Final Ident!!

This is a low res version of my final piece for the web.

Visual Effects and Motion Graphics-Evaluation

For this brief i chose to do the Fear season 20 second ident. i chose this as i thought i would be the most interesting one to do and also the one which i personally could be the most creative with. I started off by looking at existing idents for horror and fear seasons and quickly came up with my idea of a torture sequence in which someone was been made to watch a TV on which there as images related to fear and horror. I tried to approach this project in a professional manner by location scouting and doing test shoots to to make sure that everything was perfect when it came to the edit. I only had one hick-up when it came to the location of the first scene as when i filmed it the frame was too busy and i couldn't get the audience to focus on specific areas of the shot which i found out by showing the footage to members of my class. I soon came over this problem and shot a different location which turned out really well. I shot the first scene in the day and using a program called magic bullet i was able to make the shot look as if it was shot at night using a technique called 'Night For Day'. During the process i learnt a lot about Magic Bullet which i really enjoyed using. As i did test shoots for the next scene i thought that everything would run really smoothly but unfortunately the lights that i had planned to used had not been returned on the previous day there for i had to use the lighting rig that is set up in the lecture theater. I think that it turn out quite well though and i learnt a lot about the lighting rig so that is good for future reference. I shot the final sequence (the eye shot) on the same day using the same lights for continuity. when i had collected my footage i started the process in after effects which i was very excited about as i have been wanting to learn the software for many years and had tried multiple times but never understood it at all. I started by turning the day shot into night and then went about placing my sign onto the wall. This process was a nightmare as i planned to use motion tracker but as there was no good points for which to use i had to corner pin the sign on for every frame. This process was extremely difficult as the perspective of the shot was constantly changing and the shot was not that steady. I think that i did a good job with that and learnt a lot about the software during the process. As i had done the corner pinning in the first scene the next shot was a lot easier to superimpose. I shot it using a track and dolly which i am so glad about as it made the process of corner pinning so much easier. For the second shot i had to mask the head out of the shot which i really enjoyed doing just due to the fact that i had never done it before and was so happy to be doing it. During the edit time i had a change of idea for the last scene where i would place the channel 4 logo on the eyeball making it look like a contact lens or something. Using the techniques i had learnt previously i was able to do this quite easily and using blend modes, an effect called bulge and a bit of Magic Bullet i think that it sits quite well on the eye. When i had done the tweaks i exported the compositions and imported them into Final Cut where i did the sound track and edited the timing and sequence. i re-recorded the sound using a boom mic to get better clarity and also was able to give more direction to the actor about what to say which i had thought would bring more to the piece. Overall i am extremely pleased with the final product and so happy that i have learnt a basic grounding in after effect that i can develop on in the future. I think that if i were to do this again i would definitely make the sign and hang it up, even though i learnt a lot because i didn't.

Audio

For my audio i had to re-record the sound using a boom mic to create clean footage. I also used royalty free sound libraries to create the audio track as well.

Scene 3 Final Copy!

This is the text and solid that i added to my final scene. I really like the look of it and i think that it suits the Channel 4 style look.

Scene 3 Eye motion track!

Because the eye was moving and the lid was blinking so much i had to change the position of the logo to match with the cornea every frame. i also made it a 3D layer so that i could rotate it with the same rotation of the eyeball.

Scene 3 Eye Mask!

I have masked out the image of the logo when it goes out of the eye by making a mask the same shape as the eyelid and then key framing it to the movement of the lid. This again was a very long Process.

Scene 3 Logo Warp!

I used this effect called warp to make the logo look more like a contact lens on the eye. I think it has worked out well but now i need to track it to the movement of the eye.

Scene 3 Logo in the Eye!

I had the late idea of putting the logo in the eye of the subject for the end scene. I used an overlay blend mode and magic bullet to make it sit on the eye. It still doesn't look right though i need to play with some effects.

Scene 3 Magic Bullet!

I wanted to create a even more freaky look to the eye so i Used the program magic bullet.














I used a vignette to darken the edges of the shot. I also added 3 strip colour process to whiten the whites and darken the blacks. I adjusted the colour contrast to increase the red of the eye to add the feeling of blood and horror.

Scene 2 Masking out the Head!

As the subjects head got into shot of the TV screen i had to mask out the image and key frame the mask every time it moved into a new position. It was a long process but i think it worked out well in the end.

Scene 2 Warp

For the superimposed shot on the TV screen i wanted it to look really distorted and out of tune so i used warp and wave to add effects to the image. I key framed the effect so that it would alter over time and not look static.

Scene 2 After Effects!

As the shot had a track towards the size of the TV screen changes so therefore again i had to go through each frame and corner pin it to the screen. I added a overlay blend mode to the superimposed image to make the reflection of the subject show through on the image.

Corner Pinning the Sign!

To get the sign to track with the image i thought i was going to use motion tracker which i would track a point that i set and easily follow that point. As i filmed the shot at an angle the perspective of the image needs to change and therefore i had to go and corner pin it to the same point in every frame of the shot. NIGHTMARE!

My First Scene in After Effects!

I took my first scene into After Effect to try and make the scene look night from the shot that i shot in the day. This is the before picture.













This is what it looks like after.













I did this by adding gradients to the top and bottom of the image and then using a blue colour tint with a stepped up exposure to bring out the whites of the image. I think this has worked well and i think it looks like a night time shot.

Scene 3!

This is my shot of the taped open eye. I think it has worked out really well and with magic bullet and 3 way colour correction i think i could make it look even more horrific.

Scene 2!

This is a screen shot of my footage that i got for scene 2. I think that it has worked really well. I had a bit of a problem with the lights as they had no DeDos as someone had not brought them back in time but i figured it out and used the spot lights on the lighting rig in the lecture theater. I like the costume of the subject i think that it has really added the next level to the shot.

My Colour Bars!

This is the colour bars that i have created to be superimposed on the TV screen that the subject if forced to watch. In after effects i will add the numbers for the countdown sequence.

My Subjects Costume!!

I was thinking as i am calling it a testing facility i needed a very clinical looking costume for my subject. I think this will work well and give a look of a uniform for the test subjects and will give the impression that there are many people at the facility getting tested on.

Clockwork Orange!!!

This is more like it. I like the way that you are able to see more of the eye and the oblique muscle and the top and the bottom of the eye. This is how i want mine to look as i think it really makes it look horrific but again its the problem of someone doing it for me.

Torture Eye!!

For my end scene there is an image of a taped open eye. Not only am i going to have the problem of getting someone to do this for me (bribes may be needed) but i need to think of a way of making it look as disturbing as possible. These are some examples that i found.




























I feel that these aren't disturbing enough i need to have a think.