So the other task we tackled was to create the Youtube account, allowing the final version of the series to be publicised to the world.
As the videos were being tweaked by Phil, Nick would upload them once exported, whilst I was personalising the account such as the wallpaper, thumbnail image etc.
Anyway after a long session of work and banter, Phil announced that the episodes were to be viewed constectutively for the class. This was really exciting as I haven’t had a chance to see the material due to being ill earlier this month. The only snippets I have seen are of the first episode due to Elliott and I being friends on Youtube. Therefore I get a notification every time he makes additions and what have ya. Yet as I was saying, we viewed all five videos on the whiteboard and after every episode gave our thoughts. This helped the post production team make any changes if needed to, which there clearly was. The sound was a big issue throughout post production according to most of the crew, and this was proven in the viewings with random audio fluctuation and distortion problems too.
Its been a long day, yet a very good one. Even though I’ll have to accept I haven’t achieved the required amount of hours for the Short Form passing grade, I do feel involved and welcomed. As today is the last working day for the unit, the hardest parts are coming to and end and everybody is relieved and for now at ease. That is until the After Effects project hits them in the face out of nowhere lol, as the crit for that is Thursday morning….eep.
Today I have been accompanying Nick and getting his opinion on various bits and bobs. Together we reworked the website passages. This is because apparently on Friday, Nick and Jon came up with the idea of basing the passages (hence the website) from Jennys perspective. This is all good and well, but could have been cool if I was informed about the change, but I’m not too fussed as it’s been resolved.
So the final week of hysteria starts now. Its 10am and the people who have come through the door so far seem keen to kick things off.
Me, Nick, the two Phils and Mike have just had a brief chin wiggle about the plans for today. Nick has reviewed my website passages and has given them the thumbs up, yet some retypes have been asked of which is fine.
I am also possibly going to be sorting the sound balance on a few of the pisodes, which is great news as this will hopefully realy help boost my contribution to the project overall. This seems to be the biggest issue so far with the episodes, so it would truly be an Rocky kind of scenario if i can fight back and help with the sound haha. I gets all there is left to say is lets rock n roll!
Today I have been thinking up text columns for each page of the official Reunion website, which you can access by clicking on the duck below!
[IMAGE TO BE PLACED HERE]
http://www.reuniontheseries.co.uk/
I will share with you what I have got so far for each page:
HOME
Theres a reunion going on, and you’re all invited!
You have stumbled upon the home of the student drama series ‘Reunion’, and we all welcome you! Here you will have access to all things ‘Reunion’, including news, photos, interviews, trailers and lots more, including the entire piece itself. All five unique episodes, one after the other in all their glory.
So all there’s left to say from the team is “explore the site, take in all you can, spread the word and most of all, enjoy!”
FACEBOOK
Glancing at the site right now, I’m not entirely sure if this will be a direct link to the Facebook group or whether a page does exist. I will have to chat to Nick on Monday about this.
GALLERY
Here you can find your way through a staggering amount of photos and stills, journeying with various members of the cast and crew, from planning to premiere!
ABOUT
Reunion focuses around four characters, two of which are dating long term named Claire Smart and Chris Bennett. They have a friend as well named Annabel Green who joins them through the events of the story. The three get invited to a Reunion party through social networking site Facebook, hosted by Jenny Rickets, a very familar face back from school. She was a troubled child and left their school in Year 8, and they haven’t seen or heard from her since, until now. They accept the invite with doubt, and head to the party. They arrive at the house and walk into the lounge to stumble upon a somewhat surreal and desolate atmosphere. The party is child themed with hats and balloons etc, and so the gang decide to exit before things get more bizarre, but they turn to find Jenny standing in the doorway. The story then breaks its linear structure by stepping forward a few hours, where we find the three facing two police inspectors. They explain what they witnessed, and once this scene concludes, we travel back to where we were before. The three are trying to take in whats going on, whilst Jenny pulls out a doll, a spooky prop of hers back from school. Annabel has enough and decides to leave, but Jenny grabs her arm. Knocking the doll to the floor from Jennsy grasp, Annabel breaks free and they all leave. With Claire slightly behind the other two, Jenny is left in the room alone and stares at a knife on the table.
So there we are, on Monday I will present these passages to Nick and get his approval. If I have to make modifications then I will post and let you all know!
With only a week remaining until the Easter break, everybody is in a mad race against the clock to get all projects into completion.
I am in a satisfactory position with the After Effects project as it is completed already and is on the post below this. On the other hand, I still have alot to make up for with the Short Form project ‘Reunion’ as earlier this month I was down for the count due to what I believe was food poisoning.
Therefore producer Nick has helped me out and set me some final jobs which may save my ass. One of which is some text information (synopsis and headers etc) for the currently inactive website to be published soon.
I also have some drafts, sketches and other pieces lying around my room which I can scan in and post up here for additional purposes.
Its gonna be a mad week, so we had all better fasten our seatbelts!
So this isn’t the first time this scenario has occurred, but I once again sat down for todays lesson, and once again I get called away by Phil to his office. I quickly took Holley through my idea but couldn’t present it to him as I had to dash off to see Phil.
It seems yet again that I may have to tackle a resubmission, which is truly gutting. Last time wasn’t so bad, but this time to fail due to my lack of knowledge with raw foods, I’m kicking myself as I type this! As I mentioned before I had been in staggering interior pains along with chronic vomiting due to a pack of overdue bacon. It seems that while I was down for the count, pretty much the entire pinnacle of the project went underway, with filming finished, capturing finished, editing finished, sound on its way there, and even my assigned role Digital Effects has been completed by fellow workmates Mike and Elliott. This puts me in a truly dier position with absolutely no major jobs (and hardly any minor jobs) left to tackle.
Phil and I agreed it would be best for me to confront Nick and see if there is absolutely any jobs left which I could scrape from the bottom of the barrel. If so then I may have a chance, a slim one but a chance at least. If I fail to meet the deadlines and marks, then an alternate project will be assigned to me, which I believe is the way this is all going to turn out. Still very gutting as this entire Reunion project really hasn’t gone well for me, and I was so looking forward to it too. I truly feel like I have nothing to show for any contribution to the project, so I wouldn’t be suprised if I’m not in the end credits.
Anyway I shall hunt Nick down and go from there, Wish me luck!
In todays lecture, I found myself not doing much and I felt like I wasn’t contributing enough. I decided to go to Nick to see if there was anything I could do, and so he told me to go off and create a poster for the project. This made a nice change from just researching like usual, as my other assigned role Digital Effects hasn’t kicked off yet.
Unfortunately, Nick refused the poster by a decision he made later in the day between a few other choices. Here is my poster anyways for you to feast your peepers on.
To use color correction, we have to understand what we are actually doing with it. When I first used color correction back in college last year for my final major project, we had to know why we were using colors before we could go ahead and do so. Theres the visual purpose of the tool (which isnt exactly a kick in the nuts suprise), but then there is digging deeper than what our eyes read. Research shows that we could possibly dig as deep as our mind and hearts, where colors can really have an emotional/mental connection towards people. What I learnt last year was human beings can subconsciously relate certain emotions towards specific colors. I have found a list of key colors which display some of these feelings. Maybe this source (or something similar) could be a great help for Mike, Elliott and myself towards tackling this task.
RedRed is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.
Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Click Here’ buttons on Internet banners and websites. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings (red lips, red nails, red-light districts, ‘Lady in Red’, etc). Red is widely used to indicate danger (high voltage signs, traffic lights). This color is also commonly associated with energy, so you can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, items related to sports and high physical activity.
Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
OrangeOrange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.
Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.
YellowYellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children’s products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, ‘childish’ color, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men – nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark color to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
GreenGreen is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.
Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a ‘greenhorn’ is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the color of free passage in road traffic.
Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. Green is directly related to nature, so you can use it to promote ‘green’ products. Dull, darker green is commonly associated with money, the financial world, banking, and Wall Street.
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.
BlueBlue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.
You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products.
Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.
Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.
Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
PurplePurple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. Purple is a very rare color in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple is a good choice for a feminine design. You can use bright purple when promoting children’s products.
Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
WhiteWhite is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.
In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it’s the color of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.
BlackBlack is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.
Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, ‘black death’). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme.
I have been meaning to gather Mike and Elliott together to have a discussion about the Digital Effects and what we are going to do about them. After studying their lastest blog entires, I see they have been looking into the ol’ color correction tool.
A very popular and clever use of color correction are the Wachowskis classic ‘Matrix Trilogy’. The films consist of a blue tint on all footage based in the real world, whilst they imply a green tint on all footage based in the Matrix. The blue tint conveys the cold dystopian ways of the real world, whereas the green tint conveys the artificial nature and false reality of life in the Matrix.
Color correction really is indeed a powerful tool, and can make pieces of film look somewhat professional with considerable ease. To really appraciate and see the difference it makes to video is to have seen a transition of some sort from an original piece of video to the final cut. I found this video below which gives you an idea of the tools convienience.
