The post-production work in 'Lunch'

This video is a part of 'Lunch' which is Roger's cultural differences task. In the video, the actor was played two characters at once. The reason why we do that is firstly because the realistic problem, we can not find another actors to act the role. Secondly, it shows one person experiences different lives between Britain and China. So making the video this way can deal with the problem short of actors, and present our theme in a supernatural way.

 

How we make it is that, when shooting, we do not change any parameter of camera, just keep it static, and shoot the same scene twice. One is the actor comes in from left side; the other is from right side. In the post-production process, I use the Rotobrush, mask the left side actor off frame by frame. Finally, I composite the left actor with the right one, it becomes to the video above.

 

From making this video, I have learned that post-production is like magic, it could not only make film reality but also change the way of narration. Besides, I have gained post-production experiences when making a film. It relevant with the supernatural events in my future project.

Lighting Session in Roger's house

This time we have been to Roger's house. What we have done in his house is practice the lights setting. Our group are in the room with windows, but the windows can not offer enough lights. So we use the red headlight as the main light. But if use the light directly, it will be too intensive, therefore, Roger taught us we can point it to the ceiling, then the diffuse reflection will made the lights more natural. And from this session, I know what is the usage of different gel. The blue gel will make the vision looks calm, The yellow gel makes the shot warm like sunshine, the green and red is to used some special situation that you want to demonstrate some weird thing. This session is a good chance to gain knowledge about lighting. And also to experience the cultural difference between Britain and China.

What is CG?

CG is short by Computer Graphics which is the outcome of the digital post-prouction development. It includes art and all the art creation such as presswork design, website design and so on. Generally speaking, CG film is mainly live action film but apply lot of virtual scene and special effects in. The ordinary method is add virtual scene, role and special objects to make film looks real and enhance the visual effects.

The narrow sense of CG film is that all the visual objects such as scene, role, object, special effects in the film are made by post-production. The visual effects are distinguished with conventional 2D animation.

No matter the feather flows in Forrest Gump

 

 

Or the virtual scene in Pearl Harbor, are all made by CG technique.

 

 

CG is widely used in film making, it is an important part of post-production, lots of fantasy film should use CG. It provide fully immersive to audiences.

 







Interview in Broadway





 This is another interview that about the cultural difference between our country and Britain. Each of us have chances to work in every part of this interview.  It is the first time I am interviewed by others, after the shooting finished, Roger teach us how to use Final Cut to edit these original materials. I thought Final Cut is hard to learn before the workshop, actually this editing software is similar to premiere.

From this interview, I have learned a new editing software, it is good for my future work in TV Company. I can not determin which editing software the company offer to me, therefore, the more software I have learned, the more opportunities I can get to work in my dreaming company.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button visual effects

Once mention about Benjamin Button, the fantastic visual come to audience mind. This film is one of famous film director David Fincher's works. The film is about a man named Benjamin who was born with weird disease, that is grow backwards. During the period of his growth, he endure frustrations and discrimination, however, he fall in love with a girl at first sight. The problem they should face to is Benjamin growing younger, he becomes a baby years later.

This is a fantasy story that throughout Benjamin’s whole life. How to shoot different phases of Benjamin’s life is the difficult thing. The post-production company Digital Domain firstly catches 120 facial expressions of Brad Pitt (Benjamin). Then, put this information into different 3D modules to create thousands of Brad’s facial modules, and composite them to different actors’ faces as the pictures below.

Besides, to make the modules moving, Digital Domain creates the CG modules frame by frame, and connects them to real actors. Therefore, before the youth age, Benjamin is not acted by Brad, only the face that is post-production composite.

From researching the post-production of this film, I found that post-production can make things reality, which is a way to ‘blind’ audiences’ eyes. Then, post-production should be the heavy workload when making a film, because Benjamin Button’s crew mentioned that the most difficult thing is recruit people does the post-production work. Nobody is interested in such a complicated post-production, even this is an excellent film. 

Reference research of fairy tale film and post-production (2)

Fairy tale films present with live action is usually incorporate with significant visual effects Greenhill and Matrix (2010). Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam are both famous fairy tale film directors. Although their film genre are the same, they are in different style. The key point should be the post-production way. For example, ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a black fairy tale film, the visual effect is dark and bloody, and the sound of it is horror and abnormal. However, Gilliam’s Brazil presents science fiction movie features, creates fictitious scenes and the sound of it was more nature than ‘Sweeney Todd’. These two films are presented in different way that is mainly because of post-production.

Korris and Macedonia (2002) has pointed out that many conventional film-making techniques are constantly replaced by digital nonlinear editing in post-production with substantial effects and tweaks made digitally. According to Greenhill and Matrix (2010) ‘Fairy tales are fictional narratives that combine human and nonhuman protagonists with elements of wonder and the supernatural’. To achieve the supernatural plots, post-production is necessarily to make surreal elements, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, it used many visual effects and sound effects create the made-up story. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s movie Amelie from Montmartre consisted by warm colour vision and special effects to develop the fairy tale characteristic story.

David(1988)’s theory about narration film is that “’Narration of the subject’ is strictly identified with the formal possibilities of deictic representation in the film text, that is, its organization of point of view and its threading of the spectator’s vision therein”. In other words narration could present the subject of film by its structure and the connection with audience’s imagination. Fairy tale film is also requiring narration to create the fantastic plot that influence people’s thoughts about films even about themselves.

Reference research of fairy tale film and post-production (1)

These work above is the reference that relevant with my project, at the beginning, I want to research all the post-production fields of fairy tale film. However, when I narrow it to supernatural events, the editing and the sound effects can not work any more, therefore, this part is not present in my Learning Agreement, but from research these information. I can firmly know the general understanding of  post-production. And know what is fairy tale film, the progress of research reference is a improvement of my film theory. It helps me from confusing to clear gradually.  

Post-production is an important part of film. First of all, the narration of post-production is mentioned in many books. One of the most important ways to present the fairy tale film is the narrative method (Jack, 2011). Besides, John and Connelly (2011) rose that ‘editing is the main activity in post-production’. Post-production as a magical method, could stimulate the emotion of film by adding music in (John and Connelly, 2011). Then, the advanced technology of post-production is transforming the way visual effects are used in films (Cram, 2012). “One thing that modern effects have brought is the ability to be utterly perfectionistic” says Dixon (cited in Cram, 2012). Thus, editing, narration, sound and visual effects are significant elements of film.

Greenhill and Matrix (2010) explained about fairy tale film that, once the story has explained what the supernatural event is, why it has occurred, and its meaning within the person’s life, the fantastic then becomes either the “marvelous” or the “uncanny.” If the story attributes a rational explanation (such as drug-induced illusions or bad dreams) for the “apparently supernatural event”, it instantiates the uncanny. But if the narrative instead accepts the supernatural event as real and magical, it is marvelous (such as in fairy tales). If the narrative does not specify how the actions took place (as in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, which offers no rationale for its supernatural incidents), the story remains simply classified within the fantastic (cited in Greenhill and Matrix 2010, 63). Hence, supernatural plots could determine the quality of a fairy tale film.

Real scene could hardly create supernatural events, so fairy tale film should be relevant with post-production.

Keith (2001) mentioned that ‘post-production involved the transfer of the negative to video, off-line and on-line editing, recording music and narration, and final track laying’. In my project, I would investigate the editing, music and narration of post-production.

AE weather change practice

The main part of my project is post-production. After Effect is the significant way to create post-production effects. Therefore, I make some particle effects in this video. The aim of making it is change the weather of a video. The first picture is the original photo That I shoot in Cambridge, it was a sunny day. I mask the blue sky off and add the cloudy in. Then I used the particle effects to create the smoke. After that, I want to present the rain drops put out the smoke, so I use the rain drops effects.

From making this short video,I learnt more skills of post-production. And I got the idea about how to create some supernatural scene by post-production. It is useful for me to make a fantasy film during my project researching.Although this video is just 9 seconds, I spent a whole night to do it. I know the post-production work needs patience, carefulness and time. I have confident to learn it well.

Ann's Grandmother Storyboard (2nd draft)

These sheets are the first scene of my storyboard-- Ann's Grandmother. I strictly rely on the requirement of storyboard writing to create it. Each of the shot should includes the picture(what present on the screen), the sounds(atmosphere, synchronised, effects, music, levels, fade in/out), the action of actor, weather, time, the transition(wipe, cut,dissolve, fade in/out) between each frame, the motion of camera(track, pan/right/left, tilt up/down, crab, dolly, zoom, static, pull)，the framing(LS, MSCU, ECU/BCU, XLS, XCU, ES, Angle, Focal Length, Composition), even the cloth of actor. In other words, storyboard is to present a film on paper. That is what I try to do in the storyboard bellowing.

After tutorial with Deborah, there is a jump cut between shot 2 with shot 3 because of the same framing, it is better to change the angle between the two shots. What is more, if the actor is moving, using some arrows to present the change of his position. Storyboard is created for crew who will work for this film, therefore, easy to understand and details are significant.

SCENE 1:

Shot 1~ Shot 2

 Shot 3~Shot 4

 Shot 5~Shot 6

 Shot 7~ Shot 8

 Shot 9~ Shot 10

 Shot 11

Summery of After Effect workshop

The AE session comes to the end, I have got many post-production thinking from it. This session is benefit for my project. In my previous script, I have wrote a Fantasy story. A grandmother become a girl who protect her granddaughter until she graduate from university. In the end, the grandmother become a star in the sky. I asked Simon(AE teacher) how to make this scene. He gave me a really nice idea. Firstly, when shooting, I should shoot the same frame twice, first is the background with no actor's in. Do not move and change any property of the camera, shoot the frame with actor. Secondly, when proceed to the post-production work, I have two method to mask the actor off, one is using Matte Difference, it will cut out the difference between the two frames automatically. However, if shoot in the outdoor, the clouds is changing, the first method would does not work. Another one is Rotobrush which is an useful tool to mask objects off, however, it would take long time to work, because I should do it frame by frame. But the outcome of the this tool is excellent.

AE have many useful function, The session is too short, therefore, I should learn it continually to develop my project.

Story board 1st draft

This is my first time to draw a storyboard, it is based on the scripts I have wrote in previous journal. I have finished the beginning eight shot of my scripts. The left side is the film frame, and the right side is the detail of the pictures. The the black mark is the tutor's comment which shows many disadvantages in my storyboard, the first thing is the sound, I should write each frame one sound action. Second one is the transition between each frame is important to write. The location of the scene need to be mentioned at the beginning. I always ignore details of storyboard and scripts writing, because the pictures are shown in my mind, so that I regard some details unnecessarily. However, that is the big mistake I have made. Because Jools mentioned in my scripts commets that storyboard and scripts is for the production team looking for appropriate actors, and other cooperative partners, so I need to present everything the film to complete the storyboard and scripts. So in the second draft of my scripts and storyboard, I will pay more attention to the details of my work.

Ann‘s grandmother script （1st draft）with Jools' comments

ETARY

Ann put a bound of lily in front of her grandmother's grave.

Folding her hands together and seems talking something.

Suddenly it was raining.

A lady passes an umbrella to Ann.

She raised her head.

ANN

Thank you!

The lady smiles and nods her head.

ANN

How can I return it to you?

LADY

My house No.XXX.

SCENERY SHOT (TRAINSITION)

LADY'S HOUSE (OUTSIDE THE DOOR)

Ann knocks at the door it was opened with a squish.

A elder woman opens the door, looks at Ann

ANN

hi, i just return this umbrella to the lady, does she live here?

the woman takes the umbrella and say

WOMAN

Thank you.

At the same time, she closed the door.

STREET (NIGHT)

Ann is on her way back home

a psychopath catches her and pushes her to the wall

Ann struggling, shouting and crying,but no one could help her.

Suddenly the lady appeared to beat the psychopath off.

Ann hugs the lady and cry out loudly.

LADY

he is gone.

ANN

who are you?

LADY

Siren. Your school mate

ANN

why I did not met you before?

LADY

because you always focus on study.

It is too late, I got to go.

The lady soon walk away.

SCHOOL CORRIDOR (DAY)

Ann walk in the school corridor, Siren walk forward and pat her shoulder and run quickly.

SIREN

I have a meeting.

ANN

could you please tell me your name again?

other school mate looks back and answers ANN

MATE

I have told you four years, but you still can not remember my name.

at the same time Siren says:"s-i-r-e-n, siren"

Ann smiled

ONE MONTH LATER BEFORE GRADUATION

SCHOOL DAY

Ann sit behind Siren

ANN

it is the last day before graduation, how about take a photo to mark our university life?

SIREN

EN...sounds good.

PHOTO STUDIO

photographer controls the camera

Ann and Siren stand in front of the background

PHOTOGRAPHER

3,2,1. good.

Come back 2 days later to get your photo.

GRADUATION DAY

Ann walk to Siren's classroom, her seat is empty

Ann find Siren every where, but can not find her.

SIREN'S HOUSE

Ann knocks the door anxiously, but no one answered

she ask the pass-by people

ANN

do you know where is the houselord?

PASS-BY PEOPLE

there is no one lives in for years.

Ann can not believe.

PHOTO STUDIO

the photos lay on the table, only Ann was in it.

ANN

Do you see the girl take photos with me?

PHOTOGRAPHER

Are you drunk? only you come here that day.

Ann can not believe it.

ROAD

she run on the road.

The suspicious scene come back to her memory: in siren's house, in the school corridor, in the cemetery.

suddenly, she got an idea,she go back to cemetery.

CEMETERY (AFTERNOON)

Ann runs to her grand mother's grave

Siren appeared to her,

SIREN

I know you will come back, but I can not stay with you anymore, because it is time for you to face your life by your self. I will always stare at you.

SIREN walk in Ann's grandmother's grave, and lay inside. She suddenly became the sun, and grandmother smile at Ann.

Ann turns back , tears dropped from her eyes, she dry her tears and says:" It's time to start my new life."

Actually I want to explain Ann's grandmother dead long time ago, she become a girl who others can not see to protect Ann. After graduation,  Ann should be an adult to face the society, so her grand mother can not protect her anymore.

Jools comment:

How do we know it is her Grandmother's grave? what tells the viewer this? Nothing written in this scene tells us anything about these relationships. Suddenly it was raining isnt the best way to tell us that the rainstorm is sudden. Is it severe rain? it feels like it the way you have written this.

You should write number not noxxx. you should alao give us a number. Why not simply make one up?

You need to write the transition (not trainsition) scene. We need a location. 'scenery' isn't a location. This document is for the production team as well as finding, actors, set and costume designers, so 'Scenery' shot doesn't tell us anything. You have written it as a 'scene heading' but perhaps it simply needs to be 'action' and not a 'scene heading'. Even so you need to tell us what we see.

'opened with a squish' I don't understand that.

a 'psychopath'. This is too easy. Imagine what we would be seeing on the screen. This is waht you shuld write. You write 'psychopath' as if this imeidately means something but it doesn't. psychopaths can look a number of different ways so be more specific. Every word is an opportunity to tell a story.

Your explanation at the end make sense and you need to think about the story and the screen. watch a film over the weekend, on television, that you can record if possible and then examine it to see how the story is told through dialogue and more importantly through ACTION, ACTION, ACTION. What the characters do and don't do as well as what they say

After Effects Practice

After Effects is a basic element of film post-production, it is useful for my MA project. The in class time is limited, so I make this tiny video to practice the After Effects skills. It is my first time to use it, and the old  AE edition that I got, therefore, this 6 seconds video shows a rough effects. I have used three pictures to make this video, it looks simple, but takes me 5 hours to do that.

This practice makes me more skillful with manipulating After Effects than before. I know how to matting, how to set the vectorgraph in video, and how to change to colour and so on. Matting is the most practical part of film-making, because it makes me possible to add supernatural scene in film, such as putting two same people in one scene. I think it is a good start to learn more complicated post-production techniques. They make most impossible plots possible, thus, I feel confident in making fairy tale film.

Three original pictures are as follow:

The Analysis of Tim Burton's film (1)

Tim Burton is a director and producer of the fairy tale movies. From the moment he appeared in the sight of all, he was loved by fans like the black humor and marked with the styles like solitary, bold, and dark and so on. Two dozen of his movies are mainly took the fairy tale materials, but he presented the fairy tales in ways of dark abnormally. His movies highlight not just the simple fairy tales but the irony of reality beyond the fairy tales field by means of Gothic style. The distinct contrast of beauty and fear formed the great art tension which is not only on visual but also on psychological.


It was because of the expression form of Tim Burton, which is inconsistent with the mainstream movie, so there has much incomprehension about him. Many people think that the existing of fairy tales is to meet people's aspiration of the beautiful life, to provide the children a good guide for the future life. The Gothic fairy tale is precisely the opposite, however, it takes the most "pure" things in the world to reflect the most "ugly" things, and set the hell of the background in the "Corpse Bride" to irony the beauty in world, this inevitably opposed by the people who hold the mainstream thinking concept. But what they did not aware is that the greater visual tension and dramatic tension present by this exaggerated contrast maybe could reached what the mainstream fairy tales can not reach.

5 Words and A Story

Ann have a good friend Siren, they are classmates they play together, eat together, go to class together.Siren always give Ann a hand when she faced some problem. One day before graduation, they go to photo studio take photos as momento. The day at graduation, Ann could not find Siren, she is missing. Ann call her but can not get through, Ann go to Siren's home but nobody in. A passer-by tell her this house is no one lives in for long time. Ann can not believe it, she back to photo studio to get all the photos. There is only Ann inside.

She ask the photographer: "do you see the girl photoed with me ? "

"No, you came here alone."

Suddenly, every suspicious memories come back: people's wondering eyes and so on.

Ann's tear drop fallen down to the photo, Siren suddenly appear on it, says:"you can find me in XX."

Ann come to the place at the expected time, but this is her grandmother's grave, she dead 10 years ago. Suddenly, Siren appeared and smile,then walk into her grandmother's grave. Ann turns back and closes her eyes, tears dropped from her eyes and says:" It's time to start my new life."

5 Words:  Happiness, Worry, Sad, Love, Growth

The Analysis of Tim Burton's film (2)

The Gothic movies are mainly about the strange and mysterious adventure stories happen in dark and secluded places (such as the deserted castle). However, the fairy tales are mainly faced to the children, they are always the fiction works with a strong fantasy color and shape the character images through rich imagination, fantasy, exaggeration and symbol tools to reflect the life, and the stories plot often be strange, intricate and fascinating. The Gothic fairy tale is a combination that it doesn't take the traditional subject of warm and nice, but a non-mainstream expression form. The appearance of Gothic fairy tale has brought the modern mainstream fairy tale another new narrative way which turns into the fairy tale didn't suitable for children. Moreover, the tension of the movie allows it form the effect of "1+1≥2" which is the original single element can’t reach by the collision of the two distinct aspect in drama and vision. It not only provide a new expression mode for the contemporary bizarre movies, but also offer the right understand way on the Gothic fairy tale movies to the audience. Most subjects of this style movie are focused on the human nature which is the satire for the dark side in society. They take the nice thing brought by the "ugly thing" to satirize the things looks beauty, together with the tension created by the contrast to sublimate the theme of movie and the deeper ideological connotation was reflected. This make the audience understand the meaning of beauty and ugliness from another perspective that not just from the visual point, but also from the heart to realize the truth, kind and beauty. In this way, the Gothic fairy tale gives a profounder psychological feeling which is the most significance of art tension in Gothic fairy tale.

The movie style of Tim Burton has very obvious features which is different with the aesthetics movie that it does not explore ideas by profound imagery, but in the form and content to rendering the audience on their ideology. The Gothic fairy tale is not the light-hearted fairy tale for children, but the instructive movies full of irony on real world which touch the people's heart, this black humor often appear in Tim Burton's movies.





His first movie of "Vincent" was treated as the prohibitive movie for children by Disney Executive and blocked at the moment it appeared, and it was this movie that has laid out his later movie style of fantastic fairy tale. There also have some bright tone in his movies, such as the "Big Fish", "The Chocolate Factory" and so on, but he continue merged with the fantasy and adventure plot into Gothic movies, and we can find this art tension generally exist in Tim Burton's movies. The development of Gothic fairy tales is rapidly growing and more and more audience turn to love the black humor. And from the movies of Tim Burton in recent years, the movie tone presents the clear and canty trend gradually, but still invariable thing is the human nature subjects, such as the "Alice in Wonderland", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Big Fish". We look forward that the art tension of Gothic fairy tale with the Tim Burton's characteristics will last long expressed in his future works, and perhaps his movie is about to become the mainstream.

The characteristics of Gothic fairy tale film

Combining with the fine works of Tim Burton to analyze the characteristics of the Gothic fairy tale.


The characteristics of sense of vision and hearing: the expression forms mainly focused on the black and somber tone of the screen, the exaggerated characters and magical scenes. The music style always is more bizarre and eerie. The vision, hearing and music combine together to form the strong special style of characteristics. These has reflected in many movies of Tim Burton, such as the "Corpse Bride", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Sweeney Todd", all these movies took the dark screen style as the basic tone of the movie and the dark and sunless scenes throughout the whole movies under the weird background music to form a unique sense of Gothic.





The characteristics of drama: in the movie, a majority of the stories are the fairy tale theme of fantasy and adventure tours that they always happened in the castles, underground, and other dark, hidden and gloomy places. Set the bizarre plot of the background, based on the weird and different characters personality to consist the structure of the movies, as well as the satire on the complex reality life through the fairy tales which lost the innocence. At the same time, the designing of the character images is one of the major features of the movies. Under the character images who with the demonize appearance there always have a soft and kind heart, or the characters who looks kind will always do some thing be vicious, but the heroes of the movies must be kind hearted, the ending always give people with profound inspiration and form the effect of irony. In the movie of "Sweeney Todd", the distinctive Gothic opera add more color to the movie, it is the dark tone that instantaneously created the delicate dramatic tension which made the movie no longer rigidly in the Gothic style and also contained a dark and merry temperament.

The birth of Avatar (3)

Although the main purpose of HD camera is to provide references for Weta Digital animator, but it also has other uses, this can create a similar movie with real film shooting environment. This helps the director to shoot and design the screen, and helps actors to understand the relationship between them with lens. When Cameron increase in the digital environment, he can not image what the picture will be. Murthan said:” Depending on the position of camera, the way of actors’ acting are different. When the action extend the close-up frame, the traditional way is shooting the motion capture and then add all other cameras. This method would cause a problem, because all the actors do not know when should take close-up and long shot. When shooting close-up vision in motion capture stage, all the cameras are the same. So there is no acting details difference between close-up and long shot.

When the background adjustment are satisfied, Cameron began add cameras. He uses the virtual camera moves in the CG scene. Matt Madden said:” Cameron will be selectively used the camera to shoot the performances are real-time virtual camera output will be allocated to Avid, the editor will combine all the shots together. When upload the new wcene, Cameron sometimes sit near the editor, and see the editing work, and waiting for the next scene loading. After loaded all the scene, if  he feel the previous shots are good, he will prepare for next shot.” After recisely cut a good camera lens, we regards it as “template”. We hand the template to Weta Digital. Nolan Murtha said:” In fact, the shots we give Weta Digital is rough, but with the complete special effects.”But what in the final movie that will included in these shots.

When create the Avatar model, we added more features to make sure people recognize the actor who plays them. In all Avatar, Grace’s avatar is the hardest sculpture, it is the mixture of The Na'vi and youth Sigourney Weaver, that can comply with the story, because Grace’s Avatar is cultivate out 18 years ago. In order to follow the age of Sigourney Weaver, Stan Winston studio input Zbrush (Alien 3), and use these pictures to create the characteristics of Grace’s Avatar. Jim Cameron explained: . " Na'vi has a wide , like a lion 's nose , like the middle of a brick face, high cheekbones. All of these features are matched with Sam Winthington’s face. In some places it is suitable Sigourney face, she also has high cheekbones and angular chin but her nose narrow high. We tried to add Na'vi wide nose to her face , but it do not like her. You can no longer recognize she is Sigourney Weaver. So we must communicate with John and his team many times, they are great and they have many years of experience in make-up, they know what to do, how to make the different length and width nose of Avatar Grace. We used Sgourney nose to create Grace Avatar, this approach also produced good results , because the role still have big eyes and other features .

The birth of Avatar (2)

Shot in the combination of scene, Cameron firstly use the virtual camera and a stuntman to create the shot. Cameron said:"We are basically shooting while post-production, so it will not destroy the final results, but will make it messy, because we were not able to figure out the technology in a timely manner, we did not complete the pre-motion capture before shooting. Later another deadline is approaching, the main role of the actor have come up, but we never give using the idea that design a good shot through stuntman. We always design a scene then design a good shot, finally shoot the acting. "

Most of the time, Cameron are shooting the actor wearing motion capture constume, and facial capture device, spend only a few days before shooting scenery inspections and design lens. Cameron said:” Normally, we are probably 10 days to inspect the scene motion capture, then use 10 days to capture the actor's movements. Then we will back to editing room, editing all the shots while send them to Weta, after that we inspect few days.” The actors on stage, Cameron regards virtual camera as a viewfinder, the virtual camera is a window leading to the virtual world. Nolan Murthan explained:” Jim regards the virtual camera as a viewfinder, to watch the virtual environment. Although other actors are leave, he often change some camera position. But they still need to arrangement a good shot before shooting.

After all the lens arranged, Cameron pay attention to the performance and high-definition cameras. Cameron stan on 8-12 HD cameras arena, shoot actors from different angles, the virtual camera as “Camera A” is the centre of scene. Richard Baneham said: " We should shoot the angle the main camera can not shoot. If there are two actors in one scenes, we should take the long shot to show their interaction, medium shots to present their relationship, medium shot is always taken parts above the knee, and then focus on close-up. If you want to capture the details of a complex hand props or exchange something like that, we will use a specialize camera.”

The birth of Avatar (1)

In 2007, the virtual makers have tested the positions of actors’ body in captured system. In April, Cameron started to shoot Avatar in Playa Vista studio. In general, the virtual arts sector will design the shooting circumstance according to the idea of film. Then the assistant director Josh McLaglen will check the scene setting in advance to make sure all the setting are available. Cameron mentioned that the previous times he came here they spend half of a day to revise the scene setting. Till the end of shooting, my requirement is solving some basic problem, and basically makes sure the setting is appropriate to low requirement. This is the first step.

After the virtual arts sector collect all of the scene setting, stage properties and role material, the motion capture workers should test to ensure all the virtual shots are not excess the real time broadcast. Nolan Mutha explained that the more the shots are, the less possible could broadcate in real time. So the test is to makesure the they could catch the realtime scene.

Then, send all the virtual information to stage worker. They create the hill, forests, river and other model of environment. Cameron thought that, if they need to create some virtual objects in post-production they should create a real scene, that could not only support the actors acting, but also import it into virtual environment rapidly.

Camera practice

This video is the interview practice we did in the camera workshop. The aim of making this video is to know how to make an formal interview by ourselves.

When we doing this First of all is select a proper background, it should be tidy and clean. If the interview is in the open air or near the window, the natural light should be considered. Once choose the background, we should set up the camera. This time we shoot in the studio, and we set three point lights. The main light is from the left side, the fill light is from right side, last one is in right back. We constantly check the camera when adjust the lights, and look for a best light effect. Then, the interviewer should sit close to the right of camera. After everyone is ready, the interview could start.

What I have learn from this practice first is the lights setting. Interviewee should looks natural in the screen, it is hard to define the position and the intention of the lights. It depends on the real situation of shooting the interview. When the interviewee talk about something sensitive or emotional, we can zoom in to close up his face. This shot enable audiences feel close to the interviewee and easy to push audiences emotion into the interviewee's situation.

Learning Agreement

School of Art and Design                                                                             2013/14

MA:	Learning Agreement

 

Name: Muyang Li

 

Course: Film Practice

 

Date: 13/11/2013

 

 

 

What is your subject of study?

     My subject is how post-production create the characteristics of fairy tale film. I will mainly research how post-production works in visual effect, narration and the sound features when making fairy tale film.

 

What is your research question?

   How is post-production used to create the characteristics of fairy-tale film?

 

Research aim(s):

What are the overall aims of the project?

   My research aims are in following aspect:

1.      Investigate the features of fairy tale film.

2.      Researching how post-production present the visual effect of fairy tale film.

3.      Explore structure of the fairy tale stories.

4.      Understand montage editing, how it works in film.(The narration of film)

5.      How post production technique makes fairy tale film in different styles?

 

 

Research objectives(s):

What are the specific tangible project objectives?

Note: these are separate to what you personally need to learn in terms of skills and knowledge, see learning objectives below.

1. Search more references about post production and fairy tale film.
2. Using case study of some typical directors’ films such as Telry Gilliam and Jean Pierre Jeunet or others.
3. Analyse some best editing award films
4. Make 2 short live-action fairy tale films.

 

Rationale

·         What is the wider context of your project?

Fairy tale film is not only presents a fiction story, but also shows a reflection of audiences themselves.  As Greenhill and Matrix stress in their introduction, “the mirror of fairy tale film reflects not so much what its audience members actually are but how they see themselves and their potential to develop (or, likewise, to regress). Fairy tale film is a way to make people know more about themselves.

 

The way how to use post-production techniques present fairy tale film on screen is important. Pauline and Sidney (2010) mentioned in their book ’Fairy Tale Films’ that “the artistic re-creations of fairy tale plots and characters in film are significant because they mirror possibilities of estranging ourselves from designated roles and the conventional patterns of the classical tales”. Therefore, the post-production will influence the audiences’ feeling directly.

 

 

·         How does the project relate to your previous experience/practice?

I have edited short films, and I get some post production skills from it. It helps me know the meaning of post production.

 

My bachelor dissertation was the study of Tim Burton’s films. From the research of his films, I found some features of fairy-tale film. I think I can use some familiar research methods to deeply investigate my project.

 

·         How does it relate to relevant current practices, debates and theory?

Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam are both famous fairy tale film directors. Although their film genre is the same, their films are in different style. The key point should be the post-production way. For example, ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a black fairy tale film, the visual effect is dark and bloody, and the sound of it is horror and abnormal. However, ‘Brazil’ presents science fiction movie features, the visual effect is colourful and the sound of it was more nature than ‘Sweeney Todd’. These two films are presented in different way that is mainly because of post-production.

 

Narration of post-production is also mentioned in many books. One of the most import ways to present the fairy tale film is the narrative method (Jack, 2011). Narration of fairy tale film is an important role to show the idea. Once the story has explained what the supernatural event is, why it has occurred, and its meaning within the person’s life, the fantastic then becomes either the “marvelous” or the “uncanny.” If the story attributes a rational explanation (such as drug-induced illusions or bad dreams) for the “apparently supernatural event”, it instantiates the uncanny. But if the narrative instead accepts the supernatural event as real and magical, it is marvelous (such as in fairy tales). If the narrative does not specify how the actions took place (as in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, which offers no rationale for its supernatural incidents), the story remains simply classified within the fantastic cited by Pauline and Sidney (2010, 63).

 

·         Why is the intended research significant? (So what?)

Research the post-production features in fairy tale film would offer better understanding of making this genre of films. Filmmakers could easily deliver their thought to audiences when making a fairy tale film. As Pauline and Sidney (2010) argues that “the fairy tale film’s frame—not only the physical limits of what it actually shows but also its containment in time and space—allows an often-succinct and telling expression. Its metaphorical flexibility means that viewers can potentially return at different times and receive different, sometimes even contradictory, impressions of the film’s meanings and intentions.” The key point of a film is created by filmmaker, so their thought would finally influence the viewer’s opinion.  Therefore, my research is significant.

 

·         How does this project relate to your plans for the future?

In the future, I will work in the media company, and I tend to be a video editor.

Methodology

·         Outline the research, creative and intellectual methods you will employ to develop your research project.

1.      Read books, articles and journals to search theory evidence which could support my ideas.

2.      Watch more fairy tale films.

3.      Summarize the post production features in these films in journals.

4.      Make my fairy tale film that can show my thought.

·         Identify ethical considerations where appropriate.

 

Learning objectives

·         Link to your personal skills audit and development plan; identify the skills that you will develop and knowledge that you need to acquire. Match the objectives against the MA programme learning outcomes.

Learn Editing technique such as Final Cut, After Effect.

Learn the editing thought, such as parallel montage, cross cutting.

Study how to structure a good film.

 

Submissions (practical and/or written work)

·         Describe your intended body of work, including your reflective journal and the summative critical review

My reflective journal will show my investigative progress, include some relevant references from book and my critical thinking; I will analyse some movies that I watched, and the progress of making my films.

 

·         Specify the audience and communication context for your project.

The audience of my project can be the people who prefer film post production. Then, it is better to via email or other online tool to share opinions about my project.

 

·         Describe how you intend to evaluate/ test project outcomes with your audience.

I would like to show my film as project outcomes to my audience. I am willing to accept suggestions and answer any questions from audience.

 

Resource implications

·         List what resources are required within or outside of the University

Camera, lighting, editing equipment, voice recording equipment, tripod, and studio.

 

·         Identify other organisations or individuals involved that you will rely upon and describe what role they will have

I might need actors and photographers in making my film.

 

References

Cite material using the Harvard System referenced in the previous sections.

 

Book:

Jack Z. 2011, The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films.

Pauline G. and Sidney M., 2010, Fairy Tale Films Visions of Ambiguity.

James, Henry, 215; The Turn of the Screw, 63

 

Movie:

Telry Gilliam, 1985, Brazil

Tim Burton, 2007, Sweeney Todd

 

Bibliography

Cite essential background or contextual material using the Harvard System of referencing

Books:

 

Elizabeth E., 2008 Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Jack Z., 1996, Towards a Theory of theFairy-Tale Film: The Case of Pinocchio

 

Joanna C., 2008, Jay Cassidy on Into the Wild: The RT Interview [online]. Available at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_wild/news/1717991/jay_cassidy_on_into_the_wild_the_rt_interview/

 

John P., 1975. The effects of context and order in film editing, AV communication review [online], 23(1), pp 69-80. Available via: Springer Link

 

Dudley Andrew J., 1984. Concepts in Film Theory

 

Kokaram A. et al, 2003, A Bayesian framework for recursive object removal in movie post-production, Image processing [online],pp I – 937, Available via: ieeexplore

 

Matthew T., 1980. Means for post-production film-making

 

Roger C. 2006. Fine cuts [electronic resource]: the art of European film editing

 

Sergei E., 1970. A Dialectic Approach to Film Form

 

Toby M., 1999. A Companion to Film Theory

 

Vincent LoBrutto, 1991. Selected Takes: Film Editors on Editing

 

Walter Murch, 2003. The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film

 

 

 

 

Films:

 

Jean-Pierre J., 2001. Amelie from Montmartre

 

 

 

Timetable

·         Outline your plan of action; give dates of developmental milestones linked to the PGC / PGD / MA stages; include personal tutorials and your vacations.

Week 11 confirm the general idea about my project.

Week 12 add information about my project.

Week 13 find problems in my learning agreement and revise them.

Week 14 read books and understand film theory from them.

Week 15 watch more films and classify the features of fairy tale film.

Week 16 research reference and continue writing Learning Agreement.

Week 17 analysis some individual style of directors.

Week 18 gain films theories and editing experience.

Week 19 practice post-production technique

Week 20 look over my research, and find some disadvantages.

Week 21~23 read more book and prepare for presentation

Week 24 Presentation

Week 25~28 write a screenplay, design a cinematic storyboarding, shoot this film and edit it.

Week 29~30 show the short film to audiences and get some advices from them, and I also need some professional suggestion from them.

Week 31~32 do more post-production practice and read more books about fairy tale films’ features

Week 33~34 read some books about shooting and editing. Watch some films and do research on shooting

Week 35~40 analysis some typical fairy tale director’s film, and make a chart to show the elements make their film fairy tale genre.

Week 41~42 learn more post-production skills, do more practices

Week 43~45 write 2 or more screenplays and storyboarding and research its practicability, and how to make the fiction part looks reality.

Week 46~49 shoot the final project and edit it

Week 51~52 prepare for presentation

Week 53 final assessment preparation

·         Identify a programme of events in which you intend to participate: lectures, exhibitions, tutorials, seminars, workshops, research visits, interviews, searches, on-line activities, etc.

I would participate to some film festival and attend film directors’ lectures. It is better for me to interview them and ask questions about film.

 

 

Agreed as a viable programme of study

 

Signature of student:                               Date:  

 

 

Signature supervisor:                         Date:

 

 

Include this document within your submission at the end of each stage (PGC / PGD / MA).