Advanced Production Update 05/03/23
Figure 1: Panning photography:https://digital-photography-school.com/6-tips-master-panning-photography/
We're only about four weeks away from the end of the semester, and progress on the visual effects for my final project is going more or less OK. I've just managed to rotoscope enough footage for a harp shot which will accompany a shot of the Caird Hall to illustrate the location's history and current function as a musical venue. After my most recent group tutorial, it's become clear to me that my current approach to the project is very much flawed. I've rescinded a point about possibly doing a showreel instead of Seoras, which was just foolhardy in retrospect, and I've made it through about half of my shot list to complete with about six or seven shots left to reach the first draft phase. I've also found the methods necessary to improve the shots I've done so far. However the faults with the film so far are ones that have been recurring throughout the series in that the film is too long and will result in too much work for the timeframe we have available, and that static shots simply will not do, no matter how many effects or plugins I dress them up with.
Admittedly I initially went with static shots because they would make the composition a bit easier, but I probably should've tried to find a find around this. Upon the tutor's insistence, several shots will have to be redone, including the shots of the walls, the shot at Cox's stack (though I have a panning shot on my hard drive which could do the trick), the shot of the lava flow, and basically any shots intended for VFX where the camera isn't moving. It will be a bit obnoxious but it can be done. These shots will definitely be included in the final draft of the film, as hopefully a more rough draft will suffice for the video material for advanced production submission. If I wanted to do a drone shot for Cox's stack, I'd have to ask permission from video owners to use some of their footage, since the airport has made it illegal to fly drones just about everywhere in Dundee.
My rotoscoping and animation practice also needs improving, as my drawings are too detailed and too frequent to be productive enough. I'm aware of a plugin for After Effects called Mocha Pro which easily speed up the rotoscoping but it's expensive and obviously, only the administrator can install it. The main option I have is to use the AI the tutor recommended, flaws and all. If this doesn't work, I need to develop an animation technique where I draw on fewer frames per second and with less detail, given that my current approach is to animate on twos and to draw the frames with as much detail as possible. If I try a looser approach, such as animating on fours and using less details and more abstract designs, maybe this could yield a faster animation process. I have to find a technique that doesn't require subscriptions, such as the AI known as Anaconda, which uses python coding to install and utilize it's features.
Figure 3: Anaconda figure rotoscope test: https://www.provideocoalition.com/automatic-rotoscopingfor-free/
My tutor has been given a copy of the folder I've been using for my project to try and salvage something from what I've filmed so far. With the animations of figures for my project, it should be a bit more forgiving because I can draw enough keyframes to the point where I make the animation gif-friendly and produce loops which make compositing slightly easier. I will aim to do this technique with the Pictish fish and other animations that focus on one figure. In terms of the new VFX shots for my film, my main objective will be to add tasteful movement to the shots to make them more interesting and show them to the tutor before I proceed to compositing. With making the final compositions, I need to remember to put in the extra effort to make them distinct enough from reality with effects such as glow, displacement map and turbulent noise with mist.
Figure 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nLALXAM5aU
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