A very important thing I want to remember in the future is my experience at university, in particular, the things me and my housemates get up to.
Pranks on Chloe Video
Pranks on Chloe Pictures
Our house is now an arcade
We got a PlayStation 2, PlayStation3 and a Nintendo Wii + a million games to go with them and a collection of dvd's that is only made bigger by the ones at the library...life is good. Might have to share these with other students, for a reasonable price...
Arnie and Nervous Guy play Grand Theft Auto 5 Online
When I have the headset on, I turn into a different person.
Dramatisation of us riding skateboards through The Chantrys
The train was cold as always; body heat from all around created condensation on the large windows. The cold seemed to bother everyone except the little girl having a colourful conversation with the businessman on his way home, not listening as he was visibly dreading the rain that was currently beating down on the tracks, knowing he would soon be next because he had no umbrella.
'The next stop is...Farnham' the speakers along the carriage rang out, prompting Faerez to rise from his seat and gather his belongings, which was a difficult task considering the amount of luggage he had brought, and was made no easier by the horde of passengers moving into the aisle.
'This is long'. The walk from the station wasn't half as bad as the train journey, even with the rain, which Faerez was sure was seeping through his suitcase. His only other worry was being splashed by cars. "I dare one of these dudes to splash me", he thought to himself, knowing he wouldn't be able to do anything about it if it did happen.
The next morning was full of rattling noises and screaming.
'Why?!!' Sahir pleaded.
'Because I didn't bring my skateboard for no reason, so get up fam', Faerez yelled through the door. Sahir was still in bed, clinging to the covers. The day was cold, but the neighbourhood was quiet and the roads were clear, 'a perfect day to try this out', Faerez thought to himself. It was a very nostalgic moment, standing at the top of the hill, one foot on the tail of the board so the nose was up in the air. It took him back to the first time he had tried this in front of his block of flats in London 10 years ago. He hadn't done this since then and was anxious as to how it was gonna go. He was stood atop the hill in a green jumpsuit that resembled that of the green LightSpeed Rescue Power Ranger's.
'You ready?' he said to the others.
'Ready', Chloe said, in a way that seemed reluctant, before a smile slowly appeared on her face.
'What about you?', Faerez repeated to Sahir. He glanced back at him with a look of disgust, Faerez had forgotten that Sahir didn't have a skateboard.
'My bad...anywho, lets do this!!' he yelled, louder than he had intended. They looked around, everything was still, with exception of two young boys watching through a bedroom window, and an elderly woman glaring through her kitchen window.
'3, 2, 1...GO!!'
Adrenaline was rushing through him, he could only imagine how fast he would be going down the hill, but something was wrong.
'Pshh well that was the anti-climax of the year' said Chloe.
'You dragged me out for bed for that?'
Re-enactment
Historical events:
Nelson Mandela's Funeral (Sign language fake),World War 1/2, advance in technology, ie. the creation of the telephone or automoblie, Motown 25 (Billie jean performance)
For the Billie Jean performance, I might be able to recreate the unveiling of the moonwalk, using animation utilising Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Premiere in this fashion.
For this, i'll use the video and select frames to recreate in Illustrator, then sequence them in Premiere.
Photography Project
My initial idea was to use clones in different situations and locations to express or project what happens in the mind in those situations. For example, when I am playing my guitar, I am not only listening to what I am playing, I imagine what else could be played or sung alongside it. The clones were supposed to be a visual representations of my imagination, playing different instruments i.e keyboard, violin. Too steer clear of the series becoming too personal, I had decided to edit pictures based on 5 different people. I looked at these artists for inspiration: Paul Smith, Wendy Mcmurdo, Ari Mahardika and Marty Portier.
But this didn't match the brief. So the new task was to think of a new idea, though I didn't want to abandon the cloning idea. So I began to think about how I could make the first picture that I completed relevant to the marking criteria, before continuing to create the rest of the series.
I started research into memory triggers, things that can spontaneously bring up memories e.g. food, music, photo albums, homemade videos, games/game accessories, locations. If these were considered when looking at the first picture, then it could be said that by playing guitar with clones, I may be attempting to recall a memory and/or share it with myself.
If my clone had all my memories, would it feel the same way I do about my hobbies, i.e basketball, or have a different skill set?? Would it behave in the same way in a banal situation??
Test
By layering the pictures on top of each other in Adobe Photoshop, then rubbing out the necessary areas, i'm able to reveal the clones, although it does become difficult when I have to erase areas very close to the subject. If the camera moves during the shoot then i'll have to restart, unless I can work around it in Photoshop.
Evaluation
The first picture in the series isn't complete, and due to a technical problem, the photographs used in that photoshop document were lost so there is no chance of fixing it.
The second in the series has a minor problem that no one noticed until I pointed it out, the reflect on table of the clone on the right is missing, I accidentally rubbed it out while editing and didn't realise until I had exported and gotten rid of the photographs used to make that picture.
The last three in the series I am fairly happy with. If I had managed my time appropriately I would have been able to reshoot some pictures and edit them to a level that I could be satisfied with. But all in all I am proud of my finished product.
Scarf Video
I was assigned the role of Sound Recorder/Mixer on this project, but we each had a hand in all stages of production. On location I recorded atmos and ambience on a Roland recorder, they will then be synced to the footage. All sound was recorded in .wav format, the studio recorded VO and foley was initially recorded into Pro Tools, then transferred into Adobe Audition.
The story follow the journey of a scarf from creation to being bought in store, taken home and cared for, lost then found again, all the while showcasing all the emotions the scarf experiences and its determination to find itself, ending with the scarf finding a new home and a new purpose. imagery and VO are the biggest components in this production due to the lack of actors.
The VO was recorded before any footage was shot. I think giving the scarf a voice gave us much needed inspiration for the shoot, as we could better understand how the scarf would move and envision a number of shots not present on the storyboard.
Adobe Audition
I used the FFT equaliser with the 'The Club Downstairs' preset and a few tweaks to achieve the desired effect of muffled sounds. This method was used to create the sound for the transportation scene. Some of the audio was taken from
soundjay.com.
Feedback
"that was so good. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was such a beautiful take on a unique story.
It was visually cinematic and the shots complimented each other nicely.
To be honest, I like the voiceover because it makes it completely clear what the story is. Whoever did the voiceover showed emotion and expression which added a sense of almost reality to it.
The negative things are the top black bar is slightly off frame and the ending left me unsatisfied and confused. What happened to the scarfs original owner and what does the bear have to do with it?"
We had atmos and foley sounds that had to be added to the footage but after reading the feedback, we decided to leave a minimal amount of sound recordings in with the VO and music. We were also told that our voice over sounded similar to a BBC radio show, and that we should use a different voice, possibly a male voice. We understood this point, but felt the VO that we had told the story well and complimented the footage in terms of colour and the movement of the scarf.
Evaluation
Lack of communication was a very big issue in our group, and it contributed to our less than perfect time management and using up time to shoot scenes that may or may not have been filmed already. Skills that we need to develop for future projects. My skills in sound editing/mixing need sharpening through practise and watching tutorials on Lynda.com.
