VIDEO & SOUND PRODUCTION/EXERCISES

The first act establishes the protagonist, their world, and the situation they find themselves in. This act typically ends with an inciting incident, which sets the story in motion and creates a problem that the protagonist must solve. The inciting incident can be a positive or negative event, but it must be significant enough to disrupt the protagonist's world and force them to take action.

Act Two: The Confrontation

The second act is the longest and most complex of the three acts. It's where the protagonist faces a series of obstacles and challenges as they work towards their goal. This act is often divided into two parts: the first half, where the protagonist makes progress towards their goal, and the second half, where they encounter setbacks and complications. The second act typically ends with a major turning point, where the protagonist faces a significant setback or crisis that forces them to re-evaluate their approach.

Act Three: The Resolution

The third act is where the story reaches its climax and resolution. The protagonist must confront their final challenge or conflict and overcome it in order to achieve their goal. The climax is the most intense and dramatic part of the story, where the stakes are highest and the tension is at its peak. The resolution, on the other hand, is the denouement, where loose ends are tied up, and the protagonist's journey comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Reading

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvqjp1CxxD8

WEEK 4 (13/05/2024)

Storyboard in filmmaking is a visual representation of a film, animation, or video game, much like a comic strip. It's made up of a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence.

Storyboards are used to plan shots, understand the narrative flow, and to communicate ideas to the production team. They can include details such as camera angles, character movements, dialogue, and even notes about special effects or sound. This helps the director, cinematographer, and other crew members visualize the scenes and prepare for the shooting process.

Storyboarding is a crucial part of the pre-production process because it allows filmmakers to experiment with different visual approaches, identify potential problems, and make necessary adjustments before the actual filming begins, saving time and resources.

Reading

Reading Material for Production

WEEK 7 (03/06/2024)

The process of coloring digital video footage involves three main tasks: establishing a picture profile, color correcting the footage, and color grading the footage. Color correction is a technical process that aims to make the footage look as natural and realistic as possible, while color grading is a creative process that adds atmosphere and emotion to the shots.
The basic color terms used in color grading software and cameras are hue, saturation, and brightness (HSB). Hue refers to the color itself, saturation refers to the intensity of the color, and brightness refers to the lightness or darkness of the color. HSB color theory is used to create mood and color schemes in films and videos.

Saturation is where the colors "pop" or become "muddy" depending on the amount of grey information in the color. Adding pure white or black to the color will result in a darker or lighter brightness value.

Reading: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/color-grading-vs-color-correction-process/
Practical Slides: VSP Premiere Pro Colour Correction 2024
Practical video: https://youtu.be/Cmve0PAv24c?si=VINy-0-XE7fLacxj

QUIZ RESULTS

WEEK 1 - SHOT, ANGLE AND COMPOSITION (22/04/2024)

Figure 1.1: Week 1 Quiz Result

WEEK 2 - THREE-ACT STORY STRUCTURE (09/04/2024)

Figure 1.2: Week 2 Quiz Result

WEEK 3 - STORYBOARD IN FILM MAKING (06/05/2024)

Figure 1.3: Week 2 Quiz Result

WEEK 4 - PRODUCTION CREWS (13/05/2024)

Figure 1.4: Week 4 Quiz Result (Production Crews)

Figure 1.5: Week 4 Quiz Result (Production Stages)

WEEK 7 - COLOUR CORRECTION & COLOUR GRADING (03/06/2024)

Figure 1.6: Week 7 Quiz Result (Colour Correction vs Colour Grading)

EXERCISES

WEEK 1 (22/04/2024)

For our first editing exercise, we were instructed to download footage from Google Drive. We then had to import footage into Premiere Pro and arrange the shots on the timeline with proper order.

Exercise 1

The first exercise was direct. Each footage was labelled by number and were in order. The example provided in this exercise helped me understand the sequence of a good transition. There has to be a clear and proper storyline in order for it to make sense.

Figure 2.1: Exercise 1 on Premiere Pro

Final Compilation

Exercise 2

For this following exercise, the footage provided was different compared to Exercise 1 because the footage was not in order. I then had to figure out the sequence by watching each footage and connecting them.

To piece the first few parts together, I listened to the audio because I noticed certain footage had a dialogue cut out.

Figure 2.2: Combining Script

Then came the hard part because I had to determine the order by looking at their reactions and movement, which was rather quick. So I had to repeat each footage a few times. Another way that helped was that I realised the storyline gets more 'hectic'. So I would start with 'lesser' reactions and went on from there. There were a few clips that were hard to determine its place. So I left that out until the end to see where it fit best.

Figure 2.3: Combining Movement

Final Compilation

WEEK 2 (29/04/24)

SHOOTING EXERCISE

For week 2, we were instructed to film 8 different framing shots and then compiling them into a video. To begin this process, my friend Kyra became the model. These were the shots I filmed:

Recorded footage:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MoojQYKmu3GjUGac8SmIOmg6uLVAxoF1?usp=sharing

Final Compilation

EDITING EXERCISE 1 - LALIN

For the editing exercise, I downloaded the footage provided in the Google Drive. I then imported the footage on Adobe Premiere and went through each clip to get a better grasp of the sequence from the storyboard.

Figure 2.4: Footage Sequence

After the sequence of the footage lined up with the storyboard, I imported the graphics and placed them on a timestamp that made sense with the footage.

Figure 2.5: Adding Graphics

Then, I added sound effects for phone notifications as well as background music to make the silence less awkward. The last step was to cut out unnecessary footage so that it caps to 35 seconds.

Figure 2.6: Sound Effects & Cut Outs

FINAL OUTCOME

WEEK 3 (06/05/2024)

Given our knowledge on the 3-act structure, we had to answer questions based on the movie Lalin and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

Lalin

Figure 2.7: Lalin

1. Which part is act 1, act 2, act 3 respectively? Describe each act with ONE paragraph only.

Act 1

Lalin, our main protagonist, is introduced as a web idol with overwhelming popularity in the online sphere, but with a catch - she can’t stand the sight of her own face. Flashbacks ensue, and the story unravels into the sequence of events leading up to her current state. Throughout her developmental years in school, Lalin has faced merciless bullying over her acne, which earned her the name Miss Meteorite, as the face acne resembles craters in a meteorite. During the winter, she decides to move to Japan, a place where no one knows her, and face masks are normalized, allowing her to cover and hide her true face away from the world. She then starts using digital enhancement applications on her pictures, thus crafting an online persona under the guise of a new, acne-free face. Content with the validation received online by strangers, she resumes living her life with this secret, unwilling to expose her face anywhere in public. However, as the long nights of winter transits into the warm summer, loneliness starts to creep in as she witnesses people around her experience genuine human connection and joy. On a random day, she receives a text message from a guy called Nut that disrupts her normal life, asking her to aid in the translation of his graphic novel, which she gladly accepts.

Act 2

Sparks fly when Lalin and Nut connect online, and a budding relationship starts between them. This is the first time Lalin smiles in the film, and her previously mundane life is now filled with fleeting moments of happiness whenever she texts Nut about her daily ongoings. As time passes, Nut begins to question why Lalin never takes her mask off, which prompts Lalin to come up with the excuse that she needs it for her allergies. The pair starts video calling each other more frequently, with Lalin visibly becoming happier each day. Nut sends her face masks with a smiley emoticon on the surface, which she starts substituting her regular mask with, as a symbol of her newfound joy, even if no one can see her visibly smile behind the mask. Lalin brings up the book that she was supposed to help translate, in which Nut promises that it will be delivered the next day. Unbeknownst to her, he had been planning on hand-delivering the book and has landed in Japan, with the intention of meeting Lalin in real life. Taken aback from this sudden revelation the next day, Lalin faces a seemingly impossible dilemma. Is she ready to face her fears and show her true face to another person? Situating herself in front of a mirror, she takes off her mask, and takes the sight of her face in for the first time in ages. Moments of deliberation pass, as she slowly builds up her confidence - but eventually resigns as her insecurities triumph over her once again. She can’t do it, as much as she wants to, and turns down Nut’s proposal to meet her. Nut tries reassuring her, tries convincing her that there is nothing to worry about, but she refutes everything he says, ultimately chasing him away. Nut, having no choice, decides to leave but with one request, for her to read his book.

Act 3

Lalin finds the book left for her, and starts reading it. The story delves into the narrative of Nut, through the graphic novel. It details the story of a bulky astronaut who is drawn to the moon. As she reads the story, memories come flooding back as she recalls the past moments from a school event. Years ago, Lalin, intrigued by his drawings, had approached a student who had been picked to play as Santa for a Christmas event. It is then revealed that he was chosen to be in the Santa costume as he was the heaviest in his class, and was regularly teased for it. Lalin does not seem to mind this however, and offers him a burger in exchange for a drawing of her. She gets ready for him to start on the drawing, hiding her face behind her hair, presumably insecure about her face. Noticing this, the guy reaches over and tucks her hair away, unbothered by her facial acne, admiring her beauty regardless. Lalin then introduces herself, but before the guy could return the gesture, she gets distracted by a notification from her phone. A picture of Lalin and the guy sitting together has started circulating on social media, and insulting comments have been made about them. Embarrassed, Lalin leaves the room before he finishes the drawing, and never gets his name. The novel continues, with the astronaut making a resolution - he would one day shed his weight and reach the moon. Lalin connects the dots and realizes while reading the book that the guy in her past was Nut, and the story she read was Nut’s retelling of their encounter. She runs out of the cafe, looking for him, and the narration culminates as it is revealed that Nut has gone to extreme lengths just to be with her, to reassure her that no one else’s opinion matters as long as they are together. In the end, Lalin finally develops the confidence to take off her mask, and start living without caring about other people’s judgment.

2. What is the inciting incident in the movie?

The moment Lalin receives Nut’s text to help translate his book.

3. What is the midpoint scene in the movie?

When it is revealed that Nut has landed in Japan and plans to meet Lalin in real life, this is the turning point where Lalin has to decide whether she would confront her fears or run away again.

4. What is the Climax scene in the movie?

When Lalin puts together the pieces and realizes that Nut was the guy in her past.

5.What is the theme of the movie?

The need to conform to societal expectations of beauty and its ramifications, and how one should learn how to disregard others’ judgements in order to live a fulfilling life.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Figure 2.8: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

1. Which part is act 1, act 2, act 3 respectively? Describe each act with ONE paragraph only.

Act 1
Evelyn, a middle-aged Chinese immigrant, is introduced as our main protagonist. After eloping to the United States with Waymond, they opened a laundromat and had a daughter by the name Joy. Life seems to be falling apart, and obstacles after obstacles can be found around the corner. The struggling laundromat that they own is being audited by the IRS, Evelyn’s nitpicky father, Gong Gong, wishes to visit for Chinese New Year, and Waymond wishes to serve Evelyn divorce papers. On top of that, Evelyn refuses to accept Joy’s relationship with her non-Chinese girlfriend, Becky, and hides the nature of their relationship from Gong Gong, which further strains their mother-daughter relationship. The scene switches to their audit meeting with an IRS inspector, Deidre, and things seem to be going south until Waymond gets taken over by a strange entity and persuades Evelyn to get thrown into the janitor’s closet.

Act 2

Waymond’s identity thief goes by the name Alpha Waymond, and he explains to Evelyn that he comes from another alternative universe, the Alphaverse. He explains that parallel universes are created whenever someone makes a life choice. He believes that she is the one who can save the multiverse from Jobu Tupaki, a ‘great evil’ threatening the existence of the multiverse. They are then interrupted by Alpha Deidre, and Evelyn wakes back up to reality, just in time for Waymond to convince Deidre for a last chance at fixing their tax issues. Everything seems well, until Evelyn reaches a breaking point and punches Deidre right in the face just when they were leaving, which alerts the security. Alpha Waymond reappears, defeating the guards and dragging a reluctant Evelyn along with him to unlock her true potential. In the Alphaverse, the now deceased Alpha Evelyn came up with verse-jumping technology, which allows people to gain access to the abilities, memories and even bodies of their parallel existences whenever they perform statistically unlikely actions. In an attempt to train Alpha Joy, Alpha Evelyn pushed her too hard, which caused Alpha Joy’s mind to splinter, experiencing all universes at once. Alpha Joy now goes by the name Jobu Tupaki, and is hell-bent on searching for the Evelyn in this universe. Evelyn then has to fend off Alpha Deidre, which leads her to accessing the aforementioned verse-jumping technology. She then comes face to face with Jobu Tupaki, and a fight breaks out between them. Jobu explains that she created a black hole - the “Everything Bagel” that has the ability to end reality. Evelyn is taken by a glimpse of the Everything Bagel, but before anything happens, Alpha Gong Gong arrives and knocks Jobu away. Alpha Gong Gong then leads Alpha Waymond and Evelyn to an office room, and it is revealed that he believes that Evelyn should be destroyed before her mind fractures and ends up like Jobu. Alpha Waymond disagrees, as he thinks that Evelyn has limitless potential as she is the worst version of herself, and has made so many wrong choices which in turn led to a lot of alternate universes forming. Alpha Waymond leaves, and Waymond returns. Joy then knocks on the door, returned to her actual self, and Evelyn tries to explain what she has learnt to her. Alpha Gong Gong tries to convince Evelyn to kill Joy and prevent Jobu from wreaking more havoc. Evelyn makes a choice right here, and decides that she has to become like Jobu in order to understand her, which would be key to stop Jobu from destroying the multiverse. Evelyn then has to fight Alpha Gong Gong’s soldiers, and in the midst of this, Jobu locates and kills Alpha Waymond in his own universe. Jobu then returns and confronts Evelyn, forcing her to verse-jump with Jobu. She explains that all this while, she has been searching for a version of Evelyn that can experience the nihilism that she does, and ultimately brings Evelyn to the Everything Bagel, which she plans on using it to allow herself and Evelyn to truly die. Evelyn, consumed by the meaninglessness that Jobu feels, gives in, and the other universes begin to follow suit as all the worst scenarios play out. In her current frame of mind, Evelyn accidentally stabs Waymond, succumbing to the reality that she has turned out just like Jobu Tupaki. This overwhelms her, and her fractured mind leads her to travel through multiverses with Jobu until they end up in one where they are rocks. Jobu then confesses to Evelyn, that she held out hope that Evelyn would show her that there was an answer to this meaninglessness, that life was not pointless. The Bagel was not created to end the multiverse, but to end Jobu’s futile existence.

Act 3

With this revelation, Evelyn begins to ruminate about the point of her life. She jumps into a universe, and witnesses Waymond’s begging for everyone to stop fighting and to be kind, even if life does not make sense. This leads her to an epiphany and this kindness that Waymond shows makes her start appreciating Waymond’s way of life, reframing her mindset, and decides to start fighting with empathy and bring joy to those around her. Evelyn finds Jobu, who has resolved to enter the Bagel alone. Simultaneously, Joy begs Evelyn to let her go in their home universe. Evelyn has a heart-to-heart with Joy, saying that even if it does not make sense, she would choose to spend her life with her daughter, and that she will cherish every single moment they have together, irregardless of how nonsensical life may be. Her newfound mentality and actions start repairing the damage done to the other universes and she manages to save Jobu from disappearing into the Bagel. In the end, Evelyn and her family return to normal, their relationships improve, and as Evelyn looks around at her family, she sees what she has been missing out on all along.

2. What is the inciting incident in the movie?

When Alpha Waymond appears and informs Evelyn of the existence of the multiverse and its ongoings.

3. What is the midpoint scene in the movie?

When Evelyn has to make a choice on whether she would kill Joy as Alpha Gong Gong instructed, or find an alternative way to reconcile with Jobu Tupaki.

4. What is the Climax scene in the movie?

When Evelyn, using what she has learnt from Waymond, gets Jobu Tupaki to let go of her nihilistic perspective and saves her.

5.What is the theme of the movie?

The importance of kindness in an uncaring universe, of appreciating life as it is in spite of its futility, and how human connections, especially within family, gives life a purpose.

WEEK 7 (03/06/2024)

Adjusting Luminosity:

Figure 2.9: Luminosity Settings

Temperature and Tint:

Figure 2.10: Temperature & Tint

Adjustment Layer and Colour Wheel:

Figure 2.11: Adjustments

Final Outcome

REFLECTION

WEEK 1 (22/04/2024)

For the first week of class we were given clips to compile on Adobe Premiere Pro. This helped me train my skills on figuring out how to sequence clips. I learned that some of the clips were cut by dialogue and some were cut by action, it was like figuring out a puzzle. I also realise that if you watch the timeline a few times the clips that were placed wrongly would not make sense to the storyline overall.

WEEK 2 (09/04/2024)

On week 2, we learned about the types of cinematic shots and how to angle these shots for it to make sense. Certain angles are taken to give impact to the storyline and there is a reason it exists. We were also given an exercise to take videos based on the angles, this gave me a clearer idea on what type of cinematic shots are portrayed in movies.

WEEK 3 (06/05/2024)

I learned about the three-act structure this week and we were instructed the breakdown the structure for Lalin and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Watching these movies after learning about the three-act structure helped me figure out a pattern for these movies and what is essential for a good storyline. It is also easier to understand the movie better when you break it down into sections.

WEEK 4 (13/05/2024)

For week 4, we were divided into groups to discuss the audio breakdown spreadsheet for Project 1. I had never heard of a breakdown spreadsheet before, it helps to partition each scene and establishing the timestamps to figure out where to place the audios. That way the editing process is more organised and it helps that I know where to place the audio clips.

Marsya Arisa Binti Mahmud (0359684)

VIDEO & SOUND PRODUCTION/EXERCISES

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