses pigments mixing and its primary colors are magenta, yellow and cyan. [MAGENTA+YELLOW=RED; YELLOW+CYAN=GREEN; CYAN+MAGENTA=BLUE] Colored filters used on camera lenses and theatrical lights use the subtractive system. The two systems are often combined into a confusing understanding of colors, especially primary colors.

Brightness vs. Saturation

Diagram 1 shows a range of colors created by adding black and white to fully saturated red, green, blue, magenta, yellow and cyan. A basic color wheel always displays the hues in their fully saturated state, but the brightness of these hues is different. Diagram 3 shows 8 hues of equal saturation, but vary in brightness. Diagram 4 shows hues vary in saturation, but are of equal brightness.

Contrast and Affinity

1) Contrast of hue: major color differences; 2) Affinity of hue: all colors are based on a single hue; 3) Affinity (all dark red); 4) Contrast (bright and dark blue); 5) Contrast of desaturated colors with a saturated red; 6) Affinity of all desaturated, gray-out colors.

Contrast and Affinity

A color wheel can be used to generation warm/cool colors. On the left are two examples of warm and cool affinity within a shot. Color extension deals with a colors brightness and physical proportion in relation to other colors. Yellow is the brightest saturated color and blue/ magenta, the darkest. Notice of how the tonal range is revealed in the lower stills. An audiences attention is often drawn to brightness first.

Color Interaction
Josef Albers demonstrated and defined color interaction. The susceptible color refers to the color that will appear to change; while the neighbor is the color or tone that will activate the change in the susceptible color.There are three basic rules: 1) Hue and Black or White: Bezold Effect or spreading effect 2) Complementary Colors: same proportionmore saturated; small color more susceptible; simultaneous contrast; color interaction of successive contrast.

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei

GE1113 Visual Literacy and Cultural Thinking

2012-1-16

3) Analogous Colors: are neighbors on the color wheel. Orange on red appears more yellowish and on yellow more reddish. This can be predicted on color wheel. Afterimage: stare at the dot on blue for 1 minute and move eye to the dot on white.

Color Schemes Reflected by Color Wheels

A color scheme is a color plan varies from the color wheel: 2) one hue (monochromatic); 3) complementary hues (often blue and orange); 4) split complementary hues; 5) three-way split; 6) four-way split.

Control of Color in Production

The best way to control color is to limit the color palette (meaning the actual color of objects in the picture) itself. A good production designer knows how to control color. Colors can be assigned (to character, object, event, etc.) to generate new meanings. Other ways includes the use of filters (lens and lighting), time/location, choice of film stock, lab techniques (flashing, developing, photochemical timing, digital time, etc.)

A color script can be as simple as a group of swatches specifying the color for an entire production (Fig. 1). Notice the contrast of warm and cool between act 2 and 3 of the story (Fig. 3). These two schemes may separate past from present (Fig. 2). A more detailed script here shows the development of story in terms of color scheme. Never underestimate the power of colors, which are directly related to the audiences emotional reaction.

Color Script

Lecture 02 by Dr. Louisa Wei