Week 12 - It is Done.

Well i finished my tracking, and inserted me on the video. Also placed a simple block with a image i made on the kinect version of me, mainly to act as a base. I personally think the video is believable, but this i my personal prediction.

Well Enjoy.

As you can see it didn't come out half as bad as i originally thought, so am pleased with the final footage.   Also i added in a slight video grain to the video, to add authenticity to the video. I enjoyed making this project mainly due to the fact we got to work with the Kinect sensor. It integrated this with work on Maya, so this project went well.

If i had to do this project again, i would definitely work on the tracking of my footage to make it a lot more smoother, so i would be able to add in the content to look more authentic. Also i would add more content to the video, such as multiple Kinect items around the scene. Another thing i would add to this project is audio, even a simple soundtrack would suffice.

Overall i enjoyed tracking the most in this project, so this is something i would like to evolve on in my final year, maybe use a green screen with tracking points "Matrix" style.

Week 11 - Kinect + Me = Saturday Night Fever.

Well on the first week, Jeremy took at 3D photo of me via the xbox kinect camera. It uses depth sensor to create a 3D representation of the room and calculated a 3D figure in the scene. It is really clever, but then again it is still in the early stages.

Heres an example of the 3D version of me, taken from the Kinect Camera Source, as you can see i was emulating John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. I have no clue why i did this.

As you can see the Kinect Camera is not very precise, but when using it on the xbox it is uses the tracking data to calculate what the actions the human body is doing. For gaming it is perfect, but for cinematography it is not. In the future microsoft are going to track the human face, for emotion, so this is an exciting use of the technology.

Week 11 - Track and Field.

Well this week i shot some footage via an iPhone 4, mainly because i really do not like shooting on tape. At home i used the floor, and created some tracking points so when i tracked the footage, it would be easier to track. I also placed my phone, keys and the roll of tape in the scene so i could have more points to track. Overall i felt the footage i shot came out well, but i believe i will edit the beginnning out, because it is way too jumpy.

This is the footage i will use.

This footage seems appropriate for this project, hopefully it will be easy to track in Boujou.

Week 10 - "These aren't the titles your looking for".

Well during the week i was busy doing other modules, so i gave this project the back seat, but this week i am going to work on it. Another lesson with Jeremy this week, and more insight into what we were being asked to created.

As i created a tron light cycle sequence in my first year, i thought it would be appropriate for me to use the same materials and use it as a test for this project. Using my scanned self i deleted the background and other stuff to leave myself in the scene. Using the backgrounds i created, i designed a 3d box which contained me in. From there i constructed the floor, a standard black colour.

Afterwards i tried to program a camera to spin around me, but this was unsuccessful. I have another idea, of which is to place my character into a scene involving a shootout. Using the bullet-time technique, and digital manipulation in Maya, i think i am able to pull it off.

Week 9 - Kinecting the Void...

Well this week i was introduced to the third and final project. Jeremy came into class today and set up the recently released Xbox 360 Kinect Camera. It is a camera which contains a special depth sensor inside of it, an infrared light tracker and a VGA camera to record footage on. This device was going to be interesting to work with.

Using the camera he told us to pose infront of it, from there he took an image of me and showed the class how it the Kinect sensor used depth to show the image in 3D. This was very interesting as usually with a generic camera, the user would need 4 to gain most of the 3D depth of the object.

After he took a photo of me and the class posing, he showed us examples of what work people around the world have done with it. It was very clever what people had done, for example a youtube video showed a man holding his hand out infront of the camera, and was mimicking a parrot. This then was calculated into a parrots head moving and flapping about.

Using this technology will be interesting to say the least and this week i will try to think of an idea to use with the Kinect.

Maybe something Tron related ;)

Week 8 - Bi-Winning.

Today was the day i showed the class my music video, overall i feel it is a good piece of work, but i could have improved on it a lot if given more time. One thing i would have changed is the location, using my halls was not a great idea, it was boring and bland. Next time i would use a location which was full of colour, maybe the peace gardens in central sheffield. I would also like to include sheffield's vast architecture in my next piece of work. I like the designs of many buildings in sheffield and showcasing them would look good in the future.

I showed my video to the class today, low and behold the rest of the class decided to use stop motion as there idea. GREAT. I mean some were really good, and i enjoyed watching them. A lot were abstract, but thats the great thing about creating music videos, anything goes.

After i showed my video, i told the class the problem i came across. The problem of acting, who would star in it. Student, friends or professionals. Firstly i ruled out professionals, as i am a student, money is problem in general. Second was the students, i emailed the dance and acting societies for some help, when i received the brief, they got back to me 3 days before i was supposed to show the video to the class. So i utilised my best asset, my close friends. They helped me shoot the video, and also gave me a couple of ideas ( Thanks JJ and Anthony).

Well thats how the presentation went. Thanks for reading, and i shall be back next week with the next project and update.

Week 7 - Mission Complete.

So this week i completed editing my music video down, and added in the effects needed for the video and muxed in the audio. This project i went against Melvyns advice and used a 1280 x 720 resolution, as it would make my video look more slick. It was 720p video, something i had wanted to do for a long time, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Cross processing was a feature i added into the video, as it made the super clear SLR shots i had taken look like they were from the 1970s. This was an interesting effect, of which i was skeptical about at first, but in the end made the video look stylistic compared to other videos i had seen.

Here is my completed Music Video, with the standard MTV titles at the beginning of which adds authenticity ;)

Enjoy and watch it in 720p ;)