(9) Some Research on Editing

Okay, okay, I know I already made three blog postings about research and brainstorming but this is something new, I promise. 

So these past two days I have been working on my storyboard and outlining my film and I'm happy to report it's going really well!! :D I'm not completely finished with it but I'd say that I'm halfway done with it. When it comes to storyboarding I usually come up with shot ideas on the spot; I just let the images of what I want to capture flow out onto the page. Now that I have taken my ideas and placed them on paper I can conduct some further research on what I want to incorporate or consider including. 

I want to include some visual match cuts in order to provide a smooth transition from 'real world' shots to animated ones. However, I am not very experienced when it comes to shooting visual transitions (let alone editing them together). I knew that I would have to look into how to perfect a visual match cut so I found a video and a link that I think will be useful for the production and editing stages. :D

https://blog.pond5.com/21323-5-types-of-match-cuts-and-how-to-use-them-well/

This research about jump cuts made me think about editing and if I'm honest it made me a little nervous (hehe ^^;). Now normally I wouldn't even think about editing until I finish production, but that's simply because in past group projects I would never be in charge of editing. However, since I'm the only person working on my film editing is something I'm going to have to think about. 

I typically use WeVideo or a little bit of iMovie in order to edit projects on my own, but those two editing tools are pretty limited in how they can edit footage. I wouldn't be able to manipulate the lighting or color of a shot in an accurate fashion or use software that can assist me with transitions. At the same time, I'm not sure if I'm willing to go out of my way to buy Adobe Premiere and learn how to use it just for this one project. I guess I'll have to see what are my options and come up with a more thorough plan later on...

Just when I feel like I planned everything out another factor I need to consider pops up. :/ As frustrating as it is it's really important that I do think these through. For me, blogging everything down and keeping track of what I'm doing through my posts has been insanely helpful. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything down tomorrow, I'll keep you guys posted!

(8) Okay, Here's the Plan/Stop-motion research

Hello everyone! :D

Right, so after looking over my past blog posts and documents I've been using to plan out my film project I have decided to set out a list for myself to complete before this upcoming Monday. By completing all of these tasks I hope that I'll be prepared to begin the production process this next week! Here's the list that I made below:

Since I've decided that I'm going to be using stop motion for some of the scenes in my project I want to lay out all of my ideas on how and why I'll be using it. :0

As I'm imaging some of the stages of grief I picture myself in various 'scenes' that capture the essence of that stage. Because of this, I would like to use my environment around me in order to symbolize some stages, but I don't have access to a set or the resources to make a full-blown scene at a life-size scale. However, with animation my limits as to what I want to capture or create dissolve. I can be able to place myself (or a representation of me rather) into any location. 

Of course, with freedoms comes responsibility, and knowing that stop-motion is very laborious I'll need to plan. I'm already familiar with the technical gear I'll need but I am not sure how if I would want to do 2D or 3D animation. 2D animation would be easier to execute, but since I want to do stop-motion to create scenes I think 3D is the wisest choice. Because Yejin used a 3D setting for their film I decided to get some insight and ask them for advice! :D 

They said that I should definitely try to have a strong source of light since it'll allow me to "create a sense of depth" if I'm using a diorama. Luckily, my art desk has a really strong light making it the perfect spot to set up a diorama so I'm set when it comes to my setup!

ta daaaa!

In my project last year I focused on the mise-en-scene of my film so I'm hoping that my experience will be able to assist me in creating the 'set' for the stop-motion sequences. Yejin suggested to use a mixture of both paper and clay so that means I'll probably have to go run some errands in order to get the materials I need (hence the note on my task list). 

There isn't much more planning I can for the stop-motion sequences unless I get the storyboard and the general outline of my film down first. Hopefully I'll get that done in time for the next blog post, I'll keep you guys posted! >:D

(7) Inspiration Hour

Hey everyone, it's been a minute. 

On Saturday I received a few emails from universities I applied to and unfortunately I got deferred from some of my dream schools. I was pretty upset and occupied over it so I had to take some time to figure out what I needed to submit (I think I figured everything out). Unfortunately, I'm off schedule, but instead of moping I'm going to do my best to knock out planning as soon as possible and complete a plan that I'm proud of! >:0

Alright, since I've been in a creative block I decided to take the time and brainstorm again to hopefully draw some inspiration. I was talking with my boyfriend about my project and what I had planned so far and we were able to bounce off some ideas (yay!).  

After telling him my plans he agreed that I should try to include some kind of script/voiceover within my film. However, he suggested that instead of a complete script I could also make it abstract in some sense. Since we're both spoken word poets he suggested that I use or create a poem as a voiceover to my project. While writing out an entire poem might take some work, I think the idea of using spoken word in my script is stellar! :D I think it will work well in an arthouse film style and the flow of a spoken word piece will sound really nice!

He also showed me a couple of Ted-ED videos that have animated visuals to a spoken word poem for some inspiration. I really like the style of these videos and they're method of storytelling; I'll definitely look to these when it comes to finalizing the organization of my film!

Yesterday I was scrolling on my Twitter and I saw that my friend Yejin Koo posted one a stop motion  project they have been working on (Yejin used to go to Cypress and take this class but now they're at Emerson College in Boston). They made a project about a young boy and his day at the beach and I absolutely fell in love!! I really loved the animation and it really inspired me to consider using stop motion within my own project!

I was on the fence about using stop motion animation it out but after seeing what Yejin did I knew I at least had to plan for it. Using some animation within my film will definitely allow me to include visuals that otherwise would not be necessary. It might be time-consuming but I think it'll be 1000% worth it.

Even though I lost a production week I'm not going to sweat it because this is necessary. I'm the kind of person that needs everything planned out before I even attempt to work, and for a project where I'm planning to tell story in an abstract manner it's crucial I have everything down. For these next few days I'll take the time to plan out everything I need and next week it's crunch time! I'll keep you guys posted! :D