Presentation Day

Here it is! 15 weeks and a 45 gig folder later I have emerged with a presentable video. I have successfully created a Texas Creative promo reel from concept to post production. I had to work around time constraints and there's a few bugs I want to work out. However, I am pleased to show this off to everyone in the sequence and anyone looking to apply.

Animated Vines

Here's a clip that I will be using for the Art Director's Seminar class. It was done in a 3D modeling program called Maya, but doesn't translate as well from a side perspective. But I am currently weaving this clip into my video to show off some of the skills I'm capable of.

Experimental Title Animation

Ok so I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different effects for the title fly-ins and I feel I captured the perfect feel for the video. Not too over the top but it has enough energy to fit well with the audio clip. I've made it so I will be able to plug in each class and use this animation as a template. I parented the key frames to a null object so I'm able to move the titles around without having to reanimate the separate words. This little trick should save me a lot of time and provides me with flexibility to move the titles around the video footage I have captured.

Update

There was quite a bit of red tape I had to go through at the IMC (Interactive Media Center) in order to get my camera but I finally got this past Monday and I have it reserved until this coming Monday. I have already started capturing footage and scouting out locations. I'm going to be locking myself in the lab tonight with Ben and we're going to hash out some of these animated text sequences. My deadline is approaching a lot faster than I had anticipated, but I know once I get in the swing of this it will be easy to lose 5 hours at a time in the lab. I realize I'm a hermit, but I'm in the right profession.

Full Steam Ahead! Preproduction

I pitched my 3 different directions and it seems I'm going with the second option. I felt most passionate about this one because it allows me to show off a number of different special effects tricks like rotoscoping and green screen.  At this point I need to rent out my camera and spend the next 2 weeks or so capturing editable footage.  Here's a rundown of the video in text form.

- Shot of outside the CMA
- Shot of inside the lobby
- Shot of inside the P-lab. Lights turn on
         Que "When the Levee Breaks"
- Pan across 4 students (saturated). Last one is in color and emitting particles (Intro to Creativity)
- Hand pins up a piece of paper and text appears (Portfolio I)
- Suited man pulls down the rough and tears it in half
- One half falls to the ground and a figure appears and walks across the screen. Words fly in the background (Copywritting)
- The other half does the same but a burst of artful design appears behind the figure (Art Directors Seminar)
- Student stands in front of CMA wall with grafitti on it which says (Non-Traditional)
- Close-up of students eyes. Binary code in the eyes (Digital Portfolio)
- Text appears on piece of paper on a desk. Hands crumbles it up. (Portfolio II)
- Thumbing through magazine, hand grabs page and the page turns into a sharpie rough of the ad. Rips out rough and writes (Portfolio III)
- Student shakes hand with man in suit. Text appears on students arm almost like a tattoo. (Portfolio IV)
- Student with open head appears with eyes closed. Hands place a brain into student's head and the eyes snap open. "Texas Creative" appears across the student's forehead.

Concepting and References

I found this great website that features a number of different title sequences and includes interviews with the design team or a few lines on the process and techniques they used. Click here to check out what I've been looking through for the past week and really studying.

1)  I have been thinking about this for going on a week now and I don't want to create something that mimics an existing video. Although I have drawn certain inspirations from title sequences that are out right now, I ultimately want something that I can say is mine.  An early idea was to show advertisements out in their natural environment, print, billboards, TV spots, posters. A hand would grab for them at which time they would turn to rough sketches of the existing ad.  The hand would then slam them on the desk and write the name of the course on the rough.  I want the feeling to be very intimate as you see this hand write out each letter like the intro to "Almost Famous" below.

With the focus on the hand you really get a sense of creativity, that each piece of advertisement was created from the same hand. It presents the creative process in a backwards manner.

2)  Another idea I had was to give each class its own personality.  Since I've taken most of the courses in the sequence, I know a bit about what the common conception are about them.  For example, P1 is known as the weed-out class, and P2 is where ideas go to die.  The pace of the video will be much slower, with the harmonica intro of the song below serving as the soundtrack.  The part of the track I want to use is 1:25 seconds long which is perfect for keeping me within a specific time frame and not going too long on the video.

3)  Lastly, I have a passion for drawing; and in the Texas Creative sequence it's a skill that doesn't hurt to possess. Here are the opening credits to "American Splendor." I like the comic book feel of the video and how the videos interact with their sketched counter-parts.  In this option I will be manipulating videos to look more like the sharpie roughs that are essential to the Texas Creative sequence. It will be a lot more 2-D animation heavy as I try to make these roughs come to life.

West Campus Stories from danny barajas on Vimeo.

Introduction and Project Scope

The purpose of this blog is to keep track and moniter my complete progress through my independent study course for the UT Department of Advertising.  It will serve as both the birth place for ideas and the final resting place of my finished project for all the internet to see. This blog is a forum for me to get feedback on my work and where suggestions for improvments can be made.  But ultimately, it serves as a way for my faculty mentors to grade me.  As my first post, I thought I should include my overall project proposal and what I envision the scope of this semester to look like.

Proposal:         To create a video from concept to presentation that showcases the courses that the Texas Creative Sequence offers and the associated electives beneficial in creating a strong portfolio.  With a blend of film, 3D modeling, animated text, and special effects, the video will draw attention to UT’s nationally recognized advertising program. The video will then be handed over to the faculty of the Portfolio Sequence to use at their own discretion and be featured in the author’s portfolio.  This project is to be completed for a grade by Dec 2, in the fall semester of 2011.     

Faculty:           Ryan Romero (Advertising), Ben Bays (Radio-Television-Film)
Weekly meetings will occur on Thursday’s at 12 pm. 

Readings:        No formal textbook required. With the amount of digital programs used for the project, any information needed can be found online in the form of tutorials and video lessons.

Grading:          To be monitored and determined both through meetings and Project Blog.
                        Each to be due on the Friday of the assigned week outlined in the schedule.

5%          Project Scope
5%          Concept Art and Story Boards
25%        Filming
25%        Editing and Animating
10%        Final Editing
40%        Final Presentation of Project

Schedule:         Week 1                 Project Scope
                        Week 2                 Concepting
                        Week 3                 Preproduction
                        Week4                  Preproduction
                        Week 5                 Production and Filming
                        Week 6                 Production and Filming
                        Week 7                 Production and Filming
                        Week 8                 Production and Filming
                        Week 9                 Post-production and Editing
                        Week 10               Post-production and Editing
                        Week 11               Post-production and Editing
                        Week 12               Polish
                        Week 13               Polish and Presentation

Academic:       This project is designed around the use of digital media as a way to briefly and visually advertise a feature of the Advertising department itself. Research will be conducted on what makes a successful and compelling title sequence as the student explores professional techniques while using industry-grade programs.