Assignment 3: After re-modification

Dear ALL,

here's my update for assignment 3 so far. Let's begin with the first portion - the storyboarding of the movie clip. Basically, if all of you recall, my storyline revolves around a guy (ME), stressing over the upcoming valentine day and what to do for his girlfriend. I didn't manage to scan in the entire A3 storyboard which i had handed up to Julian last week, hence i can't really show it here online. Basically, it was just a few sketches of the flow of the story, so i will just briefly explain my storyline here again (in words) to help you guys recall on my story.


P.S. I will request Julian for the permission to scan in my previous sketch works so just wait for further updates on the blog if you are still interested after the e-week session.

Pre-production Phase:

A) Theme: Valentine day

B) Mood: Light-hearted, sweet and comical (A simple, sweet love story)

Here the rough storyline (after re-modification and advices given during the previous critique session)

C) Please note: there are 3 major characters in this story:

ME! (photographs)

My girlfriend, Camy (photographs)

Inner-self (animated: subject to feasibility, complexity and compatibility to the entire aesthetic of the video)

D) SCENES:
The numbering at the left-hand column refers to ACT / SCENE of the storyline. It is not necessarily restricted to just 1 photograph per ACT. Hence, do not be confused with my limitations of pictures.

1: The picture of a calendar full of scribbles and assignments and blah blah... (the camera will then zoom slowly to the week near February 14th, i will add in subtitles to narrate how busy i am and how stress i will be during the upcoming weeks and briefly introduce on the settings of the story: Valentine day itself)

2: The shot of me pondering over what gifts to prepare for her on valentine's day itself ( the camera will show me in various comical positions trying to brainstorm of what to prepare for her. At the final position, the camera will then zoom out into a "dreamy scene")

3: Dreamy (photoshop) image of a internal mind map with an animated ME showing my expressions over each idea. Several different images of e.g. flowers, chocolates, cupcakes will be flashed with added commentaries at the subtitle section to reflect my inner thought process. There will be animation to subsequently eliminate each idea due to various reasons as reflected.


A few examples of ideas (previous gifts i made for/gave to her so copy-right free)

4: "back to square one" Show me very frustrated over my lack of creativity to come up with an innovative/sweet idea (of course in a comical way. I might mix in animated drawings of my inner-self to the photographs and see whether the plan will work)

5: Shot of me looking through my photo albums in my lap-top to search for inspirations, e.g. what she like, what she we went through together. (The camera will slowly zoom into the laptop screen and show the various images. Here, my inner-self will appear again near the subtitle section to comment on the various events we went through. This particular scene will take up a numerous pictures. The commentaries here are especially important to show my inner-thoughts)

A few examples of stuff i might add in:

6: Shot of me slamming the table! (EUREKA!) An interesting idea struck me! I was grinning away and the image slowly fades off into a black screen:

- the black screen will then show the words in white: A FEW DAYS LATER

7. Various scenes of February 12th. Shot of the strucking off the calendar using the cross and writing down how many days left. The walkway is relatively empty. Shot of me, tired and grumpy (comical) with commentaries to suggest that there's is no much time left.

8. Eve of valentine's day. Another shot of shot of the strucking off the calendar using the cross and indicating it is the eve of valentine day. The walkway is more crowded with the bazaars. Shot of me even more tired and grouchy accompanied with commentaries to suggest i have no much time left to complete the gift.

9. Valentine day - itself. The calendar showing the finale. I was super tired after rushing through the night. Shot of me looking very sloppy and unshaven. Next shot is me in a clean and proper manner, all ready for valentine day. (the two shots will show the contrast before and after wash-up to show how tired i was) The walkway is well-decorated and full of couples.

P.s. Scene 7,8 & 9 have numerous similarities to compare and contrast the mood as the storyline approach D-DAY itself. It is to ensure consistencies as well to reflect the mood i want to portray.

10. Shot of both of us meeting each other. We went to a relatively quieter location for our date and i presented my special gift for her. (Note: this is the first time the gift is shown to give the element of suspense and mystery in the prior scenes that will left the audience guessing)

P.S. Due to the element of suspense, i SHALL NOT reveal the gift here as i hope during the presentation itself i can surprise you guys so i hope that you can forgive me k?

11. Shot of her expression as i reveal my gift for her. It will be like sequential capture of her emotions at that particular point of time. From shock, to happy to hugging me. This is to show the flow of actions and to capture her emotions.

12. Up close shot of the gift itself. Various angles and techniques will utilized to capture the essence of the gift and how it relate back to Scene 5 (the various things we have done together. this is to show how the story relate back to the front and ensure consistency). Subtitles will be provided to explain.

13. I LOVE YOU. The camera will zoom to the word I LOVE YOU as the scene slowly fade off to another scene.

14. Drawing of a fairy tale ending. The last scene will be purely hand-drawn and I will try to portray that there is a happy ending to the story. Just like normal fairy tales. Short and simple ending to a happy valentine.

15. Credits.

E) Progress
So far, i have taken up to half of the photos needed, roughly around 20-22 of the photos needed in specific scenes. However, due to the re-modification of the plot and subjected to comments derived from this e-critique session, i do not intend to finish taking all the photos. After reviewing the comments made by my fellow classmates, i will then go ahead for my second round of photo-taking.

In the meantime, i have experimented on the 3rd character: my inner-self and have drawn a few thumbnail sketches of how he looked like. I hope that it can fit into the photographs well.

Music: I have already sourced for several pieces of midi from my composer friends and currently in the process of selecting the appropriate piece.

F) Limitations
Due to the numerous photographs and the long report i have typed here, i did not posted all the available photographs i have, if not the entire entry will be super long and large, which will take a long time to load.

G) Conclusion
Thanks for taking your time to review my work. I hope you can give some valuable advices to my storyboard that will enable me to improve on my current work.

Assignment 2: "Just another Day"

Hey guys... I am back, with assignment 2 this time round. Ha ha i am more of an animation/graphics person than a photos guy. Hence, i have a relatively tough time conceptualizing a photo-story line. (remember 2208 photo assignment? Same feelings!)

Brainstorming
However, during the process, i had a lot of fun! I spent the whole morning brainstorming with my girlfriend about the storyline. What constitutes a 'normal' & 'Just another day' activity? Cycling? Jogging? Numerous ideas popped out, until she finally suggested roping her younger brother for help! "We will play basketball!"

Photo-taking
The rest was history. We co-wrote a script about a guy practicing basketball near his house when he reminisced about his past experiences on this same court. I adopted an interjection style of photography that shows that the two characters are actually playing together, when in fact, only one guy is playing all along. The younger character represents his past! To make it more interesting, i decided to reveal this twist at the end of the story.

Editing
Next, i used both Photoshop and Picasa to play around with the lightings and effects of the pictures to make it more "dreamy". The effects turn out well! Just that when i compressed it in the later stages, the additional effects turn out to be a huge no-no! Its add up quite abit of space per image, which destroyed my image quality later on.

Comics Life
Lastly, as this was my first time trying out dreamweaver, i decided to be more adventurous with the layout. Instead of using the simple layout provided on the website, i chose to put in more effort and used comics life instead to create strips of comics to portray my story. I loved the results and it gave a very cute and comical effect. It adds a different dimension to the story line as well.

Critique
Alas, time for critique session again. This time round, the general comments that too many photos were used, making it a bit too complicated and it also placed a huge constraint on my file size limit, resulting in poorer resolution for each image. Haha i guessed i was too greedy, being a perfectionist as usual! Nonetheless, i will take out certain photos and simplify the entire assignment to give a more clear and simple feeling! However, i will still stick to my comic layout as it was really well-received by the rest of my friends! Please look forward to my edited version!

Assignment 1

Assignment 1: Dreams Poster Design

Hi guys, it has been a long time since i posted a learning journal. Brings back memories of my 2208 days during year 1 sem 2.

Here's my design:

Introduction
Basically, it was a recap to brush up my adobe photoshop skills before i plunge into the real deal in dealing with audio and video software such as Premiere and Aftereffect
s. To be honest, i was shocked by the number of software we need to learn during the course of the module, so it is pertinent to get my basics right. As expected, it took quite some time to re-learn my photoshop skills as i am more inclined towards Adobe illustrator.

Critique Session
Thanks to my fellow classmates, i am able to successfully produce a relatively acceptable piece of art work. During the critique session, the general comments were rather well-received (much to my relief) by the class, except that i need to take note of certain details that i left out unknowingly.

I will post up the rest of the thumbnail sketches i made during the next post. Till then. Everyone enjoy the module.

-Remmy, Ng Tee Lim-
DW1