Horse Trot Animation Layered

Depth of field is simply the area of your film frame that is in focus, sometimes referred to as the zone of sharpness.   There are  two types of  depth of field,  shallow (or narrow, or small) and wide (or deep or large) .  As we can see in the example from Piper, Shallow   focus  involves one point of focus with the foreground and background blurred.  A shallow depth of field is used frequently in filmmaking because it allows you to focus on something in the screen as part of your storytelling. That subject is the only thing in focus. One technique in getting a shallow depth of field in live action film making is to use a longer lens.  Telephoto lenses will have a shallower depth of field than wide angle lenses when they're set at the same f/stop. Conversely, deep   focus  puts nearly everything in focus.        Here is an  example of deep focus from Citizen Kane a photographic and cinematographic...

Lecture/Demo Will Ziegler - Editing techniques such as cuts, dissolves, etc. Demo: Editing software Today we were joined by William Ziegler, who is the Editing Coordinator for the animation department. He talked about early Soviet film makers Sergei Eisenstein and Kuleshov, who pioneered new ideas about editing during the 1920s, and showed ' the 'Kuleshov experiment', which is what Hitchcock is referencing to in this interview. Hitchcock calls it 'pure cinematics', the assembly of film. In this interview, Alfred Hitchcock shows the example of cutting the same reaction shot between two very different shots.  This creates a very different idea, even though the reaction shots are the same. This suggests that audiences bring their own emotional reaction to a sequence of images. This was first discovered by Soviet film maker Kuleshov. Most directors are influenced by and build upon the work of other film makers. “One of the biggest effects in  Psycho  was where the detec...

MODULE 3: MOVIE ANALYSIS 3: THE VISUAL EFFECTS FILM 3 Sep 21 -  Sep 27 Lecture/Demo A contemporary visual effects feature will be analyzed Activity Break into groups and discuss story, design and character and how they relate to short film creation Assignment Choose a VFX film. What makes it successful? Write a critique. ___________________________________________________________________ Introduction In this module, we'll explore what it takes to create a memorable live-action feature film in which visual effects play a key role. Now that you've had a chance to watch and critique a couple of films, we will apply the same methods to a fantasy/science-fiction film comprising different worlds, spaceships, and a variety of human and digital characters.  The film chosen for this module is  Guardians of the Galaxy  (dir. James Gunn, 2014).  Student Outcomes Critique a film. Explain how the art of visual effects can help or hinder a film. Analyze one aspect of the...

Activity - Split into groups, Analysis of the Incredibles Discuss: Technique - Why certain camera shots/angles are used and are they effective? How is color used ? Music ? Story Structure Film Research Now that you've watched the film, it's time to do some background study on the person (author/auteur) who made the film and the history of the making of the film. By doing this, we will get a better idea of why some of the key creative decisions ultimately found their way into the movie. Before going out on his own and making his first animation feature film,  The Iron Giant , Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird was a consultant on  The Simpsons  during its golden age (the first eight seasons). Here he played a key role in developing the show's animation style. During this time, his skills as a cinematic storyteller evolved significantly.   Reading: Chris Roman, "Storyboarding the Simpsons Way"  ( PDF , 2.7 MB) http://www.floobynooby.com/IPUB/storyboards_bradbird_...