Shot_01

According to Mascelli(1965), choice of camera angle may be decided by analyzing the purpose of the shot. In the shot_01 I want to introduce the place and the background of the story.

At the beginning, it will last 4-5 seconds with a slight zoom in and shining.

The spaceship appears at the left side of the image with a high angle.

In this shot, audience could feel its power and appreciate its details on the main body.

In the end of this shot, the spaceship is at the right side of the image with a low angle.

The shot_01 is a camera animation. Obviously, the spaceship is coming from the left side and leaving at the right side, which will make the audience feel comfortable and balance. The audience also could understand where it comes from and will go. (I will make more details in the background.) In the shot, the camera angle is translating from high angle to eye-level angle, then to low angle, which is beneficial for audience to understand its structure. Especially, in the low angle, audience could feel its huge power from its propeller, as it looks much bigger within such an angle, audience also could clearly understand its destination from its direction.

The series of camera angle is the progressive viewpoint. According to Mascelli(1965), in a progressive series, each angle is either greater (or smaller) than the preceding angle. Angles may also progress in height, going from low to eye-level to high angle (or may regress in opposite manner). Or they may progress in relation to the subject, such as going from front to side to rear angle. Any series of angles progressing in orderly fashion- in or out, up or down, or around, the subject- is governed by this principle.

The right view of the spaceship in the software

The top view of the spaceship in the software

The yellow lines in two pictures are the movement path of the camera. I make it smooth, avoiding severe shaking, which will make audience have some misunderstandings. 

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

About My Animation

First I will talk about a piece of animation "Appleseed", which is made in Japan in 2004. It deeply touched me for two reasons when I watched it for the first time. One is it has used motion capture to put real performence into an animation. The other is the combination of the real effect of scenes with the cartoon material of the character. I like it very much as it has a sharp contrast to make images more powerful.

The picture is from APPLESEED made in Japan in 2004.

http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%C6%BB%B9%FB%BA%CB%D5%BD%BC%C7&in=18873&cl=2&lm=-1&pn=6&rn=1&di=25692066405&ln=1799&fr=&fmq=&ic=&s=&se=&sme=0&tab=&width=&height=&face=&is=&istype=

So in my animation I want to make the scenes more realistic but the material of characters is cartoon to improve the visual impact. However I will make it by key frame rather than motion capture, as the appearence of my character is exaggerated, which I need to magnify its action to match its figure.

The picture shows the models of my current work The Guest.

However I have tried the cartoon materials before, but it is not successful.

The two pictures are from my work The Rock & The Opera in 2006.

Obviously there is no influency on character's surface by intensity of lights and shadows. Maybe as its face is made by textures instead of models. One point of my current research is lighting design in the narrative so I will solve such a problem in terms of materials and models.

Employing Camera Angles_Area

I have introduced progressive (or regressive) shots last week, and today I learned some other different shots, like contrasting shots and repetitious shots.

Contrasting angles are pairs of shots employing camera angles in direct opposition to each other. A high angle may be followed by a low angle, such as dialogues between a tall people and a child facing to each other, like two pictures below. Camera angles should be dramatically opposing in viewpoint to be most effective. According to Mascelli( 1965) , each pair of shots should have sufficient difference in image size to provide suitable contrast. 

Both of them are from One Man Band made by Pixar.

Repetitious shots utilize a series of same size images, which means repetitious angles are series of similar angles applied to the same of different subject matter. A series of shots may be filmed from the same angle at intervals, to show various stages of manufacturing process. Of course It also may be employed to film different people, objects or actions.

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

Camera Angles Test

It is happening in the spaceship. The story of this part is that the man receives the UFO, and it is sent into cockpit by lift.

At the beginning, the cylinder (lift) and the man are all in the frame, the camera on front of them and at the left side. At this moment the cylinder does not appear completely, which is just a little bit higher than the ground. The shot attracts audience focusing on the man and the cylinder, and introduces their space relationship. 

This is the layout of the camera movement. 1 is its beginning position and 2 is ending position. The red line is its motion curve.

Then the cylinder is moving upward slowly and the camera is spinning around them until forming 45 degrees with the man, like the picture above. During the time, the camera is closer to the man and has a higher angle, which gradually make his face in a bigger size, in order to attract audience focusing on his facial expressions, anxious and curious. The audience will feel his psychological movement and curious about what objects are in the UFO and how the man will do next. Obviously the camera angle and camera movement are beneficial for the story development in the narrative.

Solution of Camera Long Shot

Today I have solved the problem of cameral long shot for internal spaceship.

I can use different parameter settings of a camera to change its point of view, just like using a real camera. So it is possible to make a camera long shot within a certain airtight space.

This is the interface of the camera.

I can add some special materials on camera to make the frame dramatically, like cartoon ink.

Problems of Long Shot

Recently I had a problem of camera long shot.

If I want to make a long shot of the internal spaceship to make more things within the frame, the camera will be easily outside of it. The picture below is showing the screen and control pannel in the spaceship, if I make more things within the frame, the camera will be outside. However I can not delete any surface of it to put camera in a longer position as the lighting effects will be influenced. I have to solve this problem. 

Employing Camera Angles_Area

According to Mascelli (1965), the area photographed may be employed in various combinations to produce a motion picture story with visual variety, dramatic interest, cinematic continuity.

The area photographed determines the subject's image size on the film. The camera may film long shots, with tiny images; or close-ups, with large iamges. Image sizes may be employed in a series of shots to present the event in a progressive( or regressive), contrasting or repetitious manner.

Progressive shots utilize a series of images increasing or decreasing in size. Sequences may proceed from long shot to medium shot to clese-up; or procedure may be resersed. The sequence may begin and end with any type of shot. Most important is the progressive change in image size from shot to shot.

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

Space Lighting Test_ Spaceship Model

Interface with wireframe on shaded

This is the spaceship model without any materials and textures.

The story will happen in the universe, where most of people have never seen it before. They usually appreciate its mystique from wathcing films. So I have to watch more films, to analyse and summarize how to illuminate the space to make audience understand the place of the story happening for the narrative.

This is the photo American arrived at the moon for the first time.

http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=0&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%B0%A2%B2%A8%C2%DE%B5%C7%D4%C2&in=30877&cl=2&lm=-1&pn=0&rn=1&di=42888064188&ln=2000&fr=&fmq=&ic=&s=0&se=&sme=0&tab=&width=&height=&face=&is=&istype=2

This picture is from Wall-E made by Pixar in 2007.

From two pictures above, we can find that the shadows are very hard in the universe.

This picture is from Wall-E made by Pixar in 2007.

This picture is from Wall-E made by Pixar in 2007.

This picture is from Starship Troopers in 1997.

So in the universe the light is cold and its contrast is hard.

Reference:

http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=0&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%B0%A2%B2%A8%C2%DE%B5%C7%D4%C2&in=30877&cl=2&lm=-1&pn=0&rn=1&di=42888064188&ln=2000&fr=&fmq=&ic=&s=0&se=&sme=0&tab=&width=&height=&face=&is=&istype=2

The pictures are from Wall-E made by Pixar and Starship Troopers.

The Experiences of Holding an Exhibition

Last week I went to London to help my friend Jingjing Han to hold his first exhibition. The painter is a Chinese artist named Luo Qing. The exhibition was hold in the basement of a church, which is matched for its scheme: life, death, ideal and reality.

I like this exhibiton very much and during these days, I have learned a lot of things. This is the first time I participated in stage lighting design work, which is similar to my project and inspires me a lot.

Amazing dancing at the beginning of the exhibition

The designer is a nice girl graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Since the area is not too big and the audience could be close to the stage, she just uses three lights for illuminating, one is top lighting and the others are side lightings faced each other. The top light has a relative small illuminating range which could express people's contradictions and constraints status, like something bounded in a limited area. However, the two side lights could shape dancer's body strongly, expressing the conflict between their strong heart and weak response. On the other way, side lights allow dancer moving in a big area to some extent.

The performance is combined with the video on the screen to heighten the atmosphere, which reveals the contradictory between ideal and reality. So the intensity of lights are low to make sure the screen is clearly enough for the audience. 

working photos

Hollywood Telt "Dutch" Angles

In Hollywood studio parlance a "Dutch" angle is a crazily-titled camera angle, according to Mascelli(1965), which the vertical axis of the camera is at an angle to the vertical axis of the subject, so that it slopes diagonally, off-balance. Such slanted images must be used with discretion to avoid detracting from the story-telling sometimes. They could be reserved for sequences when weird, violent, unstable, impressionistic or other novel effects are required.

For instance, a player who has lost his equilibrium, he is drunk or delirious, or in a high emotional state, may be shown to advantage in a titled shot, or a series of tilted shots, perhaps in pairs of opposing tilts, so that the audience realizes he is behaving irrationally.

These shots may be combined with subjective point-of-view shots, in which the upset player sees other players or events in a tilted off-balance series of shots.

These two pictures are from The.Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004.

They are combined for the narrative vividly. We could clearly understand that the incredible man is attacked strongly, he is off-balance and fainting. 

Then the killer girl is appearing and walking to him, which is important for the next step.  

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

The pictures are from The.Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004.

Camera Height_Low Angle

A low-angle shot is any shot in which the camera is titled upward to view the subject.

Low angles should be used when desirable to inspire awe, or excitement; increase subject height or speed; separate players or objects; eliminate unwanted foreground; drop the horizon and eliminate the background; distort compositional lines and create a more forceful perspective; position players or objects against the sky; and intensify dramatic impact.

Low angle shots of religious objects or architecture, such as a crucifix or church interior, may inspire awe in the audience, because the viewer is placed in a lowly position from which he must look up to the symbol of the Almighty. The same effect is useful in filming important personages, such as a President, judge or company executive.

The picture is from The Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004. From the low angle, the audience could identify the robot's big size in relationship with surrounding buildings.

Low camera angles are also useful when one player should look up to another player who dominates the story at that point. The star, or dominant character in a scene, may stand out from a group if he is positioned slightly forward of the others and filmed from a low angle. This will cause him to tower over the players behind him. This simple trick will give a player prominence, and allow him to dominate the event.

The picture is from The Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004. Obviously the big guy in the middle of the image is the main character dominating the other people.

A low angle is excellent for cheating a cut-away reaction close-up against the sky, or other nondescript background. Dropping the horizon out of the frame removes all background identity  and permits filming such close-ups almost anywhere at any time.

The picture is from The Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004. A good example of close-up against the sky.

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

All of three pictures are from The.Incredibles made by Pixar in 2004.

Model_Cargo ship_Unfinished

This is the Cargo ship model unfinished. I will make more details on its weapon and mechanical arms. During the story there will be some transformation on them to improve its interesting.