Design Practice 2: Film: Inspiration and Brainstoming (Week Two - Editor Role)(Part Three)

We have descided that our film noir is not trying to imitate being filmed in the 1920's time era but rather inheret it's visual style and be set in the modern times, this allows us to be a lot more experimental with the project, this opens up the possibilty of using a using a lot more special effects, transitions and sounds to represent the film as modern film noir.


Brainstorm of many possible ways to create desired effects

 I feel quite restricted as to what I can actually do pre-production as an editor, I have researched and found that usually the editor chooses not to be on the set, but may sometimes work closely with the director to work out what shot's will work well together. To take my role above and beyond I am going to make some mock-up video testing out various sequences, effects, titles and transitions.

First Test:


First test of using colour pass- adding splashes of colour to black & white

Fonts:
I have been given the task by our producer to start looking at different fonts and designing the titles, The opening sequence of a film is always important in setting the genre and giving the audience an initial thought on the film, I want my title sequence to set the mood for the entire film and ultimately become the part that makes the film instantly recognizable and unique to the audiences.

As our film is about conspiracy, gangstas and mystery I want my fonts to mimic and portray this, always keeping in mind that I want the title sequence to represent film noir as well. The word 'Shift' as the title doesn't really present me with a relevant way of designing the titles, What comes to mind when i hear shift is cars and time travel, know body really knows how the title is relevant to the plot or what is meant by it (maybe shifty?), so instead of basing the design around the word, I am basing it around the mood of the film itself.

Title Design:

As i said before the titles play an important role in constructing the mood and genre of the film, I have noticed a lot of them replie on foley to give them that extra impacts, so synchronisation is an important factor. In particular I enjoy some of the James Bond title sequences, they are always sleek and professional which in turn reflects on the image of the main character and the whole francise. They set the scene perfectly for the action/adventure, always with a twist of charm and seduction.

The sequences where the text is in the foreground with a hand moving over it, where the text wipes up word by word, where the text appears to be on water and where the text is ignited by fire are all concepts I would like to replicate and explore.



The use of large text flying fast by the screen while the small text is layered over it is a great effect, It sets the scene perfectly for a fast paced mystery drama



As the bourne series deals with conspiracy, It would be interesting to replicate there title sequences into our project to create a post modern film noir, there titles move slightly with the background and breaks off into various lines. I could impose my own titles onto a real life moving background (possible some city shots caught from a car.)

Design Practice 2: Film: Inspiration and Brainstoming (Week One - Editor Role)(Part Two)

We all began by reading and coming to grips with our allocated script 'shift', which is basically the classic government conspiracy story, where the main character knows some information he shouldn't and is desperately trying to get that information into the public eye. We were glad to receive this script as it is was less restricted as some of the others and got us exited with the possibility's of the genre. 

We viewed the previous groups adaptation of 'shift' to draw influence and to eye up the level of quality, while viewing there version I suggested that seeing as our story was set in the thriller/adventure genre and dealt with crime and conspiracy, why not go for a film noir style. Everyone agreed that this would be a good idea and that it would differentiate us from the rest, the script literally begs to be set in a 1920's crime-filled New York, our main character would be represented perfectly as the cliche loner detective of that time period.

Just a quick poster to give you an image of what were thinking

So now we knew what visual style and genre we wanted our films to be, it was only fitting that we searched for other film noir movies to incorporate and draw influence from into are project, our producer Jordon has made a mood board to represent this:

I am in the process of analysing clips from this list http://www.imdb.com/chart/filmnoir, for editing influence, so far this is what I've got:

Interesting Edits:

Grainy, Typing text, Long one shots, Wiping Text, Disappearing into Circle Text, Falling Over Text, Block Style Text, Zooming In, Layered Videos, Fade To Black and use of Opacity.

Interesting Edit:

Fade to next clip with opacity, Long panning shot, Narration over clips, low volumed music,High Volumed Voices, High and Low shot.

Interesting Edits:

Fade in and out of black, Old London text, Narration, Jump cuts, A lot of setting the scene shots, blending next scene in the other by opacity, interchanging between faces while talking.

Inspiration for a Film Noir chase scene:

Notice the formula of interchangeable camera edits of long shots mixed in with close ups, This is what we could replicate In our film to create that classic film noir chase scene, I believe the way in which it's shot and edited almost creates a fun atmosphere rather than tense one

Inspiration for post modern Film Noir:

Sin City is the perfect example of film noir amped up for a post modern century. the juxtaposition of the rich B&W with digitally-hued Technicolor makes it hard to take your eyes off the screen. Only seeing splashes of colour at certain moments creates a great effect for  a comic book environment and the special effects of white flashes would all work great in our film noir project, going for a post modern approach would make editing more interesting for me.

Flashbacks, Ladders and Narration

Finally three elements form The walking Hills (1949) Piqued by interest, I feel like what they did with the flashback to mix up the linear timeline of the film was great, using a flashback would really allow me to be creative with my editing. I know it's not in a editors job description but i really really like that ladder slide as a way of escaping :) Finally the style of narration is spot-on.

Design Practice 2: Animation: Work Submission

My main ideas and intentions that I was trying to express in the project were:

To collect and portray a direct vision of visual styles, moods and personal interests that were inspirational to me in the past and present and reflect them into a current project. For the audience to reflect on my work and be able to find similarity’s to conventions of the horror genre, specifically through sound, lighting, props and overall mise en scene. For audiences to be drawn into a realistic environment and experience a consistently interesting journey, I wanted the viewer to feel almost mesmerized by the travelling motion of the 1st person perspective, picking up on fine details along the way. Creating a genuine 1st person perspective that would mimic that of a real life theme park ride, using camera movements to replicate emotions such as being shocked and then jumping backwards. Using the camera as tool to explore the different possibilities of a 3D world through experimentation with angles, rather than being restricting to a flat 2d world. My scare scenes were aimed at creating a spontaneous shock value by jumping out at the viewer, rather than trying to be to ‘scary’ I wanted to rely on ‘cheap thrills’. To create and eerie atmosphere by developing interesting light, I used the sun piercing down through trees to create realism and deviate away from say a generic 3 point light set up.

The methods I use to develop my ideas were: (brainstorming, , visual research, storyboards etc)

I harnessed existing haunted house rides and existing media for inspiration for the overall theme of the ride, analysing personal horror interests such as Gotham City, Dracula, Resident Evil & Tribal Cultures for lighting, composition and ideas helped construct a mood board to collaborate and future develop concepts and themes. Once I have my ideas together I pinpoint the main essence and start to sketch and storyboard possible props, action sequences, camera angles e.c.t to begin actually constructing my ideas. Once I am making the project I research different techniques and attain information through online tutorials and literature to produce desired effects or to solve particular problems, I may also look at relevant videos at this stage to further my project, such as live footage to replicate in my own work. I will also be collecting feedback, evaluating and refining in the future to develop my ideas even further and getting a higher quality outcome.

I took a risk by trying something new. (Explain):

I decided to experiment with a water reactor in 3DS max which was totally foreign to me and had not been covered in any of the university lectures. It could have gone so wrong as I had no idea how operate it and invested a lot of time developing something I was unsure about. I got the point where I was replying on this to be my main spectacle and was experiencing a lot of errors; luckily I found 1 tutorial out of 100 that fixed the problems I was having, So my risk taking did In the end pay off.

Some of the unexpected problems I had to solve while working were:

Technical problems include: Planes became invisible when I applied bitmaps to them, could not get objects to float on top of my water reactor and had a lot of computer crashes. The main unexpected problem was time restrictions, even though I began this project early on in week one, the final product will not be available till the end of module presentation and my first version was completed to close to the deadline for my liking, I mainly blame the university computers, as leaving my work to render there for 30+ hours was unachievable.

The decisions and choices I made to help solve these problems were:

For the bitmap problem I decided on this occasion to consult an animation lecturer for a solution, rather than sacrificing hours looking for a solution myself that I couldn’t find on the internet, I made use of someone’s personal knowledge. To fix my objects floating on the water issue I began searching online forums for information about how to achieve my desired effect, eventually finding a useful video which solved my problem, I’m happy I chose this approach rather than starting over. To solve my crashing problem I had to first locate the problems at their source, choosing to investigate myself rather than blame the program, I found that through my own mistakes I had not lowered the iteration on some objects, which I later corrected. For my render problems I made the decision to use my home personal computer to render, It is a much more controlled environment to work in and I was able to finally complete my work after 4 failed render attempts at university

The things I have learnt from this particular project were: (Specific examples should be cited.)

That technology always has the possibility to be unreliable; I must take this into consideration for meeting deadlines in a possible future career. I learnt many useful tricks and skills in the 3DS program, I now feel a lot more confident and experience in virtual environments, before I would have had no knowledge on reactors, particles or even motion paths. That lighting plays a huge role in the way objects are perceived in 3DS max; It is similar to film in that notion. Finally that I need to do more research, I jumped into some areas of the project to fast, and problems could have been avoided by a few extra hours of researching.

Areas for improvement , If I were to do this project again I would change or do differently:

I plan to edit this submission for the DP2 presentation, what I will do differently between then and now is firstly arrange a feedback session where I can gather ideas for refinement and improvement, Alter the camera movement to make them far less violent and much more smooth, focus more on the scare scenes and make them flow much better with the mechanics of the ride, tamper with the speed of the ride, add an extra scare scene at the end and an intro scene at the start which enters the ride through an entrance. I would have tested the integrity of a computer before attempting to render to save heaps of time, concentrate more on the lighting and finally research specific areas more in-depth.

A new project that might grow out of my experience maybe:

An animated virtual walkthrough for a client where you can explore a building with accurate modelled spaces and props.

Design Practice 2: Film: Inspiration and Brainstoming (Week One)

We assigned each other roles last Thursday within the group, to do this we discussed and suggested to each other what roles we believed each person should take on, we came to the decisions through a mixture of evaluating the level of experience a particular member could bring to their role and personal enthusiasm towards a role.

Producer - Jordon Brooks
The initial idea for a project should come from the producer, he will oversee the project from conception to completion, he should work closely with the director and the other production staff on the shoot. He should Arrange funding  and be responsible for keeping the production within the allocated budget.
 Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Script management
Director - Najhet
Film directors take overall responsibility for the look, sound and style of a film. The director's artistic vision will guide the work of the film crew as they search for suitable locations, hire the cast, design the sets and lighting, and finally edit and dub the finished recording.
Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Storyboards
Assistant Director - Anita Bhatti
Responsible for maintaining order and discipline on the set, keeping production moving to meet scheduling goals. This person runs the set and is responsible for keeping the director on course with the production day.
Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Script Management
Camera & Lighting - Diana Jones
Operates the camera and is responsible to the DP for composition, focus, camera movement, and anything that comes within the domain of photography.
 Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Storyboards
Secure locations/photos
Sound Design  - Kelly Tang
Responsible to the director for recording and production sound, and for the quality of the mixed and recorded sound during production
Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Secure locations/photos
music
SFX
Editor - (Me) Samuel Dobson
Should selects and assembles the footage to create a story progression in accordance with the director's vision. The editor works closely with the director and camera operator to determine what takes are best used to tell the story.
Assigned Tasks & Responsibility's:
Storyboards

Design Practice 2: Film: Brief

So my film project this time is entitled "Interpretation", I was first put into a group of myself and five other members and told that within this group we were to plan, film and edit a short script which would be given to us  as individual groups. We would have to assign each other roles from Producer, director, camera & lighting, sound design and editor, which I realise from past projects is vital for the organistation, quality and ultimatley the final outcome of a film. This way tasks and objectives can be divided upon the group, creating a much better enviroment to work in.

We were given our script which is called shift, which I interpret as a conspircie story which resides in the thriller/action genre. We began to read and make sence of the short plot, already contemplating possible alterations and new ideas we could envoke.

Short extract:

1 EXT. ALLEYWAY. NIGHT 1
TITLE: White text on black background fades in SHIFT. It shimmers as if a light source is being played across it before the screen fades out to black CHRIS is flat, flat, flat against the wall. Squeezed in as tightly as
possible, Chris listens Nearby we hear footsteps. Someone is creeping along, someone is trying to make as little noise as possible. Panicked Chris dashes through the alley. Chris is pursued by footsteps and shouts. Chris flees

2 INT. BIOCITY RECEPTION. DAY 2
Chris is momentarily blinded by the light shining in through the window. Stumbles, squints, fingers white, grip the briefcase even tighter. Nods to receptionist, hesitates, slows down then nods to security. The revolving door exit seems very far away

3 INT. OFFICE. NIGHT 3
The only illumination comes from the photocopier as it copies. Chris is nervous. Piles of papers fall to the floor. Chris hurriedly picks them up. Listening Chris shuts off the photocopier. Ducking down behind it we see the silhouette of two security personnel at the door

Next we were shown examples of existing short films to draw influences from and to get motivated

The Black Hole:



Good use of budget, clothes portray the actor perfectly as the average Joe office worker, setting the scene for the audience of a average, mundane everday night shift at the office. Good use of sound effects, powerful yet not overly complicated or expensive to use. Good camera compositions, interesting use of mid shots, closeups, macros and POV's, constantly changing to keep interest and variety. Simple gestures by the actor portray emotions of determination, excitement and anxiety. The story is a classic tale of greed made comical.

I am looking forward to getting stuck into this project and will be keeping you informed with the development and production as soon as we assign each other roles and arrange a group meeting, We already have some concepts and ideas which I will post in my next entry. Bye bye

Context 1: Assignment Two: Visual Essay: Brief

It's about time I started to dissect and get to understand the second assignment of the context one module, This essay is to be done in the form of a visual essay and is titled: I am choosing my Pathway because…?

My essay will outline and describe my pathway choice for level two which can either be 1) Moving Image Pathway2) Interactive Media Pathway 3)Virtual Environments Pathway, my thesis will revolve around discussing three industry specific practitioners from my selected pathway, I will use my practitioners to justify, reinforce and explain my reasoning for pursuing a future career  in the industry and also make reference between there work/design concepts and my own work/design concepts (can agree or disagree). There relevance to my my pathway choice will be made apparent by examining and relating myself to there personal idea's and concepts.

Ideas:

Do the works form a conceptual focus, a social conscience? Is it visual dramatic work? Perhaps their work is thought provoking, and innovative in its scope, delivery or execution? Perhaps the work is the antithesis of yours/ the aspirations you have for your work? How does the work reflect on your work and your aspirations?

Martin Scorsese & Quentin Tarantino

Animated Movie Work Board

Enviromental Design team - Ubisoft Max

Various old superhero animated  tv shows - mood board

I must not forget to discuss how my own personal design practice will be altered through selection of a pathway, how this selections will advance my personal development to reach my desired career.

Pathway choice ideas: I have opposing thoughts about which area to focus on at this moment, I used to be highly passionate about film, I watched many films and have produced a dozen personal projects, I wanted to be a film editor, I always enjoyed it. But over the past year I have hit a brick wall with film, It just didn't interest me like it used to, I started playing more games and watching animated shows, I also find animation the more challenging out of the three and I enjoy a challenge, I don't want to simply not pick it because it's hard. I am passionate about both of them but I need to research more in depth into the careers, for example: a successful animator may get paid more but would I go crazy having to spend all those hours behind a desk?

The Three Practitioners:

1) Field Trip’ Practitioner (there were no practitioner that I would like to use for discussing and arguing?)
2) ?
3) ?

Obviously I can't confirm yet but I would like to work with collaborating videos, images, (animation?), text and possibly voice overs into one complete video or PowerPoint presentation. Programs I could use are defiantly 3DS Max, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft PowerPoint. Information can be presented easily through collaborating rather than individual projects. 

I need to come back when I have a solid idea of what future career I would like to pursue, at the moment I defiantly need more inspiration and insight into the areas, possibly from 2nd/3rd years and from people who work in the industry, I don't want to make a life changing decision lightly, i need more information and advice. When I have came to a decision I will update my ideas for my three practitioners

Design Practice 2: Animation: Development (3)

3rd person perspective of boat moving through water

Swamp Plant Life

Fire tourches, waves & bridge

I am in the final process of incorporating my created props and scare scenes into the mechanics of the ride, It's a slow process as I have to check between the perspective viewport and the camera viewport to confirm what the audience will actually see when rendered. I don't want my boat to go through walls or my underwater crocodiles to be visible before I want them, this would ruin the realism and shock values. I want the audience to feel as drawn into this environment as possible, letting them experience the journey spontaneously rather than picking up on errors.

Other interesting things to mention -

I have viewed real life footage from existing theme park rides to remind myself what a first person perspective would look and feel like on a ride, the view of a person would normally be constantly changing due to a mixture of involuntary head movement from the shaking of the cart to the voluntary movement of the person rotating there head to look at the scenery/action.

Through this research the camera in my ride is rarely static, to create an authentic experience I have my camera scanning the surrounding area from my cart to replicate what a real person would do, the audience gets to view props and scenery from different angles all the time rather than just straight on, this give them the opportunity to look at there surroundings in much more detail and overall creates a exiting 3D world to explore rather than being restricted to flat 2D . When action scenes kick in the camera will react accordingly, such as a jump backwards when shocked or a tilted view to normal to represent someone sitting up from being knocked down 

My lighting incorporates the horror genre by lowing the tint and by enabling strong shadows to create an eerie and tense atmosphere, instead of using a mixture of lights or using techniques such as the 3 point, I decided to go with the one dominant light to represent the sun. The sun is the main light source shining down through the canapes of the trees, creating strong rays of lights and shadows from the leafs.

I have added the cliche generic fog that every scary haunted swamp would be lost without. One thing i do need to watch out for is that my fog and lighting do not impede or overwhelm the detail of my objects, I need a good depth of field, for example I want the distance to be distorted and mysterious while keeping the closeup visible and realistic.

Example of how light pierces through the tree tops and how the depth of view is created by fog

Online Research Tutorials:

http://www.xedium3d.com/tutorials/wakes/
http://3drockstar.com/creating-realistic-fire-using-particles-in-3ds-max/
http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/autodesk-3ds-max/making-realistic-water-in-3ds-max/

Problems:

Solved by researching, The fix was to decrease certain iterations

- Shell modifier having to be applied to make planes visible with bitmaps on
- Having to decrease the segments on the water reactor to stop crashing
- Lowering the smooth iterations on my rocks to stop crashing
- Having to find suitable computers to render on for the 30+ hour rendering time