Video End of the Year Reflection

Runaway

For the music video remake, I worked together with two of my other classmates. We first decided on a plausible music video that we thought we could remake. We chose Runaway by Kanye West although it was a challenge. Once we had picked out our video we began the rest of our preproduction steps. We created a cast and crew list, multiple beat sheets, multiple storyboards, and a lyrics sheet. We then made a schedule for when we would shoot the video. The original video features many dancers and Kanye playing the piano in a suit and tie. One of my partners wore his suit and tie for the video and we were able to get some dancers from our school's dance team for the video. Props for the video were our own such as cash, wine, and Rolexs. We shot the video in our school's courtyard and tried to use the six shot system, lighting, and timing to make the video as best as possible. We also used a Phantom4 drone to record some of our footage of the dancers from a bird's eye view. On a later day we recorded shots of our Kanye riding on top of a jeep using our Phantom4 drone. Once finished recording our footage we edited it in PremierePro and sequenced the video how we wanted. From start to finish the video took about 3 weeks to make. Overall my partners and I were very pleased with the final film. The final edit of the video was on youtube, but was removed due to copyright issues. I think I did a good job of managing my time with this film and that is one of the reasons it is some of my best work. I did as much editing as my group would let me on this project and tried to follow general guidelines like no "jump cuts". I think for future films I can try to be more cinematic while filming and look for more interesting and unique shots.

17 Again

This assignment was to recreate a movie trailer that's plot revolved around high school. We began by picking a trailer. My group chose the film 17 Again. Next we created story boards and laid out every shot. We then created a script of dialog from the real trailer for each shot. We also created a cast list and a list of props that we needed for the film. Finally we began filming each shot that was on the storyboards. We were unable to remake certain shots from the real trailer, because they needed special effects or were to complicated for our budget and time frame. Once we got all the film we needed we began editing our trailer. Each of us edited the film ourselves to created 3 different videos. There was little variation between the videos because we tried to replicate the original trailer. I was not very happy with the final product of mine. We were rushed to film because we did a bad job of our project management and ran out of time. In future projects I will do a better job of managing my time but continue to take my time in the editing process to add the little details. Although I was not happy with the final product, I really enjoyed making this project and hope to gain more experience doing similar projects. I still need to work on my cinematography and the types of shots I get.

Wither

This project was the most challenging project I've had all year. The goal was to create a short film that would have an Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3 and that would last about five minutes. We began by having all four people in our group write a treatment and then a script for a short film. Once finished we decided who's would be the best fit for our time frame and skill level. After picking the script we would use, we began storyboarding the whole short film. We made a preproduction schedule and list of all actors, locations, and props we would be using. Me and one other group member shot and edited the whole film by ourselves. We chose to do our film about a boy named Cameron who becomes depressed and lonely when he moves to a new school. He meets a girl he likes and things look like they're going to get better but after everything that has happened and all the pressure, Cameron takes his own life. It's an interesting twist in the film that I think is unexpected. I was forced the play the role of Cameron when one of our actors fell through. I believe my acting in the film makes it seem more unrealistic and cheesy due to my lack of acting skills. We faced a lot of challenges throughout production including losing an actor, scheduling film times, and getting all the shots we needed. I sequenced most of the film and did my best to make it look good in the editing process. This was one of my favorite projects because of the challenge and the creativity. It forced me to step it up and do my best although I think we still came up short. The length of the video is much shorter than we intended and I think that we lost some of the foreshadowing and the events leading up to the climax that were important to the telling of the story. I wouldn't change much about this film other than the length. I think my cinematography improved and that you can see it in my work.

Animation Personal Project

This project is something I did in After Effects. I started with the picture of the fire pit and added the flames and smoke. Using key frames and masks I was able to create a realistic fire. I really enjoyed this project and I think special effects are really cool. I hope to do more projects like this.

Animation End of the Year Reflection

Reflection

     This year in animation I learned many different things animation techniques. I became very good at using Maya and after effects. I became a lot more familiar with 3D and 2D modeling animations. I also learned to collaborate with my peers through group projects. On a regular basis, I practiced project management during the creation of all my projects. Communication was a big part of the class because you often worked with your peers to get their opinions on projects. Leadership is something I struggled to show this semester, although I did come up with the plot for my animation final group project.
    I learned all how to do 3D modeling though tutorials in Maya and through just using the program more. This has allowed me to become more fluent in the world of animation. Some animation projects were harder than others. Personally I struggle with the 2D animation projects in After Effects. Walk cycles and puppet pin tools are some techniques that I need to practice and get better at. I believe I am best at 3D modeling in Maya. I have become really good at creating things in Maya since I first starting using it.
   If you were to give me an object to create in Maya, I could created a good detailed version of it, light the scene, texture the object, and render out the object. I am pretty familiar with Maya now. The only thing I would change about my accomplishments in this class would be that I would like to become more familiar with After Effects. I have really enjoyed everything I've learned this semester in Animation!
    I've grown a lot in Ecomm since I first began animation. When I did animation as a freshman in e9, everything I did was extremely simple and guided. Now I am using my own creativity to and am coming up with my own style in my projects. My teacher just gives us an assignment and I do it with my own spin on it. I've made and grown a lot of relationships throughout this year and my journey in animation. From start to finish my projects take about 8 hours.

Personal Project Review

For this project we were assigned to create a product in Maya and After Effects. I started by coming up with different product ideas. After choosing Fishe Starz, a starfish shaped gummy candy, and drawing a picture of the label, I began to create the label in After Effects. Once finished with this, I began creating the shape of the container for the product. When the container and label were finished, I put them together in Maya. I did a simple rotation of the product and rendered it. I would take more time on the label and make it more in detail. I would keep the shape of the container because I think it fits the product well. I will use other skills I acquire from to new projects to enhance similar projects in the future. I enjoyed making this project because it allowed me to use my creativity.

Professional Animation Project Review

This article reviews the amazing CGI that the animators of The Hobbit series; it focuses on The Battle of the Five Armies. The series features CGI techniques that allow light bouncing off of one object to effect the color of another object. The animators developed software that would track the invisible rays of light as they bounce and move off of computer models. The story is about a young hobbit who must journey with dwarfs to defeat a dragon and take back their home. They are followed by orcs and other darkness that tests them, including a powerful ring. Something I can apply from this project is the lighting techniques. Good lighting techniques make everything look more realistic. One technique used that I've already learned is smoke and debris techniques. This is very good work and I think it is a big part of what made the movie successful.
http://www.popsci.com/special-effects-2014-hobbit-covers-new-ground

Plausibly Impossible

In this example Mickey is pulled up to a tabletop by a telephone pulling his wire while Mickey rides it. This is plausible because in real life it is similar to someone pulling another person up something with some rope. It is impossible because the telephone could never be alive and Mickey could never become that small.

In this example Mickey is shuffled in with a deck of cards. This is plausible because Mickey is the same size as the cards and could easily be mixed in with the deck. It is impossible because there is no way anyone could be the same size or thickness of a card. It looks pretty cool though.

In this example Mickey is dancing with the queen of hearts. This is plausible because the card has a female personality and men and woman usually dance together. This is impossible because a card could never take on a personality of a human and Mickey could never be the same size as a card.

In this example Mickey needs a sharp object to battle the king of hearts because he is coming at Mickey with a sword. Mickey finds this little sewing needle that is plausible because it is pointing and sharp. It is ideal and similar to what an actual sword could look like in a smaller form. It is also impossible because Mickey would never be fighting a card with a sewing needle.

In this example Mickey is being chased by a lot of cards and needs to combat against them. He stumbles up on this pen that is full of ink. This is plausible to use this as a gun because it has ink as ammunition and ink could work well against paper cards. It is also impossible because a pen could never be used a gun that shot ink at crazy combatting cards.

Professional Runaway Music Video Review

Kanye West has a very abstract style in his music videos. In particular the music video for the song Runaway is quite unique. The director does a very good job of making the music video interesting although the setting never changes and there is little for a plot. The change of angles and the use of the 6-shot system is what accomplishes the interesting flair of the video. The synchronized movement of the ballet to Kanye's music creates a beautiful captivating tone. The director uses many closeups of the dancers, Kanye, and the piano. All of these are things I tried to incorporate into my remake of the video.