Film Opening - Blog Post #18

Bad News...

        Hello everyone! It looks like we have run into some complications... We planned to meet around 1:00PM on Friday (today), but sometime in the morning, Sabrina had asked both Logan and I if we could possibly show up to her house earlier. I had a meeting for another project (that Kim is also involved in) around 10:00AM that lasted around an hour, and after this I had to get ready to leave for Sabrina's, so I was unable to show up earlier. The worst part? Once I was ready to leave (to get there at the original time we planned), my mom could no longer drive me since she had a work conflict come up last second. As you could probably guess, this was very frustrating, especially since we had all been waiting for this day to come all together and edit...

        However, since we have all become used to working with others remotely, we were able to adjust quickly and get things done regardless. Logan showed up to Sabrina's where they began line editing and figuring out audio, and I began working on the volumetric lighting from my house. We were all able to communicate through applications like as Discord and WhatsApp, so we were all aware of what was getting done and what changes were being made.

        Like I had planned to do at Sabrina's, I immediately began working on the volumetric lighting effect by watching the tutorial I found and following it step by step. Since Sabrina and Logan had already decided what shot we were using, I simply imported the clip they chose and began applying the effect.

Another Problem Arises

        Unfortunately, I ran into a complication very early on. In the method discussed in the video, I had to grab a clip, apply the 3D Camera Tracking effect, create a 3D camera and Solid, and then create a mask that covered the area where the volumetric lighting was supposed to be. After this, I had to add the grid effect onto the "Solid" layer (the layer with the mask) and align it to the windows in the shot, since that is where the light was supposed to be coming from. Unfortunately, every time I would apply the effect onto the layer, it would disappear and then tell me that there was an error. After hours of trying different things, messing around with the program and looking for solutions online, I was unable to fix the problem.

This was the step that I was unable to complete. As shown here, the layer
with the solid has the Grid Effect applied, which is used to show the surface that
the light will be shining on. Though you cannot see the ground in the shot we
chose, this is a vital part in the creation of the three-dimensional light effect that
we want in our film opening.

        Another complication that I realized we would have later on (if this method was doable) was that there were many objects in the frame that would need shadows, including a moving subject (our main character). This would mean that multiple masks (with tracking) would have been needed, including one that moved as Sabrina moved throughout the shot, which would have been very difficult to pull off (and pull off well). Since this method seems to be unusable at the moment, I will do my best to look at other tutorials online to see if there is a better method for our project. There are many tutorials available that achieve the same effect in different ways, so I will be on the lookout from now on!

On the Bright Side

        Though my part of the editing was not as successful, Sabrina and Logan were able to line edit the opening and add the majority of the audio we needed. It's looking great so far! Hopefully I can figure out the effect, export it, and have Sabrina replace the unedited shots with my new ones. I also can't wait to see what the color grading looks like! I'm sure it will be one of the finishing touches that will make this film opening truly come to life. Talk to you guys later! I will let you know what happens.