Improved Shots

We have improved this shot by making the background simpler so it doesn't draw the attention away from the main characters, and it sticks to the framing rule, the cropping rule, the diagonal line rules, and the rule of thirds.

This shot has been improved by taking down the posters so the background is clear, so the focal point remains on the character. The character is also slightly of centre so it doesn't break the rule of an image not being able to be central.

This image is improved by blurring out the background so the character is the focal point, but we can still see where the character is, letting the audience set the scene and to help them understand where it is. The character is off to one side so the rule of thirds applies here.

This image is improved because it is off the centre, therefore the rule of thirds applies here. Also, the background isn't as cluttered and it still sets the scene, and the diagonal lines apply well to the scene (you can see them on the ceiling).

This shot is improved by the simple background, therefore the focal point of the character is not deterred by a cluttered background with posters and so on. The shot has made the most of the space, so no cropping is needed, and therefore the framing is good in this shot.

This shot is better than the original because the background is not busy, but there is still a sign to show where the characters are. The rule of thirds works here because there are no central characters in the shot, they are off to one side.

New Animatic - Pictures

Composition Analysis Grid

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over the footage, frame by frame, to be used in live-action and animated films. In the visual effects industry, 'rotoscoping' refers to the technique of manually creating a matte painting for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.

Photo from Wikipedia

History of Rotoscoping:

• The technique was invented by Max Fleischer, who used it in his series called Out of the Inkwell, starting around 1915, with his brother Dave Fleischer dressed in a clown outfit as the live-film reference for Koko the Clown. Max then went on an patented the method in 1917.
• Fleischer used rotoscoping in a number of his later cartoons, including his most notable cartoons - the Cab Calloway dance routines in three Betty Boop cartoons from the early 1930s, and the animation of Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels (1939).
• Leon Schlesinger Productions, which produced the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros., produced cartoons that were geared more towards exaggerated comedy, and used rotoscoping only occasionally.
• Rotoscoping was used extensively in China's first animated feature film, Princess Iron Fan (1941).
• More recently, in 2013, the anime The Flowers of Evil was criticised by viewers for using rotoscoping to achieve a look that different greatly from its manga source material. The main problem existed in cutting corners in animating facial features, reusing several backgrounds, and taking liberties in realism (being free and experimental with it).

A use of rotoscoping being used is in Boromir's death in Lord Of The Rings (1978). The use of rotoscoping is effective because it makes the animation more convincing, as the background is still so you can't notice the effect taking place - meaning it's done its job well.

We could use the rotoscoping technique in After Effects by using the 'rotobrush'.

• Locate the rotobrush in the top tool bar (it is similar to the quick-selection brush)
• Begin to paint around the image and a pink outline will appear
• To show the rotobrush what you don't want selected, hold down the Alt (or option) key and paint over what you don't want to be selected - you are training the rotobrush to show what you don't want to be in the shot
• When you press play it tracks the movement of the pink outline
• Go back to the composition view to see what has been cut out
• Turn the rotobrush into 'refine matte' to smooth out the harsh edges.

Working between Premier and After Effects

Four ways to work between Premier Pro and After Effects:

1.
File - Export - Change format to 'Quicktime' - Change Preset to 'Custom' - Change Video Codec to 'PNG' - Click Export

2.
Highlight clips that you want to move to After Effects - Right click - Scroll down to 'Replace with After Effects composition' - After Effects will then come up with the clips imported (to avoid losing the clips from Premier Pro, before you go on 'replace with after effects composition', duplicate the clips before)

3.
 - Go onto Premier Pro - Move Premiere Pro over to the right, so that after effects is in the background - Go to the project panel - Drag and drop sequence into after effects

4.
Save work on Premiere Pro - Go onto After Effects - Double click the Project Panel - Select Premiere Pro Project - Import as Footage - Click 'Open' - Choose your footage from dialogue box which comes up.

Shoot Location Images

Above: Corridor towards the Library

Above: Outside of the college where the characters meet for the first time

Above: The school canteen/refectory where the apocalypse takes place

Above: The containers/the back of the college where Reece gets beaten up

Above: The classroom that will be used as Reece's home

Above: The bathroom that will be used to film Reece's transportation scene

Good Shots

This is a good shot because you capture the feeling of being towered over by the bully, and the background is quite simple so the eyes are still drawn to Matt, however there is enough in the background to know about the kind of place the character is in.

This is a good shot because the background is blurred, making Callum the main focus. The way the character is looking down slightly helps you to pick up on the fact that he's talking, and the shot isn't breaking the rule of thirds because the face isn't central.

This is a good shot because is shows a clear example of using diagonals and leading lines to set the tone of the shot - for example it's an empty, open space and the character is looking down, suggesting he is sad/lonely.

This is an example of a good shot because the background isn't distracting, and the characters fill the frame well. The way the cropping of who is holding Callum's shoulder makes the shot interesting because you don't know who it is.

This is an example of a good shot because the viewpoint is creative and interesting, the background is simple so the focal point isn't pulled away from the main character, and it isn't a central shot (which is bad).

This is a good shot because the framing is right, the characters are filling the space, there is 'space to move', they are avoiding the middle, and there is a balance of elements because of the two characters on each side of the shot.

Bad Shots

This is a bad shot because the focal point is too central, which is breaking the 'rule of thirds' rule and Katie is making direct eye-contact with the camera. There is also quite a lot going on in the background (even though it's slightly blurred) so that takes your eye away from the focal point of the character slightly.

This is a bad shot because there is too much going on in the background, so it takes the focal point away from Callum being grabbed. The background basically deters the eye from the main character.

This is an example of a bad shot because again, the characters are too central and the background deters the viewers' eyes from the characters, however it also is bad framing because the cars in the background draw you eyes to them instead of the main characters.

This is a bad shot because of the viewpoint - you can't see the expressions of the other characters, and Callum is looking straight ahead at the camera instead of the characters, suggesting that they're just standing there and not talking at all.

This is a bad shot because there is too much going on: the exposure is too bright, you can't see the characters reactions, you can't tell what the characters are actually doing, the folder is open to show all of the shots, the table and characters are central, there is too much going on in the background, and there is no balancing of elements.

This is a bad shot because the foot and glasses are too falsely placed so they look unrealistic. Furthermore, there is no depth in the image so it's not very interesting, and there is no rule of thirds being applied to this image.

Post Production Design Sheets #2

Matte Paintings Research

Matte paintings are painted representations of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is nonexistent in real life or would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Matte paintings can be used very effectively to add to the setting of the film, when used correctly.


History of Matte Paintings:

• Matte paintings were made by artists using paints or pastels on large sheets of glass for integrating with live-action footage.
• The first known matte painting shot was made in 1907 by Norman Dawn (ASC), who improvised the crumbling California Missions by painting them on glass for the movie Missions of California.
• Well known traditional matte painting shots include Dorothy's approach to the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz, Charles Foster Kane's Xanadu in Citizen Kane, and the bottomless tractor-beam set of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
• By the mid-1980s, advancements in computer graphics programs allowed matte painters to work in the digital realm. The first digital matte shot was created by a painter Chris Evans in 1985 for Young Sherlock Holmes for a scene featuring a computer-graphics (CG) animation of a knight leaping from a stained-glass window.

 

The Wizard of Oz is an example of a film that has used matte painting, for example when they are approaching the Emerald City. It was used because there is nothing in real life resembling Emerald City and they couldn't afford to build a city, obviously, so the only option there was, was to draw it as a matte painting. I find this matt painting convincing considering that it is an old film, however the quality of the drawing isn't perfect, as the characters are quite faint and washed out compared to the image. I think that the background looks slightly stylized, however it suits the theme of the movie because it's not meant to be natural and normal.

Production Design

Post Production Meeting - VFX

I practised the teleportation effect when Callum teleported from the containers to the toilets.

What went wrong?
After we shot the scenes for Callum's teleportation effect, we realised we hadn't taking a picture/still image before which we could put as the background so it looked like Callum disappeared. Once we had sorted that out, we could continue making our scenes.

What did you struggle with in After Effects?
 I struggled with how fiddly After Effects is. It is very easy to miss a step when using a tutorial as a guide, but luckily I took my time to watch it, and kept running it back to make sure I didn't miss anything important.

What do you need to learn?
I need to learn how to create the other visual effects that we will use in our sequence; the other visual effects we have is flexibility, invisibility and levitation. I will learn to do these the same way I learnt how to do the teleportation effect - with the YouTube After Effects tutorials.

What 'assets' do you need?
The assets we will need for our film is just make up and costumes for the people who are to be our zombies because we can do everything else with After Effects.

Location Recce Part One - Script/Shoot Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These show the different locations in our script, and where we are going to shoot them.

Still images of storyboard shots - Part one

Location Recce - Part one