Ralph Thoughts

recent posts

about

  • Lighting and Camera Movements

    My production piece I chose is from an anime called, Demon Slayer. As a long time anime fan, I see Demon Slayer as a gateway anime for its simple story and premise. However, the production behind the show is far from simple. Studio Ufotable, who produced the animation for Demon Slayer, has gone far with their use of effects animation, composition, colors, and camera movements to enhance the storytelling. For the case of Demon Slayer, I will be going over one of my favorite scenes that makes use of ufotable’s magic.

    I will be going over one of the fights from season 3, where the main character, Tanjiro, beheads three demons at once with an ultimate move. The scene starts with Tanjiro’s blade exploding into fire as he charges into battle against the demons. The camera movements are very swift and fast as to portray his explosive speed during the attack. Slow motion effects are also implemented during the beheading of each demon. Many of the shots are up close or mid shot to emphasize the battle and show the expressions of the characters in action. Since the scene is shot early in the morning, the demons and background are of a darker tone compared to the flaming red blade. The light from the sword gives contrast to the darker tones of the environment providing a warm highlight to Tanjiro as he swings his blade. As for the composition and lighting, the warm colors of the fire animation effects, emitting from the sword, guides the viewer along with the Tanjiro. This also emphasizes Tanjiro and his blade as the focal point during the duration of the fight. With the combination of these techniques, the battle starts and ends swiftly, creating an after image of a red, fire dragon to symbolize the technique used by Tanjiro. This is one of many scenes in the show and in Ufotable’s catalog that stands out in their cinematographic prodction.

  • Telling stories with audio & visuals

    My audio visual story consists of two, curious, Godzilla who encounter a god hand. It begins with the two kaiju messing around, fighting each other. They then look over the distance to see a big hand sticking out of the ground. Out of curiosity and territorial aggression, they start messing with the hand, trying to destroy it. To their dismay, the hand gets annoyed and fights back. It transforms into a human form and fights back the Godzillas. The unknown lifeform wins the battle and returns to being the god hand in slumber.

    My inspiration for this comes from Youtube. I used to watch a lot of toy fights and in particular, godzilla action figure edits. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use my figures for this project. It was a tedious process just because of the numerous photos that had to be taken but overall I enjoyed it. Learning and getting practice with adobe premiere is also bonus in this whole project. I do wish I had the proper lighting and space in my room to film properly but my desk was the only thing that didn’t require too much cleaning.

    Adding the audio definitely enhanced the story telling. The monster roars and the sound effects brought personality into the “slideshow”. The voice over the hand made the character more relatable and human. The music is what brought it all together and added the color to the process.

  • Audio & Sound

    Going into audio and sound, I had little to no knowledge about the subject. The only experience I have is little bits of video editing with music overlays and seldom song mixing on Spotify. Watching the Tai commercial in class really brought into perspective how much fuller and vibrant a scene can be with audio. It elevates and heightens the emotions compared to the muted version. Regarding multimedia audio, I am curious about the creative and mixing processes when it comes to production and post.

    In one of my favorite films, Jurassic Park, the musical score and the sound effect make it instantly recognizable. The T-rex roar is one of the most iconic sounds in film. The roar was engineered to be load and indistinguishable by using different animal sounds to create its thunderous roar. The main animals that were used was an elephant and alligator. It blows my mind that such animals were used to make an iconic sound.

    The knowledge I have gained about audio does make me think more about what I listen too. I will most likely try to dissect and identify various terminologies such as NAT sound in future auditory experiences.

  • Story Analysis and Breakdown

    This is a zombie movie is set in the Philippines called, Outside. There is a family of four a mom, dad and two brothers trying to survive a zombie outbreak. Circumstances lead them to lock themselves in a house that later invokes anxiety and trauma among the family. Past experiences and family bonds are tested amidst the fear of the undead. Prolonged exposure to this secluded environment tears the family apart and the dad does what he thinks is right to protect his family.

    During the beginning of the story the family take a van and try to cross a bridge. To their dismay, the bridge is overrun by the undead and proceed on foot. They end up staying at the residence of the dad’s grandparents, who are found dead upon arrival. During their stay Francis, the dad, has some hidden trauma at the house coupled with relationship strains with his wife, Iris. Francis also seems to have resentment towards his oldest son, Joshua, while treating the youngest, Lucas, with much more endearment.

    During the rising action, Francis takes matters into his own hands and barricades his family in the house. He believes that zombies are too much of threat, though the zombies are seen to be growing weaker. He manipulates the family by hiding a map to a campsite, that was brought by his brother who saved them during a zombie outbreak. It was also indicated that Iris had cheated on Francis with the brother before the outbreak began. Tensions start to rise as the family begs the question of escaping Francis’s delusional ideologies. Joshua finds out he is a illegitimate son of their family, explaining the distaste Francis has for him. He escapes the house by his mother’s permission, to find the camp and send help their way.

    During the climax, the family had taken in a survivor the previous day, a military soldier. Francis finds out Joshua escapes and shoots the soldier dead, barricading Isis and Lucas in the basement. Francis’s abusive actions and trauma turned him into what he hated, his dad. Isis and Lucas managed to lure Francis and lock him in the basement. Shorty after, a zombie barges into the house and attacks Isis and Lucas. Francis who was battling his own phycological warfare, snaps back into reality, breaks the locks, and kills the zombie perpetrator.

    During the falling action and ending, Francis finds out Joshua has gotten bit by the zombie attack. With Isis’s help, they amputate his leg to stop the virus. Joshua ends up loosing too much blood and Isis pleads Francis to find help. With Joshua’s life on the line, Francis runs to the bridge where their van had been abandoned. Before, he could get in the car he sees a figure across the bridge. Curious that help is on the way, he waves down the mysterious figure. Unfortunately, Francis gets shot multiple times and falls to the ground. With a twist of fate the mysterious figure was Joshua who had mistaken his father for a walker. With his father in his dying arms, he takes the van back to his family.

    I believe this zombie story is different from any other in the genre. The plot presents itself as a zombie movie but turns into a psychological thriller with the dad. The story compels the viewer because of the psychological episodes the dad undergoes throughout the movie. He chooses to protect what he has left at any cost.

  • Hello World!

    Welcome to WordPress! This is your first post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey.

  • What is Multimedia Production?

    Multimedia production is being able to communicate thoughts and information to people through various forms of mediums. These mediums can include newspapers, videogames, radio, advertisements, and many other ways of communicating with a target audience. Though this might scratch the surface of multimedia, the production of media is what brings cohesion. The production can include various technical skills such as knowing how to operate adobe programs and know your way around a camera. Furthermore, directing and story boarding is also a crucial component in the production of a project. Knowing the direction of production will ensure efficiency and cost budget evaluation for the media project.

    My expectations for this course are high because I am genuinely interested in the production process of media. This course is also vital to my career as an artist and a potential graphic designer because it will show me different industry perspectives and expectations for various types of medias. For the course I am excited to learn how to use a camera and edit recording sessions. I hope being in this course can inspire my imagination and direction in my creative field. Working with other people is also exciting, yet daunting at the same time because of my lack of experience in multimedia production.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started