How can something so bad, feel sooo good? part 2

Basically the same video, with some adjustments made after getting some feedback during a tutorial. I have changed some of the fonts to make them more visible.

How can something so bad, feel sooo good?

...or as formerly known `But Everybody`s Doin` it!` is one happy finished project, nestling in its comfy Youtube space now.

Voila!

After the first rough cut, it took me a few days to figure out what was missing...I still don`t know if I`ve really found that elusive something (but then again...we never find THAT elusive something, do we?), but I am quite pleased with the freeze-frames stylised to look like 50s advertising posters. I hope I captured the spirit, I tried to use as a guide Robert Opie`s 1950s Scrapbook.

I know this has turned out rather ambiguous and cheeky, having a laugh at the overly dramatic seriousness of classic digital piracy ads by using the cartoonish chase seen music and the posters are only re-enforcing the irreverent atmosphere of the whole piece...but then again, it`s supposed to inform, not judge. And observe and inform it does...the vast majority of people have this ambivalent `let`s not and say we did` attitude towards the subject, hypocrisy is oozing out of everyone`s pores and we are, willy-nilly, surfing treacherous waters in our search for our favourite online commodities.

Technical details:

Compressed file has some colour loss but there doesn`t seem to be any major issue with the uncompressed video (have tried it on three different players) altough I`ve initially had some issues with subtitles not showing up on the screen for the introduction sequence.

Also, not entirely sure about the final Hyde-Jekyll transition, the morphing might be a bit...well, a bit spooky for the overall tone of the work (or maybe it`s just me seeing it like that). Might think about having different sequences for the morphing, some that are more similar so that it doesn`t look like something out of a sci-fi film.

But Everybod`s Doin` it! part 3

Busy day today...just finished capturing some of the laptop screen images (download progress bars, illegal download searches bla bla bla) and thought I will have a go at the simulated 50s style. Slightly desaturated colours, with the exception of reds and magentas, a bit of grain, a double yellow filter and a vignette effect.

Here`s what it looks like:

I think it does the job pretty well, so I`ll probably stick with these settings for the final edit.

I wanted to include my storyboard as well, but realised I am not yet ready to be the butt of all jokes because of my sloppy drawing. They are working documents and I won`t let them see the light, no sir!

(Un)title(d) sequence part 4

(Un)title(d) sequence part 4

Back to the title sequence then...

I decided to make a compilation of my scribblings on the subject, and here is a scheme of the things I thought 12 Monkeys is about, or the aspects I would like to highlight in the title sequence, including visuals elements.

I have also done some sketches in Photoshop, and I am thinking about whether or not to use still images, with panning camera motions in After Effects, or whether the ink blots (Roscharch test) are going to be animated somehow.

(Un)title(d) sequence part 3

ail to zeh Lindsey! Yes, we got ourselves a kick-ass title sequence...don`t know the state of the rest of the edit, but this bit is something to be proud of. So, a big thank you again in the name of the whole group for Lindsey (whooop, whooop!). Here is the link to her blog for the animated sequence.

Over the weekend, we have discussed the look and basic visual elements of the title sequence. A very lucrative session, since I got to see the main ideas I proposed included in the finished work, while Lindsey has made some very good stylistic decisions on her own while working on the actual thing. So, allow me a few moments of sheer pride, until reality comes slamming in once again (probably tomorrow...when we`ll have to face up to the crude state of our yet-to-be edit).

(Un)title(d) sequence part 2

Today, after a chat with Lindsey, and after seeing some of the work she has done back in Belgium, I`ve decided that we`ve got ourselves our lady for a title sequence in our documentary. I had been thinking about a fairly brief one, maybe 10 seconds, just to introduce the title and possibly part of the credits.

I`ve first started doing some storyboards for the motion graphics, but I realised that instead of scribbling away thousands of notes on the side of each frame, I could just do a sketch in photoshop. So, voila!

Time(-machine)`s are hard...part 4

Yesterday, I had a meeting with Michelle from the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, we`ve talked about the transitions I`ve done and I`ve got a chance to see the orchestra and the choir at work during a rehearsal (which is supposed to be good in making me feel the importance of my effort, or something along those lines...psssst, it was touching though!). All in all, everyone`s happy and looking forward to the concert on the 27th.

There are a couple of things they`ve suggested I change:

- no music for the transitions

- a couple more transitions, introducing Les Miserables and The Pines of Rome

- look for some pictures for the Planets, Rome and WW2 bits

- produce some fireworks for the 1812 piece (I`m going to use some Particular effects in Adobe AE, nothing fancy so far, I am playing around with the default settings, maybe if I get any wiser in time, I`ll try my luck at something more spectacular)

Having said that, today I`ve been in the studio again, helped by my lovely assistant...I mean, friend...Sam, getting on with the last two transitions. In line with the same theme of our now famous and lovable (yeah, right!) glass-headed traveller, here are the last two transitions:

Also on my to do list for this evening...learning how to create some (hopefully mind-blowing) photomontages, because nobody wants to keep it still and boring....right? 

Time(-machine)`s are hard...part 3

Two more of the lot...

Time(-machine)`s are hard...part 2

An another one of the transitions...

This one is supposed to introduce the audience to the 18th century, with the discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781 by William Herschel. The piece that it introduces is Uranus, from Holst`s Planets. Basic idea, but I think it works well...our curious little clear headed friend meeting the man (i.e.,  Herschel) face to....hand!

Time(-machine)`s are hard...part 1

I should have mentioned this when I had my first meeting with Michelle from the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, but I guess this will have to do now...

For the past few years, the Nottingham Youth Orchestra have given a concert at the end of February. They wanted to spice up the performance a bit, so they started a collaboration with Nottingham Trent Multimedia students. A theme is set each year, and this year it was Time travel/time machine, with each piece in the repertoire, corresponding to a certain time period, from the Roman empire, up to the WW2. Whatever I come up with (pictures, video, animation) will be projected unto a screen between the pieces.

So, here is what I`ve done. I started off with a very basic idea: present vs past. I initially thought of shooting models dressed in their everyday clothes, and then have them transition into costumes representative of each period. I have managed to secure most of the outfits via the Theatre Design`s course collection in Waverley, and arranged to film in a studio. All fine so far, until...surprise!...the human element made its way unto the scene...yes, I was let down by people (shocker!).

But, as it would seem, my muse didn`t abandon me, and thanks to a last minute idea, I managed to do part of the transitions required.

I have completed 4 of the 8 transitions, so at least, I won`t feel really bad about tomorrow`s meeting (which will be the first rehearsal with the orchestra).

Ok, so you might ask...what`s up with the glass head? Well, besides the fact that it looks a tad awesome, I thought I could play around with the idea of it being a spectator (not having a body, he can but be witness to the unfolding of images from the past in front of his/her eyes). And, of course, our perception of history is something strictly confined to the realm of the mind, as we cannot physically interact with it. Enough of the talking, here is one of the transition videos (I`ve only uploaded this to Youtube because it`s the smallest):

 

King Tut(orial) part 2

Today has been a fine day...for tuts! I`ve set my eyes on a few things that might make our short-film project look better and I`ve tested two things: blemish removals (especially for close-ups, since we didn`t have a make-up person on the set) and the bleach bypass.

Now, the bleach tutorial  has helped me familiarise with the Luma Matte, but in terms of its effects (the ones I managed to achieve anyway) I am not sure I`m doing a proper job. I find I couldn`t really spot that much of a difference between shots that used it, and those that didn`t (maybe I was too tired). Here is an example that actually demonstrates the effect quite well:

This is the image without the Matte...

This is the image with the Matte...

I`ve noticed that since the lighting, contrast and saturation levels are different from one scene to the other, in order to get an effective matte, one has to take each scene separately and tweak the parameters. I guess that would mean jumping between Premiere and After Effects to treat each sequence.

But let`s get to the piece de resistance! The Bleach bypass has been around for quite a while, being used before the digital switch-over in photo labs. Here are some examples (and I don`t think I need to point out which one`s has bleach bypass applied):

I have also made an overview of the entire footage today, and I`m looking forward to discussing the next editing bits with the group members.

Malica a.k.a. MALac

We have been given informal feedback on our seminar work on the MALac short film script this Friday. Our group has presented an edit consisting of a title sequence (which is part of my version of the edit) and also a personal edit from yours truly. The tutors seemed pleased with the general outcome of the project, although the quality of the sound left much to be desired still. Something we`ll have to bear in mind for the next project (which, by the way, is coming along fairly nicely I would gather from our meetings so far...let`s just see how the ideas come together and then how we can manage to put them into practice). I really like the moody feel created by the lighting in the second group`s edit.

Anyway, this is my edit of the Malica a.k.a MALac:

And here is the group edit:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (with regards this project):

So, time for a bit of self assessment! Things to learn: communicate, communicate and ...surprise....speak up! I think the overall quality of the work would be much improved in the future if we learn to let the others know when we are having difficulties within our own roles. For myself, I know I am still lousy at the so-called communication skills. Still not sure what to do to improve that though.

Also, I have to say that I am deeply dissatisfied with my performance with lighting the set. After all the tutorials and reading on the subject, I feel I am missing something (besides the obvious experience I mean).

But we had some good times as well. I feel like we have been successful in completing our individual work, before meetings and shootings, so that means everyone is responsible and is ready to be part of the group.

Color-Correct me!

We`ve had a lecture on the use of color in films and while looking up videos related to the topic on Youtube, I just came across this video:

Now, this seemed to answer in part one of the questions I was to ask my tutors, about how you get your footage to LOOK like a film, not just a recording of a scene (of course, I am only talking about the visual aspect here, I know that the cinematic look is achieved through movement, both of actors and camera, sound, lighting and so on). This second video offered a tutorial, and although it was for another editing software, it just made me more aware of what effects I had to resort to in Premiere and After Effects to get a similar result.

This is a first attempt with some of the footage from the camera training we had last year with Bindni:

And here are some screenshots. It is really interesting how you can add to the story, or turn it upside down by tinting, high or low saturation, playing around with the levels.  Even minor changes, such as between the first and second capture, can alter the feel of the movie. The first one is warmer, closer to `reality` in terms of colors, but also, because of this, the viewer may not feel cosy and safe in the belief that (as visually suggested) he is witnessing the happenings of another world that is not his.