section 24 - idea 1 version 2

For this section I tried to make a comic-book style look, and applied the 'cartoon' effect. In this version of the video I added drop shadow to make it seem like it's coming out from the background.

section 24 - idea 1

section 17 - idea 1

I didn't have an influence for this video, but I wanted to do a section with changing colours and the movement in this section seemed to work in that way.

section 6 - idea 3

This is my other favourite for this section, however due to the quality of the video the background isn't so clear, as it has a mixture of blue and brown strokes, to draw relevance to the work of Toulouse Lautrec.

section 6 - idea 2

section 6 - idea 1

This idea and idea 3 are my favourites for this section. Ideas 2 and 3 are based on the work of artist Toulouse Lautrec, whereas for this one I played around with some filters in Photoshop and liked the result!

research: toulouse lautrec

For the section 6 videos I based the visual work on the work of Toulouse Lautrec, however due to the quality of the footage it isn't as clear!

Here are some examples of Lautrec's work:

research: a scanner darkly

These videos are good examples of how rotoscoping is used to create not only an aesthetically pleasing look, but also make the videos more interesting.

research: kanye west - heartless

research: enter shikari - thumper

research: linkin park - breaking the habit

new project: rotoscoping

We have begun a new project. For this we will be filming a routine by some dance students and then rotoscoping the footage, which will be projected onto a screen behind the dancers when they perform. We can make the videos as abstract as we want.

dvd designs

Here are some screenshots of my DVD designs:

DVD transition 1:



DVD transition 2:



Main menu 1:



Main menu 2:




Transition (before playing a movie):



DVD cover:

climate change animation version 3

Most recent version:

climate change cbw version 2

Most recent version:

climate change animation version 2

This version has sound and text:

climate change animation version 1

This is the first version of my animated idea. There is on sound, as I will be recording that tomorrow.

climate change cbw version 1 with sound and masking

In this version I have added masking in the windscreen shots:

climate change cbw version 1 with sound

In this latest version of my CBW idea I have added sound to all parts of the video. The windscreen shots need to be re-shot due to lighting issues, and I need to adjust the colour correction on all the other shots.

climate change cbw rough cut

This is a rough cut for my CBW idea, a few shots need to be re-done, due to lighting issues. The sound needs to be added and a lot of the shots will be sped-up, but this is a brief overview of the film.

masking test

Earlier today I used one of the Zi6's to film some test footage for the full video. I experimented with masking, and the results are here:

animatic: transport idea version 2

Here is an updated version of my first animatic, I have added new parts to it and will continue to think of more.

animatic: transport idea

I have done an animatic for a potential transport idea:

animatic: general message idea

I have made an animatic for a potential general message idea:

research video - polar bears

This advert is very clever, and certainly viral. They have placed two polar bear paper figures, in a parachute formation, over air vents from a subway, so that when a train goes past it brings the bears to 'life'.

After they are 'alive' for a while they suddenly start to deflate, 'dying'. Then the camera focuses on a sign encouraging people to not drive but to use the subway instead.

research video - tick

This advert places emphasis on time running out. The dialogue is all voiced by children, which hints at their future being in jeopardy, unless we act now. It has a shock factor to it, and the dialogue forms a sort of soundtrack that is very loud and attention-grabbing.

research video - train

This advert has an element of shock value at the end where the 'father' stands out the way of the train to leave his daughter to face the consequences. The train is resemblant of Global Warming.

research video - public awareness

This is as a clever video, putting into context what it's like for Polar Bears living in the North Pole. It's also very viral, as it's an original idea and quite shocking once you realize what the message denotes.

research video - a powerful global warming message

This advert focuses on 3 different animals, in a seemingly post-apocalyptic world. The animals are obviously very depressed, as the whole habitat around them has been destroyed. The animals then commit suicide, and it leaves the viewer shocked. This advert definitely motivates the viewer, as shocking images relating to animals usually triggers an emotional response from humans.

research video - global warming commercial

This advert features a few scenes of people going about their normal lives, when they all get distracted by the sun and they pause to look at it. Then the sun gets increasingly brighter and you, the viewer, can tell that something's not right. People then start screaming, and the world is 'destroyed'. The voiceover of the girl singing adds a more shocking aspect to the advert, which is fitting to the brief.

research video - greenpeace advert #3

This video by Greenpeace is done very comically, and it features a group of aliens debating whether they should invest in Planet Earth. They seem in disagreement with the proposal, and they state that, even though the Earth's ecosystem is worth "$33,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,004.06", humans have ruined it.

Then there is one alien who lists what is good about the Earth and how 90% of the population want to save the planet, and that they should band together to eradicate the causes of Global Warming.

This video also fits the viral aspect of the brief, as it features lots of comedy and is generally an entertaining watch.

research video - greenpeace advert #2

This advert from Greenpeace is very clever as it blends together an entire lifespan in 30 seconds. The blending is done very expertly, and this advert fits the viral specifications in the brief.

The advert details the rapid melting of the World's glaciers, and is aimed at the younger generation, telling them that the famous Uppsala Glacier in Argentina will disappear in the near future, unless we prevent the effects of Global Warming.

research video - greenpeace advert #1

This advert from Greenpeace relies heavily on shock-value. It starts off very innocently, with a mother running a bath for her child. However, when she walks off you realize that this is a metaphor for a serious topic.

The text at 0:34 roughly translates to "If climate change is not stopped, the floods will increase and sea levels rise." and the text at 0:38 translates to "What do the candidates intend to make the next generations?" This advert also has a viral aspect to it, in that it is so shocking that people would be inclined to show it to other people.

research video - global warming 101

This is a video from National Geographic, stating how humans have added too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which has caused global temperatures to rise, which has seen the hottest year on record being recorded in 1998, and that the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is at it's highest in the last 420,000 years. It also says how wildlife will have to adapt to the changes of the Earth or face extinction.

Overall the video is very informative, but it doesn't have much of a viral aspect, which is key for this project.

review: an inconvenient truth

Today we watched the film 'An Inconvenient Truth', presented by Al Gore. The film is very factual, and uses statistics to enforce the severity of this situation. However, the film ends with Al Gore telling us how we can prevent this disaster, and how we already are, which makes this film both worrying and motivating.

Trailer:

Antti Laitinen - My Island

I have chosen to do my write-up on this piece from the Earth event. In the videos that accompanied the photos, "Laitinen builds his own island in the Baltic Sea by dragging two hundred sand bags into the water over a period of three months - using nothing but a spade, sand and sacks. Individually filling each of the bags with sand, the three simultaneous videos go on to show Laitinen painstakingly dragging each bag, one by one, into the sea, braving the harsh waves and conditions, until the island starts to appear over the water" [1]

The work was not originally intended to be concerning climate change, he says, “Climate change is not the main thing, but people have started to look at my work through this theme. I understand this well since climate change is currently a trendy topic”. “The will to build oneself an own independent micro-nation inhabited by a single citizen - I would consider themes such as these to be the starting point for my works, not climate change” [2]

Here are a few images of the work [3]:








Here is a video of the exhibit:


Find more videos like this on artreview.com


Sources:

[1] http://www.nettiehorn.com/It%27s%20My%20Island.htm
[2] http://www.finemb.org.uk/Public/default.aspx?contentid=181969&nodeid=35864&culture=en-GB
[3] http://www.nettiehorn.com/Exhibitions/It%27s%20My%20Island/It%27s%20My%20Island_Installation.htm

Earth - Royal Academy of Arts II

Here are a few of my favourite pieces from each section of the exhibition:

Amazonian Field - Introduction

This work, by Anthony Gormley, contained hundreds of clay figures covering the floor of a room. This piece could denote the crowding of the Earth, all the figures were hand-made and were made from the material of the Earth - clay. Every figure just has one feature that make them identifiable as 'human' - eyes. Every figure is looking up at the viewer, making it look like they are appealing for help from the viewer.



Paper Bags - Perceived Reality

In this piece, by Chris Jordan, he layed out 1.14 million brown paper bags, the number of bags used in American supermarkets every hour. Of this display, Jordan said ‘my underlying desire is to affirm and sanctify the crucial role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming’.



Endless Series - Artist as Explorer and Reflector

"A major concern of Tomas Saraceno’s work is to consider the challenges of the way we live and to develop ideas of fantastical habitable environments floating in the sky that would afford us the freedoms that such a way of life appears to promise." These photos "develop this notion further by depicting a figure in this imagined environment, exploring the possibilities of creating a secure future in this new home."



Doomed - Destruction

This is a video montage of disaster scenes from films. Created by Tracey Moffatt, the work demonstrates the huiman races' fascination of disaster.



400 Thousand Generations - The New (Reality)

This piece, by Mariele Neudecker, "her fragile, constructed realities exist within ‘tanks’, as if they were preserved in stasis, as museum objects, despite the fact that they are slowly but constantly changing".

Earth - Royal Academy of Arts

Today we went to see the "Earth: Art of a Changing World" exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.

The exhibition was split into 5 sections: Introduction, Perceived Reality, Artist as Explorer and Reflector, Destruction & The New (Reality).

Introduction

The show begins with an introduction to the key factors that make up the natural world and the actions and activities that are impacting upon the equilibrium.

Perceived Reality

The second section of the exhibition represents our world as we imagine it today.

Artist as Explorer and Reflector

At the centre of the show sits a group of exhibits that help us understand the role of the artist in the cycle of our evolution. In this section we are able to consider the role of artist as communicator, reflector and interpreter of key issues of their day.

Destruction

The penultimate section of the exhibition confronts the visitor with the consequences of human behaviour through natural disasters and physical collapse counterpoising the beauty of the planet with the damage that is being inflicted upon it.

The New (Reality)

In the final section of the exhibition we enter a world of vision and of hope, but through the glass of reality as our world, and our sense of beauty, is being re-defined by the impact of climate change.

review: age of stupid

Today we watched the film 'Age of Stupid'. The film "stars Pete Postlethwaite as an archivist in the devastated world of the future, asking the question: "Why didn't we stop climate change when we still had the chance?" He looks back on footage of real people around the world in the years leading up to 2015 before runaway climate change took place." [1]

The film is very insightful and tells you the story of people from each corner of the world: the wind power activists in the UK; the man who stayed at home during hurricane Katrina; the Indian businessman; the French hiker; the Iraqi family and the African woman who wants to go to medical school.

Trailer:

new project: climate change

We have begun a new project. For this we will be creating a minimum of two fifteen-to-thirty second movies promoting the need for action against Global Warming. We can create these movies through any combination of moving image, motion graphics or animation.

placing the poster in magazines

I have placed the poster into two seperate magazines, as to get a look at how it would look in a magazine.

This is it in the FourFourTwo magazine:



This is it in the PSM3 magazine:

creating the billboard

For the billboard I decided to adapt my poster.

I used a billboard image I took from outside Lewes train station, and I placed the poster onto it, the result was this:

creating the right size image for the billboard

To make the billboard image fit to the frame of the real-life billboard. I looked up a list of billboard sizes. I found the correct size on this website.

The billboard looks like this: