How Random! The Final Cut

Whilst here in Eastbourne, I got bored earlier as all my friends have full time jobs and I was home alone. Therefore I decided to tweak up the video and get it up on the internet. I didn’t want to make it public until I was completely satisified with it. Therefore I ventured back into the realms of Premiere, included a soundtrack and tweaked the audio in places due to the video seeming unfinished.

Yet here we are then! Presenting to you all the final version of my viral video titled ‘How Random’. Lets this beauty up to 1,000 views if we can!

Viral Video Stage Three

Viral Video Stage Two

Practice Makes Perfect!

Ok so first shot is set up already! Yet after a few takes, I had decided to wait till it got a little darker outside for better lighting. So I occupied myself with another small task.

Before I start filming, I decided to just have a quick snap at some of the places I intend on capturing my piece. I will use these as practice footage for making my stick figure run up against the walls before I try it out of live footage. Below are a few of the places throughout the house.

There we have it then. I am almost ready to go into production which is exciting, yet quite daunting still as I am operating the entire project alone. This will give me complete and utter control over everything, so I am hoping what I produce will be exactly what I imagine down to the smallest frame!

Viral Video Stage One

Viral Updates!

I have now added a set of arms and a head to my body from earlier, and it’s looking pretty good. I will finish off the animations once I have some footage to play about with. I have decided to schedule the filming for over the weekend, starting tonight. There isn’t actually too much to film, but I have to take into account the little things such as composition. Also since I am working on this completely by myself (filming, acting and editing), this will make things alot more difficult. I would preferrably like to get this finished over the weekend, or at least hit a first draft. I could then take this to uni and work on it there, with the guidance and help of the teachers.

I have also decided on a title for the video, which is going to be ‘How Random!’. This is plainly because the film is more just a visual treat, and doesn’t have any purpose to it. The story of the video is also very random, I mean it isn’t everyday a 2D figure who has appeared out of nowhere starts pesturing you. Another addition to the title will be the fact the person mutters to himself ‘How Random’ as he takes in whats going on.

The final thing I wanted to share was some of my storyboards. I didn’t want to flood the screen in storyboards so I decided for now to just upload the first two pages. This will give you an idea of what is visually going on in the video.

So then once it gets dark enough, it will be time to close the curtains and start rolling the camera! I will update later on when I have imported the footage and had a play around, see ya!

Bits ‘n’ Bobs for Viral Idea

So as promised, I have some materials for the viral video which I can afford to post for your viewing pleasure. The storyboards are still in development, but I have a done mini recce to give you a taste of where the video will take place.

Here is a photo of my bed in my student room. As you can see I have shone the bed light towards the wall and placed an energy drinks bottle as a light obstruction. Because my walls are light and bare, the casted shadow projects rather well. Of course the further away the object is from the light, the shaper the shadow becomes, which is the case when I am laid out across my bed.

So yeah, this is the wall where I want my main figure to make his debut and start annoying the character. They will be laid out across my bed, perhaps reading a book or listening to music or what have you.

So the setting is sorted, but what about the intolerant shadow figure?

Well seeing as its appearance is the impersonation of a casted shadow, its going to look like nothing more than a shadow. This can easily be created in Adobe Photoshop as you can see on the left. This little conveinience will also make it easier to animate, considering I only have a week to produce the entire project.

All I can hope for now is a good word from the tutor, otherwise it is pretty much the end of the road for me.

Viral Video News

Well the latest update for my viral video project isn’t exactly great.

My housemate who plays guitar has gone home for the week, therefore making him completely unavailable. This is devestating news as my one man band idea is now going to have to be shelved yet again. Although my situation right now is extremely dier, I do have another idea. At the moment it doesnt really have a purpose or a meaning, but I think it would just look good and may get some fans.

After laying on my bed reading a book last night, I had my table lamp on. The light from the lamp projected my shadow very clearly onto my white wall. I then got distracted by this and started making silly hand gestures using the cast of my shadow. It was at that point that the idea suddenly hit me, why not make my viral video something creative like using shadows?

The idea I have is kind of influenced by the Peter Pan story, where he chases his shadow? I wanted to create a shadow figure which perhaps while I’m doing something productive starts distracting me. I then get frustrated and start chasing it down. I wouldn’t do my own shadow but just a random figure that appears on the wall. I could create the figure using various Adobe software and then motion track it along the wall using After Effects. I will storyboard an idea which I can present to one of the tutors tommorow and see if they approve of it.

Uh Oh!

Well I’ve walked in to class today and sat down, when hardly anytime passes by and I get a tap on the shoulder from Phil, who wanted to have a word with me in his office.

It turns out due to the incompletion of the unit Principles of Sound and Video Production (that cursed viral video stuff), I have been put forward for a resubmission of the project. This decision is great news, but at the same time rather daunting. I accept that the viral video last Christmas completely fell apart for me, as my group did not keep me up to track with anything going on. They eventually changed the entire idea and even gained two new members and cast me aside.

This gives me the chance to come up with a brand new idea for a viral video without anyone changing the bloody idea every week! Funnily enough this situation ties in with something I attempted over the Christmas break, which I will share with you all once I have got some breakfast.

Viral Video Round Two

Ok I’m officially full of bacon and bread now! Anyway this news, so before we broke up for Christmas, I posted an idea for a film which I really wanted to go ahead with and make great. When I returned home for the Christmas break, I looked into the accessibility of the desired location for this project.

Bearing in mind the building is actually my old college, which has a main hall that is used frequently by the Performing Arts students. There is always something going on, and at moments the hall is completely free. I have gone back time again to make use of this room, including two live performances for charity. I even had a close friend of mine who is my “project partner in crime”, who was more than keen to help me out with this idea when he wasn’t working.

Unfortunately the building was completely closed for the entire duration of my stay. One of my friends mums works at the college and said she would inform me if the college opened for any reason, giving me a chance to get in there and use the hall. This of course never happened, and has now left me no choice but to rethink my location.

Taking into account I only have a couple of weeks to put this together, I may have to rethink the the entire approach of the idea, due to lack of props. I don’t have my drum kit with me as I am in a box room which i can just about fit my bed in, plus the neighbors would complain as they’re old. I have two uni flatmates who actually play guitar, so I could always ask one of them to be the star of the video. The idea of course is to have the same person multiple times composing the piece, and the guitar would be the main melodic piece. As long as they don’t mind a bit of singing and tapping away on perhaps a table or a bin as a metronome.

I will ask them both later on if they can spare their study time to help me out. If this doesn’t work out then I will have to shelf this idea and go for something more operative. I only have a fortnight to produce something so I cannot afford to dordle.