Editing

The video was edited using mainly Adobe Premier Pro. This was because both me and Ryan had previously used this program in the past and plus the easy work flow it offers with the other adobe programs, such as Adobe After effects and Adobe Speedgrade. This saved us having to render the video over and over again when transferring the file between programs which we would have to do if we were using a program such as Final Cut Pro X. This saved us both time and memory, two things we needed to use wisely. 

Premier pro is a really good piece of software for editing. It allows us to easily sort and arrange the footage/files into "bins" to clarify the source so we know which camera we are looking at and where to find the audio etc. Using dual monitors it allowed us too watch either the source image or the output on a larger screen to determine whether it was right for the sequence (In focus, right colours etc). We then linked this with an after effects project, so that if we wanted to edit any one of the individual clips then we could send it into the after effects project and render directly back into the timeline. This was helpful was filmed some footage upside down using the steadi-cam so we could get closer to the floor. We then just reversed this in after effects and put it back into the timeline. 

The sound was edited mainly in logic pro, once pieced together it was then exported back into the timeline in premier pro. 

Filming

On the day of filming we made sure we arrived early so we had plenty of time for filming in the daylight, especially as we are entering the winter seasons so the days are shorter. We had made a list of equipment that we needed, some involved being signed out of the CLR, to bring down. 

Once arrived at the location we set up all the equipment and took some test shots of the scene, I brought my laptop so that we could view the image on a bigger screen to make sure the picture was all right and working before we filmed the whole scene. 

Everyone had been set there jobs and it was perfect that we had six people in our group because it allowed all the actors to focus on their jobs and then we could have one person per camera and a set person for the sound.

Me, Louis and Eliz were acting in the video. Ryan was the main tracking camera, using my Canon 60D and a steadi-cam. Imogen was on the the second camera (Ryan's Canon 550D) while being attached to a Video Heavy duty tri-pod. Miranda had a Seinheizer 416 mic attached on boom into a Zoom recorder which we then were going to use to replace all the sound recorded on the camera. Me and Ryan mainly directed the shots and overall video. 

We already had a story board drawn out between us and had previously been to the location the day before so everyone had a more than rough idea of the what was being shot and where. We started to shoot in chronological order so it would be easy in finding clips and videos when in post production. The name of the soundtrack was announced on camera when filming to allow us to easily synchronise these later. 

The majority of the video was filmed on my Canon 60D with the steadi-cam. This was because we wanted the majority of the shots to be moving, to try and add to the dynamic attitude of the video. With the purposely shaking footage it made the scene look a lot more intense and realistic than when comparing to the footage of the stand still camera. This exaggerated the speed of the chase as well. Despite it being a steadicam we were quite rough with the piece so that it still gave a significant amount of shake to the footage. A steady glide to the image would have not help establish the energetic and frantic atmosphere we were looking for in the chase scene. 

We also used my Go pro hero 3 Black edition attached to my ski helmet to give a stable first person point of view camera. I used this to get some shots of me spray painted on the wall to running down one of the pathways.  We still made sure we linked the audio from the main microphone to the go pro footage because the sound was not at all good enough in comparison. Especially from what we learned during the sound design week that sound has a huge role on the effect on the overall feeling and atmosphere of the piece. 













Our main problem that we occurred during the day was the lack of light in the actual warehouses. With no access to electricity or no generator we were't able to provide any extra lighting. This meant we would have to try and make the most of daylight hours and shoot as much into the light as possible to reduce the grain. We did have reflectors with us which we were planning on using for stand still still shots however nearly all of the footage included some sort of movement which basically rendered the reflectors useless. 

I also had my on top spot light which i use for portrait photography however this created a very small artificial light which only was shown on where the camera was pointing. This made it very noticeable to the viewers and wasn't suitable for the actual video. 

We did try to place it on the floor in places but the light wasn't powerful enough to make a significant distance when placed in an area far enough away that it wouldn't be picked up on camera. This meant we had to stick with the warehouses where a lot of light was available for use. 


Overall I think filming went very well. If I was going to change anything about the shoot I'd probably look into possibilities on getting hands on a generator to be able to possible work some flash lights. 

I also would maybe think of filming over two days because as the day began to stretch on people were getting stressed on whether we were going to be able to finish filming before it actually got dark. I didn't want to have to rush filming and miss something however we didn't have the time in terms of our deadline to be able to come back a second day and film again. 

Location and Video Planning

The Location for the chase scene was supposed to be an abandoned building which was easily accessible and large so there are broad places to run across and film at wide angles. There was an abandoned building that Miranda and I knew of called "the Klinger" perviously owned by Richard Klinger Limited. 

This is a few warehouses all linked together just outside of Bexley and Sidcup quite close to where we live. Me and ryan first went and explored the place to make sure it was safe and that there was easily was to get in safely and big enough to take a load of equipment with us when we were going to film. 

Once we were happy we then went back with the whole group to plan out the actual chase sequence and see the path route of what happens and where.

I brought chalk with me could mark out the route of whats going to happen and where people are going to run on the floor. This could help us visually see how the video was going to pan out and so that we could easily explain situations to each other in the group. These could easily be washed off with water if needed and also can help the actors with which directions they need tog when actually running in the scene.

The main problem with location was the amount of broken glass and other material on the floor. This could be a health and safety problem so when we were planning the route of the chase scene we made sure we stayed away from all potential hazards. We also removed all loose objects from the ceiling and made sure the ground was stable in all of the buildings so that we wouldn't have to worry about this on the day of filming. 

A Chase Scene Construction

For our broadcasting stage, we have been set the task of creating a 1 minute long chase sequence. We were put into groups and watched a number of iconic chase sequences to give us both an idea of the different chase sequences we could pursue (emotional, action, comedy etc) and to give us some inspiration to what a chase sequence should be made of/what makes a successful chase sequence. 

After this we started to brainstorm over the different ideas and scenarios we could film for a chase sequence. The first thing started thinking about was based around the concept of a child running away from the monsters underneath his bed. 

We were looking at filming the whole scene in the night as a child runs from his bedroom and then animating "monsters" either drawn or through computer generation over the top. However we quickly realised that this could force a high work load onto one person, the animator, who necessarily wouldn't be able to fill and draw over every frame in time for the deadline. 

This progressed in a trade to an adult running away from there fears; such as debts and responsibility with the possibility of a flash back to when they were a child running away from the monsters under their bed. The main problem with this idea is that the opening introduction of this story was going to be narrated so that the general idea behind the chase could be understood by the audience. However we were briefed that the chase sequence has to include minimal if not no dialogue, which could potentially leave the audience extremely confused with what was going on. We were also informed that we were avoid flash backs at all costs which also takes a big chunk of the idea out of the video. 

With this we decided to redraw up a new idea of something that fits more of the brief. One of tutors said to try and relate it something personal so I came up with the idea of a couple of people running away from security in an abandoned location when they were spray painting.

The location of an abandoned building is quite a unique scene to film in offering visually a quite excitable environment and could play well with the whole chase sequence. 


Once we had this plan I made a list of possible ideas and locations we could shoot at. Once a general idea had been established we started to draw up a an idea timeline with possibilities and different shots to offer. 

This showed possible "oh fuck" situations to endings and intros to the scene. We then could film a number of different number of sequences to offer us multiple opportunities when editing. We could also then get advice and feedback from the tutors on what they thought would fit the brief and suit the story best. 

Sound Design - Progression

As the week progressed we spoke with one of our tutors about our project or "journey" they questioned about what we were actually going to record and the amount of time that was actually going to be involved editing the sequence and piece together, although being narrowed mind we were convinced the project was nothing we couldn't handle.

However after a couple of days of collecting separate clips for the timeline and experimenting with how we were going to record and manipulate sound dialogue to make it appear that it was a radio transmission we realised the depth of what we had got ourselves involved in. It was at this point that we started brainstorming again for another story. With the idea that we had come up with, it was something that shouldn't be rushed and spoilt just to fit in with the two week time limit. 

We also felt that the idea we wanted (key moments of the last hundred years) was going to majority made up of things that we couldn't actually record. This kinda defeated the brief of the task as well which could result in some very negative feedback. 

After some thought and floating ideas, I came up with the idea of the journey and creation of a paper plain. So it would start with a child playing and creating the paper plain then progress to throw the plain and the obstacles/events that the paper plain could actually encounter during its flight. This idea allowed us to record multiple sounds that we could make and layer them, sticking to the brief  It is also a slightly unique idea, something that the audience may not understand at first but as the sound plays will let them relate too. 

The Journey Of a Paper Plain

For creating our sound design journey, we used a rhode mic to directly record into one of our cameras as a movie file. We then media encoder to automatically convert the video files into mp3 so we could edit them in audition. We rendered the final file as a WAV however to upload it youtube so I could post on my blog I re-rendered it as a video as a .mov file. All of the clips used in the journey were able to be recorded in our houses, as they were all activities that took place in a house hold. 

We story boarded the journey out on a piece of paper and went along ticking each piece we had recorded to make sure we had all the necessary files before going onto to edit them. We originally planned on the bulk of the story going to be the paper plane flying and the obstacles it overcomes in the process. However we felt that for the audience to recognise what was going there would have to be a significant introduction to the building of the plane, and when we had listed all these things there was not much room for the actual flight.

This meant we had to make a difficult decision to cut the previous plans and focus on the creating of the plane. Once we had our story board we recorded the sound to piece together. Most of the sound was pretty straight forward to record however there were some sounds that we knew we were going to struggle to record in a high quality such as heavy wind and the sound of children laughing, this ultimately ended up with us getting these sound effects off the internet.

We edited the whole piece using Adobe audition which was extremely user friendly, it also allowed us to transfer the files directly from media encoder into audition without having to render them, which you would have to do if you were sing an external software and takes memory/time. This program had everything we needed to create the piece making it simple and easy for novices to blend, reverse and re-master tracks to fit in the sequence. 

I enjoyed making the sound design project because it made me fully appreciate the technicality of sound in the media industry. I know understand how important background noise and distance of the microphone from the subject can make a huge difference in the quality of the sound and how frustrating it can be to have to re record pieces because of a creak in the floor board or some cars driving past at the wrong moment. 

However it has strengthened my enjoyment for photography and film and reinforced the fact that I do not want to be the microphone guy. 

My main plus I have taken from the project is that it has made me realise how realistic I have to be when filming scenes that involve audio, because a shot with rubbish audio looks extremely tacky and low quality. 

Sound Design Task Brain Storming

For our sound design week we have been a set out to create a one minute sequence telling a story completely auditory. After a day of brain storming different ideas, me and ryan came up with a concept of a synopsis of the last hundred years, made up of significant media and political events. 

We had a few other ideas, such as the journey from our houses to college every morning and the experiences we feel and hear every day or maybe the build up to a boxing/martial art fight. The whole process of training and getting ready however after some consideration and playing devils advocate we wanted to do something out of the ordinary and not very predictable. 

Firstly we looked at the music industry and three genres of music we are going to be considering are Hip Hop, Rock and Pop music as these are the most general/popular areas. As the sequence only has to be a minute long I came up with a few artists that represent and change the course of these genres.

For Hip Hop I thought of NWA, Public Enemy, Run DMC and Eminem, each have had huge hits and influences within the genre. For Rock was The Beatles, Nirvana and Elvis. For Pop was Michael Jackson, Brittany Spears and Madonna

Next I thought of a few historical moments in time either political or general that are extremely recognisable from Houston's "We have touch down" on the moon to Churchills "We are at War" and "The War is over" speeches. Then finish on something more recent like the New Year "Welcome to the Millennium" 2000 firework speech.

When constructing the actual sequence we are planning on staging the whole sequence as a radio transmission. As the sequence progresses the quality of the sound will improve to reflect time. We also be able to use this to our advantage as static and general distortion of sound can be used when mixing the individual recordings together. We are also going to be working by the process of elimination. Gathering all the individual parts together and then deciding on what sounds right at the time to whether it will make the final cut, however the main sequence is going to be chronological order of when they actually happened. This will save us a lot of time not having to storyboard the sound to what sounds right. 

Dave Ma

Dave Ma is probably my favourite photographer because of the style of photography he takes and the subjects he focuses on. Ma is an american photographer that bases most of his work on real life scenes across urban US, but then photographs them in a very artistic nature so that they all look real. A mix of set up and street photography Dave Ma is mainly known for some of his video work for bands like Foals and another video called Claire De Lune. I think his cinematographer work reflects also on the framing and style of his photos, for example a lot of his photos are in the cinescope ratio.

Two of my favourite photos (shown below) are taken by Dave Ma. These are landscape photos of the abandoned town near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. This nuclear reactor had a meltdown resulting in an explosion positioning a lot of the surrounding area with high levels of radiation making it completely inhabitable. Within this area is a town called Pripyat, which was evacuated within hours of the incident making it a ghost town. Whole buildings and houses were left with all the inhabitants possessions inside because of the radiation poisoning making it an urban explorers and photographers dream. After years eventually the radiation levels have depleted low enough for people to make short visits and Ma captured two photos which perfectly sum up the surrounding area. 

The first is of the town gymnasium and swimming pool completely empty and overgrown. The second is a rooftop view from the hotel overlooking the edge of the red forest and other council flats surrounding the area. The images connote an idea of peaceful destruction and these are the main reasons which lead me to urban exploring.  

Ma also has a clever photos from scenic shots of city everyday experiences like the park and markets. Each one of these photos share a story and experience with the viewer making them but visually and theoriticallly attractive.

http://www.davema.tv

Animation Production

With our animation we chose to do a story of how a poor girl stumbles across a magic wand, which had fallen out richer persons pocket, and uses it to get all the things she wish she had. However in the process realises that the rich boy she originally saw and turned poor himself and was using it for the same thing. Even though the animation is only supposed to last 30 seconds with the story we are going to do and the platform we are using to create it there was a high chance it would last longer. 

The animation was made using adobe photoshop and adobe after effects. Firstly we made sketches and drawings by hand on paper which were then later redrawn in photoshop using a bamboo graphics tablet. I then imported the .png files into after effects and animated it from there. The only problem with this was that I was the only one who knew after effects well enough to make the production. However the majority of this was key framing positions, scale and rotation which meant I could do it relatively quickly. 

The final piece came out ok, however if I was going to improve upon this and had my time again there would be a number of things I would change. Firstly I would include some sound, both background music and effects as this would make a big difference for the audience to know what was going on (Eg footsteps for walking). Then I would draw the backgrounds up as did you other artworks as the background and also focus more on little details to make a better animation like the time spent on each frame and the camera angles of shots etc. 
  
I did enjoy making the animation because it let me brush up on a program that I hadn't used it for a while. It also reinforced how complicated animation is and how much I appreciate special effects and motion graphics. 

Animation Ideas

So for our animation project we have been grouped and set the task of creating a 1 minute animation of some kind. Either stop motion, south park style or computer animated etc. The story has to fit the theory of equilibrium and the protagonist has to occur some sort of battle to ultimately be better off.

We were set off to think of different animation stories separately and then meet the next day to share with the group and choose which seemed the best. After discussion the best story we decided to do was one of a small poor girl in face. She looks into a cake shop filled with wonderful bright and colour cakes. Then a little girl walks up to her which is also poor and the girl shares her last piece of bread with her. After this she sits down on her own and eventually the shop owner invites her into the shop where she is allowed to eat as many and what ever cake she chooses.

However then the camera cuts to a shot outside of the cake shop and the audience actually see that the girl has died outside and gone to heaven, which in her case the warm cake shop where she is happy and has all the food she can eat.

Although quite a dark story I personally thought the twist was quite unexpected and good. Tom didn't agree with us calling quits there and asked us to explore further with lots of different situations that could occur. We came up with the idea that the shop owner could turn out to be her long lost grand father and the family is re united, or the girl sees the story in the future and then refuses to share her bread and survives. There were plenty of weird and wonderful ideas. 

Animation Practise

After a couple of days of looking at different forms of animation and the different techniques used in the production, we were split into groups in which we were going to create our own. We were asked to draw a photo of something that had some sort of significance to our lives recently, therefore I drew the logo of a festival I went to with my friends in croatia called Hideout. We then passed our drawings to the person next to us and made a tracing of their drawing.

These were then our start and end point, our task was then within 12 frames animate our first picture to change and morph into our last one. My last frame was a picture of a foam hand which had no relationship to my logo. Therefore I chose to draw an animation of the hideout logo peeling off the wall, as it was a sticker, and then fly into a wall causing an explosion. This explosion would expand to reveal the foam hand.

After a day of drawing we each had our animations and realised that these then linked together to create one longer and potentially constantly looping animation. The video is below. 

We produced the video by setting up my camera on a tri-pod. We then placed the paper under neath and took a photo of each drawing individually, which would be a frame of the video. We then imported these into istopmotion, a simple program easily designed for this type of video. We set the pictures to take up 2 frames as a cart of a 30 fps (frames per second) video and rendered from there. We had a problem with time and the end of the video ended up not rendering correctly cutting out the morph back into my logo. 

(My part is the first scene of the sequence)