BSA227 Compositing Begins!

Filming has finished! We lost our main actor due to sickness so instead had Liam help us out for the two days of shooting, not exactly who we type casted but beggars can't be choosers this late into the semester. It was really important for us to finish filming before semester break so I would have enough lab time to work on editing.

I have been working all week on my first compositing shot, I started off first in After effects but was not happy with the result as I could not get the camera tracker to work in my favour and resorted to animating frame by frame. However, it was a good way to get an idea for what I was after and start to learn my way around the programme better:

Next I bought the footage into Nuke. This is probably my fourth time using Nuke and I'm starting to really enjoy it. The nodal based system works for me as I find it easier to organise and follow exactly what part of the shot I am working on. Using an online tutorial I think I have created a look that I am happy with. After some false starts where I lost whole days worth of footage I am on my way to completing our first real fx shot.

The tracking tool in Nuke is also a lot easier to follow and I think wields a much better result then Adobe After Effects.

Final shot 

BSA227 Shoot Day 1

 Day One on Set

We had a really successful first day on set

We had an issue with not very many extras turning up for shoot which made some of the scenes difficult to film.

Josh Clive was our camera man, Ben Bunting directed and I was first AD

We stayed on schedule and were able to finish up by 9:30 as planned.

Dinner break at 6pm. we were too scared to touch the bar lights as it took us a long time to get them set up 

Last shot was taken at 9:15pm ! 

we had a few issues with noise as someone decided to start construction at 9:00 which stretched our film time further 

BSA227 Nuke Tutorial

Nodes:

Keyboard Shortcuts

R = Read node
S= Script Directory
1,2= Change Viewer node
B= Blur
M= Merge node
T= Transform
W= Write node

Colour correction node 

This node is used to correct colour levels

Read node: R

The read node is used for importing files into Nuke

Blur node: B

God rays node

by setting keys on the right hand side you can animate timing easily

The higher the number the further in front the picture is i.e. A1 will be behind A2 

Green screen layers are used using merge and roto functions

BSA206 The Wall

Year: 1979
Director: Alan Parker
Animation Director: Gerald Scarfe
Screenplay: Roger Waters

Review:

I enjoyed watching The Wall. The integration of animation and live action film is an interesting technique that I would like to channel in our compositing film project. The main themes in the film were intense and very thought provoking as they challenged the idea of medias control on the public. I found it interesting how the music of this time challenged hierarchies and to a certain extent made a difference to how a lot of people viewed the world. It is sad to think that since this breakthrough we have gone back to being controlled and manipulated by the media.

BSA227 Personal Tutorial text

I used the tutorial to practice my text animation in After Effects
This is a similar style to how we want our opening credits

BSA 202 Remakes

What remake or reboot of a film is worse than the original?

Hercules (2014)
Director Brett Ratner




What remake or reboot is better than the original?

The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese



Remake of Hong Kong film

Internal Affairs (2002)
Director: Andrew Lau & Alan Mak



Is there a film you would like to see a remake of?



Eragon, mainly because the film version was so disappointing. The book is fantastic but the movie let it down. New Actors, new script writers and it would not be hard to best the original.

BSA227 Prop List

The date has been set for filming our film 20th September next week

Ben is organizing our film crew and actors while I am in charge of getting the prop list together

THINGS WE WILL NEED

1. Glass

2. Bed spread/ Tattered 

3. Red pills (neurofen) 

4. Cigarettes (at least 3)

5. petri dish/ ash tray

6. Old TV

7. Bartender outfit

8. Car

9. spray bottle

10. Empty bottles/ beer

11. Signage (Drinking Area)

I am having trouble finding an old TV to use, as an alternative for the montage scene I have considered replacing the TV scene with a cooking scene, maybe frying an egg or turning on a blender.

I have also contacted all the taxi companies but have not received a reply in two weeks, we have to use an ordinary car if we cannot acquire the use of a cab. 

BSA 206 Films 1990's

High concept films were introduced
easily categorized characters
Stylish and Slick Production Styles

Don Simpson

Flashdance
Top Gun


Teenage Comedy became a significant Target Market
e.g.

Porky's
Revenge of the Nerds
Screw Balls

John Hughes
coming of age films

Sixteen Candles
Breakfast Club
Weird Science
Ferris Bueller's Day off

Sequals everywhere

Many sequels were made using the same stories to generate large amounts of income with little creative effort put forth.

Horror

John Carpenters
Halloween (1978)  plenty of sequels
Friday the 13th

Action

Rocky
Terminator
Indiana Jones
Die Hard
Lethal Weapon

Animation 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Tron


Has there been a Sequel that is worse then its original film?

Ice Age

vs

Ice Age (2, 3, 4 ... and 5?)

2002

Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge

20th Century Fox Animation

The original Ice Age movie was one of my favorite animated films as a child. I enjoyed the fresh story and dynamic characters that were bought to life. However, as the franchise continued movie after movie got progressively worse. to the point where watching Ice Age Continental Drift was actually physically painful. The films have been targeted towards a very young audience which leaves the older generation bored and unamused with continuous repetition of the same jokes and story line. 

Has there been a sequel that is better then the original? 

Terminator 

vs 

Terminator 2 (Judgement Day)

1991

Director: James Cameron

Although the next sequels did not rate as high Terminator 2 was my favorite out of the trilogy ( I don't include the next two) Better graphics, story line and drama then the original. But the story was always set up to have a sequel.