Best Art Direction - translation?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the interpretation of the term "Best Art Direction" as awarded at The Game Awards 2018, specifically in relation to the game Return of the Obra Dinn. Participants explore the nuances of the term "direction" in different languages and contexts, questioning whether the award recognizes artistic trends or the contributions of the individuals making artistic decisions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the distinction in Polish between "direction" as a property of a vector and "director" as someone who leads artistic decisions, raising questions about the intent of the award.
  • Another participant suggests that "Best Art Direction" should recognize the overall visual coherence and artistic assembly of a film or game, attributing this to the director's role.
  • A different viewpoint highlights the increasing complexity of film credits, questioning the necessity of listing numerous contributors, which may dilute the recognition of key artistic roles.
  • One participant emphasizes that while the director influences the visual style, the award for best art direction should specifically honor the art director, distinguishing it from the director's broader responsibilities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing interpretations of what "Best Art Direction" signifies, with no consensus reached on whether it pertains to artistic trends or the contributions of specific individuals. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of the award's title.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that their interpretations may be influenced by cultural and linguistic differences, particularly in how terms related to direction and artistic roles are defined in different contexts.

Borek
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So it all starts with the fact that the game Return of the Obra Dinn (I love it, just in case you wonder) won Best Art Direction during The Game Awards 2018. We discussed it here with a friend of mine and turned out we understood the name of the category differently.

In Polish direction and director are two different words. Direction translates to "kierunek" as in a "property of a vector" (or in general direction of a motion, be it physical motion, artistic or economical trend and so on), director translates to "reżyser", as in "someone who leads the team of the filmmakers and controls the artistic side of the movie" (in Poland producer was more of a person involved in organization and logistics than in artistic decisions, these were reserved for the director).*

So, is the "Best Art Direction" a prize for the artistic trends set/used/created in the game, or for the work done by whoever was responsible for making the artistic decisions?

Perhaps it boils down to direction as a noun vs direction as a verb.

Screenshot just to show you how the the game looks like, it is kind of a criminal puzzle revolving around a fate of the crew of the brig Obra Dinn.

ObraDinn 2018-11-22 22-53-53-49.png

*This is a bit simplified, but I am leaving nuances aside.
 

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Some, say movies, are visually stimulating, stunning in the settings and scenes, appropriate music, etc... that everything seems to all fall in place perfectly.
Best Art Direction would be the award given for the movie and director who put it all together better than anyone else did that year.
 
As a devoted movie and movie quality series fan I'm struck by two trends in commercial films. The number of production companies and executive producers and the length of on screen credits. Do we need to know the name of the assistant to the animal wangler? The drivers for the food caterers?
 
[QUOTE="256bits, post: 6101108, member: 328943"
Best Art Direction would be the award given for the movie and director who put it all together better than anyone else did that year.[/QUOTE]

Presumably the award for best art direction should be won by the best art director?
The director will certainly be important for the"look", but art direction is a separate line from directing the movie itself.
Similar to how awards for cinematography would be won by the cinematographer (not the director)
.
 
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