Art Direction: Mad Max Fury Road

    

Mad Max Fury Road has multiple artistic elements that come together to create one high speed action packed adventure. For this blog post, I will be introducing you the lead art director of the film and analyzing specific tasks she must complete and commit to in order for the film to come together. 

Jacinta Leong is an art director and she works under Colin Gibson. Jacinta Leong wanted to make everything as real as possible without using CGI, but in order to make the film more realistic they used CGI in post production. Leong is in charge of creating the visual concept for the movie, determining design elements that get incorporated into the film, and develop the overall look or style of the movie. Jacinta Leong is also in charge of the supervising the design teams, which include costumes and makeup. The link below holds an interview that explains the design concept Leong wanted to achieve. Leong wanted to push Fury Road 45 years into the future and create a different world from the previous Mad Max films.

Every Mad Max fan was more than enthused when the first chase scene began because the "post apocalyptic" design elements carried throughout the costumes and props. The law of similarity plays a key role in this film and design, because each and every car or costume has some sort of steam punk element attached to it. All-in-all a positive gestalt feeling was taken away from this film because of the design elements and the CGI that was placed in post production. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8p7U6GMWeQ

Compose Your Frame

This picture was taken form the balcony of the Holland building that outlooks the grass field and baseball/softball fields. In this picture, the rule of thirds follows both the horizontal and vertical lines. The red square tiles act as the vertical lines while the chrome beams act as the horizontal lines. There is also a movement vector that leads the eye downward through the chrome beams. There is also movement cause by the diagonal rule as well as the center chrome beam. The diagonal rule is applied by the shadow the the chrome side beams that lead the eye downward as well.

Axioms of Web Design

It was difficult choosing a website to critique, but I thought "Out of Africa" would be relevant to my own personal timeline. I recently visited this wildlife habitat on my birthday last week and it was a wonderful experience. I visited the website before leaving for my trip and it was an easy website to navigate. In order to make sure this website is effective, applying the axioms of webdesign is crucial. 

First, the mission of the "Out of Africa" park is clearly stated underneath the "About the Park" tab. They clearly state that the conservation of the animals and making sure each and every guest has fun, yet walks away with broader knowledge of the animal kingdom, is their mission. Secondly, I believe the habitat uses a strong page design. What I mean by this is that each corner is properly aligned and even the boxes within the larger navigational boxes are aligned. Symmetry is very important when it comes to structure and drawing an audience into a websites homepage. The third axiom of web design consists of a strong picture in the lower right hand corner. The habitat does not follow this rule, but I do believe the large picture advertisements that is off centered is also effective. Also, I do believe the background for this website is relevant and effective. This background leads us to the fourth axiom of webdesign and that is leading the eye through an angle. This website is predominantly led by a diagonal line, because of the background and the horizon.