Compositing Image Analysis

As a part of our very first Compositing Class, we were introduced into the very basics of composition. We were shown various examples of work that had been photoshopped well, and others not so well, so we were able to give constructive criticism back as a class.

As a part of a homework task, we were required to find various images that we were able to analyse, by speaking about how the image works, or how it doesn't, by mentioning its composition.

We were required to do this, by posting it on the university digital forum, for our fellow students and friends to be able to see, and discuss.

As I am NOT an expert at Photoshop or Compositing for that matter, It was a challenge as I had to analyse more as a compositor other than just an opinion of a general audience.

The forum post that I made can be found via the link below, But I'm also posting it as a part of this blog, for the reason I can keep track of my progress as I go along this course.

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/forums/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1130&t=13949

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This image, is a composition by Martin de Pasquale from Argentina.
Although it’s obviously an image that has been edited through photoshop, it’s fair to say that it has been done rather convincingly. The scenario involved in the image is highly unrealistic, but has been composed in a way that makes it look somewhat real.

Looking closely, you can see that the shadows have been replicated to the same angle and size as the ones from the original image, to ensure that image is convincing.

When inspecting the arm laying on the table on the left hand side, you can see where he has deliberately ensured that the lighting is similar, and ensured that the exposure is similar to how the table is underneath.

One issue personally that I have with the composition, is that the battery on the table, requires a slight reflection of the light that’s coming in from the left. As it’s looking rather dull, and slightly unrealistic.

On the whole, for a scenario that is completely unrealistic, he has done a fairly convincing job of making it look real.

This image for me personally, is a pretty decent example of how a photograph can be misleading even though it is raw without any editing.

This person has made clever use of his laptop screens to convey the background images of his photo, making it appear that the laptops are almost see through.

Looking closely, you can see that he even went into the detail of including the candle on the last but one laptop screen, to ensure it joined the real candle in the background. Also the same trick repeated on the teapot behind.

Although a very clever photo, It does have it’s giveaway’s for example, on the second laptop screen, you can see where the duvet doesn’t connect with the actual background, which shows that the laptop is displaying a picture, rather than being see-through.

On the whole, a clever photograph, and proves that not always does it have to be photoshopped to be interesting or misleading.

Here is another example of work by Martin De Pasquale from Argentina.

Again this image contains a highly unrealistic scenario, but again composted to the extent that it’s a convincing image and looks rather real.

You can see where Martin Pasquale has paid attention to the lighting, and shadows to ensure that the mouth thats ‘supposedly’ bulging from his stomach is indeed within context with the rest of the image. The further right the image goes, you can see where the lips has darkened and blends seamlessly into the rest of his body. Therefore although we know it can’t be real, it does indeed seem real because of the detail of editing he has gone into.

Overall I would say it’s another successful image from this digital artist, and I can safely say being a student , I finally understand the scenario he is trying to convey!

Week One

It was time to receive my first initial introduction at the Green Lecture Theatre in the Octagon Building. Nervous on what to expect, I was relieved to know that everybody seemed to be in the same situation. Reality struck when I entered the lecture theatre to be greeted by what would become my tutors and lecturers.

We were told the basic layout of our course, with the breakdown of the modules, and were given the opportunity to ask any questions that we had. Given I had 1001 questions I could've asked, I decided to keep quiet and let myself absorb everything around me, before overthinking and questioning every detail.


Task One -

 Recreate a Scene from a film on a budget and no resources - Oh.. in one hour! 

Our very first task was a practical one. We were asked by one of our tutors Paul Ottey to team up into groups, to recreate a scene from any film, but on a basic budget with no resources. As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, we were also told that we would have only one hour to film, including taking the equipments and bringing it
back on time.

Our group consisted of three people, Matt, Charlotte and myself. We sat down to discuss all the possible film scenes we could do. In barely any time at all, we had already come to the decision that we were to re-create the very first scene of James Bond's Casino Royale.

We decided to watch the relevant scene, and analyse the fine details that we would like to include in our very own version, including 'Screen Shots' that we belived were crucial to keep it dedicated to the original such as -

We believed that this scene was ideal for our recreation as it included very little special effects / CGI and relied mainly on dialogue. Although the location is stated in the opening scene, the buildings seemed rather annonymous, which made it easier for us to find the perfect locations within the University Campus.

Once we had settled on our idea, and what elements we were going to include, it was time for us to dive deeper into the planning process...

We decided to give each other tasks on which we would complete on our next meeting as a group.

Charlotte - Given the task of story board

Matt - Given the task of Scripting

Myself - The task of arranging locations and also searching for two actors to take part.

Sanj Singh Dhadda

Sam Estall

As a part of my task, I had to try and find two volunteers from the university that were willing to do some acting work, playing roles within our recreation. This was a challenging task being a fresher/newbie as I was unaware of the University Campus and knew very little people. Therefore i had to think of a way of engaging with fellow students in the hope we would find someone that would help.

I decided that I was to create a form of advertisment for the roles via Facebook, on both Staffordshire Uni Tech Group & Staffordshire Freshers Group. I was fortunate to recieve two responses from students, in which I was able to make new friends, whilst also making new contacts for future references!

Along with arranging volunteers to act in our re-creation, I also had to ensure that we had suitable locations.
Bearing in mind that the original film scene is set in an office location including flash backs to a bathroom, we needed to ensure that we had similar locations to shoot in.

I ended up arranging with Legends Lounge Manager, to make sure that we had permission to film in the club bathroom. We were luckily given permission, and that it would be available for us for the following day.

Shooting Day 

This is where time definitely wasn't on our side, therefore we had to make sure that we were using it wisely. We decided that certain parts of our short clip required more attention than other parts, therefore we dedicated more filming time for these. We would have to edit these clips into order later on.

Only having a twenty minute session on the camera before hand to learn the basics, we had to use our heads and improvise slightly during the filming. We chose to take it all in turns to use the camera, and suggest our ideas on the best way to film. That gave us all a chance to experience the camera first hand, and slowly learn the process of how to shoot a film. The challenge of only having an hour, gave us a good idea of how to work under pressure, and keep within time, and definitely became an eye opener for us, and myself personally.

Editing

After having an hour session of filming, it was time for us to transfer our video to the computer ready for editing.











ScreenShots Of Our Recreation

Introduction

My Names Sion Campbell,
Originally from Swansea in Wales, but have since moved to Staffordshire University to study Digital Film & Post Production Technology.

Having done my A-levels 4 years ago, It's fair to say that I have found the process of enrolling to University rather stressful. As a person, I've always been rather shy, and often have found it difficult to get my voice across in certain situations. Not only am I hoping to learn a great deal within  Digital Film and Post Production, but hopefully gain confidence to eventually be self sufficient and independent.

The aim of this blog is to keep track of my learning, to reflect on my mistakes, and be able to see the development of myself regarding my skills and eduction along with my social wellbeing.

By the end of this year, Ideally I would love to be able to see a huge improvement and development in my skills, and be proud of the work that I aim to create.

Well, here it goes...