20th-23rd March: Editing

I spent the majority of this week finalizing the editing for my film. As most of the more advanced editing, such as the actual titles, were already finished, I only had to put the actual film next to the titles, and make the transition between the black screen and the animated scene flow seamlessly. 

19th March: Filming

Over the weekend I completed the main body of the filming for my title sequence. I think that it went pretty successfully as I got all of my required film and a variety of shots and angles. In hindsight, i do think that I should have used the tripod less, and used more exciting angles. However, i still think that it came out very well. 




                                                        

16th March: Camera Booking and Blog Update

Today I went to book my camera to film the introduction to my Title Sequence over the weekend. This involved leaving a deposit to be able to take the camera outside of the school grounds. This is required as my setting is in a different location. I also spent the remainder of the lesson updating my blog, as i found that there were a few missing posts here and there. 

15th March: More Titles

Today i carried on working on my actual titles. I found a way around the problem of their lack of depth. By placing the exact same title with the same motion, underneath the normal title, but making it white and placing it ever so slightly to the bottom right of the previous title, i created an opposite shadow effect over the black background, making the titles feel overall less 2 dimensional. 

14th March: Still Titles

Still working on the title animation, and editing it into my background. As I have said, I want the first bulk of my titles to be much simpler than the error messages that will appear later on, and this involves creating simple scrolling titles to fall from the screen. However I have encountered a variety of problems linked to this, for example, the fact that I already have a black background with white text means that I cannot use black or white text, nor can I have the titles scroll anywhere that already has scrolling text. 

13th March: Titles; Last Touches

All that needs to be done now is to add these titles straight into my background animation. This shouldn't prove to be too difficult, however i may have to edit some of the titles in Final Cut in order to make them fully compatible with my background and the slight animation that is already in my title sequence. 

12th March: LiveType Titles

I have now figured out how to effectively make use of LiveType, the software that is used to create animated titles and text for film. I have made a good selection of default titles, which can be easily edited to incorporate different pieces of text. I just need to add these into my animated background and then i will be very near to completing my animated half of the titles. 

9th March: LiveType

I have now grasped an average understanding of how to use LiveType, and the skills needed to use it and create more advanced titles. I have used a simple motion, just scrolling, rather than a fancier transition. I think that this makes it more simplistic, and stops it looking too tacky.

8th March: New Titles

After finishing these improvised titles, I tested them and found out that they did not actually come out to a good standard, and were quite glitchy at some parts. To fix this i chose to create a new set of titles, by using a completeley different piece of software, called 'LiveType'. This a programme made entirely to create titles, which means that I was able to use a much more varied palette of titles and transitions. I will play around with this programme and hopefully create some much better titles.

7th March: Work on Scrolling Titles

I started making a series of titles that scroll down from the top of the screen for the main bulk of the titles, as i do not have the time to make photoshopped images for every title in the production. This involved using software on Final Cut to make the titles scroll. 

6th March: Piecing Together

Today i used my time to add my transitioned titles into my background screen. This took a lot of work however the final piece looks very good in my opinion. This involved adding the two components of my non live action part and ensuring that they were well in sync. 

5th March: Title Animation

I have spent the lesson collecting the various titles that i have, and editing them into my background sequence. This involves using a variety of effects to create customized transitions in ways that look like error messages being strewn across a screen. 

2nd March: Background Complete/Work on Titles

I have completed the background scrolling text, and it has worked to good effect. I think that it really adds to the technological genre of my title sequence, and looks quite professional. I have also started work on my main titles, which are made up of photoshopped images, which have had the information for each title added onto them. 

1st March: Further Work on Background

I have spent today working on the background scrolling text, which needs a bit of small editing to be perfected. I think that once it is fully completed it will turn out to be very good. 

29th February: Further Work on Scrolling Text

I have successfully captured the scrolling text on film, and i think i has worked to a good extent. However, i have found out that the text only lasts a couple of seconds, and then fades away. To counter this, i have cut parts of it, shrunk it, and repeated it, so that it is sped up, and on a much longer loop, without any obvious cuts. This has worked well, so i will definitely be using it as the backdrop to my titles. 

28th February: Scrolling Text Solution

I have figured out a way to imitate the scrolling text that i wanted to use for my background during the non-filmed part of my film. There are a set of commands  that activate an error type text during the start up process of a mac, and if I can capture it on film, i think that it would make a perfect background for my titles. 

27th February: Titles

I have decided on a way to integrate my titles into my animated part of the sequence. I am going to use things like error messages and pop-ups to show the most important titles, in a similar fashion to this example title sequence from 'The IT Crowd' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9QbwiQUXpw

24th February: Call Sheet

As i have only one character in my project, my call sheet is less than what it would be for most call sheets, however i still scheduled that characters work and also what i would have to do in order to make the film better. 

23rd February: Scrolling Text

In order to achieve the scrolling coding in the 'Matrix video that i linked in my previous post, I will need to find some kind of way to mock scrolling code. The only thoughts i have are the black or blue command messages that come up when computers are sometimes activated. I will make it my priority to find a way of recreating or generating this for the background to my titles. 

22nd February: Animation

Over the weeks i have been trying out different pieces of software with which to make the animated part of my title sequence, and i have finally decided to keep it simple and just go with Final Cut express. The style of titles i am going to try to achieve are similar to this scene in 'The Matrix'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rnWSLqV3R0

21st February: Relocation

After trying a variety of areas with different camera placements, i have finally come up with a suitable place to film my title sequence. With a desk, chair, and white backdrop-style wallpaper, i can fit i tripod and camera with plenty of room for an actor and maneuverable shots. 

20th February: Location Recce- Relocation

I had originally planned to film my piece in a small room in my house, but having tested the tripod setup and placement of the actor, i have come to realize that this is not a possibility, as i do not have nearly enough room. I am going to have to completely rethink my location and edit my recce. 

17th February: Risk Assessment

Today i started work on my risk assessment. This involved looking at all of the possible risks that could be involved in my filming, or preparatory work. As the only filming being done was in one location, indoors, this meant i didn't have that much to be worried about. However as i am working with computers, and electrical equipment, i must ensure that this be taken into account where safety is concerned. 

16th February: Location Recce

I used today to do my location recce. This involves going to the location that I will use for my filming, photographing the area and ensuring that it is fit to film there. In doing so i will be more certain that my filming will be successful. 

15th February: Photo Story Board

I have spent the day completing the photo storyboard for my project. This involves creating a storyboard version of my script, using screen shots and/or sketches of scenes in my film, and then annotate these stills. 

14th February: Script

Today I started work on my script, which is the main basis for anything that happens during my piece of film. Because there is no dialogue in my piece, I only need to script the cinematography and the animated title that I am working on. 

13th February: Shot List

Today I used my time to create the Shot List for my title sequence. As there is only one location for my filming, my shot list is not that complex. However I have had to think of a variety of shots to use in the short amount of time I have, to make the film look all the more complex, and add a sense of mysteriousness to the main character. 

10th February: Prop List

I spent today's lesson doing my Prop List for my film. As the actual filming involved in my piece is relatively short, my prop list would only be small. I really only had to include the computer and all of the components that go with it, make sure everything is plugged in to keep continuity fresh, and ensure the desk wasn't filled with unwanted clutter (although I have added some wanted clutter onto the desk, to keep a sense of realism). I also had to plan the outfit for my actor. 

9th February: Title Annotations- Essay

As with yesterday, I used my time to complete work that I had missed out on, and today's agenda was the Essay paired with the Title Annotations. 

8th February: Title Annotations

Today i got around to finishing my Title Annotations. I had left it half completed as my copy of MS Word had crashed and I needed to re-install it. This really delayed a lot of my essay based work. Now that it is running, i have taken this opportunity to finally complete it. 

7th February: Story Board

I have created a story board for my main task. Although for my idea there is not a vast amount  of live action and acting, i still needed to visualize the animation and how the titles would appear on the screen. 

6th February: Foley Upload

Today i figured out how to upload my foley research onto my computer. Because I had retrieved the research using the sound capture feature on my mobile phone, I had to upload it to my computer via e-mail. After doing this I did a little bit of editing to make sure there were no areas of blank sound, or background noise, then uploaded them onto my blog. 

3rd February: Preliminary Task Completion

In today's lesson me and my group completed our preliminary task. The editing was quite time consuming, but proved to be quite successful. I am confident that our short piece of film came out quite well. 

2nd February: Idea for Titles

During today's lesson I started to come up with ideas for my titles that i would have to incorporate into my title sequence. I have a few ideas, mainly looking at things like the film 'The Matrix' in which masses of coding seem to rain from the top of the screen. I like the look of this idea, and will look further into it for my own titles. 

1st February: Foley Research

This lesson i started my sound/foley research. 'Foley' is sound that is created through the use of reproducing an everyday sound, by using something more obscure. This is then added post-production. The most common example of foley is knocking two coconuts together to give the illusion of a horse galloping. I got my foley by using my iPhone to get quick recordings of things like keyboards and computer mice. This proved to be very successful, and i will upload them to my Research and Planning soon. 

31st January: Deadline and Pitch

During this lesson, we were tasked with completing all of the tasks by the end of the term, and were shown the calendar that logs them all. From this we could figure out how much time we would need for each task, and what exactly was required to do for them. I have also written and posted my pitch, which i think is quite and improvement from the draft i completed last week. 

30th January: Further Filming and Storyboard

During this lesson we aimed to complete our filming and get to work on the editing. However we could only get most of the shots, and were still in need of a few more, which we will get on Friday. We have also booked the camera for a free period on Thursday, for further filming. The location we have found to film this task in is actually very good, and is is an empty part of the school, and little or no sound can be heard from it. There is also a staircase with a railing which made for some good filler shots. 

27th January: 25 Word Pitch

I have finally come up with an idea for my film. So far i have come up with a story of a nerdy boy, who whilst playing around on his computer, accidentally hacks into some high security government file, and ends up unwillingly running from the secret services. During the lesson my group for the Preliminary task started our filming. Unfortunately we could not complete all the filming, and we will get some more shots on Monday. 

26th January: Survey Results and Pitch

Today i got back the results from my survey. I have posted them in the 'Pages' section of this blog, along with the other tasks that i have been set. We were also set the task of creating a 25 word pitch, to sell the film that would be making a title sequence for. I found this task quite difficult, as i was struggling to find an idea for my film at this point, let alone create a pitch about it. I have started to think of a numerous amount of ideas, i will post my final choice in the next blog. 

25th January: Survey and Deadlines

In today's lesson i completed my survey and handed it out, i am currently awaiting the results. 
We were also given a sheet which told us the dates in which each task would have to be handed in by, and what the tasks themselves were. 

24th January: Audience Research Survey

In today's lesson we started work on our Audience Research Surveys. These will be used to see what kind of age group likes a specific type of film. I will use the results that i gather from this survey to see what the most popular type of film is, and what the target audience for my title sequence will be. 

23rd January: Story boarding and Ideas/HDV1000

In today's lesson we came up with an idea for our preliminary task, and also got a chance to try out the cameras that we would be using to create it with. The main camera that we will be using is the Sony 'HDV1000' which is a very versatile camcorder, perfect for the short film that we would be making. 
During the lesson, me and my group also decided on a plan for our film; it would involve a scared person, meeting with a high ranking Mafia type, to exchange a mysterious unknown package. We are going to use shaky camera shots when the scared man is walking into the room, dark shadows to exacerbate the mysteriousness of the Mafia character, and shot-reverse-shots for the conversation. 

20th January: Planning preliminary task

During the lesson we planned our preliminary task, this consisted of thinking of a story to go with the 'package'. At the moment this consists of some kind of shifty deal, possibly drugs or a weapon. We also had the idea of making it seem as if the deal is very shifty, but at the end we would reveal that it was something far more innocent. We will keep working on these ideas.
My group currently consists of Dan, Juber and Adam. 

16th January: Setting up blog.

In class today we set up our blogs and went through the specifics of the coursework in which we had to complete within the next ten weeks. This included storyboarding and filming a two minute title sequence for a film, and the planning that would lead up to it.