P1. Rule of thirds & Image Analysis

P1. Photo Animatic

This photo animatic was done to test what the finished VFX sequence will look like - despite the poor sound recordings used throughout, it gave us a good idea.  For the final film, we will consider making the following improvements: 

- When recording the sound of people in the canteen, don't stand too close to a talkative group (as the dialogue stands out louder then the rest) 

-When recording the sound of people in the canteen, make sure we get a long enough recording so we don't have to keep on placing it on loop (this also applies for all wild tracks). 

- When filming the actual opening sequence, add more students/extras standing in the locker corridor

- Hold some shots on for longer when editing (such as the close ups of Ben and Charlie making eye contact towards the end) 

P1. Screen Shot of Photos for Animatic

P1. Properties / Set Dressing

(Production design sheets here)

P1. Researching and understanding Matte Painting

Definition:

Matte Painting is where an image is produced either by painting or photo manipulating and can be done in a digital media or a traditional one. It is used to create an image, animation or set extension which is then used in film as a background. It is used if getting to the desired location is impractical, due to the cost or schedule and if the location doesn't exist (sci-fi movies). The purpose of a Matte painting is to trick the audience into thinking they are looking at a real location; if this works then it is a successful painting.
To produce a Matte Painting you firstly make a base plate, which can either be a photograph or moving footage. You then composite images or animation on top of it to create a moving and 3D effect.


History:
In 1905 a man named Norman Dawn invented Matte painting by taking photos and paintings and collaborating them by placing them on a large sheet of glass. He placed black tape over the parts of the camera where the painting would be. This then combined live action with painting and is now known as Matte Painting. 80 years later when computers where invented, Matte Paintings started to become digitally drawn, which is a lot more common nowadays.

Matte Painting used in Sound of Music:
Here is a Matte Painting which was used in Sound of Music. In my opinion this painting blends in, as the  blues and greens in the image match her outfit. The painting is also extremely detailed, and looks as if it is a still image, which is what they wanted. This was done traditionally, as at that time there were no computers, so digital wasn't an option. The bottom image is the painting with out the moving footage included. To combine them, they green screened the background of Julia Andrews and added in the Matte Painting. The lighting was also carefully matched to the painting, and they must have had light surrounding her in the studio to give the footage a day light effect (to remove any shadows).

P1. Green Screen

What a green screen does:
A film technique / special effect which involves actors or objects in front of a block green background. This then gets edited on a software such as Adobe After Effects, where computerized graphics can be added,  such as backgrounds which aren't actually there.  This is used to create artificial backgrounds so they can film in the studio, which is more efficient as they don't have to travel saving time and money. It can also be know as a way to combine different shots and elements into one image.

The History
The first film to ever use green screen/chroma key technology was 'Four Heads are better than one' in 1898, directed by Georges Méliès. The most common colour used in chroma key technology was previously blue, but as the years went on, they realized the colour green was a better. Some of the reasons for the colour change was because digital cameras came out and where more commonly used and the green channel is the cleanest in most digital cameras today and has the most luminance, resulting in the least noise. Another reason was because blue is more commonly worn as costume, and green screens permit much less light.. In 1970 they finally decided to change the screens from blue to green, which then became widely used and famous for video editing as well as photography. 

Green Screen used in Avengers

In this scene, they green screened the background in, which worked  well and is extremely convincing as the separate footage was carefully matched.
The reason they did it was because in the scene there had to be broken skyscrapers, cars, buildings, fire and smoke, which would have cost a lot of money to build on set and wouldn't of been practical.  Also, because it was located in a city, they couldn't film on location, therefore green screen was the only option.
They did this by using a green screen in the background and later on adding in an image/painting where the screen was. This also allowed them to add smoke and fire over the top.
The reason I find the green screening effective is because the character actually looks as if he's there, due to the lighting match, colour match and realism of the painting/photo.

P1. Jay's Character Background Sheet