Twin Screen Final

Twin Screen Final Edit

After the previous edits of my two screens individually I was really pleased with the outcome of both and was ready to edit them together. I transferred each edited side into Adobe Premiere Pro so I could edit the length of each clip as it was easier to do in that software.

I then downloaded the twin screen template from myUCA so I was able to put my footage into it and watch it side by side.

I had already made sure the backgrounds matched so when I put the two clips side by side they would blend well together and show a good relationship. 

I decided I was happy with the footage and rendered it all together as a twin screen. 

I am really pleased with the outcome of my twin screen. My concept was to show the way we are obsessed with digital technology, and how the use of phones specifically is taking over our lives. The left side is to show how we live through our phones, and how it can be messing with us as humans. The right side is to show pure memories but how we are now distorting future memories as we live behind technology rather than in the moment. 

Final Edit of Left Screen

Final Edit of Right Screen

Final Edit of Twin Screen

Twin Screen - Right Screen Development

For the right side of my twin screen I want to have an iPhone to follow with the theme of the left side. I want to play footage of my younger memories on the iPhone screen to suggest how we now live our lives through out phones, and even all our memories are trapped inside the digital world.

I used the draw tool again to mask out the screen of the iPhone so that I could make the clips play within the screen. I chose four clips and cropped them down so I could feature them all and they wouldn't go on for too long. The screenshot shows how I intended the screen to look.

When I looked back over this edit I decided that maybe I should glitch the clips so it has a relation to the left side. This would really bring the twin screen together and show a relationship between the two sides. 

Edit 2

The clip above shows the second edit I created for the right side of the twin screen. I added the same stock footage glitch and followed the same steps to create this glitch look that matches the left side. However, there were a few problems with this edit. Firstly I didn't line up all the clips correctly, so sometimes there are edges that don't align with one another, which makes it look really unfinished. I also didn't think the colours were dark enough.

I also realised that the glitch was only working right in the centre of the video, which meant not all of the footage was being affected. This was something I really needed to go back and change.

Edit 3

This edit seemed to be pretty close to a final cut. The colours were better throughout the footage and I managed to change the glitch to get it to affect the entire footage. However, on the last clip for some reason the footage didn't align properly, meaning some of the glitch appeared over the iPhone, which was irritating. 

Final Edit

In my final edit I decided to remove the moving glitch as I thought it distracted from the footage too much, and the colour glitch was enough to show the relationship. My thought process behind this was that on the left screen the idea is to demonstrate how technology is messing with us as humans, whereas the memories shown on the phone on the right screen are pure, of a time when we weren't so obsessed with the digital world.

Twin Screen - Left Screen Development

After looking over my first attempt at creating my left screen I reconsidered how I wanted to make it, thinking about what else I could put inside the iPhone screen.

I came up with the idea of putting my face inside the screen also, to match up with the background footage, but glitching it so it played differently.

The screenshot above shows the pre-composition I made after I was happy with the edit I had created. I placed the iPhone on top of the footage and use the draw tool to cut out the screen in order to be able to place footage 'inside' it. I then added the same footage, but zoomed it in to fit the screen and match up with the background, just showing my face inside  the phone. 

This screenshot shows how I created the glitch. I downloaded some copyright free footage of a glitching screen to use for the moving glitch. With the footage I created an adjustment layer and added the preset effect displacement map onto it, this then made the glitch appear through my footage. 

I then added the 'set channels' so I could play around with the colours emitted through each channel of the footage. This is how I created the coloured footage. I then just moved them around so they weren't displayed perfectly on top of each other which allowed each individual colour to be seen. This also worked well with the glitch. 

This is the free stock footage I used:

Here is what I created:

The idea behind it is that we live through our mobile phones, which is why I wanted to have my face seen on the phone screen, glitching as if it is being affected.

I am really pleased with how this screen edit came out and I want to use it in my final twin screen. I will need to edit it further for the final twin screen as I need to make it loop for the duration of my final piece and cut off the ending slightly.

Twin Screen - Left Screen Idea

For the left side of my twin screen, my idea is to have footage of my face, not moving just blinking and still, then I want to put an iPhone over my face to symbolise how we live through our phones, and that we are becoming obsessed with technology. 
On the iPhone I will have a slide to unlock background, as if you would be unlocking me and gaining access to my life.

I decided to try out this idea by filming myself, and the screen of my iPhone and then going onto Adobe After Effects to put the footage together. 

This was my first attempt at creating footage for the left side of the twin screen. Although it's not perfect I was pretty pleased with myself as I remembered the effects we had learnt in one of our workshops to create an alpha matte, which allowed me to cut out the section that I wanted and put the iPhone screen on my face. 

The clip is only 10 seconds long but I would have it looping on the left side for the duration, as it would be the simplistic link to what would be going on on the other side.

For the right side I want to just have an iPhone, and create moving footage on the screen, another thing I will have to do using an alpha matte so I can cut out the section I want and just place the moving footage inside that area. 

Multi Screen Idea Development

After creating my experimental film, I began to think about what route I want to take with my twin screen, incorporating this idea of glitching footage. 

Thinking about the relationship between humans and the digital world, I want to try and visually express this idea that we live through our phones, not really living in the moment anymore. We are constantly updating our status with elements of our daily lives, rather than calling someone on the phone to tell them about what we've been doing. It is much easier to text your friend than arrange to see them for an actual conversation, which is worrying to me.

I also wanted to think about technology can be seen as something evil, something that can mess with us and potentially ruin our lives. This lead me to think about an increase in horror films using technology to develop their storylines, showing it as something dangerous that can bring threats to humans. 

Unfriended (2015)

Six high school friends with a dark secret receive a Skype message from a classmate who committed suicide a year ago after someone uploaded a video of her online.

The footage of this film is mostly seen through what is a laptop screen, featuring Skype calls and showing other elements of social media, with an anonymous profile terrorising the friends. This demonstrates the dangers of social media and not knowing who you might be talking to, or who can get hold of your information and data online. This was interesting to me as it shows technology as a threat to people, rather than something positive.

Hacked (2016)

Creepy found- footage horror about a grad student whose research into video chat culture quickly takes a dark and unsettling turn.

This film is another film that uses the features of technology to portray the storyline. With most of the film being shown as if on a chat room, it shows how people might be hacking into our webcams and watching everything we do, recording footage of ourselves to use against us. Once again it portrays a negative relationship between the digital world and humans, something I want to explore further.

Multi Screen Initial Ideas

For the final project within the Portraits module, we have to create a multi screen film showing how well we can use Adobe After Effects, as we have been having weekly workshops with Phil to learn some skills.

The theme of the project is to explore the relationship between the human body and the digital world. This can be interpreted however we like.

Initially I started by thinking about the hold the digital world has on us, and how the younger generations today are becoming totally reliant on the use of technology, as they haven't grown up without the most advanced versions of the internet, phones etc. 
I looked at some recent news articles discussing this idea and similar ideas, proving that it seems to be a very relevant and recent concern in the media.

Are Young People Addicted To Digital Technology? (2017)
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/young-people-addicted-digital-technology-12961456

This article discusses the increasing concern for the young people of today who are obsessed with the use of digital devices. The concern of the development of social skills because of children constantly being online. Another concern being that excessive use of digital technology can disturb sleep, affect concentration and disrupt school work.

This article was particularly interesting to be me because it was discussing a lot of the things I was thinking about already, how people are becoming addicted to technology and not living in the real world, interacting with people in social situations or having actual conversations. This is something I could develop into an idea visually, thinking about the control of the digital world on humans. 

Social Media Safety: Protecting Yourself And Others From Online Predators (2017)
http://www.upmatters.com/news/local-news/social-media-safety-protecting-yourself-and-others-from-online-predators/704067766

Discussing how modern technology and social media apps have become a regular part of everyday life. The importance of keeping yourself safe online if you are a regular user. Encouraging parents to teach young people about being safe online.

From this article I began to think about the need for safety talks and measures regarding the online community, thinking about how young people don't necessarily worry about who they might be talking to or who they are sharing things with.

Generally I want to explore ideas of humans being totally obsessed with technology, making it a regular part of everyday life to be checking your phone or updating your status. I think I could make an interesting twin screen exploring these ideas as it would demonstrate a clear interpretation of the relationship between humans and the digital world.