Digital Creative Learning Journal for CAT109TC - JIAHUA.QIN-2143692

UNDERSTANDING

My understanding of the term post-production is really simple. In short, any modification to a piece of source material I consider post-production. If it's a bit more complicated, post-production covers a very wide range of topics. It can be the editing and splicing of material, the addition of special effects or subtitles, or the adjustment of the overall effect of audio and picture, etc. This is my immature understanding of post-production. 

MOVIE

The first movie I want to talk about is Ready Player One. The film is set in a future world. The main character uses a VR device to enter a game scene called "Oasis". As a science fiction film, the number oner player has paid homage to and appeared in many popular cultural works from the 20th century to the early 21st century, such as King Kong, Gundam, Alien, Street Fighter, Overwatch, etc. The re-shaping of the characters in these works in the film screen reflects the extremely high level of post-production, especially the shaping of every scene in it. The hero just walks through the main city with various characters in the game, the various game competitions in it, and the explosion scenes with strong visual effects.

References：

哔哩哔哩番剧 (no date) 头号玩家, bilibili. Available at: https://www.bilibili.com/bangumi/play/ep682241?theme=movie&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0 (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

The second film I want to talk about is Kung Fu Hustle starring Stephen Chow. What attracts me most about Kung fu is that there are many interesting camera changes in the film, and it has a unique style of camera language.In particular, the axe gang dancing clips, as well as the clips where Stephen Chow finally awakens his martial arts skills and challenges the whole Axe gang single-handed, the clips make the audience very comfortable and full of laughs.

哔哩哔哩番剧 (no date) 功夫, bilibili. Available at: https://www.bilibili.com/bangumi/play/ss32523?theme=movie&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0 (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

LEARNING

What we learned in class today is very useful. We learned different definitions and aspects of pre-production, production and post-production. Regarding the use of Da Vinci, it is not the first time for me to come into contact with Da Vinci. I used Da Vinci to make a very simple stop-motion animation as my homework last semester. But today's lab learning also has a different harvest, know how to add the title of the video in Da Vinci.At the same time, I also learned to set key frames in the video for dynamic zooming, so that the still picture is more flexible and will not be boring. I believe I will use this function frequently in my final works.

photos of DaVinci

IDEA

As for my idea of the final video, at first I saw a style called daoretheall on Douyin, which means reverence for everything. The use of images in it and the emotional expression of the camera moved me instantly. So I wanted to add that kind of fast camera editing to my videos.

C A M E R A S H O T S

shot size——understand the characteristics and storytelling value of each shot.

• Establishing shot 定场镜头

          open a scene or even entire film.
          enough to establish the geography
          show the scale of subjects in relation to their environment.
          transition between scenes
          introduce the entire new world.

• Master shot主镜头
   confirms the location and geography of the scene.
   clarified which character are in the scene. Where they are in relationship to each other.
• widc shot(WS)远景镜头 
  -The positions subjects far from the camera represent relationship to the environment
  concerned with the scale of the subject. 
  make subjects appear lost, lonely or overwhelmed.
  establish the relationship of the subject.
• Full shot(FS)全景镜头.

           composed head to toe.
           make statement about a subject's physicality.
           present a character in all their glory.

• MediumFallshot（MFS）（中全景镜头╱牛仔镜头）cowby.

            arranged from the top of the subject's head to just below their waist.
            present a subject as confident dangerous or confrontational.

• Medium shot（MS）中景镜头
  size similar to how we interact with people.
  start above the waist but below the chest and ends just above the head.
  dig into a subject's eyes without losing their physicality or environment.
  utilize a true middle-ground approach that is neither jarring nor especially dramatical.
• Medium close up (MCU)中近景镜头shot frame a subject from mid-chest to just above their head.
   reducing distraction and prioritizing story and character details
  get intimate with a subject without losing their physicality.
  
• Close up (CU)特写. 

          most powerful visual weapon for highlighting a change in emotion or dramatic beat on screen.
           arranged at eye level—character's thoughts and feelings.

• Extreme Close up (ECU)大特写镜头frames a subject to isolate a specific area.
   function of a specific prop or an intimate detail is necessary. Are most commonly used to highlight and isolate something crucial to the narrative.
  most intimate dramatic. Potentially startling
  

F R A M I N G

• Single -one character alone
  clean single-convey a character's isolation.
  dirty single-include a limit presence from another character.
• Two-shot-both faces must be clearly visible.
  creating visual relationship between two characters.
• Three shot/Four shot/Five shot/ Crowd shot.

• Over the shoulder (OTS)
  act like a hybrid between a single and a two shot
  focusing on one character at a time.
  get perspectives from both sides.

• Point of view (POV）

            audience to experience the perspective of a character. 

            cover a wide range of perspectives.

• insert shot.

            information is more important.  

            combined with POV shots.

ANGLE

• Low Angel (L A) use to make a subject look more powerful.
  not confined to human subjects
  bring all the elements in the picture together.

• High Angle (H A) diminish a character. 
  match L A to heighten the imbalance of power between subject.
  establish environments.

• Overhead /bird's eye view/ god's view鸟瞰镜头showcasing complex movements 
  suggest a connection to the divine
  capture the horrific details of a crime scene.

• Dutch Angle 斜角镜头Create a sense of unease,mania,terror bewilderment used to magnify tension.
  
  　
• Eye level shot水平视线高度 break the fourth wall. Most common and natural shot height.
  
  　　
• shoulder level shot肩部水平镜头using during conversations
  emphasize a height difference.
  translates visually to a power difference.
  enhance an affectionate glance.
  　　
•  hip level髋部水平镜头
  　match cowboy shot
• knee level膝盖水平镜头
   track through an environment following a character.
  good way to show case character details.
  　　
• Ground level贴地镜头—all the way down on the ground or below track a character's movement through a scene capture details withinthe setting

As for the use of my shots, my main story is not very long, and I can't directly appear in the camera, so I will use POV shots to shoot from my first-person perspective. First of all, I used full shot before being chased to show that the killer was coming at me. After I hid, I used a low-angle master shot, shooting two windows to see the killer outside the door. And when I woke up, I used a low cowboy shot as the killer approached me, to show that the threat was so close.

(no date) Douyin.com. Available at: https://www.douyin.com/user/MS4wLjABAAAA2t1p0XYVgoSXUaaz4PkOJYsWKirGOy4Wn59Ov9eNbq8?modal_id=7211881810538581309 (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

COLOR WHEEL

Value (Brightness/luma): how dark or light a color or a shade of grey appears.

Saturation: intensity of color in an image.

Hue: the primary characteristic of color, is the most accurate standard to distinguish different colors.

Color palette: is a combination of colors that artists, designers, filmmakers and other creatives use to indicate which colors their work will contain.

In order to achieve the effect of the film, I need to increase the contrast of the material. The color palette I use has a high contrast of colors in a very modern background, which is very similar to the corridor at the beginning of my shot, with a modern feeling.

The curve going from left to right is the change from dark to light, and changing the position of the curve can change the distribution of light and shade

The color wheel can control four different attributes, while the gear below can adjust the light and shade of each area, so as to achieve accurate distribution of light and shade.

More intuitively see the state of RGB to change the color bias.

Learned to adjust various color filters and change the color of an area and use motion tracking.

MONTAGE

Rhythm and tempo:Rhythm is the identifiable pattern of sound and silence. The speed os these patterns is referred to as the tempo

Sound wave :A sound wave is basically vibrations that can be sensed by your ears.

Frequency:Frequency is the number of cycles present in one second and it is measured in Herts (Hz).  The higher the frequency the higher the pitch,the lower the frequency the lower the pitch.

Amplitude:Amplitude of sound is measured in db SPL (decibels Sound Pressure Levels).

Timbre:Timbre is a term that describes the different quality in sound that is not attributed to pitch and amplitude and which is brought about by adding various harmonics to the fundamental frequency.

Bit-depth:Bit-depth refers to how many unique pieces of data that can be stored in your computer and which translate into to the resolution of amplitude. A lower bit-depth would mean that one looses resolution in amplitude,which means a loss of sound quality.

Diegetic sound is sound which has a source on-screen.

Non-diegetic sound is the type of sound that would not be heard by the characters in the scene. It is sound that is artificially added and would not be happening in a natural way in real life.

USE IN WORKS

I would add a nervous background music（bgm） when my video was initially hunted, and after I went into hiding, the bgm would fade away, and then there would be audio of the classic whistle that killed Bill, the killer whistling for me in the hallway, even though he was gone and the whistle was gone. I fell into a dream.

光影音乐汇 (2022) 《杀死比尔》经典口哨bgm：twisted nerve - bernard herrmann_哔哩哔哩_bilibili, _哔哩哔哩_bilibili. Available at: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1JL4y157Ec/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click (Accessed: March 31, 2023).

Because I made the first draft in a hurry, I did not do a good job in the presentation effect and time.

Good place:Have a relatively good concept and presentation, have a complete beginning and end. The various transitions, accelerations and keyframes used in it all work well.

Improvement:The video is not complete, the length of the video is not up to the requirements, no title is added, the video is not toned and the audio is not adjusted, and the dream part is in the stage of no sound. It's a very clear work-in-progress, and there's a lot of room for development.

As for my idea of the final video, at first I saw a style called daoretheall on Douyin, which means reverence for everything. The use of images in it and the emotional expression of the camera moved me instantly. So, I wanted to add that kind of fast camera editing to my videos.

For the expression of self-portrait, I want to show a dark, but also with a happy mood. So, I'm going to create a story in which the first-person me in the video is being hunted, or eroded, by the darkness inside me. That space is called a dream, and in my brief moments of ease, that dream is my reality. It was a happy fusion of my memories. The materials in it were all taken by me, spanning different stages of my life. Their arrangement was disorderly and chaotic, but they all brought me positive emotions. In the end, I'm going to use a kind of blank space, whether I successfully fought against the negative emotions, or whether my mind and body were occupied, I think this is a very interesting expression.

For the implementation of my video, I searched the website for Da Vinci tutorials and came up with some interesting transition plugins, so I downloaded them and used them in the video. I also made some adjustments to the title display, by adding key frames, so that the title can have an animated effect. In the early stage of music, I used the original sound of Escape 2 and the whistle of Kill Bill in the movie, in order to create a tense and exciting atmosphere. In my picture mix and cut, I added a lot of transition effects, speed changes and other effects, so that the picture changes more agile. At the same time, in terms of music in the middle period, I chose a pure music with a sense of rhythm and connected it with the picture.

Reflection

First of all, I have a lot of material. When using Da Vinci, I did not carry out an effective classification and renaming at the beginning, so it was very troublesome to find material in the editing. At the same time, I found a serious problem in the editing, that is, I would obviously feel the video stutter when playing back, which means that I should set up the proxy file of the material or optimize the media at the beginning of editing to improve the fluency of editing and playback. As a result my video and audio card points are not doing well either. In the audio adjustment and color adjustment page did not use too much modification, the whole video will feel very tired after a long time.As for the future, I have always wanted to engage in editing related work, hoping that I can edit moving and impressive works