Incorporating Animation Into Raw Footage - The Lightening Bolts

The way that Scott Pilgrim blends animation with live action gives off a sense of speed and chaos, in conjunction with the scene which involves a band opening a fast paced and erratic song. To replicate this I did a quick test using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. First I created a similar lightening bolt to the ones used in Scott Pilgrim with a simple white box and the lasso tool:

Next I duplicated the layer, synched it so it was slightly to the left, and turned down the opacity. A further lightening bolt layer to which I applied a motion blur:

I then imported the image into Premiere, put four of the same image into the timeline, and adjusted sizes accordingly so the bolt would grow bigger and smaller again. Repeatedly copying and pasting the frames created this ten second test clip:

Using the multiply tool in Premiere and key framing the video to match the raw footage, adding some colour synch to replicate the borders of the original lightening bolt will hopefully make for a satisfying replication of the animation on the original Scott Pilgrim opening credits. 

The Technique Of The Shot

The particular shot I have chosen to analyse is the one at the very end of the chosen clip, right before the opening credits. A series of practical and visual effects will need to be completed, namely the integration of text and moving visuals which are effects which are generally dealt with after the initial shoot. The matter at hand now stands with that daunting set extension:

Before this shot is revealed, the room appears substantially smaller, which means that when setting this shot up we will have to move locations. The idea of using a spacious village hall has been talked about, in which we can use a smaller space within the hall to shoot the initial segments and then move onto the bigger space once it comes to shooting this shot. Props can be moved around and it can therefore be made to look like the same space initially before panning out to reveal more.

There is the issue with the amount of technology we have at our disposal, for example the current dolly tracks we are allowed to use do not stretch far enough, and also you would be able to see them in frame as it pans out. The solution to this is to, rather than use a dolly track, to use one of these:

Tripods can be attached to one of these and they glide relatively smoothly across a floor (a slight bump in a moving shot can be fixed with the Warp Stabiliser tool on Premiere Pro).

The clip (shown in the previous post) ends with the camera swooping over the sofa to reveal Knives and Neil, silhouetted, watching the band's performance. Because the use of a camera crane (the technique used for this shot in Scott Pilgrim) is not within our grasp at the moment, additional footage of two silhouetted figures will have to be shot against a green screen, or a JPEG image taken of two people on a sofa, the background replaced with green and then it be integrated into the final shot via chroma keying and key framing.

These initial techniques will hopefully be a cost effective way of replicating the shot, at least in terms of practical effects. Visual effects come later.

My Group Decision: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (and possibly final destination)

After presenting the clips shown, we have decided to try and replicate a clip from the fantastic 2010 graphic novel adaptation 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World'. The clip in question is right before the opening credits (starts at 1:08 and finishes at 1:42)


Presenting erratic animation overlaying the shot, some tricky lighting techniques, fast cuts, whip pans and warped reality (shown here as a set extension tracking out to the sofa before the main title appears) this clip should prove to be a challenge, and indeed a lot of fun, to replicate. To take into account here is the following:

-How we are going to track out revealing a spontaneous long corridor/occupied sofa
-How we are going to light the scene to match the original
-What space we are going to use to shoot the scene
-How we are going to blend the lightning sound animation into raw footage
-How we are going to achieve the lightning sound animation in the first place
-Key framing moving titles into the shot effectively

So far, I believe that the 2D animations which are implemented into the shots will be the easiest to complete, as the process basically consists of hand drawing the frames, importing them into premiere and after fitting them together and looping them, place them over the raw footage and key frame accordingly.

The most difficult aspect will inevitably be the long track from the band to the sofa, which requires a suddenly elongated set space or a lot of complicated visual effects work. I now need to look into various visual effects techniques and/or appropriate sets if this effect is going to be achieved properly.

An issue with time (as in the replicated clip is less than one minute) has opened up an opportunity to also recreate the opening credits for final destination, a clip which requires next to no space and everyday props. The main challenge for this clip will be the titles which appear:

Probably be a lot harder to animate than it looks

POSSIBLE FILM CLIP #2. In Bruges 'Aye Aye'

It could be said that In Bruges is praised mainly on story and stellar performances from it's two leads. Whilst this is true, it is also an unusually aesthetically pleasing film, namely the scene in question which makes excellent use of shadow and a dull blue colour palette, signifying a darkly comical moment within a tense crime story. The clip is unavailable for embedding however the link is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVHSA5DWEI

The way this scene cuts to the reactions of the two characters in the room is, in my opinion, perfect. Most of the time Ralph Fiennes is speaking, it is focused on him, however the audience responds to the scene perfectly due to the masterful way that as soon as you expect a character to react to the brash English attitude, it cuts to them. In terms of framing and indeed the colour palette, it sets an incredibly uneasy tone which is faithful to the themes displayed in the film, in this case, revenge, loyalty and personalities ground down by circumstance. Below is a single frame from the clip, demonstrating the cold, harsh colour which could be an interesting challenge to achieve through lighting and colour correction:

The way that Ralph Fiennes character is singled out from his surroundings achieves a sense of alienation; the idea of being thrown into a different culture and the way his particular character reacts to this is unusual, bold and ultimately very funny. Like I said before, this scene creates a very cold atmosphere through the muted blue colour correction, which would be the main focus of the project should this clip be chosen.

Unlike the first clip I have chosen, this may appear to be subdued in terms of actual post production, but it is ultimately what you do not see upon a first viewing which is most effective, which is why I believe this clip would be a very interesting and more subtle challenge to replicate.

POSSIBLE FILM CLIP #1. Final Destination - Opening Credits

Although considered by many to be a relatively mediocre 2000's slasher film, Final Destination is, at least for its first two acts, filled with some fantastic visual moments. Namely, its opening credits are rife with visual plot foreshadowing, a tense, foreboding musical score and a general sense of fracture. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdNpDFvNmZc

The sharp reflections which fade in along with the text demonstrate an understanding of the needs of its target audience; it is essentially a slasher film and what better way to show this than showing sharp objects and occurrences, namely thunder, a fluttering desk fan and text laid over what appears to be fractured glass.

Another incredibly interesting trait of this particular clip is the way it blends one shot with another. As the camera pans down the window, revealing a disturbing doll figure hanging in space, a slight fade, coupled with the sound of thunder, then another slight fade followed by a cut, is the way it blends together two shots, which could have been achieved with a simple cut. The desk fan (which when zoomed into, is actually an incredibly effective representation of fear of the unknown. What did I see behind those blades and bars of metal? I cannot tell, for a great majority of the time I see blurred outlines, which reveal only to briefly what is behind) acts as an anchor for the unnerving buzz prevalent  in the credits. Sound here primarily anchors a cut or a fade, something which i personally find very aesthetically pleasing. As the shot fades to reveal an extreme close up of the fan, the volume increases, followed by a sound effect which to our ears appears to be a knife being sharpened, coinciding with a credit appearing in the film's trademark 'cut glass' text visual.

Use of sound in conjunction with editing as well as the fantastic visual representation of turn of the century slasher horror is why this excerpt interests me so much. I believe it will be a rewarding challenge to replicate such a visual and auditory feast. 

A face behind the fan?

Fractured and monotone, what a way to start a slasher film

Documenting My Production Practice

Hello There

My name is Ben Kersey and I am a second year film student studying at Falmouth University, Cornwall. For this semester I am taking the module 'Editing and Post Production'; part of this module is providing a production portfolio of the task in hand which is essentially recreating a scene from a film. a shot for shot representation of a visually striking, craftily edited piece of cinema. And so, from today, many a post will show up on here describing in detail how me, and indeed others taking the same module, will choose a short clip, deconstruct and analyse it, decide how we can feasibly represent the visuals of each shot, plan and film these shots, edit them together (which includes any visual/special effects work which needs to be composited) and finally how we inevitably sit back and smile gleefully at our finished product, with champagne and high fives all round. 

If anyone is wondering about the meaning of the title, it is a combination of my favourite director Danny Boyle's first film Shallow Grave, and just the word 'Title', because what better way to represent a title with the word itself. Maybe. I don't know I may change it, so it fits in more with the task at hand but for now, lets see how it pans out.

"I'm not scared! I'm a little terrified maybe" Alex Law, Shallow Grave