Saturday, 20 September 2014
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Evaluations
Monday, 10 March 2014
Post-Production
Timeline
Here is a small sample of what my timeline looked like after I finished editing our trailer. As you can see I used several different layers for overlay clips and audio. Not all layers are visible but you can see from the scroll bar on the right, that it extends quite far.
Aspect Ratio
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoh2Isqf5PO9M8BxrIL6mnELmn_IHu7FGXa14lQcrLmCWGWf2pBnAwom6gYvl5iXk7vCGUQBBfi3RBYb-NzaDgaHsaoaLgvssp4BpjOevx0u0fDq4bH_3xDlmlc68_i9_nN105Gc3MMd52/s3200/screen+size+2.png)
Effects (Non-CCTV)
In order to achieve the cinematic look, I had to apply several differnet visual effects to each clip and alter these effects for each clip to make sure everything looks equal and fitted together. For the cinematic shots, that weren't CCTV, I used various VFX. These included "Black and White", "Brightness and Contrast", "Colour Corrector", and "Colour Curves".
The reason I used a very slight "black and white" filter is so that some of the colour would be drained from the shots, making it appear darker and more dramatic. As you can see from the images below, I have taken a picture of a flower field which is well lit and has a very "happy" tone to it. I then added a slight "Black and White" filter to it, and it automatically looks more dramatic.
No-Filter
No-Filter
Filter
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBsCzFN9YdWI9eQeSybRYSKldvyZ6UAelSQ0-ePaHWscwSWgaxxG8B5EqKw_Ny9KEcLTEnobSyEYOE5XXZsAcHA85_CnJ5-qt4GwMysfFyqjGJhxHZPBix35fylgfeXtYU4cG3f0K6KO4/s3200/brightness+and+contrast.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx9MBN_w94_6LDmIt8hvy7BO5cfRYLUASonlRJgx72T9xvy1q3aBzXKFxJgW8w38vxd_RnYLJASJlmo2l4IorQaYE4lpcqOjmhF7nvae2z0Mdj__jOtdDdv7V9UFaPMFMFJ7Q4QN6Iws6/s3200/colour+correction.png)
Colour curves are primarily used to emphasise the colours within an image/video. It can be used to change all colour channels or one specific colour. It is a very useful tool that can be used to enhance certain aspects of a clip. As a lot of our clips were of the same tone, I only had to edit the RGB channel which essentially altered the shadows and highlights, I changed it specifically for each clip to ensure they all looked as good as possible.
CCTV Shots
RGB Split
A key aspect of my trailer, I feel, was the "twitch" effect i applied in the CCTV clips. This is when the camera twitches and produces an outline of the image with different colours.
i.e.
In order to achieve this, I had to change the "Project Properties", which effects each individual clip. I had to change the "Stereoscopic 3D Mode" to "Red/Cyan". This means that when I edit each clip, the outlining colours that appear are red and cyan, as seen above in the example still frame.
In order to achieve the best twitch effect, I decided to use keyframes. This allows me to choose the intensity of the effect, how long it takes to peak and then return to zero. Keyframes are essentially the starting and ending points of any smooth transition.
You can see the keyframes in the bottom left of each image, and as you can see in the preview window, when the cursor reaches the middle frame, I have adjusted the colours gradually, displaying the red and cyan outlines. This only happens for a slight second, enough to notice and appear effective.
Black Flashes
I didn't want to keep repeating the same effects throughout my trailer, so I considered using a stutter effect in which the camera flashes black for a very short time. I feel that it is a very effective technique and fits well within my tailer. Below is what it looks like...
As you can see, All i did was cut small pieces of the original clip and placed them next to plain black frames. It is a very simple technique and I feel it has the best visual effect.
Sound
In my opinion, the best aspect of our trailer is the sound. I collected various different sound samples and experimented with them to see what would fit best. For the narrative, I wanted to portray the tinny video camera sound quality, therefore I recorded the narrative on my iPhone, imported the track into a programme called "Ableton Live". Ableton is professional music production software that allowed me to apply multiple effects, in order to achieve the sound that I did. In terms of the music that we used, I had to re-edit alot of it to make sure it would fit with our clips. Luckily, the music we chose was very simple and mellow to start with. If you look at the image below, you can see the beats via the sound waves on the top track. I re-adjusted these so that they fitted with the transitions in our trailer.
Ancillary Tasks | Poster and Website
Here are my two ancillary tasks that I have created myself. I have created a website, which you can find at;
Construction of Poster
Construction of Poster
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Ancillary Task | Research
Research
Website
Having previous experience designing websites for various different subjects, I feel I could make a really effective website for our film trailer "Revolt". I have the necessary software, such as;
Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop.
I have found that a lot of film websites are taken down after the film has finished with advertising and the DVD is finally released. Therefore I have had to look at more recent websites for new film releases within the same genre.
"Non-Stop"
http://www.nonstopthefilm.com/
Non-Stop is the new action film starring Liam Neeson. The website is very good and contains tons of different features. I feel this is a very good site to use as a template for our own because it falls under the same genre and has the same atmosphere attached to it, in my opinion.
The Features it includes are;
- Trailer playing in background automatically without audio.
- Option to turn background music on/off.
- Theme that matches the plot of the film i.e. Airport/Aeroplanes via the use of fonts and layout.
- Social Networking links to share the website
- Option to find and book tickets to see the film
- Different pages containing different content, linked via large buttons.
Here is a video tutorial of navigating around the website;
I feel the integration of social networking i.e. twitter and Facebook, is very good as it is the #1 way in which people communicate these days and the ability to post, share and follow about the film direct from the website is very helpful and an excellent marketing technique. However I don't like the way in which the trailer for the film automatically appears when you go onto the site. As you can see, they already have a button to take you to the film trailer, and for users who are either returning to the site or been lead to the site via the trailer, they won't want to re-watch. This is the only flaw I could find with the website and feel everything else is really good.
The website allows the suer to navigate to other pages with more specific information on the film. The options provided are "Home", "Story", "Gallery", "Trailer", and "Cast and Crew". These links don't always re-direct the user to a different page, but just change the interface of the page they are already on. For example, the "Story" page, just removes all the content of the home page and replaces it with a small "scroll box" in which the user can scroll down to read more information.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72zvlUwA2B-5xyn4ULMkCU-cvfm1AuH-lXQpooZYNeRRf3PH88sWnSQnyqmPpmnEV6MBXOB_1oHjfOmUhtOZ8QShxlvkRfgdzFAbYO0dG303vkoEwPDU335cR7NngoAC03dMtzlxqMH5K/s3200/screen+shot+1.2.tiff)
I feel this is a good method as the user doesn't feel like they are going from page to page and having to navigate all the way around the website. It also makes the experience feel quick and productitive.
The website allows the suer to navigate to other pages with more specific information on the film. The options provided are "Home", "Story", "Gallery", "Trailer", and "Cast and Crew". These links don't always re-direct the user to a different page, but just change the interface of the page they are already on. For example, the "Story" page, just removes all the content of the home page and replaces it with a small "scroll box" in which the user can scroll down to read more information.
I feel this is a good method as the user doesn't feel like they are going from page to page and having to navigate all the way around the website. It also makes the experience feel quick and productitive.
The social network integration is definitely the most important yet accepted factor of any website. When someone visits a news article, online game or even a funny picture, the website they are on will almost definitely give them the option to "share" the content via social networking or to "Like" or "Follow" there accounts. To see a website these days without this social networking integration, is unusual, therefore i feel it is necessary to add these features into our website and even create our own website presence via Facebook and Twitter.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH660Wit9J5bhPNjsk1ilkfKBq9btKcD9gezWo4qFM3A2700QEqqF7lfWFzvCKya2WxnhN_HPZ1U02FwSTxXnmkdU4yhJjJlUZuUtJbYRayE3x9k0o8He-babspiYZINHCnaKCVDfjc7wZ/s3200/Twitter-logo.png)
Click these images to be directed to our online networks.
They also include a "Cast and Crew" option, in order to view the bio's of each crew member. I feel this is also a very good feature as it allows the user to really get to know the cast of the film and have more of a relationship with the entirety and emotion of the film as a whole. However, the information isn't presented via another webpage, it is a separate .pdf document.
Poster
One of the most renown ways of marketing a film is via posters. Whether they are stand alone, in magazines, or on bus stops etc. There are a lot of conventions that are almost protocol when designing movie poster. Therefore i am going to go through a series of posters and point out the default design elements that are seen throughout.
The biggest form of marketing a film is by selling it via the Actor/Actress who stars in the film. therefore, as a result, we find that the majority, if not all, of film posters use the face of their protagonist. However, "The Last House on the Left" doesn't use their protagonist as it didn't have a well-acclaimed cast, on it's release. Therefore they didn't rely on promoting the film via the leading actor. This film was released in 2009 and one of the actors is Aaron Paul, who is a, recently, well acclaimed actor. If he was as big on the release of the film, it is very likely that he would be used as a figure to promote the film. i.e. Being starred on the poster along with his name in a large font, just like his recently release, 2014 film "Need for Speed".
The first element that is placed on a poster nine times out of ten is the credits. Obviously, not the entire credit reel is placed on the poster but all the high profile names such as the main cast, directors, producers, editors, composers etc. It is usually a very small and compact part of the poster and usually goes unnoticed at first glance, despite its importance in the construction. It appears to be the same font in each poster, therefore I believe it must be by default. After researching this, i found the font is called "Steel Tongs" and looks really good, as the "Crew roles" i.e. "Executive Producer", "Director", are preset in the font.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OE8rJ6sF_KjWSREK_dth2PoMc_8xUROED5tpiCWOyJ52GGwi_5q5mEyySJaUVXmS7ZnKcjSjYoz2KbQ60L1fo_A9zWOnU_Oquwk26JFjCGIlIuko8SmX5Q7Aff9rRxi326AaTXcLXvRy/s3200/last+house+title.jpg)
Again, when a film stars a big actor, they tend to use this to their advantage when promoting the film. You will always see the name of the actor listed on the poster as this is usually the best way of attracting the attention of a possible audience. If someone is a fan of the actor who stars in the film, they are likely to go and see it. Where as if they are unaware of their favorite actor/actress being in the film, it will lose views.
One concept that i really liked was the use of poster packs. These are when there are more than one poster used to promote the film, they all use the same conventions but just different images. Sometimes these are released as collectors editions to fans, as well. One that caught my eye was Empire Magazine, very recently released 25 different magazine covers for the new X-MEN film. Although this is for a magazine and not a poster, It still brands the same effect, therefore I wanted to experiment with my own designs to see what I could create.
Another film that has carried out the use of different posters is "G.I. JOE". In total, they made 8 different posters, each containing a certain character from the film, as well as keeping the exact same design.
There are two different sides to the plot of my film, the rebels and the police. I feel that by creating three different posters, I can have one that portrays the "Police" portion of the film, One the portrays the "Rebel" side of the film and then allows me to make a neutral
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