Hey guys,
So we talked about Wire Removal today in class so I figured I would dig some stuff up to show you. It is really quite simple and is nothing to worry about. the only thing that would make it an issue is if the camera is moving and not locked down.
So if you dont know how something like this is done it is done in Adobe After Effects. In the Effects side panel you can find what is called a simple wire removal. It is a little tricky when you get into the key framing however the entire process can be completed in about a half hour if the shots aren't super long.
Here is a link to a video tutorial on how to use the tool.
Special effects in filmmaking could be summed up into two different styles: visual effects, and practical effects. Visual effects usually involve editing the footage in post-production, while practical effects are done live in front of the camera. Visual effects can have a really cool effect when used effectively, like in this summer's blockbuster film, "Maleficent". Of course everything you see is fake and created on a computer, but the movement of the camera makes the scene very compelling.
So. Visual effects can be pretty cool. But I'm here to talk about why practical effects are way cooler.
Why are they way cooler?
Well, many reasons. For one the shot is going to have a timeless effect and will look real 100 years from now because, well, it is real. Visual effects however are very time sensitive. These magical, awe-inspiring scenes we see now will look laughable in a few years. But that's how technology works.
Check out these two scenes below...
The first one is from Terminator 3, where they flipped a massive construction vehicle using computer-generated visual effects. The second one is from the Dark Knight, where they do almost the same stunt except they actually flip the truck.
Now to be fair some might jump up and say the Terminator version is better because the truck is seen crunched in to the ground, tires flying through the air, and of course a nice big explosion to finish.
But sorry, you're wrong.
Consider this analogy....
The Dark Knight's effect is like a gourmet selection from that restaurant down the street...
...and The Terminator's visual effect is like a #2 from Panda Express with extra meat.
But consider this analogy for a second. Even though Panda Express is of less quality, overall it's a better deal. You're getting a lot more food for a lot less money. There's plenty like about it... but little to appreciate. You will not eat Panda Express in small bites and appreciate the amount of work it took to create such a masterpiece. It's just something that will make you happy in that moment. And minus the painful poo afterwords, that's exactly what the Terminator 3 effect is. It's just a cheap audience pleaser.
I hope a few of these behind-the-scenes videos below will help convince you:
First off, The Dark Knight flip:
Come on... that's just FRIGGIN COOL.
For any of you that have seen Inception, you may remember the scene when Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a fist fight whilst flying all across a room because of changing gravity. How do you create the effect of a room rapidly changing gravity? How about RAPIDLY CHANGING THE GRAVITY?
This next video is from "Edge of Tomorrow", a film I expected to be a horrible flop. Tom Cruise stuck reliving to same war scene day after day? Sounded to me like an excuse for big explosions and no story at all. But the reviews came out and they were actually really positive. I couldn't believe it. I had to see what all the huff was about, and I was indeed pleasantly surprised by the engaging story. The story does of course include several explosions and battle scenes, but I remember thinking that they were acted out very well. That is, the actors seemed to be reacting to their environment quite realistically. After watching this video, I realized why. This video features several small clips, but the most impressive clip is at 2:58. It's truly incredible and I don't think many actors could pull it off besides Tom Cruise.
Of course there are many other notable films that are famous for their use of practical effects, but I hope this gives you an introduction to the fine art and precise skill of these types of effects. They are dangerous, expensive, and difficult, but that's why they deserve so much appreciation.
The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire was a hit at the box office. It made a record $110.2 million dollars in the Box office over Thanksgiving weekend. This made it the highest grossing Thanksgiving movie ever. It has a domestic total of $296.5 million dollars. The Hunger Games is based off of the novel trilogy by Susan Collins.
The story is the dystopian future of North America into a totalitarian society called Panem. The nation includes 12 districts and the Capitol. The Capitol decides everything for the capitol. Every year there is a lottery to chose 2 individuals from each district to represent their district in the Hunger Games. Each tribute will fight to the death till there is only one winner. When Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark defy the capitol in the games, they both end up being the victors. Without giving the rest away, I will just say that the adventure they take on immediately takes the viewer in and outcome is definitely not what I expected.
In the second movie, Peeta and Katniss have to go back into the Hunger Games to fight once again. Despite the rule that if you are a victor you don't have to be in the lottery again.
The reason this sequel has become so popular is very clear. Francis Lawerance, the Director of Catching Fire explains the many reasons he thinks it was so successful. He says "Susan created a really rich world, filled it with compelling characters, and told a great story with just a really truly amazing character, Katniss, at the center of it. I think one of the things about Katniss's character is that whether you're a guy or a girl, you can relate to her because she's so real and relatable." He goes on to talk about Katniss' flaws and mishaps which make the viewer connect even more with her character.
This goes to show that in some cases, relate-ability can really boost ratings. Making her qualities less hero-like and more real is something that allows viewers to put yourself in her shoes and imagine what you would do in similar situations.
What most people fail to realize is the amount of visual effects put into the film. For example, the exterior shots the the train car Peeta and Katniss are in in the beginning of the movie, were typically aerial plate shots into which a digital train and track were added. Most of the arena was all digital as well. The jungle, ocean, shore, and beach line were completely digital. This included the movement of wind moving the the trees the ocean waves and more. Such a job was done by VFX supervisor Janek Sirrs. I hop I didn't spoil anything, but for those of you who haven't I strongly recommend it!
In an article found on theblackandblue.com, were some advice geared toward the camera department that I find very convenient. These tips can really save the editor a lot of time in post production. On most sets, saving the editor time is not really on the top of their priorities, but it is something that can make post production occur with less mistakes. The first tip that Evan Luzi gives is to keep a camera report.
A camera report connects what is happening on set back to the editor. It gives the post production visual effects editor information such as the focal length of the lens used, to match its depth of field. It also makes it very convenient if you need to reshoot a shot. You know what focal length lens and f stop was used along with other vital information.
The second tip given has to do with transferring all production footage to a computer. Just transferring the files is not enough, but always make sure to back them up on one or even two separate hard drives to be safe. Be sure to get every single bit of data on to the various computers and hard drives. Don't ever trust that your computer storage is enough and just wont crash. That is not safe enough.
Most problems with data management come from human error. With that being said, make sure all memory cards are labeled correctly during production in order for things to go smoothly in post. Also make sure all hard drives are labeled and filed systematically. Name clips accordingly and keep things as organized and simple as possible.
The third tip mentioned to keep post production smooth is to make accurate slating a priority. Editing without slates means playing various clips to see what scene it was. When you have hours of footage and hundreds of clips, it is nearly impossible to edit without slates. All slates must be correctly labeled. Some may even include, frame rates, which special filters are unique to that scene, and lots of other important info.
The last tip that Evan has for film sets is to work closely with visual effects supervisor during filming. Any information that he or she can get about the shot they are manipulating will be very worth while during the editing process. It may not seem like a priority but it should be. Use tracking markers. Tracking markers are markers that you put with the scene that give the visual effects coordinator a reference point when it is on the computer. These few things may seem unnecessary but they will ensure that post production can go smoothly and flawlessly.
In the show Supernatural, each episode deals with a different demon or creature, and none of that would exist without the special effects. It's not just in post production and after effects, but blood pumping mechanisms and extreme make up are needed to make this show happen. I can't even count how many times someone gets stabbed or sliced in this show and there is an entire team working from pre to post to make this all happen. I was watching a few videos about the special effects and this one is a pretty revealing behind the scenes look at how the special effects team creates the blood, gore and monsters.
What is particularly interesting is how they start planning before they even get the script. They don't film everything and then work in the effects, but they can be called up and just be asked for more blood. With the demand for so many effects in such a short period of time, the production team has the dilemma of completing the project, but still making is aesthetically pleasing and as realistic as a demon throwing Jensen Ackles against a wall as it can be. Then, they have to deal with the actors limitations and creating what they need as characters to work with. The show is unique in which each episode deals with visual and special effects as well as make up effects. It is hard to distinguish the line drawn between production and post production effects. Obviously, programs like After Effects have the ability to create blood, but that can easily be done in a more organic method. It comes down to the kind of visually pleasing image you are looking for.
A friend of mine showed this to me. I was astonished with some of the simplistic little details from this video game.
Watching the making of this truly inspired me to want to work more in a visual effects spectrum. A lot of people play video games these days and since the technology is advancing so quickly, more jobs are opening up in visual effects departments. Some them maybe freelancers or work for a company but it doesn't matter. If you find something you like, you want to chase it and achieve that status.
My favorite part of this whole thing would have to be when she jumps off the building and creates portal for her to fall through the ground and back out the top of the building. It's just fascinating with what we can do today.
I really want to make something like this for a Park production. Unfortunately, this is a work of art and cannot be replicated. Don't even try. Stop now.
The Girl Who Waited is a perfect example of the direction that new-Who has taken. It's less of a "monster-of-the-week" or "sci-fi" show and more of a "space opera." That's not bad by any means, of course. In fact, the fans in both the US and the show's native UK have been welcoming to the backstories of the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and River Song. While the show's main focus is still timey-wimey and spacey-wacey, it's nice to see three-dimensional characters and growing relationships.
Lots of tributes to the series here in both its classic and current incarnations. The title of the serial is a reference to Amy Pond's character, who as a child waited 12 years for the Doctor to arrive a second time. In one scene, Rory breaks the Mona Lisa over an android's head. This is a reference to the 1979 serial "The City Of Death." It's a story that will appeal to both classic and new-Who fans.
Technically, it shines. The cinematography and lighting are obviously great, so no coverage is necessary. What really stands out is the CGI in both the landscape and most of the characters. The Handroids, the main antagonists in the episode, were costumed actors whose faces were removed in post-production and replaced with sinister looking medical equipment. The landscape wasn't WYSIWYG; it was a mixture of tight set design and 3D. What comes out is a threatening facility with a sprawling labyrinth of halls and corridors.
Karen Gillan's older appearance was also a defining factor in this episode. Instead of using an older actress to play the part, Karen herself offered to play the part in prosthetics and aging makeup. This created a believable 60-year-old Amy Pond once it became mixed with Karen's subtle acting quirks and choices. It not only brings out the best in the show's production, it's a bright moment for Karen, who's becoming a big star with the success of the programme (alongside Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill, the latter of whom is doubtlessly the show's best male companion in years.)
This will be a memorable episode of this series, and maybe even of the Eleventh Doctor's reign. Next week: The God Complex, which involves more child nightmare shenanigans and perhaps a look into the Doctor's eventual fate... let's just hope the characters don't almost die again.
So for our first project, I decided to go against the rules a little for video production. The first commandment in shooting a movie to always follow the 180 rule, and for those of you who don't know the rule it states:
the 180° rule is a guideline that says two characters or objects in a certain scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line.
Know you ask how should i break this law. Well, for a thirty second time period I decided to leave the camera in one location and slowly pan in a circle for 30 seconds. To make this look good, I have to make sure something is going in each quarter of the circle. I wanted a challenge for this project and I definitely think this task will give it to me. If you have any question, comments, or suggestions please comment.
While this summer was filled with many blockbusters, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, Super 8, The Hangover, Green Lantern (which turned out to be awful), Harry Potter, and one that I fully waited for was Captain America.
I tend to watch a lot of trailers and was very impressed with the trailer; however, I was very worried that it would turn out to be like Green Lantern where there was no story at all in the movie. While watching this, I found this superhero movie to be one of my favorites since Spider-Man in 2002. While Visual Effects has taken a huge tole in movie-making this century, the story is the heart of the movie and visual effects create the illusion of this fantasy into a reality.
In this movie, I found it very easily to relate to Steve Rodgers' (Captain America) character because he continues to strive and keep with everyone by wanting to fight for his country in World War II. Due to his size and lack of muscle tone, he is always turned down. He is then chosen for the Captain America project because he has a strong heart, the one qualification that every soldier should posses.
I truly enjoyed this movie not only because of the character development but that there wasn't a lot of time spent in the fight scenes or taking down Hydra's (the enemy) bases, the movie was very well dedicated to having the viewer appreciate the story of this legendary superhero and what he wants next.
Next summer should be epic with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises . . . can't wait.
Hey guys,
