Since my last post, I have been enjoying editing and organising my film files so that I can edit them together. I was waiting around for the narration to be recorded before I could start editing as I was editing to the narration and voiceover. Once I began editing I really enjoyed it.
I have finally finished my project and named it The Forever Present. The idea behind this being that time is our forever present, and when we leave this earth, it'll be somewhere/someone elses present. I thought it was a rather contemplative title, which goes with the contemplative nature of my piece.
It was a fiddly process editing all the individual files in Adobe After Effects CC and then rendering them out before opening and working with them in Adobe Premiere Pro.
I have watched my piece through thoroughly and have done all I can to make it the best it can be. I am so proud of the work I have created.
Monday, 11 May 2015
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Blog 19. Narration
Today was a really exciting day (April 29th 2015) because I was recording the voice over to my narration. I had hired a 66 year old gentleman from Manchester who travelled over via the train into Leeds to come into the Radio Studio and record it for me. I loved his voice because it was deep, warming and he could portray a lot of emotion and I knew that would be right for my piece.
He arrived and we went into the Radio studio. I had already been in there with a technician who was showing me how all the equipment worked and helped set it up for me. This was stressful as I only had 20 minutes to learn how everything worked. I felt rather pressurised as anything could have gone wrong.
By 17:00 we had finished recording and I had done 20 takes, one of them was a more static reading, where he would pause after each sentence so if anything went wrong I had the opportunity to cut between the lines and merge together in post. However, the last two takes were pretty much perfect and I felt so relieved and happy by the end because I knew I had done it right and he had understood how I wanted it reading.
I found it difficult to put the directors hat on because I normally play the role of producer. This was a different experience for me and I did get into the swing of things by the end and wouldn't say no again. I feel really proud that everything is coming together and that people are complimenting my work.
Myself and Dave spoke about the contributor release form, which I have just emailed over to him, where I have agreed to pay his expenses, credit his name in the piece and send over a copy of his narration along with the music. I did not agree to give him a copy of the piece itself as that is purely mine I feel and it is copyrighted to me. He will be able to have a link to the piece should I put it online anywhere.
He arrived and we went into the Radio studio. I had already been in there with a technician who was showing me how all the equipment worked and helped set it up for me. This was stressful as I only had 20 minutes to learn how everything worked. I felt rather pressurised as anything could have gone wrong.
By 17:00 we had finished recording and I had done 20 takes, one of them was a more static reading, where he would pause after each sentence so if anything went wrong I had the opportunity to cut between the lines and merge together in post. However, the last two takes were pretty much perfect and I felt so relieved and happy by the end because I knew I had done it right and he had understood how I wanted it reading.
I found it difficult to put the directors hat on because I normally play the role of producer. This was a different experience for me and I did get into the swing of things by the end and wouldn't say no again. I feel really proud that everything is coming together and that people are complimenting my work.
Myself and Dave spoke about the contributor release form, which I have just emailed over to him, where I have agreed to pay his expenses, credit his name in the piece and send over a copy of his narration along with the music. I did not agree to give him a copy of the piece itself as that is purely mine I feel and it is copyrighted to me. He will be able to have a link to the piece should I put it online anywhere.
Monday, 27 April 2015
Blog 18. Something extra
This is something I should have put in my blog earlier on, but this is a mood board that I sent to my composer and writer. Both received this so that they could have a better idea on the feel of the piece and what kind of things I was after in both the music and riddle.
Blog 17. The end is in sight
So it's getting closer to the deadline date and i'm really comfortable that i'm going to get it all done in time. I have a 66 year old gentleman coming over from Manchester to record the VO for my narration in the radio studio at uni which will be really exciting and rather emotional I presume. I have agreed to pay expenses.
I have begun my editing and have decided upon the opening sequence. I have bought a baby hanging mobile and have booked out the Canon 6D again to film with, as well as the portable green screen. This means I can film in my flat and get the effect I am after. I aim to create a POV shot through the eyes of a baby, it's first look at life, so the shot will be blurry (in post) and then I will create a blinking effect at the beginning - the baby will be looking at the moving mobile hanging above and in front. From this, I will continue editing in the way I feel will best suit the music and narration.
I have begun my editing and have decided upon the opening sequence. I have bought a baby hanging mobile and have booked out the Canon 6D again to film with, as well as the portable green screen. This means I can film in my flat and get the effect I am after. I aim to create a POV shot through the eyes of a baby, it's first look at life, so the shot will be blurry (in post) and then I will create a blinking effect at the beginning - the baby will be looking at the moving mobile hanging above and in front. From this, I will continue editing in the way I feel will best suit the music and narration.
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Blog 16. Progression
So a lot has happened since my last post...
1. I have received through the final version of my music which sounds utterly amazing. I am so pleased with the work my composer has produced, he really listened to everything I was after and has put together something I really wasn't expecting. The emotion it generates matches perfectly with the narration.
2. I had in total 12 applications through on the StarNow listing for the voice over to my narration. I have finally selected one person that I think will be really good for the job. He was the first man that applied for the application and showed his dedication and eagerness to be a part of the project by sending me three voice clips of examples of how he would read the narration. He really listened to the words and added in different elements that really touched me.
I am currently arranging for him to come over on Wednesday 29th April to record the narration in the radio studio.
3. I have had a meeting with my dissertation tutor and he is generally really pleased with all the work I am doing and we spoke about how I am going to present my piece, as it is a motion graphics/moving image project, it would make sense to make it more interesting than just showing shot after shot after shot.
4. I am trying to download Particular and Twixtor onto my laptop in the hope that I can use those in my piece to generate a slow motion part to it and the use of a particle generator to deliver and create the idea of our universe.
5. I am struggling to get going on the editing stage. I'm not used to editing myself and I'm almost scared to get going. I know I have to look through my clips again and decide which ones work in which section, but before I can do that, I have to work out how I want to present it all and how I want each section to come to life on the screen without being boring and monotonous.
1. I have received through the final version of my music which sounds utterly amazing. I am so pleased with the work my composer has produced, he really listened to everything I was after and has put together something I really wasn't expecting. The emotion it generates matches perfectly with the narration.
2. I had in total 12 applications through on the StarNow listing for the voice over to my narration. I have finally selected one person that I think will be really good for the job. He was the first man that applied for the application and showed his dedication and eagerness to be a part of the project by sending me three voice clips of examples of how he would read the narration. He really listened to the words and added in different elements that really touched me.
I am currently arranging for him to come over on Wednesday 29th April to record the narration in the radio studio.
3. I have had a meeting with my dissertation tutor and he is generally really pleased with all the work I am doing and we spoke about how I am going to present my piece, as it is a motion graphics/moving image project, it would make sense to make it more interesting than just showing shot after shot after shot.
4. I am trying to download Particular and Twixtor onto my laptop in the hope that I can use those in my piece to generate a slow motion part to it and the use of a particle generator to deliver and create the idea of our universe.
5. I am struggling to get going on the editing stage. I'm not used to editing myself and I'm almost scared to get going. I know I have to look through my clips again and decide which ones work in which section, but before I can do that, I have to work out how I want to present it all and how I want each section to come to life on the screen without being boring and monotonous.
Monday, 13 April 2015
Blog 15. Time's ticking
So not much is happening at the moment in terms of the editing part. I am trying to work Avid on my Mac which is proving difficult - saving myself the hastle of going into uni each day to do some editing. I prefer the option of having it all on my Mac and I can work whenever and wherever.
In terms of the music, I received a rough cut of 1 minutes composition which sounded lovely. I'm generally happy with the feel of the music and the direction it is heading in. I was told it was a very rough cut and i'm hoping to hear back from him again soon with some kind of development.
The narration is pretty much finished, I am just after one more section so that I have more to work with rather than less. The narration is perfect and exactly what I am after, so i'm really pleased and feeling optimistic.
I have recently - only a few days ago - sent out an application on StarNow for a voiceover part. Within a day i had 4 responses and now a few days on I have 10. I have shortlisted 5 of the applicants as they have all provided demos of previous work on their profile for me to listen to and they do have the type of voice I am after. I have been in contact with each one and I am waiting back from 4 of the 5 for their MP3's with the reading of the narration. I have sent each over a part of the narration for them to record and send back to me in the style of voice that they choose. In the application I posted the To The Wonder trailer where Javier Bardem narrates and asked them what they thought of that. I requested that they listen to it carefully as that it the route I am heading down for the voiceover.
I have narrowed it down to 3 people in my head who I think would be good, but as it is, I am just waiting for them to send me their MP3 versions. There age is generally around the 60-70 mark which does allow for a more mature, developed and deeper voice which I am after. Fingers crossed i'll find someone who will sound perfect for the job. Each applicant is either based in Leeds or Manchester and I said I would pay for expenses to whoever gets the part. I am really enjoying using StarNow as it is simple to use and you have the option of asking them questions in your application and when reading their responses you can almost get to know them a little and how they think. I am really enjoying reading them.
In terms of the music, I received a rough cut of 1 minutes composition which sounded lovely. I'm generally happy with the feel of the music and the direction it is heading in. I was told it was a very rough cut and i'm hoping to hear back from him again soon with some kind of development.
The narration is pretty much finished, I am just after one more section so that I have more to work with rather than less. The narration is perfect and exactly what I am after, so i'm really pleased and feeling optimistic.
I have recently - only a few days ago - sent out an application on StarNow for a voiceover part. Within a day i had 4 responses and now a few days on I have 10. I have shortlisted 5 of the applicants as they have all provided demos of previous work on their profile for me to listen to and they do have the type of voice I am after. I have been in contact with each one and I am waiting back from 4 of the 5 for their MP3's with the reading of the narration. I have sent each over a part of the narration for them to record and send back to me in the style of voice that they choose. In the application I posted the To The Wonder trailer where Javier Bardem narrates and asked them what they thought of that. I requested that they listen to it carefully as that it the route I am heading down for the voiceover.
I have narrowed it down to 3 people in my head who I think would be good, but as it is, I am just waiting for them to send me their MP3 versions. There age is generally around the 60-70 mark which does allow for a more mature, developed and deeper voice which I am after. Fingers crossed i'll find someone who will sound perfect for the job. Each applicant is either based in Leeds or Manchester and I said I would pay for expenses to whoever gets the part. I am really enjoying using StarNow as it is simple to use and you have the option of asking them questions in your application and when reading their responses you can almost get to know them a little and how they think. I am really enjoying reading them.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Blog 14. The filming
So after all of that, I move onto the filming part itself. I decided that I would film up in Scotland for my dissertation. It is very close to home and to the heart for me and I thought it would be perfect. The concept allows me to film plenty scenic shots and I found them all up north. I decided I would leave for Scotland of Sunday 22nd March with my mum to help me drive the way. We stopped off with family and I filmed up and around there, but we continued up from West Kilbride to the Falls of Glomach, Glencoe, Glenfinnan, Fort William, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Dornie, Skye Bridge and a few other places. Here, I managed to film some beautiful scenery.
We had to try and find accommodation last minute after each day of filming as we couldn't plan where we would end up after each day as we were driving it all and couldn't take into account how long exactly it would all take, if we were to include traffic, weather and time spent on location. Each day was exhausting but I managed to get a lot of filming done.
Issues with filming:
1. I hired out equipment from University which was a complete disgrace. I was handed equipment that was years and years old that was incapable of being pieced together and made to work - even though I was told otherwise!
2. Half the equipment I was given was missing pieces and so i found out once i got up into Scotland that the equipment was unusable - all due to previous students not returning the equipment in the state they picked it up from!
3. I couldn't hire out the tripod I wanted to because a lecturer had taken it out that day without prebooking it and had just taken it for a lecture even though I had booked it 8 days prior to the day I picked it up with.
4. The black magic camera was difficult to attach to any other equipment they had given me because once again I was handed random pieces of equipment that should have been attached but weren't !
5. As a result, I had to swap from the Black Magic Camera to the Canon 6D - this made life a little easier! This meant I was filming in the right colour grade and didn't have to edit it all in post, it also meant that the battery life would last longer and that the Canon 6D could attach to the slider and fig rig, unlike the black magic.
I felt I couldn't have planned much more for the trip because I expected the equipment to be handed to me in a state where I could at least use it. As a result I feel the film quality wasn't as good as it could have been.
We had to try and find accommodation last minute after each day of filming as we couldn't plan where we would end up after each day as we were driving it all and couldn't take into account how long exactly it would all take, if we were to include traffic, weather and time spent on location. Each day was exhausting but I managed to get a lot of filming done.
Issues with filming:
1. I hired out equipment from University which was a complete disgrace. I was handed equipment that was years and years old that was incapable of being pieced together and made to work - even though I was told otherwise!
2. Half the equipment I was given was missing pieces and so i found out once i got up into Scotland that the equipment was unusable - all due to previous students not returning the equipment in the state they picked it up from!
3. I couldn't hire out the tripod I wanted to because a lecturer had taken it out that day without prebooking it and had just taken it for a lecture even though I had booked it 8 days prior to the day I picked it up with.
4. The black magic camera was difficult to attach to any other equipment they had given me because once again I was handed random pieces of equipment that should have been attached but weren't !
5. As a result, I had to swap from the Black Magic Camera to the Canon 6D - this made life a little easier! This meant I was filming in the right colour grade and didn't have to edit it all in post, it also meant that the battery life would last longer and that the Canon 6D could attach to the slider and fig rig, unlike the black magic.
I felt I couldn't have planned much more for the trip because I expected the equipment to be handed to me in a state where I could at least use it. As a result I feel the film quality wasn't as good as it could have been.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)