Establishing Shot - Sky Replacement

Since the last post, I've added some more finishing touches to the shot.

This includes neatening the matte path throughout the shot to ensure nothing is missed that needs to be in the shot. I have also attempted to alter the direction of light from the sun, given that the sky replacement image uses a different source angle for its lighting.

This is something that I haven't done before, and is therefore a new task for me to try.

Here's the outcome of my first attempt, it will probably need some more touching up and re-colouring, but I'm quite pleased with this as my first attempt.

The shot needs some minor animation, and that will be completed when the colouring has been finalised.

Project Update 21/2/2015

Been a little while since the last post, given the limit in available footage, so in that time I've been looking at the best ways to achieve the effects that I want to create for the project.

Given a range of the shots require masking and set extension, I've been looking at the best ways to alter the images that I'll be provided.

Using some very early footage from the shows production, I've practiced how to change the background of a fairly static shot.

Here you can see the original shot, and then the first test shots of the sky in the background being replaced. The actual masking follows the movement throughout the shot, but needs a little bit of tidying here and there.

This screenshot shows the mask path edit points, which will need to be increased to ensure the masking throughout the shot is neat and error free, but shows the initial work being undertaken to test effects for the show. 

My next step for this particular piece is to send it back to the group and see how they react. During this time I'll start working on some more shots that have come through in the last few days. Stay tuned! 

Semester 2 Begins - 2021 - TV Show Animation Project

With this semester being my final semester at University, I wanted to get involved with a big creative project to complete my time at Lincoln.

A few possibilities for a final project floated around in my head, including a music video for a song based on this piece of album cover art seen below. This is still an idea that I'd like to explore, and perhaps something that I'll look into in my spare time.  

The final project that I have settled upon is a fantastic and exciting opportunity opened up by fellow Level 3 students, creating their final piece for the Multicamera module at the University of Lincoln. The group approached me with the proposal that I could create some work for their show, that I could use on my own portfolio when looking for work after graduating. The scope of work being requested is no small task, and I subsequently proposed that the work I create for the show is used as my creative output for my final project at University. This means that I can create a level of content that suits the program, but is also substantial enough for me to focus on as my own project work. If it was a mere side project, my focus would be split, and the final outcome would not be as good as it could be. This setup is the best for all parties, and will also work well to show the collaborative nature of media at University; something that will feature well on any creative CV. 

As for the actual content that will need to be created, following meetings with the producer Lucy Whitehead and writer Bobby Beardwell, I have started to look for inspirations in the media for how to achieve the desired outcomes. The show, set in the near future, follows Rowen on her journey in a world where the new government, 'The Promise', control almost every aspect of life. Only thoughts are safe from the government's prying eyes. This setting requires a range of sci-fi and semi-futuristic animations to help create the rich depth that the story demands. Characters will be seen with circuitry in their eyes and glowing red LED's attached to their necks, as well as a variety of other artifacts placed into the cinematography. One example of this is the advertising that I will be creating and placing into the scene, similar to the adverts seen in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. 

Whilst the adverts above look like regular bus adverts, they are moving images in the film. Follow this link to see a YouTube video full of more examples of the dystopic adverts from this film. Children of Men is a clear inspiration for the work I will complete for this project in relation to the adverts being placed into the environment. 

Screens are another aspect of the show that I will create, which is something that features heavily in most modern sci-fi films and tv shows. Minority Report and the Avengers Assemble (both seen below) are just two examples from a wide range of cinema that uses holographic displays to aid with the establishment of a sci-fi setting. 

By concurring with genre convention, not only will the outcome be recognisable as a sci-fi inflected show, but I shall have something to base the creation of these animations and effects over the coming weeks. 

My next post will provide more detail on the exact content I will be creating, as well as establishing some timelines for the creation of all the content over the semester.