Final Cut - "Translunar" with Evaluation

Above, the final cut of our Transmedia collaboration can be seen, 'TRANSLUNAR'. On the whole, I am particularly happy with the outcome, especially given how new 3 dimensional motion graphics is to us. I feel that the project has achieved the aims that we set out when we began the planning and production process. Firstly, the film has a fairly realistic and believable aesthetic. When beginning to embark on the motion graphics journey, I felt that achieving this would be one of the most difficult tasks, however, I feel that we came fairly close, especially with the opening shot that can be seen above. I feel that this is mostly due to the use of accurate texturing and attention to detail in terms of creating realistic looking materials that resemble real versions of each object.. Next, I feel as though the different elements of the mise-en-scene capture the atmosphere well. In my opinion, the use of often harsh lighting and high contrast environments are one of the piece's strong points and contribute to this extensively. Since beginning to experiment with motion graphics, I learnt the importance of capturing the tone using lights, and how much it can affect the overall aesthetic of the shot. After much practice improving our ability to use lighting effectively, I feel that this translates into our final piece. It must be noted on the other hand that there are some slight inconsistencies in terms of the continuity of the lighting, for example, on occasions, the astronaut is lit at two different levels in consecutive shots. We would take more care over improving continuity with regards to this if we were to re-do the project.

In addition, I feel that the sound and visuals work symbiotically, complimenting one another to create mood and tone, which is another strong point of our work. In my opinion, the way in which synchronous diegetic sounds are used to compliment on screen actions provide an element of realism and immersion, which contribute to a story that the audience can become more invested in. Furthermore, the use of drone sounds, audio dynamics and varying chord changes contribute to an emotional soundscape, which brings out the atmosphere in the film's visuals.

The main negative of the piece in my opinion is the way in which it is paced. Being a two minute film, the narrative is absolutely action-packed, with a a strong narrative proceeding through the film's entirety. However, the fact that it is so short in duration, means that each event does not have enough time to build in terms of narrative and action. At times, I feel that this hinders the audiences ability to empathise with the character. If the narrative started slower, and began to progressively build, I feel that the piece would be more effective. Our piece however, seems to start slow and build in action rapidly, not leaving the audience enough time to grasp where they are in terms of the story. If we were to undertake this project again, I would increase the duration of the film in order to allow more time for the narrative to slowly build. However, this would require a great deal more content, which more production time would likely be needed for. Next,

'Translunar' - Sound Design Evaluation

https://vimeo.com/250699427


Having completed production for this Transmedia Practice module, I am pleased with the result of our short sci-fi picture 'Translunar'. The whole process was a learning experience for me, and it has definitely shaped the way I approach not only music production, but film score. It was important from the start onwards that I considered other artists and composers who compose music for film/animation, and how they utilize instruments and foley sound to create realistic environments for the listener/viewer.

Once our group had come up with a general narrative to base our first tests on, I set off and researched the way sound was crafted in films such as Interstellar and Gravity and opened up Logic Pro on my computer and got going. It was necessary that I understood the mood of the piece, and how if I was to create atmospheric sounds like the films stated above I would need to use both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Sounds that would have melodic elements, and also sound that weren't necessarily atonal, but synchronized with the visuals on screen. Having sent various tests to my motion graphics team, the feedback was good, however, they desired that I approached a more atmospheric soundscape route rather than dominant melody. This was an effective point in the process for me, as I feel I had got caught up in my head trying to replicate composers such as Hans Zimmer and I was losing focus of the kind of sound that would work with our piece.

The Motion Graphics team had now sent me the first scenes and I started building my composition. Using a basic, Intro, Verse 1, Middle 8, Verse 2, Outro structure, I was able to create a narrative within the music. Making use of the stereo field, I decided to space out my timbres and utilized the panning tool in my track automation, this enabled a wider listening experience and through the use of reverberation, I could make my sounds more distant in our environment. Thorugh the technology at my disposal I felt it would be challenging yet effective, to manipulate any samples that I collected and made them my own. The EXS24 sample plugin on Logic Pro allowed me to customise my frequencies, this was especially significant in the outro section towards the end. Through dark synthesizers and wailing white noise, I felt I captured the eerieness of an apocalypse scene.

It was a learning curve for me, I hadn't had any experience making music for film, and I overcame a lot of difficulties, especially with the choice of appropriate timbres. However, if I was to pursue a similar project again, I would make sure the film was of a longer length and with a more slowly progressive narrative. This would mean I could add more anticipation to my music, with a slower build up.

Translunar: Motion Graphics Soundtrack

https://soundcloud.com/user-120697061/translunar-motion-picture-soundtrack-2018

Shaking Camera Effect Process

When it came to editing the last sequence of our film, we brainstormed ways in which we could use visual techniques as a means of creating impact for the climax. In the end, we decided that an interesting way to do this would be to create a shaking camera effect. We felt that by doing this, the magnitude of the rock and the scale of the situation would be exacerbated significantly, creating a great deal more suspense and tension for the audience. To achieve this effect, we experimented with a variety of techniques, unsuccessfully in the beginning. Our first port of call was to use the camera movement feature in Cinema 4D in order to keyframe a camera shake, however, we found this a complex process that we could achieve little degree of accuracy with. This is not only because we had to carry out a render every time we made a change, but also because on the whole, the camera movement tool tends to facilitate smooth camera movement better than shaky camera movement. We decided to scrap this method due to the time consumption is required.

We then decided to carry out tests in Adobe After Effects which turned out to be much more successful. After exporting each shot in Cinema 4D and editing it into the sequence in Premiere Pro, we decided to export to After Effects, as this software provides much more flexibility in terms of visual effects. The compatibility of the Adobe package assisted us greatly in doing this, as it meant that we could simply export a shot in the Premiere Pro sequence to AE, and it would edit in real time in the Premiere sequence as it was being adjusted in AE. The option shown in the image below shows how this was possible.

Once in After Effects, we came across the 'wiggle' expression tool. This feature allowed us to create a keyframed camera shake, that was already preset. However, this also gave us the flexibility to programme our own level of shake, by offering magnitude and frequency parameters that we could adjust to our own liking. We found this to be a much simpler option than doing this in Cinema 4D due to the minimal render times and therefore easier visual reference, when experimenting to get our desired effect.

When adding a Wiggle Expression in After Effects, we decided to slowly increase the amplitude and frequency as the scene progressed in order to create a progressive effect, with the camera shake rapidly increasing the tension and drama as the climax gets closer and closer. As previously mentioned, the fact that the edited effect displays in Premiere Pro in real time rapidly sped up this process and allowed us to achieve our desired level of shake efficiently and in little time.

Title Screens

Now that we have decided upon our final title idea, I have created the title screens that will be played at the end. For me, title screens in sci-fi/space related cinema are particularly important in upholding the visual standards. I took inspiration when creating the titles from films such as Gravity and Interstellar, where the stylistic choices often remain similar. From my research, I found that fixed width, capitalised fonts with high levels of kerning were particularly on trend at the moment in this field of cinema, so I decided to take a similar approach in Translunar.

When it come to creating our own titles, I decided to use the font 'Futurust Fixed Width', due to the similar aesthetic that it provided, which as aforementioned, I was very fond of. I decided to further our use of motion graphics here also, by adding an element of animation into our title sequence. Choosing to work outside of Cinema 4D this time, I decided to use Adobe After Effects this time for its relative simplicity and due to my familiarity with the software. Looking through the effects panel, I decided to add a glow animation, as I felt it was relevant to our theme, matching the lunar visuals that are intrinsic to our piece. I chose to keyframe this minimal glow into the main title screen as I felt that it's subtlety was effective, whilst it's visuals remained aesthetically pleasing. 

The Final Title Sequence can be seen below:

Chord Progression

Much like the work of Hans Zimmer and John Williams, the use of minor and major scales along with sustained notes provide cinematic and elaborate listening experiences.

I wanted to keep the chords simple and to vary from the C minor, G minor, B major and E-flat major scales. These key signatures complement each other nicely, and I was keen to use them in the narrative.

The minor chords were embedded to illustrate the negative/darker emotions of the narrative. In many occasions, there are problems that the astronaut faces on the mission and through these minor chords and percussion, I could express this.

The major chords are especially significant in the opening 40-60 seconds, where the astronaut is floating past the stratosphere, looking over Earth. I chose to incorporate both major and minor elements as I felt this gave a neutral hearing of what the visuals were showing. There is always a chance something could go wrong in space, so I chose a neutral sound that left the listener's experience on edge and intrigued as to what could come next.

Collected Audio Samples

In order to amplify where the narrative is taking place, I decided to use some of my sounds from both the NASA sound library and online discoveries. Once I had collected the appropriate sounds and their place within the visuals, I manipulated the original frequencies to match the mood of the film. Use of speech and ambient diegetic sounds build up as the narrative progresses, with varying dynamic range to portray the unpredictability of time in space.

Logic Pro X composition layout: Use of MIDI, Audio, and Video

To break up the opening melodic sections, I introduced my manipulated sample of the words ''Houston, how do you read" and tuned the pitch down to create a bassy drop. This, in turn, changed the mood of the narrative and emphasized the darker themes to come. To further this, I added distortion and removed high-end frequencies to reduce brightness and enhances the lower end of the channel equilisation. I also did towards the outro, when the astronaut is stranded on the moon.