The Realist Shaping of Meaning in Portraying of War

By Yousif Al Hamadi

Throughout history, artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers played an essential role in portraying wars. However, when their work became more authentic and realistic, it became difficult to be accepted by the public and the authorities. Generally, this is because of the amount of destruction represented by the bloodshed of wars, such as the paintings created during the French Revolution in the nineteenth century; likewise, the written novels about the invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte. Similarly, the symphonies composed during the Second World War were filled with grand-sounding intense and explosive sounds reflecting the state. Film directors also used their medium to portray the aftermath of the Second World War in the same sense, such as the Neorealist Italian films.

Gassed, 1919 by John Singer Sargent (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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Engaging and Shaping the Theme of Nationalism in Depicting Wars

By Yousif Al Hamadi

National identity consists of a group of behaviors and values that differentiate members of a country spiritually and culturally. It gives individuals and the collective a meaning of belonging to their nation to feel stable and united, especially during conflicts and wars. The theme of national identity has been represented by painters, writers, and musicians since the romantic era in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in their portrayals of battle in America and Europe. With globalization during the twentieth century, the concept started to be adopted internationally, and filmmakers began to represent it, while filmmaking had just been developed editorially and technically. Furthermore, during the Second World War, propaganda films played an essential role in treating the national identity theme, which had served several nations during wartime as Britain and Germany.

OER Project

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The Impact of Media: Shaping Our Minds and Hearts

By Yousif Al Hamadi

Today, media research includes studies on media effects and media content analysis, which show how people use messages they receive from the media. Major research studies have examined the effects of the media and some of its roles in people’s lives. Media scholars and researchers initially presented theories that showed extreme media power, which directly affected mass consumption. Later, studies and experiments proved that media effects were limited, indirect, or minimal. As a result, they presented other theories that considered human behavior, technology, and the relationship between mass media and mass consumption. Some theories favored the passive audience, others preferred the active audience, and others looked at the cause and connection with the event. Additionally, media scholars and researchers presented cultural media theories where symbolism emerged as a critical element in some of their construction. Others interpreted social and political practices by using the effects of mass media on public opinions and behaviors.

C1 Media: Audience effects theories part 2 - YouTube
chmk.org

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The Architecture of the Ottoman Provinces

By Yousif Al Hamadi

History

The Turks entered Anatolia at the beginning of the 13th century. They are originally Mongol who displaced from Central Asia and headed west to Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert, in which the Muslims defeated the Byzantine army in 1071.[1] During the 13th century, the Seljuks dynasty of Rum (1077-1308) declined because of the repeated Mongol attacks, and Anatolia has divided into small principalities, to twenty Anatolian beyliks.[2] Osman I (1258-1326), one of the beyliks leaders, whose history is uncertain. However, he was the founder of the Ottoman dynasty. He declared independence from Seljuks in 1299, extended the control of his principality, and eventually conquered Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River.[3] The Ottomans continued to expand, and in a short period, extended their hold over all of Anatolia. In 1453, they captured Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror (r. 1444 – 1481), who changed the city’s name to Istanbul.[4] 

Figure 1: The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent in 1683 (history.com)

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QFA Ramadan 1442

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has engaged Red Dot Films to create a 3D animated film for Ramadan 1442.

The aim is to encourage those observing the fast to stay active and avoid excessive sitting, sleeping, and screen time, particularly among young people and children who are prone to phone addiction.

The ad targets young people and kids and invites them to participate in physical activities such as football and visiting public parks.

model sheet of QFA new character

A new character, sporting the national team uniform, is introduced to represent the QFA in media, appealing to the target audience.

Abdulrahman Al Abduljabar, the QFA’s social media specialist, says “the association’s goal is to educate children about the value of sports and the new character is a way to reach and connect with them.”

3D model of the new QFA character

Yousif Al Hamadi, Art Director of Red Dot Films, states that “a simple and straightforward ad was agreed upon, with the focus solely on the new character, set in a neighborhood like Najma to emphasize its simplicity.”

Red Dot Films has previously produced 2D animations and motion graphics for the QFA, but this is their first 3D production for the association.

OX Fitness

A User experience Video. It was treated in a very creative and completely out of the box style. Rather than making the users sit and talk to the camera, Red Dot used their voices and added them to the videos of them working out. Lulou Al Fardan composed the track for the video.

Boys & Girls

Red Dot Films has recently finished producing a new animated series for Islamweb’s children website, Boys & Girls, consisting of 20 educational episodes and focusing on values ​​and behaviours from an Islamic angle.

Boy and Girls Poster

The work is supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, which claims that it is enhancing the Qatari identity through perfecting righteous work, endorsing communitarianism, upholding the value of science, protecting the environment, taking care of time, and promoting patriotism.

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