Figure 1: The ending of a book: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthewritersally.com%2Farticles%2Fhow-to-end-a-story-three-ways-to-nail-your-books-ending%2F&psig=AOvVaw2EsFLCHUNQZr54_48x-PpR&ust=1690455767679000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCLiqsc6crIADFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
So, after much progress and some very last minute changes, I can confirm that all my work needed for the degree has been done. All that's really left is some images for the postgraduate show but this shouldn't take long at all. After the last ten months, it's been quite a wild ride at the degree but it's been worth it every step of the way. The most important thing I've learned from the whole thing is to adhere to feedback throughout the whole production, as it can greatly improve the final output. This is evident as my final project has been reduced from 12 minutes in length to 6 and a half minutes in length. I've learned so much throughout this year and I've gained a whole new skillset that I look forward to offering to employers. I might do a PhD if I can get the money and time together, but for the moment, I'm going to focus on getting a job and earning a living I can work with. I've managed to produce a great deal of work, but now I need to find a way to get a job from this experience. Hopefully the next interview I have will result in a call asking me to start working for the company.
My main priorities now include clearing out my OneDrive so I can hold onto the files I've accumulated and the work I've done.
Figure 1: Storyboards for animation: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.artstation.com%2Fthora%2Fblog%2FD3yj%2Ffinal-assessment-workflow&psig=AOvVaw15uV6KJR4-q4EaFirIfYGY&ust=1689846465822000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCJilx-S-moADFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
The final project has reached the stage where I can finally call it finished. I've done as much with it as humanly possible, and I've ironed out every single flaw I can think of, so now it's finally reached a state of perfection to an extent. I've also finished the latest draft of my final assessment video with all the critiques that Susan has brought up. The main thing to do now is just wait for the feedback, if any comes up, on the next assessment video draft. If it doesn't, I might just have finished everything the degree requires and I can call it a life. The latest draft of the assessment video was mainly made from scratch with new voiceover and points made to build on what I set up, and hopefully this will be enough to cover everything needed. I'm pretty impressed with myself that I essentially managed to put the video together in one day, and record new voiceover that addresses the points that needed making. Whilst there might be at least one more thing that needs patching up before it truly makes the grade, it does feel good to get it done. As for the final project, I might just show it to Duncan one last time for any problems that have come up. The rotobrush is still misbehaving here or there, but maybe a bit of imperfection gives it a bit more character.
With all this work done, the main thing to do now is to wait for the submission link to go up and continue looking for work, with maybe some help from "INTO WORK" to get a bit of a leg up.
Tasks to complete:
Submit project and assessment video when link goes up
When I received my first batch of feedback for my assessment video, one of the crucial things that I missed from the preparation was the research into other artists who employed similar techniques that I could use to back up my implementation of VFX. Honestly, I've been so focused on the development of my VFX shots that I kind of forgot this important aspect, but I can think of a few notable examples that could be useful. I also need to reinforce the use of my equipment in the video with more elaborate descriptions of how the equipment was used, such as the DVX-200 being more suited for shots where picture quality was paramount whereas the DJI Osmo Pocket was more suited to shots that needed to be smoother and more mobile.
One such main example of influential colour correction and animation is going back to the original influence for my film, A Scanner Darkly (2006) directed by Richard Linklater. Because of his documentarian approach to the majority of his filmography, his colour correction has tended to have a more organic life-like methodology, whilst still appropriately contributing to the mood in a scenario. In a Scanner Darkly, the colours are meant to form part of the distilled, pseudo-realistic approach to the animation, the colours have an over-saturated hazy quality that indicates to the viewer that this is an alienating environment. I replicate this methodology to an extent in Seoras with the flickering footage whose sketch filters are inspired by the animation style, but the cutout effects amplify the intended connotations of disconnections with the main figure as the point of focus. The crafting process is also similar to my work, in that that I took the footage I filmed ahead of time and fed it through the filters in Photoshop to create the modified appearance, and then made it work in conjunction with the live-action footage. The animators and live-action crew are credited in the film's opening sequence which indicates that they were both equally as crucial to creating A Scanner Darkly's mise-en-scene. How the footage is lit has already contributed to how the animation and filtering reacts and appears.
Another example of simple animation that has contributed to my project crafting to an extent is the short film Frames (2020) created by the company "Nikles". The main element of this film that has inspired me is the compositing of the animation and how it's constructed with a rustic paper cut-out effect that is very simple yet it accomplishes a wide range of expressions with what it does. The paper-like effects create a distinct feeling reminiscent of canvas, which is what the characters are made from, and makes The film accomplished its visual imagery through a simple rustic method with very simple but effective shapes and proportions on its characters, allowing the viewer to recognise how characters are feeling without the need for audible dialogue. This is influential to my work because of how it uses elements that are relatively simple (my cutouts are based around the proportions of the protagonist) and how it utilizes those elements to mainly stand out from the live-action footage. Finally, the film inspires me because of how it accomplishes its intended meaning without the need for dialogue, and also the movement and emotion to tell the story, which is a technique I've drawn from.
An old inspiration for me in terms of colour correction and identification is the United Airlines commercial "A Life" directed by Michael Dudok de Wit and produced at Acme Filmworks. The technique used is exemplary in making something stand out and connote the appeal of the brand. Throughout the whole advert, the main figure we focus on is coloured blue whereas everything else in the shot apart from the planes are tinted red or autumnal, which makes them much more recognizable. The red colouring indicates a sense of warmth and familiarity in almost every shot, which is in contrast to my use of colour where the blue mise-en-scene is meant to be more wintry. The animation style is also a big influence for my film with it's simple, life-like movement and flow, which is an methodology that I have also utilized in my film. It does not use squash-and-stretch and allows it to feel like normal life without having any exaggeration, which is also the intended effect I wanted to achieve.
Figure 2: United Airlines "A Life" commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0_g2Ur5Uhc
"We wanted the film to have a hand drawn look because one of the things that’s really beautiful and interesting about illustration is a freedom to draw what is most emotional and impactful without being constrained by realism or what is correct."
- Danny Dimian, VFX Supervisor, Into the Spider-Verse
It's been a stressful feedback session, and business has been really hard in places. I've managed to pull through though, and I've also given myself some time to reflect on whether or not some parts of my film really do need changing. My assessment video is in need of some extra research and backing up of points I make, particularly with the Spider-Man footage and how it was crafted and how I used the equipment to my advantage. It is a bit annoying but nothing that can't be done. I've been struggling with certain shots such as trying to colour correct the lookout Point shots so that they look identical, and redoing the lava sequence got so intense that I just stuck to the original, and I've got some feedback from a guest lecturer in order to perfect the film. For the sake of my mental health however, the next cut really has to be the last so I can make time to give the needed improvements to the assessment video.
The assessment video, in retrospect, did not have nearly have research to fully verify it so look for the bibliography to lengthen considerably. I've also learned the trick of importing After Effects projects into one another to help improve the workflow which has been a big help admittedly. Some shots are unfortunately pretty hard to render, but with enough timing I have managed to fit them into my workflow. It's going to be an intense last two weeks, but I will ultimately survive one way or another.
Some shots have had to have some references added to make them more coherent. The interior shot at the station has had a blurred reflection of the penguins added, and the shot walking round the corner at West Ward Works will have the modified footage of the jute workers to tie into the previous shot at Verdant Works. This experience has taught me the value of feedback no matter how strongly you might react to it, and I need to figure out a method where I don't have such a kneejerk initial response to feedback.
Tasks to complete:
Update assessment video with new voiceover including notes
Update first hand raising shot with better background
Add glow effect to deer shot and hand joining shot
With just over three weeks remaining on the degree, the main things left to complete are the final project, Seoras and the final assessment video. I couldn't get any hard feedback on the projects last week so I'll just have to wait until the group tutorial in order to get the feedback I need to fully seal the deal on the project. Whilst there are some details in the final film that I can't really fix all that much at this point, such as the automatic white balance making things pretty iffy in places, one tutor has said that the film is as good as it can get as this point and I'm not really sure how much more I really need to do. As for my assessment video, some clips do hold on for a bit too long and the audio editing was a bit of a nightmare, but I am happy with the project overall. I just need to tidy up the details in order to make suitable for submission to the final project folder.
The project has taken a long time to get to the state where it is now, but I'm very impressed with how much work I've put in to make it come together. I have to give thanks to my flatmates who have helped me with some crucial sequences for the film, and for my peers for all that intensive feedback that has drastically improved the film's tempo. The film isn't perfect, but it's much better than my previous final film for my first degree. I also need to submit the film to festivals once I'm done in order to get it promoted more and to build myself a bit of name recognition.
Figure 2: Camperdown in Autumn: https://www.donaldfordimages.com/2019/11/15/glorious-november-at-camperdown-park/
Tasks to complete:
Get much-needed feedback for final project/assessment video
The final project is going to need a synopsis for when I eventually submit to film festivals in order to engage the viewers and the curators. Whilst the deadline for submission to Aesthetica has already past and I'll need to wait until March before I can submit it to them, I can still make the submission deadlines for other festivals in the UK as well as in other countries. It will take a few drafts before I write one that best summarises the film. I've previously described the film to my tutors as a personal journey exemplified in film form. The film definitely follows a flaneur-type template for storytelling as well as an experimental film narrative, and I will need some help with writing the drafts of the outline.
First draft:
"A humanoid alien lands in the city of Dundee, Scotland for the first film, and connects with the city environment around them through visions of past and abstract life visible in the city's infrastructure. Inspired by the creator's perspectives on city life and how it has evolved from previous establishment to modern development".
Figure 1: Latest version of Pictish figure sequence
I've just had the latest tutorial on the last cut of Seoras, and business has been booming. The tutors had very little negative points to mention about the film, and although I will have to add a few points to the film which will bump up the final runtime slightly, it will still be just over half the length it was at the start of the year. The tempo issue seems to be finally resolved, and I will make sure that the film is submitted to local businesses and museums once I have finally finished editing. I will also need to make sure that I send a copy of the film and my work to my parents so that they can see it and share it around. The issues that needed resolving in their eyes included adding an opacity adjustment to the shot with the pictish figure, which definitely improved it, replacing the modified kilt intro shot with the original unaltered version, improving the colour transition on the last shot, and making the credits slightly longer. I've also rented out a microphone and sound recorder to create the non-diegetic alternative soundtrack to the film which should hopefully iron out some of the main faults, but I think I'll need one more intensive editing session with Duncan in order to really hammer the project home to the best possible quality. Finally, they also recommended I shave off a part of the VFX footage at the shot on Verdant works, where a bit of unnecessary stuff finds its way into frame.
I've had a bit of trouble editing together my assessment video where the audio clip titles got muddled and clips ended up in the wrong areas on the timeline, but despite some potent frustration, this has been resolved thankfully. I've laid down the audio track for the entire video, and I just need some extra video clips to finish the first draft of the video. I must give thanks to my flatmate for helping me with the latest clip of the video which was shot yesterday. This should hopefully be the glue that binds the opening sequence together. The next group tutorial is next week, and after that things should be winding down.
Tasks to complete:
Finish assessment video
Finish last draft of Seoras
Continue with job hunt
Continue updating blog
Invert penguins on station animation shot
Make end title sequence to slot in before end credits
