Mini Me Composition

For my scene I first got the isolated the mushroom from this pic to insert into the backdrop. By using the magic tool and deleting everything else I was able to get just the mushroom as shown above.

After finishing separating the Mushroom from the picture, I set about editing the green screen picture that had taken of me. By using the steps we had been taught in class and from the tutorials that where provided, I was able to successfully remove the green screen and any excess spill or glow from it. This was done with a combinations of modifying the channels with calculations and using the curve editor too get a silhouette of just me which in turn isolated and green ion the picture. Then using the magic tool and a mask layer I was able to remove the green screen and any spill or glow that remained.

After that I then added the mushroom into my backdrop to create the scene where the mini me would be added. To make it seem like the mushroom belonged in the scene I used a mask layer to place it behind a leaf on the log, by doing this it made it look a lot more natural and less out of place. 

After inserting myself into the scene I manipulated the image to position me correctly, unfortunately my left hand was off but by duplicating the layer and isolating just my arm and then using the transform and warp tool, I was able to position it so it was around the mushroom correctly. I then put this over the other layer of me and using the rubber tool to get rid of any excess spill from the other picture.

I then went about adjusting the image by using the adjustment panel I modified the brightness/contrast and Hue and saturation. After that I then changed the canvas size so that the composition of the picture would be better. After that I felt like I had finished but felt the picture was to plain and need more to it so I decided to add a rain effect to it. By using a simple trick my friend had shown me I was able to use a filter to add in very fine raindrops, I also made the images a lot darker to make the rain feel more natural.

Overall I think this task went fairly well seeing that I had next to no experience in using Adobe Photoshop. I was able to use what I had learned in the past few weeks to produce a decent composition. But I do feel that my composition was a little too simple and plain. As my scene was outside using natural lighting it was hard to add in any shadows at all as the position of the light and scene meant no shadows where cast. I think I needed to add more to it; such as more version of myself, or a normal size person looking over the little me so you can see the substantial size difference between the mini me and the normal sized me. I think it would have also been a good idea if I did an interior scene rather than one outside, as I could have played with lighting more and would have been forced to add reflection and shadows into the scene. I may go back and produce another mini me scene but and an interior one so I can play around with shadows and reflections.

Taking Pics

Here are a few of the pics I took for my scene, as the mushroom was in a grassed area and the background was very empty and plain I decided to take pics in a wooded area as well. With these pics I will use them as a backdrop to make my scene more interesting. 

Initial Sketches

To refine my ideas more I decided to sketch variety of different scenes and poses for my composition. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do my scene inside or out. The two ideas I liked the most was the one with the little guy hiding under a mushroom and the one with the little guy in a leaf on a river or a lake. As a scene on a river or lake would be too difficult to shoot I decided to go with the mushroom idea. 

While walking home from university I came across a mushroom that would be perfect for my first idea which was to have myself in a wooded area under a mushroom. After finding the mushroom I drew a bigger sketch of the scene I would like to do. 

Mini Me Initial Idea

For our first semester assignment we were set the task of putting a miniature version of ourselves into a scene using just original images. For this assignment we will be assessed on our skills using Adobe Photoshop e.g. the use of layers, masking, colour correction and matching whilst also displaying our photography skills using a camera, lighting and a green screen.

After being told what the assignment was I started thinking of films I could use as a reference and inspiration. Above are a few of the images I found on the internet that where fairly related to the subject at hand. The images are from a variety of film such as; The Indian In The Cupboard, Ant-Man, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Peter Pan, Hook The Borrowers Movie and TV Movie, Alice In Wonderland, FernGully, Stewart Little and Arrietty. These are all useful as each film has scene where a miniature person encounters normal or very large objects.

I also found a number of images where miniature models had been placed in a variety of different poses. These images where very useful as they all showed the miniature model people interacting with their surroundings in an interesting and ingenious way.  

Intro

Hey my name is Jamie McFadyen but I prefer to go by J. I am a Film, TV and video game buff. I studied Games Design at college and one year at university but decided to switch to Digital Film & Post Production. I have no previous experience in making films but  I am very determined and keen to learn the skills necessary. I am extremely excited to start this new chapter in my life,

In this blog I will be showing the progression of my skills using software, like Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop. I will also show the development of the work that I produce. I will talk reflect on what went well, what went badly and what possible improvements I could or should have done.

I will also do weekly posts talking about things I do outside of class such as project and reviews of films, TV shows and clips that I have watched. I will mostly concentrate on talking about the editing and pick out specific scene where I think there is good editing or a specific editing technique that I like.