As I knew I was going to be very busy with the Debbie edit, I wanted to make sure the animation for Anxiety Dance would have sufficient attention. To assist Shahid with animating the branches, I created a (very loose) instruction manual that included everything I wanted to achieve from the animation, alongside diagrams and descriptions that I drew in Photoshop of how I envisioned the branches' movement and style. Although, I did make it clear that this was only for Shahid to follow as a rough guide, and if he figured in the process that things worked better done in a different way, I was happy for him to make those changes. Here are my descriptions : 

The animation still took a lot longer than expected, and as I hadn’t scheduled in that I would be animating for Qualia, some time from Through the Medium got taken away unfortunately, which pushed us back quite a bit after final edit was finished. It was also a race to get a rough version of the branches done for Lucy in order to do the sound design for the piece, which added quite a lot of stress. However, I’m glad that the situation did occur, as now my confidence has grown a lot in using software such as After Effects.

Due to the hot conditions of our room during the stop motion shoot it meant our character and set would often melt, and time had to be spent fixing this every so often, for continuity purposes as we didn't shoot the scenes in a linear manner. However, there was only so much we could do to get it looking similar throughout, so we thought to assist this we would fix things up ever so slightly in post. This was a really subtle thing, done only on shots that had patches that were really messed up and required a bit of fixing. I wanted to make sure Clay's textured skin was still on show though, and the indentations and changes as an effect of us touching / moving him could still be visible in order to contrast with the very smooth CGI universe. 

To do this I used NukeX, using the blur tool. This allowed me to focus on only particular areas that needed attention, and change the opacity of the blur to low so as the smoothing was very slight. I'd never used NukeX before, so this was a learning experience for me and I now feel more confident using the software. 

My Role Experience

For me, as an editor, the production stage was a lot about observing the footage in real time in order to understand the story and shots better, developing a familiarity with these to assist in the editing stages of post production. I would frequently look back and forth between the monitor featuring the camera view and the live action happening on the set. This was in order to establish a relationship between what the camera was capturing and any details that were not within the frame that could be useful knowledge to also later assist me, when choosing certain takes or angles over one another. 

In between shooting, my job was to transfer and log the footage, looking after the cards during the process and ultimately returning them to the camera and sound teams. Conveniently, this could occur as cast and crew took breaks, allowing us to use time efficiently and meaning the cards never really became full while in the middle of shooting. Below is a documented version of my log sheet :

I'd never done anything with logging footage before, and this experience allowed me to increase my skills in this department, learning how to use the software Shotput Pro (version 5) in order to do so. I was a bit anxious about messing up something during this process, and I felt a lot of responsibility, as I knew if some footage didn't save or wasn't easily accessible, it would be my fault and I didn't want to ruin the film! However, taking a reasonable amount of time to ensure everything was working correctly (however still working efficiently to maintain a reasonable time schedule to not put production at a halt) and making sure that I understood the process and software well enough, meant that I was confident everything had been transferred and logged successfully.

As a side role, I assisted on continuity last minute when Julia was not available. However, this was a very minor role on my part, which I found incredibly difficult to pick up at times, once again never having done it before. I found it hard to switch from an editor's perspective to being thrown into a continuity perspective, and trying to pick up where someone else had left off and remember details that I hadn't really been looking for before. However, I did try my best and it's definitely gained me an experience.

Similarly to the set build, it was quite a lot of stress for one week during the shooting of Debbie! At times I feel like everyone felt very tense, however I feel this was mainly because of our limited time available to get everything shot and completed. A lot of the days, we were very behind schedule, and we all had to stay and work much later than originally intended. It meant all systems were go pretty much all the time, which was very exhausting. However, I'm glad we were able to stay a lot later and spend more time on achieving what we wanted, because I'd rather the film got finished and be tired than it not and have left on time every day! Despite the stress, I think we all knew it was what was needed for the film, and so we were all willing to go beyond ourselves each day to achieve it. There were a lot of fun times as well on set - a lot of classic DFSA banter between the crew, funny outtakes from the cast - which made the days go by a bit faster and helped us keep some sanity in amongst the chaos! I think the whole production process has been a learning experience for all of us in many different ways, and definitely a big part of the learning process has been developed around solving problems and not letting them cause the production to completely fall apart. There's always going to be some problems, sometimes many problems, but it's how you deal with them when you're out in the field that allows you to learn the best and move on from them, and I think during Debbie this is something that all of us were able to manage and deal, even those at times it was difficult. 

A graphic version of the perks and a brief description of why we are giving what we are. 

Publicising us on social media and thank yous. 

Idea

I thought since our film is animation based it would be nice to do our trailer in a similar fashion and use animation. So far we have used quite a lot of graphics, such as of the characters, throughout much of our presentation materials (production pack, presentation etc.) and thought we could make use of them in the trailer. I thought about how we are bringing the animated characters of Chip and Clay into our world in Through the Medium, and how maybe we could reverse that to turn ourselves into animated characters and be a part of their own world, such is the reflexive nature of what we're trying to do.

Josh asked Tom and I to help out with camera work for his documentary film, which I was very excited about as I find his project really cool and something I'd be really interested in! It meant we got to tag along and watch the performances and meet some band members which was super awesome! More film - wise it allowed me to test my camera skills on the EX1 - camera being something I haven't really been on other than in workshops and my own personal projects etc. It was nice being able to try something different and go a bit out of my normal comfort zone from roles that I've become more acquainted with. I had a great time and hopefully helped Josh a tiny bit on his way to accomplishing his amazing project!

Feedback

Inframen is a series of portraits using an infrared technique that reveals blemishes that lie under a dancer's abused skin such as scars and sun damage. The photographic process strips away the dancers' outer shell, exposing hidden flaws - the surface of the skin becomes a metaphor for the dancer's inferiority. It represents the relationship between the strength of the body and the fragility of the soul while using male dancers subverts the heteronormative idea of emotionally suppressed masculinity. 

"I use this infrared technique to challenge the model's beauty and find a great intimacy. You are seeing what is already there but it reveals and emphasises these marks."

I think this is a great inspiration for looking at male dancers and challenging the male stereotype. In Inframen we can see that despite their beauty and strength, there are flaws underneath and that everyone has them. This relates back to our film to try and subvert the idea of men always being these strong, fearless characters that are meant to protect, and in reality are just as susceptible to "flaws" as women, despite that this may be seen to be overlooked. 

After our brief tutorial with Kathleen we discussed about what gender we wanted the dancer to be and how this would effect what we are trying to say with the piece. We thought how it would be interesting to use a male dancer as a subversion of stereotypes. I wrote this brief summary to outline the new idea for the film : 

A 5 minute contemporary dance film featuring a young man, aiming to explore and challenge the male stereotype of having strong, fearless characteristics by contrasting with a quivering wreck. The choreography is based around an analysis of anxious states and the movements they create, their exaggerated sounds creating a sort of rhythm. This will be done through the use of live action and animation, in which the dance represents fear and panic, while the animated branches reflect pressure and problems, ultimately closing in on the dancer. 

I also came up with a revised mood board, as previously the focus was very much on women, while now we want to concentrate on men and how they can be viewed through the camera. 

Stylistically we still want the visuals to be black and white, consisting of a light grey background. This is so we can contrast with the much darker vines and branches. 

I thought as the production is giving a life to the characters, that I'd do the descriptions in an interesting, related manner - giving them mock interviews as if they are publicizing "Through the Medium" as the actors. This allows a further reflection of the medium, as they are essentially having a mini, even more realistic interview, about their role in our film in which they are interviewed about life on set. I feel their answers give a bit more away about their characters and attitudes, particularly to those who haven't seen the script. It serves as kind of a written teaser to our film. We thought this would be useful to put on fundraising sites, publicity pages and even as flyers to put up / hand out, as it is quite a fun part that plays off the rest of the entire work. Even if we don't use it as something public in the end, it's useful for us to look at to make sure we know as much about the characters as possible (their back story) to assist in putting their lives into their models in the best possible way.  Once the article was written, we turned it into a magazine style design and layout to add a bit more of a realistic interview vibe, that can be seen below, in the fake magazine Animation Nation : 

Clay was born on the 22nd July 2015. From a very early age, Clay was handled with a lot of love and care by his creators assembled with the most delicate of touches. After initial problems with his balance, requiring assistance to stand alone to prevent toppling over, he established a close bond with his human animator counterparts who he relied and worked with to rectify the problem into a more stable condition. He became a popular character within the workshop, and as a result grew to be a very social and friendly being. Clay considers himself to be a professional actor and takes his roles very seriously, however he always has time to hang out and have fun with the rest of the crew on breaks. Despite never gloating, if questioned, he will quietly confess his dreams of one day being the first animated character to attend the Oscars.

Here is a brief interview with Clay to get to know him better before the release of "Through The Medium."

Interviewer : How would you describe yourself? 

Clay : ...Oh...tough question! Mmmm...let me think. I'd say I'm a pretty patient character *chuckles* 

Interviewer : *chuckles* Well you'd have to be! 

Clay : Yeah definitely! It's a massive part of the job I'd say. I like to think I'm pretty chilled, the key to establishing a good work ethic is just to be friendly and have fun with the job. It's nice being able to have a few laughs every once in awhile with these guys *points towards film crew*

Interviewer :  Sounds like you have a lot of fun on set! Do you bring that into your personal life too? 

Clay : Yeah I would say so. I like to get a bit of socialising in behind the scenes as well, there's perks to working with some of your best friends! Seriously though, it is important to take a lot of breaks throughout production, especially when you're standing all day like I am. It's essential I get my stretching exercises in - it's part of the risk assessment! Off set I also enjoy watching a lot of films to draw some inspiration into my performances, although to be fair I like to incorporate a lot of my own style into the roles as well. 

Interviewer : What do you think of "Through the Medium"?

Clay : I really love the concept of the entire film. I feel like a lot of the time animated character's voices get lost in amongst the rest of the behind the scenes footage and it can get really frustrating, especially after all the hard work put in to make the performance good. I'm really hoping the film will provide the audience with some new knowledge of what it's like to be an animated character on set, working in adverse conditions when you're only a few inches tall and gain a new perspective on the film making life from a different angle. 

Interviewer : Rating out 10?

Clay : Do you even have to ask? *chuckles* 

Chip was born on the 20th of July 2015. In early stages of development, Chip had a rather unfortunate scenario with the so - called evil "Cursor" that left him muscle-less and nearly ruined his career in looking good for himself - he has lived in fear ever since. Right away Chip knew he was very athletic, and for one little CGI animation he had big dreams - to have the biggest muscles and smoothest surface in the entire of 3D space. Self appearance is a very important part of Chip's life, with around 16 hours spent in his mirror and the other 8 flexing in his sleep. However, various run downs with his Kryptonite, the "Cursor," often leave Chip in awkward situations and interrupt his  self titled flawless physique. Despite life not always going Chip's way, he knows he can always find some solace in his favourite coffee, the triple mocha frappa lacka macha chino latte and even occasionally him and the cursor manage to put aside their differences, showing it's not all tricks and games between them.

We also spent some time getting to know Chip! Here is the interview :

Interviewer : Hey Chip! How are you?

Chip : *Proceeds to fix hair in mirror* ...uuuhhh...I'm...Good...Thanks.

Interviewer : Great to hear! Can you tell the audience a bit about yourself?

Chip : *Immediately puts down mirror* Where do I begin? My favourite element of me has to be my award winning smile *Smirks* although my hair is pretty good too, perfect even! Wouldn't you agree?

Interviewer :  Yeah! Don't forget about those muscles though!

Chip : Oh trust me, I haven't. I've got a solid round of built up polygons. *flexes*

Interviewer : Nice! Do you use those muscles to stop any evil lurking about?

Chip : Mmm...there's not too much evil around here...other than the...the...the...

Interviewer : ...the?

Chip : NOOO! Nothing. Never mind...you'd better be careful or you'll soon find out! And neither of us would want that. The interview would have to be cut short.

Interviewer : Very well... If there's "not too much evil" I'm guessing the universe is a very positive place?

Chip : Definitely! How could a universe with me not be positive! Although the coffee contributes a lot of positivity, especially after a stressful day of running from...stuff...and gives me the energy to keep maintaining these dashing looks you see here.

Interviewer : And lastly can you describe "Through the Medium" to us to get a better sense of what it is about?

Chip : Sure! It's a glorious two hour feature length that delves deep inside the inner workings of my amazing body, displaying the craftsman ship of every chiseled high definition ab, my shiny radiant texture...

Interviewer : ...mmm...it's actually supposed to be a short, documentary....say around 3-5 mins?

Chip : Pfft you're wrong...that's obviously not nearly enough time to take in all of my stupendous action. You'll love it though, it truly is a work of art!

Interviewer : *Chuckles* I look forward to seeing that! Thank you Chip.

My idea for Clay is to have him in warmer colours to represent his more physical, classic nature and relationship to the human world. This includes various tones of red, probably leaning more towards the mid-darker shades. Subtle hints of gold could be used, such as on buttons etc.

Related personality types to the colour red that fit with Clay are :

Chip's outfit is a lot more futuristic, mixing elements of technology, metal, space suits and superheroes - pushing him further away from the human world and acknowledging his lack of connection with them. This was a lot harder to find images on, however elements from this mood board provide a good basis to work from on creating something. I particularly like the use of the metal bands around the wrist and shoulders.