We are all really pleased with the outcome of this film, and are really happy with how it came together in the edit. Our communication skills and organization as a group means we would definitely work together in the future. Good time management allowed us to complete our work for the deadline, even with the push backs we had on shooting due to the weather.
Working with a dancer was a new experience but due to the workshops we attended we were able to structure the shoot really well. It was really refreshing to work with Paige's sister, Demi, as she was so familiar with twirling since she's competed internationally. This meant that we didn't have to worry about choreography as she came with routines she was already confident doing.
With Demi being so disciplined and confident with her routines, our shoot went really smoothly as I outlined in a previous blog post about the shoot day.
I was camera operator on the day of the shoot, which was really fun for me as it's one of my favourite roles. I was confident as I was using my own camera, and working closely with Paige as the director was refreshing as she gave me an indication of what shots and framing she wanted.
When it came to the edit, Paige had already suggested that we slow a lot of the footage down so that you can see the complexity of the routine itself. There is also a lot of repetition in the clips because within the routine a lot of the skills are repeated as when the assessors are writing they might miss some of the skills. This therefore made the editing slightly harder for Alice, as we wanted to try and have a variety of the skills shown within the film.
Alice was in charge of the edit and she did a really amazing job, she also found some royalty free music which fitted the edit well, and cut to the music which makes the film flow really nicely.
We feel like we have really achieved our aims with the film, showing the intricacy and real art of twirling. Obviously we came together as a group quite late, due to a lot of personal issues going on in mine and Alice's lives. Therefore if I could do it all again I would have liked to be on board much sooner so we would have had more time to shoot more and plan better so we could make an even more impressive film. However, giving the time we had I am really pleased with what we created.
The final edit: BOBBY DAZZLER - A Twirling Dance Film
FINAL FILM (loops for 11 minutes in preparation for display)
Shooting Our shoot day went surprisingly smoothly. We were really organized and made sure to keep to a realistic schedule throughout so we could obtain all the shots we wanted, whilst giving our actress regular breaks. Using equipment we were familiar with really helped to speed up the process as we knew how to use the camera to achieve the look we wanted, also Alice and I work well together anyway so we knew we would be able to manage the whole shoot. Shooting the bath scene was the most difficult, as Alice had to get in the bath with the actress in order to get the angles we wanted. Not only was this a risk with the equipment and safety of both our actress and Alice, we also had to deal with the reflections of the camera in the water. To overcome all of this we made sure the camera was covered with the waterproof case and was strapped to Alice, so if she dropped it it wouldn't fall into the water. We also made sure before we began shooting in the bathroom that we had a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve so we could do it as quickly and as organized as possible. Surprisingly we managed to get everything shot in one day, and we were happy with all the footage and the quality. This meant we could look at editing a lot sooner and also allowing us lots of extra time to reshoot if we needed to. It also meant we didn't have to worry about this project so much whilst dealing with the Studio Shoot. Editing We edited our film using Adobe Premiere Pro. As our film is a twin screen we decided to edit the two screens separately with audio and export them before putting both finalized screens into Adobe After Effects to compose the actual twin screen. Whilst editing we faced a few issues. At first the audio wasn't loud enough, so we had to go into the settings and change that before exporting again. Then we realized that we hadn't adjusted the timeline in After Effects, so only half of our film had rendered and exported. We had to remember to duplicate the footage on the timelines so that our film would loop when being presented. Presentation of Final Piece With regards to the presentation of this final piece, Alice and I have requested to use the storage container box in the middle of the Quad at University. This is because it is an enclosed space which we could design to fit the theme of our film. We would like to paint the walls red and have some red carpet / rug, with the twin screens playing on two individual screens as you walk in, looping over and over. This is because we think it will add a lot of dramatic effect to the piece and really make people take the time to go and interact with our work. Also, as our piece features moderate nudity it allows us to avoid having to put a curtain or something over our work, which we would probably have to do if it was in a corridor.
When we began thinking about how we wanted to make our film, we took a lot of inspiration from the research we had done and the films we had looked at in class. Our concept for this film came from our short film we made on Digital Materialisation. We thought a lot about how the digital world has an overbear on our lives nowadays and how we could visualise this concept in a film.
Looking at films such as Piplotti Rist, Black Ice and Berlin Horse we gained an understanding of what experimental films are presented like and how we could go about beginning our film.
We also did a lot of research into articles surrounding the overtake of digital technology in the 21st Century and how the younger generation is now heavily influenced by things such as iPhones and social media.
We used some archive footage in our film as well, meaning we researched into old television adverts and the way technology was presented as a new life-changing thing.
Planning
As we had clear ideas to what we wanted to produce, I'd say our planning was really effective and made our whole filming and editing process run a lot smoother. We planned out everything we wanted to film so we had a clear check list, meaning we didn't miss anything out or have a lack of footage.
For our voice over we wrote a script of what we wanted to be said, over compensating so that we would have more footage to play around with and decide between. This meant that we wouldn't have to shoot more things in the editing weeks as we had more than enough to use.
Development
From the beginning we had a clear outlook on what we wanted to achieve, however this didn't stop our idea from developing throughout the filming weeks. We started off thinking a lot about archive footage and how we could achieve the concept of a digital overload. This led us to think about using a projector to project glitches and footage onto our own faces and bodies to achieve the idea that the glitches were taking over our minds.
Although we knew what we wanted to achieve and how we wanted our ideas to come across, the constant development of our ideas throughout meant that our ideas were stronger and the making of our film went smoother and we managed to try out a lot of different ideas before establishing what we really liked.
We also knew that we wanted a robotic voice to almost narrate throughout our film, so we did a lot of research and development into websites that would allow us to create a speaking robot with a voice that we chose and decided upon.
Edit
The editing process went pretty smoothly for us. As we had planned out what order we wanted the clips to appear in, it was mainly a matter of putting them altogether on the timeline and cropping them to how we wanted them, so the film wasn't too long and each clip got a fair showing.
We also watched a lot of tutorials to gain experience of how to use Adobe After Effects efficiently so we wouldn't waste time messing around and risk tampering with our footage and not being able to take back the mistake we would make. This sped up the entire editing process as we were able to just get on with creating the glitch effects and not having to mess around trying to figure out how to make them work.
Communication
Alice and I had really good communication throughout the entire filming and editing process. We were constantly discussing ideas and planning things together, so we were both up to date with how the film was progressing. It helped that we both had similar ideas to begin with, so by combining these ideas we were able to create something that we possibly wouldn't have been able to do alone.
We also improved each others weaknesses, as something things Alice was better at and could help me with, and some things I was better at. This meant that everything was flowing smoothly and we didn't really encounter many problems.
Time Management
I think because we had planned everything so well, this really improved our time management as we were really focused on what we needed to get done. We had clearly established our ideas and what we wanted to shoot, meaning we were very focused and able to complete our filming over two days. We also managed to shoot a lot of extra footage in case we needed it in the edit.
The same thing applied in the editing process, we had planned out what we wanted to achieve well enough that we had a clear schedule to stick to, meaning our time management was one again very good.
I have finalised my experimental sound to represent 'Obnoxious Liberals' by Jean-Michel Basquait. I am really pleased with how it turned out in the end, even thought I had to restart several times in the edit as I was unhappy multiple times throughout the process.
use of adobe audition to edit
I used Adobe Audition to construct and finalise my experimental sound. From the screenshot above you can see that I layered some of my sounds on top of each other, to create a continuous sound. I also faded some of them in and out to gain my desired effect.
Using effects such as reverbs and pitch shifting was really fun, as I could create a whole new sound just from a recording of an everyday sound. I really enjoyed trying out all the different effects.
I had a bit of a struggle when I realised I needed to lower the overall volume of the master track, but quickly overcame this by watching a tutorial on youtube.
Finalised Experimental Sound
When looking at Basquait's 'Obnoxious Liberals' I wanted to experiment with fluctuating pitches and effects, which I think I have achieved. The image made me feel somewhat uncomfortable as it's very rough and almost scratchy and when I look at it I get some sort of eerie vibe but I still really love the way it looks and that it makes me feel these things. I think my sound really does suit the image and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
It was difficult for me to choose a final image, as I was stuck between two options, which I've displayed below. I think both of them are really strong images, and they stood out to me amongst all the photographs I took for this project. I also think they really show development from where I was at the beginning, not really knowing how I wanted to compose the image, or what colour filters I really wanted to use.
I liked both of these photographs in different ways. I used a different colour filter for each, so I couldn't really compare the colours, however I did prefer the brightness of the pink. I loved how close up the second image was, I think it made it feel really personal and somewhat intimate, having the focus just on my eyes. The only thing I would change about the second image is the placement of my head, as I'm not sure that I like how its off to one side, with only negative space on one side of my face.
However, I eventually made the decision to go with the top image, as I feel it shows more emotion through the smile and the slight covering of the face. I also like the central placement of my face, with the space around it not drawing any attention away from the main focus. I also think that the pink filter really compliments the image, and its also really bright which makes my photograph different. It was really fun to be able to use the colour filters and the multi image lens to manipulate my photograph, as we weren't allowed to edit them at all.
Final Portrait Image
1/160
F 3.5
ISO 1600
I am really pleased with my final image. I've managed to create something original with the multi image lens and the colour filters on the flash. I'm also really pleased with the composition of this image and how it has turned out overall.
My main inspiration was Emily Knecht in the end, as I loved her self portraits and wanted to do something similar with my own spin on it, hence why I am smiling / laughing in my portrait, as I wanted it to be something positive.
I'm pleased that I went with the idea of self portraiture, thinking about intimacy and displaying personality and identity. This image is really expressive, although if I could change one thing I think I'd rethink the idea of intimacy within expression, and work on really capturing that in a self portrait.
Overall, I am really pleased with the research and work I have done for this project, and I'm satisfied with my final image too.
