All Done!!!

So it's taken the best part of 2 days, but my finished piece is finally done!

I won't bore you with all the details of this, that, what went wrong and what went well, but all in all it came together as well as it might under the circumstances and conditions, and it certainly communicates my idea well enough for the module I hope!

Quality isn't amazing, but it's just on here to wrap up this module. I might make another post or two detailing the ins and outs of the editing of this, although that might be a very boring post, and maybe one about how the presentation of it went after Friday's submission, but for now, this is this project wrapped up!

Thoroughly enjoyed it, start to finish, learnt new skills, took chances, achieved things I didn't expect I could, and pulled off an idea I didn't know I had in me. It's been a really insightful project, allowing me to look into the past of a place I know, yet never took the time to study. I now have a new way of looking at the city as I walk its busy streets, having seen it through other eyes, in a time long gone. It's been amazing to see where things started, how they've grown, and to channel that into an actual project that I hope pays homage and respect to its rich heritage, and honours the memories of its people.

Sure, I feel the end result could have been much, much better, and when I watch the video back there's so many things I hate about it. But then again they say that's a good thing, to be critical of your work. Not sure I agree totally, I'd much rather be over the moon with something I've done than underwhelmed by it, but still, it's done now and I'm looking forward to the next project!

Rebuilding the Past

Right then, with all the footage shot, and enough clips cut and background stuff on hand, it was time I started to bring the past back to life! Or at least try to anyway!

I'm gonna use one example of photo in order to demonstrate the process I used to do this, in this case, the Moors one.

So, taking the initial scans I made and images I found...

I cut and pasted the appropriate image in order to set it apart as it's own canvas...

Then painstakingly erased all bits of life and movement from the image...

Then started to add bits of footage, one at a time in order to give the shot some motion and life again. I'd worry about the transition crossfade at a later stage when I brought everything together, but for now, I just concentrated on one image at a time.

I didn't want to cram it too much full of stuff, I kinda liked the bare streets and minimal life, made it look much older and authentic, especially when transitioning into a busy modern day version of the scene.

Once all this was added, I looked for a quick tutorial on old film effects, and found a great one here...

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/old_film_look/

...which also provided some old 8mm movie grain footage that could be directly applied to your work and blending accordingly to give the old look. I used it and it suited it perfectly! I also slowed down the speed so it looked its age more, and the finished thing came out as follows...

It was quite exciting seeing all the elements come together, and felt really rewarding to bring the past back to life, albeit in my own crappy,dodgy way! :P

I got hooked and blitzed through the rest of the videos, and wrapped the lot up ready to be edited in the final piece, which I was now ready and able to crack on with!

Green Screen Footage

So in the confines of my own personal studio, I shot the rest of the footage I had in mind. The tests I'd done previous helped and I adjusted the angles and lighting etc to compensate and hopefully stop any problem before they started, and in the end I was left with alot of decent footage that I've already played around with and found good for my plans!

The footage is a mix of my actress interacting with the frame and the shots of me all kitted up for background footage. I took this shot incase there's any problem with the location footage of Bec holding the frame, this might be an easier way of putting the old footage in there...



This was for the shots for an idea I had of the tablet user pressing some "full experience" button that brings her into the old Sheffield directly. This would be directly placed on old photos as she "walks around" it.



It's just an idea I have in mind, would have to mess around with it and see how it turns out. Although it could be a good way of making use of the old photos that I couldn't get decent enough modern day footage of... hmmmm...

This is footage for the shoe shine idea, where bizarrely I'd be shining my own boots by being both the shiner and recipient! You'd only see my feet though, so you wouldn't be able to tell on screen.

And lastly, I got some footage of just me in full gear, just standing around doing a few basic actions to give a little movement to the shot...

...which would work well just off in the distance somewhere, as I noticed in many of the actual images, there were people just kinda hanging around.

Can't wait to have a play with all this footage properly and start animating my photos now!

Giddy Up!

From this image...

...I thought how cool would it be if I actually had a moving horse and cart in my pictures? I figured it would be both a great way to bring the streets to life, and also help set the scene perfectly, being a great sign of the times which you just do not see anymore.

So I had a look for some decent footage of horse and carriage, and came across the following...

...which was actually a promotional piece offering "authentic 19th century horse-drawn carriage experiences in Connecticut." Sounds nice.

Picking an angle that best suited the majority of my clips, I started the longwinded cutting and pasting process again...

...adding each frame to its own blank background...

And it turned out as follows...

Probably my best cut of them all, certainly my favourite! I got away with the fine details at the bottom as I'll be blending all the white away, which should get rid of this too.

When applied to a shot, I think it'll work a treat! Least I hope so!

Dressing to Impress!

I wasn't happy with some of the looped footage I'd cut from the footage, so decided to film a bit of my own stuff, with the same intent of using it in the background of the shots. I'm not ruling out using the cuts, I'll have to see how they look, but it would be nice to get some better stuff filmed for the main focus of shots. As I also wanted to do some further green screen filming anyway, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.

So, first things first, I needed the appropriate gear. I went out and invested in some old fashioned clothing that would suit the era. I got a jacket, flat cap, and scarf, with the intention of just using my own trousers and boots...

All in all, the outfit cost just over a tenner, which would hopefully be a small price to pay for the results I aimed to get from this.

As the footage would only ever be seen in the background anyway, I wasn't too concerned with exact details, so for the task in hand, this outfit would do. Colour wasn't an issue really either, as the footage would ultimately be rendered black and white to fit in with the old photos, so it's all good.

While the outfit provided a good body, I needed to add something to my face. So I invested in a little disguise kit...

I actually bought this for a joke, but felt it would be ideal for the task in hand here! Look at the sheer range of star studded facial hair on offer...

I think the RICH UNCLE would be best suited for this job! :P

So with costume sorted and fake tash in hand, it was time to get kitted up!

I say good sir!

Good to go! I'm ready for my close up Mr. Director!

Editing the Old Footage

In order to animate my shots and add a little life to the streets, I thought why not cut things out directly from videos? Sure, I could manipulate a tram moving from behind for example by simply adjusting it's scale and position along a time line, but how about actually making it turn a corner or something in order to bring it to life even more?

So using the old footage I gathered in my research stage, I had a look at the clips to see if there was any suitable sections I could make my cuts from.

Using the list I made previously about what things I thought could go in the background and help establish a scene, I searched the clips for anything suitable.

The "Sheffield - Last Trams" video was, as expected, ideal for the tram footage. It also gave me a couple of other shots that I thought might come in handy.

So, from this video...

I managed to cut the following clips to work on...

This one was of a tram turning. I thought it would be good to have it heading into the distance, then capture it turning, just to help keep it from turning a bit too generic if i simply made the still image of the back of one change its size. I'd probably use this in one of the long street shots.

So I cut the clip from the original source, then opened it up in Photoshop and started to cut if, frame by frame, from the actual footage...

Once each frame was cut, it enlarged it and put it on a bright green background, thinking ahead for when I imported it into after effects and used it within my shots...

As you can imagine, this took FOREVER. But if it worked, the effect would be well worth it.

So what I was left with was the tram by itself, making its turn, against an easily keyed out green background...

So that was one cut done!

I also used the footage to give me a couple of other things I needed, like a person walking in the distance for example...

Which was a little quicker, as I cut only two steps that were made, with the intent of looping them on and on to provide a constant walk.

Which came out as follows...

I also cut this old couple walking toward the camera in this shot...

...as I thought it would be nice to have them at the front of the frame, giving the shot a nice feeling of depth. Again, I looped this to try and make it last longer, giving me a much bigger clip to play with.

Using the same technique, it came out as follows...

...which didn't come out very well at all I thought, but I'll try and tidy it up a bit and see if I can make it look a little better.

Overall, the cuts don't look as well as I'd hoped, particularly for the amount of time put into getting them. But, as they will be placed within an old, gritty, grainy, crappy footage effect, most likely in the background somewhere with a little blur effect so the edges aren't as harsh, I think they'll look ok. Least I hope they will, and that the many imperfections will be hidden.

I want to do a few more of these cuts, as although terribly time consuming, I do feel they could be used well enough for what I'm doing. Although maybe it would be easier to film some of my own stuff against a green screen...?

Hmmmmm...

Trams, Trains and Automobiles!

Looking within the old imagery for ideas about what could be used to bring life to these scenes, I made a list about what I needed...

Obviously, an old tram, something that is seen in many of the images. If I can find some good images, or even video footage of trams, specifically ones from the right era, it would look great having them moving within the shots.

This image is unique to itself, showing a train leaving in the distance. It's unique in that I couldn't use it elsewhere, and it would be specific to this image alone. Either I find another shot of a train, or I cut the one directly from this.

A car could be quite handy, either from this kind of angle where it heads into the distance, or even side on to drive past the shot.

Also, given the layout of certain shots, and how I don't want them devoid of life, I could do with footage of people walking, both towards and away, from different angles. I don't need loads, and it's something I can't just use still images for and hope for it to look realistic. This shot for example would be great to have a small crowd of people walking away at an angle, into the distance...

Basically, the more I have going off within my shots, the more life I can bring to the still images, and the more convincing my idea becomes.

So, I searched away and tried to build my collection of trams, trains and automobiles!

The footage I found of Sheffield came in quite handy, I made a few screen grabs at the right moment in order to cut and paste the images I needed. From here, I got the following...

 A nice flat on side view of a tram, would be ideal for the Castle Square idea of a tram moving perfectly sideways.

This was a good shot of a tram from the front with a slight angle, which could easily be manipulated in after Effects to grow in size, thus giving the illusion of it coming towards the camera. The shot would have to end before the angle of it would normally change, otherwise it will look way too fake.

I also found the following images that suited the era and proved useful...

Tram shot, similar to previous, but with more of an angle to account for depth in field and change of view.

Similar angle tram but different design, might conflict with previous ones.

 Shot of car from the early 1900's period I'm aiming for. Would be a good side on view for one that drives right past. Although I'd have to add a driver! Nice wheels though, could come in handy...

 Good shot of car from behind with slight angle, would work going off into distance. Although I only just noticed the woman hanging out the window, which might render it unusable. Daft cow...

 Another side shot of a period car, this time with a driver. Would probably have to animate the wheels separately so that they turn realistically.

 Great shot fo a car from directly ahead, would be great to use it coming towards the camera from the distance, obviously cutting it before it hits our cameraman... :P

Another shot from side, with driver. Would need to animate wheels again, but can be used in same way as ones before. Might cut the wheels from the first car, as they seemed to stand out nicely.

I did a quick test to see if the wheels would animate okay and help give a decent enough illusion of the car in motion...

Turned out ok, and as part of a background with motion blur added as it moved from one side of the shot to the other, I think it would look fine!

I'm just thinking though, as I found some decent footage from the old Sheffield streets, I might even have a play around and attempt to cut stuff from there directly. It would certainly give that authentic feel I'm aiming for, and it's certainly worth a try, as otherwise, I run the risk of my idea looking to fake and forced by simply moving still images around to create a mock sense of motion.

That's the next test I think, cutting stuff from old footage.

Setting up my Studio!

Okay, so it's hardly a studio, but we do have a big kitchen that would enable me to get some full body shots against a large flat wall I could cover in green. So after buying my own green material (cost £20 but it's something I know I will use again and again) and clearing out enough room, I set up what would be my own shooting screen...

When it was up, I noticed the material had a few creases, so I took steps to sort this out...

Who says housework is only for the women?!

I messed around with lighting and stuff in order to reduce shadows and glare, but by naked eye I can only guess. I needed to film something to see how well it worked, if at all. So I shot a little test footage of just me against it, pretending to walk which also helped me get a better idea of the space limitations, as I needed a two step motion in each direction for what I had in mind.

Putting this into After Effects, I had a quick play just to see how it looked...

The edges on the actual torso looked as good as I hoped, the main issues arising weren't the shadows as expected, but the actual lights I used to eliminate them! They were too bright and showing up as spots here!

Experiment worthwhile then, as I would have hate to have shot all my proper footage and been stuck with this little niggles. So when I film my actual stuff, I'll pay attention to this issues and address it accordingly.

Filming on Location - Job Done!

Well, the shoot went pretty well, considering!

Although the gloomy skies and lack of sun can be edited in After Effects, one thing that couldn't be changed was the wind, which was just terrible all day! It also rained in parts, and the whole thing being freezing cold didn't exactly make us want to stick around to perfect the shots, so in the end, I just tried to do the best with what I had, and crossed my fingers that it would turn out ok! I wasn't happy with the shoot, but I never am, and only when I start messing around with it in the editing stage will I feel ok about it I think.

Anyway, here's a quick video doc about the shoot...

As expected, there were certain problem I encountered. Some of the shots were tricky to get, given the new layout of the city centre. For example, I couldn't back up enough and get certain frames the way I wanted, due to new buildings in the place where the old original photos were taken. So alot might not frame ok when I attempt to crossfade, but we shall see where this leaves it. If it doesn't work, I won't include it.

Also, other shots couldn't be done from certain angles, or even at all in some cases, due to modern day clutter getting right in the bloody way. As a result, I've had to change the angle, or even drop the shot completely. This one of City Hall for example...

I've had to swap for this one...

...which is the original one I did all my mock tests on, simply because I found there's a huge carousel right in the middle of the area in front of the building, which dominated the other shot entirely!

Also, this one of Fargate...

I'll prob have to drop entirely, as I couldn't film any footage from this angle, due to some massive, crappy structure that sat right in the way. Think it was a phone advert booth or something, not sure, but it looked crap and ruined the shot!

Also, this one of Moorhead...

...had to be swapped for this one...

...as the totally different road structure and layout of this area was unrecognisable from the previous angle, and only this one retained any kind of similarity to it!

I also totally forgot to get the shot of the library, but I'm hoping there's enough anyway that it won't matter.

So, I got the footage I needed anyway, which was the main thing. Now it's time to do a little green screening to get a few more things sorted, which should be a much easier shoot in the comforts of my own, warm, non windy, not full of traffic or idiot pedestrians, home!

Filming on Location - Planning Ahead

So now I know where I shall be filming, I've planned a route so to be as efficient as possible.

The image here is just for show, I know Sheffield well enough to plan ahead myself! :p

Now, I know that alot of places might have changed drastically, so until I turn up on the day I won't know for sure what locations I can and cannot use. For this reason, there's not much point in me creating a whole new storyboard as planned, for the simple fact that it might have to change. So what I've done is write a few notes on what I know I want from each location, as well as planning extra shots to hold the whole thing together.

For example, as I won't know what places I can use until I get there, or even what order I'm going to put them in right now, I'm going to film my "actress" setting up each shot, ie: walking into it, then holding up the tablet. If I use it, I use it, if not, then no major loss as it'll be a very simple shot done just before each location is captured.

I also know I need to get a few extra shots at the train station, where I figured it would be the ideal place to start, both the filming AND the video, as both will begin with us arriving on the train. This are simple shots of a train arriving, my actress getting off the train, and using the tablet for the first time.

While I'm at the train station, I also plan on heading up to the hills behind it, to get the shot of Sheffield skyline, for which I know will be the closing shot, which I may as well shoot while I'm down there at the start. It will no doubt feel a little weird filming the last shot first, but as I've learnt with filming, that's quite often the case and very rarely do you film in the order you intend to see on screen!

Along the way, I'll need a few extra shots of my actress just playing with the tablet, in order to use throughout the video. Again, might not use them, and not sure now quite where, but easy and quick to film, and good to have them.

I also need at some point to film a bit where she's looking down at a bare street, for the "Shoe Shine" idea. In my head I know where this will most likely be, but I'm not sure of the name of the street. It's just up from the bus station I use for uni, between there and Fitzalan Square. There's a derelict old building that's not in use, which looks the part and provides a suitable backdrop for the short sequence.

On top of all that, I've made notes on my list next to key locations where I need to capture something in the shot, ie: a tram going past, or bus or car. This is purely so I can transition between the old and new with a little more creativity, and show for example a new tram crossfading with an old one, which I think should provide a nice effect if done right.

So, everything is planned to a tee, just hope it will work out ok! I expect the shoot to take a few hours at least, and it really doesn't help that the weather is freezing and the winds are crazy, but I'm going to do the best I can. I've promised my girlfriend lunch and hot chocolates along the way, as well as sexual favours when we get back as a thank you for helping me!

Mental Storyboarding

I've decided not to do another storyboard as such, as I'm not entirely sure which locations I'll actually be able to film effectively enough, and instead I'm taking my visual cue from the old images themselves. I'm letting them guide me, and feel they tell a better story than I ever could, so THEY should be at the forefront of my visual ideas.

I've already got ideas and inspiration from just looking at them, and this post is just a few notes on describing a few of those ideas. So taking my visual cues from the archival imagery, I know where I think the video will start. As I've got to get to Sheffield on the train, I might as well kick things off at the train station...

Ideally I'd like to capture a train heading off into the distance too, in order to crossfade with this old one, but ultimately, this will depend on train schedules and platform angles and positions. We'll see if I can get it on the day.

Another cue I got is from this image of Castle Square...

I'd like to crossfade with an old and new tram, and as this is taken perfectly sideways to what is now a tram line, this would perhaps be the best place to do it.
Another cue is this image...

...which gives me a great closing shot to work with. What better way to wrap up the whole video and idea than to crossfade an entire landscape of the city the idea is based on? I think the hills behind the train station should prove suitable for this shot.
The biggest and possibly trickiest idea to pull off based on visual inspiration form the old photos is from this one...

...one of my initial scans from the excellent book I bought, showing an old honest boot polisher applying his trade.

I would love to have my actress "interact" with this ghost from the past in some way, maybe in a similar way to the footage I posted before of the horror movie, where she sees through the lens the echoes of the past looking right at her. I'm thinking maybe she sees this little street scene happening, then maybe aims the tablet frame down to see her OWN shoes being polished? Would be very tricky to pull off, but possibly one of the best points of the video if done right. We'll see, I'll get the footage needed regardless and have a play. I'd rather try and fail than not try at all!

Making Blank Canvases

So now the photo choices have been narrowed down and I know exactly where I'll be filming, I needed to begin the painstaking process of wiping them clean of any signs of life or movement, in order to convincingly add my own.

What I mean is, it wouldn't look right if I'm adding my own person walking along the street, only to see a person walking in the background, but not moving and frozen in time as part of the original photograph. Sure, it might not even be seen, but I just thought it would be best to get the shots and streets as clean as possible before putting in any additional movement.

In some of the busier street scenes, this would be way too tricky, and as a result I made my photo choices with this in mind, choosing what WOULD work better as opposed to what wouldn't. Such photos, like this one for example of Wicker Arches...

...had way too much going on in order to wipe clean effectively, as doing so wouldn't leave enough of the original photo intact in order to bother.

But for the ones that did work I tried to remove as much as I could and make the streets empty, while still keeping the look and structure of the originals intact. These would then provide the base foundation for my old crossfade transitions when I added life and animations to them later.

So using a Photoshop combination of smudge tool, clone tool, and good old fashioned cutting and pasting from other suitable image sources, I started working on each photo in turn. I won't waste time showing every single edit I did and photo I tweaked, but here are just a few examples of the process...

Goodbye Mr. Policeman!

Goodbye old jay walkers!

Now you see them, now you don't!

So long horsey!

Due to the monochrome colour set and low quality of the original images, the process wasn't too hard to pull off. Obviously, I probably wouldn't have got away with this kind of edit on today's increased level of digital quality, but for the task at hand, it proved effective enough. Plus, baring in mind that I intended to add old grainy film effect to each shot, it would cover up any dodgy bits suitably.

At times, the process itself became quite spooky, such as when fading out each individual person in the streets. This one in particular sent a shiver down my spine a little...

Fading out these people from the past, like ghostly echoes of a time long gone, serving as a distant reminder of people, characters, personalities that are no more. It had a kind of bittersweet poetry to it.