#5 Sound & VFX - Sound

Story

I made a radio commercial on a burger joint, called COMBO COMBO. I decided to make a radio commercial and decided to opt for a burger joint. I started by telling about what combo combo has to offer, the deals and what the burger is made of. 

What did I learn? 

I learnt a few things, I learnt how to overlap different audio's and make a final product out of them, I learnt to make a commercial script and everything a radio commercial entails. I started off buy recording audios, adding a background track in it, setting their tones and deciding the amount of noise the different audios had

This is a screenshot of how my timeline looked like 

Was it executed the way I want it to? 

It was executed the way I wanted it to, I wanted a commercial that could tell a story and I think my commercial did so. 

Below is the link to the final commercial 

https://youtube.com/shorts/vTyGoXuy88k?feature=share

#4 Sound & Vfx - VFX

The story

I worked on a levitating effect in the jungle. I started by walking towards the trees, turning around and then levitating. I wanted to keep the vibe dark since levitating effects look better and seamless that way. The levitating vfx always intrigued me as a child and trying it out was a beautiful experience.  

What did I learn? 

I learnt a lot, I made a mind map of how I wanted the video to turn out and I would be able to depict so much in such little time. I wanted to make an aesthetically pleasing video that could have actually been used as a form of a video showcasing vfx in it's purest of forms & I think I did a good job. I learnt how to colour grade properly. With that being said the most intriguing learning in this process was to work around the green screen and how I wanted a very dark vibe with extremely subtle colours strengthens the effect. Moreover, there was a lot to learn in ordinance to the lighting that I used. I used strobe, umbrella, my mobile phone's flash and an orange lamp light with a diffuser to balance out the white balance in order to not create any unwanted shadows of my body. 

Was it executed the way I wanted it to? 

Yes, it was executed the way I wanted it to, I wanted it to be subtle and to the point. It turned out very much like that. I wanted it to be to the point without the unwanted shadows and seamless levitating. I wanted to add more lighting effects to it but after trying various effects I came to a conclusion that it was taking the limelight off of the subject. 

Below I am sharing a link to the video.  

https://youtu.be/wdTFlQXOIms

#3 Maps & Networks - Innovation & Interference

Theme & Point:

The theme I have chosen for this is Isolation and Mental health. Considering the last few years, we have all been through quite a difficult period in our lives. We were surrounded by the four walls of our rooms. There are a lot of frames and fields that can be used to describe and depict isolation and mental health issues. I want to showcase the good side and the bad side of the aforementioned topics.

Why do I want to work on this?

I was diagnosed with Post covid panic disorder & Generalised anxiety disorder this year. I have had my fair share of experience in complete isolation and a blurry mental vision. I want to put my experience out there in the open for the general public to relate and gain knowledge out of. There is an old mythology attached to isolation and mental health that I want people to loosen up with. I want to work on this for myself and for others. Telling my own story has always been a dream of mine that I wanted to accomplish in the near future. We have an old thinking tangent that has further lead to us looking down upon bad mental health, I want to change that. There is a lot of benefit in isolation, that is left unseen. It is hard, but not impossible to get out of misery. I will showcase mental health and isolation through fields and frames trying to depict what the people going through it see and feel. I will show confinement by different shapes and try giving a fair idea about isolation.

Why the colour grade? 

I have added all sorts of colour in this video. For the isolation part in which I am sitting on the chair, I added a subtle, very mild bronze affect to the video which clearly depicts a lonely environment. For all the content being showed on the screen in front of the person has more of a black & white vibe since it is depicting everything that I am going through and how I can see all of it but do nothing and wait.

Who inspired me?

Kanye West and his unorthodox approach to life and mental health inspired me. Kanye’s album “YE’ is a picture of the Wyoming mountains that have “I hate being bipolar, it’s awesome” written over it. In the album, Kanye talks about his bipolar disorder and how the disorder is his super power. He further talks about how the Wyoming mountains helped him and his period in isolation garnered a positive outcome. He further talks about how his words sometimes do not align is intentions. The album inspired me in so many ways because it broke the old taboo of taking a mental disorder in the most pessimistic of ways. It inspired me and helped me in believing that my mental disorders are also my super powers.

Below I am attaching the link to the final product

https://youtu.be/MJdkbcGGkoM

#2 Dance Film - Innovation & Technology

Theme & Point:

I have decided to work on the lines of a dance form known to the world as “Contemporary”. It will be a conceptual performance showcasing freedom and recovery. I discovered that it is our freedom and our ties that make us human. This is what binds everyone together. The majority of people are surrounded by relationships. However, not everyone has the same level of liberty. The yearning for relationships and a sense of freedom is what sticks us all together. The point of freedom is a universal ideal of the human spirit, and when people have the choice to choose, they prefer to be free, and why wouldn't they?

Why do I want to work on this?

Everyone has that one thing that makes them feel good about themselves, like they’re in control. Everything else can be going haywire, the world can completely feel like its completely falling down around you but when you’re doing that one thing, life is wonderful. Even when 95% of the time you feel completely ordinary, you just do this one thing and you just think to yourself that you can be somebody and that I am somebody and it just makes everything worth living. The hard days, the bad days, the days you’re empty and you keep thinking there has to be something more and you realise that this is something more, this is my thing. This is that thing that makes me happy every time I struggle. I know each time I fall I know I will get back up, every time your muscles are aching and screaming and you hit the floor, you get up even though your legs are threatening to drop you. There is nothing that compares to that feeling, when you realise you are still standing after something tried to knock you down. Contemporary dancing has been a part of my life since I started understanding life. I have vivid memories of me freely dancing in my room every time I went through something difficult in life. Contemporary dancing has and will always be very close to my heart and soul and I think there is nothing in this world that depicts freedom better than this form of dancing does.

Why did I choose the colour grade? 

I kept the video very raw as it was a one take, I decided to keep it as it is to show it's true meaning and the actual colours of the surrounding, except I decided to enhance the exposure a bit and play with the mid-tones a little to enhance the quality of the film. I added a few black and white scenes which depict the emotions of the person, for example, when she is drowning in the water, I decided to put a B&W shade to it. 

Who inspired me?

It’s more like what inspired me more than who inspired me. Contemporary dancing has evolved over the years in so many different ways that has inspired me to get along and give it a shot in my own dynamic and reasoning of it. Consider contemporary dance in the same way you would consider a painting or sculpture, or a piece of music. Contemporary dance's popularity continues to rise, thanks in part to its accessibility to dancers. Contemporary dance's fluidity of movement allows dancers with less training or technique to enjoy the art form without the necessity of being perfect. I want to work on this because I think contemporary, putting it mildly, is a synonym of freedom. It has no limits, no rules or regulations and not a card or technique to perfect. You can feel free, do whatever you want and express your freedom & yourself through contemporary dancing. When I talk about who inspired me, I think it’s my self who inspired me to choose this topic today, after so many years of practicing it, I am finally getting a chance to project it in front of an audience.

Someone’s work I want to take inspiration from, why?

Emma Portner is a popular dancer and choreographer, who has choreographed music videos for celebrities like Justin Bieber. One of the few dancers to have been featured on the covers of both Dance Magazine and Dance Spirit. I would want to take inspiration from her work since she is the representative of the LGBT community that in my opinion again supports “Freedom” keeping in mind the topic I have chosen. I loved her work in a music video for Justin Bieber’s life is worth living. She had shown brilliance in that 3 minute long music video. Her take on contemporary is very different and unique. Emma Portner is someone who depicts and showcases freedom through her dancing style which has further insisted me to take inspiration from her work.

Below I am attaching a link to the video 

https://youtu.be/Xxtb7a7bf2E

#1 Dance film - INSPIRATION

The two dance films of my choice are :

BLINK - LA Contemporary 

I saw this dance video while I was searching for the references of the dance video I wanted to create. I am working on the lines of contemporary dancing & this video gives me all of the reasons to further work on it. It is simple, elegant & depicts such a strong message through it. 

PAINTED - Duncan 

This again is a form of contemporary dancing that has such a strong message to give out in the simplest of ways. The choreography done in this video is outstanding yet so simple and chic. The producer and the performer are on top of their games. 

#16 Cinematography

For cinematography, we were given a script and we had to make the tramlines on it, we had to further make a whole direction report in which we had to state everything that we will use for that screenplay. We were given a list of the things that were to be included in the report. That list entailed: 

1) tramlines 

2) equipment list camera

3) equipment list light

4) lighting mood reference images

5) art direction references images

6) color palette

7) cinematographer's note

This is what my document looked like: 

 

#15 Script Writing

We were told to write a script. 

The idea behind my script is to never give up no matter what the circumstances are, even if hell touches the floor. We should walk through the problems with our head high and the thought of this too shall pass in our minds. It's important to fail because it teaches you valuable life lessons for instance, you don't always get what you want, being right doesn't mean you will win, heart is more important than skill, never take anything for granted, etc. Instead of perceiving failure as a negative, look at it as a chance to reset and start again refreshed. Moreover, I wanted to portray the fact how age is just a number and sometimes younger people can see things older people can not. 

SYNOPSIS: 

ACT 1 

Brothers is a story that comprises of two main characters, Malik who is 21 years old and Khawar who is 11 years old. Act 1 would start by an accident of a car which has Malik and Khawar’s parents in it. Malik gets a phone call from the hospital and they inform him about the condition and how his parents are in the Intensive Care Unit. After the phone call ends, Malik rushes to the hospital, just to find out both his parents have expired due to extreme blood loss. He rushes here and there, confused, trying to contact his family. He then confronts Khawar and tells him about everything that had happen. Khawar completely shatters and is of no emotional support to his elder brother. Malik then tries to confide in his family members. Due to the family feud, both the brothers become a prey to their family. After finding out how their entire family were trying to prey on both the brothers, Malik takes as much cash as he can and fly’s to Lahore from Karachi with Khawar to start a new life. 

ACT TWO 

Malik tries to do everything possible to feed himself and his brother until the only option he is left with is drug dealing. He starts to sell drugs. After keeping it a secret from Khawar for a long time, he finally decides to tell Khawar as it was the only option left. It was becoming impossible for him to make ends meet alone when he decided, he had to involve Khawar into this business of his. After doing it for a year and a half, Khawar gets tired of it and see’s the wrong in it. He tries to confront Malik several times but gets a beating and some harsh replies in return. Khawar realises how this is wasting his life and how doing those drugs is helping them eat less food but is also harming both of them a lot. He decides to involve the police in it. He told them where he was delivering the drugs next and at what time they are going to go there. Police gets there, however, Malik is successful in running away from there while leaving Khawar behind. 

ACT THREE

Khawar is taken into police custody and is admitted into a rehab where he gets proper medical attention. He gets all the treatment that was required and wins against the war of drugs. Later, he is adopted by a set of parents who keep him happy and give him the best possible education. Khawar thrives to become someone successful. Years pass by & Khawar finally becomes a banker who earns very well. One day while going to his office, he recognises Malik on the streets. He goes up to him, He forcefully takes Malik to his car, takes him home and promises him a good life. 

Below is an attached screenshot of my script