In this module our aim was to create a one minute film following the theme of "Invasion," in this project the task was to learn about the practices of how green screen is used in the industry to create our own short film. As well as learning about green screen I have also learned about how to use After Effects and applied more complex sound design through my own research and applying it in Final Cut.
At the beginning of the module what I was most excited about was, like all previous modules, creating the concept art. I felt that I had a lot of work for me to do with my concept designs as I found out that we had to design an alien, alien spaceship and spaceship interior. The first thing that started to draw up was the design for my alien species, I had already decided that the feel and genre of my short film would be a horror/thriller that focused more on suspense rather than a lot of action in each scene. I focused on monsters seen in games such as Silent Hill, Avatar and Devil May Cry, using them as reference to create my own creature. After creating the base skeleton of my alien I then researched various physical ailments people get (boils, herpes, burns, blisters, cysts) in order to design the apearence of the alien and its skin.
The next thing that I did was design my spaceship, I had a bit more trouble designing the spaceship as I don't normally draw any form of Mech and vehicles as a whole I generally tend to steer clear of. Because of my lack of practice in this drawing field I found it more difficult to create a suitable ship to design any further than its first few sketches. Drawing mechs and other vehicles is definitely something that I will be practicing and developing in the future to perhaps be applied in later modules. When designing my spaceship I looked at some of my most favorite games I used to play as a child that I knew had spaceships in them. Games such as Star Fox Adventures and Sonic Adventure proved extremely valuable in designing the ship I wanted to create.
The last and probably most difficult thing that I had to design was my environment or interior that my actor and alien would be moving around in on the inside of the spaceship. Out of beasts, mechs and environments, standalone environments have to be my least drawn elements. The fact that I never draw environments by themselves made it almost impossible to create my own spaceship interior and when it came to modelling I literally was changing my design and ideas every other time I opened up Maya. At times I found the whole designing of the environment to be quite stressful and I wanted to avoid making it, however by referencing interiors from games that reflected my films horror genre such as Silent Hill, i was able to take pieces of inspiration from assets already in the game such as the floor colours/textures, piping and overall 'industrial slaughterhouse' feel.
A few weeks into the module we were given a number of inductions from Mike Flower into the use and appliance of After Effects. I really enjoyed these sessions because I found the ending result of each class to be quite rewarding and Mr.Flower also took interest into my future project that I am wanting to do which combines both my love of concept art with the use of After Effects, his interest gave me more confidence to apply what I was learning to a greater level and expand further upon what I was learning in order for me to get greater insight into the After Effects program as a whole.
One of the most important parts of the module was filming our footage that we were going to manipulate in After Effects. Whilst some of the group were given more significant roles to play such as crane operator, actor, extra and cameraman I was told to go inside and wait by the exit door to tell people to use the other entrance door as we were filming. I didn't feel that the role I was given was very significant nor important and most people who were trying to exit the college site through the door I was meant to be guarding wouldn't listen to me which was a knock on confidence. I did however get the chance to be an extra in a few of the classes films and although my role in the film was a small one I still enjoyed feeling like I was actually a part of the filming process rather than staying inside.
After filming outside we arranged our own groups with our actors and filmed indoors. It was this part of filming that required us to be the directors individually in our own films. When it came to myself directing my film I felt very nervous and awkward because I felt that at times my voice was being ignored and other members of the group were talking over me. Because I didn't feel comfortable shouting my directions at what I wanted to be done I took my actor to one side and acted out each scene with him quietly so he knew what do so. I also explained the kind of shots I wanted to the cameraman and set the lighting up. On the same day I also found out that I had to act in a class members film playing the role of a delivery mail Alien, for this I had to paint myself blue and get in front of the camera which I was extremely nervous about and didn't feel confident doing what so ever, i did however enjoy feeling that I helped my class mate in making their film.
When it was time to put both the film and assets I had made into After Effects I found that learning how to key out everything else around the character through junk mattes and chokers was one of my more therapeutic and relaxing things to do, I found it quite rewarding to sit and create clean keys on each scene. I also learned how to animate my choker for a scene that had a lot of movement in it which although I found to be quite frustrating at times was very rewarding after its completion.
When all of the film and assets that I had modeled were combined in After Effects I didn't actually like what I had made, I didn't think that any of it looked of a good enough standard to me despite how hard I had worked to make everything and the trouble I had at times designing the look of some assets. However, after I started to add various effects in AE and designed the sound I came to be quite proud of what I had achieved and received positive feedback from the people who I showed it to outside of class.
In general I've enjoyed this module, through the criteria and concept designs I have discovered where I need to improve in my art and has inspired me somewhat to expand the content that I draw (mechs & environments). However, this module has also brought to light how much confidence in myself and my work I lack and how low my pride is in my work. I'm not sure how to help myself in that department but I will start by trying to be proud of the things I create. My favorite parts of this module were designing concept art and learning how to use After Effects to piece everything together, My least favorite part of the module was both filming days because I felt uncomfortable and not confident.
For my upcoming modules I will definitely be taking what I have learned from Mike Flower about After effects and applying it to my other pieces of work. When I do use After Effects I'll be going to visit Mike's office regularly to try and learn as much about the program as I can in order to expand the media of my work.
Things I enjoyed:
- Concept Art
- After Efects
Things I need to improve on:
- Mech concept art
- Environment / Perspective concept art
Things I need help with:
- Confidence
- Communication
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