Personal roles:
During the synoptic project I have taken on many roles over the course so this blog post will showcase all of my contribution to the synoptic project.
Shortly after my idea had been chosen it had became all that I thought about. i already knew the group I wanted and had began thinking about the actual substance of the project. I then acted out on my thoughts to get the upper hand before the project officially started so I created the script.
Since then there had been some adjustments but the script has mostly stayed the same. After creating the scripts I then created the storyboards to go alongside the script. For this I took reference from other forms of media using frames and tracing them because their shots where what I was after.
Afterwards I had created some concept art of what my associate would look like as the robot character making some designs showcasing him. The costume I wanted to be a basic white shirt and jeans to make him look like a carer because that's a big part of the future of robotics in Japan as well as the connotations that come with the colour white.
Around the time I was also able to base my ISIW final piece towards it tieing them together and creating synergy between the pieces.
The next part of pre-production saw me create the Gantt chart for the project. This became mostly obsolete due to access to Trello. I am happy this is the case as I struggled to assume when the others would be done with their work so it was a relief.
The next thing I created was the prop list showcasing what would be needed.
I then went on to make the VFX list detailing the shots and any additional effects used in the shots.
The last part of this was for me to create the camera block outs. I did this on MAYA to make basic objects representing the environment and the setup of the scenes.
Beginning the production phase the biggest role I participated in was acting. As this is a short film acting and getting the scenes done was vital. The acting is evident in the project even if it isn't good.
Whilst this was happening I had began in starting some post production. I had began to think about the music that would be used and started the first 5 news shots adding in the background and the borders.
Beginning the post production phase I started off perfecting the news shots by creating a glitch effect that could be used to transition the shots together like TV static.
Afterwards I took control of the SFX and along with that, the final composition. Starting it off I gathered a range of sound effects and music to potentially be used in the final cut.
i then began to trim all the shots down to a suitable length.
the next part was to resolve issues with the digetic sound as weather conditions ruined the audio in some shots so it had to be cleaned up. If it wasn't cleaned up in some circumstances I would switch it with non-diegetic ambiance. In addition to that a line in the film had to be dubbed over and replaced the existing audio to have a more cleaner audio.
Then began adding in the non-digetic sounds. Non-diegtic differs from diegetic as it is not a natural sound taking place within the shot. I started this out by trimming my first song and adding in a fade at the end to make the scene transition much more appealing. afterwards I added in the second song. Fading this one out was much more important as the song was way too loud and transitioned to a shot with dialogue.
The last part was editing my associates voice to create a robotic voice. To create this non-diegetic piece I first took a recording of my colleague saying the line. The next part saw me head on to adobe audition a audio altering software in which I would use to create the robotic affect. Not having the most experience in this, it was a trial and error situation for me in which I created it. For which I managed to duplicate her voice twice playing them together which gave a nice echo effect. Everything else became a process of using various reverbs and effects to make the voice line what I wanted it to be. Another example of creating and using a non-diegetic sound would be the use of music. For example the Yelawolf track featured in the project was made by using the beginning of the song which is a series of alarm like noises. I then took the intro and adjusted it in length to the size of the shot. From there I faded it out so the audio would make a good transition to the next shot. Music is a good example of non-diegetic audio because there is no source to the audio being played in the shot as well as the characters not being able to hear it as it is done as an effect.
Diegetic noise appears in the project. This is through the characters within the scene engaging in dialogue as an example because they feature in the scene with a distinct source noticeable.
Group collaboration:
The synoptic project is on the whole a group project which has been built up by the group and I having many collaborations to create the final product so this segment of the post will highlight that. On top of the idea I also made additional collaborations with the group and other ideas which made their way into the project as well as vice versa. On the day of filming the matte painting shot i brought up to the group that we should film Westminster in addition to London bridge and others with the panoramic shot taking place in Westminster.
During this project I have collaborated and helped others a lot within this project. I'd say it has mostly been my idea and as a result I have spent much time sharing my idea with friends so we can fulfill it. Most of my contributions have been off camera so making evident of it is hard. One thing I did do was support the idea financially as this had no budget we had to work with what we had but some props were still needed which I brought to take leadership. Additionally during the production days I'd say I learnt how to adapt to the environment quickly to which I used to overcome the various problems we faced as a group from the conditions to the shot and how it would be managed I'd say I assisted the team because overall we all have where if we hadn't we wouldn't have had a finished project.
One shot I I wasn't originally responsible for was shot 2 as one of my colleagues wanted to take it on. After reviewing what he had done I noticed the continuity error of it being as they had put Westminster at the background but not the matte painting shot, which needed to be amended otherwise it would raise questions. So from there I set out in searching or a background of London I could use that wouldn't interfere with other shots. That's when I found the shot showcasing both the shard and the Tate so I went to filter it to then add on the shot having a final rendition on shot 2.
Originally I never had the task of creating the final cut but as I was in charge of music and SFX I naturally took charge of this to take the burden of it from someone else. That has happened a few times where members have switched roles to assist one another in anything they may be doing.
As I mentioned the collaborations worked vice versa so now I would like to showcase how I have been assisted by my colleagues. Emma's original synoptic idea involved HUD's and UI. She didn't want to push for it to be in my project but once I heard about it I wanted her to showcase her strengths and In doing so I think it has made the project better.
Chloe was responsible for the 3D modelling in the group which she was eager to do so. Whilst there's no evidence from the final cut of our collaboration she more then helped by producing quality for the group with at times the worst of equipment.
Frank was my right hand man during this project. I always struggled with leadership and don't like the idea of bossing my friends around so thankfully I always had him to turn to and was always on hand to share his thoughts and give second opinion and I'm thankful I chose him to be a part of my group.
I think team work would have been better if I hadn't of been moved from my class as my group was set in stone before the beginning of the year. This choice didn't help for communication as I felt isolated which put me back. If I could also have improved my team work it would have been done by having more consistent scrum meetings to achieve the goal quicker with minimal time wasting.
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