This is my final magazine cover. I chose this as I believe that the theme shown on the cover can easily be identified and the colour scheme harmonies one and other. The cover also isn't too crowded with effects and so balances between that and basic.
What was my knowledge of the software and process before I started?
Before starting this course, I had zero knowledge of the different tools and features of Photoshop as I have never used the software before, The most I knew about the software was that it was popular and people use it to add effect to photos, but I have never used it myself. This then drove me to at least grasp basic knowledge of the software in the first week of term.
What have I learnt?
I have learnt how to enhance colours, add transparent pictures, add a background colour, crop images correctly, insert shapes, add filters such as a liquid effect or create a blur effect manually or automatically, etc. Overall, I feel like I have a real understanding of the basic tools.
What will I do differently next time? Next time I do a photoshoot, I will focus on the camera angles as now, as I'm looking through what I have created, the angles and shots are all the same, and so to make the pictures look slightly more dynamic and interesting for views instead of having a straight on picture.
Peer Review: This was a chance for everyone to review my chosen final magazine. I've had many positive feedback and also some improvements to be added too.
What Worked on the Cover:
Good layout of design, contrasting colours stand out.
Text is bold and easy to read.
The font works well, stands out. Also, like the yellow shadow in title.
The main image reflections look really good.
Liked caption at the top of the of the cover.
Looks professional.
Title is very easy to see.
Placing is very central.
Contrast colours stand out.
Improvements:
Portrait is a bit difficult to see.
Background is slightly bland
Not sure about the blue box that covers the text's background.
Portrait is difficult to see.
Background is bland.
Those that gave me reviews on my portrait cover were helpful to point out that there are things I could improve on such as to create a less bland background, I could create a transparent brick texture or add a different colour to make it pop out. Another thing I could do, which adheres to the improvement about my portrait difficult to see, if I were to do it again, I will increase the brightness of the three-point lighting and so hopefully will enhance and face and make that stand out. To conclude this, I am proud with my feedback and final portrait I have produced.
I believe that, in general, I am managing my workload successfully as I have been able to balance both my social life and college work. But there are improvements which I could add to make myself feel more organised.
At the moment for college, I arrive at least an hour to thirty minutes early, this gives me enough time to organise myself before my lesson starts, and so I would check my checklist of work to see if there is anything I could do to make myself a little productive, this includes going to the library to finish off a blog, or to work on a skill that I had learnt in a lesson, giving me time to understand it, for example, how to use different tools on Premiere Pro. My checklist is in a paper form as I feel that to physically write down what I need to do and to actually tick it off helps me to accomplish my work.
After getting home from college, I try to complete tasks that I didn't during lesson time, tasks such as finishing my gif or completing my short film. But unfortunately, this is not always the case as sometimes I forget to add files to my student Google Drive and so all I can access are images and the video clips. And so if that is the case, I then practise the skills I have learnt in the lessons with those clips. To improve this, I could add a reminder of some sort such as creating a digital reminder, or to write it down on my checklist, to help me get into the routine of saving documents and unfinished projects onto my student Google Drive to ensure that I am always on top of my work and assignments. Something that could help me save more work onto my student drive is by creating a shortcut, that may quicken the process.
In this, I researched what the theory of A Hero’s Journey was, here I found out who came up with the theory, who was Joseph Campbell, and what it was about. We were put into groups so that we could present a minimum of six minute presentation about the theory.
To the right is the stages of the hero’s journey according to the theory. In act 1, it starts with an introduction to protagonist’s world, then the hero is called into action, next they cross the threshold. Then in act 2, the hero then has a mentor who teaches them, then the hero gets to their first challenge, they are next tempted with something such as money, fame or even to be back with a dead loved one, after that the hero has a dark moment. In act 3, the hero is then faced with the final conflict and then return home to their family and friends.
After finding out what the Hero’s journey was, I then linked it up with examples from Arrival, to see if it theory fit with the storyline of it. I found that it was better for me to rewatch the film and make a note of things I spotted which linked in with The Hero’s Journey Theory. I then collected information of quotes and what other people thought of the film. I also researched the summary of the film and linked what was said on there to the theory. (http://m.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/quotes) (https://briandoddonleadership.com/2016/11/12/14-leadership-quotes-and-lessons-from-arrival-the-movie/)
This is a form of secondary research as the information was already existed, and so all I needed to do was sipher the relevant information for it. You can find my findings for this in my presentation on The Hero’s Journey.
I'v learnt different story theories about the different characters, for example, Hero's Journey, Vladmir Propp's Theory, Todorv's Theory, etc.
How to add different filters onto my pictures in photoshop
Colour Harmonies
How to apply Sound to a video on Premiere Pro
Three Point Lighting
Primary and Secondary research
Photomation properties and how to combine images together in a sequence
Camera angles
Impact of sound in a film
Camera Features
How to add filter on a video clip such as increasing the speed, changing/enhancing colours, etc.
The styles and conventions of a silent film
Colour spectrum and properties of RGB and CMY(K)
Not all colour can be printed
Things I'm Good At:
Writing reviews/evaluations
Coming up with storylines
Attendance and punctuality
Work well as a team member, taking charge and make sure we have each part of the group project covered
Work well independently
Creating and capturing foley sound
Things I Need to Work on:
Enhancing my knowledge on the new and different software being used in lessons for example, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, InDesign, Animate, etc.
I m too much of a perfectionist and find that I spend far too long on a project as I sometimes delete my work and start over, for example, when when creating a animated gif
Top Three Things I Need To Work On:
To learn more on how to do things on Premiere Pro
To have up to date knowledge on software we are using/going to use
To go straight to the point with work so that I don't spend too long on a specific project
S.M.A.R.T. Targets for Each Thing I Need to Work on:
To Learn 5-10 tools on Adobe Premiere Pro by the end of next week.
To Learn 5-10 tools on Adobe InDesign by the end of next week.
To Learn 5-10 tools on Adobe Photoshop by the end of next week.
To learn 5-10 tolls/features on a college camera by the end of next week.
To refresh my knowledge of Premiere Pro once a week. I will do this by going over/practising at home, of the skills I have learnt in lessons.
To refresh my knowledge of Photoshop once a week. I will do this by going over/practising at home, of the skills I have learnt in lessons.
To refresh my knowledge of InDesign once a week. I will do this by going over/practising at home, of the skills I have learnt in lessons.
To experiment with Adobe Animate to get basic knowledge about software, and so learn at least 5-10 tools once every two days, before we come back from half term.
To create a list/plan on what I did to accomplish by the end of the week to allow me to be on to of work.
To communicate with staff so that I understand what to do in my assigned tasks every lesson, for the rest of this term.
With this first magazine cover, I went with my original plan but also adapted it too. The original plan was to have three different versions of myself to represent hobbies, personalities and physical features. I believe I have executed this well, but whilst I was creating it, I always found that there is always something missing, and so I kept adding or changing my idea, I like what I have produced, but it isn't something I would purchase myself. I think that it is due to the lack of colour on it. A way I could have improved it is to have more of my body in the shot, then that way I would have filled up more of the page, I would also use brighter colours such as blues and reds, colours which relate to my three traits. What I do like about my cover is the sepia colouring where the text box boarder is, as I feel like the text really pops out of the page due to it. Another feature I like is the three bigger heads behind the original ones, I like it as to me it undertones the three at the bottom, creating and almost superior authoritativeness to the traits. The final thing I like about this cover text in the back, which is 'who?', as the magazine was first based on what makes us, us; which is why I decided to use the word 'who' to say, without these three traits, I would not be recognised as Metmany Smith.
Portrait Cover 2:
With my second magazine cover, I created a warm illusion with my brightly coloured coat. I created three versions of myself to reflect a flame illusion, by starting faint and getting more distinctive. I then came up with the name 'Flaming Distort' as it fits best with what the cover is effectively showing., I then created a sepia boarder around the text as I felt that if I didn't do so, it would mean the cover will look quite mono toned and bland. It also gives a good effect of the warm cooler over the cooler ones, enhancing that heat illusion I am projecting. I added 'GET INSPIRED' at the top there as it was a project about what kind of things we could do on Photoshop, and at the beginning of the process we had to gather inspiration, and this was what the outcome was from the inspiration I had gathered. I faded the text slightly so that it blended in with what was happening in the background too.
Portrait Cover 3:
With this cover, we were given the opportunity to go out into the city centre of Bath and take portraits of ourselves in the community. When we were given the chance to go to the city center, the first idea that came into my head was paparazzi like shots, in my head, these were shots taken where the subject is off guard, but especially with paparazzi photos of models and actors, they still somewhat look glamorous, whilst also looking realistic in the shots as they are in mid-action.
I decided to try this out twice, the first try of this, I had my picture taken as soon as I turned around, I feel like this shot was fun, but when it came to editing, I didn't feel like that there was a lot that I could have done. And so I thought of, due to the fact that I was turning around for the shot, to create a transparent distortion to it as usually if my picture were to have been taken mid-spin, the picture would have been out of focus and distorted to a certain extent. I placed three of the same shot on the page to make it look so what dynamic as well. I named it 'PICTURE IT' because I felt that due to the blurriness and distortion, it sounded like a good play on words.
Portrait Cover 4:
I was aiming for the same sort of style as my third portrait, with this one. Here, I based it on one of my favourite bands, Clean Cut Kid, hence the title. They are an indie pop band, but also slide into the category genre of the alternative style in music. Their songs to me, have a slight retro touch to them due to their rustic instruments. To create an illusion of retro in the picture, I made the actual frame a browny gold colour. Next, for the text I again, applied a sepia text box, which made the title pop out as the blue looks distinctive on the warm colours on the page. Even though, visually in that picture, I do not look like what the title is implying, I am actually the complete opposite, and by having that difference in the colour scheme from the text box to the general picture suggests that in my opinion.
In all my magazines, there is a recurring pattern of effects being used such as the sepia bordered text and creating transparent layers to give the distorted effect. I feel that even though I mainly repeated these two effects, I have still had a chance to experiment with other kinds of tools on Photoshop such as cropping in my first portrait, another tool I have used is colouring enhancement and layering text. Overall, I am happy with what the outcome is and what I have learnt in the process.
To create gifs as a whole has been quite challenging for me as I have never used this kind of software before. Below are my sequences for my walking gif.
The three things which I found most difficult in this project was drawing the gif, this was a very time-consuming project as you had to really analyse how someone walks and draw it on the computer, making sure that the movement fit well together. Another difficulty was learning how to do it, even though I am generally a fast learner, as I am learning a lot of new things at once, it is difficult to remember it all in the time of the lesson, and so I found my self possibly repeating questions which I have already asked. The final thing I struggled with was patience, as this was a timely project, I found that I had to redo my work quite a few times, and so instead of repeating drawings, I duplicated the layers, but then this caused problems as this meant that instead of having the body move up and down when walking, the body and head remained in the same place, making the walk not look right, and so I had to go back and try to synchronise the body and head movements with the walk.
Even though there were many complications and frustrating moments whilst creating this, I did still enjoy the process of it all and now have a new appreciation for animators, even though I already knew it was a very difficult job and timely thing to do, as I have tried it myself, I appreciate their work in the film industry more.
All and all I am pleased with my work as it is the first time I have ever experimented with this and hope to get better at doing it with more practice to come.
We were assigned to create a short film which has at least five different shots. The main shots we included were: close ups, ariel, over the shoulder, hand held and low angle shot.
Our story is about a late student, his journey to the class room, we intended to create a fast pace action short film.
Close Ups:
We used close ups to create the sense on urgency in the scenes as he realises that he's late, when he is running up the stairs and so on.
Ariel:
We used this shot as Joel was running down the stairs, creating a spiral effect to it as he went down. This, to me, creates a dynamic effect which makes the film look a little more technical.
Over the Shoulder:
We did this shot as Joel looked down at his watch, this scene separates the calm setting where Joel was calmly strolling through the corridor, to the sudden realisation that he is late.
Hand Held:
A lot of our shots were hand held as we feel that this made the atmosphere in the film more realistic, and as it was so fast pace, it meant that it would have been difficult to capture the movement with a tripod.
Low Angle Shot:
This is used at the end of the short film to distinguish the teacher's authority as Joel comes barging in, late.
If I were to do this again, I would focus more on the focus of the shots in the film as I feel that a lot of our clips are quite out of focus. At the beginning of the film, the camera were quite jerky and was not straight horizontally and vertically as it was hand held, here we were trying to create an effect where to camera zoomed in at Joel whilst he was walking to the other side, instead the clip looked wonky and did not give the same effect, next time I would have the camera on a tripod, and then zoom into Joel that way, meaning the shot will be straighter and the zoom will be more controlled.
In the shot, the camera captures mainly the landscape/location on where the characters are. This shot allows the audience to picture what it would be like in that scene, and almost in a way feels a part of it. In the scene, I've captured above is the scene where Johnny (Patrick Swayze) and Baby (Jennifer Grey) practices the lifts in the dance routine, they do it in a vast lake, where the camera captures the beautiful isolated location.
Close Up
(Teen Wolf)
Close-ups show more detail on a subject. By doing this in films and television shows, it creates tension in the scene or builds a sense of mystery. An example of this is in the Teen Wolf scene I've put above, Scott the Alpha, he is battling a beast, and to intimidate the beast, he roars, the camera then gets closer and closer to his face to build impact and tension.
Extreme Close Up
(Hairspray)
Extreme Close Ups can vary considerably, usually, the shot focuses on a particular part of a person, this could be the face, mouth, eyes, hands, etc. It could also be an extreme Close Up of an object or animal. These shots are usually quite intense as it's mainly used in horror or action films to show the building tension in the scenes. An example of an Extreme Close Up is the shot I got from Hairspray, after this scene, the audience is then introduced to whom the main character is, this shot also creates mysteriousness as that is all you can see of the character at the moment. My chosen frame choice from Hairspray is not from an action or horror genre film, and so you can see how this shot can be used in a variety of genres and all have different effects.
Wide Shot/Mid Angle
(Remember the Titans)
Mid/Wide Shots are used to allow the audience to differentiate the distances between two characters or more. This can create tension between the characters, for example, if one were to threaten the other, the audience will then be able to recognize which character is the 'enemy'. The shot also allows the audience to see the facial expressions of both of the characters. In my example of this type of scene is from Remember the Titans. In this scene, Fred Bosley (Tim Ware) sits on the 'black table', this is because he believes that he does not feel a part of either the black or white group, Julius Campbell (Wood Harris) is seen as the leader of the black people and the questions Fred for his actions, in this scene, due to the wide shot, you can sense that tension is building between the two races.
Medium Shot
(Les Miserable)
In this shot, it shows some part of the subject in more detail, while also still giving an impression of the whole subject. For example, in the shot above from Les Miserable, shows Fantine's (Anne Hathaway) expressions in the film, capture her body language in a dark background, showing how sad and depressed she is.
Long Range Shot *
(Remember the Titans)
The Long Shot provides the audience an extended view of the scene around the characters. Making the location and group of the characters important to specifically acknowledge in the scene. The example above is from Remember the Titans, the characters are seen dancing on the football pitch, this draws the audience's attention to the characters and location as American Football players are typically seen as tough guys, but to see them dance to distract the other team brings in a comedic feature.
Birds Eye View
(Arrow)
Bird's Eye View can add many reactions from the audience, it can add suspense, comedy, and all sorts depending on the genre. In the example I have above, it is from Arrow, the two characters are battling for power, by having the camera positioning above the fight, it draws in emotions such as suspense as the audience is looking down upon the fight, making them feel a bit like God looking down on humanity.
Over the Shoulder *
(Arrow)
This shot allows the audience to have an insight into what the main character sees from their point of view. In this chase, in my example above, the audience is aware the other character, Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) is confronting the main character, Oliver Queen (Stephan Amell), why he does not think their relationship will work. By also having the camera at this angle, it also adds realism to the shot as the audience has adopted the same view of the other character the main character is looking at.
Establishing Shot *
(Gotham)
An Establishing shot is usually done at the beginning or end of a film, this is the set the scene or end it. It informs the audience where the characters are, where the story will begin and end. It also allows the audience to take in the layout of the scene as well as emphasize the size of the location the characters are. The example above is from Gotham, this is from the beginning of the episode, where Selina Kyle (Cameron Bicondova) looks up at her home city as she returns, this creates mystery as to what she is doing back.
Jib/Crane Shot *
(13 Going on 30)
In this shot, the camera is placed on a crane or jib and moved up or down. This shot is used mainly in musicals to exaggerate emotions and the typical happy ending scene. The shot is often used to highlight a character's loneliness or at the end of a movie, the camera moving away as if saying goodbye. For example, in the scene above from 13 going on 30, to show that the couple will live 'happily ever after' the camera zooms away from their nice quaint home.
Dolly Zoom *
(Ratatouille)
This is a shot that has the camera zoom in dramatically forward toward a subject, while simultaneously zooming out creating a woozy, vertiginous effect. This is used to create a dramatic effect. In the example shot above from Ratatouille, the food critic is in shock and so to make that expression more dramatic, they used a dolly shot to do it.
Low Angle Shot *
(Arrow)
In this type of shot, it is used so that the audience is aware of the character's positioning in the scene, as the characters are higher to what they are looking at. The audience is also aware of the location the character. By having the camera positioned so that it is looking up to the character, shows authority in the scenario. The example I chose above is from Arrow, this is where Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) battles Ra's al Ghul (MattNable) and when Green Arrow/Oliver Queen weakens Ra's al Ghul in their fight, the camera positioning changes as it now shows that GreenArrow/Oliver Queen is now dominant and in charge.
High Angle Shot
(Les Miserable)
High Angle Shots enables the audience to be aware that the characters are doing a certain action such as lifting something or even crouching. The positioning of the camera above the characters give the audience an idea of their vulnerability in the situation. Having the Haigh Angle Shot can also show the audience who is in charge, for example, in the scene I have chosen above, Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is pulling something as a punishment for his crime of theft, he is on the lower end of the angle because at the moment, his character is a prisoner and is being controlled by the police.
Dutch Tilt *
(The Amazing Spiderman)
This shot is achieved by having the camera tilted on its side to create a kooky angle. This is often used to suggest disorientation in a film to create a dynamic effect. An example of this is the shot above from The Amazing Spiderman. When Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) saves a young boy from a burning car that is hanging off a bridge by Spiderman's web.
Aerial *
(Hairspray)
This shot introduces the audience where the story will begin. This is usually at the beginning, as it calmly introduces the scenic views of the location. In the example above, introduces the Hairspray story by over-looking the city, and then slowly winding down the main character's house. Usually, an aerial shot is used to establish the location of the character, whether it is an exotic area or a busy city, this creates an atmosphere for the particular scene.
P.O.V.
(Grey's Anatomy)
This shot, like the over the shoulder shot, allows the audience to see what the main character sees from their point of view. This again creates realism in the shot. For example, in the above shot, Preston (Isaiah Washington) wakes up during surgery to Cristina (Sandra Oh), this scene quickly gets emotional and Cristina freezes whilst her lover Preston is in shock and struggles in his bed as he is confused as to what is happening.
Worms Eye View
(Bug's Life)
Like the Over the Shoulder and P.O.V. shot, this shot allows the audience to have an insight into what the character's sees from their point of view. But in this perspective, they are looking upwards, it is not always looking up at an object, the camera may be facing up from the ground, and it may get shots of people walking over it, etc, it all really depends on the scene and what the story is about. In my example above, is a scene from Bug's Life, where an ant and ladybug get stuck in a hole which the Bird pecks in to eat them. The positioning of the camera is quite quirky and dynamic, making it interesting as an audience, interesting to watch.
Hand Held *
(Split)
Hand-held shots are used to make scenes more fast pace and also make it more realistic due to the hand-held movement. these shots are usually used in action, horror and thriller films as these are were more fast pace shots are needed. For example, to exaggerate the tension building in the scene above from split, to create that effect of the character running out time, the hand-held camera looks at the girl, to almost say "hurry up!" to her.
Analysing Shots in a Scene: (Dirty Dancing - Final Scene)
In this scene, it shows a variety of shots which enhance the chemistry in the scene between the Johnny and Baby, it also shows how slowly the working force of the holiday resort unite with guests, symbolizing the respect between the two different social classes. In this scene, it first starts with a long/wide shot, this shows the audience that due to the presence of Johnny, something big is going to happen. Then it goes onto medium shots, showing Johnny preparing himself for his big performance, thus building up atmosphere in the scene. Then, as Johnny finishes preparing for the dance, the shot changes to close-ups, as the two characters look deeply at each other. The camera shot then goes back to a long shot as Johnny walks over to Baby slowly and calmly, having that long shot really enhances that, as it captures Johnny's every movement. Next, the shot comes back to medium, once the characters touched, when the music comes on, Johnny dips Baby and as she comes back up, the camera shot becomes a close-up, showing the intense love between Johnny and Baby. Throughout this scene, they use medium, close-ups, long/wide and crane/jib shots. The reason for the medium and close-up shots, even when the camera is pointed to Baby's parents, it shows the tension is building as Baby's father does not like Johnny. The medium and long/wide shots then are used to show slowly, how the two different social classes come together and dance. The crane/jib shots were mainly used when Johnny and Baby were dancing at the beginning of the scene, this was to make their dance almost come alive, off the screen as the camera is getting all angles.
Zero is a short animated film based on 'wool people’ which are characters made out of wool. Each character has a visible number on their chest, representing how many opportunities they have in life and these numbers run from 1 to 9. There are also new-born 'wool babies' with the number zero on its chest, representing that they will have zero opportunities in life. This film relates to racial history of black and white people. The zero's are brown 'wool people' whereas the 'wool people' who have a number from 1 to 9 are pink. Zero's are hunted down and bullied for being who they are, as it is forbidden for them to enjoy life and to experience happiness. But in the story, it follows a male zero, who even though is constantly being bullied and beaten up, looks at the good things in life, he soon meets another female zero, who he falls deeply in love with. The police then find out and separate them, when the male zero we see from the beginning of the story is thrown into jail, he creates a memorial of his love in the form of a drawing of her.
One day, a dead flower is put through his prison cell and he finds out it is from his lover as he looks out the window the flower came through, she then shows him that she is pregnant, but then the pinks look at her in disgust and outrage and circle around her, this is when we see the zero's lover collapse onto the ground and then gives birth, zero's lover, the crowed of pinks, and the zero's lover disperse and all that is left on the ground is a tatty coat, but not all hope is lost and the zero's lover enters zero's cell, who is also surrounded by pinks, with twins who have an infinity symbol on its chest. This child is a gift to the world and only one of its kind. This infinity symbol represents that it will have many chances in life, but this could also mean that as the audience we followed a zero's journey where even though he was treated badly, he never gave up, this could symbolise that if life presents you with zero chances, you can't except fate as it is as you will get nowhere in life, if you approach it in a positive way, life will present you opportunities.
The Fat Cat:
This short film revolves around a cat that receives whatever it desires and so due to this, the cat gets fatter and fatter as the story goes on. The cat can represent all kind of things/scenarios, for example, the cat could represent a spoilt child who then becomes useless to society as they have never done anything for themselves. The cat can also represent someone who feeds off other people's successes, in the short film, the cat eats the mice who have been working hard for the cat, representing that the powerful prey on the weak, as 'What the fat cat wants, the fat cat gets'. The film’s undertones suggest at one of society’s ongoing problems of how large companies feed on small local businesses, also known as 'the little people'. For example, as a student, work experience is great to have to build up confidence and a portfolio for myself, but at the same time, if the company were to use any of my work that I have produced during the work experience, I would most likely not gain any recognition from it as I am only there for the experience they are providing me. All my examples link to greed, this is something everyone is guilty of and makes us think of the things we do have in life, and to appreciate it, instead of continuously wanting more.
