AFTER EFFECTS KEY LIGHT (2.1) TUTORIAL

How and why to use green screen

In this tutorial I am going to look at how and why to use a green or blue screen properly for composition I will be looking in to camerawork, lighting, tracking markers, setting up properly and finally there will be a video tutorial on how to use key light 2.1 in after effects. The reason I am going to be looking into this is because I know I had a few problems when first using this technology as well as giving a few hints and tips when using this method.

Ok first of all there are a few reasons why you would use this the main reason would be if u need to create either a different background as you are filming your actors and maybe a) because you are using a cg background and designing it or b) you already have your background and wish to put your actors in it. For me the initial reason was why, I have created a cg background ready for my piece and will show you how to use all the elements to let you create a successful project

Setting up

First of all you need to get yourself a good quality green/blue screen hopefully you will be able to get a hold of a studio, if not then get a hold of some good quality cloth no marks and the least amount of creases possible if there are a few you should try to iron these out, reason being is that the colours blue and green don’t have a very large amount of white pigment such as other colours if you use other colours such as red or pink the amount of other colours that are used in them and because of the amount of white then when processing the illusion of a different background it will try and cover other colours that u may not have accounted for, you need to arrange your camera so that you have all green in the shot if there is floor that is not green then I suggest you should put a green carpet or green cloth on the floor if u have a ground shot, also arrange the camera so that there is not a lot of movement on the camera the last thing you want is a jiggling camera especially when it comes to tracking so get yourself a stand if it’s a single still shot or a rolling stand if you want a moving shot o and by the way make sure the floor is clean if your using a rolling camera and have lumps all over the floor your going to have a lumpy movement on your camera.

Lighting

When lighting your scene you need to make sure your using a few lights. There are three points to any shot, the foreground, middle ground or main point and background all of these points need to be lit in there own way lets start with the background, the background has to be lit in its own way, keep the lights high as low lights may screw up other lighting for the other focal points have the light directing down towards the bottom of the screen but still facing the screen this will also try to eliminate shadows from your actors also have a few more lights at the side of the screen toward the back so it keeps the background evenly lit, the reason you need to keep it evenly lit is so that the computer can recognize which parts are green and which parts aren’t , if your using a screen then I recommend putting weights at the bottom of the screen to keep the screen from waving. Ok the main focus of your action needs to be specifically lit for the purpose of what you want to film e.g. in a club (DIM), on a beech (BRIGHT) so arrange the lighting for how you want to use it and finally the fore ground needs just enough light for the cameras sensor to pick up. On a Digital slr in my case a canon EOS 500D the iso needs to know how much light it is taking in, to bright and you will have a washed out film to low and u wont be able to see anything.

Tracking

I’m going to be talking a little about tracking but I’m not going to actually tack my shot because I have a still shot I am going to use for the purpose of this tutorial, tracking means using points on your shot to understand the movement of the camera programmes such as bojou, matchmover and after effects can analyze these marker points and transfer them into data, so u can add the movements to your cg camera, this will only work if you have enough markers for your movement and also you will need to know the focal point, aperture and iso settings to get a true movement to your camera also I recommend that you clean the floor because I know from experience you can get really bumpy shots when moving the camera.

And here now is my tutorial on after effects.

JOB SEARCH....

Looking into jobs

          For the purpose of this blog I have looked into two different jobs I have been looking into for a long time, I will be looking into there requirements for a student role and also what it take to take the job on full time, I will also be wearing up my skills and see if they match what the companies look for in there employees and if I do not have these current qualities how I can achieve them.

1. Disney animation studios- Pixar: 

          In my opinion Disney Pixar is the biggest animation company in the world, based in California along with DreamWorks. First of all disney have been around forever meaning that they have built a cult status for them selves for everyone from 2/3-year-old kids to grown men crying at the sight of bambi’s mum. Having that impact on generations is something that I have respected and idealised since I became interested in animation also after there merger in 2006 with Pixar who also have rebuilt the animation industry with the eyes of John Lasseter and a little help from Steve Jobs, disney have just got bigger and bigger with new franchises such as toy story, cars, wall-e, the incredibles and a whole host of animations has paved the way and left other company's quivering in the dust, this has been a key aspect into why i am interested in animation and it would be an honour and a privilege to work for such an esteemed group.

2. Double negative

           Double negative is a company close to Ravensbourne only situated 8.6 miles from where I am currently typing at Ravensbourne. The collage has link to this company, similar to company’s like FrameStore with easy access on the train this is a geographically friendly option also with the company having worked on huge films like Inception and Harry Potter makes the company very appealing the only down side is that the company is mainly into visual effects and I like animation and 3d design more, also since i have been looking into them more and more i have looked at a couple of videos of what its like to work at DNEG and it seems like a really fun and active place to work.

I have created a list below of a things that both companys are looking for in a good employee.

* Experience with working in a animation Environment and or production style film or related Field.

* Experience with working collaboratively 

* Problem solving skills within a 3D environment.

* Through Knowledge of 3D software such as maya

* Well versed in the principle of animation

* Adaptable and highly motivated

How i compare 

              Now Out of these skills and attributes i feel that i have a good understanding of animation principles and problem solving skills within a 3d environment, i also feel i have a better than average understanding of maya because of my problem solving skills, this has helped me to not only test out new ideas and to look into new buttons and technology to help fix problems i come into it helps that i currently work within an IT environment working at Pc world this already gives me new challenges each day.  The two qualities to do with experience that both company s would wish for me to have e.g working with other people and working within an animation environment, i feel i do have a average understanding of working within animation environment as i am currently almost two years through an animation degree out of three this gives me knowledge and understanding about software and principles and as for working collaboratively in both parts of my life university and Work, i work in groups all the time this gives me a step up as i make friends easily and can build a rapport with anyone as i have had specialist training called fives.

Overall I feel if i was doing a sort of traffic light like evaluation of myself (RED being BAD AMBER being GOOD and GREEN being GREAT) i would rate myself as amber as i think i have most of the qualities needed to be able to pass the job interview i personally feel though that i have a lot to learn Within animation.

JAMES TOMKINS

composition blog

Hi this is James Tomkins

My blog is going to consist on what we did and why and who done it.

as i was the first person and the curator of my group which we have nicknamed gaj i was the ideas man and my idea was to create a modern day version of macbeth and it developed into a trailer for shakesperes midsummers nights dream i like the idea of mixture of cg and live action, i then got into a group of me gaberiel boyle and alex tarry gabe was in charge of booking the venue and writing the script we got put behind two weeks because of avaliability and gabes granddad dieing alex was in charge of filming,texturing building and designing the bathroom scene helped composite and created story boards
I was in charge of casting animation tracking filming acting modeling textureing set design compositing head of morale, camera man basicaly everything research.