Monday, January 26, 2009

implied infinity (photography)

In photography, implied infinity, is the viewer's assumption, when a repeated pattern is cut off, that the pattern continues indefinitely beyond the frame. For example: If you take a photo of ten people crowded together, surrounded by grass on both right and left, the viewer will only see ten people, but if you cut of parts of people's bodies on either side, the view will assume that the ten people are only a small part of a big crowd. Implied infinity has bearing on how you crop a photo: Do you want the group or pattern to seem finite or infinite? It may also have relevance in other arts--for example, in the editing of a sound or a piece of video.

Friday, January 23, 2009

tonal spread (songwriting)

The tonal spread is difference between the high and low notes in a song. In general, the greater the spread of a song, the more emotional and interesting it is. Songs (or portions of songs) with a low tonal spread, tend to be monotone and uninteresting. This could also be called the "contrast" of the song, like the color contrast of a photo. In a photo, the brighter the colors are, the more appealing the photo is. In songs, this contrast is achieved through widely differing notes rather than colors.