Reflection Log

Rob's feedback: Expand on the narrative of plot of my idea. Give an idea why target audience likes snyder's style and effects, and difference between reason why people hate him also.

07/02/2024 - I have previous experience to struggle of finding actors to work with. I will therefore be choosing to as fewer actors as possible for this project. As I find their timing schedule unreliable and holds the entire project.

I researched with rotobrush how to replace objects textures in footage, I can make balls look like mini moons now, I can make trophies look glowing like angel's sword. However yet to work out how to layer a image on top of the image to look like a realistic rock, which I need.

08/02/2024 - I have developed a new technique with roto brush, by having 2 footage layers on top of each other, I can use roto brush to mask certain areas, as if balls can glow.

I have read theories like todorov, which isn't relevant to mine, but Propp's character role theory helped me realize what role could my last character be now.

09/02/2024 - I did some existing product analysis with corridor crew videos to review, and understand how to use flame effects in my short film when the footage records I got doesn't explain how they made, so I have to use my own knowledge.

12/02/2024 - I eventually learned all the narrative theories, improved on target audience sections about the difference between marvel and dc, how I can use that info to improve my short film. I got workflow done, I also have interesting effect with mirrors.

14/02/2024 - I used my previous survey as primary research to help me get closer to audience I need, and started working on the primary research of a new google forms based on demographics and target audience now. As it looks better each time I write a new question.

13:50: I believe I have completed my primary research, as of today I started as well, now I believe the only thing to do now is finish off my target audience with proper data and research from primary and google forms, as I already made the survey, I just need to send it off now, gather the data and learn how to use it. Other than that, all I got left to do is pre-production work like script and storyboard, and the final plan.

26/02/2024 - I believe I finished with my research and started doing pre-production, I've done script and shot list and plan to do location recce, storyboard and a tech scouting checklist on this wednesday.

28/02/2024 - I completed everything but the storyboard, as I've done some of it and must complete it tomorrow, as the art doesn't seem all that bad but still childish.

29/02/2024 - Finished time table, and every pre-production so far, booked all my equipment for next week. And now need to do the filming to finish it all off.

1/03/2024 - I have done more theories to pass the time which helped clear my view more directly to see what I need to do to shape what the film is all about narratively.

04/03/2024 - I got 3 and half weeks left, last week is 6th of May, 29th of April is when I finished, and just learned I need to deal with presentation, as I believe I need to work on that while I haven't got actors yet for the film to start working on, I need to find right chance when everyone is available to start filming.

13:45 - I worked on the presentation with pen portrait character and how to reach them, it seems finished but don't believe it perfect final version, must work on it again to see any improvements and differences, must research further. I got potential candidates to work with if the other actors are not available.

06/03/2024 - I have found the Doctor Who effect as well as the perfect rock texture for the ball through experimenting in after effects.

12:04 - I finally got my footage, and might need to do some reshoots potentially and possibly, and instead of a ball hitting someone's head but the stick is thrown beside which avoids the risk assessment problem entirely, I might also need audio outside of footage just to get better dubs. But I finally got it and can focus on editing now.

11/03/2024 - I did some cutting on the footage, and realized it is blurry and has too much movement on the camera, I probably have to do some reshoots at the same time with the dubs. While meanwhile I wait for my opportunity to do that, I just edit with the footage I got already so far as the back-up. I finally chose my colour gradient, I sped up some footage to make the length of video shorter and action scenes seem better. I'm now on the after effects particle effects, I tried to deal with this black thing that didn't replicate the settings, I have no idea what it was or how I dealt with it the second time, but I eventually got what I wanted.

14/03/2024 - I couldn't do reshoots now because of one of my actors being ill, so now I have to use what I got so far. And now I have started doing my affects, as with my particle effects seem to replicate fire without using fire option, as it is vortex and cubes, yet looks nothing like cubes and still looks like fire, which is perfect replication then. Decided to do lightning effects as well to add on it, I think it gives the other character something unique to him compared to the other.

18/03/2024 - I have finally reshot the thing but more still needs to be done, while I thought I did dubbed, but it seems like audio didn't properly recorded, so I might have to do that again.

20/03/2024 - I still couldn't find any trace of my lost audio, as it is assumed that actually wasn't record as we thought it was in the first place. I started doing my colour gradient, to see which is best fit for the visuals, and think I found the perfect one so far.

21/03/2024 - I started doing the effects and it seems opacity for effects with particles has been randomly darkening the screen, having no idea why or how to reverse it in the next frame, as all the effects I change cannot happen somehow due to this black screen thing. All I had to do was not change the opacity of effects.

22/03/2024 - I had trouble with the time-vary stop watch effect as the effects still continued after a certain frame, and changing frames earlier would mess up the effects later, so I have to let it be and some people like it anyway.

25/03/2024 - I have finally found the audio footage, and mastered old technique I wanted to find out, the leave colour isolation effect, now I can create a certain style like sin city, which was also a comic, like I want my film to be like.

27/03/2024 - I sure did improve on my filming skills this set of takes and reshoots, I think the cinematography has extremely been improved to how it should be. I must check my reshoots, but I have now finished my second attempt to shoot the whole film. I have been experimenting with leave colour effect to see if it has any creative capabilities.

15/04/2024 - I realized my previous attempts trying to edit my footage again that some of ratio is ruined and has blocked some of visual footage. Until now that I finally fixed the ratio, while I had to some scaling, which has now a clear difference between the two types of footages, as I film it in two different days where one has totally different ratio than the other, so it messes up the synced up fixing, so I had to either sacrifice one or the other. I also done more to presentation by giving it more ideas how I can present this to my target audience.

17/04/2024 - I think I have added the final details to my presentation, all I need to do to it is just remove questions, so it doesn't ruin paragraph structure, as I know as it has been confusing people. The audio dialogue seems pointless now, as I don't know where to put it, when nobody really talks or have their mouth open, it's really confusing and might have to scrap it. I decided to move on and start on after effects editing, and a previous incident happened again as the effect has continued on afterwards, when it suppose to be, at that frame, completely gone, but somehow can be still seen. I theorized that is how the effect leaves, but it takes a lot of frames to do so, which doesn't make sense, and I am attempting to fix it and make it not seen in the next shot.

18/04/2024 - I have got the same condition, where the effect is continuing, when it's not suppose to, but I fixed it on a different frame. The previous footage that had same problem still couldn't be fixed, I might need support to see what the problem is.

19/04/2024 - I have started to use lightning effects as a way to replace and solve the problem with particle effects continuing when it's not suppose to, but I only did it because I want to show that protagonist has his own kind of powers by having different effects to express that, and always intended it. So if it goes back to the other character, then it might be still a problem when the time comes, as I don't want to use same effects all the time, as it has to be specific to their own character.

22/04/2024 - I finally brought order and organization to my sound dialogue, and even though it sounds better, it still doesn't make sense, as it both seem awkward and out of context, as sometimes the person is not actually saying it in the footage as their mouth isn't open yet, and all of the audio is not in there. Plus they rarely speak, so it's weird when they do speak.

I also got music and sound effects to add onto it later, that I think is suitable. I think I reached the halfway point of editing throughout the footage, but as I thought, the particle effect is still being an issue, and I have to deal with it, as there's nothing I can do about it.

24/04/2024 - I did some more of lightning effects within after effects, but I need to be riskier and speed up the work process, to completely edit my video quickly. Then, I can finally add the finishing touches and I don't have to worry about missing anything out. First I need to do the music for the scenes, so it can be entertaining enough, as viewers don't want to see a quiet film of two people fighting. Without music it would be disengaging for people to watch.

25/04/2024 - The only problem with the lighting effects, is that I can't direct it towards the front of screen, as if it's pointing at us and coming out of screen. It looks like it is going down to the floor, as it is hard to do a perspective trick. I think now, I have to focus less on each frame and start to worry about time. when the footage is spaced out more, it is clearer for me to do the changes afterwards, which are fixing the mistakes midway through each frame, depending on what they are like. I still cannot deal with the particle effect problem, and it is about to be used again. There is no tutorial, or advice to help me solve it. My best solution is opacity, but I'm very desperate to use the particle effect now, and my worry it's going to be a problem again.

29/04/2024 - I finally completed my visual effects and I must now do audio part now. But I got deadline on Wednesday now to complete my film, so I can move onto evaluation now. But I think I can quickly deal with audio part so I can move onto final part then.

3/05/2024 - It seems from the reactions of my video that it was okay, as I think I balanced the audio footage by cutting and placing them appropriately. Even though I dislike very much using a entire song in it without any cutting or editing, but I thought it was the only thing I could've done. While I received feedback to improve on my blog before doing evaluation, and I think I have improved on each and every one of them, even though the changes that I've been told seemed so minimum that I don't know if I actually fixed the issues themselves or I added more onto them. I am now writing the evaluation, and it seems to be longer than I expected.