Final Piece - The City In Flux

My finished piece of work for the city in flux project. I think the outcome of this video is successful with the fact that this is my first time using after effects so I'm not very experienced with it. Although I would like to continue using after effects to get better and to broaden my skills as I believe I could continue to create better pieces of video work with the programme as I continue to learn.

I still think I could have done better things with the video such as better photos and footage but due to idea changes and time I could not get the material I wanted. I think the video fits the city in flux project well and therefore I am happy with the finished video.

Adobe After Effects work - Progress Video

Adober After Effects work that isn't completed yet, this is a progress video clip that I wanted to post to show where I currently am with it. As I'm not entirely familiar with After Effects I can't do what I would have wanted wit this piece of work but so far I think it's satisfactory. I still need to finalise photos, footage, music and typography that I plan to include into this clip. 

Updated Screen shots - After Effects work

Screen shots of my progress with the Adobe After effects work that I have been working on. The video clip is still being worked on but so far it's coming along well, it still needs more work added to it including text and finalising the changes made to it. 

Adobe InDesign - Workshop

In this Adobe InDesign workshop we were given a tutorial on how to make an informational flyer. The process for using indesign proved to be tricky but that was expected as it was my first time using the programme. I think I'll be using this programme more often for the layouts of my design work and for presentational purposes. 

Making of Motion Graphic video - Process shots

I'm not very familiar with Adobe After Effects so I wanted to create work using it to try something different and to see if I would enjoy making work with it in the future, so far I'm finding it acceptable to use because it's not too hard to figure out and the workshops have definitely been useful. 

I decided to document my progress with the motion graphic work that I've been doing with a few screen shots from the After Effects programme. 

Festival of Light - Huddersfield

I went to the Festival of light because I thought I could get a range of photos that I could use in my project. From the event that took place in Huddersfield I managed to get a good amount of photos that I was very pleased with, the photos above are just a few that I thought stood out to me and showed what kind of photos that I were looking for. 

I thought that the day off was a successful one and I'm looking for further events to take more photos at. 

Trailer - After effects workshop Photoshop CC

This is the finished trailer that I created in the after effects workshops, I think for my first piece of work on after effects that it's at the standard level of work but I think it could have been better with a better choice of music and a larger range of photos to work with.

 I think this definitely helped me with after effects as I am wanting to create a final piece for the city in flux project using this programme, from this I have learnt to chose a better range and quality of photos to work with and to think about what music to place in with the photos to match the feel and mood of the video. I feel as though this was a good practice piece of work and from now on I should have a batter understanding of what I want my videos to look like. 

Pinterest/Research/mind mapping

I came across Pinterest in a lecture about mood boards and creative ideas, I find that if I'm ever struggling for ideas or inspiration I can find help on pinterest, it's where I keep all my inspirational art by a wide range of artists who specialise in a vast amount of techniques and processes. The spectrum of colours, scale, typography and overall level of creativity is what I like about the website. 

Eugenia Loli - Artist reference

What I like about Eugina Loli's work is the way she she's images and how she uses collage to take images even further. Being a lover of collage these really inspire me to continue working with collage and to develop one of my three ideas further. I also like to see the level of creativity she has, to me her work opens a window into her mind so we can see a little of how her mind works. 

Six feet under - Digital Kitchen

This was another video showed to us in a an after effects tutorial and from this we learnt how to edit our film trailer further with fade ins and outs. What I liked about this video was how well the music matched up with the timing of the text, the short but very informative and the angles and close up at which the videos were taken. I think it was a great example to show before leading us into a lesson on how to expand out skill set in after effects.

C4 Turner prize 2011 - Why not associates

              

This video by Why Not Associates was shown to us in a lecture lead by Sarah and what I liked about this was the use of images, colour and tex and how it can end up creating a fantastic piece of work, this inspired me to go back to my original idea which was to create a visual video of the city in flux. From this I plan to further experiment with photography and video taking.

Catch me if you can intro Motion Graphic

                   

While researching motion graphics I came across the intro to the movie 'Catch me if you can' I thought this was a great example because of the simple design and colour palette but at the same time it shows how effective it can be and more isn't always better. I like the continued effect that the silhouettes show in the intro, they portray a clear sense of what is happening and it's easy to grasp what is happening. I also like the use of type and the kind of type that is included in the intro. 

Time Lapse - Experimentation

                   
       
I continued research into the city and from the after effects lesson with the footage and sound I wanted to carry it on, I went into the city and recorded my journey from the university and then throughout the city. From this I plan to record audio, and add it to the video just to give it a better finished feel. I'm happy with the way this time lapse turned out and I think I'll carry on using the technique in my further work and maybe incorporate text along with sound. 

Experimental Photoshop work

These are a couple of photoshop experimental pieces of wok inspired by Tal Rosner, using my own photos I took around the city I tried to create a piece of work that I thought fit in with our project. I like the pieces of work and would like to carry on creating pieces like this and maybe edit them all into after effects to create a finished piece. I think I've only scratched the surface of what I can do with this project, after effects and photoshop and would like to continue exploring and creating the theme. 

Tal Rosner

Tal Rosner is an israeli film maker and video artist based in London, he uses footage taken in public and develops them further with graphics and audio to create a fantastic finished piece of work. I really like Tal Rosner's work as I think it's kind of a fly on the wall effect of peoples every day life. I think that the videos that I have selected do a good job of presenting a feel of the 'City in flux' project, I'd like to do something similar to this as it's something that grabs my interst. 

Another thing I like about his videos are the colours and graphics that he uses to place over the footage or to change into a different clip, the colours look great when contrasting with the dull footage and then the bright colour and graphics make their away across the screen. The typography used in his videos is another thing that I love about his videos, even though their isn't a lot the times that he does include typography it fits with the feel of the video. 

                
 
                

Screen grab - City In Flux - After Effects

Screen grab from work in process time lapse video. I went further with the time lapse videos that I had made recently and did a short one of the traffic passing at night, I added text to it just to give it a more finished feel. I thought this would be a good idea as it shows that even late at night the city is still in flux. I also liked the effect that the bright lights had on the video too. After effects isn't my strong point at the moment as it's new to me but I would like to carry on practising using it and take this time lapse videos further and maybe even create a final piece using it. 

Experimental photoshop work

Photoshop test piece using own images and typography. I like the outcome of this piece because of the colours and street signs that work their way in from the background. I think the colours that contrast with the bold white text also give the work a clean and finished feel to it. I will continue to experiment with my own photos and typography and try to improve my skills and create better outcomes for my work. 

Jane Cheadle - Swimmer

     Jane Cheadle - Swimmer                    

                     

Jane Chealde is a stop motion artist and video maker, I also came across her work in a lecture and was interested in the stop motion videos that the did, out of the videos she's created this one was the one that I liked the best. I liked how she created a 3D like image of a swimmer emerging from the water. 

Matt Hattler - Motion Graphics

Matt Hattler - Motion Graphics

                 

Max Hattler is a German video artist and film maker, Hattler is best known for his videos that have a kaleidoscopic effect to them, I came across Hattler's work when In a lecture, I was shown the video called 'AANAATT' which I thought was very creative. I liked the video and liked the way that he uses stop motion to move the objects on the clear roof which adds to the overall effect of the video. 

Time Lapse - Experimental work

I wanted to get a better understanding of the term 'City in flux' and from that I went out and recorded a time lapse video showing the Huddersfield city centre in its morning rush and daily basis atmosphere. I liked the finished video but I think I set the photo capture for two seconds instead of one so the footage is spaced out and doesn't really work as well as it could have. 

If I was to do this again I think I would make sure the settings for the video are perfect for what I want and I would stand still in one place rather than walking around and compare the two videos. With this footage I plan to add text, symbols, signage and other things that I have taken photographs of and edit them into one finished video. 

                 

Comparison of the Satisfaction music video - Beni Banassi

Beni Banassi - Satisfaction 

                    

In a lecture we were shown this video by Beni Banassi, what I got from the lecture was that the viewers found the video to be strange, to strange to sell the music. So that they could sell the music they changed the video and updated the music video to the current video that everybody is probably familiar with now. What I like about the original is that the graphics used in the video, I think it gives the music video a techno effect and works well with the music, along with the typography and minimal colour scheme.  

This is the updated version. I think that the new version got better views because of the women that are placed in the video that attract attention and get more publicity. The choice of colours and upbeat activity in the video is what also works for the new population of viewers. Examples below. 

Light Bulb - Photoshop

Light bulb - photoshop 

In the photoshop workshop we had a step by step tutorial on how to create this finished piece of work by editing and using the photoshop tools. We were tasked with editing several separate pieces into one finished piece, I think I followed the tutorial well and ended up with a finished piece that I approved of. I liked the finished outcome of my piece of work and I think the workshop was successful as I learnt new techniques and processes that I can use for future work. 

Street signs photography

Continued research into the city, typography, signs, and communications. 

I wanted to take a slightly different approach to looking into my research so I decided to look at street signs and how they communicate with the public and also thought about using these photos and develop them into my work somehow. I liked the various types of typography that I found when taking these photos, specifically the numbers, I liked how some of them looked worn out and how the others looked brand new it showed a nice contrast to me. 

Photoshop Experimentation work using Photography

                                  Photoshop Experimentation with photography 

After taking photos of typography and different designs from around the city I wanted to experiment with them on photoshop and see what I could make from them. I thought these two were the best ones because of how they communicate what the they are. For the first one I tried to get across the graffiti/urban feel of the city and with the second one I tried to show the travel side of the city specifically the train station. I think I'll carry on with this process as I like the finished pieces although I do think they could be improved. 

Typography research

Further researching into typography I decided to go and look for more styles of typography around the city centre. Out of the ones I found the 'Zephyr' logo my favourite, I specifically like the font as well as the design that the font is placed on top of. I think that they work well together and make a clean and finished look to the logo.