♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

With the opportunity to write a visual review about a website, I knew to take my passion – music – and combine that, therefore I decided to conduct the review on a worldwide known record label’s website: Universal Music Group.  (http://www.universalmusic.com/)

When you click to the website, the first view might make your eyes widen. There are huge pictures in a slideshow format and doesn’t really look like the usual website you’d be expecting to see with links, tabs, and ads everywhere. With experience, I know that a lot of record labels websites are set up in this certain simple way with pictures flashing of their artists, big brand names in bold letters sitting at the top. Universal on one hand, all of the pictures are in black and white. I think this was an important choice because it shows that the brand itself is classic, timeless; it’s been around for a while and despite the mix of new and old faces that show up on the slideshow they’re all in black and white and they’re all a part of that same one brand. Artists change, but Universal Music Group and what they stand for won’t.

The next things noticed on the site are thick black boxes – links for their social media platforms and newsletters, a search bar – sit at the bottom of the page. They’re a dark black compared to the faded pictures and faded bar on the top with the Universal name to stand out to the viewer.  The other black boxes like this are seen on the right side of the page, pagination to skip through the black and white pictures on the page. Just above the black boxes on the bottom with the social platforms is a thin light blue word (which would be the name of the artists in the pictures) and that same blue matches a small index box in the top left corner (as though it was mobile view) with more links. The blue stands out to grab the eye against the black and white, despite the pictures being the main focus. The blue name of the artists hardly sticks out though. When clicking on the blue box in the right top corner, a link box slides in from the side of the screen with a list of other important information for the viewer.  Those links are in a strong font that reminds me of collegiate fonts and when scrolled over, turn that same light blue color to match the other text.

This song overall talks a lot of the American political system and institutionalized racism, while also saying that PE (Pro Era – the name of this rap group) is going to take over and it’ll be a positive thing, spreading the word of unfairness in our system. With the knowledge of the lyrics, the video makes more sense – though dark – and can be dissected to have an extremely deep meaning. If one were to only watch the video in silence, you would probably be able to comprehend what the song is trying to say.

The beginning of the video is close ups with an extreme depth of field: only one thing in the front is in focus and it really puts the viewer into the setting of the video which is Brooklyn, and then Manhattan. They’re attempting to depict the daily life or what they feel being oppressed each day in a video and this is set up as the cameras shakily follow them around areas where there’s graffiti, areas that look run-down, through alleyways, and then eventually you enter a taxi with the main rapper, seeing his view outside the window of Brooklyn. The frames are changed quickly so despite this being a simple tale of where this video takes place, the viewer is extremely interested.

The scene then flashes to the group (PE) in front of an American flag and then back to various other scenes walking around the streets of Brooklyn, finally ending up in an abandoned building. One of the members has a water gun with him and the others pretend shoot with their fingers and with my assumption, I believe they’re trying to get the point across that they’re just kids yet they’re put into the streets and given guns (the lead rapper is only 16 at this point).

Within the abandoned building, there is a wire shaped like a noose (emanating a death theme) as they continue to go through their daily lives, ending up at the building yet again – but this time curt flashes of them hurting people with black masks over their head appears. The main person in the black mask about to be hurt is wearing a nice suit, alluding to the president perhaps – or politics in general. Flashes of different culture references also appear: a Netherlands flag up close, the Jamaican flag, a gold Chinese cat figure; and then there are different cultural references like Martin Luther King’s speech.

The positioning of the camera is also significant as it pedestals up and down in various scenes, especially when they’re at the building, going up to then ease into street shots and Brooklyn, and down to ease into darker scenes where they’re hurting others, or in front of the American flag. There’s juxtaposition between the group of men wearing masks and walking through areas like Wall Street in a crowd and in the other direction, showing their opposition to the way the system is currently working.

                                                     repulsive  

                                                    wide shot

The commercial begins more so like a movie; it’s in black and white and all that’s being shown is the skyline of New York, the Brooklyn Bridge. I believe it’s black and white to allow the viewer to picture an old picture book, going through memories. The scene is moving though, and we’re panning with it as though we’re driving – and we soon find out that we are in fact inside a cab. The music started just as the skyline was showed to us and is played throughout the video. It’s Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in which Derek Jeter, the main focus of this commercial, and the singer are from the same state – and have New York engraved in their hearts.

It’s as though we’re sitting beside Derek Jeter in the taxi, but he doesn’t know we’re there. He’s too busy reminiscing of his past – growing up in New York, playing baseball as a young kid – and this is shown through the frame of the window like when there’s a baseball game played in the neighborhood. The shot then zooms up towards his eyes creating an extreme close up, a reflection against the mirror and NYC. A short change of focus to now see in his point of view outside the window at a kiosk are newspapers with the headlines all about him ending his career in baseball and with the Yankees. We’re still looking from his point of view as he looks to the driver’s steering wheel and out the front window of the car to see the stadium not too far in the distance.

He decides to take the reminiscing further and asks to step out of the car. The picture is now a wide view and the car and train poles are in the rules of thirds as he leaves and is automatically greeted with fans. The focus of the video goes in and out showing that we too are just a fan that has followed along on his journey. Now as he walks closer to walk – to Yankee stadium – he is greeted with crowds of people, the camera all focused on their reactions to him with excitement, joy – conveying emotion for the viewer.

As that scene is ended with a wide-shot of everyone crowded around the stadium, the view changes drastically to extreme close ups of Derek Jeter getting prepared for his last game. Close ups of him putting his jersey on, of him looking beyond the empty stands, and then widens out to the view of him leaving the locker room that is extremely overexposed, only having it possible to see the back of his jersey and a Joe Dimaggio quote. The over saturation fades and Jeter nods, now leading to the wide screen of entering the field with all the seats filled and screaming. The cheers take over the Frank Sinatra song probably wanting to convey the effect he’s had on so many lives.

                                                      isolation

I chose to do the movie poster for “Silence of the Lambs” not just for my love of horror movies, but also because I’ve only seen a few parts of the movie and I didn’t want any bias towards my description of the poster. At first glance, this poster seems as though it conveys its idea of a thriller or horror movie quickly, as well as making people interested enough as a success to want to advertise the movie.

The first thing that I noticed was the face – the face wasn’t a skin tone, but instead it was white – a color that contrasted deeply with the black background or shadows. The shadows itself can represent darkness or fear and the white can represent the light from the darkness, like a lamb (or good versus evil). The face is also extremely up-close and the expression written on her face is soft and neutral, relatable, or calm – or even emotionless, like she’s sedated and that’s how she’s ‘silenced.’

Besides black and white, the color red plays a major role in the movie’s poster – and these are three common colors used for horror/thriller films so this makes sense. I’ll be assuming that the red symbolizes blood or death. The woman’s eyes are red and so is the font of the movie title, perhaps putting them together. The silence of the lambs – whatever that means on the surface – will be connected to this female character by death, or something involving blood. Tints of red can also be found in the insect (which after doing some research, I’ve discovered is a ‘death moth’) that is covering the protagonists mouth, most likely representing the evil that is silencing her – the evil that is silencing the lamb.

The moth is interesting in itself because not only is it specifically the ‘death moth’ but it also has a picture of a skull on its back. The moth gained its name for this reason, yet after some research I came to realize that this skull is different – it’s actually a small replica of a Dali painting of naked women in the shape of a skull. There are seven women that make up this skull – and apparently there are seven deaths in the movie. This is so incredibly detailed and wouldn’t have been seen unless one were to zoom the poster; I think this can represent the women – or people/lambs – that were already silenced and now the darkness is beginning to consume the lamb that’s the main face.

The title of the movie and the fact that it states the movie is also a well-known book sheds light to thinking that people are going to already know some idea of the plot, and also states a few names of producers, etc. telling that they’re probably some known names. The wording of the novel is small, but the title is not too much bigger putting most of the focus on the picture and the mysteriousness of the movie.

                                                        colorful

The first scene of the movie isn’t a scene at all – it’s a black screen with a simple dictionary definition in a boring font for the word pulp. It has two meanings but when I think of how the two meanings can relate to one another, I think on the deeper level. The first definition has to do with how pulp is a shapeless mass of matter, and the second is a book or something vibrant but written on something unfinished and rough. They’re both able to be beautiful things yet seen as not (shapeless, rough). Since the title is “Pulp Fiction” I assume it will be more regarding the second definition about a book or magazine, but if both are listed, both are most likely to be intended and important.

Now into the actual movie, the camera is set at the angle meeting with the table at a diner. We’re able to see the entire conversation these two characters are having at a level below them, able to see their every move. The lighting is also significant since it is so light outside and so dark inside, showing a large contrast on the people’s faces. This can be seen in a deeper light as good and evil, especially since the topic of conversation is robbing places. The movement of the camera doesn’t much change –the viewer is an outsider – until they begin the hold up and it is tilted upwards to the people with all of the control with the gun.

The title sequence begins and fun, exciting music that the Black Eyed Peas will once sample begins to play and you get a feeling that the movie is going to have a lot of action – perhaps following these two people robbing places across the country. The title itself is large across the screen but fades into nothingness as the important roles are listed, maybe showing that the characters are more important than the movie ideas itself? Just as the music supervisor is on screen, the music statics out and “Jungle Boogie” begins to play; a different, more funk inspired song that is continued into the car of the next scene with two different characters.

In the car, their faces are seen very close up as they speak on about something so meaningless – burgers – only to enter a new scene with guns as though we’re sitting in the trunk of their car. They’re above us, more powerful, and are acting as though dealing with guns is no big deal – black guns, black suits – against the bright blue sky. The viewer seems to always be a step ahead of the characters (we know where they’re going next), wherever they end up and are able to view them from the side, never knowing we’re there, especially when we view them from the top of the empty room, giving the thought that no one else is there. While in the elevator, the rule of thirds comes into play with the rectangle background and the two men standing right between the lines.

There is a lot of contrast within the movie; the black suits against the white walls, the intense jobs versus their nonchalant conversations, the characters themselves, the depth of field compared to hearing their conversations as they walk away. The characters walk in and out of the door frame, and also in and out of the actual frame, keeping us moving and changing scenes. The door is shut in the viewers face, only to flash us into the room (the scene changes are not smooth, something also contrasting) and there are two men sitting below the stronger men in black suits. Faces are often a close up, in focus showing expression and when the character is speaking; when the man had the monologue from a part of the bible, it created more contrast since he was committing sin shortly after (where the picture then zoomed out to both men in suits shooting the man sitting).

Scenes have changed, and there are new characters introduced yet again. I’ve noticed color in this movie: yellows, reds, tans, they’re in every scene. Blood, heat, passion – this can represent a lot. Marcellus’ face hasn’t been shown yet, but he’s been in focus for the majority of his monologue, color and contrast returning with the background and lighting of other characters.

Scenes change with a black fade and the next scene is bright and white – and now regarding cocaine. More contrast. The cocaine is close up as he’s placing in the bag, etc., there are a lot of close ups while other conversations and things are going on, as though we’re not supposed to be seeing everything. The entire drug scenes are focused on the car while the road is hazy like the driver is seeing. Things are zoomed, trippy, and the music is also jazzier. Now he’s arrived at his destination and the letter is zoomed in to show its importance; he then magically enters the house as though it’s futuristic, and then her having a loud speaker throughout the house also represents this all-knowing, powerful figure, along with her red lipstick. Her face isn’t shown until they’re in the car (which uses the rule of thirds). She’s somehow magical, even a rectangle appears when she draws it – putting the fiction in pulp fiction. In the restaurant they’ve chosen to go to, everything is fake as well adding to that – but what also is notable is the ‘bloody’ burgers they’ll be having, as well as the same table seen but this time the camera isn’t below the table.

Fast forward and they’re now in the dealer’s home; the camera is shaky as the scene is shaky and the life of Marcellus’ is shaky as well. It’s interesting that there is so much chaos going on, yet the camera is focused on the corner of a wall – the viewer is calm beside hearing the yelling, observing all that is going on.

                                                   beautiful

The actual title sequence video can be seen here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnJFbslFGVU)

This title sequence begins with nothingness – just a black screen and some intensely loud music that has a clashing effect against each other, much like what you would expect to hear from a horror film. Within the first second of the title sequence, you get a feel for what’s to come.

Soon after the title of the movie, “Evil Dead” finally appears abruptly on the screen from black with thick, bold red letters that move closer and closer to the screen and viewer. The letters then have extending black branches that mimic a crawling movement within the red letters, which could also be seen as veins, or long hair (which follows again later in the sequence).

Next the words disappear quickly and the screen fades to black yet again, with only the music being picked up as though somethings about to jump out at you. You’re anticipating something big, but instead you see red snowflakes that represent blood drops coming down as the letters of the screen begin to show to and are shaking with the falling of the droplets. Blood is a common motif within this sequence, and the next seen continues moving down to a stair case with wooden texture, and positioned in the rule of thirds with the blood dripping, and the chain that’s dangling in the silhouette.

The colors within the entire sequence are very straight forward – black, red, and white – and the movement is also very constant as it seems to be always going downwards with dripping blood. The camera movements are slightly shaking as though someone’s holding it (a paranormal activity feel), which can convey the reader to be placed inside of the film. The deep read blood keeps dripping downwards and is now splattering against black metal firstly, and then a black material that mimics leather or skin. There is a knife cutting through the leather-like black substance is in slow motion, and now even the blood splattering from it is in slow motion so the viewer realizes how big of a part killing will have in the upcoming film. The knife is now out of focus in the second scene of it as it continues to cut the leather that eventually is shown to be burnt and red underneath.

The scene moves to a floorboard that is bouncing, as though something’s going on underneath (the viewer is looking from below – from Hell, maybe?) as the blood seeps through the floorboards onto some other texture that looks like gravel.

                                                      motion

Since this film doesn’t have much setting or different sets – it’s just the main character on his wheel chair, his apartment, and what he sees (but also the lives of who he sees) – a lot of what the movie is about can be found through the visual grammar. From the first scene, what stood out to me was the coloring. It was high exposure, everything seemed lighter, but it also seemed as things were glowing.

The women of the movie seemed to always have an extra glow as well which makes me think of all of the 50’s stereotypes found in the movie; the women are all dressed well and seemed to be ‘perfect.’

This brings me into the next section to talk about regarding things not being as they seem. There is a big point of view and change of perspective within the movie; it plays an important role. The point of view changes to be on the main character, but then through his lens to see others and outside the frame of the window, and then sometimes the viewer has the omniscient view of the people he’s looking at, without him being aware. Things may seem perfect at glance, through his lens, but what he doesn’t know is the full picture – how things really are. The couple, for example, seemed happy at the beginning and ‘seemed’ a lot, however they weren’t but the viewer knew this before the characters. This can be applied to the murder as well; it’s not known for sure until the end that the wife was murdered, but it was what it seemed to be. He’s only confined to looking within his apartment and outside the frame of his window. Maybe this speaks to looking at life through certain boxes rather than the entire thing, and missing a lot because of it.

The setting was small and the frames were rarely changed, and when they were changed there was usually a literal frame around the scene – the camera frame, the window frame, etc. The camera moved side by side as though you were looking through the eyes of the main character to his neighbors and seeing his perspective. When it wasn’t dealing with his perspective, the camera was usually still and only changed to focus on different characters. There wasn’t much movement – just changing of angles. The angles inside the main character’s apartment were small and it always seemed so much darker than outside through the lenses or before the chaotic scene when light took over. I believe this represented the broken-legged character’s solidarity and loneliness. I mean, he spent his time living through other people’s lives… The darker compared to the brightness of outside of the window created his life to seem more daunting and depressing.

                                                    close up

eliminated flaws with spot healing brush tool

used the smudged tool around lips

used the wave tool but also the triangle option to distort

liquified to make the lips wider

brush tool to eliminate flaws

posterize

added flower picture

made the flower see through