The given theme was “Music” thus our art direction was influenced by it.
Music to us was a form of connection that is made up by rhythm and therefore we wanted the audience to be able to enjoy music by creating a flow which syncs with their visual senses.
Playing with lines, speed and light. We were able to compose a silent symphony which can connect to the audience just through visuals alone.
Final Video:
ELPHI version
MAN version
Art Direction and Working Flow:
1) Choice of colour
We chose gold to make it have grand and match the architecture. After we have test the video on the big screen for the first time we realised that the color is too bright and it looks like fire burning, which is over our expectation, so we have adjust the color and effect to make the color more solemn and grand.
Below is the final look of our video.
2) Choice of design
We wanted to match with Elphi’s architectural design and went for the more grandeur outlook. At the same time, we wanted to use lines thus we started to research and look at references. (e.g Chinese windows patterns )
Therefore coming up with our own evolution of techno and retro line pattern.
We were also inspired by the Organ instrument (Specifically its pipes) and the pattern used in the, “The Great Gatsby” movie poster.
Storyboard flow:
In the storyboard, the background and main pattern will stay consistent and not change. There will, however, be animation and particle effects to not make it static.
The given theme was “Music” thus our art direction was influenced by it.
Music to us was a form of connection that is made up by rhythm and therefore we wanted the audience to be able to enjoy music by creating a flow which syncs with their visual senses.
Playing with lines, speed and light. We were able to compose a silent symphony which can connect to the audience just through visuals alone.
Art Direction and Decisions:
1) Choice of colour
We chose gold to make it have grand and match the architecture.
After some suggestionsfrom our professor and peers, we decided to modify the background effect and colour design.
Thus the amber background seen in the storyboard will be switched with the bottom example.
Here are some test clips that we render out for different background effect.
2) Choice of design
We wanted to match with Elphi’s architectural design and went for the more grandeur outlook. At the same time, we wanted to use lines thus we started to research and look at references. (e.g Chinese windows patterns )
Therefore coming up with our own evolution of techno and retro line pattern.
We were also inspired by the Organ instrument (Specifically its pipes) and the pattern used in the, “The Great Gatsby” movie poster.
Storyboard flow:
In the storyboard, the background and main pattern will stay consistent and not change. There will, however, be animation and particle effects to not make it static.
The story is about this 40-year-old house wife who lived next to the skeleton house gossip and being curious of the mysterious house. She tries to go closer to look at it but scared by the cat and run away in the end.
I always have dreams during sleeping, some I forgot the next morning, but some I could remember the details for a long time. For me I feel it’s amazing that even when people are fall asleep, they can still experience something that might never happened in their real life. Even though the “world” is fake, those emotion it evoke, the sweet and hurt, the nervousness and desperation, the happiness and sadness, all of them are true. That’s the reason why I like having dreams even it might be a nightmare.
Based on this idea, I want to use an abstract moving image to show the interesting experience of dreaming. It starts from darkness when we close our eyes and fall into asleep, then things happened. Dreaming is kaleidoscopic, dream changes time to time and you don’t know what is going on next, but it’s definitely colourful. Then when it comes to the end things start to fade and we wake up because of the light.
Technical Decisions
For this moving image the main effect I used is CC Kalaida to imitate the experience of dreaming which is fantasy and moody. To achieve this in After Effect, just simply go to Effect menu and inside “Style” you can find it. To make the patterns moving I animated the center point to move. Then use fade out effect to combine several images with different color themes. That’s how I make the kaleidoscope background.
The other important effects I used are channel blur and add noise. Because this time my artist reference is Ninagawa Mika, so I make the image
Working Process
Photoshop
Before
After
For human figure, I’m still using the same picture from project 2, but this time I edit the picture differently. This time I increase the saturation since I took Ninagawa Mika’s photos as reference. Her work has a very bright and rich color, the image is also a bit blur to create the illusion feeling.
The I go find the pictures I needed for this assignment. My concept is I sleeping on bed, so I need a top view of bed. For this one I use photoshop to move out the original baby on the bed and leave the blank bed sheet.
After Effect
After edit the figure in Photoshop, I start to work on After Effect. First I make the kaleidoscope background by using the effect I mentioned just now. Then saved the background as one composition.
Next open a new composition, put bed picture as background, then the kaleidoscope and human. For the kaleidoscope composition add a circle shape mask. It will look like the picture above.
Then add in the camera layer. Because the whole picture is rotating, to make thing easy and avoid any bug, I decide to rotate the camera instead of 3 images layers. Then the camera also move in and out to the picture to represent the process of falling asleep and waking up. This movement also feels like breathing.
The last step is to adjust the image. I add one adjustment layer to increase the saturation. This is to make the color brighter and richer.(Later I duplicate one more color adjustment layer just for the background because the human picture has already increase saturation in Photoshop.)
Then I put one more adjustment layer to create the blur effect and noise in the picture. And it becomes like this below.
Before
After
Artists References
1. Gold Fish – Ninagawa Mika
Ninagawa Mika is a famous Japanese photographer. The color of her works is bright and vibrant. And they create a fancy and dreamy feeling to the audience. And that’s what I’m looking for for this project.
2. Memories of Matsuko
This is the part when Matsuko dead and we audience look back at her life. In this part the movie becomes very colourful which shows the childlike simplicity and also hint that these are all unrealistic, they are just Matsuko’s beautiful imagination.
3. Hey Morning Elegance – Oren Laive
This is a stop-motion short film which shows a girl is dreaming about her daily life and boyfriend. All the scenes are done on the bed and this is where my inspiration comes from.
Chinese new year just past few weeks before, every time when we enter a new year we always want to ask ourselves, what did we do in the past year, and what are we looking for in the new year. So that’s where my inspiration comes from. I’m doing this video to see what message I will leave to myself in the past.
60s Version
PW: digasg3
30s Version
PW: digasg3
Technical Decision
First of all I divided my narrative to 4 parts: introduction, preparing tests, spare activities, separation. Then based on this logic line I went to find all the clips I need and lined them up. Between each part I will use some establishing shots or object close-up shot for transition, like showing the playground, leaves, clock, etc. Those shots also indicate the time pass, for example the close-up of clock, the sunset in forest, and the light pass in classroom. And they work in creating the atmosphere and emotion in the video.
Through the whole video most of time I’m using straight cut, at the first 3 parts the tempo is quite fast so I used a lot short cut to create the rhythm, but in last part I switch to longer shots to change the mood towards to sadness because of separation.
I have used blending scene or put gradient wipe effect because I realised that if I use straight cut all the way throughout, it would be too dull and inflexible. What’s more, the audience won’t realise that I have move to next part. I tried using fade in and fade out, but some parts the content is too different between each other, it’s a bit strange when it faded to next scene directly. So I choose some establishing shots and applied effects to transit the video smoothly. These effects also help to emphasis the flow feeling, either the flow of video or the time flying.
For the countdown of days scene I have used mask to cover the original subtitle at bottom.
Before & After
All the sources are taken from 3 dramas and when I select the clips I try to stick with same color theme and lighting, so the draft looked quite consistent and I didn’t spend too much time on color correction. Since this is a video about high school life, I wanted to make it look fresh, so I brightened it and added in a bit green, and I found that the magenta in people’s face is reduced.
Artisits’ Reference
Rocky
I choose the training montage part in film Rocky as reference. When I searching for reference I’m more looking for montage editing because my narrative is not a story, it’s an emotional monolog. There are not so much story information inside but it’s a classic clip for a lot people because of the encouraging feeling that it brings to audience. Definitely the theme music Gonna Fly Now plays a important role inside, but the way they editing this part also contribute to the emotion.
This part include few activities like running, swimming, flicking the ball, how to move step, etc, then cut between those activities back and forth. The quick cut of different activities shows how hardworking Rocky is and also give an inspiring tempo. This point I have applied into my video where shows the students study hard to prepare for the final exams.
And as the training goes on, Rocky became more and more professional at boxing, the music rise up and the beat of shots become faster, more close-up shots add inside to make audience’s mind focusing on Rocky, all of these rise up the atmosphere. In the end, director changes to a slow-motion running scene, to show the peak when Rocky finally catch up and overtake his coach. The huge contrast with previous fast and exciting shots create a dramatic effect on the power and joy of Rocky.
Confession
There are many montage sequences and weird straight cutting in this movie that set a thrill and depress feeling in the movie. Most of time the movie is in dark desaturate color, almost black and white. This doesn’t match the style of my video, but what I learn from this movie is the symbolism in montage editing. Let’s take the scene when Student A’s mother left him as example. At the end of this scene is a bubble burst beside the ear of Student A. This also represent his hope is shattered and the love inside his heart disappear. In the end of movie the audience can know that the bubble burst also hints the explosion in his mother’s lab. The director using many symbolism shot to show the things that cannot be present by image, like emotion, or refer something indirectly, for example, the baseball at the beginning refers to teenager violence.
In my clip I need to show the pass of time, so I choose the scene of working gears, moving cars, clock and sunset. Then for separation I also put some indirect scene in my video, like the gradient wipe of the class group photo, student wipes out the notes on blackboard.
luomierkefu
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av17778412/
I get inspiration of the way how this editor layout the subtitle. The subtitle is no longer a extra part of the image, it’s part of the image and involves in the composition. But this method takes longer time to read because the word keep moving, so for the 30s version I still use the normal subtitle due to the time limitation.
Transcript of Voice Over
Hi! I’m you, from 10 years later.
I know what you wanna ask, don’t worry, you will get into your dream school.
Keep your hobbies, school life is not only about books and homework.
Don’t feel sad for graduation, you are still keep in touch with your friends.
There are more separations in the future, and you will get used to it.
Text Premise
Gears are driving, birds are flying through the sky, cars are crossing the road and students are walking out of school. Sunlight leaks in the green leaves. A fresh plant out side of window sways as the wind blows. Inside the classroom a bright light flash through.
The days on the blackboard is counting down, students are studying hard to prepare their final exams. Some are worshipping to get a good result.
On the school playground there are students playing badminton. One hand rises up a glass bottle that contained a ship model inside. Someone is sketching on the paper, someone is flipping the handmade comic book. However, a girl is staying at home and doing her homework until 5:30 AM.
In the school, one student is cleaning up the blackboard. A hand touches the class desks softly as the person walking by. Many desks are already organised nicely in the corridor. The whole class takes the last picture in classroom.
Clock is walking. A girl in mature suit opens one case and flips her album of high school memories. The group photo, the teacher’s notes on blackboard, the light of sunset, all of them are fading and disappearing. The holding hands separate and someone is sitting alone in a field full of withered grass.
