Print Productions Planning // Initial Design Inspiration

The amount of time I have to complete all stages of my Print Production, from the planning to the photo-shoot to editing to completion is limited. In order to complete it to the best of my ability, I need to use my time well. With this in mind, I have drawn up several areas of inspiration for my Print Productions.

A still taken from the Spike Jonze's recent film 'Her'

I wanted to design a record sleeve that reflected the general theme of my music video, the increasingly complicated relationship between technology and relationships, taken to the extreme by the character in the video, who falls in love with a 'girl' on a computer. This was influenced mainly by recent texts such as Spike Jonze's recent Film 'Her' and older texts such as Woody Allen's 'The Purple Rose of Cairo'. Both the texts referenced and my own text deal with the effect that continually developing technology and entertainment can have on the way we as human beings interact with the world and with each other. 

Another text that deals with similar issues, albeit in a much more sinister and dark manner is the British television drama 'Black Mirror' created by comedian, writer and cultural critic Charlie Brooker. Where as the mise en scene and aesthetic of the previously mentioned texts is light and sentimental, the tone and aesthetic of Black Mirror, seen in the trailer above, are clearly much more threatening and cynical. The Black Mirror aesthetic is a perversion of the sort of image and representation typically perpetrated by advertisements for companies such as Apple and Samsung. Such representations typically use recognisable tropes and mise en scene such as washed out and sunny lighting, gentle acoustic music and aspirational lifestyles to create miniature snapshots of wholesome middle class utopia, bought about and endlessly enhanced by the shiny, expensive pieces of technology the adverts are trying to promote. 

An image used to promote 'Black Mirror' demonstrating many of Black Mirror's aesthetic characteristics.

'Black Mirror' challenges this representation and wonders if new technology in fact poses a threat, alienating us from each other and our own humanity. It creates sinister images using glitches, the uncanny valley and digital imagery to create a tone of unease surrounding the technology. The above image is the perfect example of this type of image, with the cracked screen distorting violently an image, that looks like it could be a promotion for a mobile phone, into something much more devilish. This is an interesting aesthetic that I wish to experiment with when designing my print production.

Another image that I found interesting whilst researching the issue was this book cover, for Oliver James' 'Affluenza'. I found the juxtaposition of the 2 models supposed intimacy, seen with their locked hands and the lack of actual intimacy see through their facial expressions and lack of interaction with each other.This is enhance by the use of the clean and modern looking interior as well as the stylish, modern way they are dressed. This image makes itself very clear in what it is is trying to communicate, that modernity is driving us away from ourselves and each other. As this is a similar theme I wish to explore in my print production, I feel this will be a good inspiration throughout the planning and design process.

 

 

 

Another Influence/possible inspiration for my Print Production is the cover for Deerhoof's album 'La Isla Bonita'. I really like the distortion effect used on this cover, as well as the screen noise. Though it doesnt reflect the themes discussed earlier, the purely technological and artificial effect used on the album cover is very interesting to me and may be something I explore and use when producing the album cover.