Background of RKO Studios
RKO stands for Radio-Keith-Orpheum which was created in October of 1928. The studio was created when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theatre chain and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America were merged together and brought under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). David Sarnoff planned and supervised merge to create the studio, eventually giving the studio to Floyd Odlum. In its creation, RKO Studios was one of the Big Five in Hollywoods Golden Age
and was very successful. Overall, the creation of the studio under David Sarnoff was to compete with the introduction and rising popularity of movies with sound and talking. Its first few decades were successful but as time progressed, their popularity fell. In 1957 RKO Studios ceased production due to disarray and a decline in work and eventually dissolved in 1959. Eventually in 1981 the studio was revived by broadcaster RKO General and was eventually sold in 1989 becoming a small independent company under the new title RKO Pictures LLC.
Shining Stars
While RKO Studios is rarely heard of today producing new films, they did, however, produce some of the most famous and influential films in history: Citizen Kane and King Kong. They also helped coproduce other very popular films like It's a Wonderful Life and Notorious, even helping Walt Disney is making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia. Some other movies they produced were Little Women, The Body Snatcher and the live action of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Along with some very influential and popular movies they also had very well-known actors from that time working with them. They produced musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers while also having actors like Katharine Hepburn, Robert Mitchum, and Cary Grant. RKO Studios also had some producers and directors working with them as well like Val Lewtons. While they were very prosperous in Old Hollywood they were sadly unable to find the same success in today world.
Get With The Times
As mentioned in the first paragraph, RKO Studios in now a smaller independent studio and doesn't produce well know movies anymore. The last movies that the studio released were A Late Quartet which got good reviews and was well liked in 2012 and Barely Lethal which flopped and did not succeed in 2015. One of the more well known recent releases by the studio is Are We There Yet? which was very comedic but didn't receive good reviews as well. Overall, RKO Studios is not what it used to be ad doesn't show any signs of returning to its former glory.
Hit With Inspiration
When I found out that we were doing a music video I got so excited. That night I went home and went through all my playlists to find a good song where I had a clear concept for the video. In my search I found the song "Talia" by King Princess. The moment I heard the song I had a vision of a relationship where they had broken up and the singer is still in pain from the split so she would be shown in darker colors like blues and purples. Shots of the singer would then be broken up by shots of flashbacks to the relationship and the memories that they had together, being depicted in lighter colors like yellows and light oranges with a little bit of a fuzzy feel. I came in the next day to class and shared my idea and once I did the others were all for it with one person needing a little bit persuasion. Once we has the concept, song and roles picked out we moved to pre-production.
Creating Heartbreak
The roles we decided on were me as director, Shelby as editor even though we all worked together in editing, Marco as cinematographer, and Cas as art director. Pre-production was a crazy time because there were so many ideas flying and there was one person who also has a very strong leadership personality which caused so conflict. We had all decided on the concept that I had originally presented so all we had to do was decided on locations, costumes, shots, and actors. We got Kayla which is friends with most of the group to be the second person in the video while I was the singer. We then started talking about locations and choice to have the flashbacks take place mainly outside in a beach area as well as in some fields and bedroom. For the beach area and field we used Cas's grandmothers backyard since lived right off a lake and used my house for the bedroom. For the singer we placed her in the bedroom where the flashbacks took place while as taking a couple shots of the singer at the beach area as well. After we decided on the color scheme, actors, and locations we started to work on the filmscape which was a great way to illustrate what we wanted the shots to look like and give us a visual. Once the filmscape was completed we began filming.
Capturing Love and Despair
Actually filming as pretty hectic because we filmed on a Sunday night in three and a half hours. While it was crazy we got some good shots and everything looked good. We utilized a light kit to create the colors for the singer shots but we had to create our own gels due to the actually being missing. The colors turned out good and we got beautiful shots in general so it was a successful shooting day. Post-Production was a long process that took about a full week maybe a few more days. We started off putting the shots in the order we wanted but there being so much footage and ideas about how they should be placed and what should go where took a little time. We had decided to try and match the cuts with the beat which is a cool touch since it isn't to obvious but it's there. Once we finally finished putting all the shots in order we went through and started stabilizing shots. We wish we could've stabilized more but when we added the affect it looked warped and didn't look good but we thought it was okay because the little unstable ones adds to the video. After we stabilized what we could we went back and color corrected and brightened shots. In the singer footage we decided to use only blue for the footage so we had to through and take out the purple and green we had in there originally and add a blue tint to the outdoors ones without having it look weird. For the flashbacks we brightened them to give a vintage type feel and added some yellows. Once the coloring was done, the video was done.
Life Lessons
Throughout the project, I learned that sometimes you'll have to turn down peoples ideas because they don't add anything to the video or they don't make sense. There was also the lesson of all the ideas can't be mine, I have to be able to find the balance between incorporating others ideas and turning them down nicely. Another lesson is that sometimes people will try and take over your position and get on your nerves but you can't be mean to them because they're in their group. Along with learning these lessons I was able to use the 5 Guarantees. I used leadership to guide what the group needs to do to make the video good and what the video as a whole will look like. This also goes along with communication not just with the group but also with Kayla who I had to talk to about what to except from filming day. Collaboration was used in order to get along with everyone and make sure that everyone had a chance to share there thoughts, this was very evident especially during editing. Project management was on point because we got Pre-Production done with filming, we got filming done on time which allowed us to get a heard start on editing which allowed us to get the whole project done one time. We had set a schedule for ourselves and we were able to stick with it. Technical skills on my part, I believe were strong and I learned a lot on the color side of editing as well.
Moving on to the Future
Overall, I think this project went really well and turned out really well; I am very proud of the finished product. One thing I would've done differently would have been to have a longer time to shoot so it wouldn't be as stressful and we got make sure we got all the shots. On the other hand most things I would've kept the same, especially when it comes to picking a concept I am very passionate about. To enhance my next project I while remember to be nice and collaborate well with others in order to continue working as a group and to make sure everyone is putting in input.
The Task at Hand
The project we were assigned to do was to create a music video for a song. In the creation process of our music video we were set out to find already existing music videos to gain inspiration from. We had chosen the song "Talia" by King Princess to create a music video. The idea we had for the video was that we would have one set of scenes take place in a darker color scheme and the other set take place in a lighter color scheme. I had already had a pretty good idea of what the lighter scenes were going to look like but I need a visual video to show how the darker scenes were going to look like. On my search I found the music video for The Weekends song "Call Out My Name". This video was exactly what I was looking for: the color scheme matched, the shots used, and the camera movement were what I was imagining but couldn't quiet explain in words. While I didn't exactly like the whole video, the parts I did like stuck with me enough to remember and use the video for a large part of my inspiration. (The Weekend. "The Weekend-Call Out My Name (Official Video)". Online video. Youtube. Youtube, 12 April 2018. Web. 24 September 2018).
Call Out My Name
The story of "Call Out My Name" centers around a break up and someone trying to get over it but is having a hard time. They portray this by having dark colors and never really bringing in any light shades. The camera movements also adds to the story because them not being stationary allows the viewer to feel the turmoil and energy that the person is feeling. There are also visuals and effects that are supposed to help depict the loneliness the person is going through and how they feel inside. Through the use of camera movements, colors, and effects, the "Call Out My Name"video is able to tell the story of someone not over a break up and is longing for the other person.
My Viewing Experience
Overall, I throughly enjoyed the music video and was able to draw several pieces of inspiration from it. One of the biggest parts I pulled from this video, or at least tried to emulate, was the lower camera angle and the type of movement the camera had. This was one of the biggest ideas I had for the darker colored scheme part due to the mood and emotion it gave across. One thing that I saw in the video that I have already learned how to do is the coloring in the video not only in lights but also in post-production. One item that the video did was really well was using color and cinematography to capture and translate the mood that song and singer are conveying. The colors show the darker, sadder mood of the song while the camera movements shows all the twisted, confusing emotions and thoughts the person is having as well making the audience feel a little of it as well. However, I think it could be improved on toning down some of the effects because they got confusing and distracting at times.
This video really gave me some good ideas for my music videos and helped solidify some ideas that weren't fully put together.
My group and I decided to create a commercial advertising Apple iPhone. We chose this product because we though we could make a really cool video and come with an interesting concept. Once we had a product picked out, we started brainstorming ideas for the videos. After we went through a few ideas we decided to have three students in our video and follow them around during their school day, showing all the features in the iPhone and how they can be used for school purposes. At the very end of the video it would be revealed that all the students now each other, using the airdrop feature to share a picture and bring the students together. The feature showcased in the video were StudentVUE with Touch ID, Apple Music, Notes, Calculator, the camera, water resistance, as well as the previously mentioned airdrop. Each of the students was assigned two features and would use them in the video. Overall, the concept of the video was to show how iPhones could be useful to students.
Growing the Apple
One of the first things we did as a part of Pre-Production was decide who would take on what roles, I was editor. Once we had decided our roles we started to plan out and talk about how we wanted the video to look with our concept. We though of shots we wanted, the order the features would go in, how many people we would need, props, and so on. After a little bit of discussion we started to work on the script and story board to put our image down on on paper, I worked on the script with the help of Cas and Josh as Cas worked on the storyboard next to me. As work on the script and storyboard we were thinking of the people that would be in it and who we would ask. Since there was three of in the group and we needed three actors we were all supposed to bring in one person. Once we finished writing the script, storyboard, and had our actors we filmed. Filming took about an hour or two for about three days for all of the video. We used classrooms, outside of school, and our school lunch room to film since the video took place a school. When editing came around we had to cut a lot of the shots we had out and rearrange the story a little bit due to the commercial time constraint and due to the quality of some shots. I was able to find some really good shots and was still able to bring the story together how we originally wanted. After I cut the shots to the right length and arranged them in the best order I could figure out I started correcting the lighting and sharpening up some of the shots to make them less blurry. At the end of the video we put a video of the Apple logo that we found on YouTube because we didn't have time to create our own. With that logo came music and it was decided to use that play throughout the whole video instead of the music we had originally used. Adding the music was the last piece that had to be added and once that was done we exported.
Helping the Apple Grow
My production role was editor of the video. Along the way I learned how sometimes you have to cut some clips in order to make the story make sense and that you won't be able to use some due to something be wrong with it. I also learned how to stabilize shots, correct lighting, and increase the sharpness of shots. One of the big things I learned was how to do split screens with three different clips.
Meeting Standards
I personally think this whole project was a mess. In reality, I think our technical skills were poor. Some of the shots could have had more light by opening up the iris or could've been more in focus. This affected the overall look of the commercial and didn't make it as clean because you can fix some of it in post but it won't look as good. However, we did have some really good clips that I'm proud of and look very good. Our communication could've been better as well. In Pre-Production it was really good, we were listening to each others ideas and trying to find ways to incorporate most of them and if we didn't like an idea we were nice about it. On the other hand during Production and in Post communication was not as good as it could've been. When it came to shooting we didn't communicate about what we thought of some shots and didn't clearly express how they could've been made better. Then in Post, if I didn't like an idea I wasn't good at communicating that but instead just went along with it. The same kind of goes for collaboration, it was really good in the beginning and stayed good throughout the whole process it just declined a little. Leadership was also kind of a mess. Our director did a really good at making sure we were all on track, making sure things were getting done, and helping where help was needed. I fell bad, however, because I felt like I was taking a leadership role as well and overshadowing the actual director and I feel bad about that but I seem to do it in all group projects. Overall, I think leadership was good I just feel bad for overshadowing at points. I think project management went well, we got the project done.
For Next Time
If I had to do this project again I would probably want to be either cinematographer and editor, director and editor, or just be more out spoken about my thoughts to ensure that our video was to the best quality it could be. I would also want a better filming schedule because ours for this video was kind of chaotic. However, there are thing I would keep the same. Somethings I would keep the same is the product and the concept because I think that they were really cool and could have been sleek and appealing to watch.
Having All The Ingredients
As a whole I think our commercial met most of the objectives of a commercial. I think we met the emotional connection with it being students allowing other students to be able to relate to how it feels to be in school as well as having something available that makes it easier. Even though we should the phone and its functions throughout the commercial we kept the information limited by not having a voice over talking about the phone. Our call to action would be the animated Apple logo at the end; even though this isn't like the old fashioned call to actions the logo still has the same purpose. Our commercial also has positive association and trust building by showing the phone in multiple situations and by people who look trustworthy. I think our key principles of film making could've been better. The writing, audio, and editing were pretty strong but I think the directing, lighting, and cinematography could've been better.
Overall
Overall I think this commercial could've been better and I'm not that proud of it.
Requirements
The task at hand for our first entertainment project was to find a, school appropriate, music video and recreate it. This included having to do a beat sheet, a type of outline special for music videos, a mood board, and a story board for all of out frames. Our music video had to be shot with all the technical aspects we have learned about as well as tell a story. My group and I had agreed on doing the music video for Lana Del Rey's song Love. Once we picked out our song it was to get to work.
Putting at the Gears in Motion
The first thing we had to do was assign jobs. My job was editor which means I'm responsible for editing the final video but I still took part in pre-production and production. Once we had that done we started to watch the music video for Love to get ideas for ours. After watching it a few times through we started to work on our beat sheet and story board. On our beat sheet we wrote all the information of the song like producer, singer and company, other music videos to inspire ours, etc. Then we started to draw out the frames for our music video on our story board. During this step, we kept coming up with so many ideas that it was hard to get them all down. Eventually we had a really good illustration of the frames of our video. Now that we knew what our video was going to look like, how we were going to do it, where we were going to do it, we needed to figure out who was going to be in it. We had thought up a list of people, mostly our friends, and started asking them, my group and I now had our people. Now we filmed. This part was pretty easy and take very long since we had a specific and detailed vision of what we wanted everything to look like. After we had everything filmed we started editing. Like filming editing didn't take very long since we had a pretty detailed idea of what everything was to look like but we did run into some changes and discussions. The hardest part of editing was getting the person who was lip syncing lips to line up with the words, but once they did it felt really good. The final part of editing was adding some cooler filters and then were done.
Learning Through Experience
Throughout this project I learned how to work and communicate with people who were going to be in the video and not just my group members. This was different because they had no idea what we had planned so we had to be very clear in explaining what we wanted them to do as well as when and where we would be filming. As the project went on, however, I became better at this and it was easier to communicate what was needed of them. On the technical aspect, I learned how to use color filters and how to scale a video to a certain size. I can use these skills later in my film career if a shot isn't looking quiet right or if I need the clips to look a certain way. These skills will, overall, make me a better film maker.
Change it or Leave it
Overall I felt this project went really well especially since it's my first entertainment assignment and I wouldn't change a lot. The only few things I would have changed is making some shots not as out focus so they didn't look messy. This also goes with stabilizing some shots to make them less shaky because it can look sloppy and make people sick. While I would only apply this to some shots I would like to make those changes. Another change I would make is picking the people more carefully. Our coffee shop couple was the only couple that wasn't dating in real life and the whole thing came off as awkward in the video. It's not a big deal but I think fixing this problem would make the video even better. I can apply these lessons to my next project by paying a better attention to the really small details.
This was my final 2D animation where I had to include everything I had learned so far this year. Throughout this project I learned that sometime simplicity is key. At the beginning I started off with a story that was to complicated and cut it back or else I wouldn't finish. The original one would have had to many elements that would have to be created and animated and I just didn't have time for it, so I took parts out. In the end I'm really proud of this project and want more people to see it since I put a lot of effort in it and looks half decent. One of my greatest strengths in this project was probably creating everything in Photoshop before actually animating it. I was pretty good with the pin point tool. One of my weaknesses, however, was the walk cycle. I was able to improve, although, by adding pin points in the knees but I still need a lot of practice and work on it. One aspect about this project I would change is the walk cycle and how my clouds look. I feel like I could've done the walk cycle more smooth but just didn't have time. I'm going to use what I learned from this project to better my future projects and know what I need to work on.
I'm Somewhat Proud Of This
By creating this project, I was able to learn how to do a walk cycle for a two legged creature. I learned this skill by paying attention in class as well trial and error. Additionally, I also learned how to scan something I drew on paper into the computer. I forgot how to do a portion of the scanning so I had to have help for a classmate. I picked this project because I had some struggles with it in the beginning and couldn't get my robot looking how I wanted, I couldn't figure out the walk cycle, etc., but through my trial and error I was able to produce an animation that I think is decent and proud of. One of my greatest strengths for this project was creativity with making my character a robot and not a human, as well as making the head spin at the end. My greatest weakness was the walk cycle because I did it backwards so I have to make my robot walk backwards. I was to improve, however, by working and focusing on making my walk cycle the best it can be. If I could change anything, I would change how my robot looks because he looks really spotty and messy and I want him to look nicer. Overall, I will use what I learned in this project whenever I'm animating something that needs to walk or move in a similar way.
This Doesn't Completely Look Bad
By doing this project I learned so much about the animating software, Maya, and several skills as well. I learned how to create dips/a bowl shape out of cylinders, how to combine shapes, add textures using pictures, and what tool to use to align shapes. I learned these things by having to create the towers for my castle, needing to add a stone texture to walls, and making sure everything was even and neat. I picked this project because I'm really proud of how it turned out especially since I was gone when the instructions were given. My greatest strength is probably the textures even though I had some getting them to show up my first time. Once I found out what I was doing, however, it was easy from then one. One the other hand, my greatest weakness was probably creating the towers and beveling. It took me forever to figure out how to get it to work, but eventually I got it down and was able to do it pretty easily since. I'm going to use what I learned when needing add textures an surface and when I'm creating a building. One thing I would change is the size of my towers, the look really big and I don't like them. Overall this project was really fun to make.
My Favorite 3D Project
Animating this project let me learn how to create holes in a polygon. You did this by putting cylinders through it and then taking out the spaces where they touched, creating hole. I also learned how to light an object from doing a worksheet and watching a Youtube video. I picked this project because it turned out super good and I'm proud of how well I did on it. My greatest strength in this project was lighting the object. I was able to understand the lighting really easily and caught on to it pretty fast. My weakness, however, was getting the holes to appear properly. My first few tries resulted in all . my shapes disappearing but I was eventually able to make it work. I improved on this skill by figuring out what angle for clicking worked the best. I'm going to use what I learned to light the rest of my projects in a professional, appropriate manor. I wouldn't really change anything about this project except make the plane lighter, its to dark. Overall, I'm really proud of this project and think its's one of my best.
In this blog post I will be teaching you to make a 3D sphere in the animation program called Maya. The person who would nee this tutorial is on that has never used Maya perform and needs to learn the basics, but this skill be used by anybody that has Maya on their computer. This skill is important to learn so you are able to begin animating and creating projects. All the other polygons in Maya can be made in a similar fashion, so once you learn how to create a sphere you can create any other shape you want.
1. The first step is open Maya to where it looks like this.
2. Then we have to create a new project. Go to file and then click on Project Window.
3. Once you click on it, a window like the one below should appear. Click the "New" button in the top right hand corner. Name the file whatever you would like and then press "Accept to begin animating.
4. Once the file is created, click on the tab named "Poly Modeling" so the banner looks like the below.
5. Click on the orange sphere, which is the shape farthest to the left, in the banner to create on your plan.
6. Click on the plane and drag to make your sphere the desired size you would like it at.
7. Once you have created your sphere you press "Save" or "Save As" under File. You do not need to repeat step 2 and 3 when working on this project again, simply just reopen this file.
Additional Resources
This tutorial will take you more in depth in the modeling process as well as teach you about texturing. I hope this will help you further your animations and help you in the future.
