P5: Source special effects footage in line with production plan
Below is my behind the scenes footage of applying my special effects makeup and building my model.
Time codes: 0:00 - 0:27 - Making my space station model 0:28 - 0:35 - Making my stand 0:40 - 0:54 - Raw footage 0:55 - 2:02 - Applying the prosthetic ears 2:16 - 2:32 - Filling in eyebrows 2:47 - 2:59 - Eyeshadow 3:01 - 3:23 - Highlighter 3:24 - 3:40 - Lipstick and body paint 3:41 - 3:47 - Raw footage
P6: Review and edit sourced footage
To create the makeup used in this shot, the process is shown in the behind the scenes video above. For this shot, I put the camera at head-height and framed up a mid-shot. This shot is exactly the same as I planned it to be in my storyboard. I did't use a full face of blue makeup, but I plan to do this in post-production. When directing my team, I told my actress to turn towards the camera and cross her arms, then to look into the camera and have a serious expression. As I did the camera work myself, I didn't need to direct anyone to do that, and I did just keep the camera still for this shot. I worked within my risk assessment for this shot by making sure my camera cables are flat to the floor and that no one drank in the studio. I also made sure to regularly ask my actress if her face was burning or itching where I applied the makeup and prosthetics.
The production process I went through to create the makeup in this shot is shown in the behind the scenes video above. For the rest of the shot, I got my actress to change into a leather jacket I borrowed from a friend, and moves the camera to head-height. I then zoomed in to her face for a close-up to show off the makeup and my visual effects that I will add later. I didn't include this shot in my original storyboard, but I realised that there would be no point using special effects makeup if I did't do a close-up, as in a medium shot you wouldn't be able to see the makeup or visual effects very well. As I did the camera work myself, I didn't need to direct anyone to do that - especially since the shot is stationary. With my actress, I told her to hold the pose that she did at the end of shot 6, to have a serious expression, and to try to keep as still as possible. I worked within the risk assessment with this shot because I made sure that the cables attached to my camera were flat to the floor, and I asked my actress throughout filming if her face felt itchy or burning where the makeup and prosthetics were.
The process I went through to create this model is shown in the behind the scenes video above. To create this shot, I put a green screen cloth over a table and put a stand I made and painted green on top of that. I then put my model on my stand, set the camera to the lowest it could go on the tripod, and did a steady pan across the model. Compared to my storyboard, this shot is exactly the same as I planned on there. I was the camera operator so I didn't need to direct anyone to do that. Although I did call out to my friend who was operating the clapper board which shot and take we were doing. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables, especially for the lights inside my model, were flat to the floor. And when making my model, I made sure to be very careful when using power tools and craft knives and there were no problems. I didn't end up using a hot glue gun on my model in the end so I didn't need to worry about that.
To produce this shot, I used the same process as for the shot above, except this time using a crane up shot. Compared to my storyboard, this shot is exactly the same. I didn't need to direct anyone to use the camera as I did that myself, but I did call out to my friend who was operating the clapper board which shot and take we were on. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables, especially for the lights inside my model, were flat to the floor.
To produce this shot, I used the same process as for the shot above, except this time I stuck a green circular sticker on the space station to look like a window, and I used a slow zoom out. Compared to my storyboard, this shot is exactly the same. I didn't need to direct anyone to use the camera as I did that myself, but I did call out to my friend who was operating the clapper board which shot and take we were on. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables, especially for the lights inside my model, were flat to the floor.
To produce this shot, I used the same process as for the shot above, except this time I stuck green circular stickers on the centre space station to look like windows, and I kept the camera completely still. This shot isn't in my storyboard because I had this idea when I was in the middle of shooting, so I will need to change the length of some of my other shots to fit this one in the 60 second time. I didn't need to direct anyone to use the camera as I did that myself, but I did call out to my friend who was operating the clapper board which shot and take we were on. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables, especially for the lights inside my model, were flat to the floor.
To produce this shot, I lifted the camera up very high so I had the same angle as in shot 9, then I got two of my friends to chat to each other. I will put shots 10, 11 and 13 in the green screen windows in shot 9 to show that there is lots of life on my space station, which is part of my brief. This shot isn't in my storyboard because I had this idea when I was in the middle of shooting, so I will need to change the length of some of my other shots to fit this one in the 60 second time. I didn't need to direct anyone to use the camera as I did that myself, but I did call out to my friend who was operating the clapper board which shot and take we were on. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables were flat to the floor.
To produce this shot, I made this Airfix model (with the help of my brother), I decided to use different paint colours and a completely different design to what is instructed in the kit as this design matches the design of my space station. I then put my model on the table and used green pieces of card to keep it level. This shot isn't technically on my storyboard, but by shooting my model from every conceivable angle, I can create shots 2 and 3 with this footage. With the other angles, I can make the model fly around my space station in post-production. I didn't need to direct anyone to use the camera as I did that myself, and I also moved the model around myself. I worked within my risk assessment because I made sure all my cables were flat to the floor and no drinks were taken into the studio.
P7: Apply planned visual effects to sourced footage
Below are screen recordings of me applying my first visual effect of rotoscoping.
Time codes: 0:14 - 0:40 - Cutting the raw footage to the correct length. This is so that the clapper board isn't in shot and the clip is the correct link to fit with my storyboard. 0:46 - 1:29 - Making the first mask. This is so that I can make any area black, as it would be too expensive to buy contact lenses that have this effect. 1:30 - 2:05 - Placing the control points correctly for the first and second frame. This is so that I can move these points frame-by-frame as Becca moves her head and blinks, I need lots of control points as the eye is very curved. 2:06 - 4:58 - Time lapse (placing the control points for the rest of the shot). This is so that the black area is mapped perfectly to Becca's movements. In the days of filmmaking before computers, this would be painted on by hand for every single frame. 5:16 - 5:29 - Right eye in place. 5:30 - 5:40 - Both eye masks in place. 5:43 - 6:10 - Adding a black plane. This is so that the mask will be plain black, if I didn't add this black layer then the mask would be of the background that I will put in behind Becca. 6:16 - 6:50 - Adding a keyer and importing my background image. This is so that I can add any background I like, as the colour green can very easily be separated from anything put in front of it (as long as the object isn't green!). 7:10 - 8:20 - Mapping the mask to the movement of Becca's face. I did this because as she moves her head around, the mask will stay in one place and there will be gaps in the masked area. 8:31 - 9:30 - Blurring the background. I did this because it makes the scene look more realistic. If I was filming Becca on a real space station, the camera wouldn't be able to have both the background and the foreground in focus at the same time. 9:37 - 10:10 - Adding lights to the background. This makes the background look more like a real space station, rather than just an image. It makes the audience feel that there is a lot of life and movement on this space station. 10:16 - 11:40 - Colour correcting Becca's face. I did this because in my storyboard I wanted my alien's face to be blue, but it wasn't possible to achieve this with special effects because it is difficult to paint someone's whole face blue when their scalp will still be a human skin colour. So I have to use visual effects to achieve this. 11:43 - 12:50 - Adding lights to Becca's face. This is so that it looks like Becca is actually in that setting as she is interacting with the background, rather than it looking like she's pasted on top of it. 12:53 - 13:12 - Merging all the layers. This is so that I can add a final colour correction to the whole thing. If I didn't do this I would have to add a colour correction layer to each individual clip. 13:17 - 14:00 - Colour correcting. This is so that the whole scene has a slightly colder feel to it, and I also edited the exposure to make the lighting more dramatic. 14:01 - 14:11 - Final clip.
Time codes: 0:00 - 0:20 - Duplicating the layers. I had to do this because the blue stripes on Becca's face came up green on camera, so I need to mask them off with another layer underneath. Otherwise, the keyer will pick up this area and replace it with the background. 0:23 - 0:29 - Adding keyers and a draw mask. I had to add a mask in order to mask off the stripes on her face. I had to add keyers so that the green would be replaced with a background in the later steps. 0:47 - 0:59 - Adding control points. This is so that I can move the mask as her face moves, by having lots of control points I can ensure that this is very precise. 1:00 - 2:30 - Placing the control points for the first few frames. This is so that I can move the mask as she turns her face towards the camera and make this as accurate as possible. 2:36 - 3:30 - Time lapse (masking the blue in line with Becca's movements). This is so that the stripes on her cheek aren't picked up by the keyer. 3:52 - 4:25 - Inserting the background. This is so that I can have Becca in the setting that I want, as it wasn't possible for me to actually film in space. 4:50 - 10:50 - Placing the control points correctly for the first frame. This is so that I can make Becca's eyes black for this clip too. I don't need to be as precise as I was for the previous clip though as this shot is much more zoomed out. 11:00 - 11:26 - Time lapse (masking Becca's eyes to make them black). 11:28 - 11:34 - Both eyes masked. 11:36 - 12:32 - Adding a black plane and a mask to it. This is so that the masks on Becca's eyes stay black. If I don't do this then the spaces where I put the mask will just be of the space station background image. 12:34 - 13:04 - Placing the control points correctly for the second frame. This is so that I can move these points frame-by-frame as Becca moves her head and blinks, I need lots of control points as the eye is very curved. 13:05 - 13:26 - Time lapse (masking the black plane so Becca's eyes stay black). 13:27 - 13:38 - Shot with the black eyes masked. 14:24 - 14:52 - Adding a lights effect to the background. This makes the background look more like a real space station, rather than just an image. It makes the audience feel that there is a lot of life and movement on this space station. 14:54 - 15:50 - Adding a lights effect to both layers of Becca's face. This is so that it looks like Becca is actually in that setting as she is interacting with the background, rather than it looking like she's pasted on top of it. 16:10 - 17:40 - Adding a colour correcting filter to the top layer of Becca's face. I did this because in my storyboard I wanted my alien's face to be blue, but it wasn't possible to achieve this with special effects because it is difficult to paint someone's whole face blue when their scalp will still be a human skin colour. So I have to use visual effects to achieve this. 17:46 - 18:15 - Adding a colour correcting filter to the bottom layer of Becca's face. I did this for the same reason as the previous step. 18:48 - 19:14 - Zooming the shot in slightly. This is because there were a few spots in the top corners of the shot where the green screen wasn't picked up properly. Rather than trying to mask this out, it is easier to just crop it out. 19:25 - 19:36 - Merging all my shots together. This is so that I can add a final colour correction to the whole thing. If I didn't do this I would have to add a colour correction layer to each individual clip. 19:40 - 20:20 - Colour correcting. This is so that the whole scene has a slightly colder feel to it, and I also edited the exposure to make the lighting more dramatic. 20:24 - 20:33 - Finished shot.
Below is a screen recording of me applying my second visual effect which is green screen chromakeying.
Time codes: 0:00 - 1:57 - Applying and editing a keyer. This is so that I can remove the green screen and add any background I want. The colour green can very easily be separated from anything put in front of it (as long as the object isn't green!). I need to edit the keyer quite a lot in order to make sure there is a crisp separation between the green screen and the object. 1:59 - 4:40 - Cropping the shot. This is because there were a few spots at the bottom and on the left and side of the shot where the green screen wasn't picked up properly. Rather than trying to mask this out, it is easier to just crop it out. 4:42 - 5:14 - Adding stars in the background. This is so that I can make my space station be in the correct setting, as I couldn't film my model in space. 5:20 - 5:40 - Finished shot. 5:43 - 6:29 - Explaining what I did to the rest of my raw footage.