Weekly Comments

     This week we learned how to apply transitions, and effects! What made me happy this was that I got the privilege of being inducted into National Technical Honor Society. What frustrated me this week is how far behind I am on my Premiere Tutorials. In the future I want to learn how to incorporate 3D models and effects into my films. 

     My link of Interest this week is to a Vice article that came out recently about flash animation.  Sadly flash animation on the web is starving. The ability to view cartoons made with the software is slowly being pushed out of modern web browsers and cell phones. As an animator who started animating on flash this really depresses me when hearing of google's and Mozilla's plans to drop the plugin.

Habits of people who have great Ideas

    Ever wonder where people get their great ideas from? First is to look in for inspiration where you don't expect them this allows you to be more original. Second is to not make split decisions, sit on them for awhile, consider the benefits and negatives of each. Third is to find motivation in yourself, and create something you really want to create. Fourth is to start from scratch, don't work off of someone else's idea, make it yours and something you think is your own.
     Fifth is to take risks, only risks are something that hasn't worked, or been done by others. Sixth is to try new things, don't stick to the same routine you will never be able to innovate or create something groundbreaking by holding yourself down. Seventh is too make a connection to things that are unrelated, matching things that have no connection will make something seem a lot more original in the way that no one has thought of anything before.
    I am going to practice these techniques when writing, coming up with original Ideas seems too tough. I think the most important step here is definitely finding motivation in yourself. Being innovative is part of caring for your project and finding the time to brainstorm for the best ideas is a very time consuming process and requires a lot of your dedication.

Behind Marvel's Trailers

     Marvel's action movies always have over the top vfx, not only in the film itself but their trailers too! As complex as they are, they are more than just shots from the film. Fede Ponce is a vfx artist for marvel's trailers. The trailers are a lot deeper than just a bunch of shots and Cgi from the film. In the case of trailers they must be made a long time before a film is released, or even announced for that matter. This can be up to 2 or 3 years before release.  The type face itself must be visualized very early on due to its nature.
    Interestingly enough it seems that making a trailer is much different from making a film because of how early you must make it. The fact that they make the title, so early on with very little visual assistance says a lot about the creative talent and imagination needed to come up with something associated with a movie so far away from release.

Weekly Comments

     This week we learned our first little piece of Adobe Premiere, timing shots in the timeline. What made me happy this week is that I finished my audio story. What frustrated me this week is that I barely had enough time to finish my audio story, it took a lot longer than expected. What I want to learn in the future is applying effects to shots in premiere.
     My link of interest this week is to a behind the scenes of "Kung Fury" i just watched the movie a few days ago and have become obsessed with movie, and the CGI in it. Here is a video of a behind the scenes of the special effects.

2d Drawings To 3d

     Disney Research has developed a new technology that converts colored pictures to 3D model textures! The app converts the flat drawing to a flat texture then wraps it around a 3D model in real time. What is amazing about this software is that the speed in which it converts all this data fast, accounts for things like paper bending, and is accurate. The implications of this software is that it helps bridge the virtual world with the real world, and could have many future implications with virtual reality.
     I think this is a pretty cool piece of technology Disney has developed! This could definitely encourage kids to be more artistic as well as bridge traditional art techniques with digital ones. Software like this could have many future improvements as well as serve as a framework for something bigger!

Making Your Film More Dynamic With Music

     Music, it is such an important part of film. Since black and white picture music accompaniment has always been a contributor to movies. First off, music allows you to set yourself a time and place for your scene, generally classical music will give a sense of medieval times, and county gives an idea of western locations. Anticipation can also be given through music, different sounds alert the audience to an upcoming event, especially danger.Continuity between scenes can be provided with music. In horror movies you always hear the iconic theme of the killer before they claim their victim. Finalizing the last scene of your movie is very important, and of course using music will help with that. Gently laying down the music on the last scene will help ease the audience out of the movie world, rather than cutting off the last scene and leaving your audience confused. Lastly, music fills up silence it keeps shots from being awkward.
     I love films with good immersive music. It always brings everything together. Choosing between a custom score at points and a already released song would be a tough decision at points. Additionally a custom score may be expensive. Although getting the rights to use a published song may be costly as well. Royalty free music would be great for practicing filmmakers. I like all the different ways you can apply music in a movie, it is something I look forward to this year.

Weekly Comments

     This week I learned about blending pictures through practicing in Photoshop on my Worth 1000 and Montage. What frustrated me this week was finalizing my pieces for the Worth 1000 project, I kept running into different little problems. What made me happy this week was that I got alot of positive feedback on my piece, and I got to see everyone else's, and the animation students' characters! Also, I saw the billboard Ryan and I were on. What I want to learn in the future is how to connecting shots in film, so they are cohesive.

This week's link of interest is a counter argument against people who think CGI ruins movies. I think the most persuasive statement he makes in this video is that you only notice bad CGI and good CGI isn't noticed. He shows off a lot of the cool things CGI does that we didn't even know it does. Go give it a watch!

Virtual Reality Movies

     Virtual Reality, its only been fiction until these past few years when we have some that are actually practical. Along with games, film has become a common feat to overcome with VR. This technology has been rather forgiving in game development, but film is a whole new deal. When recording 360 degrees of film there is no film crew, and no camera operator. If you truly want to record something without the interference of a crew there can be no crew. Current issues with virtual reality is just what you would expect from early technology like this frame rate, and resolution. Interestingly enough audio will follow you around as you move your head, which must really add to the immersion.
     To me, I feel virtual reality film is just a gimmick and an experiment at this point. I couldn't picture a big budget film being created with 360 degrees of video with acting and telling a story. The biggest issue would be directing your audience to different areas of the screen. Keeping all actions synchronized without a crew would be a nightmare. Actually being in the film would probably feel awkward with you presence actually there but not being acknowledged. Not only lighting will be solely based upon the environment but all instruments, sets microphones would need to be expertly hidden. I don't believe Virtual Reality will allow for good storytelling if your audience actually has to put effort into following the character and avoid distraction from other things. In my opinion the only places I believe it could have any practical use would be in Games, and Animation where you can control 100% of what is happening without an extensive budget, the best actors, and best location.

The Do's And Dont's of Action Scenes

     Action is a big part of film, and as common as it is we tend to be unimpressed, uninterested, and not entertained. But what makes a actions seen entertaining? The perfect balance of storytelling and cohesiveness. Poor action scenes will do little to explain character or plot, we need to know why this action is happening and the effects of it upon the story's plot.  Characters must also be a part of this, understanding how they feel and why they are doing what they do.
    Spectacle, like the destruction of a building needs to have some value to it. Blowing up a city alone will not make the audience care unless there is some significance to that location such as a character who has some value. Cohesiveness is very important because viewers need to know what is happening. Poor camera angles, closeups, and disconnected scenes are often used to save on budget and coordination but at the expense of the film. To truly make your action understandable put the action and reaction in the same shot, it becomes much easier to follow.
     I have always wondered why some movie's action scenes are much more interesting than others. It all makes sense to me now. Action scene's greatness isn't how many special effects you have but rather the significance of the situation, the cohesiveness, and the importance to the plot. Hopefully I wish to incorporate this when I am making videos to produce a more polished out action scene.