weekly comments #9 (tutorials galore)

I learned so much in after effects like kinetic typography, masks, properties of effects, animating text, etc. So many tutorials,I don't think I'm even done yet.

I'd like to learn a bit more about animating things that aren't letters/text in After Effects, like objects. I don't think animating characters (people/animals) in after effects would work out well but if it could that'd be cool.

Nothing really bothered me in class. My high school had me mad all week and still does, but our class is fine. I'd rather go to Boces all day than go back to my school.

I liked the short tutorials and that I was able to catch up on the other tutorials even though I had to finish up the documentary, I pretty much tolerated everything else.


I had no idea what to put as my link this week.So here's 34 examples of kinetic typography. Since we have been talking about I figured it was relevant and better than me just posting a video I found online about something I like that no-one else does. Seems like 34 is plenty. 35 is like waaaayyy too much, but 34 is cool man.
http://www.creativebloq.com/typography/examples-kinetic-typography-11121304

response to sound effects and Foley article

In movies, most sounds are recorded or added in after filming. There are three categories of sound effects added in during the editing of a film. Ambience sound effects are background sound effects or noises that can be recorded on location before or after filming a scene. Library effects are prerecorded sounds, not made for any particular visuals, that can be bought from a website. Foley sound effects are performed and recorded for a specific scene. These include footsteps, sounds made by cloth, and sounds of/from props. The process of watching the film and then adding sounds that correspond to the visuals came from a Universal employee named Jack Foley, hence why it's called Foley.

This is cool! Although most likely a very tedious process, the idea of filming something entirely without audio or dialogue and then recording all these sounds in real time to go along with the visuals seems very cool. Granted that would be near impossible to do with explosion sounds and gunfire, which is why it's better to get library effects and not even attempt to record that. I was surprised to see that movies's sounds were done this way. I thought it was mostly recorded along with the visuals and few things were thrown in later, not the other way around.

response to How to Use Reference Materials article

There are several different types of references to use for for animating poses. These include television shows, movies, comic books, and photos. However if you need a specific pose for a human character, sometimes the best reference is to have yourself or a friend physically act out the pose and film yourselves doing it to watch later while drawing/animating. Having references is certainly not "cheating" and can be one of the most helpful things for an animator to have while working. Comic books are an especially good source for finding dynamic poses. Don't just look your references, study them and draw them.

Pretty good stuff. I liked the different styles discussed here, mainly comic books and having the animator film themself. I'd never thought about comic books as references, but they are loaded with poses (in fact they are practically ONLY poses when it comes to characters) which could be very helpful. That's not stealing is it? ...Probably not.... And filming yourself sounds like a great idea. I know that some people have a mirror next to their computers when animating facial expressions so they can get references from their own face, and this is like the same thing.

weekly comments #8

1. I learned that documentaries aren't fun, and concussions are only a little fun but then your head hurts and if you want to sleep you can't because you'll die. Sad stuff.

2. I'd like to learn when is a good time to add transitions and when to just do a cut from one clip to the other. I swear they will be my downfall.

3. I was always frustrated with everything. Schoolwork being the top thing, then there was thinking that we didn't have enough for the documentary, and no-one would let us talk to them, and concussion stuff.

4. I liked that we handed in the documentary on time. I think. I actually don't know... Oh... I'm hoping we handed it in on time.

So here's a link to an article stating the five things that documentary makers do wrong, which is probably too late to help any of us... eh. It's still relevant at least.
http://www.raindance.org/5-simple-mistakes-documentary-filmmakers-make/

Response to Disney's Big hero 6 robot article

Baymax is the robot in Disney'sBig Hero Six and unlike the idea of many robots, he's not a hard heavy metallic statue type robot but a soft, almost balloon-like one. And his soft appearance goes well with his soft character. It is stated that "soft robots" could actually have a place in society in the future. People would most likely rather have a soft robot being around fragile things then a hard metal one, and they may look more appealing to the eye then a eight armed metal octopusbot. The idea of Baymax came from a soft robotic arm made by Siddharth Sanan.

Not only does the soft robot design look more appealing for people, but it also makes a great character for a kid's movie. I can't help but look at Baymax and think it's a robot version of Po from Kung Fu Panda. I like the idea of soft robotics, I'd never even thought that to be a possibility. It does have many uses in our society. Plus they look so non threatening. I'd get a pillowy robot that was as smart as a typical one. I hope it can't pop though.... that would be a huge design flaw.

response to"interstellar" article

The human race will not last forever on Earth. The movie Interstellar shows that eventually the Earth will be useless for human life and we as a species will need space travel to find a new home, most likely in a new solar system. The quickest and most likely the only way to travel such great distances in the universe is by entering wormholes and hoping for the best. In the film once the characters travel through a wormhole they find a black hole. The filmmakers wanted it to be as scientifically accurate as possible so they studied it and developed a new idea that shows what a black hole could and most likely does look like.


I did not expect to learn about space today, in fact I thought it would be like, "Here's a movie! Look how the director uses this cool light trick! And look, camera angles and lenses!" but no it actually surprised me. Nice change of pace, I suppose. I do find this interesting because outer space has always fascinated me because there's so much that we have learned as a people throughout history and we learned it all on one planet. All our ideas and wisdom pretty much mean nothing to anything outside our planet. And the universe is huge, if Earth disappeared no-one would notice. We are essentially the little speck on the flower from Horton Hears a Who. Yep, a Dr. Seuss allusion. And black holes are the coolest things ever, they devour anything and everything.

weekly comments #7

1. I learned that the opacity transition in premiere is sweet and easy to work with and that the quest project isn't that hard once you get past listening to that man's voice repeatedly.
2. I want to know when it's good to apply a transition and when I should just leave it as a jump from one clip to the next.
3. I got frustrated that my links are broken again and I have to check them on the Mac's again. Also I don't know anyone's blog link and I couldn't find them so I'm losing 5 points.... yay.... plus something went wrong while doing the storyboard article response and the first paragraph looks different than the second and I can't change it so that bothered the OCD.
4. I was happy that I did Halloween stuff and I nearly finished the quest assignment.

Same deal as before, here's the Willy Wonka parody done by editing clips and audio together. I'll fix this later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAN-EEfmmTQ

response to tips for creating storyboards article

 Storyboarding gives one a good idea of shot layouts in the pre-production stage of filmmaking. Storyboards should be made even if you are not a great artist. Some tips for a good storyboard are: make good use of foreground, mid ground, and background to create a sense of depth. Have some over-the-shoulder shots for dialogue scenes. Draw grids beforehand to get an idea of the camera angle and position of characters or objects. And lastly, add a bit of 3d perspective in your shots (avoid "flat staging"), this will make it look more appealing and less bland and boring.

 I hate storyboards... with a passion. That being said these are all very good, albeit very familiar, tips. I believe I read this article already last year. Some of this is news I/we already know, like the camera angle gives the character power or takes it away, and the over the shoulder shots are helpful for dialog heavy scenes.

psychology of scary movies article response

 There are several different factors and theories for why people like watching horror movies, that there is no one clear answer. These theories range from "the monsters are a reflection of current fears in society", to "we like seeing the people who commit taboo to be punished". There are 3 primary elements of horror: #1. Tension (caused by suspense, terror, and/or shock) #2. Relevance (the audience can relate with either the characters or the event/issues taking place) and #3. Unreality (the audience is able to distinguish the film as far fetched and unlikely.

Well it bites not knowing why we do what we do, or why we like what we like. For example, I'd like to know why I dream and why I need to sleep. And as far as horror goes, I don't much care for it. I've seen plenty of horror movies and I've analyzed a few. There really is no solid theory for why people like horror movies in general. Now if you were to be specific, like zombie movies only for example, then you could come up with the relevant issues and make a semi solid theory for each genre of horror.