Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Monday, 17 March 2014
Monday, 10 March 2014
10/03/14 post update
I finished my Self Appraisal
http://curtisgmedia.blogspot.com/2014/01/hopes-peak-academy-rough-cut.html
http://curtisgmedia.blogspot.com/2014/01/hopes-peak-academy-rough-cut.html
Sunday, 2 March 2014
How to compose music for a film
How to compose music for film:
1. Watch the film multiple times to get a sense of what's going on in the film and what rhythm would suit it. Also you could watch it without sound and try to imagine what's sounds would suit the action.
2. Chose the instruments and atmosphere. Determining what atmosphere you would like helps you think of the instruments you could use.
3. Make the rhythm and speed adapt to the speed of action.
4. The music for the film is about emotion. Try to reflect the emotions the producer was trying to portray.
5. Don't ask for feedback. Asking for feedback might stop your thinking process and/or direct you in a different direction.
Information taken from:
http://www.wikihow.com/Compose-Music-for-Film
Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan worked together to create the soundtrack for the The Dark Knight film. Christopher Nolan started off the process of this creation sending Hans Zimmer some still images of the visions that he had of the character. Hans Zimmer reviewed those images and then began to put together a great amount of sounds that he thought might work. Christopher Nolan then listened to all of the sounds that had been created which caused the two of them to come together and decide on what worked well and what to do next.
What was the process that Hans Zimmer used to come up with the music?
Hans Zimmer started off by creating many different sounds that could be used for the sound of joker. He created a nine hundred bar recording with hundreds of different sounds. He then refined the sounds to only a few that he really thought would work. Hans Zimmer came up with the idea that the music would be mayhem wherever it was taken. He wanted to use a fresh approach, defining the character in one note but found that two notes went well with each other. This was the sound of tight strings that get tighter and tighter but never break, this sound was created using a cello.
What was Hans Zimmers intention when making this soundtrack?
Hans Zimmer didnt want to create a 'summer blockbuster' as he personally thought that it would be very dull. He wanted to put something out there that people would truely hate. He consulted with Christopher Nolan about the nature of the sounds, discussing the idea of a razor on strings to cause extreme sense of tension. He wanted to get the feeling of the character with the music without it becoming too much of a difference to the rest of the music.
What qualities did Hans Zimmer want the music to have?
The qualities Hans Zimmer wanted the music to have were; he wanted to make it something twisted and to suit the film's seriousness, he also wanted it to give a sense that the Joker is always there, hiding in fact and lastly, he didn't want the music be screaming, he wanted it to be like a whisper, as if the character is hiding.
How do you feel about the final score and explain why you feel it works/doesn’t work.
I think that the final score works extremely well as it does exactly what it is supposed to. It builds up the tension but not straying to far from the rest of the music. Upon hearing the music you know instantly that something bad is going to happen, the music gets really loud making you hate it but knowing that without it the story wouldn't work as well as it does.
1. Watch the film multiple times to get a sense of what's going on in the film and what rhythm would suit it. Also you could watch it without sound and try to imagine what's sounds would suit the action.
2. Chose the instruments and atmosphere. Determining what atmosphere you would like helps you think of the instruments you could use.
3. Make the rhythm and speed adapt to the speed of action.
4. The music for the film is about emotion. Try to reflect the emotions the producer was trying to portray.
5. Don't ask for feedback. Asking for feedback might stop your thinking process and/or direct you in a different direction.
Information taken from:
http://www.wikihow.com/Compose-Music-for-Film
Describe how Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan worked together to create the music for the Dark Knight?
Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan worked together to create the soundtrack for the The Dark Knight film. Christopher Nolan started off the process of this creation sending Hans Zimmer some still images of the visions that he had of the character. Hans Zimmer reviewed those images and then began to put together a great amount of sounds that he thought might work. Christopher Nolan then listened to all of the sounds that had been created which caused the two of them to come together and decide on what worked well and what to do next.
What was the process that Hans Zimmer used to come up with the music?
Hans Zimmer started off by creating many different sounds that could be used for the sound of joker. He created a nine hundred bar recording with hundreds of different sounds. He then refined the sounds to only a few that he really thought would work. Hans Zimmer came up with the idea that the music would be mayhem wherever it was taken. He wanted to use a fresh approach, defining the character in one note but found that two notes went well with each other. This was the sound of tight strings that get tighter and tighter but never break, this sound was created using a cello.
What was Hans Zimmers intention when making this soundtrack?
Hans Zimmer didnt want to create a 'summer blockbuster' as he personally thought that it would be very dull. He wanted to put something out there that people would truely hate. He consulted with Christopher Nolan about the nature of the sounds, discussing the idea of a razor on strings to cause extreme sense of tension. He wanted to get the feeling of the character with the music without it becoming too much of a difference to the rest of the music.
What qualities did Hans Zimmer want the music to have?
The qualities Hans Zimmer wanted the music to have were; he wanted to make it something twisted and to suit the film's seriousness, he also wanted it to give a sense that the Joker is always there, hiding in fact and lastly, he didn't want the music be screaming, he wanted it to be like a whisper, as if the character is hiding.
How do you feel about the final score and explain why you feel it works/doesn’t work.
I think that the final score works extremely well as it does exactly what it is supposed to. It builds up the tension but not straying to far from the rest of the music. Upon hearing the music you know instantly that something bad is going to happen, the music gets really loud making you hate it but knowing that without it the story wouldn't work as well as it does.
Friday, 28 February 2014
P1. Research into Recording Foley Sound and Sound Effects
What is a Foley artist, what do they do and why are they needed?
Foley artists are artists which recreate the realistic ambient sounds that are heard in films such as, placing in the sound effects from things like leafs crunching and doors opening etc. They are needed because mics are mainly placed under clothing which can cause problems such as interference and sounds picked up from around making in sound unrealistic and also the dialogue may not be complete, so you then need to re voice all the dialogue and recreate the whole sound-scape that's needed for the scene.
Explain the order in which the Foley artist creates the sound?
in order to recreate the sounds you have to know what is expected of the human mind and the audience watching, the reasons why are because we want something that sounds realistic. This is where using a studio and things related to the actual clip of sound you're remaking in order to record them step by step then to overlap them together. So anything that's moving on the screen comes across as a prop pass group of objects to do so.
What are the key skills and qualities Foley artists need to have?
The key skills needed to be a Foley artist is mainly having a strong sense of creativity and imagination which helps your mind work and to be able to picture what the sound should actually be like.
What is the advantage of using real objects to create sound FX rather than using digital production or sound libraries?
If we're recording in a certain location, we're more able to find the sounds in which fit perfectly to what we want, such as putting microphones in the same area of woodlands but several feet apart, both recordings would sound similar but not identical, or by recording the sound separately in a studio and then over lapping to create the sound you want. But if we were to rely on something like a sound library, we may get things that we do not want and things that don't fit into the given flow or criteria in the sound we want.
Foley artists are artists which recreate the realistic ambient sounds that are heard in films such as, placing in the sound effects from things like leafs crunching and doors opening etc. They are needed because mics are mainly placed under clothing which can cause problems such as interference and sounds picked up from around making in sound unrealistic and also the dialogue may not be complete, so you then need to re voice all the dialogue and recreate the whole sound-scape that's needed for the scene.
Explain the order in which the Foley artist creates the sound?
in order to recreate the sounds you have to know what is expected of the human mind and the audience watching, the reasons why are because we want something that sounds realistic. This is where using a studio and things related to the actual clip of sound you're remaking in order to record them step by step then to overlap them together. So anything that's moving on the screen comes across as a prop pass group of objects to do so.
What are the key skills and qualities Foley artists need to have?
The key skills needed to be a Foley artist is mainly having a strong sense of creativity and imagination which helps your mind work and to be able to picture what the sound should actually be like.
What is the advantage of using real objects to create sound FX rather than using digital production or sound libraries?
If we're recording in a certain location, we're more able to find the sounds in which fit perfectly to what we want, such as putting microphones in the same area of woodlands but several feet apart, both recordings would sound similar but not identical, or by recording the sound separately in a studio and then over lapping to create the sound you want. But if we were to rely on something like a sound library, we may get things that we do not want and things that don't fit into the given flow or criteria in the sound we want.
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Research into Recording Ambient Sounds and Dialogue
Recording Ambient Sounds
Ambient recordings are the background noise in everyday life that we
don't respond to or notice, an example what be conversations in a
classroom or footsteps in a hallway. Basically its the environment at work in audio form.
An example would be in the hunger games: catching fire, in this there
are a variation of city and jungle scenes, so a
lot of ambient noises are required to make each scene area more immerse and realistic without it being ruined by the differ of location.
An example of this would be in the jungle when there are tree's swaying in the wind, frogs croaking in the
forest, birds calling, wet muddy footsteps when the characters are
moving on foot. Also, in the city the ambient noises would be very different, for example; there would a humming of electricity and lights around, people possible
talking in streets, concrete footsteps in rooms and city buildings,
doors opening and closing etc., there are many more examples of this,
ambient noises are just the environment you are in.
In a film some scenes maybe be hard cuts, which is when a scene changes location without a transition, this can be bad for the mixing of
ambient sounds because transitioning from one environment to the other
without a moment or two to smoothly add them together looks bad because the sudden cut would totally disorientate the viewer make the audio jump, it completely ruins the experience. It also looks rough so audio mixers try to avoid using hard cuts because it
looks rough and unprofessional. With transitions this can be avoided because it gives a smooth feeling and allows the viewer to understand that there is going to be a location change without the sudden cut. It's best to record on set of the environment because when you record on set you
can get the sound that you need from the audio and you can rely on it
instead of going with sound that doesn't sound like the real thing
Some examples of this are; fire, its better to record a real fire, particularly the fire that is being shown on screen, because
fire can have so many different sounding variations, it could be a
roaring fire you need or a forest fire not all sounds are going to be what you
want for the sequence so by recording it yourself the sound is
authentic and realistic.
Recording Dialogue
Recording dialogue can be extremely
difficult because many factors make recording crisp nice dialogue hard to achieve, even harder without good equipment. When recording on set there are a lot of sounds going on around the camera so
ambient noises would be conflicting with the dialogue
making it hard to hear, so every element of audio needs to be
individually recorded.
You could record the dialogue independently and then place it on top of the clip, however this can be difficult due to the lip syncing might no match. A problem with
dubbing the dialogue is that it can sound very odd at times and doesn't
sound like its from the scene so it is a hard skill to obtain.
Another way of recording dialogue is to have a microphone on the
person's body,but this can get muffled in walking scenes
or sound like the character is too close or too far from the camera.
The importance of Ambient noises in dialogue scenes is so
important because the sounds make the conversation flow much easier and
gaps of silence are filled in and make it more smoother when shots
changed and when someone new speaks.
the best way to get around recording dialogue is by using an external boom microphone to pick up the dialogue.
http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/location-sound-recording/location-sound-recording-shotgun-microphone-placement.html
http://library.creativecow.net/cowdog/ADR/1
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
P1. Use of music - Legal Considerations
1) Right of use
Publishing Rights:
The owner of a song's Publishing Rights owns the rights to the composition; usually this is the author of a piece of music. The author is also the copyright owner unless there is a written agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. Then also the publisher must give its consent to offer the music.
Recording Rights:
The person having recording rights is the person who is a party to and has the benefit of the exclusive recording contract, or to whom the benefit of the contract has been assigned. The person may be an individual or a corporate entity.
Clearing a piece of music for use in film:
First you would need to identify what rights you need then locate the person who owns the rights to the music and send out a request letter to negotiate a deal with them so you can gain the rights, you would also need to make sure you get it in writing so you have a hard copy and proof of your rights.
Can you use music in your sequence if the composer has died?
No, The copyright and royalties to a piece of music are passed onto Relatives or Friends of who the composer chooses and still exist for up to 70 years after the composer has died.
What is incidental music?
Incidental Music is music that is played in the background of a Film/TV Show/Performance.
2) Creative commons:
What is Creative Commons?Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.
Why does it exist?
Taking inspiration from the free or open source software movement, the Creative Commons founders decided to create a ‘free culture’ by developing a set of licenses that creators could use to make their creative material more freely usable without giving up their copyright.
The 6 different types of license:
3) Your choice of music
Song URL: http://www.audiomicro.com/tracks/dialog/777653
I chose this piece of music because it's calm and cheerful, it gives the impression that it is just a normal school but in reality it's not. In my opinion it suits the sequence perfectly.
Rights Evidence:
http://www.audiomicro.com/legal-docs/music-license-agreement
Role Of Music
The role of music is to:
- To set the mood
- Help's Narrative structure and strength
- Trigger an Emotional Response
- Informs about Location
- Punctuate and Enthasise Time Action
- Create Character Motif
Tempo - Amdonte (Walking Pace)
Elements: Instrumentation - Piano, Violin, Flute (Woodwind)
Tone - Soft, Peaceful, Neutral, Lacks Reoccurring Melody
Meaning: Trying to find his identity and purpose in life. The music helps with the thoughts of his busy mind.
- To set the mood
- Help's Narrative structure and strength
- Trigger an Emotional Response
- Informs about Location
- Punctuate and Enthasise Time Action
- Create Character Motif
Music analysis - Submarine Clip
Purpose: Helps create the Reflective mood - Give the Montage Background - Gives clues about his mind
Tempo - Amdonte (Walking Pace)
Elements: Instrumentation - Piano, Violin, Flute (Woodwind)
Tone - Soft, Peaceful, Neutral, Lacks Reoccurring Melody
Meaning: Trying to find his identity and purpose in life. The music helps with the thoughts of his busy mind.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Fireball Effect
The Fireball effect was pretty easy and simple to do. Once i had a found a fireball to use i imported it over the top of both clips and aligned it to where i want it to be placed.
I used key frames to make the fireball move when the hand is moved forward to give it the effect that it is being thrown. Once the fireball had been made to go out of the shot, it cut to the other side where i added more keyframes to change the fireballs direction and location to make it go the other way. After some tweaking to make it fade in and out when necessary, it was done
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Duplication/Cloning Effect.
To make the duplication effect, i first recording Me in several different places on the same shot to make the consistency more realistic, Then after separating the clips into where I'm only standing still, imported them to After Effects and set the timing so they are staggered. Using the mask tool i selected each clip and made a rectangle mask over the section in which i am standing, This then created the look like i am cloning.
Door Opening Effect
Making the door opening effect, first i motion tracked the hand by clicking on "Track Motion" in the motion tracking box, then moved the selection box to cover the hand and tracked it, i had to move a few points to get it to be smooth.
Once i done that, i added the "Radio Waves" effect to a new shape layer and assigned it to the motion tracking.
After customising the radio wave effect to look like "telekinesis" i set it to fade in and out.
Friday, 7 February 2014
Duplication Effect
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Progress Update @ 4:10 4th February 2014
 |
| Title Credits are now complete |
 |
| Re-Recorded scene 3 and edited |
Friday, 31 January 2014
Premiere Screenshots
 |
| Overall Premiere WorkSpace |
 | |
| Scene 1 MetaData |
 |
| Scene 2 MetaData |
 |
| Scene 3 MetaData |
 |
| Scene 4 Metadata |
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Production Metting 30/1/14
30/1/14
Sophie, Josh and Curtis are here.
We have discussed what needs to be done and we have agreed that we need to re-shoot the end scene again for continuity reasons and we also need to film more special effects within the last scene when the character looks out of the window. We will also take a shot of the people in the class so you can see everyone instead of 2 which will make the overall sequence look better.
Sophie, Josh and Curtis are here.
We have discussed what needs to be done and we have agreed that we need to re-shoot the end scene again for continuity reasons and we also need to film more special effects within the last scene when the character looks out of the window. We will also take a shot of the people in the class so you can see everyone instead of 2 which will make the overall sequence look better.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Hopes Peak Academy Rough Cut!
Appraisal:
AudioI think the audio works very well throughout, the music suits the theme perfectly. The audio levels need to be adjusted slightly so you can hear dialogue a bit better, maybe some filters to remove ambient noises.
Special Effects
The special effects in the rough cut aren't finished at all, at the moment i only have 1 out of atleast 3. The one that i have is the telekinesis door opening, it looks okay but could do with a bit of tweaking to make it look better. We plan to do the rest of the Effects very soon.
Sequence
In my opinion, i think the sequence could be made a little bit more interesting. At the moment it contains a lot of walking, but that is to stop it looking like the character is teleporting; there's probably way's around it, although it does help give the sequence a calm and peaceful feeling to make it a surprise when the special effects come into play.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Health and Safety when Filming
When it is cold and wet outside, things can be slippery, so be aware when working around things outside (Benches, Trees, Etc.)Standing/Walking on benches is very dangerous because they are not made for the weight of people standing on them so they could break and cause damage to you and other people.
Don't put things on the floor that could potentially cause an issue when other people walk past, find alternative ways.
When working in built up areas (Corridors, Pathways) make sure to put up a "Filming In Progress' Sign to allow people to be aware that you're filming.
Everything that happens during your filming and is caused by your actions is your responsibility so make sure to think out everything you do and work out ways to make everything as safe as possible.
The roofs of the buildings are out of bounds unless you have permission from a caretaker who will supervise you and make sure everything is safe.
Wearing a Hi-Viz jacket will let people know that you're potentially a hazard towards them and to avoid disrupting you.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Short Term Problems + Contingencies
Major Problems:-
P: Struggling to make the Special Effects work
S: Look up tutorials on YouTube and do some training in own time.
P: Running out of time in a lesson to shoot
S: Plan Ahead and Work Efficiently
P: Group Members being away when they're needed
S: Remind them the day before that they are needed and if they are unable to act then make an alternative plan for the lesson
Minor Problems:-
P: Actors laughing during FilmingS: Try to get them to be serious.
P: Running out of time overall
S: Use time as best as possible, and maybe use some free periods.
Inconveniences:-
P: Unable to create music/sound effectsS: Use Royalty Free audio and reference the original source.
P:
S:
Casting
Characters:
Hannah - Played by Lizzie ( or Sophie as backup)
Insecure
Shy
Pale colored
Long Brunette Hair that reaches past her shoulders
Hazel eyes
Medium height ~5ft 5"
Wear's a big coat
Has a light purple scarf
Holds her hand in her pockets quite often.
Student - Played by Shannon
Hyperactive
Cocky attitude
Dresses in mostly Boy's clothing (Baggy blue jeans, Loose T-shirt, and sporty trainers)
Unpredictable
Very confident in herself
Likes to show off.
Teacher - Played by Steve (or Dave as backup)
Very Formal Clothing (Shirt and Tie. Black Trousers and Shoes.
Friendly and Welcoming towards Colleagues and Students.
Soft and Calming Voice
Receptionist - Played by Erica
OCD about the tidiness of the area around her
Formal Clothing
Wears Glasses
We chose Lizzie to play as Hannah as she had the posture of the character we were thinking of, quite small, brunette and pale and has some of the characteristics.
For back up, we chose Sophie to play as Hannah as she gives the same characteristics, however, she gives a different approach to Hannah as she gives a more confident look than a more nervous look.
For the role of the student, we chose Shannon, who in fact, has very similar characteristics of the character, her dress sense and behavior (including the way she talks) are similar to the students, which gives a rich depth and realistic view of human behavior.
For the role of the teacher we were not allowed to choose a student nor any person who was not age of being a teacher. And so, we chose a teacher who we were close to and had similar personalities for our character who was Steve. He is formal, welcoming, calm and friendly which fits the character very well.
The receptionist, we chose Erica, as she has the figure of young adult and blends in within the office. We also chose Erica as the other Receptionists didn't want to be filmed, but overall, Erica does have similar characteristics.
Hannah - Played by Lizzie ( or Sophie as backup)
Insecure
Shy
Pale colored
Long Brunette Hair that reaches past her shoulders
Hazel eyes
Medium height ~5ft 5"
Wear's a big coat
Has a light purple scarf
Holds her hand in her pockets quite often.
Student - Played by Shannon
Hyperactive
Cocky attitude
Dresses in mostly Boy's clothing (Baggy blue jeans, Loose T-shirt, and sporty trainers)
Unpredictable
Very confident in herself
Likes to show off.
Teacher - Played by Steve (or Dave as backup)
Very Formal Clothing (Shirt and Tie. Black Trousers and Shoes.
Friendly and Welcoming towards Colleagues and Students.
Soft and Calming Voice
Receptionist - Played by Erica
OCD about the tidiness of the area around her
Formal Clothing
Wears Glasses
We chose Lizzie to play as Hannah as she had the posture of the character we were thinking of, quite small, brunette and pale and has some of the characteristics.
For back up, we chose Sophie to play as Hannah as she gives the same characteristics, however, she gives a different approach to Hannah as she gives a more confident look than a more nervous look.
For the role of the student, we chose Shannon, who in fact, has very similar characteristics of the character, her dress sense and behavior (including the way she talks) are similar to the students, which gives a rich depth and realistic view of human behavior.
For the role of the teacher we were not allowed to choose a student nor any person who was not age of being a teacher. And so, we chose a teacher who we were close to and had similar personalities for our character who was Steve. He is formal, welcoming, calm and friendly which fits the character very well.
The receptionist, we chose Erica, as she has the figure of young adult and blends in within the office. We also chose Erica as the other Receptionists didn't want to be filmed, but overall, Erica does have similar characteristics.
Monday, 6 January 2014
Production Meeting 5
Sophie, Curtis and Josh is present.
06/01/14
9:00
Our day back of term and we are planning out our Schedule for the Production of our short film.
We started filling out a Timetable but had a lot of problems due to the actors having about the same timetable as our so they'll be in lesson the same time as we are, meaning that they won't be available when we need to film. We tried to work out if there's any time when we are free that we could film but the chances of getting a camera during those times are quite slim due to the other group being in lesson and potentially using the cameras.
We have worked out a temporary plan for filming next week, because we in our group have different frees on some days, we can film using 2 of us while the other is in a lesson. This can be done on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday's and Friday, but only if we can get use of a Camera.
06/01/14
9:00
Our day back of term and we are planning out our Schedule for the Production of our short film.
We started filling out a Timetable but had a lot of problems due to the actors having about the same timetable as our so they'll be in lesson the same time as we are, meaning that they won't be available when we need to film. We tried to work out if there's any time when we are free that we could film but the chances of getting a camera during those times are quite slim due to the other group being in lesson and potentially using the cameras.
We have worked out a temporary plan for filming next week, because we in our group have different frees on some days, we can film using 2 of us while the other is in a lesson. This can be done on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday's and Friday, but only if we can get use of a Camera.
Friday, 3 January 2014
RotoScoping Research
Rotoscoping is a technique that allows the animator to create animation
that mimics live action by tracing frames. The process process was
originally done on a machine called Rotoscope: patented by Max Fleischer
in 1917. It involved drawing on a transparent easel, onto which frames
were projected one by one as they were traced by the animator.
Over the period of 1918 - 1929, Fleischer independently produced three
short films to demonstrate the use of his invention. These were
collectively called 'Out of the Inkwell'. He went on to use the
technique in various cartoons like Betty Boop, Gullivers Travels and in
the early 40's - The Superman cartoons.
Rotoscoping was used heavily until the advent of advanced computers that were capable of performing this process.
