Bye bye, until next time

     Well, it is finally that dreaded time again, saying goodbye. Having finished everything, I'm putting it all in a Google Drive for higher quality preserving, which you can access here. Organization is good, which is why I put all components there. Having finished the project still has me wanting to do more, as I still have ideas I can implement, and things to brush up on. Even if I don't resubmit, which I doubt I even can, I'll still save it for the future, and include it in a future portfolio. Either way, here is some more organized links.

Google Drive (includes Instagram, short film, and postcard)

            Front of postcard teehee

            Back of card teehee x2

Instagram:

Wrapping up with inspiration part 1/?

    Things are slowly coming to an end, and while I am still not done, I did watch something that gave me a lot more to reflect on. While it can be counterproductive to get inspiration when wrapping up a project, I have been doing what I can to keep it from affecting me. 

    Either way, I watched Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which gave me a lot of ideas and inspiration in terms of animation work. The movie looks spectacular, not just the animation, but the effects as well, as is the case with anything MAPPA makes. Much like the show (that I have only watched clips and like three episodes of), there was no compromising in animation, as there wasn't really a time limit as much as with serialized releases seen in the first season of the sequel(?). It works well as a prequel, as it embodies a lot of the same charm of the series, condensing it into a single experience. While good for animation, I felt like it hindered the storytelling. Although the pacing was good, I found that I wasn't really invested, and a lot of what the series conveyed either felt bland, or wasn't developed enough to get me invested in it. 

Jujustu Kaisen 0, which deals with the prequel story of Yuta, has again been blessed by MAPPA's dedicated animators. Reception in both Japan and the US were good, as it earned 1st and 2nd box office placement for each respective country. I enjoyed it a lot, and you could too lol

    

    I also watched Thermae Romae Novae, another anime series that also gave me some inspiration. Although it wasn't as visually appealing as Jujutsu Kaisen 0, it still had a charm to it. At the end of every episode, the author of the original manga visits a hot spring that served as inspiration to her. She also makes a drawing relating to the place she visits. The series itself is also a lot simpler, with the plot being fairly redundant, but I still enjoyed it, as every so often I found new or interesting information regarding Ancient Roman and Japanese culture. After watching it, I thought of how having a simpler story doesn't mean bad, as some people can still enjoy it, reinforcing my previous ideas of having a simple story. 

Thermae Romae Novae is a simpler series, that still has it's own charm. I enjoyed quite a lot of it, as it felt sufficiently informational, while still adding humor and interesting visuals.

    Aside from this, I worked on more of my own ideas, streamlining them to my hearts content, even if I never make anything of them. I like watching any sort of content, as I always find something to appreciate or learn from.

More copyright work

     Copyright, who doesn't love it? Everyone should be the answer, except for greedy people. Anyways. I'm again finding ways to work around copyright by showing one specific example I've followed trying to use copyrighted music, that isn't as enforced compared to other songs out there. Some music that has recently being quite a battleground for content creators is the Minecraft soundtrack. Not only is it popular, but many streamers and video makers use YouTube to publish, which has allowed some people to steal content ID, even though this goes against YouTube's terms of service.

    Outlined in not only Minecraft's official page here, but also in Daniel's official website here; the Minecraft soundtrack is very much free to use, so long as it's kept as background music, and other content is made to go over it. There's been many times YouTuber's have used the music to play in the background of their streams, or even played the game and still got content ID by fake companies trying to steal money. To make sure the same doesn't happen to me, I researched a bit more, and even emailed Daniel's agent, which he suggests on his own website.

An email prompt on Daniel's website. Simple and effective we'll see if it works or if he's busy teehee

    It feels pretty nice to reach out in a casual way, and learn about something one of my favorite composers likely has had to deal with constantly. Either way, bye bye!

The dread of every project: Copyright

     One of the most annoying things any creator has had to deal with is copyright. Things are always messy, and even after years of streamlining it is far from perfect. Even if you are given permission to use a work by the copyright holder, a company, or even an individual can swoop in and steal profits or even take down your project. To put it simply, it's complicated, especially when debated in courts, and even across countries. 

    In general, a copyright law is just a protection over a work you've made, entitling that you own any original work you make, whether it's published or unpublished. One type of work, relating precisely to media, is what makes this so much more complicated, music. Although an artist can create music and generally own it, depending on the deal they have with a record label, they may or may not hold the copyright to it.

    Aside from this basic principle, there also exists free use and attributions. Some licenses allow you to use a work freely, so long as the original author is credited, and you don't edit the original; while other uses require the work to not be monetized. Free use laws also fall under this, as they allow you to freely use a copyrighted work so long as you do not claim it as yours, and add your own creative input to warrant its use. Having learned about this in class and by reading terms of service for models and YouTube, things certainly don't seem at all complicated, as just reading a bit helps unsure fair use. However, social media and services convolute everything. 

    One such example is in YouTube, where even if a work (more typically songs) fall under fair use, you can still receive copyright strikes, and have your channel deleted, as YouTube doesn't follow copyright laws, but it's own policies that prevent content stealing. This has happened with movie and show reviewers who used footage of what they were critiquing (something that falls under fair use), who have their channels deleted after a company sends claims to YouTube. More typically this can happen when a critique of something is unfavorable o the company, and so in an attempt to get rid of negative PR, they delete unfavorable content, on grounds that they don't fall under fair use. The same can be used with songs, as some companies allow music to be used in the background, so long as the music alone isn't part of the content. Even then, streamers and video makers can have content deleted for playing a song in the background of a game or other content (without the intent of it). This has gone to extreme lengths, as sometimes even humming or playing a song that sounds too similar to another one can result in banning as bots automatically pick up on it. Even if you manage to get through all that legal mumbo-jumbo, your content can still be claimed, even if it is not copyrighted, as extorters can make a claim based on absolutely nothing, meaning anyone can do it.

    But why is this relevant? Because music. As I want to include and maybe publish my work, I have to make sure it won't be taken down. As such, I've found websites that compile music and scores that can be used by others, without as much danger as just using the first song I see. 

    Aside from websites such as Dova-Syndrome, Chosic, Purple Planet, and even YouTube's own audio library, among other paid and free services, I have browsed a few to find fitting music for my project.

    I'm certainly no legal advisor, so here's some more info on copyright! https://www.baylor.edu/copyright/index

Music research

    I'm enjoying research, even as the project comes to a close, so I decided to delve a bit deeper into music so as to properly introduce it into my film if I do follow through with any music choices. Some fun terminology review is that music can affect productions in two ways, and these are by ways of soundtracks and scores. A score is music specifically composed for a film, while a soundtrack is any music featured in a film. Both can affect films differently, and I'll outline how.

    A soundtrack includes any third party music, from popular songs, to songs made more popular by the film's release. One such example is in Nirvana's Something in the Way. The song wasn't part of many live setlists for the band when they performed, but with the release of The Batman, the song exploded in popularity, topping at number two on Billboard's digital US Rock chart, and being featured in many memes and TikToks. Not to mention a 1200% increase in Spotify streams for the song after the movie's release. As with any preexisting media, movies can affect previous releases, bringing them back from obscurity just by being featured in a soundtrack.

    Similarly, although not so much, scores can also become fairly popular because of a film, or vice verse. Many iconic scores promote the film, as just the first few notes can make you think of the film. Even if the film wasn't well received, a score can live on, and even be alluded to by previous releases. Scores being reused also isn't uncommon, as all three Jurassic Park films either allude or outright include tracks from the original film. Similarly, new film scores can allude to previous incarnations, as is the case with almost every Spider-Man incarnation. In the original Sam Raimi sequel, a woman plays the original 1967 cartoon theme on a violin, and it later returns in Marc Webb's sequel as Peter's ringtone. An orchestral rendition also appears in Spider-Man: Homecoming's Marvel Studios opening. 

    

    Scores are typically made around the time filming is wrapping up, and editing has begun. However, there is nothing that says you can't do otherwise. For Guardians of the Galaxy, director James Gunn had composer Tyler Bates prepare music before the scenes were filmed. Starting with the music can often help give direction to a scene, and can even lead to better flowing stories as music doesn't have to be forced to follow a scene. This also streamlines editing, as following the beats of a song are much easier when you have the beats to begin with, as opposed to finding a part of a song that fits with a scene. 

    Music composers can really be fans of a classic just as much as any fan, and they prove it by incorporating or adapting classical themes into more modern reconditions. Likewise, directors, producers, and music supervisors can also find what modern songs fit with a movie, especially given how most movies take just under a year to release.

    Aside from this, I found a lot of inspiration from other films, like A Silent Voice, which features a very simple score, with piano being the most frequent instrument. The score has very interesting detailing, as some tracks were partly based by Bach's (yes, the 270+ year old composer) Invention No. 1 in C major. One of the big things to me is the amount of effort that goes into creation, especially when so much is left out. For the film, composer Ushio made 82 tracks, of which 61 are featured in the official soundtrack, with 50 of them actually playing in the film. The bland, three letter titles were also an idea of Ushio, who kept these identification codes as they were so they could be interpreted by listeners however they want. The featuring of Bach's songs are also important, as his original work could be split into three, which Ushio used to also split up the movie into thirds. The amount of effort that goes into this soundtrack and film as a whole will always fascinate me, and as I learn about more films and their soundtrack, I appreciate music composing even more.

Obligatory inclusion of tracks and album cover for detailing and ~aesthetic~

Detailing

     Gambling is pretty fun, which is what a lot of detailing comes down to. Sometimes it goes well, and you can fill in the blanks easily with things that make sense, and add more to the scene in more ways than one. Previously with the fire escape, there was nothing else to the scene, but now we'll add a lot more structure to it, using logic.

    Following our city setting, we can choose another piece that helps us out a lot, in some pretty advanced ways, an HDRI. Leaving a lot of details about it for a later entry, they basically provide a 360° image, which we can use for our background (they also stand for High Dynamic Range Imaging, which gives light input to the scene, but that's not the case right now.)

One of the advantages of an HDRI is not needing to model a background, but it doesn't provide the depth you would otherwise have with a full model

    With a background in place, a lot of other things fall into place. However, a disadvantage is that sometimes things don't line up, whether it's due to perspective or size, or anything else that would otherwise be impossible in our simple plane of existence.

   We won't be breaking the laws of physics just yet, which is why we need to attach the ladder to something, in this case a wall. But what type of wall? A brick wall? Glass? Plain concrete? Well, it just comes down to whatever looks best, or sometimes what is within your capabilities.

Just like any other medium, one small change can have drastic effects on your scene

    With those three choices in place, I chose to learn a bit more about realistic texturing, and ended up going with brick, as it adds depth to the scene, while also helping me learn new skills.

    Every choice you make affects your end result, even more so when physically recording something, as such, you have to be even more careful with what you end up choosing, as dedicating yourself to an idea might mean you end up wasting time. 

    Again, using models, or textures, or anything else that someone has previously made as a stand-in example, or even as part of the final product, can help streamline your scene creation process, as you won't have to spend as much time to make something, although at times finding something that works without error might be a bit difficult.

    When putting a lot of details together, scenes can appear more realistic, if that is your end goal. Sometimes, however, you can add too much, which can cause a lot of issues later on, such as file sizes, processing speed, and physics renders (another goodie for another day). As such, it's always good to have an eye on your end product, either by checking on it regularly, or keeping it visible at all times, as is the case with the little camera view on the left panel.

Rendered image teehee

From Scratch

     To me, one of the greatest downsides, and conveniences, of working with 3D is the freedom to make anything from scratch. As a blessing, working from scratch means everything will be exactly how I intend it to be. Scenes can be arranged however I want, with as much depth as needed, and as simplistic as I want if you need to crunch. But this much freedom also hinders, as everything has to be made. Choosing to leave a detail or two out in the first few steps causes a significant lack of detail in the final product. But how do I intend of using this to its fullest potential so as to save time but still make something detailed? By prioritizing what matters. 

An example of what it's like to start a new project in Blender

    Focusing on a few of the most important scenes or sequences I want, I'll be able to fully detail them, without needing to compromise the rest of the film. When outlining a scene, or even a single shot, you need to create a story, otherwise you'll just be padding out time. For example, in the following sequence I'll create a shot, with the intent of introducing a character.

    Starting off with an idea, I want to have the setting be a city, and so I chose a fire escape to start off with. But to link everything together I had to play around with some ideas first. One way to find what works is by starting somewhere, so doing some research helps a lot. I personally like to use models, so I used this model from KnightFallows to start somewhere. Playing around with it helps me think of something that works, as motion helps tell a story better than anything else.

A bit hard to navigate, but this is somewhat the process I go through when coming up with ideas from scratch

    With the main point/s down, you can flll in the rest with whatever makes the most sense. And if things still look a bit too dull, you can add more details to make a scene more dynamic.

Oh, how I yearn to be a documentary

         I really don't know where I stand on the title, but it really just comes down to me enjoying documentaries. Getting personal with a topic or person is interesting, especially when it's presented in a realistic (or seemingly realistic) way. Another project I worked on earlier this school year was a documentary project. Before doing so, we had watched some other documentaries in class, all of which I enjoyed. However, when creating my own, and later reviewing it, I was not pleased with the results. Most of it really boils down to a lack of involvement, and again clashing ideas and expectations from group members. I was not invested in the project overall, even when there were moments where I really connected with the people I was interviewing. In retrospect, I don't want my portfolio project to go the same way. This year has been disappointing for me, in plenty of different ways. I can't stand not being able to make something that actually represents me, so I really do want to find a way to get it across to a potential audience. 

        Sentimentality, rawness, and candidacy are all things I want going forward; or at least in this project. It's my last(?) project here, and it not going well would really say more about me than the project. I really want to take a bit of everything from what I've done these past two years in school, but the best example of what I want to strive to create is exactly that, a genuine, candid production. As for the documentary part of it, well, it's right here. I want to document everything I do, plan on doing, or don't end up doing, in whatever way I see fit. I actually feel hopeful that my reflection process will have improved since last year's blog, and I think it'll work if I put in more effort than I previously did. Going above and beyond in my reflection, even if the final project isn't as good will still give me something to look back on. Obviously I want everything to go well, but the blog now means more to me than the project itself. I can now see exactly where I went wrong in my reflections, and understand everything behind it, rather than the project that stands for it.

        I want to bring everything together, more so for myself than anything else. I want to bring in more videos and screenshots of what I'm working on, more late night ramblings, more sentimental posts showing that I am at an impasse, and how I'm going to get out of it, and more posts showing that I actually managed that. I redownloaded screen recorders, and learned how time lapse videos work on my drawing programs. I'm doing everything I can to give myself a safety net I can fall back to whne I need to get back up. I actually feel motivated for blogging and documenting everything I do. Now it just comes down to continuously working to maintain it.

        Both these posts have been funny, as they outline the different sides of the same coin. The coin is still the same, as I want to make something I'm proud of and can grow on. But, I conflict in wanting to make something that reflects me, while also wanting to outline the process of it well. It seems like hopeful wishing, but I've seen other students do both, and I haven't lost all hope in achieving the same thing. 

Film Distribution (Theoretically)

         Who doesn't like regrettably looking back on past projects? Me, of course. Since I am kind of required to comment on it I will, but I would have mentioned it regardless, so this doesn't really count as my "pissy" blog post. Working on a film distribution project for a film that doesn't exist (and hopefully never will) was okay. Receiving a script, or at least the concepts of one, and having to create promotional material for it was enjoyable. While I certainly like creating my own stories and ideas, even if they end up in my personal writing collection, never to be seen by someone else, I still enjoy letting it out. The problem is, when I create something that others will see, and it doesn't come out the way I want it to, I shut down. I want the things I make to come out good, and I want to be able to fully understand the process used to make it, so that I can improve on it, or make something new from a part of the process later on. 

        With this project, I understood everything. I knew how to analyze genre, I knew how to compile information and create a viable production, and I knew all the ins and outs of distribution that were taught to us. I enjoyed that much as it was straightforward. I could talk to my teammates and suggest films to research, or genre conventions we could adopt. Not to mention, we were working with a horror/thriller. Things couldn't possibly be more straightforward than that. The story was simple. Everything up until the trailers was simple. I want things to be the same with my portfolio project, as doing a lot more work then needed, and thinking about my project in a deeper way was good for me, and helped me appreciate my work and ideas. I want to highlight on research as being knowledgeable on the topics I'm using for a project will help me make a better production, and help me outline an area to focus on.

        Conversely, I also need to stop doing as much deep work and thinking if it hinders my final product. When working on the trailer, things were confusing, but I still hadn't progressed on my work, mainly because I thought I'd be doing it with my teammates, or a fraction of it at least. Even if I'm not proud of my work, I need to get it done, both to look back and learn from the experience, and to get an actual grade. Finding this balance is hard, so I came up with a rather simple and obvious solution: asking others. If I'm ambiguous on my work, I'll ask people who I'm working with for their thoughts, and if most of them agree that it's good, I'll move on, and maybe revisit if I have the time and see a need for improvement.

        With film distribution, contact with my other group members should have been a lot better. But the little communication we had was good. I worked on some things that one of my group members praised, but the first thing I felt was doubt. I have constantly been upset by my work, even when others like it, or don't think of it as harshly. The distribution project was one of a series of wake up calls for me, all saying that my work was fine, and the resentment I hold towards it should not hold me back. I want to keep growing and improving my work, but it never feels like I'm making any progress, and I really am not. Hopefully I can change that, little by little, both with this project and the ones that come after it.

Portfolio Project 2, Electric Boogaloo

         Welcome to Rodrigo's new and improved AICE Media blog! Not really, it's still much the same, but this time, we got rid of the letter "S" in "AS Level". Jokes aside, transitioning to A level has been pretty weird. It doesn't even feel much like a transition as almost everything is still the same, or feels continuous at least. We're still doing group projects, we're still being creative, many of the people I shared online classes with are here; but at the same time things are noticeably different. Being in class feels nice, and seeing new people is refreshing. But again, the class is still the same at heart, so what can we do to spice things up? I have some ideas, some of which I'll be letting on as time goes by, but ideally I don't want things to go like they did last year. And so, let the fun and chaos begin.

Dream Eater

        Due to blogger's file size limit, here is a lower-res version

        To view the higher quality version, click here

CCR

        Similarly to my opening, Blogger doesn't like big files, so here's a smaller one

        With a bigger one down here

In Retrospect Pt. 1

         Looking back at all of my editing, recording, brainstorming, and planning, I want to say the final product was pretty good. Here I wanted to talk about the project itself, and in part 2 I wanted to reflect on myself, so here we go.

        With everything almost done except for some nitpicking here and there, the final idea actually differed from my initial idea quite a bit. One of the major changes was the pacing. At first I thought of including a scene at school, one outside, and a few possible extra scenes here and there. Obviously, none of this came to fruition. In the end, I really enjoyed the opening because it not only brought together a lot of things I like, but also gave me an opportunity to learn.

        The credits of the opening scene were my favorite part of the production, as I was able to incorporate something I saw in other media in my own film. In some movies I've watched, I remember how creative some title sequences were. While some films were dull in their delivery, others did an amazing job. Final Destination 4 for example, showed the cast and crew alongside major plot points. While it certainly isn't the best, it is a lot more enjoyable then bland, white text on a black background. Another memorable opening scene was Memento (2000), where backwards, unintrusive video was played alongside the credits. The way these two movies brought about creative, memorable, and entertaining-ish titles (as far as credits go) became a very good source of inspiration for me.

        Links to the openings are here, but fair warning as both have gore/blood

Final Destination 4 Opening

Memento (2000) Opening

        While movies do an alright job at keeping audiences engaged, there is nothing less intrusive than some of my favorite video game openings. Seeing everyone who worked on what you are interacting with is on another level when compared to movies. While many openings still retain movie-esque portrayals of abstract art alongside credits, some do a fantastic job at getting you right into the action.

        Starting off with Tales from the Borderlands, we see tons of resemblance to movie openings. While the openings aren't interactive, the blending of text credits with what's being shown is creative. The usage of text that blends in/interacts with the environment inspired me tons, and gave me the idea to not do yet another boring title sequence. While my credits were not as expansive or detailed as these, I still managed to get the same idea across by having unobtrusive and creative openings.

Check out the opening here, fair blood and content warning though

        Last but not least, we have last year's The Last of Us 2, which is the epitome of reserved credits. Being able to see everyone who worked on the game while playing and interacting with it was an amazing experience. I wanted to do the same with my short film by not wasting time on credits and still including as much story as possible. By having the credits show up on every shot while at the same time including content I was able to make full use of all 2 minutes given to me.

Fair content warning on this one as well, but the link to it is here

        In the end, I think I accomplished my goal of not being hindered by credits and creating a good story. I drew inspiration from everything I find well-made, and the final product is reflective of it all.

Learning to move on

         With the final project deadline fast approaching, there are not many changes that can be made without wasting time. Because of this, any further editing I choose to do will have to be done in post, as re-recording takes time and requires a good environment, primarily a silent one with matching natural light.

        Considering I am at home, I can afford to re-shoot simpler scenes, but the more complicated ones will be harder to pull off. Choosing to re-shoot is very important, as it's an obvious commitment. It's always better to try and fix lighting in post. When you're lucky and know what you're doing, you can fix up a shot only by changing a few settings.

        Both shots are the exact same, but some effects such as lumetri color, Red Giant, color balance, and others all allow to change brightness, contrast, shadows, and other video settings. Color correcting is usually subtle, and is usually done to make every scene look similar in terms of lighting/coloring. Because it doesn't take much time, it is much easier to leave perfectionism for later as it usually works out. However, sometimes you aren't so lucky.

        Again, we see the same exact scene, before and after editing. While post-editing looks MUCH better, looking at it closely reveals an extensive amount of grain. Even when playing around with settings, it can be unlikely to find a perfect solution. In this case there are quite a few solutions. One thing you can do is replace a scene with B-Roll. This is much more common in larger productions, as scripts are sometimes written to counteract unpredicted events, such as actors leaving or unprecedented weather. Reshooting is also an alternative, as sometimes you just NEED a shot. This was the case with my scene, as it was relevant to the "plot". Keeping the original while re-shooting is important as you can see exactly what went wrong, and work to counteract it. 

        Small cameras with LCD's are usually subject to under-exposure, as they are not always accurate to what is captured, and tend to show brighter footage than is actually being recorded. Because of this, it's good to remember the approximate ISO levels when recording, as bumping it up a bit results in a nicer-looking shot.

What goes around comes around

         If I haven't beaten it into your head yet, I'm working alone. That would be all well and good if I had tons of equipment. Alas, I do not. Because of that, I have two alternatives; buying, and borrowing. 

        Buying is obviously a good alternative as I only have to worry about upgrading it when the time comes. The problem is, I'd have to buy it. I managed to get some equipment, primarily a light kit, that will forever help me. Especially in my house, there is no downside to getting a light-kit, as I will be using it frequently. Although a few of my scenes need little to no extra lighting, the light kit is very much needed for some scenes in my kitchen, as there are no windows nearby.

        On the other hand, there is more equipment that would not only improve the quality of my production, but make everything much easier. As such, I have decided to borrow some equipment from my friend, and in turn, I helped him with his project.The experience was very enjoyable, as I not only got to learn more for myself, but I got some insight into advanced techniques as well as inspiration for my own film opening. 

        As for the equipment, I got a few stands, a mechanical slider, and a tripod head. Each has their own uses, but I'll primarily focus on the slider. One shot idea I had was to slowly wipe through a character and reveal myself behind it. Seeing how it's a "duplicate" shot I would have to do it twice, with myself in each position. Using a mechanical slider helps, as it can go through the movements over and over again perfectly, allowing me to stitch shots together in post. If that does not work, I can use a double for myself and just record two plates of the shot, one with me and one without.

        As you can see, both shots are essentially the same when it comes to timing thanks to the wonders of technology. Stitching them together just comes down to cutting or fading to it. Were it not for the slider, I would resort to alternative ideas, which would've been fine, just not as cool.

Editing

         It might be weird to think about editing at this point, but that's exactly what I'm doing at this point. Similarly to how CG is done before much of production, many effects are shot first so as to complete them. One "effect" I need to do is add credits, but I decided to make them much more engaging, and have them interact with the environment. As such, I need to keyframe and animate quite a bit of text. Because of this, I'm doing a rough edit to see what can and cannot be done.

        Keyframing, or animating is the changing of properties over time, whether done manually or automatically. Scrolling text is a good example, as it is constantly changing its Y-axis position. Since I am lining up text to actual movement, there is not much I can do outside of manual editing.

        While changing properties is easy, lining all of it up so that the text isn't too slow or too fast is fairly challenging. Constantly having to play back the video as I change everything frame by frame becomes tedious, but it is very much doable.

        Another effect I'm using is masking. Just like movement, everything has to be lined up properly to keep something from appearing when its not supposed to. At slow frame rates it is easier to catch something even for a single frame. After all, 1/24th of a second is much more than 1/60th, so it is on screen for longer.

        After making sure that my simpler effects are doable, I can move on to practical effects, which are on a completely different level.

What is recording actually like?

         Recording is pretty enjoyable, except when it isn't. Making sure a scene comes out the way you intend it is extremely tedious, as there is always something you can fix or do better. One issue I have to constantly deal with in my home is lighting. Some areas are fairly well-lit, and don't need much editing, while others NEED external lighting to look good. While editing can sort some of these problems out, it is better to make sure your raw footage comes out as best as possible.

        Working around the house means working with different lighting environments, primarily natural and artificial lights. 

        Natural lighting is anything that cannot really be altered, such as windows, reflections, and anything that interacts with the sun. It's considered natural because it is just that. While tricky to work with, it is not impossible. Golden hour is a prime example of how anything can look good with minimal effort. 

        To undergo the process of mimicking golden hour entirely digitally is hellish, and I would not wish it upon anyone. Natural lighting does not work with you. You should be working with it. This is why schedules are usually tight when filming with the sun. Because it never stops. 

        Artificial lighting is a bit easier to work with. Keep in mind I said a BIT. Depending on your set, you might have to deal with reflections or bright spots due to glossy material. But if you can't change your material you'll have to change your lights, and to find that sweet spot where it isn't over or under exposed is hard.

        While the picture looks balanced, keep in mind it was shot using my phone, so it was automatically leveled out. On the left you can see my light kit, and on the right is my camera. To end up on this exact setup I had to try out every other setup that did not look like this. First I chose a specific light level to work with, one that wouldn't create too harsh of white spots on the counter or too many shadows, but at the same time I needed to light it up significantly. 

        Once that was set up, I had to find an angle that would keep shadows to a minimum. I tried left, right, up, down, north, west, south, east, northeast, south-north, and everything in between. Thankfully I had a tripod and once I found the right angle it stayed there. Lighting up the other scenes were not as hard, thanks to windows or just more direct lighting.

Sound design

         Sound design can sometimes go unnoticed in productions; but other media, primarily video games, revel in creating the appropriate atmosphere using as many senses as possible. Horror is a genre closely entwined to audio, or the absence of it. Creating a harrowing environment just from audio, or releasing tension with a stinger can be considered a simple idea, but unless it is done properly it will come off as weird.

        One technique I was interested in using was audio mixing. While the word means nothing more than putting different audio tracks together, to me it means putting tracks together so as to complement a scene or idea. This comes into play during my dream scene, as one idea I had was to mix "real" and dream sounds. Similarly to how noise affects our dreams, I planned on having some sounds bleed into the dream in a distorted way. Not only does this distortion set up the right atmosphere of familiar yet distressing, but it also foreshadows it all being a dream. But how does one go about this? By taking small steps at a time.

        Going around and recording foley with a mic is essential, as getting any unintended audio can be hard to fix, if its fixable at all. Two mics are exceptional at handling this problem, shotgun mics and lavalier mics. Without getting too technical, shotgun mics gather audio in a specific area in front of themselves, while lavs are much smaller, gathering audio close to itself if the levels are set up properly. 

Both lavaliers (lavs) and shotgun mics have similar pickup patterns, focusing on the area directly in front of them, which keeps unnecessary audio from being noticed.

        Another piece of equipment that helps but isn't necessary is an audio box. While nothing is stopping me from directly recording and getting rid of the visual aspect of the file, directly importing audio files from a separate unit makes everything much more manageable. 

        The box itself allows for much audio managing, from input to output. It also allows me to access XLR audio cables (the big circle with three smaller ones), which would be impossible to use with my camera. Were it not for the audio box, I would be very limited equipment-wise. If needed, I can even connect it directly to the camera. This is beneficial as if it works properly I already have both the audio and video linked, without me needing to do anything. But if I do want to edit audio manually, the audio box saves a copy of the file, meaning I can safely edit it, knowing I'll always have a backup.

        I am not too proficient with extensive music theory, but I do understand the basic concept and application of many terms, both from music theory classes I took as well as Scruffy's YouTube channel. Be sure to check him out, as he does an amazing job describing the audio techniques I plan on using and many more.

Color and composition

         Now that I am fully ready to move on to live-action recording, I can start thinking of how the rest of my scenes will look. There are many theories about color, movement, and composition; and they all play major parts in any composition. I will be talking about a few, but focus primarily on the ones I plan to incorporate.

        The rule of thirds is a majorly used composition technique. The idea of it is simple, and many people recognize it even without being film excerpts. All it really does is split up your screen into a 3x3 grid so as to help you align your subjects or horizons, like so. 

This picture was taken from Christian Hoiberg's article on the rule of thirds, which can be found here.

        While not the most complex, this composition technique is often seen in films because of how easy it is for audiences to follow and for filmmakers to set up. 

Ratatouille by Pixar

The Joker by DC Films

BBC's take on Sherlock

    

        Incorporating this technique to my film opening will also be rather easy, considering how most things will be recorded on a tripod. Once the shot is set up, it is up to me to align everything to the correct third, and if I do end up making a mistake, cropping the video will allow for a quick fix.

        Going back to the film scenes; even with their wildly different genres, settings, and colors, we still know exactly what to focus on. However, composition isn't everything. While each scene does utilize the rule of thirds, costume design, color theory, blurring, and other techniques help the subject stand out in the scene. This all takes me to my next point: costume design.

        In each of the above scenes, one thing that helps the character stand out is color. From the Joker's vibrant suit to Sherlock's darker jacket, every character has clothing that at least kind of sets them apart from the background. I decided to incorporate something similar in my film, where the clothing does not directly line up with the background.

        Seeing as how most of my house has white walls, almost any clothing would work to set myself apart. So I took to my closet and chose the least white pajama I had. The sharp contrast between a red/black pajama and pure white walls immediately gives the audience a subject to follow. Most of my scenes will have white walls, with the exception of the kitchen, which will not directly have me as a subject.

How to create a schedule

        When it comes to creating movies, TV shows, magazines, podcasts, and every other type of media; a schedule becomes one of the most important things for producers and directors. The breakup of jobs and managing on time helps bring down production time, allowing us to view weekly or bi-weekly shows. Schedules become highly important for larger productions, as they allow for different Production Units to all work together.

        One great example of this is in literally every action movie that uses a stunt double or needs a variety of "Pick-ups" (shots that do not require the main unit eg. closeups, establishing shots, cutaways, etc.). Were it not for schedules, movies would take much longer to make, as all these different production units would not be able to work without the preceding unit finishing up their work.

        I am having this problem. Kind of. As I am a mortal man, I can only do so much by myself. I plan on starting with the most important scenes that take the longest amount of time, CG. Good CG scenes can often take months of production time. Production for them usually begins at the start of production, and they are often the last of the scenes to finish up. For the 2012 movie, one of the final earthquake scenes took 20 hours on average to render a single frame. Keep in mind there were 7,000 frames to go through. Had the production not accounted for multiple artists and computers, as well as artists breaking scenes up into easy-to-manage components, it would have taken 141,120 hours to render the scene alone. If you want to look more into the astonishing numbers and work that went into CG scenes for the movie, check out Popular Mechanic's article on it.

        If you couldn't tell already, I need to start working on a good CG scene, and pronto. As soon as I am done with CG, I can move on to recording live action. Seeing how most of my scenes are done at home, I can keep my render going while recording, which helps save time in case I need to make a quick change or something goes wrong. Post-production should come shortly after. Starting of with a simple rough cut is ideal, as I'll be able to add/delete scenes quickly, without wasting too much time on more complex editing, such as transitions, effects, and color grading. 

        I am purposefully not including many dates and expected completion times as this is mostly dependent on how well some scenes come out. While loose schedules are bad for productivity, I'm working alone, so I'll be able to make  sure everything comes out ideally, especially with CG (more on that later).