Introduction: The Gears | From Ideas to Footages | Post-production: Tricks revealed | Watch this movie online

The Film

225 is a five minute sci-fi, fantasy short.

A small boy endures a long and uneventful family outing. When his mum and sister leave for a few minutes he glances out of the window to see a trio of space interceptors ‘buzzing’ the train- looping, weaving and diving. One craft miscalculates a near pass, lopping the top from a church spire. Now, catastrophically damaged, the disabled interceptor plummets toward the train. Only the boy has seen the impending tragedy. The craft crashes onto the track alongside, and as the train hurtles into a tunnel and safety, the boy looks around and examines his sci-fi colouring book and then his own imagination. But nothing is as it seems…. Was the boy dreaming or not? (OK, it’s not art!)

Such an idea would, until recently, have been impossible for the home movie-maker to achieve convincingly. But circumstances have changed. The playing field has been levelled! We amateurs now have access to a selection of software very similar to that used in Hollywood.

The Software

Unfortunately, there is no “Silver Bullet” software. No program (not even in Hollywood) can achieve all the results all the time. Consequently we need a ‘palette’ of software – preferably software that can talk to each other aboard the same computer. I use:

• Adobe Premier. I’ve used other NLE software, but still prefer Premier. It’s fast, reliable and flexible. Coupled with the native software of a good video capture card the possibilities are almost endless. The sound editing elements are also excellent.
• Adobe After Effects. Handy for lots of clever little post-production visuals.
• Adobe Photoshop. Again, still the original and best. The most awesomely exciting and flexible photo-manipulation tool this end of the galaxy. I also like the way .psd files can be imported directly into Premier (along with their alpha channel, or transparency, information).
• AutoCAD by Autodesk. This is a straight CAD drafting package, used by architects and engineers worldwide – regarded as the industry standard.
• VIZ by Autodesk. Rendering and realisation software that dovetails with AotoCAD.
• Big Film FX. Useful for helping the shot to look mechanically like film (artistically, it’s up to us behind the camera!), Choose a filmstock (Kodak 7245 & 7248 from my 16mm days). Press a button, wait for hours, and hey presto!
• 3D StudioMAX R3 & R5 Among the best 3D design packages available. You could use MAYA or similar. They all cost and do about the same. MAX allows use to design and create objects, add lights, add cameras and (most important), add real life to a totally animated scene. This article isn’t long enough to allow a detailed exploration of MAX, but its potential blows my tiny, Luddite mind!
• Discreet Combustion R3. MAX can do most of what ‘Combustion’ can do, but some elements are treated differently. Combustion is really a 2D package but allows the user to work with 2D in a 3D environment. Consequently its file sizes are smaller and it is speedier and more accurate in some circumstances. Filmmakers often call this 22D.

The Hardware

Dad can become very unpopular, hogging the PC (not MAC) for weeks of production when everyone else wants to read e-mails or do homework! Consequently, a dedicated computer is a real bonus.

It’s possible to run most of the above software on a ‘conventional’ computer, but after much unpleasant experience I’ve learned not to. A regular off-the-shelf computer from a major PC department store is OK for domestic applications, but not for the demands of most heavy duty graphics software!

I use a dual head running two 19” CRT screens. (A single screen becomes too cramped. LCD screens are OK for word-processing but not for graphics applications – they don’t yet have the colour, contrast or viewing angle of CRTs.) My film production PC doesn’t have word processing or games or ‘Office’ and – most important – NO internet access.

The quality of the Video Capture Card seriously affects the capability of the system. The Canopus DV Storm II PRO card is excellent – but because of conflicting architecture it’s sometimes choosy about its Motherboard. (See their website).

Introduction: The Gears | From Ideas to Footages | Post-production: Tricks revealed | Watch this movie online

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source