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Tip #1232: What Should Be in Every Scene You Write?

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1232: What Should Be in Every Scene You Write?

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Drama occurs from conflict. Spike Lee says the best drama is when both sides are right.

(Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Jason Hellerman, first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is a summary.

Scenes: they’re the backbone of every story, whether it be TV, film, or even on the stage. Scenes build on one another and create a world, a vision, and take people on a journey. But, what should be in every scene?

At the end of the day, every scene needs to have one thing: drama. Does your character have a goal in the scene? What’s standing in their way? That’s it. That’s the center of every scene.

Drama is the perils that your characters face in order to achieve their goal. Those perils can make us laugh, they can be thrilling, they can be emotional. But without drama, you’re not building a story. You’re just boring us.

The biggest pratfall I see from younger writers are scenes that have no conflict. People come in and out of doors and espouse facts, then go on their way. We need to see what stands in their way both tangibly and intangibly if we want to really be a part of the story.

This article includes a video on how to write a scene, along with more details.

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Tip #1227: Compare Two Images for Artifacts

… for Apple Motion

Tip #1227: Compare Two Images for Artifacts

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Differences caused by compression are very subtle and confined to edges.

A significantly enhanced difference map highlighting differences between images.

Topic $TipTopic

Ever wonder what happens to your images when they are compressed? Well, Motion has a elegant way to illustrate these differences. Here’s how to discover them.

  • Import the two clips or stills you want to compare – this works for both video and stills.
  • Select the top clip.
  • In the Inspector, change Properties > Blend mode to Difference.

The first thing you’ll notice is that differences are VERY slight.

To enhance these results, apply Filters > Color > Levels to the GROUP that holds both images. Then drag the mid-tone slider to the left. This boosts the difference results.

Anything showing gray is different between the two images. Again, you’ll see the big difference is edge definition.

EXTRA CREDIT

If you want to be extra precise, bring these images into your favorite NLE and compare them using the Waveform Monitor.

Two identical images would show a solid black line at 0.

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Tip #1229: Enable Dramatic Lighting in Motion

… for Apple Motion

Tip #1229: Enable Dramatic Lighting in Motion

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The lighting technology in Motion is amazing! The key is to turn off the ambient lights first.

A 3D torus, with Dramatic Right lighting and colors applied.

Topic $TipTopic

Motion has some very dramatic lighting presets built into it. But, to see them, you need to turn the ambient lights off first. Here’s how.

The screen shot illustrates the Dramatic Right lighting setup, with ambient lights turned off. Here’s how to achieve the same look.

  • Drag the 3D object of your choice from the Library to the Viewer, then select it in the Layers panel. (I used a Torus.)
  • From Object > New Light Setup, choose a lighting arrangement that appeals to you. (I used Dramatic Right.)
  • In the Layers panel, move the 3D object from its own group into the same group as the lights.
  • Select the 3D object, then go to Inspector > 3D Object and click the Reveal Environmental Lighting button.
  • Scroll down toward the bottom and set 3D Object Environment to 0. This turns off the inherent lighting of the object. (If the object goes black, remember that you need to move it into the same group as the lighting setup you just added. Put it below the lights in the Layers panel.)
  • Finally, select each light individually in the Layers panel, go to Inspector > Light and change the color to something you like.

Adjust until you get the look you want — or, until its time for dinner, whichever comes first.

EXTRA CREDIT

As is also true on set, you can adjust lights until there’s no time left for production. Feel free to tweak.

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Tip #1233: New Color Tools in DaVinci Resolve 17

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1233: New Color Tools in DaVinci Resolve 17

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

DaVinci Resolve continues to set the pace for color control and creativity.

(Image courtesy of BlackmagicDesign.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

DaVinci Resolve has long been respected for its color grading tools. In the Version 17 release, these were improved even more. Here’s a quick summary of the new features, taken from the DaVinci Resolve website.

Next Generation HDR Grading Tools. The HDR grading palette lets you create new color wheels with custom roll off for specific tonal ranges, giving you more creative control to make fine adjustments. The wheels include exposure and saturation controls for each zone. They’re color space aware so you get perceptually uniform results.

Color Warper for Refined Grading. The mesh based warping tool lets you adjust two color parameters at once. You can adjust both hue and saturation or chroma and luma. Adjustments are made by dragging control points, with smooth falloff for clean, natural looking adjustments. It’s an entirely new way to transform color in your images!

Targeted Grading with Magic Mask. Selecting and tracking people for targeted correction has never been easier! Magic mask uses the DaVinci Neural Engine to automatically create masks for an entire person or specific features such as face or arms. You get matte finesse tools, the ability to add and remove strokes and automatic tracking!

Advanced Color Management. DaVinci Resolve color management adds features to simplify your workflow and improve image quality. You get wide gamut image processing, new input and output tone mapping and color space aware tools that provide for a more consistent response while grading and greatly improved image quality!

DaVinci Wide Gamut Color Space. DaVinci wide gamut and DaVinci intermediate are timeline color space and gamma settings that provide a universal internal working color space. It’s larger than what cameras can capture, or BT.2020, ARRI wide gamut and even ACES AP1. You’ll never lose image data, no matter where it comes from!

Updated 3D Professional Scopes. You can now open multiple versions of the same scope, set customizable waveform scales, create 3×3 layouts and open a separate scope window on a second display. You could open 3 vectorscopes, set to different tonal and zoom ranges, allowing you to simultaneously see shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Additional LUT Support. DaVinci Resolve 17 lets you generate 17 point 3D LUTs directly from the timeline, which are great for monitoring on set. There’s also support for video range LUT metadata, as well as the ability to set your own custom LUT paths either on local or to a network volume for sharing LUTs in a facility.

New Viewer Wipe Modes. New diagonal, venetian blind and checkerboard wipes provide additional flexibility for comparing images in different ways. A new split screen mode for comparing up to four playheads from the timeline is useful for comparing multiple clips or for comparing different frames within the same clip.

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Tip #1234: When to Use a More Powerful Chroma-Keyer

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1234: When to Use a More Powerful Chroma-Keyer

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

High-end compositing tools exist to solve tricky problems with edges.

(Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

Both Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro X include powerful chroma-keyers. When should you consider using something even stronger?

The challenge with any key is precisely defining an edge. Yes, the background needs to be evenly lit and actors should not wear green in front of a green background. But, by now, most of us understand that.

Most of the time, finding the edge isn’t that hard. But, I can easily think of five situations to use more powerful compositing (keying) software:

  1. Loose or blowing hair and other fuzzy edges
  2. Translucency between foreground and background
  3. Reflections of the composited background with the foreground
  4. Tracking between foreground and background
  5. Working with 3D composites

What software should you consider if your NLE isn’t enough?

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Tip #1235: 6 Ways to Motion Track in After Effects

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1235: 6 Ways to Motion Track in After Effects

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Motion tracking is an essential skill, especially designed for moving elements.

(Image courtesy of SchoolofMotion.com)

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Johnathan Paul, first appeared in SchoolofMotion.com. This is a summary.

Motion tracking, in its simplest form, is the process of tracking the movement of an object within a piece of footage. Once you’ve collected this track data from the selected point, you then apply it to another element or object. The results of applying this data are that your element or object now matches the movement of your footage.

What can you use motion tracking for?

  • Stabilize motion by utilizing tracking data.
  • Add elements such as text or solids to a composition.
  • Insert 3D objects into 2D footage.
  • Apply effects or color grading techniques.
  • Replace screens on a TV, Computer, or mobile device.

What types of motion tracking is there in After Effects?

  1. Single-Point Tracking
  2. Two-Point Tracking
  3. Corner Pin Tracking
  4. Planar Tracking
  5. Spline Tracking
  6. 3D Camera Tracking

Tracking is a crucial technique to learn as a motion designer or visual effects artist. You’ll end up using this technique much more than you think, and for a wide variety of reasons.

The article has videos that illustrate each of the six types of motion tracking, along with different software to accomplish it.

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Tip #1225: Create the Illusion of Speed

… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #1225: Create the Illusion of Speed

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

A Directional Blur creates a blur that reinforces the direction of movement.

Jet-powered fish with a Directional Blur applied.

Topic $TipTopic

You are editing an action scene, but elements in it don’t seem to be moving fast enough. Here’s filter that can help.

  • Apply Effects > Blurs > Directional Blur.
  • Then, set the Angle to match the direction of movement, and the Amount to emphasize the speed of movement.

This is similar to creating motion blur in the camera to show the audience just how fast something is moving.

There are no “magic settings” to this effect. Simply apply the filter, then tweak until things look good to you.

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Tip #1226: Make Video Look Like a Button

… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #1226: Make Video Look Like a 3D Button

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

This is a fast way to add dimensionality to a 2D video.

Effect Controls settings (top) and the finished effect.

Topic $TipTopic

There’s a little known effect in Premiere that can turn any video into a 3D button. While you wouldn’t use this in a background video, it can create interesting foreground effects. Here’s how it works.

  • Select a clip – ideally, scale it to less than full screen.
  • Apply Effects > Perspective > Bevel Alpha.

The default settings aren’t bad, but you can tweak them in Effect Controls. In this example, I increased the Edge Thickness a lot.

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Tip #1216: A Split-Screen Movie – that Works.

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1216: A Split-Screen Movie – that Works.

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

80 minutes – two separate locations – both shot in real-time at the same time.

Screen shot from the film “Last Call.”

Topic $TipTopic

When does film become theater… and when does theater become film?

This article first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is a summary.

The film, “Last Call” is about a suicidal alcoholic (played by the film’s co-writer Daved Wilkins) on the anniversary of his son’s death. When he attempts to call a crisis hotline, a mis-dial connects him with Beth, a single mother working as the night janitor (Sarah Booth) at a local community college. The split screen feature showcases both characters in real-time as they navigate a life-changing conversation.

80 minutes – two separate locations – both shot in real-time at the same time. 10 days of rehearsal, 4 days to shoot, 5 good takes.

“We were either going to get it or not,” director/co-writer Gavin Michael Booth says. “We filmed every rehearsal and watched it back to see if a particular section was getting boring and therefore to try something visually to spice it up. I was like an NFL coach being able to watch the game plays back to perfect the technical aspects of the performance.”

Not content with shooting both takes simultaneously in realtime, they shot in locations several blocks away from each other. The crew for each was a camera operator and a sound operator. Cinematographer Seth Wessel-Estes was in charge of Daved’s storyline, while Booth took charge of the other storyline featuring his wife. They shot with a part of RED Helium cameras in 8K.

Shot almost exactly two years ago, the film picked up 25 awards on the festival circuit including the Founders Award at Napa Valley and Best Feature at Hamilton, eventually landing a theatrical release with Mutiny Pictures and a streaming distribution deal with Apple TV+ with more to follow.

The article provides lots more details, plus a trailer and production shots.

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Tip #1217: Create Loglines that Sell Movies

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1217: Create Loglines that Sell Movies

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Taglines intrigue audiences. Loglines sell films to investers.

Screen shot of “Back to the Future” (Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.)

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Darin Bradley, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.

Every creative medium uses some version of the elevator pitch to condense a project into a simple, memorable description — in the movie business, it’s the logline. Agents and producers of all stripes across the entertainment industry use these one-liners when jockeying scripts, books, or games between the creators they represent and the buyers they’re trying to convince.

A logline is a simple descriptive sentence that identifies the inciting incident (motivation and/or risks), the protagonist, the primary action, and the antagonist. This straightforward sentence reduces all the complexity and nuance of your script into a digestible takeaway that makes it simpler for the various brokers who bring movies to life to move big, beautiful, ungainly scripts around.

Here are the “Rules:”

  1. Create Strong Protagonists
  2. Specific About Character Actions
  3. The Unexpected Is Your Friend

The article then provides almost a dozen examples of both successful and unsuccessful loglines, with an analysis of each.

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