We will be submitting 2 versions of our video on the DVD. One with effects, one without. I have created a splitscreen video showing the difference between the video before I added things in After Effects and the final video.
Here is a preview:
For a full quality version, right click this link and save as: (30.5MB)
http://www.alisterbuss.co.uk/finalcompare.mov
Showing posts with label Crash Bang Wallop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crash Bang Wallop. Show all posts
Problem Solving: Aspect Ratio
When exporting my final video for the DVD I ran in to some problems. We are going to be burning our videos at default PAL settings at 720x576 4:3 aspect ratio. I shot my video in 1280x720 16:9 aspect ratio so something needs to change before I burn the DVD. Converting my aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3 is not difficult but this is not a good choice to make because it will make the footage look squashed as it was meant for widescreen. I will not allow this in my project, so I need a different solution.
The other solution I can think of is to use 'letterboxing', where the video is scaled to the width of the screen and because 16:9 is longer than it is tall it leaves black bars on the top and bottom called 'letterbox'. This is usually associated with cinema but it allows me to preserve the correct aspect ratio and prevent squashing the footage.
Here is an example:
The trouble is I haven't been able to successfully export my video with letterbox in After Effects. Whenever I export my video as a quicktime movie it always converts it to 4:3 even if I set the aspect ration to preserve with letterbox. This is very annoying and is forcing something that I do not want.
I have come up with a quick solution to this however. In After Effects I made a new composition with default PAL settings and nested my composition in it then scaled the footage manually to fit and have letterbox within the comp so when I export using PAL settings it will automatically be correct without any conversion or scaling done on export.
The other solution I can think of is to use 'letterboxing', where the video is scaled to the width of the screen and because 16:9 is longer than it is tall it leaves black bars on the top and bottom called 'letterbox'. This is usually associated with cinema but it allows me to preserve the correct aspect ratio and prevent squashing the footage.
Here is an example:
The trouble is I haven't been able to successfully export my video with letterbox in After Effects. Whenever I export my video as a quicktime movie it always converts it to 4:3 even if I set the aspect ration to preserve with letterbox. This is very annoying and is forcing something that I do not want.
I have come up with a quick solution to this however. In After Effects I made a new composition with default PAL settings and nested my composition in it then scaled the footage manually to fit and have letterbox within the comp so when I export using PAL settings it will automatically be correct without any conversion or scaling done on export.
Post Production - After Effects
Camera Shake
With After Effects I simulated a camera shake using keyframes and the wiggler. The increase the sense of Crash, Bang, Wallop I decided to make the camera shake when the person in the video slams his feet on the floor. This makes it seem as though the force is so powerful it has shaken the camera amount.
I achieved this by placing 2 keyframes on the position property in the timeline; one where it would begin and one where it would end. I then selected these 2 and used the wiggler to generate a certain number of keyframes with random values according to the magnitude number. This shifted the position of the video around to simulated movement. The problem with this is that it leaves black bars around the footage on the offset where there is nothing underneath.
Here is a preview:
(You may need to watch it several times. It stutters while loading the first time so you can't actually see the effect)
Motion Tile
The solution to the camera shake problem with nothing showing when the position changed was to use the Motion Tile effect with mirror enabled and a slight bump in scale. This extends the outside of the footage. While it does make certain objects look really strange it is not noticeable when the footage shakes as quickly as it does. The main thing is that it cover the emptiness around the footage.
Glow
In After Effects I have added a very subtle glow effect to a section of the video, the clip where the toothpaste is put on the brush. This glow effect causes the highlights to bloom and go to their extremes as well as enriching this colour. It makes the paste look much more cartoon like and gooey, which enhances how it looked to begin with and matches the slimy cartoon sound I put over the top.
Here is an image preview of the effect:
The original is on the left and the effect is on the right.
Bleach Effect
When importing my video in to After Effects I noticed my footage still looked plain despite all of the adjustments I had made, so I decided to make a 'bleached' effect. I did this by using choosing Effect > Colour Correction > Levels on the composition. I adjusted the output black and white to make the contrast more extreme. This increased the colour however, so I duplicated the composition on the timeline, deleted the levels adjustment and set the mode of that layer to 'colour'.
This meant it forced the original colour of the footage on to everything underneath. This creates a high contrast look without increased saturation that results from using adjustments like levels. This makes my footage more interesting to look at. I have used keyframes to only show this layer in the POV shots to accompany the blur to create the sense of just waking up and maybe not seeing things properly.
Unfortunately this highlights the graininess of the footage, but it is still more preferable.
Here is a comparison:
The old footage is on the left and the bleach footage is on the right.
Blur
Following on from the bleach effect I have also added a blur to the POV shots to simulate a dazed feeling that you might get from waking up in the morning. I achieved this by applying a Gaussian Blur to my video and using keyframes to bring the blurriness out when it cuts to a POV shot. This combines with the colour part of the bleach effect.
Denoise
I have downloaded a Plug-in called 'Topaz' that has a Denoise filter and has removed some of the graininess from my video. While this does not completely solve it I have tried to respond to the feedback that I got from the class crit.
With After Effects I simulated a camera shake using keyframes and the wiggler. The increase the sense of Crash, Bang, Wallop I decided to make the camera shake when the person in the video slams his feet on the floor. This makes it seem as though the force is so powerful it has shaken the camera amount.
I achieved this by placing 2 keyframes on the position property in the timeline; one where it would begin and one where it would end. I then selected these 2 and used the wiggler to generate a certain number of keyframes with random values according to the magnitude number. This shifted the position of the video around to simulated movement. The problem with this is that it leaves black bars around the footage on the offset where there is nothing underneath.
Here is a preview:
(You may need to watch it several times. It stutters while loading the first time so you can't actually see the effect)
Motion Tile
The solution to the camera shake problem with nothing showing when the position changed was to use the Motion Tile effect with mirror enabled and a slight bump in scale. This extends the outside of the footage. While it does make certain objects look really strange it is not noticeable when the footage shakes as quickly as it does. The main thing is that it cover the emptiness around the footage.
Glow
In After Effects I have added a very subtle glow effect to a section of the video, the clip where the toothpaste is put on the brush. This glow effect causes the highlights to bloom and go to their extremes as well as enriching this colour. It makes the paste look much more cartoon like and gooey, which enhances how it looked to begin with and matches the slimy cartoon sound I put over the top.
Here is an image preview of the effect:
The original is on the left and the effect is on the right.
Bleach Effect
When importing my video in to After Effects I noticed my footage still looked plain despite all of the adjustments I had made, so I decided to make a 'bleached' effect. I did this by using choosing Effect > Colour Correction > Levels on the composition. I adjusted the output black and white to make the contrast more extreme. This increased the colour however, so I duplicated the composition on the timeline, deleted the levels adjustment and set the mode of that layer to 'colour'.
This meant it forced the original colour of the footage on to everything underneath. This creates a high contrast look without increased saturation that results from using adjustments like levels. This makes my footage more interesting to look at. I have used keyframes to only show this layer in the POV shots to accompany the blur to create the sense of just waking up and maybe not seeing things properly.
Unfortunately this highlights the graininess of the footage, but it is still more preferable.
Here is a comparison:
The old footage is on the left and the bleach footage is on the right.
Blur
Following on from the bleach effect I have also added a blur to the POV shots to simulate a dazed feeling that you might get from waking up in the morning. I achieved this by applying a Gaussian Blur to my video and using keyframes to bring the blurriness out when it cuts to a POV shot. This combines with the colour part of the bleach effect.
Denoise
I have downloaded a Plug-in called 'Topaz' that has a Denoise filter and has removed some of the graininess from my video. While this does not completely solve it I have tried to respond to the feedback that I got from the class crit.
Post Production - Video Editing Recap
I will list and described all of the post production I have applied to the video, including video filters and animation in After Effects. I will also explain how I produced each effect and why I decided to include it.
This is a form of recap and analysis of what I have done so far.
Colour Correction
I have used colour correction videos to improve the look of the footage I shot. Some of the clips had a colour cast and I removed this with colour correction filters. Here is an example demonstrating this:
On the left is the original footage but just with levels adjusted. It is very red, which does not reflect how it should look. On the right is the colour corrected footage. His skin is much more natural looking and the door is more green which is more in keeping with the actual colour of the door.
Levels Adjustments
My footage was very dark so I had to make a lot of adjustments to the footage to make it look more appealing and more like the morning than night. I used brightness & contrast filters as well as the '3-Way Colour Corrector' filter to increase the highlights and shadows, as well as adjusting the midtones. Here is an example:
On the left is the original footage and on the right is the adjusted footage. The filters have really made an improvement in visibility and makes it match some of the other footage in the same room which is at a similar brightness level. I have still retained the contrast with strong blacks under the bed while making the main parts light enough to see properly.
Time Remapping/Speeding Up Video
To make the video feel faster paced I sped the clips up by varying amounts (120 - 250%). Sometimes this was because I wanted to fit more of the process in to the short amount of time I had given to some of my clips because it would feel like it was cut off. It also makes this feel faster and more urgent, adding to the meaning of the video. This is much slower than a time lapse video but still shows a process faster than naturally possible.
Audio Noise Removal
Most of the audio I recorded contained noise which was distracting and made the sound cuts more obvious and hard than I wanted them to be. Using Audacity I was able to remove the noise from my sound effects and re-export them ready to be imported in to my project now clean and free from noise.
Pitch Adjustment
I had to speed up certain sounds for my video and this shifted the pitch higher so I had to make some adjustments to lower it. In the case of the brushing teeth I had written notes on my thumbnails about how I wanted each cut to have a different pitch starting with mid, low, then high. I was able to achieve this very well and I think the variations in pitch really seperate the 3 clips that might otherwise seem repetative.
This is a form of recap and analysis of what I have done so far.
Colour Correction
I have used colour correction videos to improve the look of the footage I shot. Some of the clips had a colour cast and I removed this with colour correction filters. Here is an example demonstrating this:
On the left is the original footage but just with levels adjusted. It is very red, which does not reflect how it should look. On the right is the colour corrected footage. His skin is much more natural looking and the door is more green which is more in keeping with the actual colour of the door.
Levels Adjustments
My footage was very dark so I had to make a lot of adjustments to the footage to make it look more appealing and more like the morning than night. I used brightness & contrast filters as well as the '3-Way Colour Corrector' filter to increase the highlights and shadows, as well as adjusting the midtones. Here is an example:
On the left is the original footage and on the right is the adjusted footage. The filters have really made an improvement in visibility and makes it match some of the other footage in the same room which is at a similar brightness level. I have still retained the contrast with strong blacks under the bed while making the main parts light enough to see properly.
Time Remapping/Speeding Up Video
To make the video feel faster paced I sped the clips up by varying amounts (120 - 250%). Sometimes this was because I wanted to fit more of the process in to the short amount of time I had given to some of my clips because it would feel like it was cut off. It also makes this feel faster and more urgent, adding to the meaning of the video. This is much slower than a time lapse video but still shows a process faster than naturally possible.
Audio Noise Removal
Most of the audio I recorded contained noise which was distracting and made the sound cuts more obvious and hard than I wanted them to be. Using Audacity I was able to remove the noise from my sound effects and re-export them ready to be imported in to my project now clean and free from noise.
Pitch Adjustment
I had to speed up certain sounds for my video and this shifted the pitch higher so I had to make some adjustments to lower it. In the case of the brushing teeth I had written notes on my thumbnails about how I wanted each cut to have a different pitch starting with mid, low, then high. I was able to achieve this very well and I think the variations in pitch really seperate the 3 clips that might otherwise seem repetative.
DVD Intro
While learning the functions and gaining skills in After Effects I decided it would be fun to produce a short and simple intro video for the DVD that I will submit at the end of my project to make it look more appealing. While doing this I gained more skills and learned about some features that I didn't know were there. Mostly involving text as I have not used any text in my video.
I am happy with the intro. It is simple and only 4 seconds long. After the video has finished playing the final frame will remain static and the interactive menu will pop up showing just text
Here is mock up of the menu interface:
Here is a preview of the intro:
I am happy with the intro. It is simple and only 4 seconds long. After the video has finished playing the final frame will remain static and the interactive menu will pop up showing just text
Here is mock up of the menu interface:
Here is a preview of the intro:
Problem Solving: Noise
Something brought up in the crit session was that my footage is too grainy because it has a lot of visual noise. As discussed before in my blog, I have determined this to be due to lack of natural light. Having tried some filters I couldn't remove the noise from my video but I did some quick research and found a set of plugins, one of which removes noise. At first glance this plugin really helps my footage.
The problem I have found with this though is that the 'Spatial-Temporal Balance' option is the best part of the filter, yet when I have it on anything above 0 it causes some serious artefacting in motion. With this option disabled the removal of noise is not as strong. I will still keep the remove noise on but without the option mentioned above. While this does not solve the problem it has helped it a bit.
Here is an image preview:
(click to enlarge)
On the top is the original and on the bottom is with the plugin.
The problem I have found with this though is that the 'Spatial-Temporal Balance' option is the best part of the filter, yet when I have it on anything above 0 it causes some serious artefacting in motion. With this option disabled the removal of noise is not as strong. I will still keep the remove noise on but without the option mentioned above. While this does not solve the problem it has helped it a bit.
Here is an image preview:
(click to enlarge)
On the top is the original and on the bottom is with the plugin.
Problem Solving: Audio Trouble & Colour Correction
Having successfully imported my video in to After Effects I have noticed some problems arising from importing my raw project. A lot of the sounds haven't retained their editing meaning that the sound is not how I wanted it to sound. To get around this problem I have muted the composition in After Effects, and exported my audio track on it's own and imported that into after effects to lay over the top. It sounds exactly how it should do now.
Another issue I found is that not all of my colour correction carried over so I have had to make some adjustments in After Effects to the colour correction which was very simple as there are effects to do just what I wanted available.
Another issue I found is that not all of my colour correction carried over so I have had to make some adjustments in After Effects to the colour correction which was very simple as there are effects to do just what I wanted available.
Class Crit
After the class crit I have received some feedback that I can put back in to my work to improve it. I will analyse these points and see how they might benefit my work. Here are some of the points raised:
Positive:
The sound works well at the beginning.
I take this to mean that the sound effects I recorded and downloaded were effective in enhancing the clips.
The handle is a good closing shot.
I was aiming to have a solid opening and closing shot, so it's good to know that the final shot is well received.
Yawn works well.
I really liked the concept of the yawn shot. Having one continuous shot interrupted by the eye rubbing and then returning to the same shot I thought was a good idea. It could have been shot better but I am glad the concept was well received.
The pacing is strong.
This is good because while the majority of my shots are 12 frames long I made some of them deliberately longer to change up the pacing and give focus to certain things amongst the fast cuts.
A Compressed(fast) feel to the film.
This is good to hear because the main point of the film according to the brief is to create a faced paced video with 20 cuts in 15 seconds. Knowing that I have covered the primary objective on the brief is comforting.
Tooth paste is a good shot.
I was worried about this shot as the camera I was using didn't have any manual focus options and it was impossible for me to hold the tooth brush and toothpaste at a decent distance from the camera and when I watched what I had recorded I was disappointed to find it was blurry and out of focus. I have edited the clip to look better and it is good to know that the clip doesn't look as bad as I had originally thought.
It has the feeling of being shot in the morning.
This is good news. I didn't get to film it in the morning because my model was not available until the afternoon and I had many issues with the lighting. I tried to correct this in post production and it is good to know that when watching it appears to be during the morning even though it is not.
Negative:
The first two thirds are stronger than the last third.
The final third would involve the going to the toilet, washing hands, drying hands and then going in to the door. It is a shame that people felt the final third is weaker, as you don't want to end on something worse than the rest. That part of the sequence doesn't have as much interesting things going on in it as the others which may explain why. It's too late to do anything about at this stage but it might have been more dramatic and interesting if he had washed his face and dried it than gone to the toilet.
Still, the final third wasn't said to be bad just not as good as the rest so there is no emergency.
Something needs to happen in the loo.
I disagree with this point. Although it makes sense for continuity, it is a bit obscene and unnecessary. I originally put in my thumbnails before my full storyboards for there to be a shot with liquid going in to the toilet but as I have stated it isn't needed. If you watch my Shaun of the Dead research which inspired my toilet scene it leaves out this part of the sequence.
Where I show the toilet seat being lifted, Shaun of the dead shows the characters zipper being pulled down. While they are different shots, they both serve the same purpose of establishing what action is about to take place. The next shot in both my film and Shaun of the Dead is the lever of the toilet being pulled. This is a narrative/editing technique called 'Ellipsis', which means missing out a section of the narrative leaving the audience to fill in the gaps. This is appropriate for scenes that might be obscene like the suggested 'Something needs to happen in the loo'.
Too grainy.
This is the biggest problem I have found in my own video. It was very frustrating to find that my footage was very grainy, full of noise. I thought there might be a problem with the camera but after looking at other people's footage with the same camera it seems to be down to the lack of natural light. For this reason, I can't re-shoot to improve it as the lack of natural light is a limitation of the situation I need to shoot. I have tried several filters and post production effects to reduce the noise but it degrades the quality of the footage in a different way so I have decided to just leave it and bear this in mind for future projects.
Lacking camera movement.
I agree. I had planned for a pan or 2 but my lack of experience with the camera proved to have limited compatibility with my imagination. The toothpaste shot was going to follow the toothpaste in an extreme closeup across the brush but I had trouble even getting it in frame. All of my shots are very static and I would have liked to have zooms on all the shots like in Shaun of the Dead. The problem there was that I couldn't zoom while filming without jogging the camera because of the way you use the zoom and adding zoom in post production means you have to scales the clip and this lowers the quality further so I decided against this in the end.
- The first two thirds are stronger than the last third.
- The sound works well at the beginning.
- Something needs to happen in the loo.
- The handle is a good closing shot.
- Too grainy.
- Yawn works well.
- The pacing is strong.
- A Compressed(fast) feel to the film.
- Tooth paste is a good shot.
- Lacking camera movement.
- It has the feeling of being shot in the morning.
Positive:
The sound works well at the beginning.
I take this to mean that the sound effects I recorded and downloaded were effective in enhancing the clips.
The handle is a good closing shot.
I was aiming to have a solid opening and closing shot, so it's good to know that the final shot is well received.
Yawn works well.
I really liked the concept of the yawn shot. Having one continuous shot interrupted by the eye rubbing and then returning to the same shot I thought was a good idea. It could have been shot better but I am glad the concept was well received.
The pacing is strong.
This is good because while the majority of my shots are 12 frames long I made some of them deliberately longer to change up the pacing and give focus to certain things amongst the fast cuts.
A Compressed(fast) feel to the film.
This is good to hear because the main point of the film according to the brief is to create a faced paced video with 20 cuts in 15 seconds. Knowing that I have covered the primary objective on the brief is comforting.
Tooth paste is a good shot.
I was worried about this shot as the camera I was using didn't have any manual focus options and it was impossible for me to hold the tooth brush and toothpaste at a decent distance from the camera and when I watched what I had recorded I was disappointed to find it was blurry and out of focus. I have edited the clip to look better and it is good to know that the clip doesn't look as bad as I had originally thought.
It has the feeling of being shot in the morning.
This is good news. I didn't get to film it in the morning because my model was not available until the afternoon and I had many issues with the lighting. I tried to correct this in post production and it is good to know that when watching it appears to be during the morning even though it is not.
Negative:
The first two thirds are stronger than the last third.
The final third would involve the going to the toilet, washing hands, drying hands and then going in to the door. It is a shame that people felt the final third is weaker, as you don't want to end on something worse than the rest. That part of the sequence doesn't have as much interesting things going on in it as the others which may explain why. It's too late to do anything about at this stage but it might have been more dramatic and interesting if he had washed his face and dried it than gone to the toilet.
Still, the final third wasn't said to be bad just not as good as the rest so there is no emergency.
Something needs to happen in the loo.
I disagree with this point. Although it makes sense for continuity, it is a bit obscene and unnecessary. I originally put in my thumbnails before my full storyboards for there to be a shot with liquid going in to the toilet but as I have stated it isn't needed. If you watch my Shaun of the Dead research which inspired my toilet scene it leaves out this part of the sequence.
Where I show the toilet seat being lifted, Shaun of the dead shows the characters zipper being pulled down. While they are different shots, they both serve the same purpose of establishing what action is about to take place. The next shot in both my film and Shaun of the Dead is the lever of the toilet being pulled. This is a narrative/editing technique called 'Ellipsis', which means missing out a section of the narrative leaving the audience to fill in the gaps. This is appropriate for scenes that might be obscene like the suggested 'Something needs to happen in the loo'.
Too grainy.
This is the biggest problem I have found in my own video. It was very frustrating to find that my footage was very grainy, full of noise. I thought there might be a problem with the camera but after looking at other people's footage with the same camera it seems to be down to the lack of natural light. For this reason, I can't re-shoot to improve it as the lack of natural light is a limitation of the situation I need to shoot. I have tried several filters and post production effects to reduce the noise but it degrades the quality of the footage in a different way so I have decided to just leave it and bear this in mind for future projects.
Lacking camera movement.
I agree. I had planned for a pan or 2 but my lack of experience with the camera proved to have limited compatibility with my imagination. The toothpaste shot was going to follow the toothpaste in an extreme closeup across the brush but I had trouble even getting it in frame. All of my shots are very static and I would have liked to have zooms on all the shots like in Shaun of the Dead. The problem there was that I couldn't zoom while filming without jogging the camera because of the way you use the zoom and adding zoom in post production means you have to scales the clip and this lowers the quality further so I decided against this in the end.
Video With Sound Effects
I have now added sound effects to my video to increase the sense of urgency and drama.
Here is a preview:
Here is a preview:
Finding Sound Effects
As well as diagetic audio I am also adding sound effect to heighten the sense of drama. A few websites were recommended to me as great sources for royalty free sound effects and some I have used in the past. I found many useful effects for my project. I explored some websites that did not offer free sound effects, but I used the previews for research to get an idea of what sounds I needed and then looked for free alternatives
Some of the websites I used for research and/or downloading sounds:
http://www.soundsnap.com/
http://soundbible.com/
http://www.soundjay.com/
http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/index.html
http://free-loops.com/
http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/
http://www.flashkit.com/soundfx/
Some of the websites I used for research and/or downloading sounds:
http://www.soundsnap.com/
http://soundbible.com/
http://www.soundjay.com/
http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/index.html
http://free-loops.com/
http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/
http://www.flashkit.com/soundfx/
Codec Problems: H.264 Gamma Bug
Something that has caused me problems before and a lot of other people as well is a bug caused when exporting a movie with the h.264 codec. There is a shift in the gamma, essentially causing the image to appear much lighter than it should be. This is a huge problem because it makes everything looked washed out and the shadows, midtones and highlight loose all of their strength.
I made an example showing the effects in my video: (normal left, bug right)
I decided to find the cause of this bug and while looking for answers I discovered a solution to the bug, so I made it in to an easy to follow list guide that I will post here for others to use in their project.
1. Export your Quicktime movie with H.264 codec.
2. Open in Quicktime Pro and press ctrl + J to bring up 'Movie Properties'.
3. Highlight the video track then click on the 'Visual Settings' tab.
4. Look for 'Transparency', and select 'Blend' from the drop down menu.
5. Move the slider to 100%.
6. Choose 'Straight Alpha' from the same drop down menu.
7. Save your video.
Source: http://www.macosxhints.com/comment.php?mode=view&cid=83325
I made an example showing the effects in my video: (normal left, bug right)
I decided to find the cause of this bug and while looking for answers I discovered a solution to the bug, so I made it in to an easy to follow list guide that I will post here for others to use in their project.
1. Export your Quicktime movie with H.264 codec.
2. Open in Quicktime Pro and press ctrl + J to bring up 'Movie Properties'.
3. Highlight the video track then click on the 'Visual Settings' tab.
4. Look for 'Transparency', and select 'Blend' from the drop down menu.
5. Move the slider to 100%.
6. Choose 'Straight Alpha' from the same drop down menu.
7. Save your video.
I have also searched high and low for a solution to the "washed out" look. After an almost sleepless night I came across the fix without having to mess around with color profiles. I'm working from a PC so some of the commands might be slightly different.
After you create the QuickTime/h.264 file, open it up in QuickTime and select "Show Movie Properties." Highlight the video track then click on the "Visual Settings" tab. Towards the bottom left you should see "Transparency" with a drop-down box next to it. Select "Blend" from the menu then move the "Transparency Level" slider to 100%. Right after that, choose "Straight Alpha" from the same drop-down and close the properties window. AND finally, "Save."
So far, it's worked like a charm for me; hope it does the same for you.
Source: http://www.macosxhints.com/comment.php?mode=view&cid=83325
Sound - Capturing and Editing
When shooting the video I didn't pay too much attention to how it sounded, as there was no dialogue. I planned from the start to record sound separately and then edit it over, as I will be introducing and manipulating sound effects over the top anyway. This week I recorded some of the sounds I need using the same camera I used to record the video (as I do not own a microphone) except this time not worrying about the video and just concentrating on creating the sounds I need.
I recorded the video and brought it in to the video editor, then cut it all up and exported each of the sound effects separately as .wav sounds. Something I noticed is that the camera picks up a lot of audio noise. I turned off all electrical equipment to lower this but it seems to pick up high pitched noises regardless. To combat this I have imported all of the .wav sound files in to an external audio editing program, Audacity, and did 2 things. The first thing was to remove the noise, and the second was to export it as an MP3, which is a very compatible file type.
To remove the noise I opened the sound file in Audacity and selected Noise Removal under Effects.
You then have to select a sample of the noise that needs to be removed. Luckily I left some silence before and after each sound which was filled by noise so I was able to get a good selection. With the noise sample selected I click 'Get Noise Profile'. You can then adjust the slider for how much of it you want to remove. The noise is present even during the main sound, so the more you remove it, the more the sound is going to be effected and in some cases this really distorts the audio. Once I had refined it to sound as best as it could I clicked the remove noise button and was left with my sound, noise free.
You can see the difference in the waveforms:
I made a short video demonstrating the difference this has made to the quality of my sounds:
(I can't get the full video to upload, it cuts it off after 20 seconds, but you get the idea.)
I recorded the video and brought it in to the video editor, then cut it all up and exported each of the sound effects separately as .wav sounds. Something I noticed is that the camera picks up a lot of audio noise. I turned off all electrical equipment to lower this but it seems to pick up high pitched noises regardless. To combat this I have imported all of the .wav sound files in to an external audio editing program, Audacity, and did 2 things. The first thing was to remove the noise, and the second was to export it as an MP3, which is a very compatible file type.
To remove the noise I opened the sound file in Audacity and selected Noise Removal under Effects.
You then have to select a sample of the noise that needs to be removed. Luckily I left some silence before and after each sound which was filled by noise so I was able to get a good selection. With the noise sample selected I click 'Get Noise Profile'. You can then adjust the slider for how much of it you want to remove. The noise is present even during the main sound, so the more you remove it, the more the sound is going to be effected and in some cases this really distorts the audio. Once I had refined it to sound as best as it could I clicked the remove noise button and was left with my sound, noise free.
You can see the difference in the waveforms:
I made a short video demonstrating the difference this has made to the quality of my sounds:
(I can't get the full video to upload, it cuts it off after 20 seconds, but you get the idea.)
Colour Correction Improvements and Comparison
In my last edit I already adjusted each clip. I used the Brightness & Contrast filter (to increase the contrast), as well as the colour balance filter (to remove any colour cast on each clip). After getting feedback from the class it was agreed that the clips still looked too dull and needed to appear more dynamic. The shadows weren't dark enough, the highlights weren't light enough and the midtones were bland.
To improve this I was told to use an effect/filter called '3-Way Colour Correction'. Using this I could increase overall saturation, and manually increase or decrease the shadows, highlights and midtones to create something that looks more dynamic. The increased saturation really makes the colours come out more and the increase in contrast is very noticeable. Some of the shots that had very dull lighting now look a lot more bright and appealing on the screen.
To show the difference I have put together a video showing both the original clips with no adjustments, and the new edited version. The left side of the screen is the new adjustments and the right side is the original clips. Watching it in this way really shows the difference these filters made to making the scenes look more interesting and vibrant. I halved the speed of the video so it is 30 seconds long, and allows you to see the changes better.
Download Higher Quality Version: http://www.alisterbuss.co.uk/comparison.mov (right click, save as)
To improve this I was told to use an effect/filter called '3-Way Colour Correction'. Using this I could increase overall saturation, and manually increase or decrease the shadows, highlights and midtones to create something that looks more dynamic. The increased saturation really makes the colours come out more and the increase in contrast is very noticeable. Some of the shots that had very dull lighting now look a lot more bright and appealing on the screen.
To show the difference I have put together a video showing both the original clips with no adjustments, and the new edited version. The left side of the screen is the new adjustments and the right side is the original clips. Watching it in this way really shows the difference these filters made to making the scenes look more interesting and vibrant. I halved the speed of the video so it is 30 seconds long, and allows you to see the changes better.
Download Higher Quality Version: http://www.alisterbuss.co.uk/comparison.mov (right click, save as)
Importance of Video in Crash, Bang Wallop
Having received some feedback on my work in progress it was suggested that my clips looked visually dull, and needed some adjusting to make them look better. This made me think of the importance of how each shot looks in the project. The idea behind this video is associated with words such as urgency, fast pace, action, dynamic, exciting, speed, energy, high impact and many others. How is this created?
The main focus has been, for everyone, the fast paced aspect which I have aimed to achieve through very fast cuts and making the clips last half a second mostly. This gives a sense of speed through seeing the action sped up while not seeing every part of the action. Not necessarily a 'Jump Cut' but it skips through these processes to highlight key parts.
Another key element is the sound. While your eyes try to keep up with the pace of the video we have all aimed to use loud and sharp sounds to stimulate the ears. The sound not only adds another sense that can experience the piece but it also exaggerates and amplifies the effect of the visual aspect. A foot stamping down is more satisfying when accompanied by a great thudding sound.
Through focusing on these 2 elements it seems I have neglected until now another important aspect of the film. How it looks. Something visually dynamic draws attention far better than a plain image. Forgetting camera angles and positioning, I mean more specifically the elements of contrast and colour saturation. These things can easily be enhanced in post production through filters and that is something I need to focus on.
The main focus has been, for everyone, the fast paced aspect which I have aimed to achieve through very fast cuts and making the clips last half a second mostly. This gives a sense of speed through seeing the action sped up while not seeing every part of the action. Not necessarily a 'Jump Cut' but it skips through these processes to highlight key parts.
Another key element is the sound. While your eyes try to keep up with the pace of the video we have all aimed to use loud and sharp sounds to stimulate the ears. The sound not only adds another sense that can experience the piece but it also exaggerates and amplifies the effect of the visual aspect. A foot stamping down is more satisfying when accompanied by a great thudding sound.
Through focusing on these 2 elements it seems I have neglected until now another important aspect of the film. How it looks. Something visually dynamic draws attention far better than a plain image. Forgetting camera angles and positioning, I mean more specifically the elements of contrast and colour saturation. These things can easily be enhanced in post production through filters and that is something I need to focus on.
Fourth Edit - Video Adjustments
A lot of changes have been made for the fourth edit. In the previous edit I had adjusted the length of all the clips until I was happy with the pacing and speed of the clips but in this edit I manually adjusted each clips brightness, contrast and colour balance to try to improve image quality and create some consistency between scenes. During the filming lighting was a big problem because of the awkward positioning of the camera and my model.
Most of the scenes were too dark, so I have tried to make them seem much more bright in line with the bathroom shots, as those are much brighter but obviously not as bright because the bedroom is supposed to be a bit darker. Some clips took more tweaking than others but I believe I have improved the quality of the videos considerably.
I have also added fades to the start and end of the sequence. The opening fade is 1 second, as 12 frames felt too short plus I can have the beeping start during the fade so it works out well. The final clip is 1 second long, and fade is 12 frames to give it a quick ending, as the first 14 frames are the door closing and the final 10 are the fade. I didn't want the fade to start before the door had fully closed so it is 10 frames instead of 12 to make it feel better.
Here is an image preview comparing the improvements I have made: (click to enlarge)
Here is a preview:
Most of the scenes were too dark, so I have tried to make them seem much more bright in line with the bathroom shots, as those are much brighter but obviously not as bright because the bedroom is supposed to be a bit darker. Some clips took more tweaking than others but I believe I have improved the quality of the videos considerably.
I have also added fades to the start and end of the sequence. The opening fade is 1 second, as 12 frames felt too short plus I can have the beeping start during the fade so it works out well. The final clip is 1 second long, and fade is 12 frames to give it a quick ending, as the first 14 frames are the door closing and the final 10 are the fade. I didn't want the fade to start before the door had fully closed so it is 10 frames instead of 12 to make it feel better.
Here is an image preview comparing the improvements I have made: (click to enlarge)
Here is a preview:
Third Edit - Length Adjustment
After cutting down all my clips in the last edit to make sure they are all fast and fit under 15 seconds, I have decided to make fine adjustments to the clips. After watching my last edit repeatedly a lot of the shots felt too brief and the pacing was all wrong. I realised part of this was due to the speed of the activity in the shot. They felt too brief not because of the 12 frame duration but because not enough of the process was shown in that time to be clear so I sped up the clips from 100% speed to 120%, 150%, 180% or 200% depending on what worked best. I also shortened some of the longer clips to make other clips slightly longer and vary the pace more over the clip.
Based on some feedback I cut back on the yawning sequence, and spotted a continuity error with rubbing the eyes. The clip is cut between yawning shots but his hands were still on his eyes when it cuts back to the yawning but his hands are not in sight so I sped the clip up, shortened it then duplicated and reversed it. Placing them side by side it makes it look as though he has completed the action. I was originally considering making a jump cut but I think it looks better this way. It is so fast that you cannot tell it is reversed.
I also increased the length of the walking in doorway, opening bathroom door, the toilet flushing and the ending. I made a lot of room by cutting back on my initial shot and the toothpaste shot which were the longest parts of the sequences. This has made everything felt more tightly cut and improved the pacing considerably.
Here is a preview:
Based on some feedback I cut back on the yawning sequence, and spotted a continuity error with rubbing the eyes. The clip is cut between yawning shots but his hands were still on his eyes when it cuts back to the yawning but his hands are not in sight so I sped the clip up, shortened it then duplicated and reversed it. Placing them side by side it makes it look as though he has completed the action. I was originally considering making a jump cut but I think it looks better this way. It is so fast that you cannot tell it is reversed.
I also increased the length of the walking in doorway, opening bathroom door, the toilet flushing and the ending. I made a lot of room by cutting back on my initial shot and the toothpaste shot which were the longest parts of the sequences. This has made everything felt more tightly cut and improved the pacing considerably.
Here is a preview:
Second Edit - Edit Down
Following from my first edit, saved as a separate sequence, I have cut down all my clips to fit them in to the 15 second limit. I cut all of the 15 frame clips down to 12 so they are half a second long. I have also adjusted some of the longer clips down. There are a total of 23 edit points, 3 more than the required number.
A problem with this version of the sequence is that some of the clips feel too brief. Some of them need to be longer than they are. Since I have 3 more edits than are required, it would be possible for me to remove up to 3 clips which would change the narrative and the pace so I can't take the decision lightly. I need to think of several other possibilities before I alter the narrative.
The reason why I think this problem has come up is that based on watching examples of work by previous students in this project I wanted my video to have a solid beginning and end sequence (something I felt they lacked) rather than just ending abruptly after a fast cut so those clips are much longer than anything else. It's also possible that a few of the processes I had scripted take longer than others so they require more time even though I have sped them up.
Here is a preview:
A problem with this version of the sequence is that some of the clips feel too brief. Some of them need to be longer than they are. Since I have 3 more edits than are required, it would be possible for me to remove up to 3 clips which would change the narrative and the pace so I can't take the decision lightly. I need to think of several other possibilities before I alter the narrative.
The reason why I think this problem has come up is that based on watching examples of work by previous students in this project I wanted my video to have a solid beginning and end sequence (something I felt they lacked) rather than just ending abruptly after a fast cut so those clips are much longer than anything else. It's also possible that a few of the processes I had scripted take longer than others so they require more time even though I have sped them up.
Here is a preview:
First Edit - Rough
I have started editing together my video, and this is the first stage. I will stagger my project by saving out different sequences at different parts. The first edit is very rough. Just editing each clip down to the part I am going to use, placed end to end on the timeline.
All together I have 20 seconds and 4 frames worth of video, and I need to lose 5 seconds and 4 frames to bring it down to 15 seconds to fit the requirement in the brief. Most of my edit points are 15 seconds long, but the frame rate is 25, so if I edit down each 15 frame clip to 12 or 13 seconds I will shave more time off the total and make it seem faster paced.
One thing I have noticed is that while the way I storyboarded the sequence had a nice varied pace, some of the pacing hasn't worked out quite right and some parts don't feel right so I will have to experiment further with speeding up clips and adjusting their length to get something that feels more complete.
The sound portion is completely absent. All the clips have sound but in most cases I have removed it because it is not good enough for the project. I will have to record the sounds for the scenes later in the week, and since I will be focusing on the sound alone I will get much better results than I did with the sound accompanying the video portion. I will also have to research good sound effects to use on top of the diagetic audio to enhance the mood.
After sound will start editing the look of each clip. A lot of them are much darker than I expected so I will be editing the brightness of the screens as well as colour correction and any other necessary effects.
Here is a preview:
All together I have 20 seconds and 4 frames worth of video, and I need to lose 5 seconds and 4 frames to bring it down to 15 seconds to fit the requirement in the brief. Most of my edit points are 15 seconds long, but the frame rate is 25, so if I edit down each 15 frame clip to 12 or 13 seconds I will shave more time off the total and make it seem faster paced.
One thing I have noticed is that while the way I storyboarded the sequence had a nice varied pace, some of the pacing hasn't worked out quite right and some parts don't feel right so I will have to experiment further with speeding up clips and adjusting their length to get something that feels more complete.
The sound portion is completely absent. All the clips have sound but in most cases I have removed it because it is not good enough for the project. I will have to record the sounds for the scenes later in the week, and since I will be focusing on the sound alone I will get much better results than I did with the sound accompanying the video portion. I will also have to research good sound effects to use on top of the diagetic audio to enhance the mood.
After sound will start editing the look of each clip. A lot of them are much darker than I expected so I will be editing the brightness of the screens as well as colour correction and any other necessary effects.
Here is a preview:
Shoot Review
I just finished shooting all the footage I need for my 15 second film. I had originally planned to film myself, but I soon realised that this would not be possible and would result in a worse film so I asked my friend to stand in for me. Overall it went well. I learnt a lot of things and made some compromises.
The biggest problem I found was with space. When I wrote the storyboard I hadn't got an idea of how I would set up the tripod for the camera because my house is quite small. When I came to shoot it was very difficult to set up the tripod. A lot of the shots do not feature the same height and angle as in my storyboards because it simply wasn't possible (for instance, the toilet seat being lifted I had drawn as being from the right side, straight, but there is only 10cm of space to the right of my toilet).
Another thing I learnt was how useful it is to make a shooting schedule. I wrote down all the scenes I needed to film and divided them by which ones I needed my friend for and which ones I didn't. I chose him because we have similar arms, so I could get the most out of the shoots with him and shoot the scenes where I could use my arm later on. This made time easier to manage, because I could use the time I had to shoot him better and not worry about the rest of the scenes.
A couple of scenes didn't work out how I had intended due to my limited knowledge about cameras. I set up the shot for the toothpaste going on to the brush but looking back at the footage, it's out of focus. I had a hard time setting up a shot where I could get a good enough close up of the brush as I held it and to get the toothpaste spread across it. It's disappointing that after all that it doesn't look very good but I will try and proceed and re-shoot if necessary.
I also forgot to shoot a few of the scenes on Saturday, I had overlooked them on the list so I shot the remaining parts today. The light levels weren't too different so hopefully it will look OK. I'm going to be adjusting the lighting anyway so I should be able to balance things out.
Overall I did OK. I learnt some things, got more experience with camera and my first experience doing a tiny bit of directing. Now it's time to edit it.
The biggest problem I found was with space. When I wrote the storyboard I hadn't got an idea of how I would set up the tripod for the camera because my house is quite small. When I came to shoot it was very difficult to set up the tripod. A lot of the shots do not feature the same height and angle as in my storyboards because it simply wasn't possible (for instance, the toilet seat being lifted I had drawn as being from the right side, straight, but there is only 10cm of space to the right of my toilet).
Another thing I learnt was how useful it is to make a shooting schedule. I wrote down all the scenes I needed to film and divided them by which ones I needed my friend for and which ones I didn't. I chose him because we have similar arms, so I could get the most out of the shoots with him and shoot the scenes where I could use my arm later on. This made time easier to manage, because I could use the time I had to shoot him better and not worry about the rest of the scenes.
A couple of scenes didn't work out how I had intended due to my limited knowledge about cameras. I set up the shot for the toothpaste going on to the brush but looking back at the footage, it's out of focus. I had a hard time setting up a shot where I could get a good enough close up of the brush as I held it and to get the toothpaste spread across it. It's disappointing that after all that it doesn't look very good but I will try and proceed and re-shoot if necessary.
I also forgot to shoot a few of the scenes on Saturday, I had overlooked them on the list so I shot the remaining parts today. The light levels weren't too different so hopefully it will look OK. I'm going to be adjusting the lighting anyway so I should be able to balance things out.
Overall I did OK. I learnt some things, got more experience with camera and my first experience doing a tiny bit of directing. Now it's time to edit it.
Adding Effects - Ideas
Before I start thinking of adding effects to my video I have to consider why I am adding effects and what they will mean. The brief specifies the use of post production on our videos, and here is what it says.
The effects I make and apply to the video will have to enhance the mood or the meaning, so I must first identify any theme regarding mood or meaning in my video. While I hadn't planned any complex themes there are certain moods implied by the way it is shot. For instance, the most obvious being that it is somebody waking up so presumably set in the morning.
When you wake up in the morning you are slightly disorientated. Your eyes haven't adjusted to the world yet and your vision might be blurry and inaccurate. I could use After Effects to animate an effect that would recreate this during the point of view shots that I had storyboarded.
Another idea I have had is to heighten the overall theme of 'Crash, Bang, Wallop' by adding a camera shake to the crashes. I don't want it to become repetitive so I will only add it to the 2 foot stomps at the start of the sequence. I will create this in After Effects although I do not yet know how I will do this.
Post Production
Take the finished video and apply post production effects to add and extend the meaning of the piece. This must feature animated characteristics, and may also use video effects.
The effects I make and apply to the video will have to enhance the mood or the meaning, so I must first identify any theme regarding mood or meaning in my video. While I hadn't planned any complex themes there are certain moods implied by the way it is shot. For instance, the most obvious being that it is somebody waking up so presumably set in the morning.
When you wake up in the morning you are slightly disorientated. Your eyes haven't adjusted to the world yet and your vision might be blurry and inaccurate. I could use After Effects to animate an effect that would recreate this during the point of view shots that I had storyboarded.
Another idea I have had is to heighten the overall theme of 'Crash, Bang, Wallop' by adding a camera shake to the crashes. I don't want it to become repetitive so I will only add it to the 2 foot stomps at the start of the sequence. I will create this in After Effects although I do not yet know how I will do this.
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