Analysis of different mood boards

Analysis of different mood boards 

A mood board is a collection of: images, graphics, colors, material, words and emotions which can be used to portray an idea. A mood board should give insight into the creators mindset and creative thoughts. Although, there are no rules for creating a mood board, there is still a distinction between doing it right and wrong. The following analysis illustrates the pros and cons of different forms of mood board:

Video (Youtube)

There are many strengths of processing a mood board through video. Portraying ideas through visual stimulation and including audio can enhance the overall transmission of ideas. It can be much easier to describe your ideas clearly if you are able to talk about an idea using a visual prompt. Additionally, individual images used as part of the mood board can be picked out and analysed in much more detail that it may otherwise be. 

In this particular video mood board, the creator has categorised the presentation into the main parts of the planning process: location, characters, costumes and props. Creating these sub-titles allows the viewer to easily understand the ideas. Perhaps a stronger video would include visuals showing how all of these would work together; something that could easily be included. By selecting just 5 images for each topic, the creator has been able to describe in detail, his reasoning for choosing these. Using a larger number than this could lessen his ability to describe in as much detail as he has. Likewise, a smaller quantity could make it more difficult for the viewer to understand the intent, as well as making the mood board less engaging.

Overall, the creator has supported the images/evidence with specific detail as to how this would work as part of a film following a specific genre. From this, the viewer has a clear understanding of the conventions being followed. He has talked specifically about the denotations and connotations of the colours used. With some of the images, particularly the ones describing locations, the visuals don't portray exactly the time of day and so, atmosphere this would create. For example, the picture showing the alley way location was taken during the day, whereas his intent is to film when it is darker. However he has added audio describing this so the inaccuracy in imagery isn't massively misleading. 

Written and analysed

The written mood board that I looked at gave a brief summary of the plot line. This helped to establish the purpose of the moodboard and gives the audience an idea of the genre of the film. The author has then gone into detail about the purpose and impact of including different ages and genders. Here, she has talked about ways in which they would represent these characters through the use of costume and characterisation. Perhaps a visual representation of this would help to strengthen the portrayal of her ideas. Otherwise, the written explanation is detailed, therefore allowing the audience to visualise her ideas to some extent. 

Also. she links how the conventions of her genre will link with the film opening. One example of this can be seen through the descriptions of the types of characters she intends to include and for what purposes. She has talked about the stereotypical representation of female characters and why this will play a significant role in her film. In mentioning this, she has informed the audience of her intent to produce a responsive piece. Furthermore, she has linked an example of an opening scene (V for Vendetta). This helps to explain her idea in more depth. Also, this helps to back up the points she has attempted to explain, showing the audience her ideas in practice.

This mood board focuses solely on the representation of gender and the camera shots that she intends to include. Therefore, we don't see descriptions of other aspects such as the location of her opening film; props or costume. I believe that this mood board would be more powerful if she were to talk about these aspects of film and describe there relevance to the genre of her film. Additionally, images and further video examples could be used to support these ideas.

Conclusion

When creating my own mood board, I will ensure that I refer back to these examples and produce a board which mimics the strongest aspects of these. I will make sure to give ample explanation as to why I wish to include different props, locations, characters and costumes. The mood board I produce will reflect my chosen genre and present the conventions of this. Analysing these mood boards has made me recognise the effectiveness of visuals and so I will try to convey my ideas through images and video; whether that will be me talking or examples that are genre specific from youtube etc.