To make it more readable I redesigned the animation in view of how many elements show at given time.
At first sight this not that much different from the previous instalments, but should be a bit less confusing and the pace is slightly less difficult to follow.
At certain bits I unified the text colour so it is easier to follow which word is part of which sentence.
I have removed a couple of graphic elements which did not add too much to the overall picture and made too much chaos in the frame.
This time we are choosing between two version (unfortunately the house CC track has not made it to the finals. It's a shame, really liked that song), or ideally play them both. this sequence is meant to be an interlude between streetsport videos, and as there is a couple of the videos, there's no reason why we would not be able to play both so it's a bit less boring (and maybe someone would actually sit through the entire show).
As of now this is the final, corrected version.
(find the 7 differences from the previous version and you shall win an iPad. But only if you are the 1.000.000th visitor to this site. Yup, pretty unlikely).
Thanks for reading, that's about it!
Development: music for motion graphics
With most of my projects I get the idea of what sort of music I want to accompany it relatively quick.
This however was difficult, as the pace of the sequence is unstable. The tempo is defined by the camera movement, so are the revealing titles.
The idea: pick a song which the young audience could relate to, yet choose something not too striking so as not to make it dominant over the animation itself. Something the youth would aspire to and has the 'authority' among the young listeners, rather than just being popular. Also not too cliche/obvious as it undermines the quality of the animation itself.
After brainstorming ideas we pointed the animation to three possibilities:
1) a creative commons labelled song:
Souds fresh, merry, upbeat, slightly retro (90s, maybe even 80s), house-ish, groovy, something unpopular (kind of gives me some more credit for being able to dig it up. or maybe not).
As much as I liked this song, when I was trying to visualize it in my head, I would see a plane landing in some tourist city, then a beach, then some disco night in the 80s style. The song is gentle and does not get in the way, but probably it would do a better job being used for some travel agency commercial (Thomas cook anyone?).
2) Dirty Harry
Again, upbeat, melodic, funky, slightly groovy, oldschool, kids (the chorus, due to the lyrics I had to look for an instrumental - kids singing 'getting a gun' does not seem right for a project that's supposed to reduce youth deliquency)
The Gorillaz have this 'being cool' area around them. This is not a scandalous musician, with amazing critical reception among the listeners. Partly due to the music, partly due to the animated image (the alter-drawn-reality).
3) Fatboy slim
Right here right now - probably the best fit in terms of matching this mad tempo of the sequence. Yet like one of the tutors I consulted with said, 'Oh, right here, right now. The most often used song in the last 10 years! It fits for everything!'.
True.
I still told him that it definitely does not beat 'Ghostwriter' by RJD2, but yeah, pretty much.
Anyway, as said, it really does fit.
This version has a slightly updated titles. Don't worry if you haven't seen the whole, you will see it in the next post.
TBC!
This however was difficult, as the pace of the sequence is unstable. The tempo is defined by the camera movement, so are the revealing titles.
The idea: pick a song which the young audience could relate to, yet choose something not too striking so as not to make it dominant over the animation itself. Something the youth would aspire to and has the 'authority' among the young listeners, rather than just being popular. Also not too cliche/obvious as it undermines the quality of the animation itself.
After brainstorming ideas we pointed the animation to three possibilities:
1) a creative commons labelled song:
Souds fresh, merry, upbeat, slightly retro (90s, maybe even 80s), house-ish, groovy, something unpopular (kind of gives me some more credit for being able to dig it up. or maybe not).
As much as I liked this song, when I was trying to visualize it in my head, I would see a plane landing in some tourist city, then a beach, then some disco night in the 80s style. The song is gentle and does not get in the way, but probably it would do a better job being used for some travel agency commercial (Thomas cook anyone?).
2) Dirty Harry
Again, upbeat, melodic, funky, slightly groovy, oldschool, kids (the chorus, due to the lyrics I had to look for an instrumental - kids singing 'getting a gun' does not seem right for a project that's supposed to reduce youth deliquency)
The Gorillaz have this 'being cool' area around them. This is not a scandalous musician, with amazing critical reception among the listeners. Partly due to the music, partly due to the animated image (the alter-drawn-reality).
3) Fatboy slim
Right here right now - probably the best fit in terms of matching this mad tempo of the sequence. Yet like one of the tutors I consulted with said, 'Oh, right here, right now. The most often used song in the last 10 years! It fits for everything!'.
True.
I still told him that it definitely does not beat 'Ghostwriter' by RJD2, but yeah, pretty much.
Anyway, as said, it really does fit.
This version has a slightly updated titles. Don't worry if you haven't seen the whole, you will see it in the next post.
TBC!
Development: motion graphics reshot.
Ok
So I went back to the Greig Court and had another go (a couple of, precisely).
This time I was aiming for slightly over a minute as the last time the reality has verified the length for me. Also, as said before, I was trying to keep the frame off the ground level and the 'facade'.
I added further text, and some graphics. Also I browsed through all my streetsport folders for quality photographs of the events and added them accordingly as well.
To help a bit with the pace, another new element was a motion paths leading through the screen. They are rather thin and sometimes blurry so they will not get in the way of the text, but add something to the overall composition.
So I went back to the Greig Court and had another go (a couple of, precisely).
This time I was aiming for slightly over a minute as the last time the reality has verified the length for me. Also, as said before, I was trying to keep the frame off the ground level and the 'facade'.
I added further text, and some graphics. Also I browsed through all my streetsport folders for quality photographs of the events and added them accordingly as well.
To help a bit with the pace, another new element was a motion paths leading through the screen. They are rather thin and sometimes blurry so they will not get in the way of the text, but add something to the overall composition.
Development:motion graphics, the beginnings
Turned out this project would require much more work than expected.
Before started shooting I have been learning to extend my After Effects workflow. I analysed the Glencore movie as well as other examples of motion graphics by P. Clair and figured out some of the transition effects he uses (simple Venetian blinds, and here I was looking for a way to draw a 'mask texture' to reveal it!).
Finally I went on to shoot my 'hand-picked, humane' wall.
The idea is to have a wall-long pan across the building and have the information reveal on the raw footage as the panning progresses.
I had a couple of attempts to get the sequence timing right. Oddly as it seems, one can pass the same distance in anywhere between 20 and 60 seconds!
My idea was to make this relatively short but something visually attractive, to involve the viewer for a bit longer. I was aiming for something close to 50-60 seconds. This obviously meant more work and filling in more content on the empty wall, yet it was an opportunity for me to showcase something more than just a title with a tag-line.
For this I needed to track the motion all over the footage which was pretty dificult for me at first (due to all the reference/tracking points constantly disappearing off the canvas), but 'with a little help from my friends' I finally figured that all it takes is to hold the Alt key. Simples.
The beginnings are never easy.
Turned out that despite of my animation going quite well until a certain point, I lost the pace and sped up my camera movement which rendered the text almost unreadable (not to mention if it was accompanied by revealing images which further distract/delay you from reading the text). Another issue was the ground level: as the camera shakes, the horizon(?) rotates all over : if I were to track the rotation as well, the text would be even more unreadable as it would jump all over the canvas
I had to repeat the shooting.
The good thing was that working on the same After effects project, I (thought that I) did not have much to do except track the motion of the new sequence, then tamper a bit with the timing of reveal and relocate the images.
It wouldn't be fun if it was easy.
To be continued!
Before started shooting I have been learning to extend my After Effects workflow. I analysed the Glencore movie as well as other examples of motion graphics by P. Clair and figured out some of the transition effects he uses (simple Venetian blinds, and here I was looking for a way to draw a 'mask texture' to reveal it!).
Finally I went on to shoot my 'hand-picked, humane' wall.
The idea is to have a wall-long pan across the building and have the information reveal on the raw footage as the panning progresses.
I had a couple of attempts to get the sequence timing right. Oddly as it seems, one can pass the same distance in anywhere between 20 and 60 seconds!
My idea was to make this relatively short but something visually attractive, to involve the viewer for a bit longer. I was aiming for something close to 50-60 seconds. This obviously meant more work and filling in more content on the empty wall, yet it was an opportunity for me to showcase something more than just a title with a tag-line.
For this I needed to track the motion all over the footage which was pretty dificult for me at first (due to all the reference/tracking points constantly disappearing off the canvas), but 'with a little help from my friends' I finally figured that all it takes is to hold the Alt key. Simples.
this was a simple test with basic animation to see if it works.
The beginnings are never easy.
Turned out that despite of my animation going quite well until a certain point, I lost the pace and sped up my camera movement which rendered the text almost unreadable (not to mention if it was accompanied by revealing images which further distract/delay you from reading the text). Another issue was the ground level: as the camera shakes, the horizon(?) rotates all over : if I were to track the rotation as well, the text would be even more unreadable as it would jump all over the canvas
we all make mistakes. This one though required me to reshoot the sequence.
I had to repeat the shooting.
The good thing was that working on the same After effects project, I (thought that I) did not have much to do except track the motion of the new sequence, then tamper a bit with the timing of reveal and relocate the images.
It wouldn't be fun if it was easy.
To be continued!
Research: motion graphics
Ironically much like the last semester, the biggest parts of the assignments tend to happen just as the semester draws to an end.
My next task for Streetsport was to design a motion graphics which would match the posters in terms of visual style and provide the viewer with basic information on Streetsport's agenda. This part was pretty serious as it would not only be included in my degree show stand but also displayed on a separate area.
So again I dug up a whole ocean of possible associations we went through when working on previous bits of Streetsport.
Urban, energy, sports, competitions, challenges, alternatives, and so and so.
In the end I decided to take this quite literally as the most obvious association with Streetsport is, well, playing the sports on the streets. In a bit of a short-cut, that is.
Anyway, in my research for motion graphics I came across this
Glencore by Patrick Clair.
Literally blew up my mind, not because of its shocking (apparently) content, but more the aesthetics of the graphic symbols.
This sequence combines information, statistics, numbers, images and tells the story simultaneously. It got me so much I even browsed what this Glencore is about. Quite an impact given that I am rather sceptical on following whatever shows sup.
Anyway, the collage, the infographic elements, limited usage of colours, a sense of urban area as well (not sure if fits here particularly but hey, textured walls always look good).
As of then (and probably now) my knowledge of After effects was not sufficient enough to picture how to operate so fluently in 3d compositing, so my plan (given that the time was short and I was rather reluctant on risking 'maybe managing to learn the 3d and then hoping to finish on time'), was to focus on something I am actually good at: use real video instead!
I give this some thinking as well and as a matter of fact the down side of working on real footage compared to working in 3d-compositing is... well, you can't be really this precise in therms of raw footage especially not having a complete plan concerning the total length, amount of images, number of sentences etc.
Plus after finding a wall which relatively fit to a 'humane length for such production'
I intentionally decided to shoot without stabilization to make the footage more shaky (thus more 'real').
My next task for Streetsport was to design a motion graphics which would match the posters in terms of visual style and provide the viewer with basic information on Streetsport's agenda. This part was pretty serious as it would not only be included in my degree show stand but also displayed on a separate area.
So again I dug up a whole ocean of possible associations we went through when working on previous bits of Streetsport.
Urban, energy, sports, competitions, challenges, alternatives, and so and so.
In the end I decided to take this quite literally as the most obvious association with Streetsport is, well, playing the sports on the streets. In a bit of a short-cut, that is.
Anyway, in my research for motion graphics I came across this
Glencore by Patrick Clair.
Literally blew up my mind, not because of its shocking (apparently) content, but more the aesthetics of the graphic symbols.
This sequence combines information, statistics, numbers, images and tells the story simultaneously. It got me so much I even browsed what this Glencore is about. Quite an impact given that I am rather sceptical on following whatever shows sup.
Anyway, the collage, the infographic elements, limited usage of colours, a sense of urban area as well (not sure if fits here particularly but hey, textured walls always look good).
As of then (and probably now) my knowledge of After effects was not sufficient enough to picture how to operate so fluently in 3d compositing, so my plan (given that the time was short and I was rather reluctant on risking 'maybe managing to learn the 3d and then hoping to finish on time'), was to focus on something I am actually good at: use real video instead!
I give this some thinking as well and as a matter of fact the down side of working on real footage compared to working in 3d-compositing is... well, you can't be really this precise in therms of raw footage especially not having a complete plan concerning the total length, amount of images, number of sentences etc.
Plus after finding a wall which relatively fit to a 'humane length for such production'
I intentionally decided to shoot without stabilization to make the footage more shaky (thus more 'real').
Development: posters one step forward
During the degree show we are bound to have a separate stand for the Streetsport works in the Gray's canteen area as a part of the socially responsible design.
As the graduation slowly draws on everyone, it really is hectic everywhere but this is no reason to stop working. Do the opposite, push it further.
Having the streetsport stand in mind, I keep developing the idea of promotional poster which could be later used to promote the events associated with it.
Following the ideas from the previous posts, I am currently producing more pieces with a similar visual style.
Another one is close to be finished:
I decided to follow the teen-style collage graphics but adapt it to different sport disciplines which Streetsport covers.
This has been an issue back when we started: despite the fact that majority of promotion and activities are associated with football, there are different disciplines Streetsport is involved with and I think it would be good to present this as contrary to previous video coverages which in large proportions displayed football only.
Well, more to come!
Development: even more poster ideas.
The 'teen-style' graphic of this image has been approved by the project supervisor, so currently I am meant to produce more of this type imagery
At the same time I am exploring further possibilities with the vector graphic I designed.
At the same time I am exploring further possibilities with the vector graphic I designed.
Development: poster ideas
In previous post I analyzed what matters for the participants and high-lighted what values we should emphasize the most.
AS the time progresses I made several poster mock-ups to reference on a meeting concerning the media coverage of the Soccashot event meant to take place in July.
These were meant to illustrate the motivational phrases in the context of urban landscape (street) and provide reference for the final visual output.
Research: NIKE it up
Another step of my research was having an insight on the more popular sporting campaigns of brands such as NIKE and Reebok.
Naturally, due to highly commercial nature of such companies their perception varies depending on the target audience (some consider them inspirational, some other emphasize how these companies acclaim their fortunes by abusing the cheap labour in Asian markets).
Still, it has to be noted that the marketing campaigns of the sport big brands are remembered and tend to create a long-lasting impact.
NIKE FOOTBALL:
key elements:
-High-lights the impact people who participate in sports have (the audience all over the world, satelite broadcast)
-Voice-overs (storytelling).
-Detailed shots, close-up
-Features role-models
-No weaklings (survival of the fittest style) - IMPOSING A CHALLENGE (see NIKE CAGE: funny spot yet is says clearly "loosers go home")
(question: do we want to impose a challenge on people who theoretically are already challenged?)
commercials make people seem great so that the other feel ambitious to follow in their footsteps.
-Respect and consideration between the players
NIKE I CAN DO THIS:
Nike happens on the pitch and stays on the pitch. We are interested in what happens outside of it as well.
ADIDAS: Impossible is nothing campaign.
What motivates people?
Will the kids be confident to talk about their social backgrounds and say how streetsport has helped their problems?
Some people listen to themselves rather than listen to others. -- again, aims to boost one's self-confidence
Structure:
The big brand commercials are often stylized to be a movie. They often feature voice over, usually in a form of a motivational poem which is bound to stimulate people into accepting the challenge.
Yet according to the commercial the 'superhuman' motivation and spirit come from the advertised product.
What we aim for in the streetsport is to have the same sort of impact yet without the product placement.
It's not your shoes. It's you.
Naturally, due to highly commercial nature of such companies their perception varies depending on the target audience (some consider them inspirational, some other emphasize how these companies acclaim their fortunes by abusing the cheap labour in Asian markets).
Still, it has to be noted that the marketing campaigns of the sport big brands are remembered and tend to create a long-lasting impact.
NIKE FOOTBALL:
key elements:
-High-lights the impact people who participate in sports have (the audience all over the world, satelite broadcast)
-Voice-overs (storytelling).
-Detailed shots, close-up
-Features role-models
-No weaklings (survival of the fittest style) - IMPOSING A CHALLENGE (see NIKE CAGE: funny spot yet is says clearly "loosers go home")
(question: do we want to impose a challenge on people who theoretically are already challenged?)
commercials make people seem great so that the other feel ambitious to follow in their footsteps.
-Respect and consideration between the players
NIKE I CAN DO THIS:
Nike happens on the pitch and stays on the pitch. We are interested in what happens outside of it as well.
ADIDAS: Impossible is nothing campaign.
What motivates people?
Will the kids be confident to talk about their social backgrounds and say how streetsport has helped their problems?
Some people listen to themselves rather than listen to others. -- again, aims to boost one's self-confidence
Structure:
The big brand commercials are often stylized to be a movie. They often feature voice over, usually in a form of a motivational poem which is bound to stimulate people into accepting the challenge.
Yet according to the commercial the 'superhuman' motivation and spirit come from the advertised product.
What we aim for in the streetsport is to have the same sort of impact yet without the product placement.
It's not your shoes. It's you.
Development: Streetsport getting serious
This project has been put on hold for a while as I was involved in other works in the meantime
Streetsport as a project has picked up new directions and there was a lot happening: the event-planning team is working on organizing a Soccashot tournament which would be promoted with and by the Streetport.
The event is meant to be held in July, until then we have to raise the bar even further in terms of media coverage.
The outline is to design posters to promote the event. At the same time we are working on producing motion graphics for the website.
In order to get further materials to work on we gathered some media by the end of March.
by attending two heats in one evening (Torry and Garthdee Asda pitch).
Some pictures from that night which can be used to produce the posters:
Streetsport as a project has picked up new directions and there was a lot happening: the event-planning team is working on organizing a Soccashot tournament which would be promoted with and by the Streetport.
The event is meant to be held in July, until then we have to raise the bar even further in terms of media coverage.
The outline is to design posters to promote the event. At the same time we are working on producing motion graphics for the website.
In order to get further materials to work on we gathered some media by the end of March.
by attending two heats in one evening (Torry and Garthdee Asda pitch).
Some pictures from that night which can be used to produce the posters:
Development: Zahed's freestyle
Somehow I omitted this one.
This had quite an acclaim, hitting over 300 views on vimeo, which does not happen too often (for me, that is!)
The purpose of this video was to showcase Zahed Cheshty's skills for the purpose of providing someone to look up to for the kids.
This had quite an acclaim, hitting over 300 views on vimeo, which does not happen too often (for me, that is!)
The purpose of this video was to showcase Zahed Cheshty's skills for the purpose of providing someone to look up to for the kids.
Development: Streetsport poster ideas
And back to work I did go.
It's been a busy week for me, but it paid off with amazing output.
As for the streetsport project I was asked to design a poster for a 'teaser campaign'. Next week we plan to arrange another event which will allow me to take additional pictures and maybe some video while I am at it.
The poster
As of then I had to use the existing media we did get a hold of. So I took an old picture of Zahed (you have to have my word for it) from back when we shot the Freestyle sequence:
Aiming for an 'electrifying' impression I did the 'beta' version which looked something like this:
Following a brief brainstorming session we decided to push the 'energy' theme a bit forward and I introduced several static symbols around the ball. It follows the 'electric' theme we picked up in the title sequences for previous Streetsport movies. I also made the ball spin around giving it a sense of movement despite being under Zahed's foot. How energetic is that?
This step had the lettering slightly corrected.
I insisted on keeping it as simple as it is with no additional information except the website, which I think works well for the curiosity. A viewer is more likely to explore a concept which does not give all the details straight away (hence all the 'check out for more' 'come and see' etc.).
Unfortunately as 'are you game' apparently has some negative connotations (I think that on a long enough timeline one would be able to find some dirty meaning behind just about every phrasal verb there is, oh well).
So for now I am left with a blank template and a lot more thinking behind the word-games.
Hope to see it finalized anytime soon.
It's been a busy week for me, but it paid off with amazing output.
As for the streetsport project I was asked to design a poster for a 'teaser campaign'. Next week we plan to arrange another event which will allow me to take additional pictures and maybe some video while I am at it.
The poster
As of then I had to use the existing media we did get a hold of. So I took an old picture of Zahed (you have to have my word for it) from back when we shot the Freestyle sequence:
Aiming for an 'electrifying' impression I did the 'beta' version which looked something like this:
Following a brief brainstorming session we decided to push the 'energy' theme a bit forward and I introduced several static symbols around the ball. It follows the 'electric' theme we picked up in the title sequences for previous Streetsport movies. I also made the ball spin around giving it a sense of movement despite being under Zahed's foot. How energetic is that?
This step had the lettering slightly corrected.
I insisted on keeping it as simple as it is with no additional information except the website, which I think works well for the curiosity. A viewer is more likely to explore a concept which does not give all the details straight away (hence all the 'check out for more' 'come and see' etc.).
Unfortunately as 'are you game' apparently has some negative connotations (I think that on a long enough timeline one would be able to find some dirty meaning behind just about every phrasal verb there is, oh well).
So for now I am left with a blank template and a lot more thinking behind the word-games.
Hope to see it finalized anytime soon.
Development: Streetsport titles
That was the biggest one yet I think.
I did get a lot of feedback and adjusted to them in the matter of hours for almost a consecutive week. All in all I ended up producing 5 different version of the same sequence, correcting the main logo, fixing the colours on the go, altering the sound effects and so and so and so...
Long story short - some experience out of it on various software with a happy ending.
Anyway it started 'randomly' with this:
Then the second version, a simple fade-in:
Thirdly (is this even a word?) a not-so-simple fade-in with corrected colours:
SFX corrected (due to ambiguous meaning behind the spray-can sounds:
And the final, which got split into two sequences to represent the intro and the outro.
I did get a lot of feedback and adjusted to them in the matter of hours for almost a consecutive week. All in all I ended up producing 5 different version of the same sequence, correcting the main logo, fixing the colours on the go, altering the sound effects and so and so and so...
Long story short - some experience out of it on various software with a happy ending.
Anyway it started 'randomly' with this:
Then the second version, a simple fade-in:
Thirdly (is this even a word?) a not-so-simple fade-in with corrected colours:
SFX corrected (due to ambiguous meaning behind the spray-can sounds:
And the final, which got split into two sequences to represent the intro and the outro.
Development: Character reveal
I was revising some After Effects features over the Christmas break. This is not ideal yet but I believe will come in handy for the bigger feature (the documentary of Streetsport).
This was inspired with title sequences and ending credits from Guy Ritchie's movies. Starting from Snatch, then Rocknrolla and finally Sherlock Holmes.
As I have just recently seen the Game of Shadows (which I thoroughly recommend, at least for the visual part) I decided to aim for an effect similar to the one seen at the end of the movie (either the first or the sequel, they are pretty much the same) which is a character reveal through the ink bleeds.
So I did find several tutorials on-line except the atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes (industrial, dirty London) did not quite match the one I am trying to associate the Streetsport with. Hence I replaced the old paper texture with the asphalt road and here it is.
I used the footage from the freestyle movie with Zahed which may be found here
This was inspired with title sequences and ending credits from Guy Ritchie's movies. Starting from Snatch, then Rocknrolla and finally Sherlock Holmes.
As I have just recently seen the Game of Shadows (which I thoroughly recommend, at least for the visual part) I decided to aim for an effect similar to the one seen at the end of the movie (either the first or the sequel, they are pretty much the same) which is a character reveal through the ink bleeds.
So I did find several tutorials on-line except the atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes (industrial, dirty London) did not quite match the one I am trying to associate the Streetsport with. Hence I replaced the old paper texture with the asphalt road and here it is.
I used the footage from the freestyle movie with Zahed which may be found here
Development: 5D field-test/Riverbank School
Ok so I pulled together a quick edit of last week's Streetsport.
The edit - well, it is what it is, several clips put together. The film quality - well that's a different story.
To compare - the previous streetsport clip I put features almost exactly the same lighting conditions. The only difference was it was shot with 500d.
The difference is pretty significant. Again - good to have both. If the overheating issue is as serious as some say (I don't think a powerplant would overheat in this cold... guess will have to wait until it's warmer to actually find out) I could always swop bodies and leave the other one for a rest.
I had some doubts about the reason behind using DSLR for video recently. Is it because it's cheaper and easier to use than a professional video camera? Or do we actually 'feel the vibe' and enjoy the different/better quality these little babies produce?
There are already enough people arguing over the statement above so no reason for me to join the battle. Facts are better than opinions and the fact here is - due to large size of the sensor the DSLR (especially full-frame) can beat any camera in low light conditions.
Turns out it is appropriate, and worth it.
The edit - well, it is what it is, several clips put together. The film quality - well that's a different story.
To compare - the previous streetsport clip I put features almost exactly the same lighting conditions. The only difference was it was shot with 500d.
The difference is pretty significant. Again - good to have both. If the overheating issue is as serious as some say (I don't think a powerplant would overheat in this cold... guess will have to wait until it's warmer to actually find out) I could always swop bodies and leave the other one for a rest.
I had some doubts about the reason behind using DSLR for video recently. Is it because it's cheaper and easier to use than a professional video camera? Or do we actually 'feel the vibe' and enjoy the different/better quality these little babies produce?
There are already enough people arguing over the statement above so no reason for me to join the battle. Facts are better than opinions and the fact here is - due to large size of the sensor the DSLR (especially full-frame) can beat any camera in low light conditions.
Turns out it is appropriate, and worth it.
Research: Case study - God is a DJ
Anyway, going back for a while to the research part and my reports at the sime time...
As I focus on DSLR video making while browsing a ton of publications on the change it has brought about to the video industry I often come across the phrase how it spawned an army of indie film-makers and finally gave them some decent equipment to work with for a fraction of a cost of professional video camera.
Anyway, I think this would classify in the 'indie' not sure if was shot with a DSLR.
One of a finest examples of good film-making and a pinch of humour together..
Development: A cold shooting night
But it was worth it I think.
We've been hanging around the pitch with the cameras for over 2 hours but I think we managed to get some nice footage out of it. The idea was to set the cameras up to get pictures for a time-lapse + get some decent footage on the go. I think it will turn out quite well as I've already seen Richie's beta-version so as soon as I process mine (or as soon as I finish the reports that is) we can combine it into a more complex sequence (apparently getting two points of view instead of one can enhance the quality. We will see though).
Again it was good practice of shooting in the field with pretty random lighting plus I am (sloowly) getting the hang of 5d and grow to appreciate having two cameras.
I really do admire these kids - I could barely stand the weather with the thickest clothes and they've been happily running around in t-shirts... brr!
We've been hanging around the pitch with the cameras for over 2 hours but I think we managed to get some nice footage out of it. The idea was to set the cameras up to get pictures for a time-lapse + get some decent footage on the go. I think it will turn out quite well as I've already seen Richie's beta-version so as soon as I process mine (or as soon as I finish the reports that is) we can combine it into a more complex sequence (apparently getting two points of view instead of one can enhance the quality. We will see though).
Again it was good practice of shooting in the field with pretty random lighting plus I am (sloowly) getting the hang of 5d and grow to appreciate having two cameras.
I really do admire these kids - I could barely stand the weather with the thickest clothes and they've been happily running around in t-shirts... brr!
Research: Case study - Rush/skate now
An amazing example how a little well-thought CGI can benefit a production. If the song could be described as a 'feel-good' or sunny, the colorful grading really goes well with it. The production puts a lot of focus on the character/the performer which makes it more 'filmy' than regular performance mix-tape. Good use of short sequences, apropriate slow-motion in the build-up/filler parts. Very eye-catching transitions between slow-motion and normal tempo during the tricks. The audio is rather not standard for a skateboarding film (in therms of pace/music genre) yet gives the production qualities of a feature movie + the lyrics obviously fit, captain obvious.
Research: Case study - Rydel House breakdance
This is an extraction from a breakdance mixtape. Most likely shot with a HDSLR, the mixtape features a set of songs put together to work as a whole. Less popular songs, very good interaction with the video (see the part around 1.40with the trumpet sequence). A fairly good choice in the clips length - they can both showcase the performers and shift according to the tempo. The changes in length give the impression of unpredictability: if the music video is too structured it becomes boring as the viewer can foresee a change in sequence. A variety of focal lengths have been used, which again is good for unpredictability and some variety on the screen (this is key element in productions of this length : another breakdancer would love to see the whole production anyway, but a casual viewer may be bored after a while).
Research: Case study - Basketball freestyle
7. Basketball Freestyle
This is relatively short compared to the rest of the clips (only 1 minute). With the clips unusal length, it still manages to include a quick 'filler' clip : this gives character to the production as it is not 'just' a flat performance sequence. Rather un-popular choice for the song, yet well-thought: of all the sports I used in this research reel basketball is probably the fastest in therms of pace; hence the insane tempo of the song keeps it well together and manages to squeeze in quite a performance in under 50 seconds (plus the first filler sequence). Good combination of static shots and dynamic panning/close-ups
This is relatively short compared to the rest of the clips (only 1 minute). With the clips unusal length, it still manages to include a quick 'filler' clip : this gives character to the production as it is not 'just' a flat performance sequence. Rather un-popular choice for the song, yet well-thought: of all the sports I used in this research reel basketball is probably the fastest in therms of pace; hence the insane tempo of the song keeps it well together and manages to squeeze in quite a performance in under 50 seconds (plus the first filler sequence). Good combination of static shots and dynamic panning/close-ups
Research: Case study - Sean freestyle
6. Sean freestyle champion
The movie opens with a strong post-production and animated logo. This video is shot extremely well: with a use of multiple cameras and/or multiple focal lengths and angles. The superb quality is achieved thanks to amazing capabilites of a RED camera (shot on 120 frames per second then slowed down to 25 achieving spectacular high-quality slow-motion). A less popular yet catchy song used for the background music. Contrary to the previous entries, this video puts an equal emphasis on the tricks and the performer/character: while other videos focused on the performance, this is rich in close-ups. It features some dynamic shoots, probably with a support of a shoulder rig or a glide-cam. The RED camera's capabilities enable amazing depth-of-field
The movie opens with a strong post-production and animated logo. This video is shot extremely well: with a use of multiple cameras and/or multiple focal lengths and angles. The superb quality is achieved thanks to amazing capabilites of a RED camera (shot on 120 frames per second then slowed down to 25 achieving spectacular high-quality slow-motion). A less popular yet catchy song used for the background music. Contrary to the previous entries, this video puts an equal emphasis on the tricks and the performer/character: while other videos focused on the performance, this is rich in close-ups. It features some dynamic shoots, probably with a support of a shoulder rig or a glide-cam. The RED camera's capabilities enable amazing depth-of-field
Research: Case study - Remember the Name
5. Fort Minor - Remember the Name (alternate stunt video).
This is an alternative version for the music video of Fort Minor's hit single 'Remember the Name'. This clip is a good example of combining several performers together and at the same time featuring the 'casual' music video elements (the close-ups for the vocalist etc.). This video is a great example of how the movie sequences can respond to key elements in the song's structure: the ball hits the ground with the first drum part, the skater lands accordingly with the 'gunshot' sound etc. Good post-production. An extremely popular song with a rhytmic structure that mixes classical instruemnts with strong drum and bass lines makes this production an instant-hit
This is an alternative version for the music video of Fort Minor's hit single 'Remember the Name'. This clip is a good example of combining several performers together and at the same time featuring the 'casual' music video elements (the close-ups for the vocalist etc.). This video is a great example of how the movie sequences can respond to key elements in the song's structure: the ball hits the ground with the first drum part, the skater lands accordingly with the 'gunshot' sound etc. Good post-production. An extremely popular song with a rhytmic structure that mixes classical instruemnts with strong drum and bass lines makes this production an instant-hit
Research: Case study - Lewis BMX
4. Levis BMX Pro team remix (2007)
Amazing post-production and opening titles, a lot of slow-motion, good choice in dynamic and rhytmic audio, good soft transitions between clips. The movie is in slow-motion for the sequences without drums and speeds-up for the rest of the song. A well thought-through production
Research: Case study: Urban freestyle
3. Urban freestyle: Basketball.
A commercial series sold as a mixtape. Good camera work, a lot of post-production (time-remapping, slow motion etc.) Terrible choice of music (this is true for the whole series): the 'heavy' hip-hop is rather repelling and contrary to the song in goosebumps would not be appreciated by a casual listener. Very poor design work: the series is advertised with a brick-wall background as its trademark
A commercial series sold as a mixtape. Good camera work, a lot of post-production (time-remapping, slow motion etc.) Terrible choice of music (this is true for the whole series): the 'heavy' hip-hop is rather repelling and contrary to the song in goosebumps would not be appreciated by a casual listener. Very poor design work: the series is advertised with a brick-wall background as its trademark
Research: Case study - Nosebleed Section
2. Hilltop hoods - the Nosebleed Section
A set of bmx freestyle sequences accompanying a popular Hilltop Hoods song. Slightly more active camera, random cuts: the editing obviously focused more on the bmx tricks rather than tempo of the song. The author preferred to leave longer, uninterrupted freestyle clips at the cost of relevancy to the song. Good choice of rhytmic and ear-catching song which falls into viewers head and stays there for a while. Very little post-production (the old-movie intro, single time remapping and some fades to black are the only examples). Interesting fact: the video itself has approx 6mln views on youtube, whereas the orfficial Nosebleed Section video has only around 500k
A set of bmx freestyle sequences accompanying a popular Hilltop Hoods song. Slightly more active camera, random cuts: the editing obviously focused more on the bmx tricks rather than tempo of the song. The author preferred to leave longer, uninterrupted freestyle clips at the cost of relevancy to the song. Good choice of rhytmic and ear-catching song which falls into viewers head and stays there for a while. Very little post-production (the old-movie intro, single time remapping and some fades to black are the only examples). Interesting fact: the video itself has approx 6mln views on youtube, whereas the orfficial Nosebleed Section video has only around 500k
Research: Case study - Notic
1. Goosebumps freestyle (the Notic)
Notic was an AND1 (a popular sport accesories company) rival in 1990-2000s. The Goosebumps freestyle is a well put-together mixtape, it makes fairly good use of the music in the beginning of the sequence, then after it progresses (see clip 5) it gets slightly more random: the clips do not follow the rhytm too well, yet the visual value of the tricks remains high. There is no dynamic camera movement (no panning etc.), most of the time it's just sequences shot off a tripod in fixed position. The movie was filmed in several locations then put together. A good selection of rhytmic movies, the hip-hop music is well-associated with basketball as a sport. Good post-production work (time-lapsing) at the beginning. The author has used the advantage of fixed camera when Goosebumps gets closer to it: cutting the middle-part of the clip so the player seems to be 'fading in' closer and closer (0:30-0:33)
Audio: Jay-Z - U don't Know (remix)
Notic was an AND1 (a popular sport accesories company) rival in 1990-2000s. The Goosebumps freestyle is a well put-together mixtape, it makes fairly good use of the music in the beginning of the sequence, then after it progresses (see clip 5) it gets slightly more random: the clips do not follow the rhytm too well, yet the visual value of the tricks remains high. There is no dynamic camera movement (no panning etc.), most of the time it's just sequences shot off a tripod in fixed position. The movie was filmed in several locations then put together. A good selection of rhytmic movies, the hip-hop music is well-associated with basketball as a sport. Good post-production work (time-lapsing) at the beginning. The author has used the advantage of fixed camera when Goosebumps gets closer to it: cutting the middle-part of the clip so the player seems to be 'fading in' closer and closer (0:30-0:33)
Audio: Jay-Z - U don't Know (remix)
Project background
This project started back in October.
As of now it is still active and I keep adding content to it.
Project background:
The aim of this project was to provide high quality media/promotional materials for RGU Streetsport, a youth diversity project created by RGU: Sport. Streetsport aim to provide an alternative for the troubled youth by means of hosting sport events in the 'troubled' areas of Aberdeen.
To promote competition.
The idea of sport competition is to draw them away from their troubled lives and allow for a better alternative. Using the image of grandeur and appealing to people's ambition, we want to create an effect similar to the one of major sporting brands (Nike, Adidas etc.).
Our visual products will impose self-confidence, Streetsport will be perceived as a seemingly exclusive community yet it is open for everyone.
Aims:
Produce a video which features scenes from the matches, behind the scenes footage,
information on the venues (website?)
impose the spirit of challenge, make the participants want to try harder.
"got what it takes?"
Streetsport. Everyone's a winner
The initial ideas was to provide video coverage for the upcoming heats in order to promote Streetsport and draw more participants to the project.
As the output was sport music videos, I started off by researching various sport related music videos and analyzed what was in my opinion good about them and which aspects could be taken a step further.
As of now it is still active and I keep adding content to it.
Project background:
The aim of this project was to provide high quality media/promotional materials for RGU Streetsport, a youth diversity project created by RGU: Sport. Streetsport aim to provide an alternative for the troubled youth by means of hosting sport events in the 'troubled' areas of Aberdeen.
To promote competition.
The idea of sport competition is to draw them away from their troubled lives and allow for a better alternative. Using the image of grandeur and appealing to people's ambition, we want to create an effect similar to the one of major sporting brands (Nike, Adidas etc.).
Our visual products will impose self-confidence, Streetsport will be perceived as a seemingly exclusive community yet it is open for everyone.
Aims:
Produce a video which features scenes from the matches, behind the scenes footage,
information on the venues (website?)
impose the spirit of challenge, make the participants want to try harder.
"got what it takes?"
Streetsport. Everyone's a winner
The initial ideas was to provide video coverage for the upcoming heats in order to promote Streetsport and draw more participants to the project.
As the output was sport music videos, I started off by researching various sport related music videos and analyzed what was in my opinion good about them and which aspects could be taken a step further.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
