Understanding visual effects techniques and their applications in audio-visual media products

Green Screen

1. Green screen is the technique of photographing or filming an object and/or an actor in front of a green monochrome background and replacing the background with a different image.

2. The first instances of image compositing for film started back in 1898 in a film called "Four heads are better than one". In this movie, the actor's head was duplicated doing different things in several different locations all at the same time and this was achieved by doing multiple exposures. Following from this the glass shot was developed. This was where glass panels were painted on to produce landscapes and other things to give the illusion of depth etc. These things led to the development of the Blue Screen. Like Green Screen, the Blue Screen was essentially the same thing where the object or actor would be filmed in front of a blue backdrop to make it easy to separate them from the background and replace it with something else. Later, after the use of the Blue Screen, film makers decided Green was a better colour. This was because it required less light to get good lighting from it. Chroma keying is what is used now to remove the green from behind the actor or object to insert a new background.

3. 

Mattes and Matte Painting

1. A matte painting is a painted depiction of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows film makers to create an environment that is non-existent in real life or would be too expensive or impossible to build/visit.

2. In 1905, Norman Dawn used black tape to mask out things he didn't want to appear in his picture and then took the picture again using a glass panel with a painting in front of the camera to enhance his pictures by placing whatever was in the painting in his picture, Chris Evans was the first person ever to create a digital matte painting that would be used in a film. In 1985 Evans blended a scanned image with digital painting to create an extremely realistic scene that was placed in the film Young Sherlock Holmes. Now with everything becoming digital, Photoshop and 3D software is becoming used more and more to create matte paintings and backgrounds etc for films and photographs.

Job Role 1

Director
The director's job is to visualise and define the style and structure of the film, carrying out tasks like casting, script editing, shot comp, shot selection and editing. As a director you need to make sure that all the crew,  e.g. creative teams and technical teams,  work together and efficiently to make a cohesive story. I think I would be quite good as a director because in a previous filming project, Daniel and I worked together quite a lot to organise the shoots and make sure everyone knew what they needed to do and bring to each shoot. I think that over the course of the year as well my organisation has improved somewhat along with my creative skills and decision making.

Job Role 2

Camera Operator
Camera Operators carry out the Director of Photography’s and Director’s instructions for shot composition and development. They are usually the first people to use the camera's eyepiece to assess how all the elements of performance, art direction, lighting, composition and camera movement come together to create the cinematic experience. I think I would be good as a Camera Operator due to my camera work being pretty good and I can take directions well to get the desired shots. In our previous assignment where we had to shoot a movie trailer and during our photography unit, my camera skills have improved quite a lot and I now spot opportunities for great shots fairly quickly which I feel would come in handy out in the field.