Video and Sound Production / Project 2

on

7/10/2024--24/11/2024 (Week3-Week9)

LIU YITONG (0370907)

Video and Sound Production / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Project 2


INSTRUCTION


LECTURE

Week 5
Colour Theory, Colour Correction V.S. Colour Grading
1.
Fundamental Differences
· Color Correction: Balances footage for a natural look by adjusting white balance, brightness, contrast, and skin tones.
· Color Grading: Adds creative aesthetics to enhance mood or tone, creating the intended atmosphere for a scene.

Color Correction Techniques
· Normalization: Creates a baseline for all footage.
· Saturation & Brightness: Balances color intensity and light.
· Skin Tone Adjustment: Ensures realistic human colors.
· White Balance: Matches natural lighting.

Color Grading Techniques
· LUTs: Pre-set color adjustments to match various styles.
· Contrast and Tone Variations: For cinematic feel (e.g., warm or cold tones based on genre).

Software and Tools
· Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro support these tasks with in-depth color tools.

2.
What is color theory
· Color theory is two things
1. A scientific principle that explains how color hues and saturations are created.
2. A creative discipline that examines how color is used to achieve emotional effect in visual art.
· Types of Color Theory
Color Wheel
Color Context
Color Harmony

What is a color wheel
Fig.2.0 Color Wheel Examples
Color wheels, tracing back to Isaac Newton's Opticks, categorize colors into original (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) and compounded colors (e.g., teal from blue and green). Theories evolved to create color schemes:

Monochrome: Variations of one color.
Analogous: Colors next to each other.
Complementary: Opposite colors.
Triadic: Colors forming an equilateral triangle.
Tetradic: Colors forming a rectangle.
Color impacts mood and storytelling in visual media.

Quiz


Week 6
Mise en scène

Mise en scène is a French term that translates literally to "placing on stage." In the realms of theater, film, and other visual storytelling mediums, it refers to the overall visual arrangement and presentation of a scene. This concept encompasses everything that appears within the frame or on stage and how these elements are organized to convey meaning, emotion, and narrative to the audience.
Key Components of Mise en Scène

Setting and Location
Physical Space: The environment where the action takes place, whether it's a realistic setting like a living room or an abstract, symbolic space.
Time Period: The era in which the story is set, influencing costumes, props, and set design.

Props and Objects
Items used by characters or present in the scene that can symbolize themes, indicate character traits, or advance the plot.
Fig.2.1 The blue diamond in Titanic（Props）
The use of props as a component of mise en scène is often lumped in with set or wardrobe. This makes sense on a certain level, but props deserve separate consideration.

Costume and Makeup
Clothing and makeup that reflect a character’s personality, social status, occupation, or psychological state.
· What characters wear says much about the world they inhabit, who they are within the world,  how they feel, and how they carry themselves.
· Hair and makeup can revitalize familiar characters, dispel preconceived notions about them, and make them relevant right now. 

Lighting
The use of light and shadow to create mood, highlight specific elements, and guide the audience’s focus. For example, high-contrast lighting can create a dramatic or tense atmosphere.
Lighting, like all the elements of mise en scène explored on this list, is best considered early in Pre-Production, during the script breakdown phase.
We find a striking example of lighting the Film Noir genre. The Film Noir style characteristically has strong contrast in color or shade with a prevalence of chiaroscuro lighting. 
（But a film does not have to use drastic lighting to set mood, tone, or theme.）

Composition and Framing
How elements are arranged within the frame or on stage, including camera angles in film or the positioning of actors in theater. This affects how the audience perceives relationships and power dynamics.
· Composition is an element of mise en scène that has infinite possibilities. There are rules of composition many image-makers use when framing their subjects.
（The Rule of Thirds is one way filmmakers can imbue their frame and scene with the focus they desire.）
Fig.2.2 Form and frame: elements of film in Isle of Dogs.
· The form is the twin of composition. It’s not the who, what, where, or when.Form is the how. How is your mise en scene communicated?

Performance and Acting
The actors’ physical movements, facial expressions, and interactions contribute significantly to the mise en scène, conveying emotions and subtext.

Color Palette
The selection of colors used in costumes, sets, and lighting can evoke specific emotions or symbolize thematic elements.
We break down the 3 factors to guide your film color decisions:
Hue，Saturation and Brightness.

Spatial Relationships
The distance and arrangement between characters and objects, which can indicate intimacy, conflict, or hierarchy.

Quiz


Week 7
Film Sound

Diegetic vs. Non-Diegetic Sounds: Understanding sounds within or outside the story's world.Differentiates between sounds heard by characters (diegetic) and external sounds (non-diegetic, like a film's score).

Ambient Sound: Adding realism and mood.Adds depth to scenes with realistic background audio.

Foley Sound: Creating everyday sounds like footsteps.Custom-created sounds for natural interactions (e.g., footsteps, clothing rustle).

Sound Design for Emotion: Building tension or atmosphere using effects.Builds suspense or emphasizes emotions.

Layering Effects: Combining multiple sounds for richness.

Iconic Sound Motifs: Associating sounds with characters or themes.

Resources and Techniques: Tips for sourcing and creating sound effects. like Free Sounds Library or Freesound.


Quiz





EXERCISE

Exercise 1 : Production Shoot 

To accomplish this task, we needed to shoot scenes that Mr. Martin had selected from the movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. To do that, we have to form teams. Mr. Martin divided us into groups of ten. Martin provided a Google Drive link with information about the task.

Before we started shooting this scene, we quickly assigned and selected our individual roles on the production team.

Our Crew list
Producer           :  Stephanie Lebon
Director             : Chang Yu Rou
Assist. D.          : Qiu Li Hua
D.O.P               :  Stephanie Lebon
Assist. Camera: Liu Chen Hui
Lighting crew    : 1. Feng Shi Wen
                           2. Liu Chen Hui
Art Director       : Lin Qianyue
Location Sound: Liu Yi Tong
Boom Operator: Feng Shi Wen
Main actors      :1. Sun Qing
                          2. Sahibur
Extra                : Sun Qing / Sahibur

I took the position in the sound group.Collaborate with the director of photography and other crew members to ensure that the boom microphone does not appear in the shot or interfere with the lighting. 

Post-production
After shooting the scene, our producer sent us clips and audio for our personal editing tasks. I downloaded them onto my laptop and renamed the files accordingly.

Fig.2.0 Rename the footage & audio
Mr. Martin tells us that there are three ways to automatically synchronize audio and video.
Merge: Select Audio Clips and Video Clips - Right-click - Merge Clips - Make Sure the audio button is clicked
Sync: Drag and drop audio and video to the Timeline section - Make them relatively aligned - Right-click - Sync - Make Sure to click the Audio button
Manual Sync: Sync using waveforms in the timeline.
I decided to use all three methods to sync audio and video at the same time.
Fig.2.1 Results after syncing all the audio

In week 6, I started applying color correction and color grading. Tone the video.
Fig.2.2 Apply colour correction


Fig.2.3 Apply colour grading

Final Outcome: 



Exercise 2 : Tiktok/ Insta proposal 





Class exercise: Visual effects production
In week 10 we learned how to make visual effects using AE.
Fig.2.4 Progress of visual effects 
Here is the final result.
Visual effects production

Google Drive Link：Project2 - Google Drive
REFLECTION

Through these exercises, it became clear to me how much collaboration and technical skill was required to shoot the perfect video. Coordinating sound with other crew members during production, especially the director of photography, is crucial. I had to make sure the boom microphone was out of frame and didn't interfere with the lighting, which required constant communication and awareness of the lens. After syncing audio and video, I tried merging, syncing, and manual, which helped me understand how useful each method was in different situations.
When it comes to color correction and grading, I feel it's important to set the right tone for the lens. It's rewarding to see how subtle changes in color can affect the mood of a scene.
The TikTok/Instagram proposal gave me a lot of latitude. Later class exercises - Using After effects for visual effects production is an interesting challenge. It's always exciting to see how basic material can be transformed into something more engaging.
Looking back on all these exercises, I feel like I gained more confidence in both my technical skills and my teamwork. Every part of the process, from shooting to post-production, taught me something new about how a film crew works and how even small details can have a big impact on the end result.


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