Claycat Madoka-reviews from my peers.

Please leave a comment (DO NOT drop a comment, because comments can be very fragile and easily agitated).

A link to my creative media blog

My madoka magica claymation actually started life in my creative project blog, here is the link to that blog!

Evaluation of "Good cop, Bad cop" scene.

I like how well the final film turned out, although i think we (me, Nathan and Alex) could've made a better film.

If i were to do this again, i would:

1. Choose to edit on Premiere Pro, immediately. This is because i'm more familiar with Premiere Pro than any other editing software.
2. Do a re-con of where we're going to shoot.
3. Give the actors some rehearsal time.

Exporting movie and Padlet link

Today, I finished my edit of the "good cop, bad cop" scene from The Heat

 and exported it from Premiere pro.

 I then tried to upload it onto my Padlet wall, but found that the file is too large for Padlet and so I had to upload to my youtube channel.

To go to the Padlet page that i made for this video, Please click here!

Unit 2-editing 0.2

Today, I edited  the footage for our groups take on a scene from "The Heat" in Adobe Premire Pro. aka the video editing software that I feel most comfortable with.

Unit 2 - editing.

Today I did some more editing. from the looks of it, I could finish it within the week.

Unit 2 - Practical issues and responsibilities with the shoot.

6th/05/14:

Hardware: One camera ran out of juice, so had to get its' charger from the technician and had to reposition it so it was near an electrical outlet and had the actors in shot.

Software: We didn't really have much to edit, but we're still working on it.

Cast: Our cast had no time to learn their lines and so had to read 'em off paper.

Crew: We didn't have time to prepare

Time Management: Managed the time we had working together, but we wish we had more time.

Padlet link

http://padlet.com/pinkieguy690/jzxkn54mwv33

Unit 2, film shoot.

This morning, My group recorded the scene that we chose to recreate for our group project, we only had one hour to capture this precious footage.

It wasn't an easy shoot, because we went in blind (mainly as there was no time to rehearse the scene) and this was only the first of todays (college) sessions.

Plasticine bullets.

Today, we discussed where to shoot our video and created plasticine bullets for the scene.

I finished this blog post.

Action plan for Unit 2 part b.

22/04/14 -

This week we've been planning our video, We've chosen to act out a scene based on a scene from The Heat. Alex has created a casting poster for our project, Nathan wrote a script to shoot for next week and I've been researching aspects of their jobs.

29/04/14 -

Next week we will shoot for the video and review the footage for editing.

06/05/14 -

We will edit the video and review the project.

Updates tracker.

Part A - Identify arts challenge.

Part B - Action plan.

Part C - Art event. (Completed)

Part D - Visit to BBC.

Part E - Unit 2_Arts Leadership planing.

Unit 2-Arts Leadership.

The people in my group are: Alex Watson and Nathan Hort. We're creating a video and are in charge of a different aspect of the production.

The following roles belong to:

• Nathan Hort: Script-writing.
• Alex Watson: Camera.
• Myself: Editing.

My role is the editor. As an editor my responsibilities are to:

• Review the previous day's footage. 
• Make sure that the story reflects the script.
• Rework and cut scenes together.

Key skills needed for an editor:

• Patience.
• Attention to detail.
• Time management.
• Understanding of visual aesthetics.

Nathan Hort is our script writer, His responsibilities are to:

• Develop ideas.
• Compose a story.
• Create a script.

The key skills that Nathan needs are:

• Creativity.
• Writing.
• Persistence.
• Communication.

Alex Watson is our camera guy, His responsibilities are:

• To setup the shot.
• Choose suitable camera angles and lenses.
• Solve practical or technical problems.
• Follow camera script.

The key skills that Alex will need are:

• Knowledge of camera equipment.
• communication.
• Good colour vision.
• Calmness under pressure.
• Good stamina.

What is our project?

Our Arts Leadership project is... to create and shoot scene based on a scene from the film, The Heat.

Arts award review.

Did I achieve what I wanted?

On a technicality no, I didn't achieve what I originally wanted (to create a cut out animation).

I originally set out to create a cut out animation, but had to change it to focus more on my (other) stop motion project, this is due to the fact that both were time intensive and so started to take up too much of my time.

What did I want to learn?

I wanted to learn about cut out animations (how to make a cut out animation) and to develop my own abilities as an animator.

What did I learn?

I learned that cutting out characters can take up sooo much time and the actual process is similar to claymation but the usage of the hardware is a little bit different (you have to film from an aerial view, with your cut outs on a flat surface).

What did I find easy?

I found creating an idea and developing my characters the easiest part of the challenge, but the part that I enjoyed the most was when I finished the production of my stop motion project.

What problems did I face and how I overcame them?

I lost 8 seconds of (a great session of) animation due to "technical difficulties"(temperamental computers and network issues). However, I remade those lost 8 seconds more easily in the next session, with an additional 25% on top. Hardware wise, setting up the camera (in between shots) was a pain, because of the type of camera, which could be bent into any position that you wanted (but because of this, the camera would bend itself out of your chosen position).

If I were to do this again, what would I do differently?

I would use this time to work on one project rather than start a second project, in order to utilise time more effectively. I would also change the settings (preferences in mac) to save automatically.

Madoka claycat-final editing 1

 Today, I re-animated the 8 seconds that I lost last week and completed all of my production. review my Arts Award challenge.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1... BLAST OFF!

Next week I shall start the post production (adding sound-effects, voices and ambience) and will 

Nearly Done!

This is what my animation looks like.

Madoka claycat-animation updated 2

Today I did create another 8 seconds worth of animation (yay)... but I lost all of todays work due to istopmotion quitting unexpectedly (boo). 2 seconds of animation is better than no animation.

From the lost 8 seconds, I animated, the background exploding and my characters taking their curtain call (or rather madoka taking hers).

End result of universe reset button.

Reality is breaking down.

I did have fun animating, apart from today's technical difficulties.

film club review.

What is film club?

The film club in question is run once in a blue moon by the media tutors at Middlesbrough College, usually around a theme related to the film in question. so who is Clive, Clive is one the media tutors at Middlesbrough College.

   Before the screening:

  Clive will look for a film that is different to "regular" (blockbuster) films and will choose it depending on how much of an impact it has made in cinematic history.
Clive had chosen The Big Lebowski, for film club, as it was one of his favourites.

During the screening:

The film tells its' story very well and is a master class on film-making.The story revolves around Jeff "the dude" Lebowski and his bowling  buddies, Walter and "Donny", trying to solve the mystery of why  two thugs broke into his appartment. The story starts in the middle of its’ own story, in order to generate a mystery of who the other Lebowski is. Music plays an important part in the film, sets up and plays against characters: i.e. using a Spanish cover of “Hotel California” to set up Jesus is film-making genius, as it sets up his character like a cowboy during a Mexican standoff. Due to a near constant stream of strong language (from Walter) and the positive usage of cannabis and violence, the film was rated as an 18 at the time of its' release.

Review:

I think Big Lebowski told its' story with plenty of vigour and heart. If I wasn't so busy with taking notes, I would've enjoyed the film. Although saying that, My favorite moments would have to be when Walter decides to teach a "carjacker" his meaning of "an eye for an eye" and when Jesus is introduced in the film.
I think that "The Big Lebowski" is an excellent film for young film-makers to look at, just to see if they're still interested in telling visual stories.

Madoka claycat-animation updated.

Today i animated (approximately) 4 seconds of my little pony project, it isn't what i storyboarded but i like what i've produced.

This is what i've produced so far.

Job Oppertunities

Reporter:

Experience/Qualifications:

• A degree in english or communication.
• Journalist master's degree.
• Work experience relevant to journalism.

Working Hours:

Depending on what type of journalism you apply for or specialise in, you (as a journalist) will be expected to work for up to 40hrs per week.

Producer:

Experience/Qualifications:

Ideally a producer would need:

• degree or HND in Communication and media.
• Strong people skills.
• Time and resource management abilities.
• Leadership skills.

Working Hours:

Main work involves long, unsocial hours according to the demands of the production.

Salaries start from £18,000 - £25,000.

Camera operator:

Experience/Qualifications:

Entry without a degree is possible, but a background of media studies, performing arts or media production will be useful.

Working Hours:

Working hours are generally long and unpredictable, which can include evening, weekend and night shoots.

The salary for a camera operator, based on a 10 hour day, will range from: £227 - £411, depending on the nature of the job.

Madoka Claycat- Production.

Today: i found my backgrounds and started animating my models.

Trip to BBC Newcastle.

Last week, i went on a tour around BBC Newcastle. We had a look around: the Archives, Sets and  Radio studios. It was a good trip as we were able to explore and learn about various employment aspects.

This is an interactive games area, located in the reception.

This is a library, it contains:
Masses of videos, films and grab boxes for news pieces of historical/cultural importance.

An old news film, from the 80s'.

This is a chromakey camera, it is used for weather reports.

This is a radio desk, it is located in the same studio where they film weather reports.

News set,  news desk is used for serious news: i.e. shootings .

News set, sofa is used for "soft" news: i.e. kitten has found a lot  of money.

Set lights.

Mock news report.

Mock sports report.

Mock weather report.

Arts award challenge.

Today i finished my storyboard and started to make the models

Arts award change.

out of necessity, i've decided to change my Arts award challenge from my cut out project to my claymation project due to time constraints on both projects.

Cut out thriller: UPDATE

Today, i cut out and labeled some more of the characters from higurashi, that i printed out for this project. I'm not happy with how far behind i am.