Thursday, June 4, 2009
Friday, October 31, 2008
ASSESSMENT 3 - HILLTOP HOODS + creative commons
Creative Commons
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S002 – 002 bridge main. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S003 – back of sticker sign Cityscapes: Valley.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S003 – board walk 2. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S003 – Sticker Back Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S004 – traffic lights boka. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S005 – walk arrow buttonCityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S006 – light ally.Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – Chinatown light bulbs. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – Coloured light room. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – Lines Walking. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – Random Grate Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – Reserved. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. S008 – TV pt 2. Cityscapes: Valley. Digital-Video Footage.
• Sanshwe, S. 2008. JR part 1. Justice Rebellion Promo. Digital-Video Footage.
ASSIGNMENT 3 - REFLECTION
Why did you choose this particular music track?
For assessment 3 I decided on using Common Streets by the Hilltop Hoods. Originally I was inclined to use a the Kraftwerk track as I was inspired by the Tour de France music video by the same group, but after a thorough listen of the track I felt that the song appeared to be visually uninspiring and the ideas I was generating at the time were simplistic and was something that I did not feel like exploring. I also attempted to deconstruct the two Beastie Boys tracks, but felt that the two songs had a great level of musical complexity which would be needed to be translated visually, and I felt that I did not have ample time to commit to such a project. I also listened to the other two tracks available and felt indifferent about the music.
However with the Hilltop Hoods track I was instantly drawn to its Rhodes instrumental track, and the song’s obvious cityscape/ urban lifestyle influence. Although I’m not a fan of rap/hip-hip, I felt I could draw concepts and ideas from the lyrics and theme of the music which appears to be a more insightful piece compared to previous releases from the same artists.
What is the identity you chose for this piece and how did you decide on it?
For the identity of the piece I chose to keep it obvious and inline with the lyrical content of the music. I used cityscapes to foreground the identity of ‘common streets’ which is also the title of the track.
I decided to use cityscapes as I felt it suited the style of music (Rhodes driven instrumental, urban sound etc). There are also obvious cues within the lyrics that suggest the song relates to an urban lifestyle. When choosing the identity of the piece I also factored in what ideas I could employ and successfully achieve in the limited time frame I had available, to achieve the most successful result. As I had recently worked on an additional video piece which had a cityscape theme, I felt it would be beneficial to translate some of my experience towards this assignment.
I also researched past videos and the music style of the Hilltop Hoods and found that their previous releases such as The Clown Prince were superficial and light hearted in comparison to Common Streets. The Clown Prince is a party-orientated song, which is accompanied by a light-hearted animated music video. For this piece I decided a more reflective and mature theme would highlight the direction and content of the song and differentiate the piece from the group’s past releases.
What is the style you decided to go with and why?
When I was working on the concept for this assignment I decided I wanted to use stylized live footage of urban areas in Brisbane. As I researched images for the storyboards I was instantly drawn to cityscape photos taken in the lomography style. Lomography is a type of photography which utilises Lomo and Holga branded cameras prized for their consistent inconsistencies and production defects which produce vivid and interesting photos. These cameras are manual film cameras which can also create a variety of effects such as multiple exposures on the same frame of film (overlaying two ore more pictures), taking multiple photos in the same frame of film (eg 4 separate photos on one piece of film), and having the ability to use coloured filters and flashes resulting in colourised photos. The cameras themselves are entirely plastic and produce photos with an artistic vintage look and often vignetted edges.
The music video uses live footage that I have shot on an old DV camera and have made available as creative commons material through torrents (due to large file sizes). The footage was degraded and colourised to reflect the lomo style, which I also believe, captures the essence of cityscapes and urban imagery.
What symbols have you used in the composition and what is their meaning?
I used two symbols within the piece that are drawn from the lyrics. The first is the graphic equaliser, which reflects the ‘vibe’ as described in the lyrics. The equaliser acts as a mask for a drive through shot of the city. It’s meaning reflects the song’s relationship between the music (‘vibe’) and cityscape theme (‘common streets’).
The second symbol is the use of TVs which reflects the second verse in the lyrics. The use of television sets is to reflect the turning of music to commercialism and becoming a prison for the artist. For this effect I superimposed the free flowing ‘vibe’ equaliser graphic into a broken television set which was duplicated.
How does the motion contribute to the chosen identity?
The motion and scene transition reflects the themes expressed in each verse/ section of lyrics as well as the instrumentals used in the background. For instance the beginning of the music video features a colourful and sound reactive equaliser which transitions to television sets as per the lyrics; as the instrumental section builds the scene transitions using a soft fade to cityscape footage until the scratch/remix section which features a variety of motion and past footage remixed.
How does the composition contribute to the identity?
The composition of the scenes all reflect a cityscape/ common streets identity as a whole through the use of street footage which reflect on the content of the lyrics as explained in the various other sections of this written piece.
What would you do differently and why?
Given better time management and preparation I would have liked to firstly added more complexity in the scenes especially within the last 10-20 seconds of the clip which was done rather haphazardly due to time restraints. I feel that the footage I used doesn’t do the instrumental section justice and breaks the flow of the graphics used in the first half of the clip.
Secondly, to have included transitions that are better synced to the music therefore giving the music video better pace and visual diversity.
For assessment 3 I decided on using Common Streets by the Hilltop Hoods. Originally I was inclined to use a the Kraftwerk track as I was inspired by the Tour de France music video by the same group, but after a thorough listen of the track I felt that the song appeared to be visually uninspiring and the ideas I was generating at the time were simplistic and was something that I did not feel like exploring. I also attempted to deconstruct the two Beastie Boys tracks, but felt that the two songs had a great level of musical complexity which would be needed to be translated visually, and I felt that I did not have ample time to commit to such a project. I also listened to the other two tracks available and felt indifferent about the music.
However with the Hilltop Hoods track I was instantly drawn to its Rhodes instrumental track, and the song’s obvious cityscape/ urban lifestyle influence. Although I’m not a fan of rap/hip-hip, I felt I could draw concepts and ideas from the lyrics and theme of the music which appears to be a more insightful piece compared to previous releases from the same artists.
What is the identity you chose for this piece and how did you decide on it?
For the identity of the piece I chose to keep it obvious and inline with the lyrical content of the music. I used cityscapes to foreground the identity of ‘common streets’ which is also the title of the track.
I decided to use cityscapes as I felt it suited the style of music (Rhodes driven instrumental, urban sound etc). There are also obvious cues within the lyrics that suggest the song relates to an urban lifestyle. When choosing the identity of the piece I also factored in what ideas I could employ and successfully achieve in the limited time frame I had available, to achieve the most successful result. As I had recently worked on an additional video piece which had a cityscape theme, I felt it would be beneficial to translate some of my experience towards this assignment.
I also researched past videos and the music style of the Hilltop Hoods and found that their previous releases such as The Clown Prince were superficial and light hearted in comparison to Common Streets. The Clown Prince is a party-orientated song, which is accompanied by a light-hearted animated music video. For this piece I decided a more reflective and mature theme would highlight the direction and content of the song and differentiate the piece from the group’s past releases.
What is the style you decided to go with and why?
When I was working on the concept for this assignment I decided I wanted to use stylized live footage of urban areas in Brisbane. As I researched images for the storyboards I was instantly drawn to cityscape photos taken in the lomography style. Lomography is a type of photography which utilises Lomo and Holga branded cameras prized for their consistent inconsistencies and production defects which produce vivid and interesting photos. These cameras are manual film cameras which can also create a variety of effects such as multiple exposures on the same frame of film (overlaying two ore more pictures), taking multiple photos in the same frame of film (eg 4 separate photos on one piece of film), and having the ability to use coloured filters and flashes resulting in colourised photos. The cameras themselves are entirely plastic and produce photos with an artistic vintage look and often vignetted edges.
The music video uses live footage that I have shot on an old DV camera and have made available as creative commons material through torrents (due to large file sizes). The footage was degraded and colourised to reflect the lomo style, which I also believe, captures the essence of cityscapes and urban imagery.
What symbols have you used in the composition and what is their meaning?
I used two symbols within the piece that are drawn from the lyrics. The first is the graphic equaliser, which reflects the ‘vibe’ as described in the lyrics. The equaliser acts as a mask for a drive through shot of the city. It’s meaning reflects the song’s relationship between the music (‘vibe’) and cityscape theme (‘common streets’).
The second symbol is the use of TVs which reflects the second verse in the lyrics. The use of television sets is to reflect the turning of music to commercialism and becoming a prison for the artist. For this effect I superimposed the free flowing ‘vibe’ equaliser graphic into a broken television set which was duplicated.
How does the motion contribute to the chosen identity?
The motion and scene transition reflects the themes expressed in each verse/ section of lyrics as well as the instrumentals used in the background. For instance the beginning of the music video features a colourful and sound reactive equaliser which transitions to television sets as per the lyrics; as the instrumental section builds the scene transitions using a soft fade to cityscape footage until the scratch/remix section which features a variety of motion and past footage remixed.
How does the composition contribute to the identity?
The composition of the scenes all reflect a cityscape/ common streets identity as a whole through the use of street footage which reflect on the content of the lyrics as explained in the various other sections of this written piece.
What would you do differently and why?
Given better time management and preparation I would have liked to firstly added more complexity in the scenes especially within the last 10-20 seconds of the clip which was done rather haphazardly due to time restraints. I feel that the footage I used doesn’t do the instrumental section justice and breaks the flow of the graphics used in the first half of the clip.
Secondly, to have included transitions that are better synced to the music therefore giving the music video better pace and visual diversity.
ASSESSMENT 3 - AFTER EFFECTS TECHNIQUES
In this section I will detail the after effects techniques I used in each scene in chronological order as follows:
1. Graphical EQ + cityscape drive through
a. GRAPHICAL EQ
The graphical equaliser was created using the trapcode plugin ‘soundkeys’ which is available as a free demo. The actual plugin maps the sound pattern of the audio and creates keyframes based on the audio, the equaliser graphic is merely a representation that is supposed to be on a hidden layer.
I created the EQ by firstling mapping the sound, the EQ graphic also has a variety of graph like lines which run across the composition. I used keylight to make these lines transparent.
For the actual affect I duplicated and mirrored the EQ and also adjusted some of the sound response settings to give the graph a smoother and symmetrical appearance. Previously the graph appeared to show only spikes of certain frequencies, no doubt to help capture keyframes.
I also created a reflection by vertically mirroring the footage and also applied a fast blur to give it a faux glow.
b. CITYSCAPE
For the drive through footage I simply made levelling adjustment, then used blending (possibly screen or overlay) in conjunction with the Graphical EQ layer so that only the coloured areas would expose the drive through footage as well as colourise it accordingly. I also time stretched the footage and used a pixel blend.
2. TV screens
a. MOTION CAPTURE
I used a 4-corner-perspective method to motion capture the edges of the television set. In some areas I had to manually adjust capture points frame by frame as the software was unable to accurately track the footage.
b. OVERLAY FOOTAGE
I linked the motion capture track to footage which had levelling and colour adjustments on them. I used an effect called ‘colorize – gradient’ which applied a colour gradient onto some of the footage. I also used layer blending to preserve the TV screen’s scratches and to create the illusion that the footage was being played on the television screen. To further this affect the footage had a feathered round-square mask applied so the footage would not seem like a sharp square was placed inside the TV.
c. GRAFFITI WRITING
The free font “MOST WASTED” was used in conjunction with the ‘write-on” effect which creates a mask based on manually adjusted points that are keyframed along the time line. Once created a time stretch was used to increase the speed of the graffiti writing to about 2-3 seconds.
d. CAMERA / POSITIONING
A 3D camera was used to zoom out while the 4 TVS appeared from under one another. Opacity and motion blurring was used to achieve this affect.
e. Feathered frame
A black-feathered frame is used throughout this scene and through many other scenes in the music video clip. This feathered frame was created using an inverted round mask with feathering applied. The wobble affect was created by applying the ‘wiggler-gelatine’ effect. The black edges would sometimes clip out of the frame and expose the underneath layer so an additional black inverted frame was created to prevent the accidental exposures of layers.
3. Double exposure lomo effect footage
a. OVERLAY BLENDING
The footage was layered and cut using the overlay blend mode and screen blend effect. The variation for both overlay styles was because a screen blend by itself would sometimes lead to the footage appearing to over-exposed and bright when 3 or more layers with the effect appeared on screen (this instance is seen in the ‘dream’ section of the lyrics but was left like that on purpose). Overlay blending was used on some layers to prevent this over-exposure effect happening.
b. TEXT
The text had a bad tv – weak effect applied with the horizontal and vertical wave figures modified.
4. Scratch and remix section
a. 3D CAMERA
A 3D camera was used within the sequence to zoom and pan around the objects and sync with the remix/ scratch effects of the audio.
b. ECHO SPACE
A trapcode plugin called echo space was used to duplicate existing footage such as the graphic EQ and apply random X/Y/Z animations. Each layer of the EQ then had a layer blend effect applied to create a jumbled effect on the footage.
This was also applied to another set of TV footage with motion capture, however instead of duplicating just a single sequence of the TV footage, different instances of the TV footage was used. Once again there was random X/Y/Z animations applied as well as a time delay between the animations.
The footage was pre-rendered and imported into the comp.
c. MIRRORED FOOTAGE
The existing footage was time-reversed and existed in a 3D space to create a sort of 3D room/ corner.
5. Other Techniques
a. PRE-RENDERING
I pre-rendered each comp, scene and graphic element as I created them thereby creating standalone *.mov files which did not need rendering from scratch each time I previewed them or imported them into the main clip. This prevented extra long render times and system crashes and reduced the ram load on the system.
b. FOOTAGE CAPTURE/TRIM
The footage was captured using final cut pro 6, and was trimmed using quicktime as the original footage was not time coded and split into separate *.mov files.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
The biggest problem I encountered was system crashes often caused by inconsistencies in the plugins when translating from mac to pc and sometimes between incremental saves. I also experienced a lot of crashes during ram-previews and rendering. I solved this problem by firstly switching all my work to my mac OSX install (which runs parallel to my PC install on a pc machine) and by using pre-rendering which helped me to micro-manage each scene, effect and graphic of the comp which required rendering. As mentioned earlier this allowed me to work on a section and then render and import it as a lossless video file into a comp which would not require rendering the entire set of footage and effects from scratch.
I also experienced a minor problem with capturing the footage in that my camera had depleted its clock battery and therefore was unable to run a system clock and apply a time code. As a result I had to capture the footage as one large file and manually trim and cut scenes in quicktime. However this was beneficial as it let me review the scenes and helped me to select scenes to be used.
1. Graphical EQ + cityscape drive through
a. GRAPHICAL EQ
The graphical equaliser was created using the trapcode plugin ‘soundkeys’ which is available as a free demo. The actual plugin maps the sound pattern of the audio and creates keyframes based on the audio, the equaliser graphic is merely a representation that is supposed to be on a hidden layer.
I created the EQ by firstling mapping the sound, the EQ graphic also has a variety of graph like lines which run across the composition. I used keylight to make these lines transparent.
For the actual affect I duplicated and mirrored the EQ and also adjusted some of the sound response settings to give the graph a smoother and symmetrical appearance. Previously the graph appeared to show only spikes of certain frequencies, no doubt to help capture keyframes.
I also created a reflection by vertically mirroring the footage and also applied a fast blur to give it a faux glow.
b. CITYSCAPE
For the drive through footage I simply made levelling adjustment, then used blending (possibly screen or overlay) in conjunction with the Graphical EQ layer so that only the coloured areas would expose the drive through footage as well as colourise it accordingly. I also time stretched the footage and used a pixel blend.
2. TV screens
a. MOTION CAPTURE
I used a 4-corner-perspective method to motion capture the edges of the television set. In some areas I had to manually adjust capture points frame by frame as the software was unable to accurately track the footage.
b. OVERLAY FOOTAGE
I linked the motion capture track to footage which had levelling and colour adjustments on them. I used an effect called ‘colorize – gradient’ which applied a colour gradient onto some of the footage. I also used layer blending to preserve the TV screen’s scratches and to create the illusion that the footage was being played on the television screen. To further this affect the footage had a feathered round-square mask applied so the footage would not seem like a sharp square was placed inside the TV.
c. GRAFFITI WRITING
The free font “MOST WASTED” was used in conjunction with the ‘write-on” effect which creates a mask based on manually adjusted points that are keyframed along the time line. Once created a time stretch was used to increase the speed of the graffiti writing to about 2-3 seconds.
d. CAMERA / POSITIONING
A 3D camera was used to zoom out while the 4 TVS appeared from under one another. Opacity and motion blurring was used to achieve this affect.
e. Feathered frame
A black-feathered frame is used throughout this scene and through many other scenes in the music video clip. This feathered frame was created using an inverted round mask with feathering applied. The wobble affect was created by applying the ‘wiggler-gelatine’ effect. The black edges would sometimes clip out of the frame and expose the underneath layer so an additional black inverted frame was created to prevent the accidental exposures of layers.
3. Double exposure lomo effect footage
a. OVERLAY BLENDING
The footage was layered and cut using the overlay blend mode and screen blend effect. The variation for both overlay styles was because a screen blend by itself would sometimes lead to the footage appearing to over-exposed and bright when 3 or more layers with the effect appeared on screen (this instance is seen in the ‘dream’ section of the lyrics but was left like that on purpose). Overlay blending was used on some layers to prevent this over-exposure effect happening.
b. TEXT
The text had a bad tv – weak effect applied with the horizontal and vertical wave figures modified.
4. Scratch and remix section
a. 3D CAMERA
A 3D camera was used within the sequence to zoom and pan around the objects and sync with the remix/ scratch effects of the audio.
b. ECHO SPACE
A trapcode plugin called echo space was used to duplicate existing footage such as the graphic EQ and apply random X/Y/Z animations. Each layer of the EQ then had a layer blend effect applied to create a jumbled effect on the footage.
This was also applied to another set of TV footage with motion capture, however instead of duplicating just a single sequence of the TV footage, different instances of the TV footage was used. Once again there was random X/Y/Z animations applied as well as a time delay between the animations.
The footage was pre-rendered and imported into the comp.
c. MIRRORED FOOTAGE
The existing footage was time-reversed and existed in a 3D space to create a sort of 3D room/ corner.
5. Other Techniques
a. PRE-RENDERING
I pre-rendered each comp, scene and graphic element as I created them thereby creating standalone *.mov files which did not need rendering from scratch each time I previewed them or imported them into the main clip. This prevented extra long render times and system crashes and reduced the ram load on the system.
b. FOOTAGE CAPTURE/TRIM
The footage was captured using final cut pro 6, and was trimmed using quicktime as the original footage was not time coded and split into separate *.mov files.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
The biggest problem I encountered was system crashes often caused by inconsistencies in the plugins when translating from mac to pc and sometimes between incremental saves. I also experienced a lot of crashes during ram-previews and rendering. I solved this problem by firstly switching all my work to my mac OSX install (which runs parallel to my PC install on a pc machine) and by using pre-rendering which helped me to micro-manage each scene, effect and graphic of the comp which required rendering. As mentioned earlier this allowed me to work on a section and then render and import it as a lossless video file into a comp which would not require rendering the entire set of footage and effects from scratch.
I also experienced a minor problem with capturing the footage in that my camera had depleted its clock battery and therefore was unable to run a system clock and apply a time code. As a result I had to capture the footage as one large file and manually trim and cut scenes in quicktime. However this was beneficial as it let me review the scenes and helped me to select scenes to be used.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Week 10 Tutorial Exercise
PART 1: Mood Board
I was motivated to use a 1970s inspired mood board for this piece. The mood board was created in inDesign using images obtained from flickr and deviant art as well as google images. The first row is the mood for the colour swatch, ie hyper colour. The second row contains images that I wanted to use to develop themes within the clip; and the third row is used to highlight human behaviour in the 70s and its quirks.
PART 2: video manipulation according to mood board
PART 3: motion tracking
I was motivated to use a 1970s inspired mood board for this piece. The mood board was created in inDesign using images obtained from flickr and deviant art as well as google images. The first row is the mood for the colour swatch, ie hyper colour. The second row contains images that I wanted to use to develop themes within the clip; and the third row is used to highlight human behaviour in the 70s and its quirks.PART 2: video manipulation according to mood board
I achieved the gradual discolouration effect by using the 'colourama' plugin in After effects. The effects samples colour shades and alpha channels in the source video and applies a coloured pattern to it. I used this effect across keyframes at 2 second intervals, in conjunction with layers and transparency to achieve a hypnotic, hyper-coloured video. I felt that this was fairly successful considering the original footage was gray scale.
For this peice i used a simple exclamation mark accompanied by a sound alert from the 1998 playstation one hit, Metal Gear Solid. The motion tracking wasn't straight forward for this piece as in 3 seperate areas AE was unable to accurately track the movement, to counter-act this I ran the motion tracker in three stages. The first tracked the inital movements, the second tracked movements from the zoomed out view, and the third stage tracked the motion of the turtle falling into his shell into the 'duck and cover' position. I also used a subtle transition on the exclamation mark. I found motion tracking to be a very easy and effect way to include dynamic graphics into motion video and think it has many useful future applications.
California1970s. http://ufocasebook.com/california1970s.jpg. (accessed October 6, 2008)
CatskillsGrrl. 2005. Summer of 1970. http://www.flickr.com/photos/catskillsgrrl/62829466/ (accessed October 6, 2008)
Cleared. 2004. Tie-Die. http://cleared.deviantart.com/art/Tie-Die-9444679. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Kaiack. 2007. Isla Vista 1970. http://kaiack.deviantart.com/art/Isla-Vista-1970-70217672. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Kspatula. 2007.Tie-Die-Shirts. http://kspatula.deviantart.com/art/Tie-Die-Shirts-72228861. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Roadsidepictures. 2006. Colgate Toothpaste coupon and "tuffy tooth" offer, 1970. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/92430363/ (accessed October 6, 2008)
Rizzo, A. 1951. Duck and cover. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Konami. 1998. Metal Gear Solid Found. http://download289.mediafire.com/(accessed October 6, 2007)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
CatskillsGrrl. 2005. Summer of 1970. http://www.flickr.com/photos/catskillsgrrl/62829466/ (accessed October 6, 2008)
Cleared. 2004. Tie-Die. http://cleared.deviantart.com/art/Tie-Die-9444679. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Kaiack. 2007. Isla Vista 1970. http://kaiack.deviantart.com/art/Isla-Vista-1970-70217672. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Kspatula. 2007.Tie-Die-Shirts. http://kspatula.deviantart.com/art/Tie-Die-Shirts-72228861. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Roadsidepictures. 2006. Colgate Toothpaste coupon and "tuffy tooth" offer, 1970. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/92430363/ (accessed October 6, 2008)
Rizzo, A. 1951. Duck and cover. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au. (accessed October 6, 2008)
Konami. 1998. Metal Gear Solid Found. http://download289.mediafire.com/(accessed October 6, 2007)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Week 9 Tutorial Exercise
A quick note, i wanted to take a different approach to the usual seriousness of the sin city visual style, initailly i researched cute baby animals such as rabbits, cats and dogs to use for this exercise, however i found that the fur would cause many problems when translating it into the black and white image. I later found this image of a gun-toting house wife, and decided to do it as a comic book style image complete with cropped windows and machine-gun fire font. ttstam. 2008. Big Guns Susan. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ttstam/2211800182/sizes/o/. (accessed September 27, 2008)
My process involved translating vectors that I had created as well as acquired from the internet into label-like digital manipulations in photoshop. I decided to use the label approach to graffiti as i wanted to highlight the growing trend of labels and stickers being used for graffiti instead of direct painting on surface, this is prominent especially around the Brisbane city area and Fortitude valley. I achieved this by importing the vectors into photoshop and creating a white under layer, I also softened the vectors slightly and overlayed them on the original vector to give it a 'stencilled' look. I used vectors because when creating a stencil it is impractical to use a direct image without manipulating and defining areas. In after effects I experimented with masks and the 'page peel' effect to achieve the effect of the grafiti stickers being 'stuck on'. The stage itself uses a 3D camera and lighting on a stock backdrop from flickr.
Zach. 2006. Graffiti Wall with Green Pannel. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zkorb/230024585/sizes/o/. (Accessed September 27, 2008)
ysr1. 2007. Free Vector Stock. http://ysr1.deviantart.com/art/Free-Vector-Stock-53905342. (Accessed September 27, 2008)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
ysr1. 2007. Free Vector Stock. http://ysr1.deviantart.com/art/Free-Vector-Stock-53905342. (Accessed September 27, 2008)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
Friday, September 12, 2008
ASSIGNMENT 1 - Composition.mov
Creative Commons Acknowledgments:
ForsterFoto. 2008. Sunset in aberdeen. http://flickr.com/photos/forsterfoto/2410240212/sizes/o/. (accessed September 10, 2008)
MidnightGlory. 2008. High-rises dominate yaletown. http://flickr.com/photos/midnightglory/2384103235/sizes/o/. (accessed September 10, 2008)
Rc. 2008. High density. http://flickr.com/photos/eyesofrc/2176843749/sizes/o/. (accessed September 10, 2008)
TallCJ, 2008. Downtown High Rise Sawing Through the Clouds. http://flickr.com/photos/tallcj/2169683785/. (accessed September 10, 2008)
Zen. 2006. Dark white room. http://flickr.com/photos/zen/326499472/sizes/o/. (accessed September 10, 2008)
All other works (eg logo, camera frame, composition etc) have been created by the designer
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
Assignment 1 - Reflection
STEVEN SANSHWE: N6325998
ASSIGNMENT 1: Temporal Identity
KIB 105: ANIMATION AND MOTION GRAPHICS
LECTURER: LAZAROS KASTANIS
TUTOR: VERONICA WAIN
The location used to construct the temporal identity for this assignment was a digital SLR camera, specifically the lens component of the camera. To highlight the link between the camera, the lens and the user, the motion graphic video is viewed through the camera’s viewfinder, which the user would use to frame shots before taking them. To emphasize the identity of the lens, camera based motions such as zooms, depth of field, lens blur and camera shake are used to resemble real-world movements associated with using digital SLR camera.
The motion graphic video uses two compositions all which are viewed through the viewfinder diamond. The first composition is a ‘sensor cleaning’ video which reflects the sensor cleaning function of most digital SLR cameras. The graphic uses a particle effect in a 3d environment to replicate dust which can show up within the camera body and lens connection of most cameras. Lighting is used on a 3D backdrop to give a greater depth to the camera shakes and movements. This composition is used to introduce the identity, and helps the target audience to immediately familiarize themselves with the setting of the motion graphic. The second composition is a conceptual composition which relates directly to the tagline. Although the animation still resembles real camera movement the subject is a montage of buildings arranged using an unrealistic abstract perspective within 3D, hence the tagline ‘shoot different’
The target audience for this piece would be photography enthusiasts. The reasoning being that photographers would instantly recognize the viewfinder frame and create the relation between the motion graphic and SLR cameras without needing a physical camera graphic in the composition.
The composition would not be suited to people who have not had experience with older camera types that use viewfinders, or higher-end digital cameras that use viewfinders to adjust autofocus, shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc.
The composition can also be defined using the techniques of morphology; space, form and time. Firstly, the composition structures space using mostly three points as seen in camera movements which utilize the x, y and z axis. Graphic elements exist in a 3d environment within After Effects and is framed using an aspect ratio of 16:9. Further framing is applied via the viewfinder diamond that overlays the entire graphic.
Secondly, form is created through images which exist in an empty environment (eg. Particle effect used to create sensor dust). This helps create focus on the subject and evokes a conceptual style to the graphic. A monochromatic colour scheme is used to also emphasize the conceptual style. Text is minimally used, the featured font is ‘terminal’, a windows font which resembles MS-DOS text as well as the font used in the LCD of digital cameras.
ASSIGNMENT 1: Temporal Identity
KIB 105: ANIMATION AND MOTION GRAPHICS
LECTURER: LAZAROS KASTANIS
TUTOR: VERONICA WAIN
The location used to construct the temporal identity for this assignment was a digital SLR camera, specifically the lens component of the camera. To highlight the link between the camera, the lens and the user, the motion graphic video is viewed through the camera’s viewfinder, which the user would use to frame shots before taking them. To emphasize the identity of the lens, camera based motions such as zooms, depth of field, lens blur and camera shake are used to resemble real-world movements associated with using digital SLR camera.
The motion graphic video uses two compositions all which are viewed through the viewfinder diamond. The first composition is a ‘sensor cleaning’ video which reflects the sensor cleaning function of most digital SLR cameras. The graphic uses a particle effect in a 3d environment to replicate dust which can show up within the camera body and lens connection of most cameras. Lighting is used on a 3D backdrop to give a greater depth to the camera shakes and movements. This composition is used to introduce the identity, and helps the target audience to immediately familiarize themselves with the setting of the motion graphic. The second composition is a conceptual composition which relates directly to the tagline. Although the animation still resembles real camera movement the subject is a montage of buildings arranged using an unrealistic abstract perspective within 3D, hence the tagline ‘shoot different’
The target audience for this piece would be photography enthusiasts. The reasoning being that photographers would instantly recognize the viewfinder frame and create the relation between the motion graphic and SLR cameras without needing a physical camera graphic in the composition.
The composition would not be suited to people who have not had experience with older camera types that use viewfinders, or higher-end digital cameras that use viewfinders to adjust autofocus, shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc.
The composition can also be defined using the techniques of morphology; space, form and time. Firstly, the composition structures space using mostly three points as seen in camera movements which utilize the x, y and z axis. Graphic elements exist in a 3d environment within After Effects and is framed using an aspect ratio of 16:9. Further framing is applied via the viewfinder diamond that overlays the entire graphic.
Secondly, form is created through images which exist in an empty environment (eg. Particle effect used to create sensor dust). This helps create focus on the subject and evokes a conceptual style to the graphic. A monochromatic colour scheme is used to also emphasize the conceptual style. Text is minimally used, the featured font is ‘terminal’, a windows font which resembles MS-DOS text as well as the font used in the LCD of digital cameras.
Assignment 1 - After Effects Techniques
For the assignment I utilised several techniques to achieve the look and feel of using a digital SLR Camera.
I used a 3D camera to position and move around the scene. The camera had depth of field turned on, with blurring set to 97% and a higher apperture. This was particularly important for the second animation where the camera zooms and pans through the buildings as it gives the buildings depth and layering as there is a progressive lens blur which is effected by the positioning of each building in the Z-space. A wiggle motion was also applied in some areas to give the impression that the camera was being held by a human hand, this was most noticeable in the first scene. The problems associated with using this effect at such a high setting was that rendering the video took close approximately 40 minutes, also the render was error prone due to After Effects requesting up to 1gb of ram for the render. Although my computer system has 4gbs of ram, the program was peaking and may not have been able to use more than an allocated amount, thus causing the program to crash numerous times. The solution for this was to close unnecessary programs and to delete unnecessary elements in the composition, this allowed for a problem free render. Other minor problems included setting the values for the depth of field and also positioning shots to make them look effective within the context of the assignment.
The first animation used a particle effect which was set to a low opacity. The particles were set to low gravity with a 2-3 second life time. This was used to help achieve the effect of dust and noise within the lens of the camera. It was used to create a distorted and dirty view in the viewfinder.
The view finder was created in illustrator using a canon 450D viewfinder to position elements such as rectangles and circles.The viewfinder was imported into After effects as a vector and was overload on many of the shots. The viewfinder has a related shutter closing and opening effect which is used to transition between Scenes. This transition was created using two black shakes which moved towards the centre of the screen. I found it difficult to animate moving objects within After Effects as the interface was completely different to using a program such as Adobe Flash, which uses tweens and motion paths to animate objects between keyframes. The short term solution was to use linear horizontal/vertical/diagonal motions until I can succesfully make the transition to After Effects.
Shadows and lighting was also created within after effects. The light tool was used to create a point light onto 3d objects within the animation, it was also used to cast shadows of the buildings. One of the main issues with this was that it caused After Effects to slow down during ram preview. The short-term solution was to decrease the resolution to either a half or a third however this mostly made the video unwatchable.
I also used text preset animations such as the type writer effect. I also found this to be difficult to use in AE as i felt limited by the types of preset animations as well as my lack of knowledge in creating the dynamic look and feel that envisioned in my story boarding. The solution was to use simple presets such as the type writer effect as it was a subtle effect that relatively matched the style of the animation.
I used a 3D camera to position and move around the scene. The camera had depth of field turned on, with blurring set to 97% and a higher apperture. This was particularly important for the second animation where the camera zooms and pans through the buildings as it gives the buildings depth and layering as there is a progressive lens blur which is effected by the positioning of each building in the Z-space. A wiggle motion was also applied in some areas to give the impression that the camera was being held by a human hand, this was most noticeable in the first scene. The problems associated with using this effect at such a high setting was that rendering the video took close approximately 40 minutes, also the render was error prone due to After Effects requesting up to 1gb of ram for the render. Although my computer system has 4gbs of ram, the program was peaking and may not have been able to use more than an allocated amount, thus causing the program to crash numerous times. The solution for this was to close unnecessary programs and to delete unnecessary elements in the composition, this allowed for a problem free render. Other minor problems included setting the values for the depth of field and also positioning shots to make them look effective within the context of the assignment.
The first animation used a particle effect which was set to a low opacity. The particles were set to low gravity with a 2-3 second life time. This was used to help achieve the effect of dust and noise within the lens of the camera. It was used to create a distorted and dirty view in the viewfinder.
The view finder was created in illustrator using a canon 450D viewfinder to position elements such as rectangles and circles.The viewfinder was imported into After effects as a vector and was overload on many of the shots. The viewfinder has a related shutter closing and opening effect which is used to transition between Scenes. This transition was created using two black shakes which moved towards the centre of the screen. I found it difficult to animate moving objects within After Effects as the interface was completely different to using a program such as Adobe Flash, which uses tweens and motion paths to animate objects between keyframes. The short term solution was to use linear horizontal/vertical/diagonal motions until I can succesfully make the transition to After Effects.
Shadows and lighting was also created within after effects. The light tool was used to create a point light onto 3d objects within the animation, it was also used to cast shadows of the buildings. One of the main issues with this was that it caused After Effects to slow down during ram preview. The short-term solution was to decrease the resolution to either a half or a third however this mostly made the video unwatchable.
I also used text preset animations such as the type writer effect. I also found this to be difficult to use in AE as i felt limited by the types of preset animations as well as my lack of knowledge in creating the dynamic look and feel that envisioned in my story boarding. The solution was to use simple presets such as the type writer effect as it was a subtle effect that relatively matched the style of the animation.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Week 6 Tutorial Exercise
For this piece I used camera transitions and hyper-coloured edits of the original images of the hairdryer, blender and toaster to achieve the tacky style usually associated with this type of discount advertising. However I also tried to incorporate some design aesthetics such as form; in that all the objects have a specific form and are presented as groups either in a row or a symmetrical shape. I also attempted to create a colour scheme amongst the products using photoshop to edit the original images. I believe i could have made the advertisement more tacky by adding spinning labels and other paraphenalia to the prices.
Salton Personal Blender. http://www.woot.com/Images/Sale/Salton_Personal_BlenderRK5-detail.jpg (accessed September 3, 2008)
Taoster. http://www.stylishcookware.co.uk/images/prestige%20deco%20pink%20toaster.web.jpg (accessed September 3, 2008)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
Sunday, August 24, 2008
LECTURE 04
The focus of this lecture was on identity, and my perspective of the lecture was the links between identity and discourses that can be achieved through successful branding. My most recent experience with identity design involved developing a marketing campaign for an up and coming NGO, part of this marketing campaign included developing logos, colour schemes, advertising mediums and the cultural associations behind the brand.
I could relate to the two definitions of cultural identity provided as it helped me to categorize the processes I use when brain storming ideas and concepts when developing an identity for the NGO. Cultural identity is important as it aligns the target market to the design and creates meaningful associations. For instance the particular NGO I am working with wants to align itself with young adults particularly young adults who are drawn to charitable causes, to promote the concept the NGO is holding launch party at a major valley club to attract this target market. For this to be successful I am working on design ideas and promotion campaigns which specifically appeal to this market drawing influences from successful fashion, music and current design trends.
The idea of an abstract corporate identity also appeals to me in that an abstract design is not limited to a single idea, but has the potential to branch off and diversify into different areas whilst being linked to an overall theme or concept. I felt particularly drawn to the channel 4 motion graphic examples given in the lecture, the concept for each of the graphics evoked calming, etherial and surreal emotions which created an overall abstract identity but the association with the tv channel was still prominent.
I could relate to the two definitions of cultural identity provided as it helped me to categorize the processes I use when brain storming ideas and concepts when developing an identity for the NGO. Cultural identity is important as it aligns the target market to the design and creates meaningful associations. For instance the particular NGO I am working with wants to align itself with young adults particularly young adults who are drawn to charitable causes, to promote the concept the NGO is holding launch party at a major valley club to attract this target market. For this to be successful I am working on design ideas and promotion campaigns which specifically appeal to this market drawing influences from successful fashion, music and current design trends.
The idea of an abstract corporate identity also appeals to me in that an abstract design is not limited to a single idea, but has the potential to branch off and diversify into different areas whilst being linked to an overall theme or concept. I felt particularly drawn to the channel 4 motion graphic examples given in the lecture, the concept for each of the graphics evoked calming, etherial and surreal emotions which created an overall abstract identity but the association with the tv channel was still prominent.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Week 3 Tutorial Exercise
For this piece I use a strong font as the speech delivered was quick sharp and fuss free and I felt that a stronger font would be able to translate these feelings visually. the motion used in the video incorporates short fast movements and rough and obvious film like edits to much the succinct words used in the audio track. There are also several instances where the animation matches the specific words, for example pattern and pandemonium use animation presets which are an attempt to visually represent the meanings of the words. I believe my approach to the video is a literal approach, however I believe a literal approach works best for this video as the pace and wording of the track is unlike regular conversation and instead appears to be a fast paced monologue.
The AE file is constructed completely in 3D with cameras used to position the words onscreen, there are also several animation presets used on the texts.
The AE file is constructed completely in 3D with cameras used to position the words onscreen, there are also several animation presets used on the texts.
eight-prime. chameleon phonics. \\cifshare.ci.qut.edu.au\units\cdes\KIB105\ (accessed August 17, 2008)
QUT REFERNCING: HAVARD http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/harvard/examples/other.jsp#artwork
Sunday, August 10, 2008
LECTURE 03
Kinetic typography appeals to me because of my background in web and print design. My past experiences in designing with text has lead me to believe that text is as valuable as any part of the design as text is used to deliver the literal information to the target market. Therefore, text should adhere to layout and design principals just like any other graphic or designed image. With after effects, the prospect of designing motion text feels like an extension of what I have learnt from my past experiences.
During the lecture I found several keypoints which particularly interested me. The first was the brief explanation of grids which are used to distribute and align text in print, as I have been working with InDesign over the past couple of months I was interested to see how the use of grids in print/web layouts would translate into motion graphics. Laz used the center of the feild/frame to explain how grids can exist in much the same way in motion graphics.
The second point was the reference to Saul Bass's kinetic typography which had influenced the work of modern motion graphic artists. The intro sequence for 'catch me if you can' interested me in that the title sequence seemlessly integrated text to reflect the idea of a highly sophisticated version of cat and mouse across glamourous backdrops using simple info-design styled motion graphics. Se7en was also another video which I felt that the text had evoked the mood of the movie, the text was frenetic and consistantly inconsistant in it's style.
From the student examples I enjoyed the 'fight club' video for its portrayl of not only the spoken words but also the background sound effects. There was a dynamic use of camera pans which moved around the canvas to reflect the pace of the conversation with dramatic zooms which reflected the varations in sound volume. Another aspect of this video that I enjoyed was the way the text would animate as a reaction to crashes in the background. I also enjoyed the 'five' video for it's simple and elegant use of soft blurs and the use of connotations between the videos (for instance the pushups) with the word 'five'. I also enjoyed mark okon's work which emobided a surreal effect using an environmental/geographic image overlayed with softly animated text.
During the lecture I found several keypoints which particularly interested me. The first was the brief explanation of grids which are used to distribute and align text in print, as I have been working with InDesign over the past couple of months I was interested to see how the use of grids in print/web layouts would translate into motion graphics. Laz used the center of the feild/frame to explain how grids can exist in much the same way in motion graphics.
The second point was the reference to Saul Bass's kinetic typography which had influenced the work of modern motion graphic artists. The intro sequence for 'catch me if you can' interested me in that the title sequence seemlessly integrated text to reflect the idea of a highly sophisticated version of cat and mouse across glamourous backdrops using simple info-design styled motion graphics. Se7en was also another video which I felt that the text had evoked the mood of the movie, the text was frenetic and consistantly inconsistant in it's style.
From the student examples I enjoyed the 'fight club' video for its portrayl of not only the spoken words but also the background sound effects. There was a dynamic use of camera pans which moved around the canvas to reflect the pace of the conversation with dramatic zooms which reflected the varations in sound volume. Another aspect of this video that I enjoyed was the way the text would animate as a reaction to crashes in the background. I also enjoyed the 'five' video for it's simple and elegant use of soft blurs and the use of connotations between the videos (for instance the pushups) with the word 'five'. I also enjoyed mark okon's work which emobided a surreal effect using an environmental/geographic image overlayed with softly animated text.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Week 2 Montage Exercise
for the montage i used five images and tried to achieve an electric feel similar to the tacky cut and paste montage styles used in some club advertisements and posters. Obviously this is a very rough and quick adaptation of the style.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
LECTURE 02
Although I hadn't given much thought to animation previously, after the lecture my understanding of animation is that it is the impression of movement on each frame and between each frame, therefore encompassing a greater scope to include what the mind/eye processes when viewing animation.
I found the channel 4 videos used to illustrate the concept of interstitual animation effective (despite the voiceover). One of the things that stood out to me was that as a viewer, you only grasp the image of the '4' towards the end of the video, and when you do see a complete 4, the camera only remains on the image for several frames. I felt that the ocean/island video was obvious and that the effect was too obvious, however the sound/stage video had a far more seemless effect with the artificial beams and speakers which added to the realism of the effect.
Although morphology seems very theory driven i find that it does have practical uses in defining ideas as you could use space, form and time as a structure / outline in the development process. I thought the video for memisis was an interesting concept, representing the 1984/big brother approach to surveilance cameras and the potential evolution of security and the devolution of privacy, the motion graphics used were simple and easily achieved using the motion tracking function in AE. I also enjoyed the motion sequence / representation of time in the train video. I particularly liked the distortion of time where even though the background/ foreground remained linear the train's animations were non-linear.
The montage video that stood out for me most was the black and white/ new york cityscape video for its simplicity (a vertical pan) and it's engaging content. I felt that the composition with the grayscale buildings which sometimes contained a white shape cutout resembling a city in the negative space was also effective. The music choice was at a medium/slow tempo and the pace seemed to sync with the vertical pan and the content transition-ins.
I found the channel 4 videos used to illustrate the concept of interstitual animation effective (despite the voiceover). One of the things that stood out to me was that as a viewer, you only grasp the image of the '4' towards the end of the video, and when you do see a complete 4, the camera only remains on the image for several frames. I felt that the ocean/island video was obvious and that the effect was too obvious, however the sound/stage video had a far more seemless effect with the artificial beams and speakers which added to the realism of the effect.
Although morphology seems very theory driven i find that it does have practical uses in defining ideas as you could use space, form and time as a structure / outline in the development process. I thought the video for memisis was an interesting concept, representing the 1984/big brother approach to surveilance cameras and the potential evolution of security and the devolution of privacy, the motion graphics used were simple and easily achieved using the motion tracking function in AE. I also enjoyed the motion sequence / representation of time in the train video. I particularly liked the distortion of time where even though the background/ foreground remained linear the train's animations were non-linear.
The montage video that stood out for me most was the black and white/ new york cityscape video for its simplicity (a vertical pan) and it's engaging content. I felt that the composition with the grayscale buildings which sometimes contained a white shape cutout resembling a city in the negative space was also effective. The music choice was at a medium/slow tempo and the pace seemed to sync with the vertical pan and the content transition-ins.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
LECTURE 01
There were a few things that laz pointed out in this lecture that were up for debate. One of these things was the concept of a symbol as opposed to a character in the context of motion graphics. it was generally agreed upon that within motion graphics both items were related and that you could not have one without the other. For instance, a symbol could be represented or instilled in a character, or a character could represent a symbol.
I also felt that the idea of abstraction as a re-alignment of one's process of interpretation was a solid definition because it highlighted that abstraction isn't something that can be done legitimately if 'normal' conventions and processes are used, as that would defeat the purpose. Abstraction should be achieved by using unconventional methods to which the artist is impartial to. This also foregrounds the notion that abstract pieces should involve a higher level of process, even if the end result is basic as the focus of abstraction should be equal parts result and process.
I also felt that the idea of abstraction as a re-alignment of one's process of interpretation was a solid definition because it highlighted that abstraction isn't something that can be done legitimately if 'normal' conventions and processes are used, as that would defeat the purpose. Abstraction should be achieved by using unconventional methods to which the artist is impartial to. This also foregrounds the notion that abstract pieces should involve a higher level of process, even if the end result is basic as the focus of abstraction should be equal parts result and process.
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