Video & Sound Production / Final Project

on

 

01.04.2022 - 08.07.2022 (Week 1 - Week 15)
Audrey Gracia Djohari / 0348120
Video & Sound Production
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor’s University
Final Project: Stop Motion/Visual Effects

INSTRUCTION


TASKS

WEEK 1:

- Stop Motion & Visual Effects

Instruction

1)
Watch stop motion shorts
Shortlist 3 stop motion shorts
Explain reasons being chosen
(style, art direction, character design etc)

2)
Watch Visual Effects short video.
Shortlist 3 Visual Effects short video.
Explain reasons being chosen
(style, art direction, character design etc)


Stop Motion Video Reviews

1. Stop motion animation fruit and vegetables

"We had 5 days to complete this stopmotion animation. On paper it sounded fairly straight forward but at one point I found myself sitting on the toilet at 2am carving a watermelon into an earth. Fighting hallucinations I slipped and stabbed a sinkhole in the Mediterranean and the watermelon imploded. I got there in the end with a new watermelon and some help from my good mate and master carver Rémy Ventura Horta."

This stop motion is created using real fruit by cutting them one by one for every frame. The backgrounds are plain colors, I think the creator used paper or photo background for this. The color palette and art direction are beautiful and the editing is superb quality work. This one is pretty simple compared to Shaun the Sheep & Distortion, but it still is a lot of work. It's incredible how the creator managed to finish everything in JUST 5 DAYS. The art style looks like a 2D animation but using a real 3D object so it becomes interesting and so satisfying to watch.


Figure 1.0: Stop motion animation fruit and vegetables, Youtube




Rationale: Shaun The Sheep is my childhood movie and the one tv show that I know that is made using stop motion. It's crazy how they can arrange everything and create a complicated scene. One frame can consist of up to 10 characters that move dynamically. The art style is classic stop motion, so Shaun and his friends are real physical models placed on physical sets and photographed over and over, with the photos combined to create the illusion of movement. Not only the stop motion is great, but the storytelling is also incredible, no wonder it becomes a worldwide favorite. The art direction must have been thought and planned carefully. And according to several articles that I read, the character design is made out of various materials, including vacuum-formed plastic and the gypsum-based material Jesmonite.

Figure 1.1: Shaun The Sheep, Youtube


"2500 still pictures played at 24 frames per second. Shot with a Canon EOS 600D and animated in Dragonframe. The clay I used is called PLASTILINA. Everything is edited in Photoshop CC and Sony Vegas Pro. Sound effects recorded with a Blue Yeti and also taken"

Rationale: When I first saw this video on Youtube, I really thought it was a CGI because it was so smooth, it doesn't look like a stop motion at all. I was very amazed when I read it took 2500 photos to make this. I guess the art style and theme for this video is sculpture.  And all the characters are made of shaped clay, which is very challenging. The sound design is also very impressive.

Figure 1.2: DISTORTION, Youtube


Rationale: As we all know, the actor who plays the role of Tony Stark–Robert Downey Junior–was 50 years old when he shot this scene. The teenage look he had here is made with CGI, created by artists at Lola VFX using the latest digital tricks. The company has earned a reputation for such work, having also “de-aged” Brad Pitt's title character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (a film that won an Oscar for its visual effects). I think this scene is an incredible product of VSX, it looks so real and I remember it amazed me when I first saw it. The de-aging effects they use on the actor's face is done in post-production. It's cool because, after the VSX the character still shows Downey's performance and nuances.

Figure 1.3: Young Tony Stark Scene, Youtube


Rationale: After watching this video I realize that the God tier of VFX is when the audiences have no idea there are VFX illusions. It's crazy how much they use visual effects in this movie but everything looks so real. Also, the best thing about this movie is that all the shots look like it has been taken continuously in one take, which is a very challenging art direction and editing.

Figure 1.4: 1917 Breakdown, Youtube

3. The Blended Life: A VFX Short Film by an FX School Student

Rationale: This video is created by an FX student Nikhilesh Bansod. He blends computer-generated elements with live-action footage using techniques such as match moving, CG renders pass compositing, and color correction. For something that is created alone, this is incredible as he did all the editing by himself. The illusion is not 100% seamless but they are more than great for an FX student. I love the scene where random objects appear from outside. The visual effects really look professional.

Figure 1.5: The Blended Life, Youtube

WEEK 8:

- Final Project Proposal


WORKING TITLE: 
Trapped


STOP MOTION/ VISUAL EFFECTS: 
Visual Effects (Horror Genre)


SYNOPSIS (ONE PARAGRAPH ONLY):
A girl is watching a TV when she suddenly hears someone knocks on the door. She quickly opens the door and sees a figure under a cloth. With her heart pounding, she uncovers the cloth but nobody’s there. She quickly slams the door shut and goes back to the sofa. However, the TV starts glitching so she tries to fix it using the remote control. She manages to turn it off but suddenly her eyes glow white and the next scene shows she’s in a black and white world. Finally, she realizes that she’s trapped in the TV.

VISUAL REFERENCES/MOOD BOARDS (rational, screen shots & Links):

I found these horror effects very intimidating and scary. I am really intrigued to try out these effects, especially the scene where the main character removes the cloth only to reveal nobody’s there.

A. TITLE01: 3 Easy HORROR EFFECTS Everyone can Do! (Halloween)
Link: https://youtu.be/_xh9_D7M21c


 
Figure 2.0: Ghost Masking Effect

B. TITLE02:  Levitation Effect Tutorial - AFTER EFFECTS 2021

Link: https://youtu.be/zhSNMXBAfgk 


Figure 2.1: Levitation Effect

C. TITLE03:  5 Simple VFX You Can Try

Link: https://youtu.be/2ipV5bGMhAs 


Figure 2.2: Eyes VFX

WEEK 9:

- Storyboard

Figure 3.0: Storyboard pg. 1

Figure 3.1: Storyboard pg. 2

Figure 3.2: Storyboard pg. 3

WEEK 10:

- Shooting Test

I used my phone to test out the setting and lighting according to my storyboard. I took this at my apartment unit at noon. I found that the lighting are too bright.

Figure 4.0: Shooting Test using Phone Camera



WEEK 13:

- Shooting

In week 13, Mr. Martin allowed me to borrow the camera, tripod and lighting for shooting. Also, he gave me tutorials on how to use the lighting and how to set the camera. The private tutorial really gave me so much insight and I was able to execute my shooting.

Figure 5.0: Cameras, Lighting, and Tripod from Design Studio

I went back to my apartment and did the shooting with the help of my housemate. And these are the original clips.

Figure 5.1: Original Clips



WEEK 14:

- Editing

I applied VFX to several things on this video. the one that I'm most proud of is the "Eyes" scene. Using After Effects, I followed this tutorial and create gray ghostly eyes. I used solid layer and masked it in the form of my eyes. I also use tracker tool to track the movement of the eyes so the gray solid layer follows the movement. I also use gradient and other tools to create the shadow and highlight of the eyes.

Figure 6.0: Eyes VFX, After Effects

Next, I found this video on youtube which is very suitable for my video:
Narrator Credit: Fell Purpose 
The Ghost In A White Sheet (M. R. James and its origins) 

I used this video as a background voice from the tv. The video talks about the white sheet ghost which is the main antagonist of my video. I edited the sound using 'Highpass' tool and 'Distortion' tool it sound like it came out of a tv.

Figure 6.1: TV Screen Sound Effects

For the TV Screen, I used masking and put a separate video file so it looks like the TV is presenting it. I followed this tutorial. For follow the TV's perspective, I used 'Basic 3D' tool and applied it on the video content inside the TV.

Figure 6.2: Masking the TV Screen, Premiere Pro

I also used masking for the ghost scene to remove my friend's legs in the framing. I used a static background to cover the hole. I also applied color grading throughout the video.

Figure 6.3-6.4: Before vs After Ghost Scene, Masking & Color Grading

'Lumetri Color' tool really gave my video a new feel. This is another example of color grading effects on my scene.

Figure 6.5-6.6: Before vs After Color Grading using Lumetri Color

Lastly, I applied music and sound effects to my video. The original video has no sound at all. So everything that you can hear on this video is crafted and edited. I downloaded all of the sound effects free on youtube.

Music: Fear 
Artist: FreshmanSound 

WEEK 15:

- Final Outcome

Overall, from the storyboard-shooting-editing-finalizing, it took me about 35+ hours to create this clip. 

Figure 7.0: Trapped, Final Project Submission, 10.07.2022



FEEDBACK

WEEK 9:

Specific Feedback
The storyboard is nice, but try to photograph the scenes. So you can test out the angle and lighting. Also, try to add a scene and effects where the character gets inside the TV.

WEEK 13:

Specific Feedback
Don't record at night because it will produce a very bad outcome in terms of lighting, better shoot at noon. Also, you need assistance with the shooting. 


REFLECTION


Experience
When we had to choose stop motion/VFX for our final project, I immediately chose VFX. I didn’t know how to do it at all. But I know that VFX is something new while stop motion is not that new to me, I’ve done it before. So,  it was a leap of faith actually, because I never tried it before in my life. Turns out, I chose the right one because the process turned out to be fun (except for when I took the wrong tripod and had to get back to the design studio on foot and carry the what-feels-like a 10 kg bag). VFX was simple enough when there’s a sufficient tutorial, but it requires so much thinking and planning when shooting. I learned new things in Premiere Pro throughout this project, and I had fun. I also want to thank Mr. Martin who spent the time to teach me how to use a camera & tripod.

Observation
I observed that so many VFX tutorials can be found on youtube. And Premiere Pro has more than enough tools to make a professional-looking VFX.

Findings
I found that there is a lot of planning & researching in the shooting and storyboard process. And it’s important to imagine all of the things beforehand. In my shooting process, I still found some things that weren’t thought through enough.

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