The Princess and the Frog Controversy

Disney films released the new movie, The Princess and the Frog this past weekend and there was a lot of controversy. This was the first time Disney has ever made a movie about a black princess so of course there was going to be positive and negative takes on the movie. Some people think that the movie was stereotypical. For example the movie took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. It had voodoo magic incorporated into the film as well as a sidekick alligator. Basically viewers thought there elements of racism and stereotyping in the film. I watched the movie this weekend and I thought that it was beautifully made. The storyline, characters, settings, and layout worked wonderful together. The film was fun from start to finish and each character served a purpose and was very entertaining. It was a really heartfelt and encouraging film. Yes there was voodoo and a sidekick alligator; however it all fit within the storyline. The Princess and the Frog so called stereotyping is no different than any other Disney movie. In Aladdin, the sidekick was a genie. In Mulan the sidekick was a dragon. There is also magic and wizards in many Disney movies, such as the Little Mermaid and Hercules. Although it took many years for Disney to come out with a film based on African Americans I think that they did a good job on the execution of the overall film. I think that there should be more diverse films made by Disney. This is a diverse country and world we live in, and every face needs to be noteworthy. I noticed many things about the film that has not been any other Disney film before. The film was very diverse and each character added something special to the film and that is what the United States is supposed to be as a whole.

Image Source:http://www.yourmoviestuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the-princess-and-the-frog_290_movie-poster.jpg

Simple Yet Creative Technology Ad

This is an ad for the Apple IPod Touch and this is an example of a successful design that does not really need that many words or commentary to explain what it is about. The ad shows a photograph of three girls and in the middle is a fingerprint. The message of this ad is quite clear. It’s a digital device that allows you to interact with it with just a touch. Images and ads like this are very interesting to me because using little to no words and still getting the message across is more creative than a bunch of words explaining something. With the finger print, it lets the user know that they can interact with the device. Our human nature is to use our sense of touch to identify or distinguish something. They have illustrated just that in the ad to attract people to buy this IPod. In our metaphoric assignment I had a hard time on m slides of getting the message across without telling what each image was actually representing. Sometimes when I think of complex ideas and I execute them my design can be unclear. This example of the Apple IPod Touch is very simplistic but still eye catching. This shows that simple is not always a bad thing. The creators executed this design ad so that it is discrete and subtle. This ad is quite clever because of its simplicity and creativity.

Image Source:http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/28-nice-and-creative-tech-advertisements/

RCA Headphones Ad

This is an ad for RCA and it is pretty cool ad for an mp3 player. It is a picture of an enlarged ear and inside the tip of the ear is an orchestra playing. The message that is being conveyed is that the mp3 player sound quality is so good that it makes the music so clear as if it is being played live right in your ear. Even though the actual RCA mp3 player is very small and placed at the bottom the message is very clear. Once you see the orchestra in the persons ears the first thing you think of are headphones. Then because the ear and the orchestra are both a manila color, you eyes are led to the bright red RCA symbol and the mp3 player with the headphones to the right. I really like this ad because it has a sort of softness feeling to it and orchestra music has a soft light tone to it. The illustration of the orchestra inside the ear, explain what is being represented. Unlike other ads which show a large picture of the mp3 player or IPod itself, the RCA mp3 player is pictured very small. However, at the same time it could be a disadvantage for this ad competing with Apple IPod commercials and ads, they are straight forward and in your face when promoting their product. They are also usually bright in color and flashy; however this ad is more discrete and soft. It may not catch everyone’s attention especially with the type of music being played. I think that this ad would attract an older audience. Maybe if they had a rock band or something more exciting and better usage of color, it would be geared more towards a younger crowd. Also younger crowds like to see products up close so that they know exactly the screen size and applications available. The target audience for this ad is older adults or senior citizens.

Image:http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/28-nice-and-creative-tech-advertisements/

Sony Ad

This is an ad for Sony Labtops and it is very interesting. It has a very strange, sleek, and futuristic look to it. The first thing you look at is the shirtless man with the purple pants and heels because the purple is so bright, shiny, and striking. He is also wearing heels, which is very strange. The pants are also strange because men usually do not wear sparkly, purple leather pants. The man leads our eyes with a kiss he is about to give to a woman sitting down on a chair. Then we are lead to her elongated leg to her bright red and black pump. From the pump we are then finally led to the Sony Laptop that is being balanced on her heel. This is a successful design because everything is balanced and our eyes are led up to the item that is being advertised. The splash of color on the left is balanced with the splash of color on the right. The man is balanced with the woman’s leg. Everything is organized showing visual hierarchy. Our eyes go straight to the target area. Another interesting element is that every shape is organic except for the Sony Laptop which is geometrical so it makes it stand out even more.

Image:http://hongkiat.s3.amazonaws.com/techads/Pash.jpg

Funny Television Ads

I found these pictures on the internet; they are either ads from CNN and they are pretty funny. They are pictures of home owners being distracted of what’s going on outside of the television. In the ads everyone’s eyes are glued to the television as if they are being hypnotized by what they see. In the first picture a man has been standing outside looking at a TV in the display glass for so long that he has frozen. The next picture is of a man whose eyes are so glued to the TV that his dog has chewed up his whole couch. The third picture is of couple lying in the bed watching TV. The couple is so in to the TV that they don’t even notice that a man is breaking into their house and even he ends up forgetting what he is doing and starts watching it too. The fourth picture is of a lifeguard who fails to realize that a man is drowning because he is into the television. I think that these are good design ads because in reality people get so in to what they watch on television, that they sometimes don’t pay attention to what is going on outside of it. This reminds me of how people especially men are during the super bowl because they are so into the TV they block out everything else. These ads also gives off the message of what people insinuate with people and television which is it makes them less intelligent, immovable, zombie-like creatures. Sometimes mediated objects can have that effect on viewers and this ad illustrates it well.

Images:http://www.here2see.com/creative-commercials-arent-they-fun/

IPOD Nano Chromatic

Commerical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftTaWwtbvgM

Commercials are a way of getting product information out to the public so that it is appealing to buy. For this to work the commercial has to be interesting enough for the public to sit and watch. The only time people actually look forward to watching commercials is during the super bowl so, any other day, companies have to catch the attention of the public right from the beginning of the commercial. The Apple IPOD Nano Chromatic is an example of a successful commercial. When it first comes on it shows a white background and second’s letter, sleek bright and colorful IPOD Nanos come flying out slowly. On the screens on each Nano it shows you what all you can do without words describing it to the audience. Then all of the Nanos lines up, the color from each one melt down to look like paint dripping down. I think that this was a successful commercial because it was eye-catching from start to finish. The sleekness and brightness of the background and colors used are hypnotic. It has elements in the commercial that appeal to both children and adults. It is sleek and colorful and everyone notices bright objects. The only words used in the commercial are through a song playing and it enhances the product promotion. The creators used creativity, analogue art, and digital art all together and overall made a successful commercial.

Image:http://assets.gearlive.com/blogimages/ipod-nano-chromatic.jpg

Digital Photo Frames

I think that digital photo frames are very clever inventions. Digital photo frames are created using LCD screens and it displays a slideshow of pictures to share without having to use the internet. However, you can still use the internet to download more pictures you want displayed in the digital photo frame. In many homes there are various displays of family pictures scattered all around the house. On each wall there are probably cluttered with about 10-30 frames because people like to display memories to share or just for themselves. However, if you buy a digital photo frame you could display as many photos as you would like depending on the type of memory card available. Instead of 10 photo frames scattered everywhere on one wall, you could have one or two nice size digital frames displaying twice as many pictures. Polaroid and Kodak or some of the companies that make digital photo frames. I think that this is a fast and efficient way to display photos verses cutting and fitting a photo manually into a frame. All it takes is a download of photographs onto a memory card and placed into the frame, it displays all photos. There are also digital photo frames that play music as well with the pictures. I think that is idea can really enhance the photos because adding music could actually tell a story about the photos. A mother may choose a song that is their child’s favorite to display with their photographs. A married couple may display wedding photos with songs that were played during their wedding. Digital photo frames are forms of art that regular people can customize however they would like to tell their own story.

Image Source:http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/home/digital-picture-frame.htm