Tips for Final Cut Express

Hey Everyone,

For our music video projects we will be using Final Cut instead of iMovie. I'm excited to use this program, but I have no clue how to! It is much different than the iMovie we use in class. I've noticed they made iMovie '11 to look more like Final Cut, but it is still a lot different for me. To learn the basics of Final Cut I found this video. I like this tutorial because it is clear, simple and concise. Take a look below.

The good thing about this video is the creator clearly outlines what each part of your screen is for and how it is used. In Final Cut, there is a canvas to make edits on which seems like a new feature iMovie did not seem to have. You can rotate clips on the canvas and create many interesting effects. The distort tool is one interesting effect that can be done. With it you can distort your clips any way you want. Apple also has some nice tricks and basic tutorials for Final Cut on their website.

Hope this helps!

~K

20 Minute Challenge -SketchUp First Try

Hey Everyone,
Here is a 20 minutes attempt at creating my flower chair in sketch up. For never using the program I'm happy I was able to get the basic shape of the chair.

Tips For Film

Hey Everyone,

We are currently making music videos for song we like in class. For my project, I wanted to do something a bit different so it was more interesting. To do this I chose to use unique cinematography to create interesting visual effects. Part of this is choosing what type of camera angles to use and how you will compose a shot. I found this site as a refresher for myself and thought it might be helpful to any inspiring filmmakers. It outlines how you can create interesting shots and gives some examples. Some shots and angles listed on the site are: extreme long shot, close-up, bird's eye view, eye level view and many more. Check it out!

Below is a video also on camera angles and techniques. Primary it talks about action shots.

One very interesting thing in this video is 'zolly'. This is the effect of using a dolly and zooming in to create an intense moment. I found this video clear and very helpful. I hope this helps as well. Let me know if you learned anything new!

~K

Romanticism

Hey Everyone,

Recently we studied the Romantic time period of art and were asked to create a piece of art consisting of what romanticism is. I chose to do my piece of art as a collage and to make it represent the sublime in nature. My idea was to show a couple having a picnic in a valley while a storm approached from beyond the mountains. This shows the powerful and unforgiving attributes nature holds as well as the beauty it shows.

My collage utilizes lights and darks to create a focal point and emphasize upon the lower half of the page. It was important to create this effect as it further contrasts the peaceful picnic with the approaching storm. I also used some colour contrast to help create a focal point. It was really important to me that the focus be on the couple and lower half of the page so I used colour contrast to make them stand out more. I used shades of red against the green valley grass to create contrast and made the people white in contrast to everything on the page. No no other element of the collage is white.

To create my composition, I used line to create movement that lead your eyes around in a triangular composition. Your eyes are first drawn to the bottom of the page to the point of the triangle and then you notice the storm clouds across the base of the triangle. I believe this was an effective composition because it brings you into the reality of the collage. Your eyes are first drawn to the serenity of the picnic like the people there would be, but then you notice the storm looming overhead much like the couple would eventually see.

To create more unity within the piece I used different shaped pieces of paper, roughly around the same size, to create every aspect of the scene. The different pieces of paper form cohesive shapes which makes the collage very unified. I also used values of colour to create gradation within the sky. That helped to create movement and once again bring the focus to the bottom half.

Technically, I had few problems , but I would not suggest someone with little patience to make a collage. The amount of time and repetition creating a collage takes can be really annoying, but yet somehow calming. I hope you liked this and feel free to leave a comment below!

~K

Beastly

Hey Everyone,

A few days ago I saw the movie Beastly. At first I was apprehensive about seeing it as it looked a bit cheesy, but it was actually pretty good. In fact, I was quite amazed at the effects they used and the imagery they chose to convey ideas with.

I think for me, the most startling effect created in this movie was the transformation between the beast and the main character. I cannot understand how they did it. I'm torn between saying it was some mighty awesome graphics or some really sick make-up. Which ever it was, or even a mixture of, they really did a great job. He looked so different from his normal looks, it was shocking.

The second cool thing about this movie was the imagery the directors used. They used different flowers and literature to represent moods and feelings. I thought this was very nice in the film as it contrasted with the "ugliness" of the beast. The "beauty" of the flowers and literature show a different type of artistry in the movie rather then grotesque appearances. These aspects were very symbolic if the story.

Art and graphics really are in everything and are so inspirational to look at. I hope you check this movie out and get inspired to use more symbolism in your work.

~K