Context of Practice 3: Summative Statement

The Star Wars franchise has persisted for almost four decades, in that time it has entered the public consciousness, infiltrating our lives through popular culture. Imagery we are now more than familiar with has entered a collective hyper reality, half remembered through nostalgic tinted vision. This project was an an attempt to discover how the merchandising strategies became a paradigm for other similar franchises. Star Wars ushered in an era of diverse products united under a singular vision, examples include the Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and the more recent developments with the ever growing Marvel franchise. Visual responses have been born from the same source material as the dissertation. The designs reflect the obsessive lure of detail and trivia, which is heavily present throughout the textual response.

The project was timed perfectly to coincide with the development of The Force Awakens, as I was able to study the marketing and merchandising escalate before the film released. Now that the film has premiered and amounted a record breaking gross, it has been satisfying to quantify the reasoning and strategies behind the Disney machine compared the Lucas Arts efforts between 1977 and 2005.
There was a stage when I sought to discover whether this franchise, now at pseudo-religious levels was indeed a detriment to society, however I find that Star Wars is no less damaging than any other entertainment format, it has simply achieved an omnipresence.

It was also my intention to improve upon my previous CoP experiences, in this project I focussed on what I found more successfully in past; that is screen-pritning, technical diagrams and historically-structured discourse. I am conflicted whether the imagery has succeeded in becoming more than fan-art. However I am delighted to say it has entered the realm of hyperreality in true Baudrillard fashion. I have generated screen printed digital designs based on photographs of toys from the 1970s. These toys were based on fictional vehicles in a feature film, which were designed by teams of artists informed by concept artists and WW2 battle footage. 

Context of Practice 3: Boards

Context of Practice 3: Final Animated .gifs

Context of Practice 3: Final Screen Prints

Context of Practice 3: Development Summary

Throughout the project I have maintained a close study of Kenner products from early era of Star Wars merchandising. I decided this early era was synonymous with the brand imagery associated with Star Wars, as the Kenner products have infiltrated popular culture and earned astonishing amounts of money at auctions.

Although I had the intention early on to produce a strictly analogue drawings I soon decided to push my digital diagram drawing skills as far as possible. I used an isometric grid in order to constrain proportions and regulate angles and shapes. This was a great aid in reproducing the toys on screen based on fragmented reference images.

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Context of Practice 3: Final Peer Review

During this session we followed the usual procedure, beginning with informally walking around and writing down mostly positive feedback, and later gathering in pairs to more throughly review work.

The feedback I received raised the following points:

. Plenty of dissertation research is present
. Final prints are very good quality, the stock choices are complimentary
. Synergy seems to be present
. Broadening the context of the imagery makes it less like fan-art and more of a considered product
. Hand-made stock would be interesting to print on
. Blog is generally pretty comprehensive, even if there are one or two posts missing
. There are concerns regarding my consideration of audience
. There are concerns regarding the lack of experimentation in terms of material and tools
. Compositions seem to have come from nowhere

During the session I forgot to show the animations on screen, however they were present on the blog, and feedback regarding them was positive. I was notified of a clipping issue, which I managed to fix through some dirty rotoscoping.

Context of Practice 3: Screen Prints

After two days in the print room I managed to produce sufficient amounts of print.
The printroom was almost deserted, which was a relief as reprographics is exremely busy.
There is at least one high quality print of each design on each of the four stocks. The stocks I printed on were as follows:
Generic White Cartridge
Off-White 'Antique'
'Mango'
'Deep Sea Blue'

I had some issues with the ink during the first day of printing, however the second day went extremely smoothly and I managed to produce between 30-40 prints. I did however notice a few minor errors involving grammar. The millennium falcon also does not have a white edge around diagram lines, this is due to the last minute issues printing the positive which resulted in hiding that specific layer.

Context of Practice 3: Isometric Perspective and Why My Head Hurts

With each single image, I have had to trawel the internet for reference imagery. Even though the toys I have been drawing are alsmot four decades old, I have found many images to refer to. Helpfully, there are also many videos of collectors dissessembling the toys for repair and restoration.

 Model by Donnie

Working completely within constraints of isometrics presented some interesting challanges. All the reference images I refered to had real-world perspective, meaning that, as one might expect, things are smaller when they are futher away. Isometric persepctives are consistent throughout, as the above .gif shows.

To work around this confusion I referred to models from Sketch Ups 3D Warehouse, and changed the settings to 'Parellel Perspective'. However as these have been prodcued by hobbiests, they often have errors in detail.

Context of Practice 3: Sound and Vision

Tie Fighter Animation Test from Adam Allsuch Boardman on Vimeo.


This video is more of a proof of concept, as I would rather produce quick .gifs so that I might focus on the screen prints and subsiquent potential products. I borrowed the audio from an older ambient track I produced as part of a concept album. Although on reflection, sound effects would have been more appropiate.

Perhaps if I find aditional time after the final crit, I could make all six full animations, but that may not be particularily necassary when my time could be better suited to refining evetything else.

Context of Practice 3: Final Print Designs

Here are the final resolved positives for each of the six designs. It was always my intention to stick to the original trilogyof films, focussing on the Kenner toys of the late 70s and early 80s, as these have become synonymous with Star Wars merchandising. The prints include many of the obscure trivia I found during the writing of my dissertation. Much of the information regarding the toys themselves were found on various Youtube videos involving the uploder restoring the now vintage items.
I am very pleased with the aesthetics, and I will test the line art on a variety of stocks. Perhaps I am only dissapointed that I didn't get around to drawing the Lambda Shuttle.
 

Context of Practice 3: Developments [7]

The drawing process of these models took a good amount of time, in-fact it too long. I had made the decision to return to drawing the imagery through entirely digital methods, as notions of analogue integrity are null compared to being able to finish the images on time.

Context of Practice 3: Reference

I have assembled a board of illustrative diagrams. These will inform my process somewhat, however I have had trouble finding that many that have an isometric rigour.        <a data-pin-do="embedBoard" href="https://uk.pinterest.com/allsuchboardman/diagram/"data-pin-scale-width="80" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-board-width="400">        Follow Adam's board Diagram on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script type="text/javascript" async src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>  

Context of Practice 3: Developments [6]

 

The composit .gif image was the result of a good day's worth of drawing, improving upon the previous attempt at drawing the Millenium Falcon. Using additional reference I drew the Falcon far more constrained to an isometric grid.

I printed the  imagery out and filled in the majoirty of the detail using fine-liners. Filling in the details with an analogue process was an attempt to reduce time expendature. On hindsight, perhaps the effect would have been aesthetically identical and indeed, drawing the details analogue took a good amount of time.

Context of Practice 3: Peer Review

During this session I brought test screen prints as well as the initial hand-drawn isometric drawings I had produced. I received two sheets of feedback from self-confessed non-Star Wars fans. This was a rather good thing, as I could gage whether my project made any sense to someone unfamiliar with Star Wars. 

They seemed to get the gist, however they raised the important question; how will I differentiate the drawings as pictures of toys rather than pictures of the fictional vehicles as depicted on screen?

As a result of this review I have decided that it doesn't matter if I do produce the imagery completely through digital means. It is my purpose to accurately portray these products, and rigorous isometric drawing is much easier to product on the computer.

Context of Practice 3: Developments [5]

I have tested out a couple of more informed visual concepts. One of my older ideas involved describing how designs were developed, or how they referenced to well-known popular culture imagery.

The image on the left seems the most successful, following the structure of some Sears diagrams, I added a key to the image, showing the individual elements that resulted in the now recognisable Millennium Falcon design.

Context of Practice 3: Kenner Millenium Falcon & Sears

The Millenium Falcon set arrived in 1979, intended for the use with the 3.75" action figure range.
I am currently unable to find any reference to the artist responsible for the diagramatic instruction sheets, they are somewhat reminiscient of the Sears range of exploded diagrams. The line art is simplified in some areas and peculairly faithful to the details in others, most notably the exhaust areas on the top cover are very accuracte. The artist very likely had the actual toy to draw from, or at least a series of promotional images to trace over. I would like to refer to this aesthetic in my own responses, using a more formal grid to align the imagery.

Context of Practice 3: Developments [4]

I have developed a more refined study of Kenner Star Wars toys, including the Millennium Falcon and Snow Speeder. It took some amount of time to construct reference imagery for the torn apart diagrams. Traders and collectors post a good amount of pictures on sites such as Ebay. These traders often sell spare parts for vintage Kenner toys, which is useful for understanding how the toys are put together.

Using an isometric grid, I draw the individual parts in an exploded diagram-like format.

I am struggling with the purpose of the drawings, as at the moment I would suggest all of my progress amounts to being fan-art regurgitation.

Context of Practice 3: Progress Tutorial [3]

I did not have much difficulty reaching the 6000 word mark. Chapter 2 benefitted from the structure I had developed throughout the first. I approached the marketing and merchandising of 'The Force Awakens' using the same systems of analysis I had put in place for each of the films in the previous chapters, whilst introducing more focus on Baudrillard's concepts of post modernism.

Richard noted that the text had a lot of spelling issues, which I will resolve upon a later proof-reading.
He concluded that the dissertation was so far doing very well, and I would have to be careful not to lose out on the practical side.

Context of Pracitive 3: Peer Review

During this session I explained my worries about the work becoming too sterile and dry. It is my opinion that perhaps an analogue process is the key to avoiding this result, the feedback reflected this and recommended I use carrying line weight. The group was encouraging, they seemed to think I had done a good amount of work so far.

As ever, the general advice is to simply continue working on the project, and it will naturally progress.

Attempt to contact George Lucas [1]

During the research for the dissertation I have been unable to find the reasoning behind George Lucas's chose to retain the Star Wars licensing rights. I found a contact email on the Skywalker ranch website and I received the following reply:

'Thank you very much for your email requesting to interview George Lucas. We’re happy to know you admire Mr. Lucas' work, and that you would like to reach out to him for your dissertation. Because Mr. Lucas receives such a large amount of similar requests, we regret we’re not able to accommodate your request, especially in light of his retirement and travel schedule. If you would like to make your request with someone at Lucasfilm, you can try emailing their PR department: publicity@lucasfilm.com. 

If you would like to learn more about George Lucas, we can recommend two books: GEORGE LUCAS, THE CREATIVE IMPULSE by Charles Champlin and THE CINEMA OF GEORGE LUCAS by Marcus Hearn.  You should be able to find them at the library, and they contain a great deal of information about Mr. Lucas and his career. I have also attached a list of other books that may interest you about Mr. Lucas and Star Wars.

Once again, thank you for your email and we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Best,

Kristine

Skywalker Ranch Publicity'

I have detailed my opinions of the email through the lens of PPP on the relevant blog section.
In terms of the dissertation project, the email did indeed, though indirectly lead me to answer I have been looking for. The documentary 'Empire of Dreams' includes interviews with cast members and the crew behind Star Wars, as well as the creator, George Lucas. Towards the beginning, Lucas describes that the decision to retain the licensing, was part of his greater desire to keep control of Star Wars creatively, and he was happy to sacrifice a portion of his profit to ensure he had creative freedom, one useful quote is as follows:

‘When I took over the licensing I said I’m going to be able to make t-shirts… [and] posters and I’m going to be able to sell this movie even though the studio won’t. So I managed to get control of pretty much everything that was left over that the studio didn’t really care about’ (BURNS, 2004)

Context of Practice 3: Developments [3]

I booked a half-day slot in the print room to produce some designs for the project. I gave myself an hour to produce the imagery before stripping and exposing the screen, my aim being to improve the speed at which I can produce imagery in the screen print facility.

The image is a literal deconstruction of the Millennium Falcon, mirroring the literary deconstruction of the franchise in my dissertation. Although at this stage the imagery is far too complicated, the test evidences my analogue process.
 I have decided that my eventual final imagery will avoid the sterile digital work I have often relied on.

Context of Practice 3: Progress Tutorial [2]

Chapter one describes the Star Wars franchise between 1977 and 2005, focussing on the merchandising tie-ins in context to similar franchises and historical events.

Richard was impressed with the first chapter, only suggesting the inclusion of a short introduction. He also noticed potential ares of expansion, as well as a few unsourced figures. I will flesh out the chapter a little more, as well as beginning chapter 2, which will follow a similar chronological structure.
I initially divided the chapter into each film, however we decided this broke the flow of the chapter and was pretty superfluous.

Context of Practice 3: Developments [2]

The combination of more considered black line and gestural colour and shape seems to work well. Although I initially stated that I'd like to avoid the use of digital tools, I am certain that I could arrive at this aesthetic using a combination of digital and analogue process.

Context of Practice 3: Practical Peer Review [1]

During this session we reviewed the progress we had made in terms of practical response to our individual projects. It was decided that there was somewhat too little work amongst the group. I would suggest that this was a result of students prioritising their 603 briefs, I know that at least three of use have tables at Thought Bubble next week, which is obviously a pressing deadline.

My current work was reviewed by two other peers.

The peers seemed mostly positive in relation to what I had produced, they cautioned me to avoid getting to digitally orientated. They also suggested that this project was a natural progression from my Level 5 diagrammatic work, and that a similar result would work in this instance. 

Last year the diagrams I produced were completed at an A3 scale, but were finalised in A7 hotdog books, I would suggest that this detracted from their intricacy. Perhaps larger posters as well as a book is a good direction to take the project in.

Thus, my revised project outline is as follows:

Context of Practice 3: Developments [1]

I have initially tested a variety of aesthetics and medias, I was quite satisfied with the amount of development I produced in Level 5, so I would like to continue producing work to that sort standard, although I suppose Level 6 actually demands more in terms of quantity. The first Vader Drawing worked surprisingly well, as I wasn't consciously considering the palette.

My current concept involves producing 3 or so booklets detailing the development of a Star Wars product, from initial conception, to eventual release as a action figure/toaster/Lego set.

Star Wars, The Official Magazine, No: 15 (1998)

HEARN, Marcus, et al ,1998, Star Wars: The Official Magazine, Edition Number 15, London, Titan Magazines

I found this magazine in Poverty Aid UK. The issue was released just before Star Wars the Phantom Menace, which is rather handy in relation to my essay topic.

There are many enclosed advertisements and reviews for the merchandise available at the time, as well as official articles related to the Phantom Menace.

The magazine also coincided with the first licensing deal between Lego and Lucasfilm:

'The alliance with Lucas Licensing Ltd represents a major step for the Lego group worldwide, bringing together two very powerful brands that will entertain and inspire children around the globe'

- KIRK, Kjeld

The magazine is packed with imagery ripe for manipulation and study, I will certainly photocopy some amount of it for sketchbook investigations.

There is also an interview with Drew Struzan, who had been responsible for painting hundreds of film posters, including Star Wars. 

Struzan describes the compositional process

'First it's a selection of stills, objects, characters, the faces of the actors. Then it's how they're lit and coloured. What kinds of composition do you use? Is it relaxed? Is it nervous? Adventurous? All those things begin to convey the soul of the film the emotion of it, the colouration of it. I believe in truth in advertising, so I paint what's really in the film'

- STRUZEN, Drew

I particularly like the page advertising buying back issues, the 'SOLD OUT' text on the recognisable Star Wars characters is heavy with implicit meanings, and could easily be subverted for illustrative purposes.

The magazine is certainly a valuable resource, and I will make some reference to it during the written part of the module, the imagery is just as useful, and I will use it for reference and potential subversion.

Context of Practice 3: Progress Tutorial [1]

I arrived to the tutorial somewhat confident of my structure, I my estimations in terms of word count are pretty flexible, but I think the majority of the dissertation will focus on the historical narrative. Richard was pleased with the title 'How Star Wars Became the Merchandising Paradigm', his early concerns are that I must not forgot to angle the study with a social and cultural lens, rather than writing 9000 words ranting about how great Star Wars is.

Context of Practice 3: Initial Presentation

I created this document in order to explain my dissertation project to a small group.

The consensus from the group seemed positive, and they understood the questions and topics involved.

The tutor, Richard mentioned that I should seek out books on the topics of popular culture and consumption, and that it was the social and anthropological angle that made the topic interesting. 

Context of Practice 3: Visual Response

After an afternoon of studying the face of George Lucas, I created this compostition. The composition istelf was not too considered, and is evidently heavily inspired by my recent 'Made You Look' poster. The image represents a concept I have been toying with, involving a short graphic novel about the history of Star Wars merchandisng. I would certainly like to persue this method of woking further, even if it is heavily digital. Perhaps I could colour the imagery manually with crayons to avoid the flat textures.

Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive (1999)

SANSWEET, Stephen, et al. 1999, Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive, London, Virgin Publishing Ltd

This book was originally of Japanese origin, it fastidiously catalogues the history of Star Wars action figures and related vehicles and accessories. Catalogue books and visual dictionaries are very common Star Wars products, I own several that detail the fictional histories behind props and characters (much of which is now no-longer canonical since the Great Disney Canon Reboot of 2015).

In terms of context, this book was red-edited into English before the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The book certainly comes across as a nostalgic recollection to prepare fans for the new

From the introduction -

'Because of the incredible merchandising success of the original Star Wars films in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many people associate the collectables - especially the ubiquitous Kenner 3 3/4-inch action figures with the films. In-fact, Eimei and I, who started our friendship by trading the toys, are firmly convinced that kids playing with some of the quarter billion action figures that were produced over eight years are one of the reasons for the continued strength of the Star Wars phenomenon.'

.The first portion of the book concerns with the new wave of products that coincide the digital re-releases of the films. Interestingly, some of the inconsequential background characters that were added to the digital edits also appear as toys in the new wave.

.The second portion of the book concerns with the original toy-lines released subsequently to the films between 1978-1989, 1980-1982 and 1983 - 1984.

'In 1977, movies weren't considered candidates for a successful toy license, and most companies weren't interested in taking on Star Wars in advance, Kenner Products took a gamble, but except for some puzzles and board games it was able to rush into production, there weren't any toys ready for Christmas 1977. Instead, against the advice of most marketers, Kenner sold and 'empty box,' an Early Bird Certificate Package that contained, among other things, a certificate to send away for the first four action figures that would ship in the first few weeks of 1978.'

. First 4 figures were Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and R2D2
. Leia was the only major female role in the 1977 film, and thus the only female out of a 93 character toy-line

. In 1985, two years after Return of the Jedi, the popularity seemingly began to fade and Kenner released a new range of action figures

. During 1985 two animated series including 'Droids' screened, and these spawned further action figure tie-ins.

.The final portion of the book studies the 1999 action figures, which include figures from the comic books and video games
__________________________________________________________

In terms of usefulness, the book contains many interesting facts in regards to the evolution of Star Wars action figures, however I will likely make greater use of the photographic documentation.

Retromania; Pop Culture's Addiction to its own Past [Notes]

REYNOLDS, Simon, 2011, Retromania; Pop Culture's Addiction to its own Past, London, Faber and Faber

All quotes are from the aforementioned source, unless other wise stated.

'the avant-garde is now the arriére-garde'

'not only has their never before been a society so obsessed with its immediate past, but there has never before been a society that is able to access this immediate past so easily and copiously'

The increasing meticulous documentation of events through online platforms make digital 'time travel' a likely tool of the near future, there are examples of this already happening such as the ability to view old caches of websites using the Internet Archive or the Google Earth feature that allows users to view historical versions of the street view. I would suggest systems could be put in place to allow future users to experience past 'digital events' in real time… for example if they wish to browse the internet as though it were 2012 and watch social media react to the Olympics.

'Nostalgia as both word and concept was invented in the seventeenth century by physician Johannes Hofer to describe a condition afflicting Swiss mercenaries on long tours of military duty. Nostalgia was literally homesickness, a debilitating melancholy, anorexia, even suicide.'

Nostalgia is associated with both conservatism and radicalism.

Restorative nostalgia involves a displeasure with the new and unfamiliar, with a wish to restore things to an older form (ranging from protest to actual violent action). The sentiment is generally brewed in a crowd or community.

Reflective nostalgia is more personal, and is often expressed through art, music or other creative enterprises. Reflective nostalgia understands that the past cannot be regained, and is content with misty-eyed remembrances. 

'The last few years of the 2000s witnessed a spasm of hipster-hate, with a spate of magazine critiques of hipsterdom as pseudo-bohemia. These articles were then followed by meta-critques examining the phenomenon of hipster-phobia itself, invariably pointing out that nobody would ever voluntarily describe themselves as a hipster, and that hipster-haters themselves usually fit the profile of the hipster very closely.'

.Reynolds compares nostalgia to 'Chris Farley syndrome', referring to a sketch in which Farley conducts an embarrassing interview with Paul McCartney asking questions such as 'D'ya remember Beatlemania? Because that was awesome.'

.Reynolds makes draws a comparison to the 'I Love the [Decade]' TV programs, which involve commentators, guests etc 'parroting' the actual content mindlessly.

.Reynolds also makes the conclusion that the chaotic community of Youtube is similar.

Distance and delay have eroded… users may instantly access a huge variety of movies, songs and other media.

.High-street stores are pressured to sell old stock at lower prices, to make room for new items

- online alternatives have no such pressure and can sell older products at a consistent price indefinitely. 

.(conversely, in a digital realm there are no 'rare items' that attain a greater value over time)

'Attention deficit is the name of this condition, but like so many dysfunctions under late capitalism, the source of the disorder is not internal to the sufferer, not his or her fault; it's caused by the environment, in this case the datascape. Our attention is dispersed, tantalised, teased.'

Context of Practice 3: Force Friday

Now with Disney at the helm, Star Wars is flexing it's merchandise muscles in anticipation of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.

This effort parallels previous ventures for during the releases of the prequel films, when merchandise was released prior to the 'anchor' product.

Now with a more coherent coordinated strategy, Disney has invented a brand new consumer holiday event for Star Wars fanatics to attend called 'Force Friday'.
The global launch event involved many stores opening at midnight, enabling fans to be some of the first to buy merchandise for a film that they will not see for another three months.

Photograph: Ken Cheung/AP

FORCE FRIDAY!!! #forcefriday #starwars #theforceawakens @john_boyega thank you so much to all the amazing staff at @disneystore Oxford Street for making tonight so amazing!!!

A video posted by @daisyridley on Sep 3, 2015 at 4:56pm PDT

This effort has involved celebrity endorsement from the stars of the film, who help promote events using their personal social media platforms (which may be censored if they break their NDAs etc). Thus, the actors become another promotional vehicle

Despite some issues with under-stocking during Force Friday, the event is likely to secure Star Wars toy sales at the top this holiday.

Context of Practice 3: The Disneyization of Society Notes [2]

BRYMAN, Alan, 2004, ‘The Disneyization of Society’, London, SAGE Publications

(All quotes are from Alan Bryman, unless otherwise marked)

The Disney theme park is significant in the contextualisation of merchandise; the consumer has already paid a large amount of money to enter, and upon entry they are greeted with innumerable opportunities to purchase products that would unlikely be bought at such prices in any other context...

. The environment of the park 'enables' or 'rationalises' the purchase of plastic trinkets

. Parks encourage association with their location, for example Disneyland Paris sells products that adorn popular culture imagery that is associated with Frane (i.e Mickey wearing a beret)

.Parks are constructed in a similar fashion to maps in FPS, there are large open areas to encourage the illusion of free movement followed by narrow 'choke points' that slow movement (for example Main Street) to encourage visitors to file off into shops.

THE EISNER TEAM

.Disney Stores are opened in 1987 (the merchandising of a theme park without the fun/expense of actually being a theme park).

.There was a return to animation being central in Disney's activities post 1987...

'A successful Disney animated feature, they felt, led to success in other spheres of the company's portfolio of activities. Nowhere was this clearer than with merchandising, since animated characters are extremely adaptable and amenable to being transformed into merchandise' - p86

.Full studio control + lack of live actors who can demand a percentage = A lot of money

.Early instances of merchandise being totally sold out due to surprising sales (Buzz Lightyear)

'For the first Toy Story, $125 million was spent on... tie-ins by firms such as Burger King, Nestle, Frito-Lay, Minute Maid, and Payless ShoeSource'

'synergistic system' (all-encompassing product range)

More money can be made from merchandising etc than the actual feature film's box office returns (Star Wars, Jurassic Park etc)

... Star Wars has the uncanny ability to endure and remain relevant though merchandising alone even with a vacuum of films as seen between 1983 - 1999 and 2005 - 2015.

Merchandising is obviously more successful when the 'anchor product' (feature film) appeals to children.

'It was calculated in 2003 that Harry Potter Merchandise was bringing in revenue of £1 Billion a year and that J.K. Rowling would earn £10 million from quidditch turning into a computer game'

BOZTAS, Senay, 2003, Sunday Times Rich List 2003, The Sunday Times (?)

THE PHANTOM MENACE

Months before the release a over ambitious range of merchandise was released in anticipation of a similar demand that accompanied the original trilogy.

.The Character Group share price slumped from 440p to 62.5p due to the failure of The Phantom Menace Merchandising

.Dorling Kindersley lost £25 Million, the resignation of the chief executive and the loss of 140 jobs

.TV programmes directed at children seemingly have the intention to push toylines on child viewers for example Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder... (which out performed Harry Potter merchandise in the UK)

.Oddities such as South Park... directed at those older than 18, merchandising launches the show into something more... a 'brand', and has a great success in the selling of merchandise and apparel to younger consumers who are generally too immature to view the show (a more modern example would be Family Guy).

Older characters can be rejuvenated to appeal to modern consumers... and create the opportunity for rehashed lazy merchandising.

.Darth Vader has existed in popular culture for 37 years. You do not know the power of merchandising.

.Potentially, the excess of merchandising can create dissatisfaction with the consumer...

(Hercules 1997?)  Minions...
.Does merchandising exploit children?

.Merchandising can be a great gamble, established imagery will not always ensure a profit and may even prove detrimental (Phantom Menace).
.Merchandising is heavily focussed at children, however cautious parents recognise that some products have a relative short 

Context of Practice 3: Star Wars Land

Several weeks ago Disney unveiled it's plans to construct a fully armed and operational Star Wars themed land, as part of it's Disney Land parks.

Features include:

. Star Wars land will be based on a new 'gateway' planet within the Star Wars universe (they are crafting the new cannon for commercial purposes)

. Plenty of merchandising opportunities

. Every store and restaurant will be occupied by Star Wars aliens and characters (performative labour)

. 'Season of the Force'; a commercial celebration all about Star Wars

. Some level of immersion will be involved, by including some kind of narrative that will contextualise the park (apparently a sort of staged 'new era battle'/stunt show)

. Blue Milk as a product

The early concept art is ridiculously ambitious seeming, featuring large-scale buildings with plenty vehicles and droids.

This reveal was not particularly surprising, considering the success of similar projects such as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter etc. Disney is keen to build the momentum of Star Wars, and it will be interesting to experience how they avoid dangerous saturation levels.

Context of Practice 3: Research Proposal [Revised]

SUBJECTS OF CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH ALREADY UNDERTAKEN

Level 4: Semantic Analysis of James Bond Posters

Level 5: Has home video rendered the cinema obsolete?

AIM AND/OR OBJECTIVE OF YOUR PROPOSED C.O.P.3 PROJECT

The relationship of merchandising and illustration (needs a catchier title)

What research needs to be undertaken into the general and specific contexts of your practice?

.Historical context of merchandising - franchising - polymorphous branding

.The use of illustration to improve the marketability of low quality wares - ethics - (First Things First)

.Focus on a specific brand - Disney / Star Wars

.Nostalgic illustration as a cynical tool

.’Product and Range’ - Asset appropriation

.Merchandise in the age of digital reproduction (Skylanders/Disney Infinity/Team Fortress 2 etc)

What approach(es) will you take and what processes, methods, materials and tools are to be involved in research into your practice?

.Employ industry techniques… (Create humorous/subversive merchandise-tie-ins?)

.Later designs are likely to be largely digital

.Digital designs can be applied onto a range of contexts/merchandise

.Avoid overworking digital designs as usual

.Document primary research of merchandising and point-of-sale displays etc

What preparation or investigations do you need to undertake for your creative practice to take place? 

.Find relevant books on the subject - talk to staff etc

.Engage in primary research of inshore and online merchandising

.Look closer into production methods

.Investigate the factory conditions for workers producing the merchandise - ETHICS

.Investigate how merchandise has become a primary product and the ‘art’ and after thought… (Forbidden Planet)

What research do you need to undertake regarding who your creativity is for?

.Again, is this about the ethics of an illustrator? As designers, we are exploiting familiar imagery as a way of selling products that people cannot generally afford or need

.Anti consumerism? Comes back to last years initial CoP concept… apathetic product design that inevitably becomes landfill… environmentalism

.Gender/demographic studies… the marketing of identical products to different audiences through packaging

.Collectors… the value of merchandise dramatically increasing as they become ‘antique’

Primary Sources of Information

Description: Point of Sale/Packaging

Location: Toy stores/Online retailers/fast food restaurants… anywhere merchandise it visible

Description: Commercials/Promotional Material

Location: Television/Web banners/Leaflets etc

Secondary Sources of Information 

MILLER, Daniel, 2008, ‘The Comfort of Things’, Polity Press, Caimbridge

BOYLE, David, 2004, ‘Authenticity’, Harper Perennial, London

SLADE, GIles, 2006, ‘Made to Break’, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press

BRYMAN, Alan, 2004, ‘The Disneyization of Society’, Sage Publishers, London

JACKSON, Peter, LOWE, Michelle, MILLER, Daniel, MORT, Frank, 2000, ‘Commercial Cultures’, Berg, Oxford

Perceived problems or difficulties: 

I have not yet formed a conclusive opinion on the matter… which will develop during research

.The question needs to be specified further

Context of Practice 3: More Contextual Reference

Jim'll Paint It

Dear Jim, can you use Paint to show us a scene from a not too distant future in which those fucking Minion things have finally taken over completely? - Kevin Weaver

It has been perhaps somewhat difficult to find examples of illustration that subvert and comment on merchandising, however this is an ample amount of imagery related to consumer culture as a whole. The above image from Jim is perhaps the closest example of the sort of thing I would like to product, albeit more considered.


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