Zachary Willard Film/Blender

Pre-Production For this upcoming production I decided to partner up with Andrew. I wanted to be able to focus on the role of the cinematographer and VFX artist. As the cinematographer I worked with Andrew on the storyboard. One of the investigations that I did was on lighting which also further educated me in the art of cinematography. I also helped come up with the concept for the film although Andrew did almost all of the writing. With the cinematographer role I was mostly focused on the use of lighting for my blender digital set. This is because I had complete free reign over the lighting for the set since it was done on a computer. The other thing is when working with science fiction color in lighting is key. For my blender project every light that I used was a color. There was not a single white light used to light the scene. As the VFX artist I had to perform every job. Since I was starting from scratch I looked at concept art online for the sci-fi look I was trying to achieve....

What is Subtext? Subtext is an underlying and often distinct theme within a piece of work. In film there are many ways to add subtext. The most common and notable way to create subtext is with visual elements. The following video shows ways that a film can incorporate subtext visually. Subtext can also be added into a film in the writing process. Keeping a theme as you write is essential to producing a film that is coherent and orderly in structure. One way a text can include meaning is discussed in Roland Barthes system of meaning. Roland Barthes Five Codes of Meaning Barthes identifies five different kinds of semiotic elements that are common to all texts. He gathers these signifiers into five codes: Hermeneutic, Proairetic, Semantic, Symbolic, and Cultural. The Hermeneutic Code contains anything in the text that is mysterious or unexplained, usually leading to questions which the reader needs answered. Using this code allows for the writer to keep the audi...

What is Photorealism? Photorealism is a term that is used in reference to a piece of 3D art which appears to be as real as a photograph. Photorealism is important for film because CGI is being used more and more. If something doesn't look real than it can bring the audience out of the story. The point of film is to share a story with the audience. That story can make people feel things or make them think things. Either way, the audience can't be impacted by the film if it doesn't seem genuine. Most people give CGI a bad rap saying that it is ruining film. I however disagree because I think people only notice the bad CGI. The following video talks about the does and don'ts of CGI and why it should be used.  How do you create photorealistic CGI? There are many steps to creating a realistic looking piece of CG work. In the following work there are many things that go into making the render appear to be a real photo. I'm going to be going through the essentia...

Tristan We had watched Tristan's film The Forgotten in class and I was really impressed. What impressed me most about his film is the amount that he filmed by himself. I have tried to film sequences of a project by myself before and it is a very strenuous and time consuming process. I was also impressed by the use of editing when Dean is trying to reach his friends to hangout. The way the sequence is cut together allowed for me to see how hard Dean was trying and failing to connect with people. This was probably the most emotionally felt sequence in the entire film. Something that I learned from seeing Tristans presentation was how to utilize practice footage. This is a concept where you go to a location maybe alone or with a stand-in and you test shots. After hearing about this I will use this when I am planning my own films. It is very helpful and efficient to know exactly where you want the camera to be on location. If I used practice shots I wouldn't have had to s...

Why Music? Music is an essential part of film. It can be used to set the tone for a scene or to drive the action. When used correctly in conjunction with visuals, music can transform the emotional experience of a film. Some of the most memorable moments of a film are because of the score. Film scores can be used to build tension, fear, or any emotion. For this investigation I will be learning about how to create a film score. The Psychological Effect of Music In Film 1 during our study of film history we discussed what is known as the Kuleshov effect. The Kuleshov effect is an analysis of how the audiences interpretation of an image changes in relation to the next image. So if you have a man with a neutral face and you cut to a hamburger and back to the man he looks hungry. Similarly, music creates a tone for the visuals presented to the audience. This tone is what allows the audience to understand the emotions they are intended to be feeling while viewing the film. A grea...