Video And Sound Production ( Exercises )

Video And Sound Production -Exercises

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4/04/2023 - 01/07/2023 (Week 1 - Week 14)

Chen Nan / 0363533

Video And Sound Production // Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative media // Taylor's university

Exercises

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INSTRUCTIONS

Lecture

Week 1

• Pre-production: Preparation

• Production: Principal Shooting

• Post Production: Editing

   Pre-production

   ●Idea development
   ●Story
   ●Storyboard
   ●Visual References
   ●Location/ Props

  Production
   ●Lighting
   ●Costume
   ●Principal Shooting

 

   Post production

• Offline Editing
• Online Editing
• Audio Editing

Week 2

Framing & Storyboard

Cinematography

 

● 1.Motion picture/Film/Video is made up of

many shots.

 

● 2.Each shot requires placing the camera in

the best position for that particular

moment in the narrative.

 

● 3.Shot is continuous view shot by one

camera without interruption.

Shot Size

The shot size determines how large the area that’s visible within the frame.

 
1.Extreme wide shot

 
2. Wide shot

 
3. Medium wide shot

 
4. Medium shot

 
5. Medium close-up shot

 
6. Close-up shot

 
7. Extreme close-up shot


Wide shot - W.S

 
A wide shot includes the entire subject and important objects in the immediate surroundings. If it's used at the beginning of a scene it's often called an "establishing shot”.

Medium shot - M.S

 
A medium shot shows the subject that are important to understanding - Gesture and
expression, from the person waist up, letting hands and the lower half of his body fall
outside the frame.

Medium close-up shot -M.C.U

 
Medium close up fifilms subject character from approximately midway between waist and shoulders to above the head.

Over the shoulder shot -O.S

 
The over-shoulder shot shows the subject from behind the shoulder of another person.

Extreme wide shot -E.W.S

 
Shows a broad view of the surroundings around the character and conveys scale,
distance, and geographical location. It's used to show where character is in his/her
environment.

Medium wide shot -M.W.S

 
A medium wide shot shows a character usually cut off across the legs above or below the knees. It is wide enough to show the physical setting in which the action is taking place, it permit a nice balance of fifigure and surrounding.

Close-up shot - C.U

 
A close-up is used to isolate the most important part of the subject. For a speaker, this is generally the head, or small object.It emphasizes facial expression, details of a object.

Extreme close-up shot -E.C.U

 
An extreme close-up single out a portion of the face magnififies a detail. The object is to focus on important detail either to increase the drama or impact on a situation or to allow the viewer to see necessary picture information more clearly.

WEEK 3

Storytelling in Film

Story: The set of all the events in cause-effect relationship occuring in time and space, both the ones explicitly presented and those the viewer infers, constitutes the story.

Plot: Everything visibly and audibly present in the film, and material that is extraneous to the story world.

Plot:
Everything visibly and audibly present in the film, and material that is extraneous to the story world.

Plot Segmentation

3 – ACT Structure

Beginning:

Setup / introduction of a story

Middle:

Confrontation of a problem

End:

Resolution of problems

Story Structure

Plot Point I: "the plot thickens"

•The "inciting incident"

•Turn the story in a new direction

•Sets up what Act Two is going to be

•Raises the stakes

•Reminder of the narrative enigma; presents the possibility of a different outcome 

BEGINNING/SETUP:

To introduce the world.
To introduce the main characters.
To establish the dramatic situation.
Leads to an incident that complicates the story (PLOT POINT 1).

Plot Point II: "the longest mile”

•The "Climactic Turning Point"

•Protagonist's quest reaches critical mass

•Possible solution is presented

•Biggest cliffhanger: will the protagonist win or lose?

MIDDLE/CONFRONTATION:

Known as ‘Rising Action’.

To develop obstacles / complications.

Leads to climax of the story (PLOT POINT 2).

END/RESOLUTION:

Ending of climax Answer to all obstacles / problems Tying the loose ends.

WEEK 4

Film sound

Sound elements

The mixing of sound elements below creates an audio setting that supports the action and engages the spectators.

1 .Speech

2. Sound effects

3. Music

Speech:

Speech is one of the most important tools for understanding the story of the film.
Dialogue: Conversation between characters in movie.
Voice over: The voice of an unseen narrator speaking.

Sound effects: 

Ambience
Audio refers to the background noise present at a given scene or a location.

Hard or "cut" effects
Almost every sound we hear at the movies that isn't dialogue or music is a sound effect.
Train sliding door open and close, foot steps, train moving on tracks, ambience in train etc.

Music:

Music in movie is to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact.

Dubbing:Or automated Dialog Replacement (ADR), is the process of re-recording dialogue after the filming process to improve audio quality or reflect dialogue changes.

consider:

Chatgpt question:

1.What is colour correction?

Color correction is the process of adjusting the colors of images or videos to ensure that they look accurate, consistent, and visually appealing. The goal of color correction is to improve the overall quality of an image or video by correcting for any color imbalances or inconsistencies that may occur during shooting or post-production.

Color correction may involve adjusting various aspects of an image or video, such as brightness, contrast, saturation, tone, and white balance. This process can be done manually or with the help of professional software such as Adob e Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. The end result of color correction is a final image or video that looks visually balanced and pleasing to the eye, with colors that accurately represent the original scene or subject.

2.What is colour grading?

Color grading is the process of changing and enhancing the color of an image or video to get the desired visual style or mood. Unlike color correction, which focuses on correcting and balancing colors, color grading is more about creatively manipulating and stylizing colors to get a specific look or feel.

Color grading is often used in the film and video industries to give a unique visual style and atmosphere to films, television shows and advertisements. It may involve adjusting various aspects of an image or video, such as brightness, contrast, saturation, tone and color temperature, as well as adding color filters, gradients or special effects.

Color grading is usually done using professional software, such as DaVinci Resolve or Adob e Premiere Pro, and is usually performed by a professional colorist or video editor. The end result of the color grading is a final image or video with a specific visual style and atmosphere that helps convey a specific emotion, message, or brand identity.

3.What is the differences between colour correction and colour grading?

Although color correction and color grading are both processes used to adjust the color of an image or video, they serve different purposes and involve different techniques.

Color correction is the process of correcting and balancing colors to ensure that they look accurate, consistent, and visually pleasing. The goal of color correction is to ensure that the color looks natural and realistic without any unwanted color skew, shadows, or highlights. This process usually involves adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation, tone, and white balance to get a well-balanced image or video.

Color grading, on the other hand, is the process of creatively manipulating and stylizing colors to achieve a particular look or mood. The purpose of color grading is to enhance the visual appeal of an image or video by adjusting its color palette to evoke a specific emotion, convey a message, or establish a brand identity. This process involves adjusting various aspects of an image or video, such as brightness, contrast, saturation, tone, and color temperature, as well as adding color filters, gradients, or special effects.

In summary, color correction is about correcting and balancing colors to ensure accuracy and consistency, while color grading is about creatively manipulating and stylizing colors to achieve a specific look or mood.

4.Are both colour correction and colour grading necessary while editing video?  Or just do one of them?

Color correction and color grading are both important processes in video editing, but whether to perform one or both depends on the specific needs and desired results of the project.

Color correction is often considered a necessary step in video editing because it ensures that the colors in the video are accurate, consistent, and visually pleasing. This process helps correct any problems with color balance, exposure, and white balance that can have a significant impact on the overall quality of the final video.

Color grading, on the other hand, is more of a creative option that can add a unique style or mood to a video. While not always necessary, color grading can help establish a specific visual tone or brand identity and can make videos more visually appealing and memorable.

Ultimately, the decision to do both color correction and color grading or just one or the other depends on the specific goals of the project, the target audience, and the desired visual style. For professional video production, these two processes are typically performed to ensure the highest quality final product.

week 5

Production Team

Production personnels are hired for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture.

Producer

• The producer initiates, coordinates, supervises, and controls matters such as raising funding, hiring key personnel, contracting and arranging for distributors.

Screenwriter

• Screenwriter shapes the sequence of events in a film so that the story will unfold logically and in an interesting way.

Director

• The director is responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film, including controlling the content and flow of the film's plot and managing the technical aspects of visuals with the camera department and sound with the audio department.

Assistant Director

•  Assistant Director assists the production manager and director. They oversee day-to-day management of the cast and crew scheduling, equipment, script and the set.
• Assistant Director ensures the filming comes in on schedule while maintaining a working environment in which the director, principal artists (actors) and crew can be focused on their work. 

Director of Photography/ Cinematographer

• DoP/DP is the head of the camera and lighting department of the film.
• DoP makes decisions on the lighting and framing of scenes in conjunction with the film's director.

Gaffer

• The gaffer is the head of the electrical department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for production. Sometimes the gaffer is credited as "Chief Lighting Technician".

Sound Recordist

• The Sound Recordist is the head of the sound department on set, responsible for recording all sound during filming.

Production Designer

• Responsible for creating the physical and visual appearance of the film - settings, costumes, props, character makeup.

Film Editor

• Assembles the various shots into a coherent film, working closely with the director.

Visual Effects Artist

• Visual effects artist responsible for compositing images from different sources such as video, film, computer-generated 3-D imagery, 2-D animations, matte paintings and text.

Sound Designer

• In charge of the post-production sound of a movie.

Film Production

Development

• The creation, writing, organizing and planning stage of a project.
• A preliminary budget is made, key casts are attached, key creatives are chosen, main locations are scouted and multiple script drafts may be written.

It’s all the groundwork to show what the project will be and how much it will cost to make.

• Can take months or even years to get the project green-lit and move into pre-production.
• The crew involved in the development stage is quite minimal, just a small group of creatives and executives crafting the story and associated budget.

Pre-Production

• The planning stage.
• Elements of video production such as the script, casting, location scouting, equipment and crew, and the shot list all happen during this stage.
• Having a strong concept is essential, spending the appropriate amount of time before full-scale production begins is necessary to nail down the concept.

Production

• The actual filming of the film, as known as the principal shoot.
• The production company brings the crew, equipment, talent (actors) and all necessary props out to the location and captures all the footage necessary.

Post-Production

• During this stage, the footage is edited, the sound is mixed, visual effects are added, a soundtrack is composed, titles are created and the project is completed, and prepared for distribution.
• Begins while the shoot is still going. This helps to identify problems with the footage or any gaps in the story while the shoot is still happening.

Distribution

• The process of making a movie available for viewing by the audience.
• The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie theater or television, or streaming.

week 6

Pre-Production for Production Shoot. 

week 7 

Sound Shaping

Sound equalization is a process where the sound engineer increases (gains up) or decreases (gains down) signal levels of specific audio frequencies.

Frequency Range
Hertz (Hz)  Human hearing: Frequency range from 20Hz to 20,000Hz.
  7 subsets of frequencies are used to help define the Ranges.

Dynamic Range
Decibels (dB)  The threshold of human hearing is measured as 0dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level) and the threshold of pain as 130dB SPL.

Space
Mono  Recorded using a single audio channel
Stereo  Recorded using two audio channels.

Week 8

Independent Learning Week. 

Week 9

Stop Motion :Filmed one frame at a time.

Shooting Stop motion With DSLR

Select jpeg L/Fine
Resolution: 5K-6K
Set photo aspect ratio: 16:9 (DSLR Default Setting: 3:2)

Shooting Stop motion with Phone.  Use app to export video for editing.

Premiere Pro

Creating new project, choose this setting(1920x1080 24/25 frame per second)

Week 10

 

Digital Cinema

VFX
Plan Well

Visual effects shots need well and precise planning. The similar color tones stressed out AE’s rotobrush.
Recce for VFX shots is very important!

Editing Breakdown:

• Import shots into AE.
• Arrange the shots in COMPOSITION following the tutorial video.
• Variations: Pre-compose FLICK and JUMPING shots in different compositions, hence the two shots both need masking.
• JUMPING shot: Use only a few frames of the character floating in the air.
• JUMPING composition: Try time stretching to decide the appropriate duration.
• To match the size/shape with the BUMPING shot, apply the Puppet tool to JUMPING’s composition, and add keyframes size/position.
• Add adjustment layer to match colour for all layers.

Week 11

Final Project Consultation

week 12-14

Final  project  completed and submitted.

Exercises

1.Class Editing Exercise

Fig 1.1 First Exercise

Fig. 1.2 "Mints" video exercise final.

Fig. 1.3 "Doritos" video exercise progress.

Fig. 1.4 "Doritos" video exercise final.

2.Share Tik Tok three videos I feel great about myself.

I choose three videos on DouYin.

Figure 2.1 "scenery"

link: https://v.douyin.com/AGobeHw/

idea:

The video is about shooting a scene,and the steps of his shooting are perfect.At the beginning of the video, he explained that the shooting tool was a single lens reflex camera. After selecting a good Angle, he shot a beautiful scenery. Then, through the clip and the background music , I had a feeling of being in the scene! I really want to go there and enjoy life.

Figure 2.2 "creative"

link: https://v.douyin.com/AtLjRn5/

idea:

The video is about creativity, Its video shooting method is excellent ,shooting method in the first person and the third person to transform each other to give people a great visual sense, the use of the lens and the script perfectly fit the card point point is very cool! He also has a great editing style, through repeated shots ,the video content appears very rich.

                                           

                                                        Figure 2.3 "creative"

                                                    link: https://v.douyin.com/AtjJFfc/

idea:

This video is a creative short film with an excellent script. It is a stop-motion animation completed by a lot of pictures and composed of step by step movements. The theme of the story tells that we should not always think about solving problems, and life is all kinds of problems, accept it and enjoy life.

3.Editing exercise

Figure 3.1 Editing exercise

Figure 3.2 Editing exercise

Figure 3.3 Editing exercise

Figure 3.4 Editing exercise

Fig. 3.5 video exercise final.

4.Shooting practice

Figure 4.1 Side angle MS (soft  background)

Figure 4.2 ¾ angling MCU shot (with blurry/soft  foreground)

Figure 4.3 Frontal MCU (soft  background)

Figure 4.4 Extreme Close-Up shot

Figure 4.5 Close-Up shot

Figure 4.6 Frontal MS (soft  background)

Figure 4.7 Eye-Level Medium-Wide shot

Figure 4.8 Low angle Wide shot

Fig. 4.9 Shooting practice.

REFLECTION

After a semester of practice, I learned a lot about the way of video production. For example, video editing software Pr, audio editing software Au, special effects software AE and so on. In the application of these software, it is difficult for me to master his way of use, but after Mr's explanation in class, I have learned and mastered a lot of knowledge, and also learned new knowledge.