Video & Sound Production - FINAL PROJECT

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 16/6/2025 - 27/7/2025 / (Week 9- Week 14)

An Hongzheng / 0378415

Video and Sound Production 

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Final Project: Visual Effects video / Stop Motion (Animation stream)

Google Drive Link

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Lectures

2. Instructions

3. Final Project: Visual Effects Video

4. Feedback

5. Reflection

LECTURES

Week 9 (18/6/2025):
Mr. Martin introduced us to visual effects in Adobe After Effects, teaching us how to use basic tools to create simple VFX.  (Click here for tutorial)

Week 10 (25/6/2025):
We filmed our visual effects scenes with our partners and began editing them in Adobe After Effects, following the tutorial to test if our effects worked as planned. We also presented our story ideas to Mr. Martin, and he gave us his approval.

Week 11 (2/7/2025):
Mr. Martin reviewed our storyboards today and gave us helpful feedback to improve our project.

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INSTRUCTION

Fig.1.1 Module Information

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FINAL PROJECT
- Visual Effects Video -

Description:
- Produce Visual Effects video by a given theme.
- Voice over, sound effects and music can be used, to tell a compelling story.
- Confine to NO more than 2 character/ locations.
- Only 1 event in less than 15 shots.

Requirements:
- Storyboard must be presented and get approval before the principle shoot.
- Final video is to be submitted in digital format:

  • Screen Resolution: 1080p (Full HD), 16:9 (Wide Screen)
  • Frame Rate: 24/25fps
  • Field Option: Progressive Scan
  • Audio Quality: 48kHZ, 16-bits stereo
  • Compression: H.264

Submission:
- Upload the final video to YouTube/ Google Drive, share the link in e-portfolio with reflection.


PROJECT VFX PROPOSAL

Slides Link: Click Here
Fig.3.1.1 Proposal


PROCESS

- Pre-Production -


1. Before the whole final task, my partner Aman and me assigned our task for more effective work.
He is responsible for collecting data, information of Card - "Magician", and I'm responsible for the storyboard.
After collecting information, we come up with a idea for shoting together, and we create the general story. Then we designed the shotlist.

- Storyboard -


2. According to the shotlist, I create the full story board on my ipad. 

Fig.3.1.2 Storyboard #Page 1 / (Week 11, 2/7/2025)


Fig.3.1.3 Storyboard #Page 2 / (Week 11, 2/7/2025)


Fig.3.1.4 Storyboard #Page 3 / (Week 11, 2/7/2025)





3. In week 11, we went to the campus on Saturday for shot. we supposed there will be no empty lab rooms for shot during the week day, however, all lab rooms are locked on Satturday, therefore we can just use a collaborate room for our shot to simulate the environment of an office. 

- Shooting Clips - 

Fig.3.1.5 Raw Footage 1 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)



- Editing - 

4. There are 2 AE effects in our work. I'm responsible for the wake up effect in AE.
  • Use ellipse Tool to create a mask first, and select invert.
Fig.3.1.6 Editing Progress 2 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


5. Add eye's open and close effect, then use f9 to quick make the effects smoother.
Fig.3.1.7 Editing Progress 3 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


6.   Add blur radius effect to the whole video accroding to the time of close and open eyes, to make the general scene more realistic.

Fig.3.1.8 Editing Progress 4 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


7. First time do the color correction and grading.

Fig.3.1.9 Editing Progress 5 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


8. Adding the text appear at the end of the video.

Fig.3.1.10 Editing Progress 6 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


9. Add a "jump out" sound effect to the text part, and then redo the color correction and grading.

Fig.3.1.11 Editing Progress 7 / (Week 12, 12/7/2025)


10. After the feedback form Mr.Martin, I redo the color correction form the white blance part.
Fig.3.1.12 Editing Progress 8 / (Week 14, 23/7/2025)


11. After color correction, I add adujstment layers for color grading. The 3 scenes in my video has their unique color style.
  • Scene 1: Overall depression, blue-green as the main tone, most desaturated
  • Scene 2: Slightly increase the color temperature and saturation, leading to a special feeling of "selection"
  • Scene 3: Light yellow + blue-gray tone, returning to a more "realistic" but unnatural color.
Fig.3.1.13 Editing Progress 9 / (Week 14, 237/2025)



12. The third lens has two filters to create a gradient effect, creating a feeling of transition from despair and indifference to warm colors and relative relief.

    1. Create two Adjustment Layers:
  • Adjustment Layer A: for cold tones (first half)
  • Adjustment Layer B: for warm tones (second half)

    2. Adjustment Layer A (first half: cold):
  • Set in Lumetri → Basic Correction + Color Wheels & Match:
  • Temperature: around -20 (bluish)
  • Tint: +5 (slightly green to enhance the "sick" feeling)
  • Highlight color wheel: slightly push towards cyan
  • Shadow color wheel: more obviously push blue-green

    3. Adjustment Layer B (second half: relieved):
  • Temperature: +15 (warm)
  • Tint: -5 (slightly reddish/orange)
  • Highlight color wheel: push towards yellow-red
  • Shadow color wheel: slightly orange or natural neutral gray

    4. Make transition: gradient color
  •     Let the two layers overlap for a few seconds , and use Opacity to fade in and out to achieve the transition:
  • Click Adjustment Layer B → Effect Controls → Find Opacity
  • Keyframe at the start of the overlap and set it to 0%
  • Keyframe at the end of the overlap and set it to 100%
  • The video will then smoothly transition from the "cold" Layer A to the "warm" Layer B.
Fig.3.1.14 Editing Progress 10 / (Week 14, 23/7/2025)


13. Add music and sound effcts.
Fig.3.1.15 Editing Progress 11 / (Week 14, 23/7/2025)


7. Final Outcome
FINAL VIDEO

Fig.3.1.18 Final VFX - WAKE UP / (Week 14, 23/7/2025)

YouTube Link: Click here

Google Drive File: Click here

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FEEDBACK

Week 14 (23/7/2025)

Specific Feedback: The brightness is too much. To trim the video,Its too long.

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REFLECTION

Experiences:

This final project was both challenging and rewarding. Working closely with my partner, we planned our concept carefully to fit the theme while keeping it simple enough for us to manage. Shooting was sometimes stressful, especially when trying to keep serious during retakes, but we shared some fun moments that made the process enjoyable. Using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro to add invisible VFX and edit the final video was a great learning experience, as it allowed me to explore advanced techniques I hadn’t tried before.

Observation:

I realized that strong planning and clear communication were essential, especially with only two people handling all parts of the production. Storyboarding helped us stay focused, and dividing tasks made the workflow smoother. Organizing files well was important, though it got tricky as the number of shots increased. I also noticed how important it is to be flexible—sometimes we had to adjust shots or reshoot when things didn’t work as expected.

Findings:

Through this project, I developed both my technical skills in VFX and video editing and my ability to collaborate effectively. I understood the value of patience and teamwork when creating something complex. Overall, I’m proud of what we achieved, and this project has motivated me to continue improving my skills in film production and post-production.


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