Collins magwaza's Web Blog

Reflection and reaction

collins561 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:21:37 +0000

l have taken some photographs around Coventry City .These photographs l took them using digital camera .The idea was to capture very thing memorable or spectacle from my point of view .My feeling at the time of capturing these images was mixed because this was my first time , to move around the city centre

Knowledge learnt , l think l have managed to make create stories from memorable , spectacle and powerful images .My first reaction was that l thought it was not going to work ,but to my surprise it worked .Source of inspiration was archieve footage of a Man with a moving camera .

Development and Research

collins561 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:31:39 +0000

www.stopmotionpro.com

www.movingideas.com

www.funadvice.com

www.familyvideos.co.uk

influence , Chicken run / Toy story /Wallace & Gourment /Shaun the sheep

The ideas of moving animation

Building my own mini studio .This easy to build mini studio , will improve the lighting in my animation .It will help control natural light fluctuations and makes the most of a single light source such as a desklamp .All l need is a cardbox scissors and transparent baking paper .The cost is virtually nothing and the improvements are dramatic .

When shooting in a classroom , or a bedroom or office it can be hard to control lighting from windows , shadows and other fluctuations in lighting contribute to reducing the quality work .Another issue is single light ,this design will bounce light around studio box and help till in shadow areas.

Editing Videos

Adding music to my videos .Some of the the most memorable films of all time have become even more ingrained in our minds because of the use of music e,g Titanic or l will always love you or Bodyguard and who could forget the chilling background of Jaws .

l have noticed that action never occurs for too long before the introduction of some sort of music and if used correctly it can dramatically improve a video .

PLANNING

# Developing interesting characters .

# How to format a screenplay .

# Storyline and plot development .

# The importance of good dialogue .

#The main components of a screenplay

# What makes a good romance

# What makes a good thriller .

Five Obstructions

collins561 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:28:49 +0000

Cinematic Duel of wits for two Danish Directors.

In his last few movies , from Breaking the Waves to Dogville the Danish director lars von Trier has made a speciality of depicting and also perharps engaging in.

The five obstructions which opened at film forum is both antidote to these spectacles of obejection and a variation on their themes of cruelty and domination .

Mr von Trier ,who appear frequently in this semi documentary inquiry into the making breaking of works of art .

Scientific examination of human behavoir in which ,well dressed actors are filmed in Black & White against blank backgrounds as a voice over waxes .

Medium

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:55:27 +0000

l have done motion picture using stop motion animation .I have also done pictures using digital camera .

What new things will l try

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:05:55 +0000

An in depth understanding of different culture ,African,Asian from the Western point of view .Traditional ways of living in different culture .

Trying to find out why do these people live this way ,not the other way round .

Places , such as DESERTS in Namibia , dry very hot climates. It would be great to find out more about such places . Are there any people living there if yes , finding how do they survive under very difficult climate conditions .

Places where we could find lions in the wild .Finding location of different climate , culture and language of the world is important .This project is ideal for documentary .

What has gone wrong

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:33:26 +0000

When l was taking the pictures using the digital camera .l discovered that the lighting was not very bright as l wanted. The other thing was that the impression of a tarred road that l used was moving from the original position because l did not fix it very well . l used black bin liner , then laid it on the floor and then l put white paper cuts on top of the laid bin liner .The idea was to make an impression of tarred road with white road markings .

l have learnt that l should have used something firm that is easy to fix.

At first l wanted the characters to have dialogue but , later l faced the problem of doing voice over. I wanted at least three people excluding myself to do voice over .

Most of my friends were busy with their projects . I have also learnt that some projects do require a team to make something professional.

What work has influenced me .

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:54:35 +0000

Childhood memories was one of the most influences to me .Memory is a very important factor to us as humans . I watch children’s programme on TV with the intention of knowing how the programmes are made .For example Shaun the sheep . This particular film is made using stop motion animation .l have learnt that if l develop a character , l can make it work .

TOY STORY the film was a great influence with characters like BUZZ. Children’s books such as The Lion King , Winnie the pooh and Tigger too.

Youtube is the source of many short films such as Charlie bite me .

What has worked

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:24:29 +0000

When l started gathering ideas for my project, l wanted to make motion picture using toys that l could find within my house .

l have managed to to create a story showing beginning , middle and and an end .l have created a dancing competition of TOYS .l have managed to do something remarkable .l have used a digital camera to take pictures of toys dancing . Stop motion is want l have used .

What worked is, l have used sound to enhance motion picture.The ability to do something from an idea and develop characters .l have managed to edit the film.l have used memory to come up with idea ,l remember the toys that l used to play with when l was a little boy .

What has pleased me the most is that the sound enhanced the film .The sound of car horns ,sound of traffic moving . I was pleased with characters that l created as audience watching the dancing competition .

CITY OF COVENTRY-SPECTACLE!

collins561 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:17:37 +0000

POWER OF THE MIND

collins561 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:41:17 +0000