2. In Depth Artist Case Study

18. Interview Analysis

1. Tell me about yourself?

Answer: I am keen to become part of the Paramount editing team, I have been in the film industry for 8 years and I can see myself being here for much longer. I am incredibly independent and am a thorough learner, making me more capable to evolve and change with the industry.

2. What are your Strengths?

Answer: I can edit any video to a perfect standard, using my independent knowledge, rather than relying on others to complete work. Therefor making me much more efficient in the work place. I have extensive experience with VFX, knowing how to use certain aspects of it to increase the viewing quality of a piece film, such as compositing.

3. Why do you feel you should get the job?

Answer: I feel I should get the job because I have extensive experience with this line of work, with many years in the field, i am immensely capable of this. I will offer the work force a new way of editing, making it the best and easy as possible. 

4. What do you work better as: Solo worker or group worker?

Answer: I work better as a group worker, I like to have the capability to reference with other members of the group, so  we can get the best possible outcome of the process. 

5. Why do you want to work here?

Answer: I have always wanted to work for your company, it has been a life long aspiration to work for Paramount Pictures. Post production editing is my passion and to work for you while doing that would fulfil my dream. I feel that your level of professionalism is incredible and it inspires me to become much more of an editor and better person.

6. What are your weaknesses?

Answer: Im not as strong in editing sound rather than video, but i am incredibly keen to learn. I find mixing together audio difficult, I don't have as much of a natural talent within sound editing. Although it is not my strongest I can still perform the editing of sound, I would perhaps need a bit of assistance.

7. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Answer: In 5 years time I will hopefully be within your workforce, helping make any sorts of films. I would like to have a sturdy lifestyle, having a house and car to commute daily. I would like to have several credits under my belt within this line of work and I want to be looking onto furthering my talents.

8. What can you do better than other applicants?

Answer: I have the skills required to complete all jobs perfectly, and I offer a enjoyable and funny presence. 

9. What achievements have you made and which is the biggest one?

Answer: I worked on editing the Hunger Games films as assistant editor alongside some of the most well known editors and director. 

10. What qualifies you for this job?

Answer: I have two degrees, one in computer animation and the other in post production editing, both at the University of Bournemouth. I also studied media at lower level education such as GCSE and A Levels. 

15. Application Letter

                                                                                                   Mr Ben Davis

 222 Magpie Lane

Bromley

BR2 8RN

Mrs Jane Smith

Paramount Pictures

Oxford Circus
London

BJ40 X93

09/01/2015

Dear Mrs Smith

Position of Supervising Editor

I saw the advertisement for the post of Supervising Editor on your website and am very keen to apply.   Being a supervising editor for your company would be an incredible opportunity, I would like to work at your company particularly because it already strong and growing reputation in the film production industry.

Over the past 3 years I have worked at a local production company, creating numerous adverts and small scale films for numerous companies. I was required to undertake all post production editing, with help from the assistant editor. I have also helped small companies that make short films for the website YouTube. On several occasions they have contacted me individually, requesting help with my post production editing expertise, wanting their work to be finished at a professional level. My proudest work would be working on the film series The Hunger Games, I was an assistant editor for all three of the current films, and I am set to continue this role for the last instalment.

I specialise in a wide variety of editing techniques, using these techniques to create the best final edits possible. I am an intense learner so when it comes to creating work for specific directors, I am easily able to change the editing style I use. I am a great team player, offering many ideas for the film itself and different editing techniques to use in the process. I have done lots of work with VFX in the past, I know it is not the job description, but i feel that it links heavily to post production editing because I can use that knowledge and perhaps add some VFX features such as compositing.

I would be delighted to discuss my application further at an interview. Please contact me on 07971244167 or at benjamindavis91@live.com if you need any additional information.

Thank you for your consideration

Yours sincerely,


Ben Davis

14. Developing Technologies

8. Stop Motion Animation Formats

- Claymation (Wallace and Gromit)

Clay animation has been around for as long as the early 1900’s. Clay animation is a type of stop motion animation, an extremely time consuming process where lots of patience is required. The clay is moved, then shot, and the process is repeated, one frame at a time. At a professional standard, like the filming of Wallace and Gromit, they have 24 frames per second. A single frame is a picture, so 24 pictures per second which means it takes an absurd amount of time to film the process. They can get roughly 5 actions done every day. Target audience for claymation is mainly for younger children, ages 4 - 11 would be the more predominant age range. This is because it is a cartoon themed animation, so naturally it appeals to the younger audience.

- Paper Cut Outs (South Park)

Paper Cutout animation is where cutout shapes arranged on a flat surface, and manually moved and repositioned to create animation. Cutouts can be colored paper, white paper with drawings on it, even photographs, and can be completely flat or can sometimes be 3D objects. Many often use cutout animation to make photographs of people and animals to make it seem as if they're talking or moving, an example of this is South Park, they use paper cut outs, along with some computer animation to create their show. When it comes to frames per second, it depends on the level of creation, but at professional standard the fps would be roughly 24. This offers the best visual quality without taking excessive amounts of time to do. The target audience of this method would be mainly children again. This is because of the simplicity of the technique and the way the end product looks.

- Sand (Twinings Advert)

 Sand animation can be in two different forms, one being where the animation is drawn into the sand, and the other where the sand is used to make things and then become animated. So for the first one, you would start with a plain of sand, and start drawing bit by bit, each time taking another picture every time there is a change. In the second form you would create the object, take pictures, then move the object slightly, the same as the other animation techniques. This is one of the most challenging forms of animation and is the rarest out of them all. An example of this is a music video for the song, Eatliz - Lose This Child. This is the second form and took very very long to create. The target audience for this type of animation is adults. This is because it is not a cartoon, therefor not as childish. Also it is much more detailed than the other forms.

- Lego (Death Star Canteen)

Lego animation is making an animated clip using lego pieces. The lego pieces are moved in the same way clay would be in stop motion animation and a shot is taken after each movement. This form of animation is one of the easiest types, however still incredibly challenging to do at a professional level. An example of this is the Death Star Canteen, this is a Star Wars themed animation, made up entirely of lego and sound effects. It is particularly effective because you can see each movement, so it looks extremely smooth and well done. The target audience for this is of a more wide range than other forms of animation, this is because of the memories lots of people can relate with their childhood, so naturally it appeals to those who are older.

- People and Objects (Kindle Adverts)
This form of animation is one of the easiest out of these. A person, and or objects are put in positions and then taken pictures, the same as the other forms, but instead of moving the person, they would move the objects around it to give the illusion of the person moving. To make the person look like he is walking or running, he would lye on his side, and move his legs very slowly, and shot by shot the maker would move the background behind him. Generally, the background is the sun, or trees. By moving these, it makes it look like the person is walking, and has a very nice effect. With this form of animation  there is very little limitation in what you can do, for instance, you could make it look as though someone is flying, or swimming in the ocean. An example is the Amazon Kindle advert, they have several different scenarios, not really linked to the the Kindle itself, but it does reflect a good form of animation. The target audience of this stop animation would probably be those of an older generation because it isn't as childish, as its not cartoon. More themes can be applied that appeal to older people, and the fact that it uses real people is more likely to appeal to older people.



In my animation I am going to be using the form Whiteboard animation. This is suitable for the charity Save the Children because I feel that it suits the target audience more. As whiteboard animation is targeted at adults more because of its lack of cartoon nature and its flexibility. We also think that because it is a much more simple way of animating it will look clean and professional.

13. Evaluation of Formats

White board technique:

WWW:

•   Easy to draw and create animation 

•   Smooth transitions makes it flow and look good

•   Very flexible - you can foo almost anything.

EBI:

•   Can be very time consuming

•   Can be frustrating if you accidentally rub out something and have to start over

•   Can be hard to create lighting that looks good, the white board reflects lighting 

This technique could be used for our animation, however it would be hard to create due it being easy to accidentally rub out, also its hard to keep the whiteboard straight and in the frame.

 











The picture above shows our simple scene, and how the tree grew out the ground and the sun started to appear. From this research i think it is a bad idea to make our animation through whiteboard drawings. This is mainly due to the time factor and how it takes way too long to actually do anything. Also one of the major setbacks would be the lighting issue, where because it is a shiny surface it will reflect the light back into the camera lense and as a result obscure the vision of the camwera. Finaly it is very easy to mess up if you lean on the wrong bit of it, or if you accidentally rub off some of the drawing.

People + Objects:

WWW:

•   Easy to create animation due you being the moving object

•   Very flexible - you can do anything

•   You can use a variety of materials

EBI:

•   Depending on the animation your doing it can be very time consuming

•   Lighting can be hard to control

One of the better techniques to use due to it being easy to find a place to film, however can be very time consuming and hard to find props.







The pictures above show how we done a very simple animation of someones hand moving up and down while open and closing. From this I have decided to refrain from using People and Objects as our method of animation, this is due to the fact that it requires a single person to have a huge amount of patience and control over himself. So it would be both very difficult to ensure that the person stays still and that he/she remains focused enough for a long enough time. However it is still quite an easy method providing you are doing it very quickly and the animation itself is short.




Clay:

WWW:

•   Can create whatever shape you want

•   Flexible, easy to create a simple animation and still look good

•   Cheap to use 

EBI:

•   Can be time consuming when trying to make people or objects

•   Changing movements of the objects or people can be hard

•   Getting the clay people to stand up can be hard.

I like using technique, its fun to use, and easy to make objects houses and buildings ect. The only problem about it is it can get quite messy, it tends to stick to tables and leave a greasy layer where it has been stuck.







The pictures above show our simple animation using clay, we formed a ball of clay moved it to the centre of the frame and crushed it. Although clay is one of the most popular forms of animation, i feel that it is not the right type for our idea, and a 3D representation of it will be both incredibly difficult and somewhat unnecessary. This is also one of the most time consuming forms of animation and would take a tremendous amount of focus and patience to achieve this properly. Also from a technical point of view it is actually very difficuly to ensure the lighting is good enough for the clay, because of the fact that it is fully 3D, rather than 2D like card cut outs, it can often be difficult to get light in all of the right places, and some things can be much darker than others.




Lego:


WWW:

•   Easy to construct houses

•   people are already built so there is no hassle making people

•   easy to construct objects ect.

EBI:

•   Can be very time consuming

•   Cant make everything, you may have to use other materials

•   Transitions can sometimes but un-smooth, you may have to take more time to ensure smooth transitions

One of the easiest techniques, can be very easy to create a simple animation as its easy to move the lego people and change the scene.

The picture above shows us moving the horse from one side of the frame to the other, it was easy due to the objects already been made and easily stuck to the scenery. This form of animation is one of the easiest and is one of our two selections. From our research it is clear that this would be easy to keep things consistant due to the way lego works, with the little holes on the peoples feet so they dont fall over, we could easily move characters around without the risk of making them have too big of a jump. The main reason I wouldnt want to use this technique will be the lack of materials, not having a wide enough variety can be detramentle because you will be limited in what you can do.

Paper Cut-outs:


WWW:

•   Smooth animation

•   Can make anything you want

•   You can show any animation using separate cut outs

EBI:

•   Can be very time consuming

•   You have to colour in the cut outs

•   When using duplicate cut outs they have to be identical

This is my least favourite technique, it can be very time consuming and hard to produce identical cut outs. Also it can be very hard to make a long animation, you would have to change the facial expressions every frame.

 

The picture above shows our simple paper cut outs, it only took seconds to create these ones because we didn't add any detail or additional objects. it an easy technique for simple things like this but very hard for complex ideas. I have decided that this is the best option for our idea due to the very smooth nature of paper cut outs. Using these is both easy and much less time consuming than clay or people/objects. Also because they are paper cut outs we can do almost anything with them, only our imagination being the limit. Although there are lots of pros with this form of animation it will still be difficult in the fact that it is just as tempremental and really does take an aweful amount of focus.