How to make Ralphy stand out

How to make Ralphy stand out

One thing I wanted in my music video was to show Ralphy was different from all the other students. Not in a massive way but something that he keeps hidden but can show if he wanted to. Like eyes glowing or a birthmark. But I thought because he's an Angel, maybe some sort of white glow in the eyes and a halo above his head. Or maybe even some wings? I mean, it doesn't have to be that literal because that might look very wired.  Maybe halos can be glowing white in his eyes? I was thinking halos because that's what people think when you say Angels. That and wings.  

Halos come from the Greek which is a religious iconography. There also known as a nimbus, aureole, glory or gloriole. Its a crown of light rays, circle or even a disk of light that surrounds a person above the head. They've been around for ages, they represent hero's or rulers in religion.

Here's a website I visited, when reading it I thought it was very interesting and reminded me a lot of 'The Guardians Tale' .

https://www.thoughtco.com/who-are-angels-123812

It says when Angels come down to Earth they take human form, also they look disguised and look just like human beings. Also it says that Angels are always very busy, just like Raphly who has come down to Earth to protect humans from the Mighty Demon Oriax.   

The pictures above I found on the Internet. The left one is the most typical I think, very white, clean and has big wings. Very impressive looking. The right picture is an angel with colour and the wings aren't as big, but I feel like this one is more magical. The one in the middle is just a picture which someone has added a halo above the head, probably on Photoshop. This sort of thing I'm looking for on Raphly, which looks quite 'supernatural looking' and realistic. I dont want it yellow though, I want it white. I feel if I start adding colour It wont look as good and wont look as realistic. 

But the only twist to all of this, is that Ralphy is a male not a female. All of the images I saw on Google when I was searching were all female. I think that's what will make my version of an angel slightly different to all the typical female ones. Something different is always good.

At this moment in time I dont know how to put a realistic looking halo above Ralphy's head. I will do a separate blog post on how I will achieve it, with progression and experimentation. 

Frame Rate 2

Frame Rate

The thing I think which is going to make this video unique is that I want it slowed down. The singer will sing the song on location, but twice the speed. So when I slow it down afterwards, it will not be out of sync. But to slow it down you have to know how and what your doing. So I've been researching on how to do this.

So, when it comes to filming I will play the music on location and my singer will sing a long to it. By then we would have pre recorded the vocals in the studio, so all the singer will have to do is sing over the top, but that will be muted afterwards. All I will be looking for is the visuals. On the music track for the purpose of this recording, I will speed the music up, just to make the singer know when she's on time.

The camera will need to be a higher frame rate to be able to achieve this. I dont what it slowed down hat much, but just enough to realise it. The camera I will be using is the canon 750D or 550D. A real time clip would be 24/23.98fps and slow motion would be 60/59.94fps.

On Premiere Pro I will then stretch out the clip and It won't be  jumpy as I would of filmed in a higher frame rate.

Below are some examples of some slow motion shots I took on my iPhone. I believe the frame rate is 60fps.

Frame Rate

Frame Rate

I have researched filming in different frames rates because I am looking to film in a high frame rate to be able to slow it down later on in post production.  I wasn't sure how to do this, so I've been looking on YouTube and different websites to help me understand how to achieve this. I've been looking at specific videos that show a higher frame rate which is then slowed down. The video below is how I want my video to look like, within frame rate. I think it works really well as it creates a lot more emotion between the two characters. I also like how it works with the music in harmony, slow frame rate and fades in the verses (1:10) and a good build up with quick shots within the build up to the chorus (2:34). But even though the chorus has quicker shots the frame rate remains the same but is cleverly edited to make it look like its got faster, due to the speed of the music and timing.

The only problem I will have within the amount of footage is the amount footage I will have to film and edited to make it look like the video below. It has quick cuts and transitions which work really well. But I'm afraid I wont have enough footage to do this effect, as theres so much to film to achieve this. The only thing with the video below is that its fan made and has been edited. So the actual footage was normal speed, but somehow the editor has slowed the frame rate down, In a way that the footage doesn't go jumpy. I've always been interested on how that person managed to do this.   

The video above is a tutorial on how to shoot slow motion with a DLSR. I found it interesting and has helped me understand roughly how to achieve this. You have to set the camera to 60fps to make it slow motion in post production. But how to set it to 60fps on a camera, I don't know, as every make of camera is different. But the DLSR cameras we have at college will be the same.


Here are some videos of slowed down frame rate:



1) The 12th Doctor regenerating into the 13th Doctor 




After he regenerates into Jodie's Doctor. The frame rate goes slower and looks very dramatic (3:24). Especially when the ring falls of the Doctor's finger. This video isn't the best example of frame rate but it certainly make the scene so much more effective.

2) The 10th Doctor walks towards the camera





In this scene I really like the frame rate used when the Doctor is walking towards the camera, where all around him is destruction and fire. In fact all the other scenes before this is slow motion like when Alonzo is screaming. The scene really gives the dramatic feel and definitely delivers lots of emotion. Also the frame rate works so well with the powerful music.

Infographic

Interview

Interview

Here is me interviewing the person behind creating the Teen Wolf title sequences. The company is called 'Scatter light Studios', and the person is called Chris Billig. He replied to my questions through Gmail. I'm really happy with the interesting responses and I've learnt new things from it!

1) What was it like creating the opening title sequences?

It was awesome creating the main title sequence for TW.  Jeff Davis is such a wonderful creative partner who allowed me to not only create the main title for season 2, but fought to make sure we could update the main title every single season after that until the end.  In our first conversation we talked about inspiration together which lead to the creative approach you see in the main title for season 2.  After we established the style each season we would look at what was to come in order to lead the changes in our creative.  

  

2) Why didn't season 1 ever have a title sequence?

I’m not sure why season 1 didn’t have a main title or an amended main title, but I do know that Jeff demanded a new main title for season 2 as part of his willingness to do more episodes.  

3) The titles for season 2-5 are studio based, why was season 6 just footage from the show?

Season 6 was a tribute to everything in TW and therefore in order to accomplish that we decided season 6 should be footage from the show that would could stylize in our edit.  It didn’t seem right to try to mash together footage from old main titles along with show footage. With it being a tribute to everyone's hard work I was really happy with the final seasons main title.  

4) Stiles had two different studio sequences, one with his jeep (season 2-3), and one with his crime board (season 4-5). As a guess, was it because his character development needed updating?

Each season I tried to create new moments for all of the cast members.  Some of the more iconic imagery we kept just based on everyone loving it so much and some we moved past in order to give each cast member a deeper story.  So yes the character development was always part of the creative process in pushing the main title further. 

5) What was it like working with the music composed by Dino Meneghin for the title sequence? And how did it reflect what was on screen?

When I created the main title for season 2 it was edited to a piece of music I thought was appropriate for the tone.  While the music we used for the edit helped lead the inspiration I was happy with what Dino created for the main title.  Every season the outcome felt great and I’m glad to have been part of such a fun project.  

Harvard Referencing

Harvard Referencing

Rajini Vaidyanathan

"What Makes a Great TV Theme Tune?"

15:19 GMT, Monday 8th February 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8504147.stm

Rachel Blum-Jose

"What makes a great tv theme song?"

3:27PM, April 7th 2011

http://cliqueclack.com/tv/2011/04/07/great-tv-theme-song/

Juliette Harrisson 

"15 great modern TV title that sum up a show's theme"

Aug 3rd, 2016

http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/game-of-thrones/23991/15-great-modern-tv-titles-that-sum-up-a-shows-theme

Articles Reviews

Article 1

What makes a great TV Theme Tune?

This article was a very interesting read. Its about how a TV theme tune can be great. It says we all have are most cherished theme tune and maybe even loved more than the actual show. It mentions EastEnders, Only Fools And Horses and Murder She Wrote. These three have great memorable theme tunes. It mentions that its crucial for the composers who score the theme tunes must fit the type of program. I agree with this completely, as its so important to get the right feel and emotion to embrace when watching an opening titles sequence. As you want to get sucked in and enjoy it.

It says humming to theme tunes or having a ring tone. The Wimbledon theme is memorable as it states - "If you find yourself humming along to the Wimbledon theme".


Article 2

What makes a great TV theme song?

This was another interesting read. This article was Rachel Blum-Jose. She didn't plan to write this as she just wanted to list her favourite theme tunes, but thinking in the middle of the night she wanted to write an article all about it. She writes about different types of theme tunes, which that could be instrumentals or lyric music. She then lists all her favourite theme tunes, like Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, Fringe etc. She says what she likes about them, if there nostalgic, catchy and effective.

Its an interesting article and its good to find out what another person things of opening music. I'd never heard of any of the theme tunes she listed, but she said good things about them.

Article 3

15 great modern TV title sequences that sum up a show's theme

This is the best article I've read so far. Its 15 TV title sequences that sum up a show's theme. I love how for every sequence its listed below, format, mood and music. For example izombie has a colourful mood, its an animation format and the music is by Deadboy and the Elephantmen. Then it explains how it reflect the show. It does for all 15 titles, I really like this as its clear to read and has short simple answers. I agree with the list as all the sequences show that they relate to the show. First on the list is Game of Thrones. I've never watched it but I've heard lots of things about it and the music is truly wonderful and I can tell from just watching the footage it suits it very well.