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!

But Everybody`s Doin` it! part 2

Day 1...it appears there will be a Day 2 as well, since the weather has been rather capricious today.

But first things first...

I`ve got my hands on a Nikon D80 camera, have been delighted to try it out and now at least I know that watching all those photography tutorials throughout these years has not been a waste of time. After I got the camera yesterday, I managed to learn how to handle it pretty decently in a few hours, so, a big thank you to YouTube and all the nice people who make tutorials and share the knowledge.

Problems: sunny...cloudy...sunny...cloudy...I know what you`re saying: `But Diana, that`s what those settings on the camera are there for!`  Yes, indeed...but even when you know what to do (change aperture, shutter speed, fiddle with the EV)...it is still frustrating when you have to do it every 2 minutes, while also trying to direct your subject, trying to keep continuity notes and change focus because of the movement.

So, I`ll probably have to play around with a few individual frames in Photoshop, adjusting lightness and gamma. But hey! who cares when I had so much fun.

 

Almost feels like a pity tampering with the colours...I`ll give it a try though, that`s the fun fun fun of experimentation, isn`t it?

 

Now, for some of the close-ups...I love depth of field!

 

 

And now...la piece de resistance! The macro shots:

 

There has been a slight change of location as well. Although, it is still within the University Park campus (where we got the permission to film), it is around the Lakeside Cafe, instead of the Student Union one. Some wonderful vanishing points and quite the view really, on and off camera as well. Thanks to Roxana for the scouting...