NTU Multimedia Year 3 (07/08)

The NTU Multimedia Year 3 (07/08) blog/journal can be found here.

3DANIM - Stage 3 - Portfolio Short - Evaluation

My main objective in this stage was to advance on what I already know by improving the work created for stage 2. My primary objective was to focus on continuity and I did this in the following way(s):

1. Naming the console the iConsole 1080 (first one (stage 2) was called the iConsole)
   
2. Changed the 'Simplicity is Amazing' from the end of the first video to 'Simplicity is still amazing...', as a direct reference to the original.
   
3. Explaining that the release date for the iConsole 1080 is 2009 (the iConsole was 2008).
   

As well as focusing on the continuity, I improved my model/overall work from stage 2 in the following ways:

1. Made the overall scene more stylish. Instead of the black background and water-based reflection of the console found in the first video, I opted for a bright, cloudy background with the sun shining from the top-right and the lighting on the model reflecting this.
   
2. I made the lighting/shadow more prominent, primarily due to the 'sunlight' now visiable as opposed to the dark appearing found in the first video.
   
3. I have created dust particles that slowly and randomly fall onto the console from above, as if you could see the dust through the light as you see in some adverts that showcase their products.
   
4. I made the console silver which gave it a sleaker look. The original iConsole was sky-blue.
   

I would have liked to have made the following improvements:

1. Made the dust particles smaller and therefore look more realistic.
   
2. Found a way to animate the screen on the front of the console with a motion video or something similar. I couldn't figure this out in stage 2 and I am still finding it difficult to do even now.
   
3. Made the silver console shinier.

AVPROD - Stage 4 - Evaluation

MD101 & Mic

I have decided to buy a MiniDV camera and microphone for myself so I can use them to self-learn through the summer break. The primary contender is the Canon MD101 ('ZR800' model in the USA) which is £175 and has a connector for an external microphone (which is apparently rare for a camera of this level). I am still researching microphones.

AVPROD - Stage 3/4 - Nearly Done

Stage 4 of 5 for Audio/Visual Production is nearly up and I can't lie, it's been an absolute struggle for me. The latest problem, which is potentially a huge one (I have e-mailed Deb so we'll see), is the fact that I have seriously struggled with Adobe Premiere and since I took so long with learning and doinging the filming and capturing (due to have no previous knowledge before this stage and having lots of other work to do in other modules (also starting the work in those from the beginning)), I didn't get much time to learn how to edit and actually do it so I resorted to using a program I know how to use. This is the embarassing part but let me explain.

First, it's Windows Movie Maker. Yes, you heard me. However, as I said, let me explain. Windows Movie Maker 2.1 and WMM for Vista are very capable of capturing and arranging DV AVI clips whilst leaving them untouched. So, my plan was to (and is) to:

1. Capture the entire tape using WMM.
2. Slice the footage using WMM.
3. Save the sliced footage as individual clips.
4. Edit the clips (coloring etc.) in Premiere and save them.
5. Use WMM to arrange them.
6. Export the 90 second film (again, retaining DV AVI) using WMM.
7. Converting to appropiate codec using VirtualDub.

So yeh, WMM is basic but it won't screw with the DV AVI footage and I knew I had to make a decision. Time was tight and I managed to submit a film that was at least acceptable whereas this wouldn't have been possible if I had started to learn using Premiere.

However, I understand I still need to learn how to use Premiere in the industry and I have no problem with this. I am lookng forward to learning. So much, in fact, that I am in the process of buying a MiniDV camera and some books to study and practise using over the summer break.

PD4C - Enlisted More Help

I have decided to enlist the help of three friends for small acting parts. They are Rupert Cawte, Stuart Prior and Tom Steer.

Tom Steer will also be at the video camera during filming in case of swift theft.

PD4C - Lone Ranger

I decided to e-mail Julius. I asked that if we decide not to use team/crew help in our Production and Direction for Camera module, will it affect our overall mark.

He told me he would hope that I would use crew. He told me that he had just marked a final year project that suffered from the director trying to "do it all" and said that it seems to him to be a non-traditional way of working but that is my decision to make at the end of the day and that he will be marking what he sees on screen. He told me he would still expect to see similar production documentation as to a 'crewed' piece of work and that ultimately crewing is perfectly normal abut if you decide to go another way then he would hope that I would discuss the reasons why on my journal, which is what this entry is about :)

So yeh, I decided to go this alone as it's not a huge project, mainly a camera on a tripod and it filming me acting (I use that word loosely, though!) You'd have to see the final piece to work to see how I am justified :)

3DANIM - Stage 2 - Advertisement - Evaluation

Background

I am truly terrible at 3D animation due to, if I'm honest, having no major interest in this specific area of multimedia therefore having no 'push', as well as generally struggling with complicated software in general (remembering where to go, what to do etc. within the program).

In light of this, I made my decision to keep my advertisement as simple as possible.

Overview

My intention was to create an advertisement for a video game console, Project ‘Pariah’. I wanted to push the design of the advertisement and the console itself to be modern, appealing and exciting. I came up with a number of designs in the planning stage and one was chosen to be used in my final work. It was design number 3 of my 4 ideas and was designed similar to the Nintendo GameCube in one way or another, but with added features. It contains a slot-load drive, an LCD status screen and four controller ports on the front, with the logo on the top.

The console is basically a box. I implemented all of the features (drive, screen and ports) into my model but I didn't know how to texture one single surface of the cube so I couldn't add the logo.

Making the model animated (spin slowly around) was easy enough but I couldn't figure out how to have a spotlight shining down (literally showing the light, with dust particles subtly floating inside) so I chose to light the model using a standard, invisible light.

Adding sound originally caused a problem as two different microphones that I had used recordered too quietly on my computer so I went to plan B and instead of a voiceover, I used ambient and 'spooky' music to set tension for this 'new and upcoming console'. I believe it turned out for the better.

Improvements

I would have liked to have had soft edges around each corner of the cube. I would also have been nice to texture it, and perhaps even have an animated texture on one small part (the LCD status screen). As was mentioned above, a spotlight shining down onto the model from above with visible light and perhaps dust particles would have been a nice touch.

Word count: 371

GENERAL - My progression so far in this year...

Stage one submission in Production & Direction For Camera and stage three sumbmission in Audio\Visual Production are approaching fast and I am worryingly behind.

I can't lie, juggling three modules (that I had no experience with before I began a year into the course), as well as SPP2 and a job (among other things) is tough. I'll keep battling on but I am behind and I doubt I'll be able to catch up on the year I missed so eventually, I'll come to a grind, but until then I'll keep trying.

Wish me luck.

AVPROD - Paternity Ward

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2795642

What I liked

The change from the beginning to end was very noticable and in a fou minute comedy clip, it's quite an achievement to successfully pull off. In this case, the two guys are congratulating each other on their new children and generally being standard men in the situation they're in, happy and content. Things change pretty soon after as the two men start wondering what their kids could be like in the future, only for the one on the left to start taking 'diggs' at the one on the right's kid (to which he becomes naturally annoyed, but keeps cool). After having enough, he has a go back but the guy on the left relaxes and says he is fine with however she grows up. It doesn't strike me as confusing at first, i assumed he was actually just a decent, open-minded guy, but at the end, you find out the mother of the baby died giving birth and that he intended to sell the baby!

What I disliked

To be honest, I thought everything was well made. If I were doing the same shoot, I'd have perhaps suggesting a quick pan to the babies but who knows, I may have decided to cut it like this director perhaps did.

PD4C - Portfolio Exercise - Still Image Narrative

This is the first version of the composition and is likely to be the final. I just need to add the audio now...

3DANIM - Stage 1 - Station Ident - Evaluation

Of the three modules I chose to study (Advanced Animation, Audio/Visual Production and Production & Direction For Camera), I found this one the hardest. This is due to the fact that I had never previously opened an animation package before beginning this advanced module owing to not being in the first year at this university and therefore not doing the ‘introduction’ to animation work. Also, combined with the relatively steep learning curve of the program and the demands of work from the other modules and work outside university, I struggled overall.

I did, however, learn a number of things:

• I know how to create objects, change their sizes, move/adjust them etc., bend, squeeze, twist etc. them and animate them using auto-key.
• I can apply a texture from a bitmap and apply a number of different types of lighting (although some were experimental). I messed around with bump-mapping etc., but haven’t quite figured out how to do it successfully yet.
• I originally couldn’t figure out how to render the animation to a video file in high quality. I did find the Animation > Make Preview dialogue, but it produced low-quality videos. I found out how to correctly render videos after some research, including how to make sure it outputted at 720x576.

I came across a few problems:

• I can animate using auto-key fine, but it only worked when I changed the models in some way. Whenever I moved the lighting too, it didn’t move when I played back the timeline.
• I also could not get the IK solvers to work (for bending legs etc.), but I think that was because it was just too far ahead of what I could do for the time being.
• I struggled to be able to animate for 30 seconds, as the timeline only displayed 100 frames, which is three seconds and I could not find out how to change this (I tried right-clicking the timeline, using the help files etc.).
• Finally, I could not figure out how to add sound effects or music, so the rendered video is mute.

Overall I felt I worked hard on this module but simply haven’t ‘picked it up’ in the eight weeks, and my work reflects this in some ways. However, I enjoyed the module and will continue to explore the program(s)/area in the future as I understand how it will benefit me later in the module, in other modules and perhaps when I finish my course(s) at university and go on to get a job in the field.

Word count: 427

PD4C - Assignment - Screenplay Changes

I decided to change certain parts of the script that was given to us. Here is where:

1. The name of the character was changed from Bogdan to Neil Down. There was no major reason for this change.

2. In scene one, Neil stands by a pond instead of by the roadside. This is because it was difficult to find a safe roadside to film at that had a grass verge nearby. Cars are still clearly visible behind him, so that part was kept in-tact.

3. In scene five, Neil is sitting another room within the ‘government office’ to count his money instead of on a bench. This was because I couldn’t find a suitable external location where a bench or some form of seating was available with an amateur football game (or something similar) was being played behind. Filming indoors would eliminate this problem yet would still achieve the same effect.

4. In scene nine, instead of showing Neil swimming underneath the water, I decided to show him doing weights in his bedroom. This was due to required equipment being unavailable to me (waterproof video cameras etc.) and it still showed him doing a general activity he enjoys and partakes in to relax him and relieve his stresses.

5. In scene ten, we return to the location that was used in scene one. This was changed to convey continuity and impact of the film and shows how the beginning and end of the story has changed.

The rest remains unchanged, however.

PD4C - Portfolio Exercise - Seeing The Story: Working the Script

I have decided to complete this journal entry about Dress To Kill (1999), a stand up comedy by Eddie Izzard.

1. Possible floor plan…

PD4C - Assignment - Script Decision

I have decided to focus my film on the script 'Holding Pattern'. I felt it was the most feasable and fun script of them all and I am looking forward to filming in the next few months!

PD4C - Portfolio Exercise - Seeing The Script: Premise

Armageddon premise:

After New York is damaged by hundreds of small meteorites, NASA formulate a plan to send a rocket up to a large asteroid heading to destroy Earth and blow it up from the center outwards, therefore sending the two halves and releasing the planet from being obliterated.

Armageddon point of view:

What belief or outlook does the story seek to express?

Audience point of view - The story is out to show that this planet is not invulnerable and although one unavoidable event from space (such as an Earth-bound asteroid) can destroy everything, there are forces out there (NASA etc., in this case) constantly on the look-out for such threats and plans are ready to be made to try to remove those dangers in extremely quick time. It also shows how mankind, no matter what background, religion, color etc., can work together and provide evidence that we can all work together and aim for the same thing when we really need to.

From whom or what does this thematic concern emerge?

Authorial or storyteller’s point of view - The thematic concern emerges from the discovery of an asteroid that is heading straight for Earth that is large enough to destroy everything living on it. Throughout the film, the narrator explains the events, from the realization of the threat at hand through to the climax of the film and finally, how it all ends.

What is the main character and what makes him or her important?

Authorial or storyteller’s point of view - There are seven central characters (five on the rocket, one daughter/love interest and one main NASA staff member), although one of those five on the rocket could be considered the main character. He can be thought to be the main character for a number of reasons:

1. After the asteroid is discovered, NASA sends out men to pick him up from an oil rig that he own/where he works to get his assistance.
2. Once agreeing to go with the NASA workers, he tells them he will only go if he takes some of the workers from the rig with him (that are his best friends and turn out to be some of the central characters throughout the film).
3. He is the character that keeps the other characters sane whilst in space.
4. He is the father of one of the central characters (who is brought along when the main character goes with the NASA workers and is dating on of the rig workers (who is also brought along when the main character goes with the NASA workers)).
5. The detonator to set the bomb off to destroy the asteroid is damaged and he stays behind when several of the central characters are on the rocket to head home to manually detonate the bom

AVPROD - No Native HD

Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 doesn't natively support HD video so if we plan on using one of the new High Definition cameras, we'll have to find a way of accessing Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Premiere_Pro

1.5.1, however, supports HDV (High Definition Video), which is a video format designed to record compressed HDTV video on standard DV media (DV or MiniDV cassette tape).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDV

AVPROD - Stage 1/2 - Parkour GO!

Jamie received a response from the Parkour Nottingham guys, they are interested! Here is the e-mail:

"Hi Jamie,

We would be more then happy to help you out by taking part, regarding filming time people are out as a group at weekends saturday being the main day.

A few of us practice weekdays/weeknights as well as the weekends, If you can get back to me with some times and dates you have in mind nearer the time that be great, Then I can get the group together for you.

If you have anymore questions just get back to me,

Thanks

Luke Callinan"

AVPROD - Stage 1/2 - Parkour DVDs

Matt has made available to us Jump London and Jump Britain, both of which are Channel 4 Parkour films.

AVPROD - Stage 1/2 - Trampoline E-mail

Regarding the Future Technology theme idea, Matt e-mailed Trampoline. Here is the e-mail he sent:

"Hi,

I managed to go to your last festival and enjoyed hearing about all the new projects your artists and engineers (depending on how they like to be thought) had been developing.

I was recently set a documentary project by my module lecturer, Sue Ansell (you may know her, she is currently in Berlin for the digital arts festival), and i instantly though thought of your organization.

We're still in the middle of considering possible concepts, but i mentioned your organization to the rest of my group and they we're intersted in knowing more...

Would any of your artists or organizers be willing to share some of what they do within Trampoline?

Many thanks for your time,

Matt Choules
077737xxxxx"

AVPROD - Stage 1/2 - Library Meeting

Our group had a room in the NTU library which we used to watch some films we brought in of other documentaries and films that used film effects that we may be interested in. There are five of us and by the end of the meeting, we all had one documentary idea each to research. These are:

• Parkour (primary researcher: Jamie)
• Future Technology (primary researcher: Matt)
• Communes (primary researcher: Beckie)
• Stressed Lifestyles (primary researcher: Darren)
• the Paranormal (primary researcher: Elliot)

We would all do what we could to get things moving in our topics, but help research others' too and post on a forum I created here.

As was discussed in the previous entry, Jamie and I already had the idea of Parkour and last night, Jamie had e-mailed the local (Nottingham) Parkour community (who have their own website/forum here) so that's already ahead so far and, since we're all interested in the theme, if someone replies to the e-mail with the go ahead that we can film them in action, it may be our final idea.

AVPROD - Stage 1/2 - Coffee Meeting

Jamie and I went for a coffee this week after our first lecture to discuss some documentary ideas. He seems interested in a sport called Parkour, which is basically "attempts to pass obstacles in the fastest and most direct manner possible, using skills such as jumping, vaulting and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves."

It's a good start. We need to all meet and get a few more ideas going and contact any local Nottingham parkour communities and both should get our documentary going...