OverviewA diagnostic assessment gauges the students' familiarity with composition and balance in media art. Students will refresh their understanding of the term composition through an understanding of symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial balance. Students work independently on a learning object with an embedded assessment.
ExpectationsOverall Expectations:
THV.01 - explain the elements and principles of media arts as they apply to their own work and the work of others; THV.03 - demonstrate an understanding of conventions as they apply to the practice of media arts production. Specific Expectations: TH1.01 - identify and describe the use of elements and principles of media arts in selected works and productions; TH1.02 - identify and describe elements and principles borrowed from traditional art disciplines as found in media art; TH1.03 - recognize and use vocabulary specific to media art; CR2.02 - communicate an idea through a traditional art form related to media art. |
ContentIn this activity, you will investigate the importance of composition and balance in media arts.
Balance is a principle of design that refers to the equalization of elements in a work. There are three kinds of balance:
Composition in the visual/media arts is the structure or organization of a work. Symmetrical (Formal) Balance Symmetrical balance is mirror image balance. If you draw a line down the centre of the page, all the objects on one side of the screen are mirrored on the other side (they may not be identical objects, but they are similar in terms of numbers of objects, colours, and other elements). Sometimes they are completely identical (often seen in architecture). Asymmetrical (Informal) Balance
Asymmetrical balance occurs when several smaller items on one side are balanced by a large item on the other side, or smaller items are placed further away from the centre of the screen than larger items. One darker item may need to be balanced by several lighter items. Although asymmetrical balance may appear more casual and less planned, it is usually harder to use because the artist must plan the layout very carefully to ensure that it is still balanced. An unbalanced page or screen creates a feeling of tension, as if the page or screen might tip, or things might slide off the side, just as the unbalanced balance beam would tip to one side. BALANCE ACHIEVED THROUGH COLOUR
Our eyes are drawn by colour. Small areas of vibrant colour can be used to balance larger areas of more neutral colours. The vivid red flower on the left is balanced by the larger neutral purple flower. BALANCE ACHIEVED BY VALUE
Value refers to the darkness or lightness of objects. Black against white has a much stronger contrast than grey against white. To balance these two colours, you would need a larger area of grey to balance the stronger value of black. BALANCE ACHIEVED THROUGH SHAPES
Large flat areas without much detail can be balanced by smaller irregularly shaped objects, since the eye is led towards the more intricate shape. BALANCE ACHIEVED BY POSITION
Using a balance beam, a larger weight closer to the centre point can be balanced by a lighter weight further away from the centre. This is the basis for balance by position. Sometimes larger elements on one side of the page can be balanced by a smaller element that is positioned by itself at the far end of the other side of the page. This is a very tricky type of asymmetrical balance that often ends up looking out of balance. BALANCE ACHIEVED BY TEXTURE
Smaller areas with interesting textures (variegated light and dark, or random fluctuations) can balance larger areas with smoother, non-textured looks. BALANCE ACHIEVED THROUGH EYE DIRECTION
Your eye can be led to a certain point in a picture, depending on how the elements are arranged. If the people in a picture are looking in a certain direction, your eye will be led there as well. Elements in a picture, such as triangles or arrows, will also lead your eye to look to a certain point and maintain the balance of a picture. RADIAL BALANCE
The third type of balance is radial balance, where all elements radiate out from a centre point in a circular fashion. It is very easy to maintain a focal point in radial balance, since all the elements lead your eye toward the centre. USING RULE OF THIRDS FOR BALANCE AND COMPOSITION
In the rule of thirds, the framing of your image area is divided into thirds with two imaginary lines vertically and two lines horizontally making three columns, three rows, and nine sections. Important compositional elements and leading lines are placed on or near the imaginary lines and where the lines intersect. When taking a photograph with the rule of thirds in mind, it’s always best to compose the photograph in the camera. This is so that you can avoid cropping later to retain as much of the image as possible and avoid reducing the quality of your photographs. However, I encourage going back to some of your older photography and seeing if you can improve them by cropping in a way to make them use the rule of thirds technique.
REMINDERS
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