Part of the Machine- Final video

Part of the Machine on Vimeo

I admit this project was very ambitious and a little over my head. Preproduction took over a month. I was in desperate need of a producer. The result was, the shoot date was the weekend before easter break and only 5 people showed up out of 20. I filmed at 9am on a saturday while it was raining. It worked to our benefit because there was very little pedestrian traffic. All the extras were very cooperative and the actors did an amazing job.

Post production was a learning process. This was my first time doing any motion tracking. Over time, I became familiar with After Effects and the project went like a breeze. Beside the motion tracking, I did animation, masking, color correction, and sound design. I recorded the vocal tracks in the Protools suite. It was my first time using the program but I had help from a tutor in film production.

How it could have been better
• The video should have been at least 30 seconds longer. It is confusing to the viewer when everything is happening so fast.
• The protester should have been on screen when the camera first turns to the left. The audience doesn’t know what everyone is staring at.
• The last two advertisements that is on screen would have looked better if they were in the shape of emblems or logos. The rectangles are jarring.
• The people who were being hacked should be broadcasting protesting banners.
• The cyber reality was limited to the space the actors stood in but should have been extended past the horizon to help establish the world.

Overall, I’m really satisfied with this project. The acting and sound tied the video together very well. I’m glad I was able to create a concept with a strong message.

Light party complete

This is the complete version of Light Party. Click the picture to link to vimeo

Updates on Post Pro

Here is a brief I’m handing out to the people who are helping out on the video. I need to figure out the logistics of filming in town center. I may have to do it guerrilla style.

Post-Production Techniques Project

For my post-production techniques project, I want to create a world in which augmented reality is the foundation of how we interact with the environment around us. I plan on using an HD camera to film a one-shot take in bournemouth town center. The perspective will be from a girl around the age of 18 who is meeting her friend to go shopping with. Everyone in this universe has a microchip in their head or enhanced eye contacts that will use a HUD (heads up display) unit to broadcast information to the user. The technology was developed and maintained by corporations instead of the government. The main goal of the HUD is to promote the user to consume. Our main character will be constantly bombarded with adverts and suggestions from stores all around bournemouth.

The message is that the more technology advances, the more we will lose our individuality. We want to own things that will “define” us. The corporations will tell us what to do, where to go, and what to think.

I’m currently working on the storyboard and will be using photoshop, illustrator, aftereffects, and maya to create the video. I plan to have around 15-20 actors involved. The video will be around 2-3 minutes long.

Here are some screengrabs of my process with the storyboard

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With HUD and Topshop HUD store

With HUD and Topshop HUD store and Reminder

Light Party – Maya

I will update in a few days on my progress of the Ball animation. As of now, I am only 98% complete. Here is a link to my 98%
Light Party

Design that helps people cope with the environment

Life Saver Bottle

Poop Bags

These two inventions are vital to the survival of people in third world countries or natural disaster zones. The Lifesaver Bottle will render any kind of contaminated water drinkable. It could be a long term solution for villages with no access to sterile water. The Poopbags not only separate human waste from villages, it also fertilizes the land to provide food for the local area.

Viral Video Project

Script
Chance and Felix set about writing the script for our video and the voice over is to be done by Chance. So, this is our script (lifted from Felix’s blog).
[ext.] Shot of street, a woman walks past a man and brushes against him. This causes her to sneeze on him, he looks at the marks on his coat in disgust cue narration
Narrator: Tired of taking this crap? Sick of getting pushed around, you need…RIOT SHIELD!
[ext.] The same scene, where the woman walks past him again, except this time when she sneezes he raises the riot shield blocks her sneeze and pushes her away. This causes her to fall back over a low wall.
Narrator: See how he kicked her ass? With the Riot Shield, you’ll be able to KICK ASS LIKE THIS GUY! This shield doesn’t just block, it does so much more…
[ext.] A man in a suit is hurridly trying to get to work but a crowd of people blocks his path. He has a face of desperation
Narrator: This guys late for work, does he take it like a man? Hell no! He uses RIOT SHIELD!
[ext.] Cuts to the same scene where this time he begins to run towards the crowd with a Riot Shield. The scene cuts to black just as he reaches them, and you here the sounds of chaos as it is obvious he is smashing his way through. The scene then comes back and we see him on the other side of the crowd who have all been pushed to the ground, one of the men looks up shocked at him.
Narrator: Oh, was that his boss he just Riot Shielded? Well…WHO’S THE BOSS NOW? RIOT SHIELD IS!
[ext.] Cuts to a street scene. A man is walking down the street with a Riot Shield on his back. A bird flies over and he looks up to see a “shadow” descending towards him. Just as its about to hit him, the camera freezes.
Narrator: You’re walking down the street and you get assaulted. Not by a person, but by fecal matter. Bird crap, horse crap, cow crap, dog crap. Cant take the abuse, BULL CRAP! Nothing beats Riot Shield!
[ext.] The camera resumes but he stops the crap just in time.
[int.] Cuts to a girl screaming at man inside a house (more specifically a lounge). He’s trying to ignore her but he cant take it anymore so he raises his shield up and her shouting is drowned out. He then continues to watch TV whilst she continues to shout at him.
Narrator: Hot wife, giving you lip? Her time of the month? Then no worries! Riot Shield has anti menstruation technology. MENSTROLOGY TECHNOLOGY!
[int.] There’s a table where dinner has been laid on for a dinner party. The guests are having a good time apart from the man, who is having a hard time from a woman who repeatedly points back to his wife. She is obviously his mother in law. He put his face into his hands and sighs.
Narrator: Now what’s worse than a torrent of needless blood and abuse?! Mother in Laws! Giant mother in laws, GIANT MAWS! Maw giving you a migraine, push her off YOUR property with the RIOT SHIELD!
[int.] The mother in law is still nagging, the man stands up resolutely and picks up his riot shield. He then proceeds to push her out of the house and onto the street.
[ext.] Cuts a garden. The wife is still having a go at her husband. In her rage, she picks up watermelons and throws them violently her husband. He defends himself with the Riot Shield.
Narrator: Riot Shield protects against all kinds of massed food attacks. Mashed potato, apples, cabbages, pies, bricks and even WATERMELONS! RIOT SHIELD!
[int.] Its a still shot of a lounge, santa claus is trying to get into a house for christmas. He gets out from the fireplace and stands up and begins to walk to the door. A man with Riot Shield is in his way, Santa smells something and with a look of fear runs back towards the fire place and gets into the chimney.
Narrator: Annoying round red objects still getting you down? Colorful overly joyful Buddhist hobo’s trying to break in every winter? Good news. Riot Shield has a coating of Bad Santa repellent, BANTAPELLENT!
[ext.] It is a scene of horror. The world is portrayed (albeit poorly) as a zombie infested apocalyptic place where the apparent last man is standing watching as a horde of zombies comes towards him. As they approach he unslings his Riot Shield and proceeds to beat them back.
Narrator: When the unthinkable happens and the streets are full of hungary, mindless, flesh eating zombies. Protect yourself with RIOT SHIELD!
[Final Shot] Its now a shot of the Riot Shield on display with payment information shown. Jokes are made such as the price is $9.99 but the shipping is $400 and the deal is only in effect for the next 10 seconds.
Narrator: RIOT SHIELD! GET IT NOW! Warning, does not actually protect against riots. Call now or you chance will be lost forever, Riot Shield are not responsible for any harm you may and probably will incur from using the Riot Shield product because quite frankly your an idiot.

Cat Abbott – Zombie make up, filming the zombie scene, ‘acting’ in the watermelon scene, filming the watermelon close-ups, and editing,
Chance – Directed most of the scenes, co-scripted, acted in the watermelon and zombie scenes, filmed the sports, santa and bird poo scenes,
Evan – Acted in the food/kitchen scene,
Sam – Acted in the santa scene, made storyboards, filmed the watermelon scenes, acted in the zombie scene,
Max H – Acted in the zombie scene and bird poo scene, editing, filmed the santa scene and sports scene,
Alex – Acted in the sports scene and zombie scene, filmed the watermelon scene, directed a few scenes,
Kat – Provided a santa suit and watermelon, filmed and directed the food/kitchen scene,
Felix – co-scripted, provided ‘Matilda’ the riot shield, acted in the zombie and santa scenes,
Max L – directed the food/kitchen scene

most text taken from Cat Abbott’s blog, by the way.

NIGHT OUT ANIMATION COMPLETED WOOO!!!

A Night Out

Rather than focusing on a personal night out experience, I found I had more creative flexibility if I started from scratch. My night out story is about a little girl who recruits a boy to join her on mischievous adventures in the astral plane. Together, they bully the spirits of another world. They soon find out that their target spirits were children as well and that the mother spirit was not pleased.
This story explores concepts of child psychology. Children have little understanding of the consequences of their actions. The two children in this animation attack spirits in a place unfamiliar to them. The disconnection of a humanistic world encourages barbaric behavior similar to that of The Lord of the Flies.
This was a difficult animation to do because I have little experience with character animation and I am a beginner with AfterEffects. This project taught me a lot about the program and the importance of a proper naming system for assets. As of this moment the animation is about 40% complete and does not have an original score. As far as the finished scenes are concerned, I am very proud with the quality of the product.

Progress with my maya project

A screenshot of my night out animation