What
are the
screen arts?
Learn how to explain screen arts to clients to help them understand the technicalities.
Screen Arts
The niche sibling of graphic arts & design and fine arts... get to know what this discipline of visual arts is and how it works!
According to the Durban University of Technology, screen arts encompass a broad spectrum of creative disciplines primarily focused on visual storytelling and content creation for screens. This includes various forms of digital media, animation, and interactive experiences designed for presentation on screens such as computers, tablets, and television. Screen arts often involve the use of digital tools and technologies to convey narratives, communicate messages, and engage audiences visually.
The term encapsulates a range of creative practices, from graphic design and motion graphics to digital illustration and other visual elements tailored specifically for screen-based platforms. While screen arts pertain to other disciplines such as directing, production, scriptwriting, and sound, this module aims to focus on the visual arts aspect to the screen arts.
And speaking of... below are a few specific fields that visual screen artists can delve into given their diverse expertise. Because first of all, it's a dynamic and adaptable profession.
1. Storyboarding
Storyboarding is the visual planning and arrangement of images or illustrations in a sequence to outline the flow and composition of a narrative, often used in film, animation, or other visual storytelling mediums. As Vyond (2023) explains it, "Think of it as sort of a comic book version of your script."
Read up more on it here.
2. Video Editing
Video editing is a profession which requires quick thinking, resourcefulness, creativity, and problem solving skills. Video editors, according to Noble Desktop (2024), "...are professionals who are tasked with ensuring that all of the video content that directors, artists, and other creatives produce is compiled and assembled into a finished product."
Read up more on it here.
3. Cinematography
Cinematography involves capturing and crafting the visual elements of a film or video. It means choosing the visual style of the film, establishing the camera set-up for every shot, determining the lighting for every scene, and exploring every film location. Cinematographers bring the director's vision to life because, as stated by Masterclass (2021), "Telling a story on film isn’t just about recording the action. It’s also about how the images are captured."
Read up more on it here.
4. Color Grading
"In cinema, color grading refers to manipulating raw film and video images to create consistent color tones throughout a motion picture." That is what Tiffani Bauer (2023), a video producer, editor, and videographer, said about color grading in her article for Descript. In short, it's the process of adjusting and enhancing the colors in a film or video to achieve a desired visual mood or tone.
Read up more on it here.
5. Set Design
Set designing is world-building. It involves the planning and creation of the physical environment or backdrop for a film, television show, or theatrical production to enhance storytelling and visual aesthetics. According to the Berklee College of Music, set designers must be well-versed in carpentry, architecture, drafting and sketching, model building, stage design, budgeting, textual analysis, innovation, creative vision, and collaboration.
Read up more on it here.
6. Animation
Animation is the technique of creating the illusion of motion and life by rapidly displaying a sequence of still images or frames. Though, nowadays, animators often use CGI techniques, reducing some manual effort but still requiring specialized skills (Adobe, 2024).
Read up more on it here.
The Takeaway
(Screen arts is so much more than just pressing a few buttons on a computer and positioning a camera at obscure angles...)
Screen arts, encompassing disciplines like storyboarding, video editing, cinematography, color grading, set design, and animation, are intricate due to the diverse skill sets, specialized tools, and significant investments required. Mastery in each field demands specialized knowledge, often acquired through formal education and continuous learning.
The variety of tools, from software to camera equipment, necessitates technical proficiency. Time and resource investments are substantial, ranging from pre-production planning to post-production editing, often involving extensive collaboration among professionals. Achieving excellence in screen arts is not merely about creativity; it demands a blend of technical prowess, creative vision, and a commitment to staying abreast of evolving industry trends and technologies.
Screen artists should take pride in what they do and stand up for themselves because their work is a complex blend of technical expertise and creative vision, requiring a unique skill set.
Recognizing their worth and asserting their rights ensures fair compensation, ethical treatment, and a sustainable creative industry. By being informed about their rights, screen artists can navigate contracts, negotiate fair terms, and protect their intellectual property, fostering a more equitable and respectful environment for their artistic endeavors.
So... keep bringing stories to life and get (properly) paid for it!
I love screen arts! :D