Skill Development (Adobe After Effects)

Currently I am focusing upon the basics of Adobe After Effects. I have used VideoCoPilot Tutorials to help me learn about creating new compositions.

These are the tutorals I have watched so far

• Basics
• Chroma Key
• Using the Keying tool to create a mask around subject that is not green from the footage and setting the green colour as a transparent area to layer onto another image or piece of footage
• I have used Chroma Key before on Corel VideoStudio but the After Effects version of the tool looks far more advanced in how it can be controlled as you can alter the softness of the edges and the blur so it looks more realistic to the background it's layered on.
• Also in the Chroma Key tutorial it showed how to alter the colouring of the footage to match the background.
• Motion Tracking
• Looking at matching the movement of a null/text object with the movement of a separate piece of footage so it looks like the object follows the footage

I have attempted two compositions recently

In one I used footage of a satellite and I attempted to add a beam effect to the satellite wit added glows

In the second I experimented with stock footage and used motion tracking to show the title of "Global Warming" to follow the camera pan of the footage. This worked successfully. I then moved on to add a lens flare to follow a separate object in the footage. I made a lens flare follow a person in the background as if the light was coming from above their head. This could be a good effect if I wanted to do a light bulb effect following people who use too much energy.

 

Skill Development (5th November)

During our skills development on the 5th of November I learnt:

• The basic workings of the XN2 Canon Camera - We learnt the basics of recording and playback controls. We also learnt about the tapes and memory cards it requires
• I have learnt that white balance is very important to a shot as it makes sure the conditions of the environment are balanced. I now know it is very important for the white balance is checked every time we move into another filming area with different light conditions
• I learnt about colour bars in this lesson and how much it is important to show these during filming sessions
  
• During this session I filmed 10 seconds of colour bars, I set the white balance and used two different built in effects on the camera for a duration of 10 seconds each

Introduction Project

AS Media Production: Induction

Personal Evaluation Write Up

During this part of the Induction I would say I have improved on my Photoshop abilities quite a lot as I had not used Photoshop before this point. I have now learnt about different layers and the basics of adding and scaling images using this programme. I have also looked at different filters to give different moods. For example I used a de-saturated filter to give a dark and sad mood.

I still find problems in Photoshop as I am still unfamiliar with it. As still being a first time user I still do not know the full range of tools there is to use and how to use them. I also still have a weak skill when it comes to using a professional camera as I do not know how to use different lenses and using the focus to set a depth of field.

When taking the cameras out to take pictures for our storyboard I felt we were good when it came to directing where we wanted our protagonists to be although I still believe we could have chosen more varied shots to experiment with the characters mood and overall feeling.

In my storyboard we used photographs taken from both outside and inside to show the audience a progress in time. When we took photos for the poster advertisement we used editing to show a Before and After scenario which I found worked very well as it would not make sense if editing wasn’t performed to show these side by side. To emphasise the mood in the picture for the after picture I used high saturated colours whereas in the before picture I used de-saturated colours to make it seem more moody.

I think the blogging will demonstrate my progression as we will be able to look back on past projects and see how much I have improved over time therefore having something to compare my future work to.

In this project I think there is a definite weakness in the angles and shots used. As some don’t capture the situation as much as I think I would have liked them to. So I think if we had another chance to I would concentrate on angles and shots a lot more. To become more professional I think we would have to compare and analyse previous advertisements to find appropriate shots to link to the advert.

Our product for re-branding was a packet of Horlics. The original target audience for our product was adults. When we re-branded it we set our target audience as teenagers. To change this we used teenage protagonists and used situations that relate more to teenagers. For example we used teenage fashion and the average teenager’s daily routine. These examples do attract the teenager’s eye as it is something they can relate to. I don’t think our advertisements used enough teenage items though so I think it could do with a lot more. Examples could include locations in which teenagers often go or activities they normally do rather than things every audience normally does.

I think this project has helped me to understand different target audiences in different wealth and lifestyles.

Initial Skills Assessment