Title Sequence
I was tasked to watch an opening scene from a movie and highlight the different features and details that make it interesting
The opening shot of Jojo Rabbit has a green door central to the shot. This shot is a still shot, and the temporary lack of movement in the scene causes us to anticipate what is about to happen. It also gives us an opportunity to notice the pro-nazi graffiti that is on the wall next to this house. The green colour stands out against the rest of the scene, and therefore we know as an audience that it has some significance. Later in the scene, the main character bursts out the door, and the whole camera movement changes to follow him down the road
The text that appears on screen as the opening scenes are taking place to introduce the director and main actors is coloured red, black, and white. these are purposefully the colours of the swastik. The font is also based highly upon the nazi Germany style lettering.
All of the text, even the title itself is lettered in this way, and sets the tone for the movie well. This fits the theme of the film perfectly, as the child in the film sees nazi propaganda and idolises Hitler
There is a lot of old footage from WW2. In this footage, we don't ever see Hitler himself, but we do see the crowds of people loving him and cheering him on. This is because Jojo, the main character, who is a child, only ever sees how the people idolise Hitler, and therefore he idolises Hitler, and sees him as some sort of God, or mysterious but great man. He doesn't see Hitler for who he really is, and likely doesn't even know what Hitler is doing. This message is further reinforced by the fact that as he runs down the street, the walls are plastered with nazi propaganda, and there is even some on the wall right next to his house, to show how he has been brainwashed by the good things he hears about the nazis.
The tone of this scene is very cheerful and celebratory. Jojo is visibly very happy and excited about something. The whole opening makes this out as if it will be a happy movie about good things, but in reality, we as an audience know that there is a very dark undertone to this, because we know the real Hitler, which makes this whole opening sequence very ironic. The happy tone is also made by the music that plays in the background. The song playing is called, 'I want to hold your hand' by The Beatles. This is a happy song that doesn't go with the footage, but goes with the child's feelings at this moment. The Beatles, at their peak, were admired by many, and were the symbols of popularity and success. They had fans from all over the world flocking to see them, and they were loved by many. This is the same sort of thing that is happening in the footage shown, but instead of The Beatles being idolised, it is Hitler being fanned over.
After Effects Workshop 1
I used a website called 'Dafont.com' to choose a font to use for my title sequence. I downloaded my chosen font and found this in Fontbook using the jump shortcut, from here the font was downloaded into the computers system, but not in After Effects, therefore I selected Applications and Ae in order for the font to be usable in After Effects
I added a text layer, wrote my name, and then changed the font to the one that I had previously downloaded. I adjusted the size of this text layer to fit the screen and made sure that it looked good
I imported the 4k ink video and dragged the linear colour key effect onto it. I selected the colour to remove, which was the white background, so that all that would be left was the black ink.
Once the background was gone from the video, I duplicated it, and then transformed the layer to flip it vertically, so that one of the ink videos move down, and the other moved upwards, and so that when the inks fill my name, the text will be covered completely. I also changed the adjusted the speed of videos, then pre-composed the two layers using the shortcut, com+ctrl+m
I then selected trkmat-alpha matt, to put the video of the ink behind the text layer and make it show through the lettering. I then removed the background, so that nothing would be visible until the ink fills up the outline of the lettering with black
Music Video Evaluation
In my personal studies, I watched some music videos of different genres and evaluated the different features and editing tricks that make them interesting and how the music video correlates to the song itself
See You Again - Tyler the Creator
This video is made by Tyler the Creator and features him throughout. The video begins in the cabins of a ship, and the surroundings are quite grey and dreary, helping to assist an intentional feeling of sadness, which is emphasized by the looks on Tyler's face. During this sequence, we can see subtle product placement of the artist's own brand "Golf le Fleur"
The next scene is transitioned to beautifully from the ship to a small boat far out at sea. This shot is noticeably brighter and more vibrant. The footage has been colour graded to look more colourful, and in turn, intentionally less real, which is supported by the fact that the song itself takes us through the thoughts of the artist himself. The woman in this boat is Kali Uchis, who is the featured artist in the song, and this scene is shown whilst she sings the hook
This scene shows silhouettes and use of dramatic lighting. Interestingly, in this scene, when the word 'eye' is said in the song, the artist's eye is lit up , and when the trumpet begins to play, the man playing the trumpet's face lights up, which adds to the surreal feeling of the music video
The video ends with a beat switch, which triggers a switch in style of filming, which drops the colourful look and is much more grey. VFX is used in this scene also, where Tyler turns into a swarm of bees as the song plays out
This is a scene which shows a very surreal moment that furthers the fact that was are in the speaker's thoughts and feelings for this girl that he's singing about. Tyler walks over people's heads in a very relaxed way, that seems almost cartoonish
N95 - Kendrick Lamar
The video begins with a piece of religious imagery with the artist portraying Jesus. The previous image shows a child watching him, symbolising how children look up to him as he looks up to Jesus. This image is very visually striking and is the first shot we see when the music video starts and it sets the tone for the rest of the music video
The video is mainly shot in black and white, which could be a nod to the message that he is preaching in the song about race. A frequent red text also appears on the screen, which contrasts sharply with this monochrome look. There are many weird camera angles such as this one that give the video a surreal feel
This type of scene is common throughout the music video, with the use of VFX that accentuates reality to a point that forces the viewer to question what's real and fake, much like religion which is another central theme in the song. Many of these scenes are real but slightly changed due ti scale being upgraded or the scene being extended
This scene in particular has clear religious imagery with many crosses in the background of this scene. During this part of the video, the colour scheme changes from monochrome to earth tones, and the song also changes tempo to a slower pace.
I like this scene near the end because it is very different from the rest of the music video. The lighting is different and the colours are more interesting and vibrant. The scene is set up symmetrically perfect, and the only thing not symmetrical is how the artist is sat in the middle.
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
This was the first music video to make use of CGI. It mixed the two worlds of real life and CGI into one for this video. The music video is very bright and colourful, and the CGI used is not of great quality, to today's standards, but was groundbreaking then. The genre is Pop Rock, and the intended audience would be younger, teenage, fans of thee band.
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Music video begins with a scene of all of the band with very contrasting lighting, it is very intense and dramatic. The genre of the song is rock, and this video is quite simple, as it was made so that the video could be played on MTV along with the bands song. It includes use of early, simple effects and overlays, and it also features footage of the band performing the song live. It is simply made, and can afford to be, as the song was already big, and their intended audience is everyone, but mostly people who enjoyed newer rock music.
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Michael Jackson - Thriller
This is one of the most famous music videos ever made. There is a longer, short film version, and a shorter, music video version. It features some bright colours, as it was created in the 80's, and that was the style at that point in time. There is prosthetics involved, and some light vfx. It is a linear/narrative music video, which means that it has a storyline, and is therefore quite gripping for the audience. This video was the first of its kind, and has set the mark for music videos nowadays. It is in the genre of pop, and the music video genre is horror. The intended audience is older teens, as the music video could be frightening for younger audiences
Runaway - Kanye West
The video is an exert from a film that Kanye made, of the same name. It features contemporary ballet dance, and has a surreal feel to it. The dancing and people seem unnatural, and the only person that seems relatable and normal is kanye, contrary to how he describes feeling in the song. The genre is hip hop, and the audience is hip hop fans from teen years onwards.
Music Artist Poster
I was tasked to create a poster of my favourite musical artist on Photoshop using features that we recently learnt
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I started up photoshop and imported a picture of my chosen artist. I then used the pen tool to manually select and cut out the artist and the grass underneath him.
Once i highlighted the whole person, I removed the background and adjusted the size of the artist on the page. At this point I began to imagine what the final piece would look like
Next, I found a gradient background on Google and imported it into Photoshop. I put this layer behind the other, and made it my background
I went onto Dafont.com and found a font that i thought fit the artist's personality and music. I then downloaded this font
I went
I used Finder to go into Font Book and export the font onto Photoshop so that i can use it on my poster. The font that i used is called Fidalga Regular
I wrote the artist's name and changed it to my chosen font. I also added a small logo from the artist's latest album to finish the piece
DPI = dots per inch - DPI is often used when speaking bout how many dots per inch a mouse can lock onto, and the higher DPI, the better mouse you have, and the more control you have
Resolution = Resolution indicates the number of pixels that are displayed per inch for an image
Raster vs Vector = Raster files are commonly used for editing images, photos, and graphics. Vector files work better for digital illustrations, complex graphics, and logos.
Composition = the composition of an image is all about how the elements are arranged, and how this can affect the piece
Print Margins =The margin is the space between the image and the edge of the printed material. They are important because they prevent the image or text on your material from being cut off.
Reflective Thinking Task
I watched a short film made by a previous student and was tasked to evaluate and reflect on the contents and the way that the sound and video was edited and portrayed and how this affects the viewers experience
The footage in the short film has been edited to look like it has been filmed later in the day, which is done relatively well but is noticable, though it does fit the aesthetic and feeling of the piece. The handheld camerawork fits the fast paced action, and the acting is okay for this standard of work. However, there are frequent flashes of 'notes' that appear on the screen briefly, but these are low quality images that are not held for a long enough time for the viewer to read and make out.
The short film that i chose to watch was named 'The Possession'. This was shown in the title sequence that started the piece. The music chosen set the scene for the movie, but was quite generic and had no depth to it, so more time could have went into choosing the music for the opening titles. Furthermore, the text was underwhelming, as the font chosen was very poor and unintersting. The creators could have chosen a much better font that would have given the piece a much more unique and interesting start. Overall, the opening title sequence didnt set the scene very well and had seemingly no intention or thought put into it, which would not cause the viewer to be enticed and want to watch on.
The scene that is supposed to shock and acre the audience is when one of the characters, who we are supposed to assume is dead, grab the arm of one of the other characters. This scene is unfortunately underwhelming, and doesn't gave to suspense that we were expecting. The shot doesn't change and this makes the moment unnoticeable
Using DSLR
About the DSLR camera
I and my group took images using a DSLR camera. DSLR stands for digital-single-reflex-lens, and these cameras are synonymous for having interchangeable lenses, which can come in great handy when taking photos, or videos. For this reason, the DSLR camera is a very popular kind of camera and was perfect for taking the images that we did, as photography is a DSLR camera's speciality.
Extreme Long Shot
Extreme long shots are used to show a landscape and the character's full body, though the character is not usually the main focus of the scene. They can show certain emotions that the character could be feeling, such as loneliness and helplessness
Long Shot
Long shots can be used to show a charcters full body, and some of the environment around them. These shots usually make great use of the empty space around the character to display emotion and invoke feelings
Mid Shot
Mid shots are a very commonly used shot, as they show the majority of the charcter's body, and still can show the environment to a certain extent. These shots can be easily shot and are very versatile
Medium Close-Up
Mid close ups show emotion like a close up does, but they don't create the same level of uncomfort and uneasiness that a close up does.
Close Up
Close ups show lots of emotion, and are focus fully on the character and how they are feeling. They are very personal, and so usually give us an insight into the charcter's emotions in a tense moment
Extreme Close Up
Extreme close ups can show an incredible amount of emotion, and can show how the character is feeling, usually in a very intense moment of shock or realisation. They can also be used to show what a character is doing, or give information on a particular object, like the book in the image to the right
Ps Intro Tools
I imported a photo of my chosen artist, Kendrick Lamar, into Adobe Photoshop. I chose this photo of him because i wanted a black and white photograph so that the red and blue highlights that i planned to add would stand out against the monochrome subject. The piece was meant to be in a retro modern style, and I felt that, not only was this one of my favourite musical artists, but his music represents this retro modern style, and so he felt fitting for this piece
I use the ellipse tool to create a circle, and filled this circle in with red. I then added a feathering effect around the edges of the circle so that it would look like light was bleeding off of the circle. This circle was mainly to separate the subject from the background. I used the pen tool to manually cut out the subject from the picture. This process is time consuming, but it creates a better looking image, and is aided by the use of shortcuts such as com+v for the select tool, so i could easily switch between tools
Once the image was cut out, I added the same red feathering around this layer, so that it would look as though the subject was also illuminated by this red light. It also helped to separate the monochrome subject from the black background. I duplicated the subject layer and put it as a multiply layer. I used an airbrush, and the shortcuts '[' and ']' to change the size of the brush, to paint a wash of red and blue over the subject layer to make it look like this was light being cast onto the subject. I adjusted the opacity of this layer so that I could get the correct intensity of colour, and could play around with the different colours that i could have being shone onto Kendrick
I downloaded a font from Dafont.com that felt fitting for the theme of the poster. I imported it into Photoshop and adjusted the size and the colour. This solidified the piece, and I feel that it fits the retro-modern theme quite well
Music Posters
I researched some music posters from various musical artists and concerts and analysed their designs
All of these posters have elements that make up a poster, such as a main focal image (of the artists), a title (the artist's names), and information on the tour or performance that the poster is advertising. All of these posters are individually unique to the artist or the venue that is advertising this event. For example, the second poster is uniquely designed to fit the artist and the album that he is promoting, and a lot of thought has been put into this design, as the visuals are important to this artist. You can see, however, that some of the posters, for example, the fourth one, have simpler designs, and are less visually interesting. This is because the venue that is advertising this event and these artists is more focused on the information that they are displaying and they have no correlation to the artists personal work and style.
This poster has a relatively simple design, as the main image of the artist is duplicated and the colour i changed to create the effect of a glitch. The same is done with the title, which is the artists name, and a simple font is used to create a clean design. The information is not as clear to see, as a small, narrow font is used at only the top and bottom. Overall , they have gone for a simple, clean look, and have focused mainly on the artist himself, as he is what will sell the event
This poster is very intricate and detailed. There are many different elements involved and they have focused a lot on the artist and his aura/brand. The main image is of a flower, which is drawn in the background, but the two images of the artist are purposely outlined so that they stand out more. The main title used is of his album, and his name is in the top right hand corner. The information about the show is less prominent and is in small writing at te bottom of the poster. They have focused more on the artist
This poster for The Roots is purposefully created to look like an older poster. This was done by using older looking fonts and adding a filter over the other elements of the poster. The title is of their name and is in a large text which makes it stand out. The image used of the roots sits well on top of the other text. The information about the venue is also quite large an dis in a slightly different font, which makes it stand out from everything else in the poster. The colour scheme makes the whole poster seem classy and vintage
This poster by the arena theatre makes good use of a very simple concept. the fonts for each artists names are different, and have somewhat of a correlation with the artists themselves. The information provided is shown in a large font, which shows that the venue wants the viewer to know about them as well as the artist's performing. There is a small print at the bottom that provides further information about getting tickets etc. for if anyone is interested. The colour scene is very simple and causes the venues logo to stand out
A J Cut is when the audio from the next scene begins to play before the first clips video ends
Non-Linear Music Video
I made this music video using footage that was given to me of people dancing from various movies, tv shows, and dance competitions. I was given a song to use, "Say So" by Doja Cat, and i used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the clips together. I made use of match cuts so that the clips would seem more natural when switching from one to the other, seeing as they were all different aspect ratios, quality, and frames per second. First, I imported all of the clips into the program, then I imported the song. I began sifting through the footage to find the clips that i could use for my music video and that would work well together. I put clips next to each other that had the same sort of motion from the end of the first clip to the start of the second. This created match cuts, and there are many of these in the uploaded music video. I matched as much movement as i could to the beat of the song, and managed to time claps where they appeared in the music. Once I was done editing the clips together and to the beat, I exported the video to the Adobe Media Encoder, which rendered the video and converted it into a video file. This created my final piece which is presented in the youtube link to the left.
An L Cut is when the video from the next scene begins to play before the first clips audio ends
Adobe Audition
I added and edited sound to a video of a car doing donuts using Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro
I downloaded the files needed, and imported them into Adobe Audition.
I then dragged both of my sounds, the car engine revving and the tires screeching, onto my workspace. At this point, they were un-edited and they didn't match the video. I tagged which parts were loudest and longer, with help from the audio file visuals, so that matching the sound to the video would be easier
I dragged the video onto the workspace, and it appeared in the media section. I played the video and the unedited sound together and took note of what parts matched and what parts needed changing
I edited the engine sound to match the video using various tools, such as the cut tool and the select tool, and used shortcuts to streamline the process and maximise efficiency and workflow
I did the same with the tires screeching sound, making sure to match the screeches where i assumed they would happen. This whole editing process was in big part up to my imagination, as i had to imagine where the sounds would go within the video
I exported all of this work and saved it by selecting multi-track and exporting the whole session. This meant that everything was saved all together. I then opened this into Adobe Premiere Pro, and brang in the udio and the video files. I used the shortcut, cmd-n to make a sequence. In this sequence, I put the audio and the video together and adjusted them to fit together as they were in my Audition program. I then exported this project and selected, match sequence settings so that I didn't have to manually change the settings. I then opened this up in Quicktime, exported the file as 480p, and the video with the audio was now saved all together in the video that you can see below
Linear Music Video
I used Premiere Pro to create a linear music video using stock footage/footage from a movie and a song of my choice
I opened up Adobe Premiere Pro and imported the song that i intended to use, and all of the video clips that i would be using, which were from the 1976 movie, 'Taxi Driver'. I had already converted the song, 'Mafia', by Travis Scott from a youtube video into a mp3 file using a free website
At this point, the song and the video clips were unedited, and the video clips did not go with the song whatsoever. I began to listen to the music and, using the shortcut shift+m, I added some markers so that I could easily see where the bass was in the song, as I had already planned to change the video clips according to the beat of the song. I began to use the razor tool, com+k, to split clips, and used the select tool, com+v, to move the clips into the places where I deemed the most fitting for the song and the storyline that I wanted to portray
Once I had cut the clips and rearranged them into the order that I thought best fit the song, I watched the whole music video together a couple of times using the 'preview' option in Premier Pro, and this allowed me to view the music video how a viewer with no creative connection to the video would view it. This allowed me to see some flaws in the video that I had not noticed prior to stepping back from the project. I muted the sound that some of the video clips had so that it wouldn't be heard over the song. I also added a colour correction over one of the clips that had different, somewhat over-exposed lighting, and I changed the aspect ratio of a few of the clips
Camera Movement
The 180 Degree Rule
Dolly Zoom
This scene from The Dark Knight is an example of the 180 degree rule being in effect. The 180 degree rule is when every camera angle used only shows 180 degrees, and so the cameras used don't have to be moved everytime another angle is being shown.
This type of camera movement is difficult to pull off, and is done by zooming out whilst moving towards the subject. It creates a surreal moment, where the character is separated from the environment around them. It is very effective when used properly
This scene from Jaws shows an example of a Dolly Zoom effect. This was used here to create tension an show how the chief is feeling
Camera Pan
This scene from the czech movie Clownwise uses a 360 degrees pan. It is used here to show the whole scene, and creates a sense of disorganisation, as the camera moves at a different pace to the man, and it feels as though hes trying to catch up with it
Pedestal
A pedestal is when the camera smoothly moves (not pans) upwards. It can be used to show the scene, or to reveal a subject. It is used here in Toy Story to reveal Buzz's character. It creates some tension, and forces anticipation
Whip Pan
This scene from 'Whiplash' shows an example of a whip pan. A whip pan is used to pan between two parts of a scene. The whip pan is a camera trick as well as a camera movement, as it is often used to transition between two different shots.
A camera roll is a rotational camera movement that rotates the camera over its side on its long axis. Rolls can be dizzying and unnatural. For this reason, filmmakers use it to disorient the audience or create uneasiness.
Camera Roll
Podcast Debate
I researched different ways in which US and UK culture have been influenced by the other for a Podcast Debate which we then recorded
US and UK influence on Hip-hop Culture
UK hip-hop began in the 1950s-1970s when jamaican immigrants brang over their music culture, which sparked a new interest to hip-hop music around England. It was very different from anything else they had heard, but still represented other music genres that were prevalent at the time. Hip-hop was very prevalent among younger generations, as they saw it as rebellious, as the music broke the rules that the previous music had set, and struggled to get into charts due to its uniqueness.
In the UK, a new genre called Grime took over around the late 90s to early 2000s, with names such as JME and Skepta leading the scene between 2005-2010. This became the most listened to genre among the youth in the UK, topping hip-hop, that was overpowered by the American artists. This genre didn't catch on in the US, but elements were taken and turned into the drill music that became very popular in American culture.
The US was introduced to hip-hop a little later, around the 1970s, and were once again influenced by the jamaican style of music which made its way overseas. It was not much of a hit mainstream wise, but then, a young musician and producer named Clive Campbell, who went by the name of DJ Kool Herc, introduced the new music to the Bronx, and added an American twist to the genre.
Nowadays, American hip-hop rap is more prevalent than UK rap globally, which is in large part due to the fact that the biggest record labels in the world at the moment are in the US, and the US audiences have a bigger voice when it comes to what gets mainstream views. However, the US audiences are catching on to some of the more advertised British songs and artists due to social media apps such as TikTok.
Editing the podcast
My group and I went into the recording booth and used the equipment to record ourselves as we answered the three questions that we were tasked to converse about. We spoke beforehand about what order we would speak in, and what questions we would choose to talk about. Once we had finished recording and had received the footage, I imported the audio file into Adobe Audition, as well as an instrumental for the background
I used the select tool, com+v, to drag the audio footage of the podcast onto the Audition workspace. At this point, the footage was unedited, and upon listening to it, I wasn't surprised to notice that our conversation didn't flow smoothly, and due to many factors, such as a lack of confidence and familiarity among the members within our group, and the moments between our speaking parts, I was going to have to edit out any unnecessary sections
I used the cut tool, com+k, to cut out the sections of the recording that didn't need to be in there, such as the gaps in between when we were speaking, and the times when people would pause in between their speeches. I also cut out stutters and pauses that didn't seem natural, but I was cautious not to cut out all of the small pauses and stutters that we made so that the podcast still seemed unedited and not forced
I then dragged the background music that I had imported onto the workspace, as I had done with the podcast audio. This audio file was shorter than the footage of us speaking, so I used the shortcut com+c to copy the music, and then pasted it using com+p. I adjusted the audio once again so that the beat of the song would drop after we had introduced the podcast, and adjusted the audio lower, as it wasn't the focal point of the podcast
I used the razor tool to separate sections of the background music so that I could raise and lower the volume of certain sections of the audio. I raised the volume in the sections of silence that occurred when one person stopped speaking and another was going to say their opinions.
Once i had edited both parts of the podcast, I listened to it in its entirety, so that I could get a feel for how the audience would hear it, and I adjusted the volume on parts that I felt seemed out of place. I cut out some other parts of us speaking as I noticed that it didn't seem natural, and I moved sections of the music around, as some parts didn't quite fit the tone of the podcast, which was informative. Finally, I added some audio to the end, so that the ending wasn't as abrupt
Movie Analysis
Man on the Moon (1999)
I watched a movie called 'The Man on the Moon' directed by Milos Forman. The film is a biographical drama/comedy portraying the life of misunderstood comedian Andy Kaufman (played by Jim Carrey). The film dives deep into his personal life as well as his career, and how his nee to stay true to himself and his comedy changed how other people from within the industry perceived him.
Andy Kaufman's comedy is very awkward, and is funny due to its lack of being funny to the audience. The director, Forman, takes advantage of this, as he uses longer camera angles in the awkward, hard to stomach parts of the comedy performances when the audience is not laughing. These longer camera angles show how alone Andy is up on stage, but closer angles are used in his personal life when we learn that this awkward man is a character he is playing, and them not laughing is him succeeding.
The camera is always on Andy all throughout the movie in the scenes that he is in (which is most of them). This is because this is very personal and he wants to share himself with the world. He is happy throughout, which is showed through the camera being on him. However, when Andy gets diagnosed with cancer, we see a shift in his emotion, and this also translates into a change in camera movement. We feel more distanced from Andy, and the shot that starts this is when he first feels a lump on his back, and the camera slowly pans away from him.
Overall, this movie is very entertaining, and interesting due to the fact that the events in it are real. There are some very interesting an unusual camera angles, and the movement shows Andy's emotion at different parts. The lighting in this movie is used to help recreate the real footage of Andy's performances that the movie reenact.
Pop Art
I used Photoshop to create a Pop Art style image of a commissioned musical artist
I imported an image of the artist, Imani Coppola into Photoshop. Imani Coppola is an American singer-songwriter and violinist, born 1978, who released her debut single in 1997, and has been prevalent in music ever since.
I used the brush tool on Photoshop on maximum hardness to block out all of the main shapes of the image, using different pastel colours for each section, as this is common in the Pop Art style
I duplicated the first layer, and added an adjustment to it (threshold) to separate the shadows from the lighter areas to just black and white.
I then used the magic wand tool to take away the white areas so that the colours on the layer underneath would show through. Once this was done, I applied a filter to the colour layer (Pixelate) and adjusted it to the correct size for the circles. This finished the piece and enhanced the pop art look
Pop Art is an art style that was first introduced in the mid-late 50s. It was very popular, partly because, coming off of the 2nd World War, everyone was very sad as the economy was down, and there wasn't really anything to keep up morals. The pop art style was very colourful, and was a fresh new style that took the art world by storm. Andy Warhol was one of the pioneers of this style. He is famous for things such as his painting of Campbell's soup, and his many images of celebrities
Three-point Lighting
I learnt about, and saw first hand, what three point lighting is and why it is used
These images show different types of lighting perspectives using three point lighting. These are all used in film and photography for many different reasons and they all create different types of emotions.
This is a primary example of three point lighting. There are three main sources of light, key light, fill light, and backlight. This is what the majority of photoshoots and film productions would have set up for lighting during their productions. Key light is the main light being projected on the subject. The purpose of fill light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark. The backlight is very important aswell, as it separates the subject from the background.
Chroma Key
I opened up After Effects, and imported videos of random green screen footage. I cut the clips out of one big video and then copied and pasted them into my edit. To bring the clips to the start, I used the shortcut '['
The videos were in, though they had a green background. This would need to be removed, but at this point I was selecting which clips would go where, and this process required some imagination and problem solving, as I had to imagine which clips would go with one another
Seeing as the clips I had dragged in still had a green screen behind them, and I wanted to remove this, I layered an effect onto the video called 'Keylight (1.2)' . This effect would allow me to remove the green from the video, leaving behind only the subjects in the video.
Once I had dragged the effect onto the green screen clips, a menu appeared, and the setting in this menu had to be altered in order to remove the green from the background of the videos. I clicked the colour picker, and this allowed me to select the green, and then from there it was automatically removed. Fortunately, I didn't need to clean up the image, as the green screen in the videos that I used were quite evenly lit
Once the backgrounds were removed, I could layer the clips on top of one another, and they looked as if they were from the same clip, as neither video had a background. This was the final stage, as all that I had to do was arrange the clips in the order that I wanted, and this process was enjoyable. Due to the lack of a background, an image could also have been added to place these characters in an environment
After Effects Basics
I aded a new solid into After Effects with the shortcut, com+y, and added an effect on it called 'cc star'. I adjusted the size and speed of this layer, and the size and movement of the stars within the solid
I then created a new layer and a new yellow solid, and adjusted its size. At this point, the solid wasn't told to move, so it would be still whilst the stars in the background moved
To make it move, I pressed 'U' to unveil the keyframes, and the first keyframe was created. I moved the time bar along and moves the solid to create a new keyframe, and the solid would move as the time went along.
For the next solid that I created, I did the same thing, but instead of moving the solid, I used 's's to change the scale of the object, so it would get bigger and smaller and the video played
I then created another red solid, and using the shortcut, 'com+r', I was able to rotate the object by adding keyframes and rotation the solid, I adjusted the positioning of the solid so that it was not blocking other solids that I had already created
I used the shortcut 'com+shift+c' to pre-compose the layers, so that they were all on the same layer. This would mean that I could move the layers as one, and would even allow me to add an the same effect to all of the layers at once.
I dragged an effect called '3D Glasses' onto the layer, and this created the effect you can see on the right. I could adjust the way it looked using the menu that showed up, and change the red and blue balance of colour
I added a text layer ontop of this and then took away thebackground. This meant that the composition below would show in the background, but i wanted it to show through the lettering, so I put the composition as an alpha matte layer, and then inverted the alpha matte, and this meant that the video showed through the text,and as the colours mixed together, the colours merged together, which created a very nice effect.
I used the shortcut com+con+m to export the file, and change the file type so that I could export the video elsewhere. I changed the file format to ProRes 422, and made sure that the colour option was set correctly.
After Effects to Photoshop Globe
We went into Photoshop and imported an image of a blank world map. I then used the paint bucket tool to fill in the different countries with a selection of bright colours. I then used the magic wand tool, 'w', to delete what would be the ocean . I then saved and exported this , and it was ready to be imported into After Effects
I found an effect called CC Sphere, and dragged it onto the layer. This turned it into a sphere, and it began to look like the Earth. I readjusted the size and angle so that the composition looked good.
I then opened up After Effects and imported the image. I used the com+tab shortcut to open up the finder, and then dragged the image in from there. This was then listed as a composition, and I could use it in Ae
I pressed 'u' to unveil the keyframes. I could drag the time bar across and then spin the sphere on its axis to make the sphere spin whilst the video progresses
I right clicked, went to time - enable time remapping, and looped the animation. Then, I alt clicked, and went to stopwatch - loop - loop out - cycle, to make the animation loop. I then created a composition, using com+y, and added a cc-starburst effect onto it to create the stars. I then put this composition behind the sphere, and the piece was finished.
I then made a pre composition of all of these layers, and rendered the animation. I then exported the video into a file
Pre-production Documents Definitions
Storyboard
Plans out different shots that will take place in the music video
Script
Shows the lyrics and how certain lyrics will correlate to the video
Treatment
A document that presents the story idea of your film before writing the entire script.
Risk Assessment
Highlights the risks of each location
Budget
The budget that the crew is given to create the video
Moodboards
A collage of pictures that portrays the overall theme of the music video
Final Piece pre-production
Final Piece
Editing on Premiere Pro
I opened up Premiere Pro, and imported the music that we would be using for the music video. This song is called 'Pop Tarts', and is by a band named, 'Easy Life'. The song sounds quite upbeat and cheerful, but the lyrics, and the things that are spoken about in the song are very deep and the song has an undertone of sadness and heartbreak, along with mentions of drug abuse and alcoholism
I then imported all of our footage that we had gathered. We filmed this footage in many locations, the main ones being Romford, and multiple places in Central London. We planned out some of the shots that we we would be using, however, we also filmed things spontaneously, whenever we saw something that we warranted as worthy for the video. During the filming process, we thought very much about the composition of the shots that we were capturing, and the ways that we would transition between these shots
I dragged in individual videos from the footage, and as we went along, we decided what clips would go where. Going into this edit, I had a rough idea of what the video would look like and how the clips would transition between each other, but this process took some thought and improvisation. I transitions between clips according to the beat of the song, so that the video fit with the music, and so that the viewer wasn't taken out of the video when the clips switched between one another. I also made use of match on action when transitioning between shots. One example of this is when a van goes past a busker we filmed in Camden, and as the van covers the view, I switched to another shot where we filmed out of a bus window in the same direction as the van, and i then matched the speed to go the same as the speed at which the van was going
Once this was all done, we rewatched the video many times, and found some things that we wanted to change. We also had the video reviewed by some audiences, and they gave us some advice and criticism
We were all happy with this version of the project, however we knew that it would be much better after adding effects in After Effects. We had this version watched by some . They said overall positive things about the outcome, however they each gave us unique things to change and add to the video. One in particular, upon viewing the video, presented to us a major change, that took some time to edit and perfect, but overall made our video much better
Editing in After Effects
I opened up After Effects, and created a new composition named 'Music Video Effects'. In this composition, I imported the mp4 video of the music video that I had edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. This would be the finished product, as the use of After Effects would be to add effects to the video, and the clips were already composed at this stage
The first thing that we wanted to do was add the title to the video. I had the idea that the title sequence could appear when the words 'pink and yellow' are said in the song. This is because they are reoccuring in the song, and are said once at the beginning. I added two text layers, one saying 'POP' in pink, and the other saying 'TARTS' in yellow. I adjusted the length of the text layer so that the words would appear when the colours in the song are said, and so that they would disappear when the beat dropped. I changed the font to a cool graffiti style font that we had found whilst looking through dafont.com, which I downloaded and imported into After Effects. I also created four new compositions, which were solid colours of the pink and yellow that i had previously used. I made it so that they flashed onto the screen when the colours were mentioned later on in the song, and lowered the transparency using the shortcut, 't, so that it would give the video at the time a pink/yellow tint
The next thing that we wanted to do was add a trippy effect to the part of the video that mentioned drug abuse, to recreate the effect that someones vision may have whilst under the influence of one of these substances. I dragged an effect named distort onto the footage, and adjusted the settings to create the effect that we desired. I also used the shortcut 't' and pressed the timer icon to create a keyframe, and put the transparency to 0%. I dragged the time across, and then adjusted the opacity to 100%, so that the effect would gradually affect the footage to fit the lyrics of the song
Next, we wanted to add a VHS type effect onto our footage. This required many layers, but we added the effect, noise, onto the footage, another type of distort effect. and a 3d effect onto the footage to create the illusion of VHS camera footage. We cut it down to appear only on the clips when we wanted the VHS effect, and then pre-composed these layers so that our workspace would be neater and more organised
I then added a text layer, and wrote 'REC' at the top of all of the VHS layers. This was to add to the illusion of a VHS effect, as the old VHS recorders had recording signs at the top left hand of the footage. I had to copy and paste the text layer, using com+c and com+v so that I could put the 'rec' layer only over the footage with the VHS effect
I made sure to pre-compose all of these layers according to the effect that they made when layered on top of each other. Pre-composing your layers helps with efficiency and organisation, which helps a lot when you have a deadline, as we did. I named the pre-compositions, 'red dot', and 'vhs effect'
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At this point, we were very close to finishing the project, however we wanted a red dot to flash on the VHS effect. To create this effect, I added a new text layer, and using the wingdings font, I typed a filled in circle, and turned it red. I had to cut the layer to only appear when the VHS effect was present, but it still didn't flash. Therefore, I had to keep removing points of the text layer, so that it created the effect that the red circle was blinking. This required many, many layers, but was worth it for the final result. This process was extra hard and time consuming, because After Effects doesn't have a simple 'cut' tool like Premiere Pro does, so I had to keep duplicating the layers
I pre-composed the last of my layers, and got feedback from some third parties. All of this feedback was positive, and overall, the audience received it very well. We were all happy with our piece, and so I exported it it intot he media encoder as an mp4 file to render
Final Piece Analysis
The video begins with footage of an aeroplane flying overhead after it has just taken off. Jet planes are mentioned throughout the song, and so it felt fitting. This beginning shot coincides with the final shot, as they are both from the same recording. The name of the band also appears at this point, as the camera tracks the aeroplane through the sky
I then cut to a shot of a pan into the distance from the top of Romford Car Park. This is a very industrial, dull-looking scene, and so we felt that the bright title appearing here would be very interesting due to the contrast between the background and the text that appears. The title also appears in correlation with the song's lyrics
This is footage of skaters doing tricks in Southbank Skate Park. We had asked the skaters to take part in the video, and during the editing process, we had added numerous effects to the footage to attempt to achieve an old VHS effect once all of these effects were layered
When walking through Camden market, we noticed a shop selling these pop art coasters. We took this opportunity to video them using a close up camera pan, as they linked to the song's lyric, 'brighter than pop art'
Before travelling to London, our main location for the music video, I had the idea of taking pictures of numerous circular objects, and then editing them together in Premiere Pro. We photographed many circular objects that we saw, and picked out four of them, which I edited one after the other, to the beat of the song, and adjusted the objects to be the same size
In the song, there are points where the artist mentions the colours, pink and yellow. I took advantage of this, and added an overlayed composition of these solid colours and lowered their transparency in After Effects. I added these colours in to appear when the lyrics were said
This scene has the same VHS effect overlayed, and is made up of two different clips that had the same pan from right to left. Due to this similarity in movement, I added these clips together because they fit together very well, and the use of match on action made the cut seem very natural
To go with the lyrics that spoke about drugs, we filmed footage of lights and these glass statues that we found outside of the Hayward gallery. I added a distortion effect in After Effects to give the look that someone may experience when under the influence of one of these substances he describes in the song
One of the pre-planned scenes in the music video that I thought of was a transition of the view of Canary Wharf from the bridge outside of the excel centre from daylight to nighttime. To achieve this, we stood the DSLR on the tripod to create a still shot, and then I walked past the camera, making sure to block the whole camera. We then waited on the bridge for many hours until it was fully dark, and then I walked in front of the camera once again. In Premiere Pro, I edited these clips together, and adjusted the speed and duration of the nighttime clip, as it was quite short. This created the transition I had planned for, and I used it for the beat drop
We had footage of a busker on the streets of Camden. At first, we didn't plan on using this footage, but I whilst editing in Premiere Pro, I thought that it would make for a great transition into a clip that we took from the top of a bus. This is because, in the clip of the busker, a van goes past and blocks the whole screen, and I used this movement to transition to the footage from the bus, as the movement is the same as the van's
The video ends with the ending of the opening clip, with the jet plane flying off into the distance, and the camera panning down and settling on the sunset over canary wharf. This clip was not colour graded or altered in any way, as we felt that it looked perfect as is. I did however add our names at the bottom, which fade in at the end of the clip
