PPRD Essay

Looking back over the year, I’ve seen my approach to work and techniques develop further than I had imagined, considering 10 months ago I didn’t know how to use  any of the programmes, that I feel more confident on today. From my understanding of the course before we began in September 2009, options within and from the course were ‘open’ and there was always going to be a wide range of skills that I could learn, and consequently help me create opportunities for myself through project placements over the course and choose a career path at the end of the course. This year was all about exploring my abilities and character, progressing into a digital path through my blog (Appendix 1) and making the most of the opportunities put before me, such as my role as one  of the Student Representatives and becoming involved in extra courses, such as the  60 hour, ABC Maya course.

The Viral video was our first project of the year, and working as a group gently brought us together and developed our experience with working in groups. We were criticized early on for having a large group, which hindered our final mark but the efforts of each group member was shown through our planning via blog entries, but overall, every member did put in their full efforts and I think we justified having such a large group.

Obviously by having a large group, we often had disagreements, which saw us change our idea several times but the final concept of using a Riot shield in everyday situations satisfied every member as much for the group to function. I like the style in which we shot the sequences and I thought they captured the crucial elements of the shots and emphasized the comical elements. Our aim was to jokingly suggest how really annoying things and scenarios in everyday life can all by solved by a simple appliance of a Riot Shield (Appendix 2).

The 2D project was the first of the year outside my comfort zone. Obviously I was more than familiar with working by myself, but it was my first time using programmes, such as After Effects and due to my lack of knowledge or comfort with the programme, I basically ended up changing my approach to the unit ten days before the deadline. My original drawings matched my description from our preliminary assessment and I had originally intended to create a stop-motion animation, simply using drawings but it just didn’t look how I imagined it!

I was more than happy with the drawings and everything as I feel they proved my character and mind to our group but they just looked too static at their joints and I didn’t feel it was effective as it could’ve and should’ve been. From this, I decided to re-import the whole project into After Effects, after pre-production in Photoshop. Looking over how I managed my time, it wasn’t the best idea changing my approach a week or so before the deadline but I feel I’ve got a greater result that I would’ve using stop motion. I would’ve like to make my characters more flexible and maybe concentrate more on solo features and detail to really make the composition stand out, again using additional lighting and camera angles, but I’m pleased with how effective the single camera angle and natural composition of the drawing came into effect, but I would’ve liked to have created something similar using a 3D perspective, which will be my aim within After Effects over the next year (Appendix 3).

Ever since we began, I have had an eye for 3D and immediately became interested in the skill and ability within the category, leading to my participation in the ABC Maya course. Over the course of the year, I feel that my 3D projects have shown the most of my character and progression of the topics, despite necessary skills I still need to develop. I still find the majority of aspects within 3D animation challenging, such as the animation, but I feel that my strong point for the topic so far is my modeling. For my first 3D unit, I decided to create five monsters and have them yell, “Alan”, following my humor of the “Walk On The Wild side” series. Having  learnt the basics, my modeling and texture was fairly simple and although I was happy with the final production for the shear fact that it made me laugh, it had numerous errors that I could now correct and consequently make a better version.

After the first three units, I feel I began to find my place amongst the group and my skills within Digital Media. Due to my limited skills, the appearance of my work at this time was admittably simple and amateur, with textures being nothing than simple lambert layers. Considering I hadn’t used any of this software three months prior to our first animation deadline and before this course, I really had now idea, specifically, what I wanted to do, I’m very please with how I’ve progressed my technique, found new areas of interest, but I was most proud of how I had developed as a character, regarding my work and communicating with other people, which I feel can only develop through my role as Student Representative (Appendix 4). As Student Representative, I feel that I’ve been able to interact with course members and leaders alike and become more acquitted with the course. I’ve found the experience as a Representative beneficial as I get to let my voice be head within the course and I feel it has given me my course-mates’ trust and brought the group together whenever we meet and discuss sections of the course, before and after meetings.

The ABC Maya courser really helped when creating these creatures, especially in terms of adding shadow, using effective modeling and putting the creatures into onto a plane in a live environment, and I really do feel that the creatures look real within the environment, which shows to me that I have progressed  in my 3D technique and method, which was my initial purpose. I have no criticism of any aspect of the course, as I found every moment beneficial, as I consequently progressed my ability to produce 3D animations.

With regards to the Post Production project, for me, I wanted to improve my 3D modeling more than anything as that’s a path I would like to take and develop over the next couple of years. Admittably, I put more time creating my creatures and modeling more than my attempts to make the “Post-Production” effects but bringing my creatures into a ‘live-environment’ and adding their shadows and realism, through the ‘beauty’, ‘occlusion’ and ’shadow’ layers in Maya contributes to aspects of Post-Production.

My original aim for the project as my blog, was to have “The Painter” to write in the light streaks before “The Sidekick” burps but with the tutorial I found on www.videocopilot.net, there wasn’t a specific part of the tutorial which instructed me on how to track the streaks with “The Painter’s” wond and it was too late to create anything dramatic, so my main disappointment with the piece is that I couldn’t get the wond to track with the streaks. Units such as the Post Production Unit I felt really progressed student characters and developed how they thought and approached a unit (Appendix 5).

My main criticism and disappointment of the year would have to come through the short form video unit. I enjoyed working on the piece, developing my technique with a camera and working as a group, but it’s the effect that it had on the class as a group. via the divisions caused by the diversity and narrowness of the project and individual ideas dampens the final product. I know the course expects and meets certain criteria but since the considerations of earlier units had been changed for varied reasons, I feel that the same approach could’ve been taken to ensure more student participation and motivation, having seen early protest to the unit from more than half the group.

Having said that, people did eventually come together and have produced some exceptional work from well-structured tutorials, but I feel that the process of the unit could’ve flowed easier (Appendix 6). The unit did offer each individual to show their potential, which i feel our group made the most of. I was responsible with the organization, preparation and filming of the project, producing storyboards to a higher quality than before and positioning myself into a more pre-production. From this year, I’ve become more asserted to seeing my work progress from the pre-productive period and seeing the idea progress.

After the practical units of the year, it becomes clear how a more mature approach should be taken in projects, both communicating and understanding the concepts of the unit. Although I’m happy with the final outcomes of the projects and what I’ve learnt through the more challenging experiences, I still know that I need to change my approach to units, or in a more specific way, manage by time better between planning and production. I can only hope to progress with my knowledge and technique through my work placement as the final unit to the year. I’m hoping to work within a 3D environment, where I can pick up techniques in how to create more realistic environments, textures and models to improve on my future projects. So Far I’ve looked at such Institutions as Framestore and FastFinger productions in London, from which I’d like to see how the amateur skills I have at the moment are transferred into a professional environment and profession.

Appendix 1 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com

Appendix 2 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com/category/viral-video

Appendix 3 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com/category/computer-graphics

Appendix 4 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com/category/3d-animation-and-film

Appendix 5 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com/category/post-production

Appendix 6 – http://samdubery.wordpress.com/category/short-form-video

Filming At Sopley RAF Base – 15/03/2010

Unfortunately I couldn’t upload all of them but below are some snapshots of our film set for  the police raid (Chapter 11 and 13) for our short form video project, “Hostage”.

Short Form Video – Police Raid ‘Reckie’ – Sopley Ex-RAF Base

I couldn’t upload all of the photographs that I took on the day, but below are several shots of Sopley RAF Refugee Base where we will film our Police Raid, Chapter 11 and 13. The buildings have an old, abandoned feel to them surprisingly and provide a perfect setting for the sequence.

The windows, whether half or all of it are open, are easy to climb out off so the sequence will fit in with the lecturer jumping out and running at the climax of the police raid where he gets gunned down as a suspected terrorist. Using an old door from another building, this is the corridor that the members of the ‘B.C.T.U’ will move down before storming the final room, with the terrorists and the lecturer inside. The room in the first picture where Alex and Felix are standing is the room where the terrorists will be waiting. This is roughly the viewing from the recon units position. We will move in closer to demonstrate the zoom on the sniper’s scope but will start from a distance, such as this.

Chapter 11 & 13 Storyboards

Below are the storyboards for chapter 11 and chapter 13 of ‘Hostage’. The chapters link into one another so again, it was key  to create these chapters together so we could get a sense of continuity within the sequence. The first 10 shots are theoretically for chapter 11 and the rest are for chapter 13. These are our basic ideas for how the shots are to be shot, but we have decided that we will use these as a base on the day, and customise our footage from the storyboard.

EXT. Out building – day

Its early evening, the camera is a scope from a gun looking towards a building. It observes the terrorists moving around discussing. Although they cannot be seen, there are two men by the rifle discussing what they are watching.

Recon alpha

I see movement, confirm the hostile in the jacket, the hostile in the brown t-shirt, the hostile with the berreta m92f and the hostile with the m500 shotgun?

Recon Bravo

Confirm the 4 hostiles, can you confirm the hostage?

RECON ALPHA

Confirm, although the hostage is untied and talking. He seems a little relaxed for someone at gunpoint?

RECON BRAVO

Agreed, im not sure whats going on here. Do we have 5 targets or 4?

RECON ALPHA

Lets observe a bit longer and see what we can find out.

The men continue to watch the terrorists from a distance, the terrorists begin to get into an argument, they begin to pace across the room and argue more.

RECON ALPHA

Seems like their not the best of friends. Maybe they’ll kill each other?

RECON BRAVO

Hmph, nice try but its not going to be the same as Kosovo. We are not that lucky.

RECON ALPHA

Well you have to admit, the assault team did have a surprised look when they finally stormed the building

RECON BRAVO

Thats what you get waiting around whilst we do all the hard work

Brian gets up and attempts to reason with the terrorists. One gets extremely aggressive and motions for Brian sit down, he refuses. The terrorist then points a gun at Brian’s head and he sits down

RECON BRAVO

The hostage seems to be a little free, but i wouldn’t say he’s collaborating. I think we have to assume he’s trying to talk his way out of this.

The aggressive terrorist then begins to talk to the others and they calm down and listen to him. They begin to work around the building.

RECON ALPHA

Well by the looks of it, thats the leader of the group. Perhaps if we took him now…

RECON BRAVO

And risk losing the hostage. They seem to all be on edge and we have no idea how they’d react. We have no back up and no assault team is on stand by. There’s no way we can do it.

RECON ALPHA

You have a point. Ok lets do what we have to and then begin the watch.

The terrorists continue to work and they begin stacking up supplies, the leader of the group begins examining their own video equipment. The camera moves around the building and looks at the weak points, which is explained as its done.

RECON ALPHA

Building seems fairly strong despite how old and decrepit it looks. One door, further down from the room on the right side. The assault team could enter their and move down the corridor.

RECON BRAVO

Agreed on the building but we don’t know if the front entrance is bobby trapped or not.

One of the terrorists goes down the corridor and steps out side for the cigarette, the scope tracks his movement.

RECON BRAVO

The front entrance is not bobby trapped then. The assault team can go for storming through the front, without the need to breach a wall. At least then we don’t risk harming the hostage.

RECON ALPHA

If he’s a hostage at all. We need to give a definitive answer to the suits so they can give us orders. We have to know what the order is. What do you reckon

The scope shifts to the main room again. Brian sees one of the terrorists struggling and begins to help him out, the leader scolds him for it and makes him sit down again, motioning towards the gun.

RECON BRAVO

Hmmmm, its still hard to say. He seems willing to help but at the moment, but the leader is preventing him from joining in. Maybe because he’ll loose his trump card and their back to square one. As far as telling HQ is concerned. We have to report that his current affiliation with the terrorists cannot at this moment in time be designated but their is strong reason to believe that he could be collaborating with them.

RECON ALPHA

Ok, we’ll relay this capture back to HQ, they can decide what to do with it. I’ll take first watch if you want?

RECON BRAVO

Fine by me, see you in 3 hours.

RECON ALPHA

Ok, have a good one.

EXT. OUTBUILDING – day

Early morning, the shot is of the same sniper scope from the past scene. It is still observing the terrorists in the building in front of them, they are moving about anxiously. Whilst before it was 2 men who could be heard, over the radio the assault team as well as the captain can be hear as well.

RECON BRAVO

Hey wake up, the teams almost in posistion and ready to move in.

RECON ALPHA

Ok, ok im up. Have I missed anything?

The sounds of equipment checking can be heard as RECON ALPHA prepares his gun.

RECON BRAVO

Nothing major, most of them have been asleep, recently the main target and hostage have been talking. They seem pretty close now, the hostage is up and moving around freely without worrying about being beaten down by the leader of the group.

RECON ALPHA

Have the orders come through yet, we still need to know whats a target or not?

RECON ALPHA

Nothing yet, I reckon their waiting for the last moment to decide whether or not its a kill order.

TAC ALPHA

Recon Alpha and Bravo, come in. This is tac Alpha do you receive.

RECON ALPHA

This is recon Alpha, we receive. Are you in posistion?

As the conversation switches between Tac Alpha and the recon team, it moves from the sniper scope to a side mounted helmet cam.

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed, can you see the dirt trench 40 meters to the north west of the target building?

RECON BRAVO

Shift our sight to the left

The scope pans right, and zooms in on the trench. A small group of well armed men and crouching in the trench looking towards the Recon posistion

RECON BRAVO

This is Bravo, we confirm you location. Are we at go stage?

TAC ALPHA

Negative, we need confirmation from command to proceed before we can…

Interupted by the captain coming over the radio channel.

COMMANDER OF POLICE

This is base do all positions confirm solid copy?

TAC ALPHA

Solid copy

RECON ALPHA

Solid copy

COMMANDER OF POLICE

Thank you. On site command is now in the hand of the assault team, Recon is to provide intelligence and support only if necessary! I do not want line of fire cutting into each other. Understood

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed

RECON ALPHA

Confirmed

COMMANDER OF POLICE

Ok. Tac aplha, you have ground control. Move everyone to launch position then await my go.

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed captain, do we have kill order on specific targets yet?

COMMANDER OF POLICE

The leader of the group is deemed extremely hostle, a shoot to kill order has been given for him. All other terrorists are considered hostile only, and should be taken alive if possible. If not, shoot to kill. The hostage, or collaborator still unkown at this stage is still deemed a civillian.

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed. We’ll move to launch and await your go. Recon, you keep eyes on the hostiles until we have moved up. We’ll follow your lead and move to the front entrance of the building on your right side.

RECON BRAVO

Copy Alpha, we’ll report if we see anyone headout of the room

TAC ALPHA

Ok team, we need to move slowly and quietly. Bravo take posistion by the tree and establish a firing point on the door.

TAC BRAVO

Yes sir

TAC ALPHA

Charlie, Delta we move forward when bravo gives the signal.

TAC CHARLIE

Sir

TAC DELTA

Yes sir

TAC BRAVO

This is Bravo with sight to the door. Your clear

TAC ALPHA

Move up

The team moves torwards the building in a tactical line up. When they reach the same line as Bravo at the tree, Bravo joins them again and they move towards the door.

RECON BRAVO

Alpha, hold your posistion. One of the terrorists is moving towards the door

TAC ALPHA

Everyone hit the wall and get down!

RECON ALPHA

He picked a heck of a time for a damn cigerette.

RECON BRAVO

Alpha, I know its your call but we could eliminate him from the group now, that one less in that small building?

TAC ALPHA

Negative, We’d have to go straight in after that and we still haven’t had the kill order about that hostage yet.

RECON BRAVO

Confirmed, we’ll let you know when he goes.

RECON ALPHA

He’s almost done. Ok he’s back in the room. Your clear to move up.

TAC ALPHA

Recieved, ok lets move

The team slowly moves down the wall towards the door. Alpha raises his fist in a stopping motion.

TAC ALPHA

Ok tactical squad. Prepare for a right side stack behind me. Keep it on semi, we dont want blue on blue here.

RECON BRAVO

Command this is Recon Bravo do you copy?

COMMANDER OF POLICE

This is command, solid copy. What have you got?

RECON BRAVO

It appears we have a situation. The hostage appears to be reasoning with the terrorists, he’s even putting one of the balaclav’s on.

COMMANDER OF POLICE

Ok recon, I need a non BS assesment. In your best judgement, is he a threat?

RECON ALPHA

He’s moving around waving his arms in the air but he still seems as agressive as the other guy now.

RECON BRAVO

Command this recon Bravo, thats a postive on the judgement. He seems as bad as the rest of them.

COMMANDER OF POLICE

Confirmed. Ok Tac Alpha do you copy?

TAC ALPHA

I copy

COMMANDER OF POLICE

You now have all control over operation. These have just been deemed as all hostiles. We have what information can from this, recover any hardware they have and wrap this up

TAC ALPHA

Sir, the hostiles and hostage

COMMANDER OF POLICE

Hostiles and hostage expendable.

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed, Recon we’ll move in and take the room. Any escape the building and make a run for it, thier  yours.

RECON ALPHA

Copy

RECON BRAVO

Copy

TAC ALPHA

Ok, all members ready up and prepare for assault.

RECON ALPHA

This is recon Alpha. Ready

RECON BRAVO

Recon Bravo, ready

TAC BRAVO

Tac Bravo, ready

TAC CHARLIE

Tac Charlie, ready

It now changes to Tac delta’s helmet cam. Which looks at the 3 armed members ready to storm the building

TAC DELTA

Tac Delta, ready sir

TAC ALPHA

Ok, recon I need immediate posistion of all hostiles in the building

RECON ALPHA

This is recon alpha. All hostiles accounted for in the room, if there was anyone else. They haven’t come into that room or left since we’ve been here.

TAC ALPHA

Confirmed, team prepare for standard breach. Move down the corridor checking side room as you go. They’ve been given the clear but always be prepared. Anyone in that room who is not a BCTU member is to be shot on sight. Doubles taps to be safe and sure. Ok, lets do this quick and clean

TAC ALPHA

5, 4

Switches to the sniper scope looking at the terrorists

TAC ALPHA

3

Switches to Tac delta’s cam again, checking his grip on his gun and readying himself for what is about to happen.

TAC ALPHA

2

Switches back to Tac Alpha’s cam

TAC ALPHA

1

All teams, go!

Chapter 1 & 2 Storyboards

Below are the storyboards for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. The storyboard is fairly simple but there will be limited shots as we don’t want the sequence to drag on because of its’ simplicity. The script for both scenes is below the storyboards. We basically decided  to script and storyboard both scenes and split it in half wherever seems necessary.

Police

INT.briefing room – day

Sergeant enters from behind the group of Officers, walking towards the front. From his arrival, Officers stand

the conference is being filmed as a reference for other police departments to watch also. it will be shot in a documentary style, with a naturalistic and somewhat amateur style, zooms panning etc.

Sergeant:

Good morning (ladies and) Gentlemen. As part of your training process, I’ve prepared a session outlining the features and benefits of CCTV within our local community and how we can use such (advanced) technology to help our officers prevent and avert crime allowing us as Police Officers to be a credit within our Community.

Sergeant arrives at front of room and begins re-addressing the group

Sergeant

As we begin, I want to highlight the key principles of CCTV, which consequently makes the process lawful and morally correct. Most people within the Community, nowadays view CCTV as a way of which the Government plans to spy on them rather than solely be used for crime prevention . Now, the First Principle of CCTV….

Pause, clearing his throat, arranging himself to begin the presentation

Sergeant:

Through CCTV, Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully, and, in particular, shall not be processed unless either; a) At least one of the conditions of Schedule 2 is met, and b) In the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions of Schedule 3 is also met.

Stares at group

Sergeant:

Second Principle,

pause, looks around at group

Sergeant:

Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes…

small pause, catches breath

Sergeant:

Third Principle, Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed, which consequently leads onto the Fourth Principle, where Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. Riveting stuff I know boys and girls, but let’s maintain focus, this is an important part of your training, be aware, be a credit…..

pause, overlooking the group

Sergeant:

Principle number five, Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

He walks from side to side at the front of the room, staring between his clipboard and the presentation board)

Sergeant:

The Sixth Principle, Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act. Principle seven…..

Trainee A:

what would be the next step in processing collected personal data?

sergeant clears throat.

Sergeant:

The appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. Any Questions so far? anyone?

looks around at the group, trying to evoke a reaction

Sergeant:

ok then, the Eighth Principle, Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects. The next feature of CCTV is the Quality of the Data that we obtain through CCTV that allows us to use the system effectively to consequently prevent crime and bring anyone that has committed an offense to the system. When analyzing Images produced by the CCTV system must be as clear as possible to ensure that they are effective for the purposes for which they are intended, this being part of the Data Protection Principle, 3.4 & 5

Sergeant comes to a halt, facing the board from behind the Officers

Sergeant:

When installed; the equipment should be checked to ensure it performs correctly! Tapes (if used) should be of good quality, The maximum number of passes is 13 times and the medium on which the images are recorded should be cleaned to prevent recording on top of previous images.The medium on which the images are recorded should no longer be used if there is a deterioration in the quality of the images

(stops to catch breathe then returns to fast paced list)

Sergeant:

If the system records location of camera, date, time etc. these should be accurate. There should be a documented procedure and Cameras should be sited only where they will capture relevant images. A maintenance log should be kept If automatic facial recognition systems are utilised, the database of images should be clear and a human operator should assess and determine the action to be taken to verify matches made by automatic facial recognition systems. Consideration must be given to the physical conditions in which the cameras are located and operators should assess whether real time or specific timed recordings are required. Cameras should be properly maintained and serviced and should be protected from vandalism (if it is a likely problem) If a camera is damaged, there are clear procedures for; defining the person responsible for making arrangements for ensuring the camera is fixed and ensuring the camera is fixed within a specific time period

Sniper Scope and Helmet Camera Templates

To shoot the sequence through the eyes of the B.C.T.U team present on the terrorist location, we aim to film the majority of the sequence using a standard camera and simple templates over the top.

Below are two example of simple Sniper Scope templates that I made using Adobe Photoshop. We could use either as they are standard replicas of scopes used by both British and American sniper units. I couldn’t decide on either template whilst research them so I decided to create both, and when it comes to editing, we can see which one suits the footage best, and doesn’t detract too much attention from the footage itself.

A Three-Point scope or a Four-Point scope? They both have beneficial features that contribute to the realism of the piece but it depends on efficiency of the scope when collaborated with the footage.

The Problems within our filming is that we’re filming in 16:9 so, consequently, the target has to be decreased in size to fit the screen. Once a test shot has been arranged, we can put a filter as an additional layer so that we can see how much we effectively create a professional composition.

Creating the Helmet camera template was easier to create within Adobe Photoshop but hard to research! From the video’s in the prior posts, the helmet cameras are simple, standard lens, that could easily look like a simple camera perspective shot. From this, I found a helmet camera shot from a action game and mixed that shot with my memories of the helmet cameras used by the Marines in the film, “Aliens”, where digital data is shown on-screen.

It looks simple, and it will again depend on how it looks when layered with film. I did test the template on a screenshot from the game “Call Of Duty” and tired to create my own, using text. I will aim to download a better font and keep the text font white, but I think it’s effective and makes the shot more appealing without detracting a vast amount of attention from the footage. This is most likely a first draft for the helmet camera. As the project and research progresses, we may decide on a more circular format for the camera layout, or with different text etc. From the video, we may also use some from of filter, such as a night vision or ultra-violet filter so objects are highlighted in a different way within the footage.

Gunshot Effect – After Effects

Unfortunately, I can’t find the original video I found, which was awesome, but below are simple tutorial and examples of gunshot bursts and effect created, using Adobe Affect Effects.

Obviously whilst shooting the footage, we’re not actually going to be using an form of ammunition and no real guns will be used, for obvious health and safety reasons, so we’ve taken into account the special effects that we will need to prepare for in order to make the scene effective. Expect some test animations shortly….

Helmet Camera Footage and Sniper Scope Shot – Resources

Since this is a film is primarily filmed from unconventional perspectives, we plan to film the last sequence (The Police raid on the Terrorist location) through two perspectives, from the sniper team’s scopes and from a helmet (possibly two) of the B.C.T.U (Bournemouth Counter Terrorism Unit) members. Since this needs to look effective, as well as realistic, I’ve studied videos of armed unit in Afghanistan and there helmet camera footage. From this, I can create simple templates using Adobe After Effects or Photoshop, where I can create the side of the B.C.T.U members helmet.

Below are the three examples of varied forms of helmet cameras from military campaigns.

Below are sniper scope examples! In recent posts, I spoke about maintaining the audience’s focus on the correct part of the sequence, normally maintained through lighting as we’ve established. As effective and realistic as the template is, I want to keep it simple, so that it doesn’t detract audience focus from the scripted situation. Simple examples like the ones below I feel create this strong essence of a sniper scope, with realistic detail, that allows focus to stay on the narrative.

CCTV Examples for Presentation

Below are four examples I found of either recent or important CCTV footage, concerning crime, assassination and terrorism, which I feel could be used for the Police presentation.

Video Production tips and techniques

Similar to gaining correct and effective lighting within our sequences, I’ve done research on professional filming techniques to ensure we create a professional and effective composition within each of our sequences.

• Get physically close to your subject - Although you can zoom into a shot, to appear to get closer, it’s not the same thing.  The visual perspective is different, and so is the sound.  You get nicer looking shots when you get closer to a person that you’re filming, and the sound will be much better.

• A telephoto shot is more susceptible to jerky pictures than a wide angle shot, and focussing is harder to do, as everything is magnified.  You also lose depth of field with telephoto shots (only things in a narrow range remain in focus, e.g. the background may go out of focus), although this may be an effect that you deliberately want.

• The microphone will pick up sounds from all directions, though usually mostly from the front.  Anything that’s closer to the microphone will be heard the most (the noises of the camera, the breathing of the cameraman, wind noise, road noise, etc.), and the further a sound source is from the microphone, the quieter it becomes in comparison (the ambient noises become louder than the sound that you actually want to record).

• Film scenes using more than just one shot - It’s usually best to film a scene using multiple shots, giving different perspectives to what’s being viewed (different angles, different magnifications, etc), but don’t overdo it.  There are times when lots of quick cuts make a scene good, and there are times when a really lengthy shot make something more natural to watch.

• Film more than just your subject - Filming something else gives you shots to break up what you’re filming, to hide where you place your edits (cutting away to something else, for a moment, allows you to edit out parts that you don’t want, without it being glaringly obvious that you’ve taken something out), and so it’s not boring to watch.  But make sure that what you use as “cut-aways” are appropriate to what you’re interrupting (e.g. show what they’re talking about, the whole scene around them, or the reactions to what they’re doing, etc.), and aren’t confusing (e.g. don’t switch views so that something that was going from right to left is suddenly moving in the opposite direction, nor do everything all in close-up so that viewers can’t comprehend a scene).

• Film at the same height as your subject - Unless you’re trying to achieve a dramatic effect, then adjust the height of where you place the camera to match the height of what you’re filming.  This gives a much more natural look for your subject (picture yourself talking to people—if they stand, you generally stand with them; and if they sit, you sit down with them; so you’re all on the same eye level, as if you were both the same height).

• Use an external microphone - If you can’t get close enough to what you’re taping, or you’re in a noisy environment, then using a microphone that’s remote from the camera really helps get a much better sound (you record more of the scene’s sound, rather than the camera noises, this way). Use headphones with your camera at the same time.  Then you can hear what you’re actually recording, and you’ll be able to tell if something goes wrong (the mike becoming unplugged, being switched off, batteries going flat, noises interferring with the sound, really loud sounds distorting, etc.).  You can waste a lot of filming if you only find out later on that the sound was unusable.

• Use a tripod - If you’re filming something that needs a steady shot, then use something like a tripod (or place the camera on a stable object), so that you get a steady shot. It’s usually best not to lock the tripod head in position, so that you can easily follow moving subjects (including standing or seated people, that are still most of the time, but might move).  But for long telephoto shots, you might get a bit of wobble.  A partial solution is to increase the friction without actually locking the head into place.

• Edit, and be ruthless while editing – Editing means putting together just the shots that you need.  You should remove anything that doesn’t belong (mistakes, lots of waiting around for something to happen, boring pauses between things, etc.), and remove things that are just pointless.

(http://www.cameratim.com/video-production/tips)

• Rule of Thirds:
  Something to be aware of is having the focal point of your shot about 1/3 of the way down from the screen. This mimics how you actually see scenes in real life. This is especially important when we are seeing a person face to face. The eyes of the person you are focused on should be at 1/3 down from the top of the screen.
• Be aware of external sound. Cars moving in the background, scenes in crowded places like bars or restaurants will drown out the audio you are trying to pick up – unless you have an external microphone. The sound may be half of the filming experience, it’s easy to forget about it, but sound is as necessary as the picture for producing your video.

Sometimes you do not want to focus in on what is directly in front of you, then you will need to manual zoom. Most handheld cameras, under manual focus, will focus on the crosshair or dot or square in the center. Put that mark on what you want to focus on, press the manual focus button, and when what you want is in focus, frame your shot.
And focus on the EYES.

• White Balance: Many new cameras are relatively good with automatic white balance. Basically whenever you are filming in places with different lighting sources (sun, fluorescent lights, halogen lights, etc.), the camera will need to re-white balance whenever you switch locations. When the video looks blue and washed out, this is usually as a result of not white balancing. To white balance, focus on something completely white (a piece of paper, a t shirt, a wall) and press the button on your camera to white balance.

(http://justsayyes.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/basic-tips-and-techniques-for-filming)