Here is the final video for this project. I am very pleased with the end result of it and despite the visual theme relying specifically on the astronaut suit in the video, the choice of location as well as the music also bring add something extra in creating a deserted, baron wasteland and a haunting and science fiction atmosphere.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Title & Quote
Like my previous project I really like the way I did a short text introduction to the story so they have a small understanding of what the short film's going to be about. As this one is about the end of the world, I called the video Earth DOD 2011AD, the DOD stands for date of death and I added the AD as a biblical reference as the date. As it's two letters that you rarely hear these days.
The quote at the start reads....
For centuries it has been in humanity's nature to self destruct. Many have prophesied that the death of our race would be caused from circumstances beyond our control. In the year 2011 their predictions.... were wrong.
The quote at the start reads....
For centuries it has been in humanity's nature to self destruct. Many have prophesied that the death of our race would be caused from circumstances beyond our control. In the year 2011 their predictions.... were wrong.
Poster & Other Images
As I said before I also wanted to create a poster to go with this video, as going to the effort of hiring the costume I wanted to have as much footage as possible, including film and photography. Therefore I used a mask to cut myself out, used a series of different layers from the black background, the glowing stars on top and the clouds to the world in the top right corner. You can see the poster below as well as a screencap of how I did it on Photoshop.
Below are some more images from the photoshoot, which I edited using the raw settings that the photos were shot in.
Below are some more images from the photoshoot, which I edited using the raw settings that the photos were shot in.
Final Soundtrack
Below you can hear the final soundtrack for the video. I'm pleased with the outcome and glad that for this project musically, I did this something slightly different.
Soundtrack Production
For the soundtrack for the music I wanted to create a more atmospheric piece something which would fit perfectly with my footage and something atonal and arhythmic, something similar to the soundtrack used in the Alien trailer.
I gathered different clips as well as loops ambient sound effects and sirens and combined them together creating a long drone of sound which will run throughout the video.
I gathered different clips as well as loops ambient sound effects and sirens and combined them together creating a long drone of sound which will run throughout the video.
Extra Footage
As well as the film imagery I used, to take advantage of having this costume therefore I did photoshoot in it, my plan was to make an image to go with the video. I wanted to do some images against the black backdrop and also we did some on location as well.
Below you can see the thumbnails...
Below you can see the thumbnails...
Post-Production
I once again edited my work using Sony Vegas, this time however the film was not as hard to edit, I think this was becuase of the music I was going to use didn't have a distinct beat therefore I less restricted with editing the video. At various points I did have to cut out some the astronauts journey to make the video flow better.
I also added visual fx for the film I increased the brightness and contrast and put a darker desaturated tint on top of my work. I also included stock footage of a nuclear explosion and of bad reception static TV. I felt this was effective through distorting the story towards the viewer and acted as a bridge between some of my shots which felt out of place.
I also added visual fx for the film I increased the brightness and contrast and put a darker desaturated tint on top of my work. I also included stock footage of a nuclear explosion and of bad reception static TV. I felt this was effective through distorting the story towards the viewer and acted as a bridge between some of my shots which felt out of place.
Video Treatment
The video opens with the shot of a man laying in the center of a few brick remains on the top of a high peak above the grey city. After the camera pans around him focusing on the detail of his suit he gets up on to his feet, with his helmet attached looking from side to side almost like he had just arrived. He then begins to walk off into the distance and he comes to several areas where old building remains can be seen he pauses at each one and takes a moment before walking off further into the distance.
As he follows the overgrown path he comes across several bold messages on paper dirty on the floor, he gazes at them all, which say things such as HELP! SOS! NUCLEAR ATTACK! DANGER! and then throws them into the wind before walking further into the distance. It's at this time in the video we suddenly see a tall eerie looking white tower which stands tall above the rest of the scenery.
As he reaches the tower despite it being fenced off, the video reaches it's dramatic climax where the camera cuts to the next shot which appears as if he is inside the tower. The shots quickly interchange between the nuclear explosion and the astronaut, until the end where he takes off his helmet through a cloud of smoke possibly revealing that the planet is safe once again.
As he follows the overgrown path he comes across several bold messages on paper dirty on the floor, he gazes at them all, which say things such as HELP! SOS! NUCLEAR ATTACK! DANGER! and then throws them into the wind before walking further into the distance. It's at this time in the video we suddenly see a tall eerie looking white tower which stands tall above the rest of the scenery.
As he reaches the tower despite it being fenced off, the video reaches it's dramatic climax where the camera cuts to the next shot which appears as if he is inside the tower. The shots quickly interchange between the nuclear explosion and the astronaut, until the end where he takes off his helmet through a cloud of smoke possibly revealing that the planet is safe once again.
Location Planning
When deciding on where to film, I wanted something believable and something which could actually be convincing as something possibly extra-terrestrial. As well as somewhere almost completely deserted which looked like a barren wasteland. Therefore I filmed right by the BT Tower on the M32. As you can see from the pictures below. The tower itself has something very unique about it and almost chilling to it, even more so when you're there as the whole tower seems completely abandoned.
The nearby surrounding area next to the tower was also very effective as it had ruined brick remains as well as overgrown shubbery and plantation.
Prop Planning
I felt for this project, if I really wanted to be serious with the visual element and I wanted to explore this theme properly, I'd have to hire some sort of costume which could pass as the real thing, after looking at various fancy dress costumes online, I did eventually come across something which I felt looked not only real but also quite interesting at the same time. Therefore I went to Harlequins (a costume hire shop) in Hanham and rented the costume for a week.
This is the costume I'm going to use for the project.
With the costume looking so effective, there is very little else I needed to prepare for prop wise. As the film is only three minutes, I don't want to distract to much from the costume and the lonely spaceman. The only extra thing that I did bring along was a few printed out sheets of paper with messages that read DANGER! and SOS! etc.
Video Ideas
After doing lots of extensive research into the genres of films which relate to this project, I have decided to create a short film which sees a man wake up in a deserted land in an astronaut costume or some sort of protective gear, wandering around trying to piece together the cause for the end of the world. In the video I will use some second hand imagery of a nuclear explosion.
I want this video to be very atmospheric and I feel this will once again be able to be achieved through the use of the soundtrack to the film. Out of all the videos I looked at in my research, the Alien trailer I feel is going to be a inspiration and starter point for the rest of this project, as I feel it works extremely well.
Apocalyptic Video Research
As well as looking the genre of science-fiction films I also wanted to research more apocalyptic films and compare the portrayal of how they present the end of the world.
James Cameron's Terminator and Terminator 2 are both centered in the world before the end of the world, yet feature characters coming from the future (where the machines have taken over) to the film's present day, to protect or prevent those character's future actions. What's increasingly evident especially in Terminator 2 is the description of how the world is going to end. It goes in great detail and shows a very struggling and graphic fight between man and the machines in the future. What I like about this series is the dark gritty atmosphere of the first one something which I will try and achieve with my video and the stronger focus on the apocalypse in the second film. Here are two clips below.
I also looked at films like The Road and I am Legend both do an excellent job in creating an atmosphere of what the world would be like if it ended, without a nuclear explosion and give the viewer an idea of how a good person would react to the end of the world. They focus more on the character more so than anything else, but I especially like the real unsettling empty feel that the world has in The Road.
James Cameron's Terminator and Terminator 2 are both centered in the world before the end of the world, yet feature characters coming from the future (where the machines have taken over) to the film's present day, to protect or prevent those character's future actions. What's increasingly evident especially in Terminator 2 is the description of how the world is going to end. It goes in great detail and shows a very struggling and graphic fight between man and the machines in the future. What I like about this series is the dark gritty atmosphere of the first one something which I will try and achieve with my video and the stronger focus on the apocalypse in the second film. Here are two clips below.
I also looked at films like The Road and I am Legend both do an excellent job in creating an atmosphere of what the world would be like if it ended, without a nuclear explosion and give the viewer an idea of how a good person would react to the end of the world. They focus more on the character more so than anything else, but I especially like the real unsettling empty feel that the world has in The Road.
Existing Video Research
As I already discussed one of the good things about the theme of this project, is the fact you instantly think of science fiction and the apocalypse. These genres of film are very popular and I often find most of the time they do a great job in conveying an atmosphere and really telling a story. As I have decided to venture off into a different direction with this project I will focus this short film on a different narrative.
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 sci-fi film by Robert Wise about a team of scientists who race against time to save the world from an outbreak of an alien deadly virus. The clip below in particular, is something similar to what I intend on doing. I find someone wandering around in deserted land in an astronaut suit very effective, as it's just completely other worldly. Especially from the scenes from 1:40 onwards when they arrive in the small town. I think the fact the clip is in broad day light also really works, it emphasises the craziness and drama of the whole story.
Perhaps the most inspiring piece for this project yet is this teaser trailer for the Ridley Scott 1979 classic Alien. In the film a group of astronauts land on a planet after receiving a distress signal, what they find on this planet is catastrophic as they are attacked by an alien life form which reproduces using the human crew as a host. Despite the film itself being greatly influential, this trailer captures exactly what I intend to do, there is no dialogue, nor is there any information really about the film rather than the title, but just a string of atmospheric, suspenseful clips which build up to a dramatic climax. Like I have been doing in previous projects, the soundtrack is the key element in the flow of this video. From the minimalistic introduction with the pounding heartbeat through to the hollow ambient sound which echoes as a wall of sirens, screams and alien sound effects build up, make this video a very interesting piece. Even from the way the title builds up line by line letter by letter, I think this trailer is very cleverly made and sells the film in a way a dramatic voice over couldn't even try to.
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 sci-fi film by Robert Wise about a team of scientists who race against time to save the world from an outbreak of an alien deadly virus. The clip below in particular, is something similar to what I intend on doing. I find someone wandering around in deserted land in an astronaut suit very effective, as it's just completely other worldly. Especially from the scenes from 1:40 onwards when they arrive in the small town. I think the fact the clip is in broad day light also really works, it emphasises the craziness and drama of the whole story.
The Man That Fell To Earth was a film that many people told me to look at when I first came up with the initial concept of my video. During the film a humanoid alien (Bowie) lands on Earth to bring water back to his own planet. The whole concept of a stranger falling out from the sky onto the planet for the very first time is an interesting one. I think through the use of shot types, as you can see in the trailer below, you can almost create ambiguity and uncertainty without having to rely on much more than anything else.
Perhaps the most inspiring piece for this project yet is this teaser trailer for the Ridley Scott 1979 classic Alien. In the film a group of astronauts land on a planet after receiving a distress signal, what they find on this planet is catastrophic as they are attacked by an alien life form which reproduces using the human crew as a host. Despite the film itself being greatly influential, this trailer captures exactly what I intend to do, there is no dialogue, nor is there any information really about the film rather than the title, but just a string of atmospheric, suspenseful clips which build up to a dramatic climax. Like I have been doing in previous projects, the soundtrack is the key element in the flow of this video. From the minimalistic introduction with the pounding heartbeat through to the hollow ambient sound which echoes as a wall of sirens, screams and alien sound effects build up, make this video a very interesting piece. Even from the way the title builds up line by line letter by letter, I think this trailer is very cleverly made and sells the film in a way a dramatic voice over couldn't even try to.
Research Into 'The End of The World'
The End of The World (or Doomsday) is an event which always circulates from time to time as a rumour, every few years. Even from being back in primary school I can remember hearing everyone saying the world's going to end, so even the phrase is has become recycled so much that it doesn't really hold any meaning it's almost a figure of speech.
Perhaps maybe the most possible prediction of the world ending is that of the 2012 phenomenon. According to eschatological beliefs cataclysmic and transformative events will occur on the 21st December 2012 as well this Mesoamerican Long Count calender runs out in 2012 leaving some people to believe that this has been a date prophesied by many since ancient times.
As well as the end of the world take that I could approach with this project, as a class we have also looked at the the Voyager programme, several unmanned space missions that consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes. On the probes were golden records which carry pictures and sounds of life on Earth as well as symbolic directions for playing the record. The record is a time capsule yet also a message to other possible races on information about Earth.
Below you can see a picture of the golden record.
Perhaps maybe the most possible prediction of the world ending is that of the 2012 phenomenon. According to eschatological beliefs cataclysmic and transformative events will occur on the 21st December 2012 as well this Mesoamerican Long Count calender runs out in 2012 leaving some people to believe that this has been a date prophesied by many since ancient times.
As well as the end of the world take that I could approach with this project, as a class we have also looked at the the Voyager programme, several unmanned space missions that consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes. On the probes were golden records which carry pictures and sounds of life on Earth as well as symbolic directions for playing the record. The record is a time capsule yet also a message to other possible races on information about Earth.
Below you can see a picture of the golden record.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Introduction & Project Brief
For this next project we have been given the scenario that it's the end of the world and the thought of your last moment on Earth. For this project, like my previous two I will use moving image to express my ideas, because I feel it suits me more than any other medium of expression. However this time, I will take a break from the ongoing theme and story running through my last projects and approach this, with completely new ideas as I feel it's important to have variation.
What I am also looking forward to is the chance to explore and research moving image which have science fiction and apocalyptic themes. Especially in how an atmosphere and environment is created within them.
What I am also looking forward to is the chance to explore and research moving image which have science fiction and apocalyptic themes. Especially in how an atmosphere and environment is created within them.
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