SPEECH PROJECT for Type:PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This project involved taking a historic speech and making it into a visual experience. While the speech itself may already have a visual component, namely video, our interpretation shall be typographic in nature. Both on the printed page and through digital media. The importance of the speech should be conveyed visually; the important bits need to be emphasized and the non-important bits shouldn’t interfere with the real message of the speech. To accomplish this, we must utilize hierarchy, variation, contrast and pacing. With all of these elements we can bring a 2-D audio recording into a new spectrum of understanding.
July 20, 1969
The “Speech” that I covered for this project was actually the audio recording of the first moon landing from 1969. The participants are Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and on the ground, Charlie Duke. The vast majority of the speech is instrument readings and descriptions of conditions by Aldrin and Armstrong. Occasional interjections and commentary are heard throughout by both Collins and Duke. Armstrong, of course, was the first man to walk on the moon, followed by Aldrin. Collins stayed in the space module which circled the moon while his friends had fun on the ground. This mission was a huge success for America in the heart of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The technological requirements of getting 3 people safely to the Moon and back were incredible even by today’s standard, let alone those of 40+ years ago. The event forever changed America’s role in the world and in space and has since deepened America’s sense of national pride. A feat that would be repeated only several more times and only by the United States, this triumph is a truly an American Milestone and stands among our top achievements.
EXAMINATION:
The speech itself is relatively plain, with emotion being carefully maintained by the participants. These people had trained for years, in some cases a decade or more for this very moment and this training required that they maintain a calm composure. So while many speeches are noted for their fiery cadence and their emotional crescendos, this speech stands apart because of the lack of emotion. The emotion is there, no doubt, but it is squelched under protocol. When you listen to this speech and if you listen carefully, you can hear the almost palpable tension and triumphant relief at times. At other times it is simply talk, often jargon in a more or less monotone carefully crafted by NASA scientists.
Why was/is the speech important to society?
This speech is the product of decades of research, trial and much failure. Because of the importance of these words, the words that were used at the very culmination of this important event were captured so clearly were are very lucky. Many events in history do not having a running dialogue, and this is an event that will be remembered for the rest of human history.
Why do you feel in is important or interesting?
The Moon Landing is over-looked in current times and many people do not realize how easy it could have been for something to go wrong. When I listened to this speech and read the history behind it, I realized that these men were very nearly out of fuel and would have either had to either leave the moon or try landing without fuel. The buffer between the moon being won or lost was within a span of about 20 seconds. I think that when people really listen to this speech they will begin to understand how amazing it was at the time for this to happen. I would like more people to know about this.
What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?
The speech is largely monotone because of the serious nature of the astronauts and ground crew. However, at certain times you can hear the emotion swelling behind the words of the speaker and despite all of their training you know exactly how they feel. I think the best example is when Duke trips over his words when trying to say “Roger, Tranquility, we copy you on the ground.” The relief this man must be feeling is clearly evident and this unnatural loss of words is the result
What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...
The speech has a somewhat regular and rhythmic cadence that suggests any normal sort of scientific experiment, however, this one involves people so there are occasional moments of excitement and slip-ups. The moment when Armstrong touches down for the first time on Lunar soil has this feeling of such grand significance that it seems as if his words are out of some holy text.
Is there a call to action?
Not so much in this case. There are undertones for the advancement of society, for peace, but not strongly
When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?
The moment when the Lunar Module touches down, there are a flurry of words that are exchanged that are those most emphasized because of the tension that had directly proceeded this moment.
How does it make you feel? How do imagine that the audience felt?
I feel like a kid watching this in front of a fuzzy TV. I feel like I am there but I am not.. I think the original audience felt much the same way. This child-like sense of awe and wonder; we are somewhere no one has been, but somewhere everyone has seen. Mythical, really.
Could there be another interpretation of the speech?
It is possible that one could look at this as someone just doing their job, like a banker or a mail person, but because of the extreme newness and originality of this experience, it would be a difficult argument to make.
pg 05 what is the mood, emotion, feeling you have captured in your solution (1 to 3 words or phrases). how do your solutions solve the project assignment. please comment on how successful do you showed the mood/expression... in your print solution and how in the motion.
Science, Accomplishment, Grandeur
-The overall feel from both the print and motion version is somewhat science, based on the Eurostile, Range and occasionally the Futura typefaces used. The emphasis I placed in both versions accentuated the feeling of accomplishment, sometimes enhancing the emotion of the speaker to match the importance of the event. The small details about the moon took up a good part of the speech, especially the print. So for this, I wanted to express and convey the sense of wonderment of the amazing new place these humans had found themselves; to heighten the sense of grandeur.
pg 06 as part of your research you watched at least 30 minutes of videos with and without sound. How does the experience differ? feeling, mood, emotion, imagination. Most youtube examples are similar in design style. What is wrong with the similarity? Please view youtube examples. Which ones do you “like” why. What is “wrong” with the examples?
The videos I liked the best are the ones that create a visual situation that is easily understood. The possibilities when it comes to design are endless, so similarity is somewhat an affront to that possibility. The wrong ones can lose you in their desire to be something that doesn’t look good visually, which is fine for art for art’s sake, but as a method of conveying information is miserable.
Second to the LAST PAGE how does the media affect the message or experience? what can you do in motion that you couldn't do in print. and in print that you can't do in motion?
Motion can lead to new ways of moving the reader more quickly and efficiently through a complex visual environment. With type, one must be careful not to confuse the reader with information that is ambiguous and confusing. Motion can also confound the viewer, but the designer has a bit more control over what information hits the viewers eyes at once. This ability can allow the designer greater freedoms but like anything can have drawbacks. The part about print that is best is what makes it worst; the information stays static on the page. This can be a weakness or an advantage and it all how a designer manipulates the printed word. I found that creating a sense of downward movement was more difficult with print, but that is certainly something motion was better at. With motion, I found that being entrusted with the viewer’s eyeballs was a daunting task, making him or her look wherever was needed.
LAST PAGE project overview: your thoughts about the project, process, challenges..
This project was challenging in ways I didn’t expect, but also was rewarding in ways I didn’t know yet how to appreciate. So I would say overall this was a big success. I learned a great deal about the Moon Landing of course (not a hoax, by the way) and After Effects seems so much easier. I found the process to be rewarding and conducive to progress, which is important. Additionally, I felt that I was able to create something that I really liked and will help people understand a truly important moment in our history, really the history of the world as opposed to any individual country. The differences between the motion component and the print component were simple but effective in how they made me appreciate the downsides and upsides between the two.
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