moving image technique project proposal

INTRO For this project, I will be filming a short extract from the ending of the story that I have written (see appendix A). The idea or rather inspiration to film it came after I watched one particular video during a lecture and it was titled "last words". My project will be very similar in some aspects as it is about dying and questions the life that the protagonist (Edward) has lived. I will be filming it in one location because I want to achieve that similar minimalistic look as in the "last words". Perhaps, I will be mainly focusing on costume, lighting, colours and sound design. I could argue that I am being limited by the amount of action in the video as it's mainly going to have still shots but at the same time I want to make the experience of watching it as immersive as possible via the use of sound design, costume and some editing techniques. SOUND The sound design will probably be my main focus as it will help me to achieve the immersive experience that I am aiming for. Perhaps, I came up with 2 ways of approaching it and just in case I will try out both of them to see which one, in the end, is better. Music-wise, I will use Mozart's Lacrimosa (it is free of restrictions under copyright law) and slow it down to about 10/15% to achieve that slow creepy sound further emphasised by the lyrics that are about death. I am using this particular composition as it is about death and so is my project. The first option is to try to record some of the sound effects on my own during the shoot, these sound effects being; heavy breathing, background screaming and fall impact. This does not sound very hard to capture however, it will be the first time I'll be trying to catch the clear sound during the shoot. The second option is to add everything in post-production. I am planning to use some royalty-free websites that provide clear sound effects and incorporate them into my project. Since I know what I am looking for it won't be as difficult as capturing them on my own. Perhaps, sounds such as ice cracks and mild wind will be the ones that I will have to get from a royalty-free website. In addition, the voice over will have to be recorded afterwards as Edward talks in his head. If these royalty-free sounds are not the best I have access to a professional VFX library with thousands of high-quality sound effects. Margaret A. Boden (2010, p. 30) suggested that ''Rather than asking ‘‘Is that idea creative, Yes or No? ’’, we should ask ‘‘Just how creative is it, and in just which way(s)? ’’'' and this is the thing that I have been questioning myself, is my idea creative enough? or rather will the sound design help me to achieve the effect that I want? After some thinking, I concluded that it will partially help me out. Sound design is just one of many creative ideas for this project that will come together in their way and help to create one greater effect. CAMERA SETTINGS To film my project I will be using my camera which is Lumix G7. I have used this camera for a while and I am comfortable when it comes to filming with it. Also, my project will have a specific colour correction (moody cold noir) so I will have to adjust the settings in a way that will give me the most room to play in post-production. Also, I need to take into consideration that I will be using a low key light or backlight. Having that in mind my camera setting are most likely to be; ⦁ Contrast -3: helps with the dynamic range. ⦁ Sharpening -5: I'm aiming for the softer look. ⦁ Noise reduction 0: because it will be a low light I need to shoot in higher ISO and adding grain in post-production is just a safer option. ⦁ Saturation -2/-4: I want to have a bit more room to colour grade my footage. ⦁ 24fps/60fps: I will be using 24fps for all of my shots except one as I want the falling part to be in slow motion to make it feel longer, the limitation of my camera is 60fps but it's totally fine as I can always use twixtor in after effects to make it smoother. ⦁ Shutter speed 1/50 and 1/125: I will go by the rule of thumb and double the frame rate to get my shutter speed right and create that natural motion blur. ⦁ Aperture will depend on the light that I will be using and the look I like more so this setting is the case of experimenting a bit during the shoot. ⦁ ISO: this will also depend on the light that I will decide to use however the scene will be very dark so therefore I will most likely have to increase iso quite a bit. EDITING/ EFFECTS The editing, as well as effects for this project, will be fairly simple if everything goes according to the plan. For the effects, I plan on using one practical effect and one effect/transition within editing software (After Effects). The practical effect I will make is a frostbitten look on the actor's skin by using simple body paints. I will not be making this effect in post-production because ''Using practical effects instead of CGI makes it easier for actors to interact with their surroundings, allowing for the creation of scenes and sequences that are more realistic. '' (The Los Angeles Film School, Practical Effects vs. CGI article) and in addition, it will be much easier for me to paint my actor's arms and legs rather than wasting time for tracking, colouring, texturing, lighting in After Effects and the result will be much more realistic which matters to me the most. Another effect I will trial does require some After Effects work as I will be replacing an eye pupil, I was planning on replacing it with the animated version of the changed pupil and then reversing it back to normal but since it's not the main focus I don't want to waste time on making one short animation. As an alternative, I will be making two 1080p graphics, which both will be tracked to the eye's movement as well as colour corrected to match the light and then the transition (probably VR light rays or VR chroma leaks) will be applied to make it go from the 'perfect stage' to 'non-perfect stage' and finally to a normal pupil. Why is this important? Well, this will be a thing that will show Edward losing his last bit of strength and him slowly starting to die. Another effect I am planning on using is desaturating the scenes as time goes on. It may seem pointless since I am making a custom colour correction for it but this is another thing that will symbolize Edward's life fading away, at the very end of the video the image will be black and white to suggest his death but there's also a twist to it. Someone in the background will diegetically shout his name and he's going to open his eyes but the shot will remain black and white just because I want this ending to be open for the active viewer and so that everyone can interpret it on their own. COSTUME The costume is the last thing I will be discussing as this is also the thing that I have put a lot of thought into, Brown, Blain (2013, p. 40) has suggested that ''visual balance (or lack of balance) is an important part of the composition. Every element in a visual composition has a visual weight. . . . visual weight of an object is primarily determined by its size but is also affected by its position in the frame, its colour, movement, and the subject matter itself. '' This quote is really important as the outfit does have a visual weight to it as it also gives the spectator some information about the protagonist. In my scenario, the outfit has a lot of weight to it as it tells the audience that Edward has just finished his very intense battle, his tank top is covered in blood and ripped, his obi belt is also covered in blood and dust, the lower part of the outfit is almost fully ripped, the earring is damaged as well as the mask that he is wearing. Because there isn't a lot going on in the video, the audience will probably focus a lot on Edwards outfit therefore making it more appealing will make the audience understand better what he has been through. Sources: Last words: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=CAdQRuZWFGc After effects replacing eye: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=TI_JDQB1wG8 > [Accessed 15 November 2021] Boden, Margaret A. (2010) Creativity and Art: Three Roads to Surprise. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central. http: //ebookcentral. proquest. com/lib/hull/detail. action? docID=1037320. The Los Angeles Film School. (2009) Practical Effects vs. CGI. [Online] Available from [Accessed 15 November 2021] Brown, B. (2013) Cinematography: theory and practice: imagemaking for cinematographers and directors. Focal Press, 2-5-2013. https: //r2. vlereader. com/Reader? ean=9781136047381