Zettl writes a chapter entitled “The Two-Dimensional Field:
Forces Within the Screen,” in order to explain spatial fields in the digital
media world. Zettl describes the
many different perspectives of how we see the world in movies, television, and
on computers.
According to Zettl, “There are six major types of field
forces: main directions, magnetism of the frame and attractions of mass,
asymmetry of the frame, figure and ground, psychological closure, and vectors,”
(123).
These six field forces define what our eyes are immediately
drawn to, and how artists orientate their photos or shots to be aesthetically
pleasing to viewers. By human
nature, we are attracted to the arrangement of certain objects in a certain
way. For instance, in the article,
Zettl displays an original photo, and it’s asymmetrically flipped duplicate. We focus consistently on the object on
the right side. Businesses utilize
this strategy in marketing products to customers. In what other ways do
businesses attempt to focus our attention on the product?
One important type of field force is figure and ground. There are five defining characteristics
to determine the figure in contrast to the ground.
·
The figure is thinglike. You perceive it as an
object
·
The figure lies in front of the ground
·
The line that separates the figure from the
ground belongs to the figure, not the ground.
·
The figure is less stable than the ground; the
figure is more likely to move.
·
The ground seems to continue behind the figure.
(113)
For example, the optical allusion below is a classic example
of figure and ground. Can you determine which is the figure and
which is the ground? Is it possible for both images to fit both criteria?
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