image – azxzah

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Sequencing Image – Part 2 (Final)

“I became…”

About a girl being transferred to a new school. In the new school, there were no humans in it, except her. Everyone is in an animal face. She feels secure and anxious as she is different from others.

When she first entered the class, there was only an empty chair beside the fox. She feels scared and awkward as normally fox are sly and they have their mysterious side in them. But eventually, the fox was friendly and nice to her.

During lunch, fox offered her a piece of meat. She was not quite sure whether she should try it or not. So she accepted it and ate it. With the feeling of weirdness going in her stomach, she realise she turned into…

“… one of them.”

Feedback

In a short film, I was able to bring out genre to the audience
Good use of colours – Blue fits the setting
There are lines on the video – to remove it, save video as interlaced
Why I did not put in footstep when the girl is walking along the hallway? I wanted to bring out the mood by using the background movie and focus on the fox who was spying the girl.

Reflection

I was relieved and glad that the audience understood the storyline of my film and the genre. As I was not a fan of horror & mystery movies. Another reason was when I showed my sister (she is a huge fan of horror movies) my draft 2, she laughed after the ending. That was not what I wanted my audience to react towards my film. Hence she give me her suggestion to remove the 4 people at the ending and change the text, as both of it are contradict against each other, which simplified the overall story.

My group mates were my inspirations too. In the beginning (my draft 1), I was stuck as I did not have much research and understanding about horror film. Hence by looking at their processes, I understand a bit of how they uses sound effect and colours to show the horror and mysterious.

What I wish to improve on is definitely the experimenting and exploring of sound like how some of my classmates did.

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Sequencing Image – Part 2 (References & Draft 2)

References

Here are just what I observe and my interpretations in each movie:

Pan’s Labyrinth

It uses different colour scheme to differentiate the scenes
Daylight – abit gloomy
Why most of the scene are blue? Blue represents cold and isolation
Why there is a scene where there is orange? Exotic – where the character its different from human and its in her own world
Orange and blue – is it because its contrast with each other? Conflict between the day and night – real life and fantasy

The strangers Part 2: Breathless

Does not use the literal sound of the animal.

use of blue and purple – to represent fantasy
orange/yellow – daylight
Silhouette – background light & shows the figure

Alice In wonderland – a good example of colour scheme

Real world – pastle blue, light colours to show fairytale and green as the contrast colours so that It wont look flat
Got into a hole – dark with a shades of orange
Sound when the man is walking too – to show his personality/characteristic
Red queen – which explains her setting to be mostly red, her soldier are in shades if red too
Red vs white
Sound effects used – very fantasy

Star Wars: The force awakens

A pinch of sound
When showing the bad character – the sound becomes lower
The background music – fantasy
Lighting and the music syncronize each other – Rain with lighting, did not show the rain sound
There is narration on a blank screen

Maleficent

blue/purple effect
Light from the back – giving shillotte to the character – introducing the character
Light on the character – half side
Sound transition from 1 scene to another with the THUM effect
Shows the eye – slowing revealing her whole face
Thummm then silent, THUMMM louder abit, then THUMMMMMMMMM loudest – same scene different angle
Only her narrations with blank image – to emphasis what she is saying
Reveling sound effect
Sound of the bird
Sound effect between the conflict and narration – like it comes down to silent and the narrations speaks

Colours

Filmmaker David Fincher uses color to create emotion.

Complimentary colour – Opposite colours represent conflict both inside and out

Monochromatic colours – to convey rigid worldview of unbalanced characters. – character are all taking in cafe

Discordant colours – draws attention to out-of-place elements to build anticipation

Colors can

Elicit psychological reactions with the audience
Draw focus to significant details
Set the tone of the movie
Represent character traits and more
Show changes in the story

source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/

Before I start editing the images, I really thought deeply on the colours that I want to insert as I wanted to show the contrast of reality and fantasy. Initially, I wanted to make the daylight more yellowish to show the youth of the girl. However, it looks very vintage and old. Hence I decide to keep the natural light for the daylight.

Sound

Sound artist reference – Ben Burtt

I was amazed by how he used the traditional method to create sound. Even a bear sound can be used for a character’s voice. He also used human sound to create character voice by mixing the humans voices (I think this was use in Starwars). A lady with a low voice as ET voice. He explore sounds anywhere he can find which inspires me to go out and listen to the sound around me

In Wall-e, it require a whole new world of original sound such as the background, ambience, robot sound, space. There is no dialog, so it emphasis on the little details like the squek sound. Each sound created by Ben Burtt shows the personality of the character. (Note: Control the sound, loudness and hierarchy of the sound and use sound at the right choice, right moment).

He was inspired from history of sound like Disney, musical sound by using props that they have. Previously, sound were made in studio and it has to match with the scene as there were no technology. Wind sound were made by using wind machine. Thunder sheet metal is used to create thunder sound with echo in it. The even combine sound from different items to create a new sound.

Experimentation

So I went and recorded a few sound. However, I recorded it using my phone and I could not find a way to upload the sounds. ):

The snack I ate while recording the sound of eating

I stood by the side of the road to record the traffic

Based on this video, here are by observations & interpretations:

Focus more on the sound of the small details on the moving image
Able hear the table – fork and spoon – dining ambiance with the glass and stainless steel
Magic sound effect
Vibration phone
jingles – elephant wearing the gold crown
background music
taking pictures, beep phone
Silent – to show that everyone is quite surprise, spoon & fork down, stop eating to hear what she is saying

After researching about the colours and sounds, I input whatever I have observed into my video.

The blue and purple colour to represent fantasy and mystery type of setting. Some images are in natural lighting to show that its is reality. This is to differentiate fantasy & reality. I added a few glitch images and texts to show what was the main character is thinking, like her state of mind was not stable at that time. I tried to keep the sound minimalism and play around with the breathing space to create tension. I tend to focus on the little details such as breathing, walking, opening the door and etc.

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Sequencing Image – Part 2 (Draft 1 & research)

Draft 1

For the draft 1, I did not edit the images yet, instead I wanted to focus on the storyline and sound. However, after consultation, I realise it was the wrong thing to do and I had to redo most of it.

The problems that I encounter while doing draft 1 were:

Sound transition – how to make it flow smooth? Solution: overlap the sound or show the setting of the place
What should I consider if I want to input narrations into it? Solution: hierarchy of the sounds

The comments given for draft 1:

Missing of genre – It can be horror as it has creatures in it or fantasy where colours can be added in
Comedy part feels abit awkward
Image has to be brighten up – some are too dark and use the principles of lighting
Hieracy of the sound

Suggested steps to be taken after draft 1:

Find reference images of fantasy or horror – the use of colours and lighting
Think of a genre – it will help me when adding in the sound
Look for films with similar genre
Edit the images – colours & light
Then Insert sound
My notes during and after consultation

Research on the animals

Dog as the main character

Dog are closely related to humans – in terms of attitude, social & behaviour
Dominant
Leader
Campanion
Some dogs are socialable – able to pat them although you are a stranger
“It’s better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.” – it’s better to be a big part of something small, than a small part of something big.
“Dog eat dog.” – People will do anything to be successful.
“Like a blind dog in a meat market.” – Out of control, frenzied, or aimless. Unable to take action in the face of many choices.

Fox as the second lead

hunt or sleep alone
Fox is most active after the sun
It even hunts by stalking and pouncing (a sudden spring/swooping) on its prey.
loyalty – they take care of their family
Playful, friendly and curious
Adaptable & Independent
“clever as a fox” – extremely clever, and remarkably resourceful – from hunting strategies to camouflague

Rabbit as supporting character

sound navigator – in the dark
Sensitives and Seers
Hide
movement – hopping in zip and zag
quick witted
Rabbits are quiet, but they let you know they’re around
Rabbits can make friends with your other pets – friendly

Bear as supporting character

Bears are highly evolved social animals with intelligence comparable to that of the great apes.
Bears often share friendship, resources and security.
Bears are not mean or malicious; they are very gentle and tolerant animals.
Bears can be empathetic, fearful, joyful, playful, social and even altruistic.
They’re all individuals and have unique personalities.
Bears communicate using body language, sounds and smells.
A bear’s hearing ability is excellent
Bears see in colour and have good vision, similar to humans.

Input the research into the character’s personality

Gir

Newbie in a new school
Shy, introvert
Awkward at first, but becomes more comfortable after knowing someone
Why she become a dog? It is the closest related to humans

Fox

Mysterious
Active after during the dark
Playful, friendly and curious – curious about the new girl

Rabbit

Sensitives and Seers
Quiet, but they let you know they’re around

Bear

Gentle
Communicate using body language, sounds and smells.

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Sequencing Image – Part 1

Hello! So my group consist of Alina, Ying Hui, Syadza & me.

So how we start of was each of us came up with a story and we tried to mix it and match each other story. So as a start, we discussed individual story on WhatsApp.

So my idea (top most whastsapp chat) was about my childhood friend that I have not connected since we left primary school. Whatever she is doing now is a mystery to me and sometimes I wonder what she’s currently doing.

Then Ying Hui’s idea was about her long lost friend, where Ying Hui thought she would not turn out that way. But they both are still contacting with each other on social media.

Then Alina suggested to do like a fantasy story, which I though was a good idea. Because if this was an individual project, definitely I would not be able to create a fantasy story, so why not do it as a group then.

Syadza’s idea was about a girl who had a traumatic kidnapping accident, which plays around with the girl’s mental state.

So to conclude our idea, we mix our idea by having a girl, not in a stable mental condition, being transferred to another school which has fantasy in it.

Storyboard

After the discussion on Whatsapp, we met up to discuss in more detailed about our story. So our story is about a girl being transferred to a new school. In the new school, there wasn’t any humans in it. Everyone is in an animal face. During lunch, she thought that everyone will have a normal meal like rice or bread, but it turned out to be the opposite. Some were having meats, carrot, rats, lizards etc. Then the animal beside her offered her a piece of meat, she accept it and ate it. Soon after, some of her body changes and she became one of the animal in school.

We wanted more scene as we felt that the ending was quite abrupt, and we had to fit it in 20 frames.

After confirming our storyboard, we went out to find props for our shot. The most important thing was to find animal mask as it is our concept in the storyboard. So I went to Daiso, and Ying Hui went to a shop in Bugis where they sell animal mask.

Image reference

Before we shot our images, Alina sent those images as our reference. The setting of the image should be dark, with a bit of lighting on the subject.

During the shot, we had 2 camera: Alina’s camera & Syadza’s camera. In Alina’s camera, she changed the setting of her camera so that the image will look dark when it is take. And in Syadza’s camera, we took it in normally lighting.

The difficult part was editing the images, as some images are darker (in Alina’s camera) and some are lighter (in Syadza’s camera).

After we got our images taken, we realise that it does not have to be 20 images. So we went to shot for more images as we realise that the previous images might be too short to create a sequencing image.

Ying Hui’s drew the storyboard and she was just lazy to redraw the last few scenes.

So went to reshot a few more times and I realise that we had too many images. There were a lot of images that we took as each of us has our own storyline that we want to portray. And each of us also has different ending that we want to show. Hence, it was the only way to help each other to shot more images as teamwork makes the dream work.

August 29, 2017August 30, 2017

Picture Story – Curating Self Presentation

Task 1 – Story

I am always in a search of new books to read, whether it will be in the library, book stores or even movies trailers. Most of the time, I will spend time reading at home or while travelling. But I rarely go to the library as I would rather buy a book than borrowing it. By buying it, I can keep it and collect all the books that I have read over the years. And I would like to have a shelf full with books, just like in the library.

I am someone who have difficulties expressing myself verbally. Maybe I just could not find the exact words to express myself or I just do not open up to people easily, which makes me hard to express myself. Through reading I more than just understand the character, I will always find a little part of myself relating back to the character.

It always astonished me how an author can make me feel; sadness, happiness, excitement, anxiousness. They can also write about a story that reminisces on my youth or perhaps my long lost love. Some authors can write about a world that I have never dreamed of. Possibly a fantasy world. When I am are stuck somewhere, trying to find my path out from the dark clouds, words from authors who have experienced a similar situation, can lead me to the brighter road. This are the reasons why I am always engross in reading.

Task 2 – Story

This room is significant to my two younger sisters and me. To us, it contains most of our memories and secrets between us and the four walls. In that room is where we chat, laugh, quarrel and cry together. There are so many memories build in that room over the pass few years.

Being the eldest sister, I get to take up the most space and sets rule for my younger sisters. As shown in the image, I do most of the things and how it is arranged.

This room shows the different type of personality that each of us has. I am the bookworm and artistic type of person, while my sisters are the sporty and messy type.

Our bedroom is always dim, as we wake up early in the morning for school and reach home in the evening. So we rarely allow light to enter the room. We also keep the lighting dim, as it is easier for us to take naps and rest during the day; making our room relaxing.

Reflection

Throughout the process of this assignment, I have learnt that angle, composition and lighting play a part in creating a mood in an image.

For angle, perspective can be one of it. Like how I want the book shelves in my images to be. Do I want to the one point perspective for book shelf so that my subject can be the main focus? Or do I want the book shelf to be part of the focal point? These are some of the question I ask myself when I am visualizing how I want the image to be.

Secondly, composition, its where I want to put my subject in the image. Do I put it in the middle of the image or put it at the right of the image? For composition, I realize that I tend to use rule of third most of the time while taking random pictures.

Lastly, lighting. In my images, I tend to use lots of flat lighting; maybe it is because I took my images in the library. But in the future, I would like to try using one point lighting to show some dramatic effect.

August 29, 2017August 29, 2017

Task 2: Process

Here are some of my process pictures. Images are still raw with no edits.

Difficulties

Bedroom is small – Difficult to take an overview of the place. And difficult to find a focus for certain object. To overcome this, I had to use the different perspective view and try out different methods into taking the images.
Dim lighting – As I want my concept of my room to be dim, relaxing and comfy, I didn’t allow much light to enter my room. However, most of my images look dark and dull. Hence, to overcome this, I had to allow light to enter a bit by controlling my curtain as I do not have the lighting equipment.

August 29, 2017

Task 1: Process

Here are some of the pictures taken by my younger sister, who does not have any photography background. Images are taken at Jurong East Library. All the images are raw, not edited.

Difficulties

My photographer – because she does not have any photography background hence, some image are imbalance or unproportional. To overcome this, I had to do a lot of research and find more references so that she would understand how I want the image to look like. During the shoot, I also did take some shoots to show her how the images should turn out like.
The different lighting in the library – There were 2 types of lighting in the library, one is yellowish and the other is white. Hence, me and my photographer had to explore the library first before finding a spot to shot.

August 29, 2017August 29, 2017

Task 1: Image Reference

I know my level of expertise in taking an image: average and below. Hence, before I start taking pictures, I will do some research and image references to understand how a good picture should look like. With the image references, I can also adopt the style of it.

When I thought of taking picture with my book, the few places that I thought of was library, my bedroom and when I am travelling. Hence, I went on to research on the types of photograph that can be taken at those places.

Library

In this image, it shows a mid shot of the lady find books in the library. Her expression shows that she is focus on finding the books that she wants. There’s a depth in the image to focus on the lady and the foreground of the bookshelf. The colour and tonal are dull, brownish with less lighting to show that the library is old and vintage.

This image dipects a wonderland of books. The colourful cover books contrasting with each other and pages makes it look like its flipping by the wind. Another thing that gives the feeling of a wonderland is the hard cover books. Normally the hard cover books are used in movie like Harry Potter. The way the character is placed in the middle of the image looks like she is being absorbed in the world of books.

In this image, the photographer uses rule of third and place the subject on it. The light rays coming in from the window, give a direction to focus on the subject.

Library

In this image, it shows the mood of the setting – comfortable and relaxing. The way the lady position herself on the bed will reading, shows that she is into reading and is conformable in her position. There is depth in this image, as the background is dark and blurry which allow the foreground and the subject to be the focal point.

What I like about this image is how the lighting is used to focus on the object, which the the girl and her book.

Travelling

I like the compositing of this image, and how the lighting shines of the person reading. However, I feel like it is lacking of feeling, as the person face is off the image from. It would be better if the image were to have her face to show how she feels while reading or how she interact with the book.

This image uses rule of third to place the subject with is the person. With the use light coming from the window, it shows a silhouette of a lady reading. Just with a small gesture of her fingers, I am able to guess that she is engross in reading the book.

In conclusion, I would like my image to be taking in the library. As I want my image to look calm, peaceful and relaxing. And the way I should interact with the book is that I am engross and focus in reading the book.