Green Screen Induction

During the first part of this induction, we were shown how to set up the screen and how to place the lights appropriately around the area of focus. We were using a windmill as the object to focus on in this case. We also took a shot of each movement as it turned so it could be put together later in After Effects. We also leant about the importance of making sure that the focus of the animation didn't get blacked out by the screen, so therefore making sure everything was an appropriate colour.

This was really interesting because using a green screen is something I had always thought about but never known exactly how to go about it.

Session 2

In this session, we were shown how to place our animation into After Effects and then composite in our chosen background.

The first ting to do was to import the image sequence of the windmill moving, interpret the footage and make sure the frame rate was changed to 12.

Once that was done, we used the Keylight tool to select a consistent looking area of the background.

This then tuned the background to black, and 

allowed me to alter the lighting to black and white, which could then be adjusted so that the edges would become sharper. 

This stage just made the object look a lot tidier and more focused. 

We then needed to change the background to red, and use the pen tool to go around the object and the background. The darker areas at the corners needed to be cut out too, so we basically needed to go for the main centre area that wasn't effected by the lighting change. 

Once that was done, it was time for the fun bit! I researched for a background in which the object could be placed. In this case, the Lonely Mountain. I scaled down the background and the object to their desired size so the windmill could be placed. 

Something that needed to be altered was the levels, because I wanted the windmill to look as though it was fading into the clouds, so once again I used the pen tool so select the area. I did this by lowering the opacity so I could see the clouds through it and then drew over the rough shape, so that I could then change the levels of this particular area so that it gradually faded down. 

I also played around with the lighting of the windmill because the lighting for this particular background is quite blue and natural, so I wanted it to look as though it was actually part of it. 

SWOT Analysis

In this session, we were given the task of assessing each other in pairs on the Personal, Interpersonal, Technical and Artistic Side. Having somebody analyse our strengths and weaknesses in these areas allowed our potential threats and weaknesses to be identified, meaning we would be able to see where to improve and where we are doing well! My analysis was carried out by James.

Personal:

• Strengths: Motivated, Organised, Passionate, Experimental. 

• Weaknesses: Impatient, Short Attention Span at times

Opportunities - PPP

Threats - Distractions, Patience  

Interpersonal:

• Strengths: Friendly, Helpful, Very open minded, Stays Strong  to opinion. 

• Weaknesses: It takes time to understand some processes. 

Opportunities - Festivals, I have a car so there is no excuse not to go to them, as well as competitions.

Threats - Take time on software and note things down. 

Technical 

• Strengths: Fast typer, knows way around a computer, good with most softwares.

• Weaknesses: Struggles to retain information with software. 

Opportunities - Practice, experience

Threats - Software updates and rapidly changing software 

Artistic 

Strengths: Good at life drawings, 2D Animation, doodling 

Weaknesses: Need to work on Digital Animation 

Opportunities - Life Drawing 

Threats - Multiple Softwares, Digital Drawings 

This analysis that James has done on me, has made it more clear to me of the areas in which I am doing well and the areas that could do with some more improvement. It seems I have a good work ethic and genuinely love what I'm doing, but one of the things that can effect me negatively is the fact that I do get angry with myself when I can't pick something up as quickly as I would like. This activity has brought it to my attention that I could do with setting some time aside to re-familiarise myself with different software that I could potentially be using in the future, and to not be afraid to take the time to jot things down so I don't forget them!


My personal SWOT Analysis matches pretty well with the one James has done for me. It highlighted my drive and determination to do well and always keep improving and developing, but also the fcat that I need to try an not feel so intimidated by the work of others, and to realise that networking doesn't have to be such a scary thing.

I think during the course of the year I have managed to improve some of these aspects, such as producing more digital animation and becoming more confident in my work. 

VISUAL RESPONSE

Seminar 2 - Social Networking

In this seminar, we got to talking about all of the different social media networks that are available for us to use (most of us are already using most of them) We discussed the more obvious examples such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. These are all sites that most of us already use to try and push our work out there for other people to see, However there were a few examples that I had never heard of such as Linkdin and Secret.

One of the most important things this seminar covered was the importance of online privacy, and it reinforced the fact that if a potential employer can see photos of our personal lives, it can easily convince them to not employ us, regardless of weather or not they like our work! We were told to make sure that all of our security settings were set correctly, and to just in general keep our online artist profiles for our art and that only. This seminar on the whole was really helpful, because there were some sites I had never heard of, and I would consider using them if I dropped another one I am currently using. This session awakened me to the importance of privacy settings on social media, and how it can effect our employability.