THE  ART  OF  RU  XU

In 2013, I learned an interesting perspective from Walt Disney World Imagineers: pretend the audience is a camera, one that will continuously zoom in while approaching the attraction (or story). If the work holds up to "camera's" scrutiny all the way down to the "Close Up," then it is successful. Since then, I've modified and applied this perspective to my own work process. When I have a script to visually develop, I'll break the project down into a guideline I'm constantly adding to: the Long Shot, the Medium Shot, and the Close up. 

 

1) The Long Shot. The big picture. The simple story. The first impression. The architecture, the general aesthetics, and the figurative Stage. The colors and lighting that create the mood that initially draws the audience into the world. Is it a believable environment and world?

 

2) The Medium Shot. Closer to the characters. Their design, their personalities, how they portray themselves, who they are, and what they're about. More technical specifics on what kind of lines and art styles work best with the characters. What kind of visual dichotomies and parallels best bring out their relationships to one another and their place in the Long Shot?

 

3) The Close Up. An intimate look at the props and set pieces in an attraction/story. Zoom in on visual history and details of objects. The personality of the people who created them. Materials and colors. Do they fit in the Long Shot? How do they interact with the Medium Shot?

 

Below are a few project examples.