Since the disciplines of usability and user-experience engineering have their foundations in the principles of design, I thought it would be appropriate for me to learn more about design in general, since my familiarity with the fundamental concepts of design is rather limited. To start with, I decided to examine how the various aspects of a YouTube video (since I seem to be on that site every day, anyway) work together to communicate to the viewer.
Check out the video I chose, "It's Not My Fault" by Claire Mason, below.
(Let me preface my analysis by saying that what follows is only my own interpretation. I look forward to hearing if others agree or disagree with me.)
One of the most prominent aspects of this piece is the way in which it employs repetition. While the repetition is not used to create an actual pattern on the screen, it does help to create unity and establish the theme of the video. Similarly, the lack of variety in the images -- particularly in terms of relative size, color, and shape -- emphasizes the monotony of the "narrator's" voice, which may have been meant to convey the inherently expressionless and emotionless nature of technology. Computers are devoid of emotion because they are mechanical, and it is their mechanical nature that makes them vulnerable to malfunctions, or "faults." Any corruption of the data, or disruption of a stream of data, used to communicate a message results in a distortion of that message and a change in its meaning, as illustrated in this video. This idea, I think, serves as the theme of the piece.
Also helping to convey the mechanical "flavor" of the video are the geometric (read: inorganic) shapes that appear throughout. Indeed, only rectangular shapes are seen, which is fitting since all computer windows are rectangles. The way in which these windows overlap, with no space in between the top and bottom windows, is also reminiscent of how computer windows overlap on a screen and help to create a "flat" texture. Furthermore, the black text on the white background is identical the default color scheme used in word processors, thus adding to the "generic" feel of the visuals.
There are, however, some features of the video that temper its computerized nature. The artist could have chosen a much more technical- or mechanical-looking font, such as OCR A Standard, but, instead, elected to use a font that's more similar to Arial or Calibri. Such fonts are frequently used in print and other media that are not related to computers. The haphazard way in which the windows pile on top of each other also creates a sense of tension and, particularly as time passes, a feeling that things are spiraling out of control. This impression is reinforced by the red background that pulsates as the "narrator" says "It's my fault," which can be seen as an alarm of sorts that's alerting the user that something's gone wrong. The various shades of red, green, and gray that appear in the absence of any text suggest (at approximately 1:16) that the computer may be trying to reset itself in order to rectify the "fault."
The rhythm in which the windows are presented on the screen matches the rhythm of the "narrator's" voice, so this feature of the video, along with the mechanical or seemingly automated nature of many of its other elements, make the voice an enhancement to the piece but not an essential part of it. The emphasis, or focal point, of the video changes according to what word has just been narrated, as the words appear on the screen at the exact moments they are spoken. In a similar fashion, the auditory "focal point" of any narration is the word that is currently being articulated. Thus, the voice only serves to highlight the other features of the video.
If any of you are more experienced in the field of design and find "fault" in my analysis, do enlighten me.
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