Studio Brief - Message & Delivery: Research
Create a body of visual research in response to a story, issue or theme found in the national press tomorrow, Tuesday 23rd October.
Background / Considerations.
The willingness and ability to formulate informed opinions about your subject matter is an essential skill for a graphic designer.
In addition to being aware of events, concerns and the (un)popularly held opinions of the world around you, you also need to consider the tone of voice with which they are reported.
It is important that you read the stories thoroughly and research issues that are raised fully before committing your self to a visual opinion.
You can be serious, humorous, questioning, opinionated, bold, or subtle.
After receiving this brief I purchased four different newspapers, not only to get a range of stories but to study the tone of voice in which the stories are being told. When picking a news story we were advised to pick something of a light hearted nature as we would be working with it for the fourth coming weeks.
In result of looking through several newpapers I found a story in the Independant about an apparent talking whale, captured off the coast of Canada and brought to a reserve in California. In order to understand the story both periodically and visually I looked at the piece across five different sources and incorporated the information I had learnt into a comic strip.
Glossary for links of images in order of comic strip:
1. http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc14/roadrunner_876/Walvisvangst_bij_de_kust_van_Spitsb.jpg
2. http://www.dive.is/Diving_Iceland.php?page=Silfra
3. http://fhwordsmith.com/500-beluga-whales/
4. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/hear-the-surprising-audio-of-a-beluga-whale-singing-like-a-human/
5. http://d4nations.com/webpubl/images/voice-400x350.jpg
6. http://cruises.about.com/od/mexicanrivieracruises/ig/Gray-Whales-of-Magdalena-Bay/Gray-Whale-Meets-Small-Boat.htm
7. http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/captive-beluga-whale-imitated-human-voices_1.jpg
8. http://www.xray-mag.com/files/imagecache/Front_425/kochetova_bel04_0.jpg
9. http://www.scubadivemaldives.com/2010/01/padi-open-water-diver-certification/
10. http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101fa10/lizabeth/images/whale%20blowhole.jpg
11. http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/23/article-1350983257979-15A0E2A7000005DC-329725_466x310.jpg
quotes and sources:
1. In the 18th century. Whalers who heard Whales singing beneath their ships believed they were listening to the souls of drowned men.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/oct/23/noc-whale
2. it was thought at first that those sounds being produced were a reaction from sesmic shifts that took place between tectonic plates.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/oct/23/noc-whale
3. Cetaceans such as the blue, fin and sperm whale were classed as the loudest animals on the planet, with belugas being the most vocal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/oct/23/noc-whale
4. In 1997 I, noc the beluga whale was captured off the coast of canada. He was kept in an open ocean open pen at the us national marine mammal foundation in san diego ca. here he took part in vocal and acoustic research.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
5.SAM RIDWAY, A RESEARCHER AT THE FOUNDATION COMPARED THE SOUNDS NOC (BELUGA WHALE) MADE TO THE PATTERNS OF THE HUMAN VOICE.
Information sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
6.whales make noise via the nasal passage rather than creating sounds, as humans do, through the larynx.
information sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
7. after this abnormal progress noc had made to ajust the way in which he makes sounds, researchers believed he must have had incentive to contact humans.
Information sourced from: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/353864/The-whale-who-learned-how-to-talk-to-humans
8.Noc began to make sounds alike to those of humans. scientists believe he was trying to mimic people around him.
Information sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
9. The whale was only discovered as the source of this sound when a diver surfaced the whale enclosure curious to who was telling him to get out.
INFORMATION SOURCED FROM http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/353864/The-whale-who-learned-how-to-talk-to-humans.
10. Captors of noc soon realised he had made extensive changes (near his blowhole) unusual to the anatomy of a whale in order to create these humanlike sounds.
information sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
11. After 4 years of mimicing the human voice, noc returned to making noises like the rest of his whale companions.
information sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/who-told-me-to-get-out-noc-the-talking-whale-learns-to-imitate-human-speech-in-attempt-to-reach-out-to-human-captors-8221800.html
The five sources I reviewed the story from are, my original source, The Independent newspaper followed by The Independent online, The Express online, The Guardian online and The sun online.
Here I analysed the way in which each of these publications use language and tone of voice to portray the story through headline and text.
Upon the idea of mammals communicating with humans I thought of a story I had seen in a documentary earlier in the year In which interaction between Mammal, particularly a dolphin in this case and man.
'Dolphin Boy' as the documentary is called which can be viewed on the 4OD website Is a real life story of a teenager called Morad, from Israel. Morad is a sufferer of post traumatic stress disorder as a result of being attack by a gang of boys over what they considered a flirtatious text message to one of their younger sisters.
After two months of no communication with any other human being, remaining mute and unresponsive Morad's had officially disassociated himself from his own reality. His psychiatrist had one last idea to bring Morad back, Dolphin therapy.
Text in photo above:
A Beaten Teenager Seeks Solace in Another Species ‘Dolphin Boy,’ a Documentary by Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir.
‘The boy is Morad, a young Arab from a village in northern Israel who, in 2006 at age 17, sent an innocent text message to a girl in his class and was savagely beaten by her brother and his friends. The attack left him mute, unresponsive and suffering from what his psychiatrist, Dr. Ilan Kutz, described as a severe case of post-traumatic dissociation.’
‘When two months of conventional treatment yielded little improvement, Dr. Kutz decided to try an outlier therapy: swimming with dolphins at the Dolphin Reef in Eilat,’
‘Rejecting human interaction, Morad comes alive underwater among the gentle animals.’
(http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/movies/dolphin-boy-a-documentary-by-dani-menkin-and-yonatan-nir.html)
“Studies show that dolphins have a preference for personal communication with humans. They like it,” says Kutz. “They have a smiling mask, they talk, they like to be cuddled, plus they show a preference when they like someone, so I think all of this is very healing.”’
‘Blood samples analyzed before and after the therapy show a changes in hormones, endorphins, enzymes and T-cell counts. Although researchers have yet to determine how this happens, ongoing studies are encouraging.’
‘Eilat’s reef is unique in that it provides a natural, open aquatic space for the dolphins. They are free to come and go as they please and are never forced to interact with humans.’
(http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/dolphin-boy-documentary-draws-attention-value-dolphin-therapy-154805475.html)
I also began to look at the Idea of other animals mimicking humans such as parrots.
'In the wild, flocks of parrots don’t talk like people, but they do seem to develop distinct local dialects, and mated pairs may even sing unique duets. It’s unclear exactly why they evolved this capability, but research suggests they use it to tell members of their group apart from members of rival groups. Birds seem more likely to respond to calls that are familiar to their own, and they ostracize individuals that don’t speak their language, so to speak. This may allow them to keep untrustworthy newcomers from joining their clan.'
(http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/05/talking_parakeets_why_do_they_mimic_human_speech_.html)
'According to this theory, birds that are raised in captivity might mimic their human owners as a way of gaining acceptance as a member of the family. If they hear “pretty bird” a lot, they’ll interpret that as a call distinct to their flock, and try making it themselves. If the parrot gets no response when she squawks, but gets lots of attention or treats when she makes humanlike noises, she has an extra incentive to practice forming words and phrases.
Whether parrots can ever understand what they’re saying is a matter of debate. Researcher Irene Pepperberg trained an African Grey Parrot named Alex to speak with a vocabulary of some 100 human words. Over time, he learned numbers and phrases as well, and when shown a toy, he could correctly identify its name, color, and shape. Skeptics have suggested that Alex’s abilities might have been a product of the “Clever Hans” effect, in which an animal gives correct responses based on its trainer’s body language, as opposed to genuinely understanding the question. Others wonder whether Alex happened to possess a unique language capacity.'
((http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/05/talking_parakeets_why_do_they_mimic_human_speech_.html)
Here we are shown that there is some difference between the speech of Parrots and Noc the Beluga whale. Noc as proved by research changed the way in which he spoke by altering his own habitual breathing and talking process to adapt to that of a humans. The story of the dolphin boy also shows a want for these mammals to interact with humans. However Parrots work within a different thought process, they mimic their owners speech, with no understanding of the actual language.
I took this research to the group crit, here I was advised to focus on one of the particular branches I had researched into. We discussed each of the routes I had taken and decided to develop further into the concept of animals used for therapy, or benefits of owning an animal.
Since the crit I have been researching my above focus. Whilst researching I found a very interesting infographic that demonstrates the benefits of having to pet in relation to health, both mental and physical.
(http://www.infographicsarchive.com/new-infographic/infographic-how-saving-a-pet-might-just-save-your-life/)
Another infographic thats displays the benefits of having a pet.
(http://www.infographicsarchive.com/new-infographic/infographic-when-dogs-and-cats-go-beyond-being-pets/#prettyPhoto)
After looking into dolphin boy, I also researched more into Animal assisted therapy. What it is and Why it is useful. I found some interesting and valuable information on a website below.
Information sourced from: http://animal.discovery.com/roar/getinvolved/pettherapy.html.
What is animal assisted therapy?
Animal assisted therapy is a way for people and their pets to help others by sharing their compassion and goodwill. Pets and their owners visit and interact with a wide variety of people that need a little extra emotional support. Therapy patients get a chance to pet, talk to and bond with visiting pets.
Why is animal assisted therapy important?
It's been shown that people who spend time with pets live longer, get sick less, and have lower blood pressure. Petting and talking to animals lowers stress in people and the animals they are interacting with. It can also be a great way to lift people out of isolation and loneliness. Pets are wonderful listeners and provide unconditional love. Therapeutic horseback riding is another valuable type of animal assisted therapy that gives people an additional way to interact with animals.
What kinds of people and places will my pet and I visit?
Therapy pets and their owners visit a wide variety of people and places:
- Patients in hospitals
- Elderly people in nursing homes, hospices and retirement homes
- Psychologically or emotionally disturbed children and adults
- Adults and children with physical disabilities
- Prison inmates
- Disaster victims
What types of animals are used?
Dogs are the most common therapy pets, but horses, cats and even birds have been known to pitch in.
What are the qualifications of a good therapy pet?
In general, therapy pets should be well-behaved, friendly animals that can be trained to interact with strangers in unusual or distracting situations. They must enjoy human interaction, including lots of petting and cuddling. No biters here!
I also found a couple of helpful websites that go into great detail about the phycological effects of having a pet or animal assisted therapy that helped to treat illnesses such as, Alzheimers and schizophrenia and aids the recovery of people affected by trauma and sexual abuse.
http://www.pawssf.org/document.doc?id=15
http://www.scas.org.uk/files/SCASJournal_Aut10_PetsandMentalHealth.pdf
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