What does the group say?

Group film

The task for this week long project was to produce a film on a given word. My group's word was 'Ambidextrous' this is defined as 'the ability to use both hands with equal capability". Although I was fully aware some people are capable of using both hands with ease, this was the first time I had come across the term 'ambidextrous'. My initial thoughts in regards to the treatment of this subject was to explore the reasons as to why some people are Ambidextrous as only 1% of people are naturally ambidextrous. This led me to consider the cultural issues behind the left hand and the stigma attached to it. It occurred to me that some people are naturally left handed but are then forced to write with their alternative hand.

As this was a group task we had to brainstorm together in order to come up with a final, shared vision for our film. We decided that the purpose for the film was for it to be an educational one on the word ambidextrous and the target audience was to be young children. A part of the brief was to incorporate typography into the film therefore we decided to do this via several different techniques by drawing on paper and hands, as well as cut out computer generated type to create a more playful effect that appeals and intrigues our target audience.

Overall, I think our film response to the word 'ambidextrous' was successful because it treated the word in a manner which was predictable but at the same time unpredictable.  Although a big emphasis was placed on the literal definition of the word, the film was also purpose driven as it prompted the audience to try something different. If I was able to rework the film or to do something completely different, I think I would have looked into adding depth to the subject by researching into why there is stigma attached to being left- handed. I found group work in general beneficial as I think the ideas we generated were stronger as a whole rather than as individuals. This experience also allowed me to see things from the perspective of others as each member of the group brought something different to the table

Ambidextrous- a visual documentary 

Individual poster 

Fig.1 graphic film poster (authors own, 2013) 

My aim for my individual poster was to create something that had elements from the film in it but to put my own personal twist on it. I decided to take the fact: 'Only 1% of people are Ambidextrous' because it is quite ambiguous and would prompt someone who has unfamiliar with the word to search it up. In support of this I added hints to the meaning of the word by incorporating the hand writing of one individual (myself) which looks like it was done by two people as one half was done with my left hand and the other with my right to suggest the meaning behind the word. I also added the text at the bottom of fig.1, '*Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, it would be handy if I was' which is a pun in order to make the poster more fun/humorous. I think this was a successful treatment as it is a similar approach to that taken in the film done as a group but in this instance I am able to add my style into my design.