(project 1) C O M P O S I T I N G & S P E C I A L E F F E C T S

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Sept 10 '18 - Oct 2 '18 (W3-W6)
Jaslyn Tjhai (0333039)
Compositing and Special Effects
Project 1

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W E E K  3
September 10 2018

For project 1 we were required to create a minimum of 30s title sequence with the theme Technological Impact.
I tried to watch some motion graphics title sequences that I found on the Internet for me to use as references and to explore the kind of style that's out there. Below are a few of the works I found on Internet for me to use as reference.

Based on those references that I found, I really liked Thought at Work Title Sequence by Kelly Hurlburt as that kind of style is actually something that I aspire to have. The title sequence itself is also interesting to watch, where the color schemes are bright using gradients, the animation itself seems very interactive. The duration of the title sequence may be slightly too long but thanks to the interesting animation and colors it made me watch till the end.

The second title sequence was kind of too long, although it's also a good one in my opinion. It focuses on the detail of the typography of the whole awarding event. The typography also matches with the style of the title sequence. The glitching transitions and animations also gives the whole sequence a futuristic feel. The only thing about this title sequence is that the duration is too long. For audiences who are not interested in knowing all the art directors and stuff, they would probably skip it halfway.

Here are a few others that I watch to use as references and inspirations.

Below is my moodboard for my project 1 where I plan to use footages from Ghost in the Shell as well as use neon lights as my color schemes.

Fig. 1.a. Moodboard

I was thinking of either recreating the title sequence for Ghost in the Shell or create my own story for the title sequence.

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W E E K  4
September 17 2018

On the fourth week, there was no class again due to public holiday so I decided to work on my thumbnails for project 1 then I proceeded to move them to storyboards.

Fig. 2.a. Thumbnails for project 1

Fig. 2.b. Storyboard 1 

Fig. 2.c. Storyboard 2

From the storyboard that I drew, I wanted to play a lot with neon colors making it seem like neon lights. I also wanted to use a little bit of glitch-like shadow effect like one of the references that I posted above, Chronography 2016| Motion Reel and Trailer Motion Motion 2018, see if it suits my theme.
To begin working on my project 1, I tried to look for tutorials on light strokes and neon text, etc. Did a few tries. I also tried to do the city with neon lights which turns out like this. But I'm thinking of adding camera angles so I might be making a new one.

Below is the rough cut without the audio yet.

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W E E K  5
September 24 2018

On the fifth week of class, I consulted Mr. Kannan on my project 1, showing him what I have so far. Mr. Kannan suggested a few things that I could do instead, where I also asked about how I could actually manipulate the camera to make it look less flat. Mr. Kannan then explained about the camera in After Effects to me, explaining his perspective on how he see things where he told me that I should practice looking at things from a different perspective in order for me to understand and be able to look at things more differently. Mr. Kannan then showed me a short tutorial on how I can start using the camera in After Effects to add on to my project 1. It was pretty challenging but I would like to give it a try.
So basically throughout the week, I was having trouble trying to come up with concept first the stick to it because while I was working in After Effects, I tend to always stray from the main theme that I was trying to do. So in the end, I decided to first create everything in After Effects, ensure that I know what I wanted to create, before looking through the process and everything. I rearranged my storyboard as shown below. But I still kept the theme for the whole project which is technological impact and I kept my original idea with my story being sci-fi cyborg related, using a few clips from the movie Ghost in the Shell.

Fig. 3.a. Final Storyboard 1

Fig. 3.b. Final Storyboard 2

Fig. 3.c. Final Storyboard 3

I also decided to not use too much neon lights and just focus on black and white. But I did incorporate some blue streaks in the end.