Final Presentation

Overview

This is the final blog in regards to my major digital media assignment, "Should have taken acid with you", to outline the main elements guiding the final composition, to be found below.

Visual Style:
The visual style adopted for the music clip "Should have taken acid with you" is meant to resemble a 1960's home cine film. A cine film was like an old fashioned version of a home video camera, and captured coloured movie, which you could watch on your home projector. (See picture below).



It has a very distinct lustre and colour to it......generally slightly jolty and out of focus, and was often faster than real life. The link below shows a great example from the 1960's of a family cine film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN1H5X01Qmo

Cine films also has quite a washed out, but still colourful colour pallette, and often had dust/lens interference when played through a projector.
The film clip, "Should Have Taken Acid With You" adopts the method of stop motion, combined with special effects, applied in Adobe after affects to recreate the "home cine" feel.

Why Choose the Cine Style?
I chose to use the cine style for the video clip because it is a visual aid to communicate the storyline, but also to create a strong synergy between the film and the song. The 4/4 beat is ideal to keep time to the jolty, 25 frames per second beat of the song, and meant i didnt need to stress out too much about the smoothness of the footage.

The Storyline
The storyline is about two young lovers who go on acid trips together. The film is mainly shot from the perspective of Cyrell, the lead boy and shows his progression through the acid trip, eventually peaking, then falling into a darker place. The final shot, where Cyrell is holding Skye in his arms is meant to imply that maybe Skye was never really there in the first place, and Cyrell's trips are in an effort to reconnect with her. How you interprate it is up to you.
The overall intention of the clip is to portray what an acid trip could possible look like.

One Liner
"Let's melt our tongues and become unglued forever".

Synopsis
Skye and Cyrell are two young lovers from the 1960's who keep their secret from the rest of the world. Bound together with a mutual love, the two decide to go on a trip, of which Skye goes missing.
This then sends Cyrell spiralling out of control, to fall into a dark abyss of which he will never climb out again.

Organisation and Planning
One thing i do recommend to anyone taking on a stop motion project which involves actors, is to plan and designate filming days, of which the actor is aware they will be required to attend. This will prevent any stress from actors not being able to make it, or being difficult with their availability.
Next time around i will be writing a schedule and deadline i need to meet, and include highlighted filming days, so the actors are not only aware when they are required, but are also informed of why things need to be done by a certain date, in interest of final render and time management.


Final Cut Video
The link below will direct you to the final cut. Thankyou for following my blog and keep checking my posts for updates on new projects!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAHmswqkzAw

Promotional Package

Production Shoots for S.H.T.A.W.Y.

Over the next few weeks i will be working from my animatic to produce my final film clip. This Sunday shoots will be located at the Marino Lighthouse, and Hallett Cove boardwalk, at 10am sharp.

Should Have Taken Acid With You

CONCEPT Psychadelic Lovers: Let's melt our tongues and become unglued forever. The film clip “I should have taken acid with you” is about two lovers on an acid trip. The clip takes you through the pleasure of their trip, but swiftly transcends from bliss to a sinister realm. The final shots link the story together, and show Cyrrel and Skye, his lover, slumped against a wall as junkies. Is this a foresight, reality, or just a bad trip? The Characters of Skye and Cyrrel are two youths from the late 60's, experimenting with drugs. They are happy go lucky type characters, who love each other, and are brought closer together by their love for "going on trips". But do they indulge too often and when will it all end? Will their love endure? ENVIRONMENTS VISUAL STYLE STORYBOARD: KEY CAMERA SHOTS AND SCENES ANIMATIC The vintage theme is imperative to the message, and also to linking the live action to the music.Through character costume, and visual effects of the stop motion itself, "Should have taken acid with you" aims to appear as an authentic flashback in time, whilst relating to the modern interpretation of the psychedelic movement of the sixties. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkuP46VpPes

Final thoughts on Histoires Petite Pomme

Upon reflection, Histoires Petite Pomme came together well, despite organizational setbacks.
I cannot help but wonder what kind of a result we could have produced if Camilla, Simon and myself had began working on the film earlier, but that's all hindsight now!
From day one we did have set back, like Simon's absense at the beginning of the year, but overall everything ran okay.

Tiny details and fine tuning are now evident in my film, and require further editing, but this is all learning, and i can now use Histoires as a reference for future expeditions in the land of digital media!

I am glad we explored the texture/cut out/ collage style, because the film we produced was different to the rest of the class, and therefore added a different element to the viewings. I really feel i developed my skills in art design, perspective, screen shots and photoshop during this semester, and now have the confidence to apply this knowledge to future works. In particular the use of Premiere will be useful, as i have sat through a few online tutorials and now have a sound knowledge of how to use it (though more training would always be nice).

I think Histoires Petite Pomme did communicate the story well, and made people laugh, which was one of NICE PEAR STUDIOS key visions/business aims. I also think the use of tools like the old cinema introduction to establish the story, and draw the audience into the film was a successful aspect of the animation, and the song "i think i like u too" by French Band "Jamaica" really worked well with the pace of the film. THe soundtrack and the film worked well together, particularly in the "Monsieur Banane" tension final shot, when the music reflected this tension in the bridge. Key scene changes also occcured at the chorus transitions,(the "a short time later and cow leaf church scene" and obvious instrumental standouts (for example, the chunky base line at the beginning cueing the curtain the raise).

I think timing wise, it could be even more fine tuned, but the key ideas to time it with the song worked well.

Overall, although it's not a block buster, Histoires Petite Pomme is something i am proud of, and love sharing with my friends, to show off the cool stuff i do at University!!!!

Anyway, without further ado, i thank you fabulous readers (all three of you) for keeping in touch with my progress. I would also like to thank Josh and Lisa for you help throughout the semester, and your understanding of how different groups work!!!!!! And just incase you havent seen the film, here's the link to it on Premiere.

Histoires Petite Pomme from Jonathon Hyde-Neary on Vimeo.

Regards,
Jonathon Hyde-Neary

Histoires Petite Pomme's Premiere on facebook and Vimeo!

Now the world can have the Histoires Petite Pomme experience in their own living room/office/ bedroom etc!
Excited to show everyone our hard work..............
Thanks.
Jonathon Hyde Neary

Histoires Petite Pomme from Jonathon Hyde-Neary on Vimeo.

Digital Media III

Well, how do i sum up this course?
Firstly, i went inot the course wilth only basic understandings in Adobe Photshop, and no experience with Flash or Premiere.
Currently, I can safely say I have a sound basis of understanding of the programs, in completion of the course. It's great to have this knowledge to build on, and it will really aid my presentations and future displays of any media in the course.
It's great to work on an animation, and see it come to life. The animations i'm proudest of are the leaf church animation, and bird flying past the tree animation in our final submission of HISTOIRES PETITE POMME.

It was a challenging course, and my skill levels did hinder the final submission in comparison to the rest of the class, and at times prevented me from starting assignments due to a lack of belief in my own ability. But the lecturers, Josh and Lisa, helped me overcome this, and did a fabulous job at teaching the class.
Problems began with our assignments from day one, with Simon being overseas for the first three assignments. But Camilla and I overcame this, and we eventually got on track.
Throughout the semester, we hads problems with organization, and regular group meetings due to busy schedules and other assignments, which lead to a final dash to complete our final submission in two weeks! But we eventually produced a short animation of what i, and the rest of the group are proud of, and we surprised ourselves with the ability we actully had!
A special mention to Camilla, and her efforts, as she started the course without the luxury of knowing how to use photoshop. Well done! Simon also did extremely well, considering his personal circumstances outside of the course. We were and odd group, none of us standouts with our abilities, so the final animation is great to see. Well done guys.

Organization is a must for this course, although I did not adhere to this all the way through, which lead to almost 4 days of no sleep! As you would imagine, i was not very well, and Josh saw the state of me (i could barely talk), and Lisa got a phone call from a very dazed and confused Jonno. And to think, i drove home!
So out of this, if I have left being able to do basic in animation, and have learnt a valuable lesson about the effect of sleep deprivation on one's health and well being. DO NOT EVER STAY AWAKE FOR 3 DAYS. IT IS NOT PRETTY. Although i did get a few comments on how good my hair looked, considering the circumstances.....bonus points tp the issuers of those comments.

The Lecturers and Tutors.
The course was enhanced by the Lecturers and tutors. Without them, the course would have been totally different!

Lisa was great, and is a credit to the school of design. Her endless willingness to help students out of hours, and her knowledge makes her a great teacher in the making. I am proud to say that we have studied together before, and she is still the most intelligent student i know.

Josh was also outstanding, and has a wealth of knowledge to offer students. He is the most chilled out teacher at the school of design, and really engages with the students in the class. He makes university a fun and engaging place, and i was excited about this subject because of the atmosphere created by both Josh and Lisa.
(I am not writing this as a suck up, and all my words are in honest reflection).

Improvements could be made in a more comprehensive run through of how to use Premiere closer to the date of film submission, as what i learnt did not support a confident use of the program, which proved to throw 12 hours of problems at me prior to submission.
It could also have a more specified pre-requisite description for students who do not know how to use the programs.

But overall, even though I'm not expecting a High destinction for the course, personally i have learnt a wealth of knowledge in animation, digtal media and group work, of which i will be able to build upon in future subjects and assignments.
Thankyou to the lecturers and all of my three blog followers!

Cheers, Jonathon Hyde-Neary.