Converting Kodak Zi8 Files For Use in iMovie and Final Cut

1. Select this icon from your applications folder or the Dock:


2. To open a video file, simply drag it into the centre of this window



3. On the top menu select: File
Then select: Export to Quicktime



4. Ensure you match these settings:
- Apple Intermediate Codec
- Frame Size: 1280x720
- Select Make Movie
- Rename the File
- Save the new file on your USB or Hard Drive



5. Open Final Cut from the Dock by selecting this icon

The Final Cut Interface:








6. Check your project settings. Click on the Browser window and this is where your clips and sequences will later be stored.



7. Go to the file menu and select easy setup



8. Set your project Format to Apple Intermediate Codec with a Rate of 29.97 fps. Use the exact options indicated below:

Classwork!

Today in class, I have been revising for our up-coming test on friday. I have been going through notes on miss-on-scene, cinematography and sound and editing. Our test mainly focuses on the work we were doing in term 1 and some of the work we have been doing this term. My main resources are from blackboard, nots on my blog and many power points. I will be very excited when this test is over, as then I can concentrate on my assessment, which is producing a film. This is due at the end of next term. I am working in a group of 4 people to help produce this film. I have already created the storyboard, organised the characters and done my film synopsis. I am very excited for next terms work, producing the film.

Storyboard Recipe!

Ingredients:
4x beautiful princesses
1x unfaithful prince charming
1x dark, gloomy forest
1x beautiful church
1x relaxing park
1x oak tree
1x flash back
Black Screen
Various objects
Blood
Tense Music
Credits
Bloopers

Recipe:
Take 4 beautiful princesses and place them in the forest running. Place the unfaithful prince charming in front of them, so that the princesses are chasing after the prince. Place the various objects in the princesses hands and make them start throwing the various objects at the prince, whilst he is running for his life. Add the flashback in and make the princesses appear at the beautiful church and marry the same prince to show that he is unfaithful.  Throw in the next part of the flash back when the princesses are all at the park and suddenly see the prince emerging. When they all go to greet him, they discover the truth and are angry about his disloyalty. Then, show the four princesses chasing after the prince again in the forest. Add in a point-of-view shot of one of the princesses throwing heels at the prince, whilst running hurriedly after him. Take the camera back to show the princesses wanting to take revenge on the prince and show a full body shot of him rapidly turning around to face the princesses accepting that they are about to kill him. Supplement a black screen in, so that the audience can only hear the sound of fighting. Show the image again and make one of the princesses kill everyone, instead of just the prince. Move the camera to show an over-the-shoulder shot of the surviving princess writing in blood on the oak tree the words, "Happily Ever After." Have tense music playing in the background and illustrate her walking off smiling and chuckling to herself. Show the credits appear on screen and add the bloopers in afterwards.

Vampire Film Synopsis!

We see the priest leaning against what appears to be a rail in a large, open building. The building appears to be a church. We can tell from his body language that he is frightened, as he is leaning back and his whole body seems to be tensed as fear. From the left of the frame, the vampire emerges moving ominously and creepily towards the priest. It is a low-angle, mid shot and also an over-the-shoulder shot. We hear the sound of the vampire’s feet creaking against the floorboards and the priests breathing starts to become heavy, tense and quite loud.

We cut to a point of view shot from the priest’s perspective with the vampire looking down on the priest hungrily. The vampire appears to be wearing a formal jacket that looks quite dirty and old, with a striped tie and a white loose shirt underneath. His hair is very scruffy and unclean. We can see that his facial expressions are very serious and scary and his eyes show a lot of evil in them. Sounds of the wind howling are heard in the background of the shot.

The audience then sees a tracking shot of the priest moving from right to left across what appears to be a barrister on a balcony of a church. He is leaning right against the rail, illustrating that he is scared and wants to stay as far away as possible from the vampire. As he moves along the barrister, his hands are tightly gripped to the piece of wood, which shows that he is very tense and frightened. We can see the vampire appearing in the background, moving menacingly forward toward the priest in a steady, stiff manner. All the audience can hear is the moans from the priest who is frightened and his footsteps along the wood as he moves further and further away. It is a mid shot. The shot then cuts and we see the vampire launch himself off the balcony flinging the priest down onto the altar, which is on the lower floor of the church. The alter candles are flung in disarray and the two men’s bodies appear to be lifeless. The camera zooms out from the two bodies lying on the alter table and the vampire starts to feed on the priest. We hear the sound of the balcony snapping as the vampire launches himself onto the priest and then the sound of the loud thump from the two men landing on the altar. The audience can also hear the sound of many items near the altar, where the ten men landed, shatter apart. It is portrayed as a high-angle, mid-shot.

The camera zooms out slowly for the rest of the film. It is a high-angle, mid-shot to a long shot. The audience can see the priest’s body lying across the alter still. As the camera zooms out, Jesus is shown hanging on the cross above the priest. Tense music is playing in the background and the vampire is nowhere to be seen. The shot then cuts to a black screen and all is quiet. 

Notes on Protagonist and Antagonist!

Protagonist drives the plot forward. 
Antagonist tries to stop him.

The protagonist is the main character, usually the "good" guy in the story. The story mainly focuses on this character's experiences. 

The Antagonist is usually portrayed as the "bad" guy, or the person that goes against the protagonist and way he's trying to do. 

In the Story Mind, the Protagonist is the Prime Mover of the effort to achieve the Story's Goal. The Antagonist is the Chief Obstacle to that effort. In a sense, Protagonist is the irresistible force and Antagonist is the immovable object.

Without a Protagonist, your story would have no directed drive. It would likely meander through a series of events without any sense of compelling inevitability. When the climax arrives, the protagonist would likely be weak. This is not to say that the protagonist won't be convinced to stop trying, eventually, he or she will ignite again and once more resume the drive toward the goal. 

In choosing which of your characters to assign the role of the Protagonist, it doesn't have to be the most powerful character, rather it will simply be the character who keeps pressing forward, even if in a gentle manner until all the obstacles to success are either overcome or slowly eroded. 

Notes on Plot Development!

What is a plot? 

A plot is the organised pattern or sequence of events that make up a story. Every plot is made up of a series of incidents that are related to one another.

Exposition: 

This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict.

Rising Action: 

This part of the story begins to develop the conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs.


Climax: 

This is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in come way.


Falling Action: 

All loose ends of the plot are tied up. The conflict(s) and climax are taken care of.

Resolution: 

The story comes to a reasonable ending.

Storyboarding!

The two rules of storyboards: 
- Firstly, storyboards allow a filmmaker to pre-visualize their ideas and refine them in the same way a scriptwriter refines their ideas through a succession of drafts.
- Secondly, they serve as the clearest language to communicate ideas to the entire production team.

A storyboard includes: 
- The shot type
- Camera position/movement (using arrows)
- Camera action/dialogue/detail
- Any notes


Camera Position: 
- High camera angle
- Low camera angle
- Level camera angle
- Long shot

To illustrate camera movement, you can use arrows. 
Note any dialogue used in the film. 

Storyboard Language: 
Pan: A steady, sweeping movement from one point in a scene to another.
POV (point of view): A shot which is understood to be seen from the point of view of a character within the scene.
Reaction Shot: A shot of someone looking off screen or a reaction shot can also be a shot of someone in a conversation where they are not given a one of dialogue but are just listening to the other person speak.
Tilt: Using a camera on a tripod, the camera moves up or down to follow the action.
Zoom: Use the camera lens to move closely towards the subject.
Close-up shot: A close range of distance between the camera and the subject.
Dissolve: A transition between two shots.
Fade: A transition that slowly swifts between two shots.
Jump cut: A rapid, jerky transition from one frame to the next.

What is a storyboard? 
A story board is an illustrated version of the script in a production. The director will use it as a first visual draft of what should be done in a film or a television series. The storyboard is a very effective way to communicate what a director wants in their project. A script can be interpreted in many different ways, but a storyboard doesn't leave much place for interpretation.

In animation, the storyboard will contain all the important information needed for the production: 

• A basic idea of the layout 
• The script 
• The dialogue 
• The duration of each scenes 
• The camera movement if there is any 
• Character or element actions 
• Mood or Colour

A panel is one specific action or moment in a storyboard. One drawing is one panel. You will find all sorts of information in a panel. 

The Action is what is going on at the moment in the storyboard. The character or characters poses should be clear and to-the-point. Arrows can be used to help explain what is going with the action also. Action Notes are extra information to help understand what is taking place in the storyboard. Not every panel has notes but there should be enough so that no one is confused by what is going on in the board.

Dialogues (if there are any) should be included in the specified box. Simply copy the dialogue from the script and paste or type it into the dialogue box.

Arrows are a clear way to indicate to the viewer what is going on. They can be drawn in all sizes and directions to show perspective in movement. They are used often, as they help to make your storyboard clear.

Panel Annotations are important. Sometimes, they are put inside arrows, inside a circle. This is up to the storyboard artist. Characters coming in or going out of a panel should be clearly indicated as this makes a big difference in a scene.

Camera movement should also be included in the panel. A camera move should be marked. You should have the first frame for the starting point and the second frame for the ending of the move. Then arrows can indicate the direction of the move.