The summary of case study

According to my previous case studies, the visual effects features is based on the narrative of the story.

Contemporary fairy tale film:

The fairy tale features of this kind of fairy tale is mostly happening in modern city, it should contain some wonder elements that would be created by visual effects, such as the graphics, the 3d modeling, the animation and the saturation colour in Amelie and Micmacs. These wonder elements could add more fairy tale features in films. According to Marcel R(2011),"The association of happy with bright colours and sad with dark colours is established by 3 years of age. " That means, when you were a children, the bright colours could mean happy. When you grow up, when you see the colourful pictures, they will inspire the innocent and childish memory in your childhood. 

(Saturation colour)

Therefore, the saturation colour could help to add the wonder elements in fairy tale films. Animation is basically made for children, it can also create the wonder elements. The graphics are used to create the character's inner thinking. 

(animation)

(graphic)

Traditional fairy tale film:

The features of traditional narratives are nonhuman protagonists, folktale adaption, natural scene and happened in ancient time. The visual effects of this kind of film are help to create the nonhuman protagonists and the natural scene that could not appears in real world. So the visual effects of traditional are 3D models, that help to create the ancient natural place, such as the cave in Pan's Labyrinth and the forest in Jack the Giant Slayer. 3D models could create the vital protagonists in film. 

 (3D character)

(3D scene)

What is more, there is another visual effects that are composite different things together, such as the eyes attached in Pan's hands, it is just a composition, the visual effects does not have the fairy tale features. 

Gothic fairy tale film: 

 It is combine the narrative features of contemporary with traditional fairy tales and add the Gothic vision onto, that are over shadow, dark, leafless trees and odd angular buildings(Heidi Kaye, 2012). The visual effects is the darkness visual style and the 3D buildings. So gothic fairy tale film is consisted by the fairy tale narrative with the Gothic vision.

 (Leafless tree)

(3D building)

In conclusion, apart from animation and parts of 3D model such as the Snow white, the little red hood that people could clearly understand this is fairy tale film. Visual effects could not generate the fairy tale style by itself. It means when you see the graphics that add in fairy tale films, they could also been add in Fantasy film, Horror film. The visual effects do not have its own fairy tale characteristics. However, according to Greenhill and Matrix(2010) 'Fairy tales are fictional narratives that combine human and nonhuman protagonists with elements of wonder and the supernatural." Visual effects is a technique to help the fairy tale narratives becomes to a film. They are the only way to change the fairy tale story into a film in some cases, such as a man with super power, the super power could hardly create in the real world. When you want to let someone fly, visual effects should be the only way that help this frames happen. Therefore, my research subject"the visual effects features of fairy tale film" should relate with the narrative features of fairy tale film.

Beginning shot of my scripts 2nd version

This footage is the second version of the beginning shot in my film. The previous version have the speed problem. The zoom speed becomes slower in the latter half. In AE session, I asked Simon about the problem, he thought it is because of the optical illusion. So the picture looks changing its speed, but its not. Therefore, I adjust the speed curves to keep camera moving in average speed. It looks much better now, but still need more adjustment.

Visual effects is the combination of what you thought and what you can achieve. A good idea is not good if making the effects footage beyonds my ability. Just because I cannot do it, so I should learn it. Therefore, I achieved more than this idea, I get the footage that I want, I get the technical skill and it gives me more possibility to create other ideas. This is what I learn form research the visual effects.

This animation is the mouth zoom in of my script. The mouth, teeth and the tongue are downloaded from website, the tonsil is made by myself. This footage is the connection of my opening shot. That is from the sky zoom into the actress's mouth.

This animation is not for story telling. It is for adding fantasy effects at the beginning of the film. This is the indication that the story will be unusual, because this angle of shot is abnormal. I want to use this extraordinary shot to reveal this fairy tale story.

During the period I constantly making this animation. I realise that I refute my previous opinion of the visual effects of fairy tale film. Before I finish it, I thought animation is the key element of fairy tale film. However, if the audiences only watch this footage, they can hardly understand this is a fairy tale film. Moreover, with reference to the visual effects of fairy tale film, apart from some particular 3D models with fairy tale features, the visual effects itself could hardly show the fairy tale features. Therefore, I combine the visual effects with the story telling, because VFXs is existed for develop stories. So the features of fairy tale story are the way to distinguish the difference between fairy tale VFXs and other genres of VFXs.

This is the heart broken footage I've finished recently.

I use this footage to present actor's heart was broken down by others.


From making this footage I know that, visual effects is a work that hide people's struggle behind. Because such a footage takes me about a month to finish. More over, from making this animation, I find that animation could improve the fantasy effects in film.  It offer people a way to see what you cannot see in normal life. It is a way to show things that people are imagining. People always saying my heart is broken, but our heart have never be broken. It is just an imagine, or a metaphor. That is exactly what Fairy tale film need. Back to my project, this is Ann(the heroine of my script)'s heart, it could somehow be the audience's heart. When it cohered with the plot, the audience can be caused the empathy by the heart when it was broken into pieces.

The extended thinking of making the heartbeat animation

This footage is the heart beat animation of my film. I animate it in MAYA, then composite the lightening background. I have not finish the heart break into pieces part yet.

After making this short footage, I realise that, apart from  3d models could be generated the shape, the appearance, the colour, that can create the fairy tale style. Visual effects could not present the fairy tale style by itself, it is just a method to help the films in fairy tale style, such as the film Big fish, when the fish jump out from the pond. Just from the visual effects, we can hardly define that, this is fairy tale film. However, without visual effects, this film can not be a fairy tale vision. Therefore, visual effects are a way to give the story more fantastic images that help the fairy tale story make the supernatural events come true. Moreover, in Charlie and Chocolate Factory, the pygmy is the vital protagonist in this film. He is fairy tale style, that's not because of visual effects, but because he is in red suite, his action is abnormal, he always use his insane voice to announce something, he wears a super long antenna headphone. However, The pygmy appears everywhere in chocolate factory is visual effects, but this is just duplicate the pygmy, it is hardly to find the feature of fairy tale in the duplication. But without the duplication the fairy tale characters are reduced a lot. Besides,  when you see the explosion in film, it is visual effects, but the explosion is nothing different between fairy tale film and other genres. However, it is necessary for the story telling. Therefore, the visual effects could not create the fairy tale style by itself, it should based on the story, the costume, and the properties.

A dim glimmer----Broadway Workshop

This video is one of previous Broadway editing workshops. Due to the version that we've done in class has many jump cuts. So I edit the materials in my own version. I add the background music and use several shots to present one motion, that will make the film looks more interesting and fluency.