File Structure

Production Meeting #3

Production Meeting #3

Members Present : Ben, and Charlie

The effect that I created was a flying effect. In the clip, I walk into frame and appear to fly into the air. This was achieved in Adobe After Effects; I followed a brief instructional tutorial on YouTube, which explained how to create the effect. Overall, this effect was not too difficult to create.

What Went Wrong
There were a few problems that occurred in After Effects; the frame rate of the raw footage kept slowing down, which made it difficult to play it back. It didn't cause too much trouble, though it was a bit annoying.

 In order to create this effect, we needed to film background footage, with no one in the shot. We didn't film enough background footage, so I had to copy the background footage that we had into multiple layers. This was the main problem that occurred during this effect.

What I Need To Learn
I need to learn how to add sound and other visual elements to this effect; this includes, jumping and flying sounds.
In addition, I will need to learn how the two other effects that we are doing for this project. These include the 'Fire on the finger' effect and the 'Possessed eyes' effect.

Assets

The only assets that we need for this project are Adobe After Effects and the action essentials pack. The special effects software is after effects and we will need the fire footage from the action essentials pack to create the 'Fire on the Finger' effect

Storyboards for Duke Goes To College

Storyboards for "Duke Goes To College" from bengsharrison

Bens Top Trumps

Script locations from bengsharrison

VFX Assets Sheet

Effet #1 Dan with Fire in Hands

Scene: 1

Shot: 5

Location: College Car Park (Outside reception area).

Description: In this shot, Dan will open his hands and create a fairly decently sized flame.

Raw Footage: We will need to shoot Dan opening his palms out wards, to look like he is holding something. This will last only for a few seconds.

Chromakey: Not Needed.

Video Assists: Stock footage of a flame burning in front of a black background.

Virtual Assets: Interactions with light on hands and clothes

Matte Paintings: Not Needed.

Effect #2 Dan with Fire in Hands (Close Up)

Scene: 1

Shot: 6

Location: College Car Park (Outside reception area).

Description: This shot will be similar the the last one, however it will be close up; the flame will have to  be bigger.

Raw Footage: Dan will have his hands open from start to finish.

Chromakey: Not Needed.

Video Assists: Stock footage of a flame burning in front of a black background.

Virtual Assets: Interactions with light on hands and clothes.

Matte Paintings: Not Needed.

Effect #3 Duke With Red Eyes

Scene: 2

Shot: 21

Location: Upstairs Classroom

Decription: The camera slowly zooms in on Duke,he turns to face the camera, he blinks slowly, and when his eyes reopen, you see that they have changed colour from brown to red.

Raw Footage: The camera will zoom into Dukes eyes, he will blink slowly, and hold his eyes open for a few seconds.

Chromakey: Not Needed.

Video Assists: Not Needed, the entirety of this effect will be achieved in Adobe After Effects.

Virtual Effects: Masking, Motion Tracking and Feathering will need to be used.

Matte Paintings: Not Needed

X Men Sounds

X Men Sounds

In the scene from X Men when Charles Xavier talks to Logan about the mutant school, there are many different sound elements that work together, in order to create an affect on the audience.

Voiceover
Voiceover in the scene resembles characters as being like God, in a way that puts them in control.
Charles's voice while he talks to logan is played over footage of kids and teachers in the school, as a voiceover; this creates an affect that Charles is in charge of the school, and is the leader of the 'X Men' group. This is affective as is shows Charles's dominance and importance in the film.
   After the first shots, Charles's voice is only portrayed as a voiceover, and he has the most dialogue. Logan also speaks in the voiceover at 01:17, when he asks about Rogue's future. This shows that even though he is new to the school, he automatically takes a leading role. This tells the audience that he is an important character.

Dialogue

There is not much dialogue in the scene; this lack of dialogue allows the audience to appreciate the visuals of the school, and the grounds more, but also allows them to think about what is happening. It also allows the audience to appreciate the other sound elements such as sound effects and music.

Most of the dialogue is between Rogue and Bobby towards the end of the scene. This establishes their relationship, which means they they obviously like each other. This shows that dialogue, even if there isn't that much, can show relationships between characters.

Visual Effects Research

Scene 1 Shot 5

The first effect in the sequence will be when Dan creates fire in his hands; This will show Dan opening his hands, with a large flame; there may be some interaction with the flame light on his hands as well.
This effect will be created in Adobe After Effects. I will first download a video document of a large flame on a black background. I will change the blending mode of the flame to screen, which will delete the black background and make it transparent.
I can then use motion tracking to keep the flame in Dans hand. I then may add some interactions with light.


Scene 1 Shot 6

The second effect in my sequence is the same as the first, but it is a close up on Dans hands. Just like before, this effect will be created in Adobe After Effects. I will use the same video clip of the fire for this.  I will change the blending mode of the flame to screen, which will delete the black background and make it transparent. I can then use motion tracking to keep the flame in Dans hand. I then may add some interactions with light.


Scene 2 Shot 21

This is the last effect in the sequence, where Duke's face is zoomed in, and we see his eyes change colour from brown to red. This effect will be created in after effects. I will first need to split the clip at the point where Duke's eyes open again, so that I can make the masks last for the whole clip.
I will need to create two adjustment layers, and two null objects, one for each eye. I will create the masks in the adjustment layers, and motion track the eyes in the null objects. I can then link the null objects with the adjustment layers in order to create the effect. I can then change colour using curves, and use feathering to make the effect more realistic.

I will be following this tutorial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx9ZYlqfItY

P1 Production Meeting

After conferring with Reece and Charlie (the other members of the team), we have added the different types of shot and camera movements to the script.
As the script is in three parts, this means that each member of the team has contributed to each part.

The shots and camera movements/angles in the first scene, which involves Duke walking towards the college for the first time, were chosen by myself. As I am the writer of this script, and the opening scene is the most important scene, I chose the shots as i imagined them for the first scene. This includes over the shoulder shots, long shots and mid shots, to successfully introduce the Title character.

The shots for the second part of the screenplay were chosen by Reece. In this scene, Duke meets his friends for the first time. This is important, as the connection between Duke and Katie needs to be recognised. Reece's shots and camera angles best expressed the connection between these characters, as there were some two shots, that show both characters with locked eyes, and it shows that they are obviously in love with each other.

The shots for the third and final scene were chosen by Charlie. This is the scene during the voiceover, where different areas of the college are shown in a montage. Charlie's shots for this scene best showed the college in its entirety, and the ending of the scene with the reveal of Dukes eyes played into the hands of Charlie's slow motion close up shots.

Duke goes to college shots from bengsharrison

180 Degree Rule Diagram

When filming two characters interacting with each other, the 180 degree rule must always be remembered; Imagine that there is an imaginary line going through the line of sight of both characters. If the camera if filming from the left side, the camera must not cut to the other side of the imaginary line.
  You can however change sides of the characters, but only if the camera films the transition to the other side, but then the camera must stay on that side.

The reason why this rule is in place is to avoid confusion for the audience. As the camera is basically the view point of the audience, cutting to the other side of the line makes the audience think that there could be another character when there actually isn't.

This diagram shows that the 180 degree rule is in place. The black line is the imaginary line between the characters view points. The shot on the left, below the line, shows the yellow character on the left being behind the brown character on the right, with yellow facing away from the camera and brown facing the camera. The shot above the line violates the 180 degree rule, showing yellow on the right, and with brown on the left. This confuses the audience, as the point of view has changed.

Character Bios for Teenage Superhero Film

Katie frost character bio from bengsharrison

Dan collinson character bio from bengsharrison

Duke hayes character bio from bengsharrison

Superhero Script

Duke goes to college from bengsharrison

Face Warp Task

Screenplay 1st Draft

Screenplay

Below is my draft screenplay for my short film 'Duke Goes To College' that I created using Adobe Story.

Duke goes to college from bengsharrison

#tweetpitch

Duke Haynes Is a boy with deadly powers who becomes popular in a UK sixth form. Dorian Wallace has the same powers, and they become enemies. #tweetpitch

Teenage Superhero Movie Pitch

Duke Hayes

Hero - Duke Hayes, a 17 year old English born boy. Duke has incredibly dangerous powers; he has the power to kill at will, just by thinking about it, he has telekinesis so strong, that he can change the position of the moon, he can recall the darkest memories of anyone he desires until they go mad, and worst of all, he has the ability to connect with, and contact the dead.

Situation - The year is 2487. Duke is being held at a secure research facility in Germany, as his powers needed to be studied, and he needed to be kept under lockdown, for the safety of mankind. He speaks fluent English, German, Spanish, French and Russian. He has been trained in the arts of Kung Fu, and Tae Kwon Do from the age of five. He is the deadliest human being to ever have existed in history.

New Opportunity - After working for the German secret service, Duke has finally been given the chance to go to a public sixth form college in the UK. He has been under close watch, and he doesn't want to hurt anyone, and never did. He has now learned how to safely control his deadly abilities. He has never been around anyone his age his whole life, so coming to college is a great struggle for him. He comes to the sixth and people start to notice that he is different he is incredibly clever, and in peak physical condition. He develops great amounts of popularity. One boy especially called 'Dorian Wallace' who also has secret, supernatural powers begins to loath him for his popularity, and they become enemies.

Goal - Dukes main goal is to earn respect from the bullies at the college, so that they will leave him alone. He also wants to get the girl of his dreams, and prove that he is more than just a killing machine.

Conflict - Dorian begins to start killing innocent people at the college, and Duke finds out about his powers. They find out that their powers have no affect on each other, and they face off in an epic fight.

Drive Audio Analysis

In the first scene in the film 'Drive', a getaway driver is waiting for two robbers. The driver has a strict rule; he gives the robbers a five minute window to get in and get out before transporting them, otherwise he will leave them.
  In the clip, diagetic and non-diagetic sound is used to create tension, and each have their own purpose; there are many diagetic sound effects such as the ticking watch, the car door sound, the breaking in of the building, the police scanner, the radio and loads more that all have a purpose.
  Audio such as the police scanner, the sirens and the noise of the helicopter all remind the audience that the police know of the crime, and that the robbers are on constant watch by them; it also reminds the audience that the police could catch them at any moment, which creates tension.
  Other sound effects such as the car radio show that the driver is being professional about his work, but also shows that he is mixing business with pleasure. This reflects his lifestyle of being a transporter and a stunt driver.

Ticking Watch

The ticking watch on the cars steering wheel has many purposes; Mainly, it gives off the idea that time is against the robbers; the driver only gives them five minutes between entry and exit of the building before he will drive away, so the ticking watch serves as a constant reminder that time is against the robbers. The ticking continues throughout the entirety of the time the robbers are in the building, which shows that even when the first robber is in the car, that the job isn't over until the second robber is in the car.
  The idea that time is always running out is also brought up by the sound of the ticking which also provides the audience with more tension


The Radio

  The driver in the scene is nonchalantly listening to a basketball game on his car radio during the robbery. This has many purposes; he is being casual, and during this crime, the sound of the game on the radio, brings the character back to the real world, and suggests that robbery is casual. It merges the normal world in with the world of crime which reflects the drivers personality.
  The sound of the radio is referenced at the end of the scene when the driver ends up at the game within the crowd of fans.

The Police Radio Scanner

The police scanner reminds the audience that the driver and the robbers are under constant watch, and also gives them an enemy. This creates tension, as the audience doesn't know if the robbers are going to get away with it or not.
  Another purpose of the police scanner is to show that you don't need to see them to know they are there. Along with the sirens, and police helicopter noises, the police scanner gives the idea that the enemy is always watching you, and they can jump out at any given moment.






Environmental Sounds

There are lots of environmental noises in the clip that help to set the scene, but also to create tension as well. Noises such as crickets, police sirens, the wind, and the sounds of traffic, all produce tension. Mixing the robbers with the police in a public environment with lots of other cars, produces risks of harming the public. This creates more tension.

 Industrial Light and Magic

ILM, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd.,  was founded in 1975 by George Lucas in order to create the VFX for his space epic, 'Star Wars'. Which branches is San Francisco and Singapore, ILM is now one of the leading special FX companies in the world. ILM has created special FX for over 300 films, and has played a key role in 10 of the top 15 worldwide box office hits of all time, while contributing to half of the top 50. For over thirty years, ILM has set the standard for visual FX, and in the process created some of the most stunning images in film.

  Today, ILM features the largest and most advanced digital FX pipeline in the entertainment industry. From the earliest creation of wholly-computer generated characters in Terminator 2 : Judgement day, and Jurassic Park, to the life-like distortions of the human body in Death Becomes Her and The Mask; to the startling breakthroughs in film such as Twister, Star Wars : Episode 1 the Phantom Menace, The Perfect Storm, and Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Mans Chest, ILM is constantly expanding the possibilities of digital imagery.

  A typical project at ILM will be a mixture of concept designs, computer graphics FX, models and miniatures, digital environments, and state-of-the-art animation. An international talent base is represented in an artistic and relaxed environment that mingles fine arts degrees with software engineers, traditional animators, and expert model makers and texture artists with PhD's. Creativity has propelled new technologies into the movie moments that continue to thrill and transport audiences globally.

Misfits Character Analysis Continued...

Simon

Simon is a unique character in the first scene, as he has no dialogue; this implies that he is the quiet, nervous member of the group. He also has very closed body language, as he has the same blank facial expression, and often stands with his hands in his pockets, keeping to himself. In the first scene, Simon is shown looking at his phone; this is a classic sign of awkwardness, and could hint to the audience that he spends a lot of time using his phone. He also makes sure that his hair looks presentable, which means that he cares about his appearance.
  He doesn't interact with any of the other characters; this is shown when Nathan says 'You alright there weird kid' and he doesn't answer. This could mean that he has a lack of social skills, and is constantly on edge. He stands at the edge of the group as well, which means that he wants to separate himself from the group, and wants to avoid and kind of social interaction.
  Simon wears his jumpsuit fully buttoned up with flat collar; this could mean that he likes to look smart. It could also mean that he doesn't want to rebel against his community service, or separate himself from it.

Curtis      

Curtis is shown in the first scene as the dominant alpha male figure; this is addressed as we see that he is in peak physical condition, and likes to take care of his health. This makes him think that he is better than everyone else in the group, so he has a laid back attitude to community service. When the probation worker is talking to them, he says things like 'I shouldn't be here man' and 'Can I move to a different group? This isn't going to work for me'; this asserts that he thinks he's better than everyone else.
  Curtis also has a tribal tattoo on his left shoulder, which shows that he thinks himself as a bit of a hard man, and asserts his dominance among the group.
  Curtis wears his jumpsuit tied around his waist, while wearing a vest. This could mean that he likes to show off his muscles and impress the girls. He also wears a cross necklace, which could mean he is a religious man with morals and who has a lot of faith.
  Curtis also wants to gain friends among the group; this is shown when Nathan makes fun of Kelly's accent, and Curtis joins in saying 'Is that for real?'. This shows that even though he doesn't want to be there, he fells that it wouldn't hurt to try and make friends during his community service.


Kelly

Kelly is first shown in the scene brushing here hair. This immediately shows that she cares a lot about here appearance, and doesn't want to look stupid in front of the other members of the group. Her appearance alone describes her as being a stereotypical chav; She has her hair brushed flat in a ponytail, she wears 'gold' chains and big hooped ear rings, and her accent is very thick. Her presence as a stereotypical chav tells the audience that she is aggressive, swears a lot and is generally not a good person to get on the wrong side of; this is shown when after Curtis puts her down, she says 'What makes you think you're better than us?', showing that she won't take insults from anyone.
  Kelly has a laid back attitude to her community service. This is shown as she is literally laying back on the fence post when the probation worker is talking to the group.
  Kelly wears her jumpsuit with an open collar, to show off her gold chains. This asserts her appearance as a stereotypical chav.


Alisha

Alisha is first depicted in the first scene as the attractive female of the group. She obviously cares a lot about her appearance, and she likes to show off in front of the boys; when they are changing into their jumpsuits, Alisha leaves her top undone, so that the boys can admire her breasts; this could mean that she is a bit slutty, or that she is proud of her appearance.
  She is shown looking into the mirror for most of the first scene which enforces that she likes to look good, or that she is in love with herself.
  Alisha wears her jumpsuit with her sleeves and cuffs rolled up; this also enforces the fact that she likes to look good, and that also suggests that she wants to separate herself from the idea of community service.
  When the probation worker is talking to the group, she is mostly on her phone, which means that she doesn't care at all about her community service, and would rather be doing something else.
  She smiles at Nathan's comments, and laughs at the fight between him and Gary. This shows that she wants to be cool among the group, and also wants to make some friends.

Visual FX in Misfits Episode 1 Season 1

We were asked to watch the first episode of Misfits and list as many VFX as we saw:


04:34  Discolouration from storm clouds
04:37  Storm clouds moving
05:09  Storm clouds getting bigger
05:13  Movement of the Simons camera phone
05:20  Hail stones falling in the distance
05:40  Skyline/Clouds and hail
06:13  Lightning its the group, each fly up in slow motion
06:16  Lightning hits Nathan
06:19  Lightning hits Simon
06:22  Lightning hits Alisha
06:25  Lightning hits Kelly
06:28  Lightning hits Curtis
06:30  Reflection of Storm in Eye
06:37  Group falls in slow motion with more lightning
09:45  Knife goes through door, narrowly missing Gary
13:39  Establishing Shot of the Community Centre
13:43  Lens Flare
15:15  Transition to Nathan at the Lockers
17:35  Simon turns invisible
18:17  Simon is erased from the mirror
19:06  Simon becomes visible and appears in the mirror
29:53  Kelly is hit and falls in slow motion
30:04  Simon, Nathan and Alisha all freeze, with Curtis still standing
30:13  Contra zoom, to Curtis's eye
30:15  The past events are rewinded in the reflection of Curtis's eye
33:22  Curtis touches Alisha and his veins become thicker
33:59  Alisha ouches Simons neck, and his veins become dark blue
38:58  Simon is erased from the mirror
39:38  Curtis's television
39:53  Simon erased from mirror
44:30  Simon turns invisible

Point Break Sound Mix Write Up

What was the task?

We were set a challenge, to recreate all of the sound FX for the popular chase scene in the film 'Point Break'; this two minute scene had been completely stripped of its audio, both diagetics and non-diagetics, and we had to scout the internet to find sound FX for the scene. The scene was uploaded to adobe premiere to edit in the audio.
  This included SFX such as running footsteps, explosions, breaking windows, and many others. This was a tedious task, as I had to be accurate with my sound FX and where I placed them.
  My aim for this little project was to find as many different sound effects as possible; I mainly used websites such as freesound.org and freesfx.co.uk to find all of the necessary sound effects.

We were given some pre downloaded sound effects to import straight into premier, however I managed to download a few more.
  I learned that the reason for adding sound affects rather than just recording the action as it happens with the camera, is to make the sfx louder and more recognisable. Also some sound affects may not be to be recorded such as, the noise of cracking bones, so similar sounds are used instead.

This task was a real eye opener for me, because it introduced me to the world of Sound FX. I now understand a bit more about diagetics and non-diagetics, and how the audio of a scene can sell it completely.

Below is my sequence. It previews my attempt at adding sound effects to the clip from Point Break. I haven't overloaded the clip with sound fx as not to go over the top.

How to export the final piece

Firstly save the file; click Edit, Export. There will be a box that appears where you enter the correct details for your file to be exported correctly. For Youtube, the file needs to be HD and compatible for Youtube 1080p. Then upload the file to youtube, and watch it back to make sure it was exported correctly.

How does the final piece sound?

The sound effects in my clip match the actions the characters are performing; although there are more sound effects that could be added in to make the clip fell more realistic, the sounds that I put in match the clip well, like the explosion, the opening of the door, and when Keanu Reeves smashes through the window. As this is my first attempt at adding sound fx to a clip, I think that it was a good first attempt.

Misfits Analysis

We watched the opening scene of the first episode of Misfit, and were asked to analyse each of the six characters that are introduced:

Nathan

Nathan is first shown in the introduction smoking. This could suggest that he has an addictive personality, which means that in the episode, he will not easily give up on certain things. His jumpsuit has a lot of dirt on it; this could mean that he may not be a nice person to hang around with, or that he can be annoying at times.
  Nathan is the first person to speak out of the group, to try and put himself in a dominant position among everyone else. He begins by questioning that society says some people are born criminals, while pointing at Gary, who is a stereotypical male chav. This shows that Nathan is a free willed individual, who is not afraid to joke about the situation.
He asserts himself as the joker in the group, by making comments about Kelly's accent, and by back chatting to the probation worker. This makes him instantly likeable, but could also mean that he is insecure, as joking around is a common sign of insecurity.
  Nathan's calm voice, vocabulary and lack of swearing show that he is a non aggressive individual, however some of his vocabulary is insensitive, such as when he calls Simon a weird kid, and when he makes fun of Kelly's accent

Napoleon Dynamite Task

We were set a task to recreate a popular scene from the film 'Napoleon Dynamite'. This task entailed stripping down the scene, shot by shot. We were put into groups of four, and we were given a camera and a tripod; My group went around the college filming different parts of the scene using the camera. We made sure that we recreated each shot in its entirety, which meant taking the same script, and recreating he scene with the same characters. I played the part on Napoleon.

  After all of the filming was finished, each of our group members made their own unique version of the scene using the same footage. We uploaded the footage to adobe premiere to do this, and by the end of the task, we all have a video remake of he bike jump scene from Napoleon Dynamite to upload to youtube.

  This was an interesting task, as I had a chance to work with people I hadn't previously work with. It was a challenge, figuring out roles and the location scouting around the college, but i would say that overall the task was enjoyable and challenging.