The Bird Of Prey

Schedule - Now and Then!

2011-03-16T03:02:00.000-07:00

Planning Stage

Sign agreement form = 1/12/10 This went to plan, we had a strict deadline for these!

Complete storyboard = 17/1/10 I never completed a Storyboard due to technical limitations of my computer at home. (This was supposed to be designed during the holiday period, my computer actually got a virus during that time.) I had to create a plan using Photography of the proposed shots I wished to use.

Complete voiceover script = 19/1/10 This was written when I came up with the inital idea of doing a mini promotional documentary. It was completed on time.

Shooting Phase

Begin shooting = 19/1/11

Shoots will take place every Wednesday after this date until review of raw footage = 8 days shooting - The shooting worked to my schedule until I had to include an extra week so I could feature a 'female' in the video. My plan for the promotional video was to include a female but in the 8 days shooting not one woman attended the gym. This required me to bring in an 'actor' to be filmed in order to get the shots i required. Because of this, I ran over the shooting schedule by ONE WEEK.

Interview day with gym members (advertised by owner) = 9/2/11 - This never happened due to my client not making members aware of me filming. I had to organise all interviews with members myself throughout my 8 weeks of shooting.

Editing Phase

Review of raw footage with client = 16/3/11 This will be a week later than scheduled due to the re-shoot.

Review and feedback of edit before project hand in with client = 6/4/11 I am on track for this.

Evaluation Phase

Project hand in = 21/4/11

Evaluation complete and handed in = 28/4/11

It is good to look back on the proposed schedule and figure out what went wrong and for what reasons. This will help me when evaluating my work as a Practitioner.

SHOWREEL

2011-02-14T06:57:00.001-08:00

Untitled from Chris Swann on Vimeo.

Shooting Tomorrow

2011-02-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

It is my second day of shooting tomorrow, I am now using a Panasonic HMC 151 after studying online about various cameras that perform well in low lighting!

A few key points I am able to take from my last shoot.....

Try not to use so much movement in the shots
Wide angled shots featuring a lot of activity are tough on viewers
Sometimes people do not want to be filmed!

With this in mind I am much better prepared for filming tomorrow. I am going to spend 3 hours in the morning from 10-1 and then 3 hours in the evening from 4-7pm. This means I will be able to catch the gym at its most well lit period (am) and its busiest period (pm).

January Shoot Schedule + Interviews - Client Project

2011-01-18T01:08:00.001-08:00

I have two days of shooting in January as agreed with my client, tomorrow and the wednesday after....

19/01/11 + 26/01/11

At this stage I am also writing questions for the interview day of shooting on the 2nd of February. The footage I intend to capture of people talking is to be short and snappy, so my questions need to be brief

Ideas I have considered so far are:

What is your favorite thing about the gym?

Why choose this gym when there are others within a 3 mile radius?

Are you training for a particular event?

Have the facilities of this gym helped you prepare for an event?

I will take snippets of the replys and edit them into short sections throughout the promotional video.

GYM PROMO VIDEOS!

2010-11-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

I've been browsing around the internet for ideas that might work with the gym I am involved in for my client project, and the one that has caught my eye the most is one for a gym in loughborough.

The things I like about the video are that it advertises all aspects of fitness, therefore appealing to a wider audience. The cuts are easy to follow and not too quick. The only thing I am not too keen on is the video effect that is used throughout the piece as sometimes it made the image a little difficult to see, but other than that I felt the piece was very affective and it gave me some ideas of what I could create for my video!

Piracy Simulated Project LOW QUALITY

2010-10-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

Had to upload in low quality as my connection is really under par.... whenever i try to upload the 100mb fail it just fails on me!

Piracy simulated project COMPLETE!

2010-10-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

My 30 second piracy advert is finally finished! I am quite happy with how the final advert has turned out.

I began the editing by really playing with the audio, recording an ambient white noise track and cranking up the levels on this to distort the audio quality. I added a de-noiser and upped the threshold, turning the actual noise reduction UP so it resulted in a very up and down audio level throughout, (working to the dodgey sound archetype of pirate videos)

The most problematic part of my project I found was the actual filming! I wanted really low resolution footage to make the video seem as though it has actually been pirated, so this required me to film on my camera phone! I began by filming on my iphone but the camera quality of this phone is actually quite good, so I got out one of my old Nokias and shot the footage on that phone! This meant my actor had to learn his lines to say in one take, not a major issue due to the short nature of the clip but had the project been of a larger scale, then this could well have been a problem! I was originally going to include more facts and statistics at the end of the video, but i think the 75,000 jobs line works well against the fact that the dodgey dealer is talking about running his successful business!

I will post the video as soon as it is done uploading to youtube!

I'm BACK! RESEARCH METHODS!

2010-10-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

First post in a while, didn't actually realise we had to fill this in anymore for the 3rd year but I guess it makes for interesting reflection on projects etc. so i'm going to kick off this years blog with a post on RESEARCH METHODS i could use!

After reading into different methodologies, there appears to be 3 different types of research that I could be using.

Causal Research is a basic experiment if you like. It is basically giving a subject a stimulus and seeing what the outcome is. In relation to my project, this could well be measuring the heart rate of someone running with a 'motivational' piece of music playing against someone who is running with no music and noting down the difference.

Descriptive Research is research to establish what already exists. This is interesting and nessacary for me to do with my project. This might mean taking a survey or a poll to see how many people actually listen to music whilst running. I think this research is mainly for gathering information, instead of actually testing!

Relational Research is an interesting one. This method looks at the differences between two or more variables, as opposed to the Causal research which just focuses on one. This might apply to me if I run an experiment comparing a trained runner to an untrained runner using synchronous music or asynchronous music to improve their time. It's all interesting stuff and I am sure to refer to this in my research document!

Nick Broomfield - The quad, Derby

2010-04-30T09:31:00.001-07:00

Just got back from a talk with Nick Broomfield in Derby.

It was interesting and inspiring, infact it inspired me to make my own documentary over the summer!

I loved how Nick created his films, his style of documentaries focused on people fascinated me, particularly how in one of the documentarys his film was actually used as evidence in a court case!

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A DOCUMENTARY IM GOING TO CREATE OVER SUMMER!

Portfolio DVD... a speculation!

2010-04-21T02:51:00.000-07:00

My DVD authoring expertise goes as far as using Nero Startsmart and burning a video disk, so this project should be interesting for me!

I have found a tutorial on Video Co-pilot I could use, meaning I need to get to grips with Adobe Encore having never used it before! (http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/dvd_authoring/)

In regards to the actual content of the DVD, I was thinking of having seperate buttons that lead to small snippets of my work this year, accompanied by a commentary of myself explaining the piece. This idea came about after a conversation with one of my lecturers saying that the assessors normally only watch DVDs submitted to them for about 2 minutes, so it will need to be short but very sweet to make a big impact!

RESEARCH PROJECT SOURCES

2010-04-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

I have managed to source 20 bed and breakfasts in the UK which have their own websites. The interesting thing about these companies is that they all have pictures and descriptions on their website but none of them have video, which will allow the audience a greater look into the accomodation which they could potentially be booking.

More than half of the UKs internet users book their holidays online(Nielsen/NetRatings ), so there is a potential business plan in creaitng videos for the companies!

Research Project

2010-03-23T02:48:00.000-07:00

After completing my essay and individual evaluation for the documentary, it's time to begin thinking about my mini research project.

As I am interested in producing promotional travel videos for my 3rd year client project, it will be beneficial to me to use this mini research project to 'test the water' and find out exactly what small businesses are looking for in a video.

My first artefact will involve e-mailing a number of businesses who don't have videos on their website, and gathering their opinions on other businesses that do have videos. I will ask them why they don't have videos and find out what's preventing them from adding a youtube link to their website. After this I could find out what sort of fee the would expect to pay for a video, although I will have to make it clear on the e-mail that I am in no way trying to make a sale to them, as this may deter them from answering the questionnaire.

CLIENT PROJECT INTERESTS

2010-03-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Today, Deborah asked us to think about some possible ideas for a 3rd year project and we were given a list of things to think about that I guess could all be used as potential projects. After reflecting on each one, I have some ideas! Company that interests me Well i suppose you could call it a company, but I mentioned in the essay possibly working for my uncle and producing a travel video for his guest house in my 3rd year. He currently hosts a website but it has no video on it, and after carrying out research I found that people who shop for holidays on the internet are much more likely to book if they have a video to watch! Aside from this, I could work with the owner of Long Eaton Gym in producing a promotional video for him that advertises his services and facilities.

Competitions that interest me I am travelling to birmingham on May 22nd to watch the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation finals at the Bodypower expo (http://www.bodypowerexpo.co.uk/) There are alot of famous bodybuilders that regular these competitions along with some of the worlds strongest man finalists who are attending for a meet and greet session. This could be a great opportunity to practice some interviews, a possible problem with this idea though would be gaining rights to film at the NEC, and i imagine this would be troublesome!

Community Project
I played for the Nottingham Caesars youth american football team for 3 years, so it would be great to give something back to the club and possibly create match report videos on each of their games. American Football is still a niche sport in Britain, so creating quality videos and raising awareness about such a hard-working and successful team can only be seen as a positive thing. This also has a flip-side however, being such a niche sport means there are only around 10 teams in the whole country, so alot of travelling to locations will be required. I remember my first game with the youth squad was in Teesside, so booking equipment for the right window of time is essential if i am to take part in this project!

DOCUMENTARY UPDATE

2010-03-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

We will be showcasing the first draft of our documentary production on Notts County this friday, to commemorate such an occassion I have decided to post some stills of our team in action as everyone worked so hard to get the footage!

Started title sequence

2010-03-02T02:11:00.001-08:00

After working on my title sequence last night I have decided on a design I am happy with.

The title sequence is mainly in black and white, to reflect the idea of Good and Evil. I have used animated arrows directing the camera between titles. I feel the arrows are relevant to the plot of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as in some ways they reflect the journey the characters travel on together, almost as if the route is being drawn out on a map.

I intend to add some film burn effects as this is once again stereotypical of the spaghetti-western genre. I would like to add a pistol firing in the composition and possibly a cigar being smoked aswell, both of these are common in Clint Eastwoods characters.

Good Will Hunting

2010-02-24T03:45:00.001-08:00

One of my all time favourite films, I watched it again this morning and reminded myself why i love it so much! One of my favourite scenes, Robin Williams just fits this role perfectly!

3rd year project

2010-02-23T04:51:00.000-08:00

Shooting a travel video for my 3rd year project has been in my head for a while now, I have an uncle who owns a guest house in wales, and another member of the family who owns a villa in majorca.

I could see both these people benefitting from a promotional travel video as a form of advertisement, meaning they are both potential clients from my third year project. Creating these promotional videos will require me to fulfill many roles that would normally be assigned to a small team:

Producer/Cinematographer
(Director if using models?)
Cameraman
Sound
Editing

I think creating a video for one of these destinations would be a perfect opportunity to practice all of the above techniques under the pressure of working with a live client. The lifestyle of travelling suits my personality, and having visited these places a number of times I personally know the selling points of each one!

Otters documentary

2010-02-16T03:50:00.000-08:00

My voice-over debut!

The task we were given two weeks ago to create a documentary using footage that was given to us through editing is now on youtube, you can check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tobn-wLy7HE

I selected music and wrote the voice-over for it! I believe the music selection is a big part in any documentary, this is a particular example of how music can take simple footage and give it meaning. ( The otter chasing the fish )

Thanks and enjoy!

GuGu Logo

2010-02-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

The Good, the bad and the ugly

2010-02-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking more about possible ideas for my title sequence project, and after watching The Good, the bad and the ugly, I have come up with some themes and ideas related to the film that i could implement into a title sequence based on this film.

The 'spaghetti western' genre that this film falls into thanks to the directing of Sergio Leone leaves me alot of room for creative scope in a title sequence. Themes that spring to my mind when i watched the film were:

Greed - Tuco and Blondie conning the justice system at the beginning of the film, and still arguing about who takes the cut of money.

Violence - Gunplay features alot in this film, perhaps a few gunshots in the title sequence may be appropriate?

Morality, justiceness - Typical western style wanted posters could feature in the title sequence to set the scene, the civil war going off throughout the main treasure hunt could feature in the film? Perhaps a confederate flag?

The relationship between Tuco and Blondie - The two men, although they both seemingly hate eachother, they still NEED eachother to locate the $200,000. This provides an interesting story and could be represented through the use of actors in the title sequence.

I still have alot to think about regarding this project, but after watching the film i am slightly more confident than before when it comes to actual content i could use in the film!

Documentary Changes

2010-02-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Our original idea was to document the 'unseen heroes' story of Nottingham County football club, capturing stories from the clubs chaplin, program sellers around the grounds and various food vendors(hot dogs, jacket potato stands).

Our e-mails to the media executive of Notts County were rejected, although we did manage to gain access to the club to film some G.Vs, so all was not lost. We have since changed the angle of our documentary. Our idea is to now follow veteran fans of the club through a typical "match day" routine and capture an insight into their opinions on how the club has changed and where they see the club going in the future. The documentary is going to be a light-hearted portrait into one of the oldest football clubs in britain, and so i will need to reflect this in my sound design, making appropriate decisions on musical timbre etc.

The Lion Cub from Harrods

2010-01-18T04:21:00.000-08:00

As we are entering a new area of study in the Moving Image course which is related to documentaries, i thought i would share with you an observational documentary i recently watched which was broadcast on Channel 5 called The Lion Cub from Harrods.

The documentary was created using footage captured by a friend of Anthony Bourke and John Rendall, who bought a lion cub from Harrods in the 1960s.

The documentary was interesting in a number of ways, firstly because of the interviews with everyone involved in the lions life, this really gave the audience an insight into what first could be viewed as a controversial issue, it helps personalise the viewing experience. Secondly, the footage captured, as it was amateur footage, really provided a "raw" insight into the lives these two young men were living, which contributed to the emotional climax of the documentary.

The program was informative, but very emotive and entertaining at the same time, it was a totally different take on a stereotypical documentary that one would expect, sterotypical issues such as animal rights took a 'back-seat' and the program focused more on the remarkable relationship between humans and animals.

The beginning of the documentary can be found on youtube at this link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QubDayYZ4wI

BARKING PRODUCTION STILLS

2009-12-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

These are way overdue being posted on this blog so i have decided to upload them while i am active! These were taken on the day of shooting. Videos will be uploaded later when i can find a good converter to get them off my phone!

BARKING COMPLETE

2009-12-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

Finally our fictional film is complete! The youtube link shall be up shortly, but for now here are some promotional photos!

MALAC

2009-12-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

The project prior to our Fictional Film project had us assigned in a group and various roles were assigned to different people within that group. After receiving a pre-written script, we had to interpret the subject matter and write out a story-board etc. and ultimately, produce our own film.

This is the finished product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiUaMoMU7yA

SWOT Bulletpoints

2009-11-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

Just finished making some brief bullet points on my SWOT analysis based on my opportunity to get into the moving image career path. I found the exercise interesting and i think it is important to identify my weaknesses so i can improve on them.

Strengths
Hard-working, positive thinker
Dedicated to something once started
Technically minded with broad knowledge of hardware and software
Natural leader – strong communication skills
Strong network of contacts
Helpful and supportive to others

Weaknesses
Plan to improve job hunting skills
Sometimes distracted
Competing priorities in life due to busy social life (Host a club night in the week, attend gym and play sports)
Not sure what i want to specialise in yet.
Sometimes find it difficult to say no to people
Get frustrated when people don’t work as a team.

Opportunities
Living in Nottingham is a huge creative opportunity
Attending university provides me with a degree which will set me apart from many others.
The recession has boosted the creative industries

Threats
More competition from university graduates.
People may have better job-hunting skills than me
Moving image career path is very ruthless

NETWORK MAP

2009-11-15T04:43:00.001-08:00

After spending a while writing the networking essay, i thought it would be suitable for me to post on here my network map. (which is still in development) It may be a tad difficult to understand without the accompanying text, however i am rather pleased with it.

Updated treatment for BARKING

2009-11-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

Today we gathered as a group and spoke to Jools regarding our interpretation of the Barking script. Jools was happy about the idea of a flashback which we had intergrated into the script, however he was unhappy about a hole in the plot which, by using a flashback, we had opened up. The protagonists were returning to the house in "present day" and we really had no valid reason for them to be going back there, especially if the said house is supposed to be haunted.

This caused us to rethink how we could change the flow of the narrative with minimal dialogue changes, as the opportunity to modify the script was no longer available to us. In the end we decided that our protagonists were returning to the house to hunt the ghost, and we made this obvious by including a line of dialogue "We need this to stop now." We also changed an umbrella that Chris was holding to a crucifix, this is perhaps more relevant to ghost hunting. Here is the treatment i changed to reflect the new story.

Something evil resides in a seemingly normal household in the city. Its exact entity is not known, but communicating seemingly from a fridge, a terrible, almost demonic voice is heard, threatening the occupiers of the home.
There is darkness.
A car pulls up to the curb, next to the house. Chris and Sam, who live in this house, are good friends and currently are inside the car, it is clear something is not right. They have been here before, attempting to capture the demon in a recording device. Their past thoughts haunt them. Memories are rekindled detailing how afraid they are of this situation. They think of the past few days, how hopeless they felt and the intense feeling of being watched at all times. They remember how they failed to capture the demon on the device and how they seemingly accepted defeat.
After spending a few minutes reflecting on the flashback, Sam and Chris are clearly at their limit and very frightened. They hesitantly agree amongst themselves to enter the house and confront this entity. As the couple enter the house, they are clearly ready to tackle the supernatural entity, Chris weilds a crucifix and Sam clutches to the Holy Bible like her life depends on it. At the end of the hallway, they reach the kitchen door and slowly push it open. After what seems like a lifetime, they take a step into the living room and breath a sigh of relief. There is no more tension, everything seems ok for now. Chris jokes about how dry his mouth is and opens the fridge to make a drink. Nothing could prepare them for what they saw in the fridge, sheer terror is plastered on their expression. Sam looks away and screams as the awful demonic voice makes its presence once again known.
Everything goes black.

Title Sequence

2009-11-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

I have thought some more about the possible title sequence i would like to create and after reviewing the film choices given to us, i have decided to go with Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon. I think the main themes and ideas associated with the film and martial arts can be used and creatively interpreted to create a deeper meaning for my title sequence.

The initial ideas that pop into my head when thinking about martial arts are

discipline,
nature,
action,
fighting? (could be difficult to pull off)

Obviously the plot of the film will affect the outcome of the title sequence. One of the main themes featured in the film is one of treachery (hidden dragon), and this might be interesting to reflect in the title sequence, possibly through the use of a voice-over that could possibly hint at things to come? It is something i intend to think more about, and i shall keep the blog posted.

Barking coursework script

2009-11-01T07:36:00.001-08:00

As assigned producer for this project, i have organised a meeting between our group to discuss ideas about the interpretation of the script and how we could shoot it. I am interested to see everyones different opinions on how the script works, i think that the beginning lines of dialogue after the car has pulled up should be shot as a flashback, but we will see how the meeting goes. I shall update after the meeting has taken place.

St Bernards Abbey

2009-10-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, on my day off university, i visited a monks church called St Bernards Abbey. After observing the fascinating lifestlye these monks lead, i have become inspired to film their self sufficient way of life for my university coursework when we have to shoot a documentary.

I think it will be a great idea for our documentary as the sheer amount of material we can use will make calculating shots and content so much easier. A good concept for the documentary would be a "day in the life" idea, following the monks on their daily chores and lifestyle.

Additive Primary Colours.

2009-10-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today we were told to read about the additive primary colours, so i have decided to post a picture of an additive colour wheel i found on an article hosted on DevX.com. After reading about how these colours are created through mixing lights, i read that LCD technology uses additive colours to project an image. The LCD screen can only transmit the 3 primary colours, but it makes up the different shades by mixing them. Interesting!

MALAC RECCE SHOTS

2009-10-23T11:39:00.001-07:00

After discussing today with my group for the MALAC task, we have decided we should shoot the scene in an area that will reflect the dark and tense atmosphere which we are hoping to achieve throughout the composition. The perfect area which fulfilled this criteria was the basement in our house. At present, the basement is dark and would not be suitable for filming ( this is reflected in the current pictures ) however with a few strategically placed lights, the dark and menacing looking room would be the perfect setting for the scene to take place. I particuarly like the withered and run-down look of the brickwork on the walls and i think if we can successfully light the scene to create focus on the subject, then this will be the perfect location for our shoot.

Possible Practitioner for essay

2009-10-21T03:23:00.000-07:00

Simon King, a wildlife cinematographer, has caught my attention as being an ideal candidate for my practitioners essay. I can think of nothing more inspiring than following in his footsteps, travelling the world and filming the natural world.

I first discovered about Simon King after watching through one of my favourite documentaries, Planet Earth. At the end of each episode there is a section where the viewers are shown how particular sequences are shown. On episode 9, shallow seas, Simon King uses a high-speed camera to capture footage of Great White sharks totally leaping out the water and capturing their prey. I found this footage so influential and inspiring that i had to look at some of Simon Kings other sequences that he had shot. I logged onto his website and looked at his show-reel and this week i shall be watching many of the other projects he has worked on.

Here is simon king in his zone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnfK7nlY9AM

2009-10-18T04:59:00.000-07:00

Following a lecture i attended in the week, i have been further reflecting upon Jurgen Wolffs ideas on connections and creative writing, especially the broadening idea which was mentioned. Wolff described that the more diverse a persons knowledge and experiences, the more there creativity can blossom through different connections.

I find this idea particuarly inspiring, and i like to think throughout my life i have experienced many different things. Throughout my time i have travelled to many places such as Mauritius, South Africa, Dominican Republic. I have been walking across the peak district and climbed many mountains. My background as an athlete provides me with emotionally fuelled memories that i have lots of opportunities to write about, and my current lifestyle as a student is certainly not without its drama. I suppose this post is more of an observation that there are always opportunities to broaden my creativity, it's just a case of stepping out and living a little bit.

BACK IN ACTION

2009-10-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

After being back into the swing of university lifestyle for a few days now, i think it is about time i published something on my blog, more of a reflection really than anything really exciting, about Location Research and Risk Assessments, a topic we covered in todays lectures.

We were asked to provide a recon-report and a risk assessment on the crossroads outside the Waverley building to judge the suitability and safety of the area for a shot required of someone "hastily" crossing a road. After a long discussion and many points raised between our group the general feeling was that unless the director was adamant on the area being used, then a different road would be more suitable. Points raised were:

The traffic on the crossroads was hazardous, so many directions the cars could go etc.
There is an active tram route through the shot. The tram is scheduled to pass through every 10 minutes, which means there is a small window for actually setting up and shooting the scene.
The pavement surrounding the road was very narrow, this was a hazard to any pedestrians wishing to pass by and also our equipment as a tripod would not comfortably be able to sit on the sidewalk.
In an ideal situation the road would be closed off, and this is important to remember, however due to our student budget and if the film was going to be shot under our control, the location would simply not be suitable.

After being paired with people who i do not know so well and introducing myself to them, i found the group-work to be very effective. We were all bouncing ideas off eachother and came up with some very interesting ideas which may not nessacarily have been generated by each of us had we worked alone.

IDENTITIES - COMPLETE!

2009-05-10T03:18:00.001-07:00

After a lot of actionscript, sweat and tears, my identities project is finally complete!

I am pleased with the finished result, I decided to go with a more linear presentation which took the users through the journey of my body. Each section of my body contained a different element. The interactive music box which was supposed to be linked to my ears was unsuccessful after numerous attempts, and due to the huge amount of frames and data i was using the quality of each song sounded terrible anyway. I replaced the music box with a small piece about my musical history and allowed users to listen to a song i had written called - Walk Like I'm Guilty.

I managed to overcome flash's 16,000 frame limit by splitting my presentation into two scenes and linking them with actionscript. This allowed me to export the file as one .swf as opposed to two seperate ones, which would quash alot of the effect of having this 'journey' through my personality.

Now i just have to finish this questionnaire and circulate it amongst family and friends!

Oh and not forgetting the evaluation.....

Night of the hunter

2009-04-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

This morning in our lecture we watched a 1955 film - The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, his first and only film. I found the film interesting and entertaining. One of my favorite parts of the film was after the children had fleed from Henry Powell and their old house. The shots of the river and the surrounding nature were used in such a way to create an eery, dreamlike sequence which i thought was particuarly effective in reflecting the surreal state of mind the children must be in. My favourite character in the film was Uncle Birdie, i liked how he provided the endangered John Harper with a sense of security and i think it was easy for the audiences to warm to his character. I also enjoyed the character of Walter Spoon, i thought he was successful at representing the stereotypical man and brought a sense of "normality" to the male characters. I found the film in some cases a little absurd and it seemed to me that the film was taking a dig at women for being weak and impressionable (maybe a reflection of society at the time of the film?) until the last half hour or so when Rachel Cooper makes an appearance.

Overall i found the film enjoyable for a Tuesday morning lecture!

Romancing The Stone

2009-04-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

After nipping down to Blockbuster to check out the behemoth sale they had on DVDs, i seemed to have picked up a few classic DVDs of films i remember watching when i was younger.

After watching Romancing The Stone again now i am older, i can see why i enjoyed the film so much when i was younger. The sense of adventure as the two characters travel across columbia is well conveyed, and the tongue in cheek script is easy to follow. Michael Douglas cracks some pretty corny jokes but carries off his character successfully as the cool mercenary Jack Colton and Kathleen Turner pulls off the performance of romantic novelist Joan Wilder superbly, her transformation from a lonely "geek" to the battle hardened woman we see at the end of the film is remarkable! The two seem to have a chemistry that looks natural and just works! The whole film is rather predictable and cheesy but still very enjoyable due to some classical action sequences and a brilliant soundtrack, the main riff makes me smile every-time i hear it. Overall an easy and enjoyable viewing experience!

Simple Bird COMPLETE

2009-04-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

Finally finished the short animation containing my avatar: The Simple Bird. In the animation, the avatar rants and raves about how people are so materialistic in todays society and like to judge a book by its cover. I found the animation enjoyable and after showing it to family and friends they also found it amusing, a perfect element for my identities package.

NEW LOGO!

2009-04-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

After much dispute between my friends, here is the design for my new logo! I decided to keep the wings, however the "never-ending journey" idea was kept with a circle to represent something that never ends, surrounding the desire to be free ( the wings ).

Quite effective i think, the wings create an illusional glow when viewed over the black background!

THE TRIBE

2009-03-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

An A/V piece for my Identities project has been completed! It was born out of research i was doing to discover what me and my friends were really like.

I basically set up cameras around the house in the hope that i could watch back the footage and see what we were like, however i found the footage amusing and decided to turn it into a faux-documentary!

What was especially interesting about the piece was that with the addition of a simple script and a soundtrack, the whole representation of me and my friends to the audience has been altered. No longer were we lazy slobs, we were indigenous tribe members!

I think the piece is funny and should fit well into my identities package due to it being about me and my friends!

The British Philharmonic Orchestra

2009-02-24T02:15:00.000-08:00

On sunday night i went to the Royal Concert Hall to watch the British philharmonic orchestra perform a variety of film music pieces, and i found the whole night fascinating and it really made me appreciate how much music can have an impact on films, as the pieces of music were all fantastic and really emotive.

Aside from really enjoying watching the orchestra perform these pieces, it gave me inspiration to one day create my own films, and when i do, to properly consider the impact music could make within a scene.

My Creativity...

2009-02-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

What has my creativity been for in the past few years? Who has it been for?

The past few years, whenever i would have a creative brainwave and start planning and shooting a film, the target audience in my mind would not stretch more than me and my friends and family. Unless i was instructed at college to create a piece of work that would be viewed by many people, small side-projects that really represent my "creativity" would only be viewed by myself and close friends, mainly for a sense of achivement and so i could look back in future and see how my taste has changed and how my technical skills have improved. I see my work as a way of expressing myself and visualising ideas that were in my head, since starting at university and being in an environment with more like minded people, i have found critiquing my work more important than ever before and so now i will upload my creative expressions onto youtube to recieve further feedback.

Is this my decision or someone elses? What do i want the future of my creativity to be?

I have never really been pushed into creating films, i decided to study Multimedia at university as i would like to find further ways of enhancing my skills and i feel that by gaining qualifications and learning more about the subject it will give me the confidence to get my work circulated into the wider world. An ideal future for my creativity would be the chance for other people to watch my work in a cinema or at film festivals.

In what specific ways can research help me get to these new places?

By researching successful film-makers and how they managed to achieve what they have it will provide me with inspiration and a rough idea of how i can form my own pathway and begin to get my work "out there". I find reading literature about other practicioners and observing the work of people whom i am inspired by allows me to not only obtain descriptive and explanatory research, but it provides me with motivation to one day achieve their status.

Logo.... complete!

2009-02-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

After putting some thought into creating a logo, i decided to go with a minimalistic but effective design which reflects my personality. The spiral shape has always intrigued me, and i used it to represent my journey through life unwravelling and never really knowing what is going to be around the corner. The wings represent freedom and the power to explore. I didn't want to use colours in my design, i found the contrast between black and white enough to give my logo presence and almost an angelic aura.

*EDIT*

Thinking about changing my logo now after Jules made a valid point that a circle would be a better representation of a never ending struggle as a spiral clearly does have an end to it..... Not sure how i let that one slip...

Simon made a point of the wings looking rather "heavy", like something someone would have as a tattoo? I'm not sure if i agree with him on that one but i will be sure to show friends and ask them for feedback!

Water in 3DS Max

2009-01-25T05:58:00.000-08:00

After playing around with Autodesk 3DS Max i decided it was time to do something productive with my time and had a go at creating some realistic looking water to get used to the material editor. Thanks to numerous tutorials across the internet i managed to take a bit of information from each one and make my very own water.

First 3D design/animation complete

2009-01-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

I had a play around with 3DS max studio today to get to grips with creating 3D models and animations. After getting to grips with creating basic shapes and using modifiers to interpret them in different ways, the simple keyframe animation system allowed me to create a basic animation and the product i created could be developed further to create a logo for my future productions.

Wrapping up Second Life

2009-01-16T03:47:00.001-08:00

After reguarly logging on to Second Life for almost 2 weeks now, it is time to say a few words to summarise my experience and voice my opinion on the program.

I went into the Second Life experience with an open mind, there are a lot of negative connotations with these virtual reality applications but i didnt want that to taint my experience so i immersed myself in the lifestyle, trying numerous activities and visiting various real-world landmarks that had been re-created in the program. The people i came across in Second Life were always very friendly and eager to show me around. I learnt alot within the first two sessions and after that i felt i could comfortably use the system. I was tempted to purchase some currency within the game and buy my own house, however on second thoughts it seemed a waste of money!

I enjoyed the experience and can see the appeal of it and its uses in industry. Personally, i would prefer to go out and listen to real life music and meet real people rather than virtual representatives. I was always cautious and critical when meeting new people, constantly pondering who could have been behind the avatar. There is an option for a profile box on Second Life to put a picture of yourself in and a few words about what you are like in the real world, but out of everyone i met, no-one had filled that section in! From a programming and technological perspective Second Life is very flexible, allowing user-generated content to pretty much mould the way the virtual world grows. It is for this reason, that Second Life will more than likely continue to grow.

Second Life Banter

2009-01-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

After playing around a bit more with second life, i began to familiarise myself with the program and the way things worked in the virtual world of Second Life. After making my avatar dance around like an idiot in a virtual club for a bit i quickly learned off second life regulars that without the currency used - L$ your avatar is pretty much worthless. This upset me, as i wanted to buy some more clothes instead of going through the tedious process of creating them yourself.

A few conversations later, i came across a friendly guy who gave me the address of some "FREEBIE" areas. These are areas where people donate second hand objects or just create objects for "NEWBIES" to use. Newbie is a term that people seem to use for people who have only just joined second life. Some freebie areas only offer free clothes to avatars who are 30 days older or younger, so i made the most of it and stocked up on designer clothes such as Levi's jeans and Nike t-shirts. Hairstyles and tattoos were also up for grabs in these free areas so i gave Swanny Zsun a bit of a make-over.

The tattoos looked awesome, as did the trademark Swanny blonde hair!

Wowwww!

2009-01-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Seems like forever since i put a post on this journal! What a mad past couple of weeks! After being in Wales for the christmas period and partying hard for a Detonate Countdown event at rock city for new years i think it is time to get back on track with things!

With the identities module coming up, i decided to download Second Life and create an avatar to represent myself online. Initially i struggled with the un-needingly complex clothing and texture system, maybe i was doing something wrong? However i soon got over the problem and created Swanny Zsun.

As you can see, he actually looks nothing like the real me. I found this entertaining though as the people i met online would have no idea, and this virtual representation of me would be all they could see. Part of the attraction of Virtual Chat programs such as this are escaping from reality, and so i thought it appropriate to make Swanny Zsun a caricature of my personality. I searched around Second Lifes communities and found a shop dedicated to gym merchandise in the hope that someone may be there to discuss bodybuilding/fitness etc. as these are both keen interests of mine, however there was no such luck. I will post an update when Swanny Zsun has his first conversation!

The power of colour!

2008-12-16T07:53:00.000-08:00

The Eagle is one of my favourite animals, and i have chosen to demonstrate the power of colour with this photo. With its natural colours, the photo of the Eagle "swooping" portrays its beauty and elegance.

With a simple adjustment of the red and yellow midtones and highlights in certain areas of the picture, the eagle becomes much more fierce and intimidating. Colour change can change the way a photograph is viewed and interpreted!

"The Hitman" FINISHED!

2008-12-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

The Hitman by ~Birdman2989 on deviant ART

After all the blood, sweat and tears of learning to use Flash, my very first creation using Flash is complete!

The Hitman puts the audience in the shoes of a convict who has been brought out of prison to do the bidding of a crooked London "gangster".

After letting numerous peers play through the narrative and improving it on what they suggested, i am pleased with the finished product. I am especially happy with the usage of audio in my piece, during the weapon select scenes if the user rolls the mouse over a weapon, an audio description is read out stating the weapons features and numerous other facts. This will hopefully point the audience in choosing the right weapon, as a wrong decision will end their game!

Uploaded to deviantart - http://birdman2989.deviantart.com/art/The-Hitman-105984171

An analysis of an existing interactive Narrative

2008-12-02T03:39:00.000-08:00

http://ray.freeonlinegames.com/

Ray is an interactive narrative that places the user in the shoes of a hitman and forces them to make decisions based on the situation Ray finds himself in. Depending on how you react to the situation you are given a number and at the end of the narrative the numbers are added up and the user is given a rank. According to the creator of ray, if the game is not played through 4 times, then the user will miss out on over 40 different scenes.

When creating my interactive narrative, i hope to present the user with situations which cause them to become emotionally involved and empathise with the narrative. This is more likely to trigger an honest response from them. I would like my narrative to tell a story, much like Ray does and offer seperate endings depending on the choices the user has made. A prototype of my narrative may be necessary to determine what responses are taken by the audience. I aim to have developed the structure and plot of my narrative by the end of this weeks seminar so i can begin production for next week.

THE SUPER GREATEST FIGHTER

2008-12-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

After reviewing my youtube account i came across an old video me and my friends made last summer parodying a kung fu film! We hope to film episode 2 this summer coming up!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=07qZd3bH_FU

Enjoy!

The Meating uploaded!

2008-11-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

Check it out!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Jc4Nh8m1A

THE MEATING - Complete!

2008-11-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

Finally finished the final edit of our one shot film, The Meating! I am pleased with the result!

I actually created two main edits and got my family and friends to critique what i had done, and they seemed to prefer the one which i have uploaded! I hope this is popular opinion!

When editing The Meating, i wanted to give the scene a realistic, empty sound much like in real mens bathrooms. I did this by actually editing the mp3 file i used as a soundtrack and using Adobe Premieres lowpass tool to remove certain frequencies of the song and i just applied a massive reverb aswell to make it sound as though it was echoing through the room. These two effects, combined with lowering the level of the MP3 in conjunction with the film created a perfect ambience for my film. When the homosexual enters the toilets, i used keyframes to slowly make the screen become tinted red and even more so when the "well-endowed" individual enters! The accompanying Barry White soundtrack seemed to fit the mood and helps carry the humour.

When reviewing the footage, i noticed a couple of frames had been dropped during certain parts of the film, however i liked the effect this had as they are actually in places that fit the music and so i kept them in to keep in touch with the overall strange feel of the piece. I like The Meating very much as there is such a contrast from the beginning of the film to the end of the film, it really shows how a simple situation can change in such a short time!

Link will follow when its finished processing!

A short post regarding The Rule Of Thirds

2008-11-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

The rule of thirds is a photography term, a rule of thumb regarding focus points within a picture. If you divide a picture with two equally spaced vertical and horizontal lines, the points where they cross will be the points that the human eye focuses on in a photograph. This can be used when taking the photo to "line up" where the points of focus should be. I think the below image (the grid has been graphically added) demonstrates the rule well. Many digital cameras now come with the grid pre-installed onto the viewfinder so before you take a picture you can line up the image perfectly!

More stills!

2008-11-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

More stills from our short film! These shots show how the lighting looks on the actors, we decided to use the ambient lighting from the toilets instead of using our own spot lighting as this gives the sketch a more "natural" feel. The below picture shows how our camera operators worked co-operatively to decide on the best positioning possible.

MUST REMEMBER

2008-11-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Contrast!
Repetition!
Alignment!
Proximity!

DONT FORGET THAT CRAP!

Still for one shot film!

2008-11-17T11:15:00.001-08:00

This is the interesting setting for our one shot film, the mens toilets! The idea "less is more" really appealed to our group and so we have decided to play on the stereotypes seen in the mens toilets. Hopefully the comedy element will appeal to our audience!

One shot film, play with lights!

2008-11-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Today i met up with my group for the one-shot film project and we spoke a bit more about our first film that we shot last thursday. We agreed that the setting and plot was perfect, although it needs a re-shoot due to some bad acting!

The minute and a half long sketch deals with the psychology of males in the bathroom and how they deal with strangers who are using opposing urinals. This sounds strange but it works rather well and creates humour successfully! I will upload some stills of where the camera is positioned for our piece when i can find the data cable for my phone!

Our seminar today was really interesting as we got to play around with some spotlights and we all had some really creative ideas, we basically had to light a subject who was sitting on a chair but with different filters and positioning of lights you can create some really interesting variations of shadows!

2008-11-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

Why is it that we want our belongings to do more for us than to function well?

When addressing this question, i think back to last week when i purchased a pair of Skullcandy headphones from zavvi for £40. At the time of purchase, ebuyer were offering an unbranded, standard pair of headphones for £5. As human beings we are superficial in many ways, being attracted to exceptional/innovative design as opposed to the norm. The reason i spent £40 on the Skullcandy headphones was because i found them appealing to look at, this means that not only do they function as headphones, they almost become a fashion accessory.

In my opinion, technology has recently begun to tie in with fashion. Apples range of products such as the iPhone and iPod are now all common household names and the attractive and innovative design makes the person who uses these products more stylish in some way. This has caused other designers to follow suite, and the Skull Candy Lowrider headphones are certainly trendy to look at. The ergonomics of the product are also convenient however, with a plush leather frame that would not be found on other, cheaper headphones. The consumer of today requires their product to exceed its basic use and become an accessory.

Pixilation finished!

2008-11-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my pixilation piece! It's called The Artist, and the basic idea is there is an Artist whose images come to life when he draws them. After drawing a few objects he draws a man and the figure comes to life!

I used the live performance of E Il Sol Dell'anima by Luciana Pavarotti from his Rigoletto opera as the soundtrack, he was a great artist and so i found it fitting for my piece. I also found, as it was a live recording, it gave a vintage aspect to the flick and contributed to the quirky atmosphere.

Aside from the soundtrack, i used several other audio sound effects thanks to the wonderful www.findsounds.com and a muzzle flash courtesy of www.detonationfilms.com which i used a luma key to transfer onto my footage. I will post the link shortly when it has finished uploading onto youtube!

HERE IS THE LINK
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i9fvZoKNXjM

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

2008-10-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

"You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period." Chris Gardner - The Pursuit Of Happiness.

Been busy working this past week, playing round with processing my photos for the Pixilation work i am doing, its a piece i call The Artist and should be finished around next week so i'll post it up on here....i am quite pleased with how things are going at the moment!

Havn't been out much this past week, saving money really! Gym is going good, need to start doing more cardiovascular exercise as i am just weight training at the moment.

That is all.

The Dunia Game engine

2008-10-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Dunia Game Engine
Chris Swann

After two years in development, the Dunia engine, making its debut with Farcry 2 in europe on October 24th 2008, presents one of the most advanced and immersive game engines created.
It was developed by the Ubisoft Montreal team specifically for Far Cry 2 in an attempt to tie in with the games large map which the player can explore. Around 3% of the original “Unreal” engine used in the original Far-cry made it through to the sequel, which just gives some impression of how different the gaming experience will be. The Dunia engine was developed to take full advantage of the multi-core CPUs that have been released recently to the PC gaming market. Developer Alex Amancio says that this allows them to create one huge world instead of the traditional ‘levels’ seen in other first person shooters. The Dunia engine was developed with a realistic, ever-changing environment in mind and it is impressive to say the least. The A.I (Artificial Intelligence), when handled with the Dunia engine will develop a personality. Not only will they try and stop the player from achieving their main goal, they have personalities. Kill one of the enemy soldiers brothers for example and you could find him acting recklessly to finish his grudge with you. They will take lunch breaks, retire to camps at night and become weary as the day goes on. The dynamic weather effects created by the Dunia engine are always changing and this will have an effect on your environment. For example, a few days of rain will cause extra vegetation to grow, allowing the player to hide in the grass and stealthily kill his enemies. As the wind picks up, grass will blow and this will affect the trajectory of long range bullets the player shoots. Dust is also affected by the wind. If the player leaves a vehicle on a dusty road then it will be covered in dust after a couple of hours. This is also the case if the player drives fast down a dust track, the vehicle will handle differently when it is caked in dust.

The Dunia engine is a very exciting release in the gaming world, and the scope it brings to new developers could be endless and very impressive indeed. Many players have been comparing the Dunia engine to the Cryengine 2 featured in Crysis due to the open world game-play and the advanced physics. If played on a PC, the criticism is the Dunia engine will require a very expensive gaming computer to run, with top of the range multi core systems costing well over £1000. With an anticipated title such as FarCry 2, there is often pressure on gamers to upgrade their computer just to play the game, especially after all the hype surrounding it.
The main point I am trying to make about the Dunia engine is its flexibility and potential for new developers to make use of, I believe that some brilliant games will be created off this advancement in technology.
Chris Swann

Sunday....

2008-10-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

"Young men... The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step... Average is just not good enough.... period" - Coach Ken Carter

So, sunday morning i wake up with the familiar, hungover feeling i've been used to this past week. Freshers week has certainly taken its toll on my body, my performance in the gym has been lacking this past week to say the least, and that's why im using today as a full stop to the drinking and partying, and i'm about to begin my journey, my journey to becoming an educated young man and being the best i can be, freshers week has been fun, but now the real journey starts, and like Ken Carter once said, Average is just not good enough. With my first lecture on Tuesday, i'm ready to start learning.

(Of course, i'll begin my journey when i have finished visiting home to get one of my mums sunday dinners!)

What do i hope to get out the course?

2008-10-08T04:11:00.000-07:00

"Get Hench Or Die Trying" - Dean Butler

After applying the above quote to my sports and gym work for the past few years, im ready to apply it to my knowledge. MY KNOWLEDGE WILL BE OVERPOWERING!

From my time at Trent i hope to improve my skills and be the best i can be, at the moment my interest in audio/visual is driving me however trying other pathways is also tempting so who knows what i will be thinking this time next year!

All i know is i'm going to work to the best of my ability and continue improving.

What did i do in the first week?

2008-10-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

"Usually drink, usually dance, usually bubble" - Wiley

Did a bit of work, learnt how to take pictures using a can, some duct tape and some photo paper! Met new people, got ridiculously messy almost every night of the week and am still attempting to survive this accumulating hang-over.

And the rolex sweep.