Video and Sound Production - Exercises

  

26/Apr/2024

ZHANG HANYUAN/0363727/Bachelor of Design (Honors) in Creative Media

Video & Sound Production /Taylors University

Video and Sound Production - Exercises

Introduction

Briefing:

week 1:

week 2:

week 3：

LECTURE 

Week 1 | Module Introduction

Mr. Martin brief us about the assignments that we need to do throughout this semester and some of the exercise that need to be done in week 1. Video Sound production which is a time base project module, which we have pre production, production and post production. 

Pre-production 

1.Idea development  2.story 3.story board 4.visual reference 5.Location / Props

Production

1.Lighting  2.Costume 3.Principal Shooting

Post production

1.Offline editing 2.Online editing 3.Audio editing

Week 2 | Frames and Storyboards

In the second week of the course, you learned about the concepts of framing and storyboarding in photography. Photography is the basic unit of film and video composed of many lenses. Here are some basic concepts about photography:

Shot: The basic unit of video, representing a continuous photography process.

Sequence: A continuous image consisting of a series of scenes or shots that are complete in themselves.

Scene: Defines the place or environment in which the action takes place.

Regarding the concept of different lens injection volumes,

1. ultra wide angle lens
2. Wide-angle lens
3. medium wide angle lens
4. medium shot
5. Medium close-up
6. close-up
7. Extreme close-up
8. over the shoulder shot

Fig 2.1 Camera Shot Types by Size

In photography, camera angle, shooting angle and subject height are all important factors that can affect the shooting effect and visual presentation. Here is some basic information about these concepts:

Camera Angle:

• 45° angle (3/4 angle): Makes the subject look more three-dimensional and natural.
• Multi-surface shooting: When shooting two or more surfaces, using the right angle can enhance the three-dimensional feel of the scene,
• Decreasing parallel lines: Adjust the camera angle so that the parallel lines gradually decrease and converge to the right,

Filming angle:

• Low angle: When the shooting angle is low, the subject looks taller and stronger, which is suitable for creating majestic scenes or emphasizing the power of the subject.
• Corner of the eye: Usually used for portraits or shooting dynamic scenes.
• High angle: Can create a bird's-eye view, used to emphasize the vulnerability of the subject or make the subject look smaller.

Screen orientation：

• Dynamic screen direction refers to continuous screen movement in a video, making sure objects or characters move in the same direction to show progress and keeping the camera shooting from the same side.
• In static screen orientation, the camera should remain on the horizontal axis without crossing over to avoid disorientation for the audience.
• Following the 180° rule is crucial to ensuring visual continuity and plot clarity.

Fig 2.2 180 degree rule

medium shot

Single shot

cowboy shooting

panoramic

Medium close-ups and depth of field shots

medium shot

Double medium shot and depth of field shot

Double cowboy lens and depth of field

Three act structure

The three-act structure is a traditional way of telling a story that usually includes the following elements:

Act 1: Beginning

• Introduce the world and main characters of the story
• Create dramatic situations
• Introduce an event that makes the story more complex (plot point 1)
• Act 2: Middle/Confrontation

Known as "Operation Rise" (Climax)

• Create obstacles and complications that prevent characters from achieving their goals
• The climb leading up to the story (plot point 2)

Act Three: Ending/Resolution

• climax reaches peak
• Solve all obstacles and problems
• Loosely wrap up the storyline

Plot point 1 is a key moment in the story where the plot becomes more complicated.

• Inciting Incident: A significant event occurs that triggers a turning point in the story.
• Taking the story in a new direction: A character is faced with a new challenge or opportunity that changes the direction of the story.

Episode 2 is another key moment in the story, known as "The Longest Mile."

• Climatic Turning Point: The story reaches a tense climax and the protagonist's mission reaches a critical point.
• Possible solutions are presented: characters face decisive choices to try to solve a problem or achieve a goal.
• The biggest suspense: The audience is not sure whether the protagonist will succeed, creating tension and anticipation, wondering whether the protagonist will win or lose. 

Video Watch -1 Lalin

Act 1 scene

Lalin is a girl from Thailand who suffered from negative comments on social media. She chose to study in Japan. In reality, she always uses a mask to hide her inferiority complex in appearance, but she always posts retouched photos on social media and has received a lot of praise.

Later, Larin received a message from Thai novelist Nut. The other party hoped that Larin would translate his work and publish it in Japan. Lalin agreed to help and began a lengthy online chat with NUT.

Act 2 scene:

Lalin and NUT's relationship gradually warmed up, and they started chatting and even video chatting. But when Nuo asked him why he was wearing a mask during a video call, she always avoided saying it was because of allergies.

Later, when Nut came to Japan to invite Larin to meet and was happy about it, Larin was not confident about his appearance.

At the climax of the story, Larin rejects NUT's invitation. Although NUT was rejected, he still let Lalin read his book.

Act 3 scene：

When Lalin read NUT's book, he found that the story was that Nut and Lalin met for the first time, but Nut was fat, but Lalin hugged him and encouraged him. When Larin wanted to see Nut, Nut had already left.

What is the inciting incident in the movie?

Larin has had a lot of negative comments on social media because of her appearance. She wanted to escape, so she came to Japan to study. and posts his edited photos online.

What is the middle scene of the movie?

Larin and Nut started chatting frequently, even video chatting. When NUT asked her why she was wearing a mask, she avoided it because of allergies.

What is the climactic scene in the movie?

When Nut came to Japan and wanted to meet Larin, Larin chose to escape because of his lack of confidence in appearance.

What is the theme of the movie?

The theme of the story is to tell people to be confident and not to be confident in themselves just because they are not restrained. Everyone has their own advantages, and appearance is not the only criterion for evaluating a person.

Video Watch -2 Everything, everywhere, all at once.

Act 1 Scene：

The protagonist is a middle -aged woman in the first act of the first act. She balances her wife, mother and boss every day, but when she unfortunately encounter a family crisis, she finds that it is consisting of multiple parallel space -time. And she exists in every different time and space.

Act 2 Scene：

In the second act, Evelyn was caught in a chaotic and parallel space -time, and she had to work hard to cope with the different living conditions of different time and space and different versions of her loved ones. While exploring different time and space on the way, she understood her past, interpersonal relationships and reality. Everyn Begins to Realize the True Extent of Her Power and the Importance of Her Choices in Shaping Her Destiny.

Act 3 Scene：

In the third act, when Evelyn discovered the importance of new discovering knowledge and her huge responsibility, she needed to face the darkest corner in her heart. Her decision not only decided that she would also decide the destiny of everyone. In the face of huge bets, Evelyn discovered the real power of love and contact, and won the bet with overwhelming odds. Save everyone.

What is the inciting incident in the movie?

Evelyn found that she existed in multiple parallel universes and had different living conditions, and there were different versions of family members in different time and space.

What is the midpoint scene in the movie?

Evelyn found that she faced a huge obstacle, and at the same time she realized her major responsibilities and abilities.

What is the Climax scene in the movie?

Evelyn faced the darkest corner in his heart when he found the biggest challenge, and this gambling determined the fate of everyone.

The bottom image is not considered an over-the-shoulder (O.S) shot because it doesn't include the shoulder of a foreground character framing the shot. An over-the-shoulder shot typically features part of the foreground character's shoulder or head to create a viewpoint that seems to look over this character’s shoulder, thus focusing on what they are seeing or interacting with. The bottom image, however, is a straightforward shot of a person sitting at a table, without any part of another character in the foreground to establish this perspective.

Top Left Image:This is a Close-Up (CU)shot. It primarily focuses on the subject's face to capture expressions and emotions, thus allowing the audience to engage more deeply with the subject's feelings.

Top Right Image: This is a Macro Shot. It focuses closely on a very small subject or a detail within a larger scene—in this case, a butterfly on a flower—highlighting features that would be missed in a wider shot.

Bottom Left Image: This shot is a Detail Shot. It zooms in on a particular detail of the scene—here, a hand interacting with food—emphasizing the action and drawing attention to specific elements, such as texture and motion.

Bottom Right Image: This is a Medium Shot (MS). It captures the subject from a mid-level perspective, typically from the waist up. This shot balances context and detail, showing some environment while keeping focus on the subject's actions or state.

Top Left: This is a Medium Shot (MS). It shows the character from about waist-up, which is typical for a medium shot, capturing some background detail while keeping the focus on the character's actions.

Top Right: This shot is a Wide Shot (WS). It captures a broad view of the cityscape, typically used to establish the setting.

Bottom Left: This is a Medium Close-Up (MCU). It focuses more closely on the character than a medium shot, typically framing the body from the chest up

Bottom Right: This is a Detail Shot, focusing closely on hands interacting with a wallet and money, emphasizing the action and details.

Top Left: This is a Medium Long Shot (MLS), showing the character in his environment with a bit more body visible than a medium shot, yet not as wide as a long shot

Top Right: This shot is a Close-Up (CU) focusing tightly on the character's face to capture emotional nuances.

Bottom Left: This is a Medium Shot (MS), capturing the character from the waist up, allowing the viewer to see the character's expression in the context of some background.

Bottom Right: Another Medium Shot (MS), focusing on the interaction between two characters, framing them from the waist up.

Top Left: This can be considered a Full Shot (FS) as it shows the character in his entirety along with some background, helping to establish the setting.

Top Right: This is a Close-Up (CU) of an elderly person, focusing on her actions and expressions.

Bottom Left: This shot is a Medium Close-Up (MCU), showing the character from the chest up, focusing on her facial expressions

.

Bottom Right: This is a Long Shot (LS) showing the character in a broader setting, capturing his full body and the surrounding context.

Foreground, Midground, and Background

Foreground: This is the part of a photograph or scene that is nearest to the viewer. In an image, this

area typically appears at the bottom and includes objects or subjects that are closest to the camera lens.

Midground: This is the area between the foreground and the background. It acts as a transitional zone, where the main subject of the image often resides, providing a sense of depth.

Background: This is the part of the scene that lies behind the main subject of the image. It often provides contextual information and helps to add depth and layers to the composition.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field (DoF) refers to the range of distance within a photograph that appears acceptably sharp. It indicates how much of the background and foreground area around the focal point is in focus.

Deep Depth of Field

Deep Depth of Field means more of the image is in focus, from the foreground to the background. It's often used in landscapes to ensure everything from the nearest to the farthest points are sharp.

Shallow Depth of Field

Shallow Depth of Field means only a small part of the image, typically where the subject is focused, is sharp, while the rest of the image (foreground and background) is blurred. This effect is often used in portraits to emphasize the subject by blurring the background.

Foreground, Midground, and Background Composition: This image effectively demonstrates the separation of spatial layers within a scene. The foreground features vibrant flowers, the midground has a person reading under a tree, and the background showcases a mountain landscape.

Deep Depth of Field: This landscape image shows everything from the close-up flowers to the distant mountains in sharp focus, illustrating a deep depth of field.

Shallow Depth of Field: This portrait image highlights a woman reading a book in a park, with her sharply in focus and the background featuring blurred trees and people, depicting a shallow depth of field.

What is the 180 Degree Rule?

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in film making and cinematography that helps maintain spatial consistency and orientation in a scene. This rule stipulates that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to each other. To achieve this, the camera should stay on one side of an imaginary line drawn between the two characters. This line is often referred to as the "axis of action."

By keeping the camera on one side of this axis, the spatial relationship between the characters remains consistent to the viewer, avoiding potential confusion. Crossing this line can disorient the audience because the characters will appear flipped.

What is Continuity in Cinematography?

Continuity in cinematography refers to the seamless flow of the action or the visual narrative from one shot to another without any jarring visual contradictions. It ensures that the story moves forward in a way that is logically coherent and visually stable, helping the audience maintain their suspension of disbelief. Continuity involves maintaining consistent character positions, props, costume, and the direction of movement from shot to shot.

Adherence to the 180 Degree Rule

To determine if a video adheres to the 180 degree rule, you would watch to see if the camera maintains its position relative to the axis of action throughout the scene. If the camera crosses this line, it can result in a reverse in the screen direction (i.e., a character that was on the left in one shot appears on the right in the next), which can be disorienting unless done deliberately for a specific effect.

If you have a specific video or scene in question, I can help analyze it based on a description or by viewing stills to determine if it adheres to the 180 degree rule.

Exercise

Week 1 | Video Editing Practice

Arrange video clips in Adobe Premiere Pro

The first Mints advert video clip is numbered accordingly, so we can complete the sequence in numbered order. The second Doritos advert video clip is not numbered sequentially, so we need to watch the video clip to complete the sequence.

Exercise 1 video (mints footage)

Exercise 2

Week 1 Editing Exercise (Independent Learning)

After that, we were asked to combine another videos of Doritos advertisement. A little bit different from exercise 1, the exercise 2 video clip is not according to the order, so I need to watch each of the videos and stitch them together into one. 

Exercise 2 video (doritos)

week 2

Youtube link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYlszA-5Mu4

Final cut video:

Final result of Premiere Pro Editing Exercise 1 

Week 1  

Reflection on Class Materials

In the first materials study, I learned about shot size, composition, and camera angles. Shot size refers to the amount of space visible within a single shot or frame. Camera angle refers to the position of the camera relative to the subject being photographed. Shot size refers to the amount of space visible within a single shot or frame. Camera angle refers to the position of the camera relative to the subject. Composition refers to the arrangement of visual elements within a shot or frame. After reading this material, I learned that different lens sizes can convey different types of information. Different shooting angles can create different perspectives and convey different messages. Composition can catch the viewer's eye and convey meaning and emotion. By studying this material, understanding shot size, composition, and camera angles not only improves my technical skills, but also enhances my artistic expression, allowing me to better convey emotion and story.

Asynchronous Classroom Quiz Results

Week 2

Asynchronous Classroom Quiz Results

Week 3、

Reflection on Class Materials

In the asynchronous class material from Week 3, I learned about what is storyboarding? A drawing, sketch, reference image or photo that represents each frame. Description of the shot - any relevant information about the action, dialogue, or composition. Lens specifications - lens size, lens length, two shots, etc. Arrows indicate camera and character movement or how each shot connects to the next. Storyboarding is an integral part of the filmmaking process. It is not only a tool for planning and displaying shots, but also a core link for team collaboration and creative expression. With well-designed storyboards, film production can proceed more efficiently and methodically, allowing the creator's artistic vision to be realized.

Asynchronous Classroom Quiz Results

Week 4

Reflection on Class Materials

After reading the materials distributed by the teacher for the fourth week, I learned that the stages of film production can be divided into three main stages: pre-production, production and post-production. Pre-production: Writing the script, creating storyboards, casting actors, scouting locations, designing sets and costumes, and hiring crew. Production: The actual filming phase. The production team will work together to shoot all the shots required for the film, following pre-production planning and preparation. Post-production: tasks such as editing and arranging scenes, adding music and sound effects, color grading and visual effects. Production Team The production team consists of professionals including directors: overseeing the entire production process to ensure that the project's creative vision is realized. Producer: A producer is responsible for the logistical and financial aspects of a production. Cinematographer: Responsible for the visual aesthetics of a film. Production Designer: Responsible for the overall visual design of a film, including sets, costumes, and props. Sound Designer: Responsible for the sound of the film, including the recording and editing of dialogue, sound effects, and music. Editor: Responsible for combining footage into a coherent and engaging story.

You can cultivate global vision and teamwork, understand the overall process of film production, cultivate macro thinking, and make overall planning; film production is the crystallization of teamwork, learn to communicate and cooperate effectively with team members, and maximize everyone's potential.

Asynchronous Classroom Quiz Results