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.