Show how an example of how video information gives visual form to hard facts

As a graphic designer I should look at more interesting ways in which I can visual data. We shouldn’t restrict our self’s to pie charts and bar graphs in the way we show hard facts. We should think out of the box, and experiment with different types of media and look at the context in which the data is collected. We can also look at the audience for the gathered information, and how we can make the data more interesting so it can appeal to them even more. 

Whilst researching how hard facts can be given visual form, I came across a digital cartographer called Eric Fischer. He has used data from the latest US census to create visual maps of different States, which shows the racial divisions in the US. Each dot represents 25 people and each colour a different race. White people are represented by pink, Black people are represented by blue, Hispanic’s represented by orange and Asians by green. These maps are very visually striking and also very clear. There is a clear segregation between the colours, and this clearly represents the racial divisions in the US. By using the colour dots it makes the information more clear, and gives it more visual realisation. If the collected data was in a bar chart, it wouldn’t work as well and wouldn’t look as visually stunning as these images do. You also wouldn’t get a sense of what the information represents.

This data has inspired me to be more creative when I’m giving visual form to hard facts.  I should also think about the audience for the data and try and use different media.    

Identify a three act structure in a recent film

After learning about the three act structure which is used in most films, the first film which came to mind was Batman The Dark Knight. This film uses a three act structure well, with a clear beginning, middle and end.

 In the beginning of the film we establish the background and carry on from the previous film. Gotham is in a state of equilibrium; the ‘bad guys’ are off the streets and crime rates are going down. Batman is identified as the protagonist and has joined forces with Lieutenant James Gordon, and the new district attorney Harvey Dent. At that moment everything is going well and they seem unbeatable. Then the crisis in the middle begins; The Joker enters the frame with his psychopathic criminal state of mind and upsets the equilibrium. This then leads to series of events which form the main part of the film. The Joker is identified as the antagonist, and as a result has forced the protagonist to make a life changing decision. Batman has to either reveal his true identity or risk hundreds of people being killed. As a result this forces batman to act in ways, in which he has never done and the audience see him stray between the lines of good and bad. The film also features an inner story which is a love triangle between Batman (Bruce Wayne), Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent. Rachel Dawes thinks that the only way she can be with Bruce Wayne is if he stops being Batman, and let the police take care of Gotham.  Bruce Wayne knows this can never happen, so decides that she would be better off with Harvey Dent. At the end of the film the crisis is resolved. The Joker is captured and Batman is seen as a criminal and is on the run. The crisis/antagonist has caused Batman’s life to change as he is now seen as a criminal. But order is also restored with Gotham back under control.