Shot by shot - Jeremy Vineyard

A truly interesting book. This book has broadened my look on the cinematography. With the knowledge about general camera movement, techniques of editing, montage and other things I understand the meaning and use of them. It was interesting to read about technical side of the filmmaking, because now it makes sense, why the particular camera movement was used in this moment and not that and what director wanted to achieve with it. Every memorable scene from my favourite films appeares in diffirent way. Moreover, it's always interesting and useful to know this information, because, you know, for example, what emotions or information can give particular camera movement.
Now when I am watching the film I am paying attention to its structure. The same effect
I had when I started to learn perspective.



There are certain rules in camera technique, editing, montage... But you must understand that rules can be broken.
"What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken." - Morpheus; The Matrix.

Thanks. I enjoyed reading it.

Unit 4 Story-Telling

1500 word written assignment that analyses critically one film in terms of the relationship between story and structure; camera movement, editing, and the order of scenes.

We are asked to devise and pre-produce an original one minute animation.

A finished three-act story story idea
Supporting concept are/set and character design
A final presentation storyboard
Animatic with sound & transition
A cg pre-vizualisation

To create a story we have to use a 3 random words.
I have :
Ballet Dancer
Parcel Tape
Desert Island

Cg pre-viz




Storyboard and Animatics A Journey

Poltergeist

Poltergeist is a 1982 film directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film “Poltergreist” is a remarkable example of the mystic horror, which is able to frighten even nowadays. The plot was made out by Steven Spielberg. I must admit, that composition deserves a separate award: twenty minutes until the end, when you are ready to relax, suddenly, you receive another hit on your head with additional horror. The excellent special effects make this film look good even in the present days. The film is still popular. I think, first of all, that this happened, because it was parodied in the film “Scary Movie 2” 2001 by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Parody is, to an extent, an indication of high quality of original.

Of course, content of the film is not deep – even in the other world the souls continue suffering and feel emotions. Don’t be a greedy and don’t try to connect to the other world. And you don’t try to build own happiness on the bones of others (the little town, where are living the family is built on the graveyard). In my opinion, Spielberg also represents his own attitude to the television.

Overall, the film “Poltergeist” is qualitative.

Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet is a 1986 American mystery film written and directed by David Lynch, that exhibits elements of both film noir and surrealism.

Blue Velvet is able to strike you unpleasantly not so much with its brutality, but rather with harshness in the interpretation of people’s characters, who are living in the “little golden America”. Frank Booth, who inflicts his bizarre sexual proclivities — which include Inhaling Nitrous Oxide, dry humping, and sadomasochism — upon Dorothy, will be more frightening than thousand maniacs and undisguised monsters, who frighten the trusty audience from the television screens. And unrestrained insane sensuality of Dorothy Vallens gradually goes out of control and crushes the stream of voluptuousness on the minds of the audience. However the scenes of sexual abuse of pure souls are more impressive. Sexual abuse is committed with their permission – Jeffrey Beaumont after the session of the voyeurism becomes a competent participant of events. And after returning to the routine life, personified by Sandy, submits to the fact that his innocence is lost.

The picture is received as a thriller with elements of black humor comedy. Formally, the borders of reality are not broken and infernal events get truthful and logic explanations. However, the unfortunate ear is shown as an allusion to a basic symbol of surrealism not accidently – the eye, which was cut without hesitation by Louis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, anticipating their journey through human subconsciousness. David Lynch expands the picture by including all other sense organs: hearing, sense of smell, sense of taste and sense of touch. It is possible to pick up any of these senses to penetrate into the mysterious world, the entrance of which is only sealed by curtains of blue velvet. The world is frightening to the depths and insuperably attractive at the same time.

In this, I suppose, lies the reason of powerful affection of “Blue Velvet”. By the end of the viewing I had a sense that the story is a whole lot deeper. David Lynch does not deny the presence of autobiographical motives, but gives the film a slightly broader sound. It is sort of a peculiar global session of psychoanalysis that helps to reach into the collective unconscious – the unconscious of the whole modern civilization. Of course, by the example of USA, where the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is an analogue, at least, to the Fall of humankind described in the Bible.

F.Scene, Background.

Textures
Chest_S

chest_C

Chest_B

Wallpaper_S

Wallpaper_C

Plinth_S

Plinth_C

Plinth_B

Final Scene

One of them is my Final Scene - they are all the same, but have different color correction.




Maya Render

Scene progression

Santa Hat

Fur Tutorial #2

baldness

clumping

high density

low density

inclination

polar render

roll

Custom fur craggle

Fur Tutorial #1

Sample density

Bear fur global density "5.000"

Bear fur default global density

Sheep fur plain

Porcupine fur plain

Polar bear fur + lambert shader

Polar bear fur with shader scale

Polar fur plain

Bison fur

Bear fur plain

Bear fur shadow

Bear + bison blend fur

Bear baldness

Sheep + Porcupine blend