Final Film

This is my finalised film. Each clip plays for half the time than it did before so overall it looks smoother. I have kept the same style music.

Soundtrack tests

Using the up to date visuals of my film, I have tested out different sound tracks. None of the backings contain lyrics as this would clash with the audio teaching the viewer about the surgery process.

1. The first sample 'Ukelele' is upbeat so brings a positive tone to the surgery process. However it resembles a dance, which match hand in hand with learning the science. 
2. The next, called 'Speedy', is much faster. It may rush the viewers thoughts, meaning they absorb less information. The speed makes it slightly frantic. It also resembles a childlike style, which although brings light energy to the video, is not appropriate for a topic of surgery or the high level of science detail being conveyed. 
3. This acoustic version of 'Budapest' (original by George Ezra) is calming and a good speed. However at times it becomes too heavy and dense for a backing track. There is also a chance viewers will recognise the song, which will draw their attention away from the aim of understanding more. 
4. The 4th sample is again an acoustic version of a well known song 'Riptide'. For the same reasons above, I have chosen not to use it. 
5. This is the slowest sample. It is far too slow for the speed of the visuals, so do not work together in 1 film. 
6. The 6th test is very positive. If anything it is too dramatic. I must be sure to remain un-bias on my thoughts of laser eye. This style music seems as if I am promoting laser eye surgery to the audience. 
7. The next track is called 'Flowing energy'. It is a good speed and provides good energy to the film. 
8. The final sound sample 'Sun on my Side' is similar to no.7. However it is slightly more upbeat. Includes more string instruments and makes the film look overall more smooth. 

After evaluating all my possible sound tracks, I have made a decision to use 'Sun on my Side'. I will use 3 different versions of this track throughout my film. The different versions are very similar so will fit together easily. 

Film - sep 24th version

This is the stage of my movie mid-september. I have put together the 100s of photos and fit the audio to the correct timings. I would like to speed up the film, making it overall smoother, however I have yet figured out how to do this without distorting the sounds. 

The background music is also only temporary as I am still experimenting. 

Background colour and lighting tests

Here are a few different background colour tests. I concluded that pink was the most fitting colour as firstly it gives a warm image and is easy to look at for the audience. Secondly it gives a good contrast to the other coloured objects in the frame. And finally pink also shares connotations with the inside of a human body (suggesting surgery).

[I have chosen to use the Sony DSC-WX150 camera as overall its positives out-ruled all the negatives in comparison to the other 2 cameras].

Deciding a camera

The choice of which camera I will use for my stop-frame animation will depend on a few factors:
1. Which editing software I will use.
2. Quality of images.
3. Size if image on camera (effects processing time).

I have tested out a few different cameras and methods.

iphone 4
A very easy-to-use app on the iPhone called 'stop motion' is one method I am considering to make my film with. The app is on a set timer which takes photos in a given interval then immediately stitches your photos together to make a quick photo-animation.

Positives: Will make editing faster & easier. Photos are small (low MBs) therefore easy to download, store, load onto computer. I have a small tripod for iPhones, so setting up the set should not take a long time. Can send film straight to computer.

Negatives: The film is created immediately - I don't yet know a way of editing after photo's are stitched together. The quality of the images are not very high and as I will be working with close ups, this could affect the film quality. The iPhone and tripod are physically small, so hard to handle (fiddly). The iPhone loses charge very quickly.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150
A sony digital camera which pro-effects. 18.2 MP and 10x optical zoom. Has a macro-lens setting. Will take photos separately and then stitch together in iMoive on my MacBook.

Positives: The photos will be of much higher quality than the iPhone. No set time interval, so do not have to rush each frame. Free to edit photos in any way. The tripod I have for this camera is larger, therefore greater variety in options of angles/distance. Lighting and colour is good.

Negatives: Size of the photos will be larger- more memory will be used - will need a large memory card. Cannot sent all photos to computer at one time (will have to take time uploading them). Processing time on camera is longer as photos are larger (due to higher quality).

Sony Cyber-shot HX50V
Later generation of Sony DSC-WX150. 20.4MP and 30x optical zoom. It is also a small digital camera but larger than the Sony DSC-WX150. Has mostly the same affects as the Sony DSC-WX150. Would also use iMovie to edit separate photos together.

Positives: Images would be the highest quality out of all of the options. No set time interval, so do not have to rush each frame. Free to edit photos in any way. Can also use the larger tripod for this camera. Most photo-sensitive lens therefore responds the best to light changes.

Negatives: As photo quality is higher, it takes longer to process when capturing each frame. This could affect the fluidity of my animation making as well as delaying the project overall. The battery life on this camera is lower than Sony DSC-WX150
After testing the camera on the tripod I have discovered it is prone to falling over due to it's heavy weight. It is very important the camera (and set) remains in exactly the same place throughout the course of taking the photos so there is overall clarity within the film.

Finalised storyboard

This is the corrected version of my storyboard (only a few alterations). 

I made sure to design my original storyboard built upon ideas that I was confident I can achieve practically. Therefore I haven't needed to change much of it. 

Animation Test

This is my first test of video using plasticine. I did this to test out different angles for the camera, to get the feel of how I will manipulate my materials whilst also testing a small clip of music.

Overall I think the test was successful as I found the plasticine easy to work with. I was also able to conclude at the end of the test footage that for my final animation, the angle of the camera should be directly above (birds eye view), this way it will be easier to keep consistency as well as easier for the viewer to watch.