Post 10) Copyright - 21/05/2014

For this post I will be addressing copyright with the images that have been using throughout the project.

Frist of all the images and videos that I have taken with my Camera:
The images and videos that came from my camera do not infringe copyright laws and because of this reason I have used a lot of images. The other reason is to try and get a higher quality image and video.

Second the images made in Photoshop and illustrator:
As all of the content used had come from my camera this does not infringe on copyright as the content belongs to me allowing it to be used in any way that I like such as being used to create images in Photoshop and Illustrator. 

Video and Music and Logos:
Normally I would require permission from the original content owner but as I am using these resources for an educational purpose I am free to use them as long as I referenced where I got the content from. In a normal working situation I would be free to use them as I would already have permission to use them.

Videos:
Flying Monsters 3D - Accessed on 27/04/2014
From National Geographic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj6Lkfs2kAA

Dragon Flying Over England - Accessed on 27/04/2014
From O7TV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnLZbuhor4I

The Horntail Chase - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [HD] - Accessed on 27/04/2014
From Harry Potter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wpvdhK0xec

burning village test - Accessed on 29/04/2014
From DetFilms - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-pNLzhR_SU

'How to Train Your Dragon' Trailer HD - Accessed on 24/03/2014
From hollywoodstreams - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKiYuIsPxYk

Music:
Willow and the Light - Accessed on 02/04/2014
By Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Our Story Begins - Accessed on 02/04/2014
By Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/

Lastly the rating, barcodes and DVD logos fall under the same situation as the videos and music but in a real design process I would be allowed to use these are the film would have to go through the rating system and I would then be allowed to use these in the design.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BBFC_PG.svg











http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DVD-Video_Logo.svg

http://www.sagedata.com/images/2007/Code_128_Barcode_Graphic.jpg









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PG_home_video.png





Post 9) Overview 19/05/2014

Overview

With this Overview I will talk about have I felt about may work. Firstly for this being a first time using the software in this way I felt like I did great as a first attempt for the most part.

With the Photoshop part I felt like this is my best work of the three as I had the most time to work on it and the most practice as I used it to make as number of different images for this project such as the different stages of the Dragasus design. Another factor with the DVD cover design that helped is that I watch DVD a lot of the time so I end up looking at various DVD Covers which I would then get some ideas from. The last reason that I feel that this is my best part of the project is that Photoshop is in my view the easiest to organise work with the use of different layers, folders and viewing options i.e.(what layers the software is showing).

With the Illustrator part I feel like I could have done better although I felt that it was overall a good attempt and closely fitting DVD Disk when compared to the DVD Cover. If I had some more practise with the software it could have gone better by knowing how to use the tools better and more effectively. It might had help if the folder and layer system in Illustrator functioned a bit better, by being easier to see what each layer contained as it only shows the different folders at first, then the layers but then goes it to too much information in a small space that each line is in, that cannot be altered. 

With the Premiere part I could done better with parts of the trailer such as my "green screen" attempts and getting more clips of closely similar art styles so that there isn't as big of a clash as there is in the trailer. It helped that I knew where everything was with Premiere's folder system and I felt that I was about to take advantage of the layer system with the videos by have one video layer on top of another video. Overall this is the type of software that I have had the most experience with using but I had the least time to make the trailer which had a big impact.

Part 8) DVD Cover Part 2 - 13/05/2014

I have made some updates to my DVD Cover.

 

The first set of updates are the placement of Logo to match that of a real DVD layout, this has affected the front cover and the spine with logo placement being focused at the bottom of the DVD to give the view information as well as not interfering with the cover art. The title on the spine has moved to the centre because of the placement of the logos but also because it looks better in the centre of the spine, in a more condensed size rather than being stretched out to fill the whole spine.

 

The second set of updates is the new front cover image which has changed from being placed at the left to being more focused in being in the centre this is because I found that the image I took (see right) looked better as well as having more attitude. The previous image was then moved to the back cover and was reused with the newly added mountain.

The Last change to the front cover is the addition of a studio logo for "BAS Studio" which is the first initials of my first, middle and last names. The colouring of it is to have a similar look and feel as the Dragasus logo with a blue main colour and a green outline effect.

The back cover has had many additions and alterations, this includes the border add to preview images, DVD information and description and the mountain. The first of these additions is the thin black border around the preview images to help them stand out more against the other part of the back cover.

The second update is to the description and the DVD information which now includes a name for the Dragasus and the name for the location that the movie takes place in. I chose the name "Cerulean" for the dragon as cerulean is a shade of blue which at the time I thought was the best fitting as a name. The location "Terra Celestial" was chosen as I wanted a name that could describe the location, "Celestial" can be defined as "Heavenly" or "Spiritual" and "Terra" is the Italian word for "Land" and "Earth" so the location can be describe as "Heavenly Earth" which I feel can define a floating continent well.

The DVD information has been added at the bottom of the back cover with information about the DVD such as Languages, Subtitles, Region Format, Running time and sound format. For Languages, Subtitles and Region Format it displays information for the Basic English requirements which would be English language, English subtitles and English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

The Last update to the back cover is the mountain which was added to make use of previous assets that where being used in the last cover design. I made the outline and the different colour shades with the paintbrush tool. The details where done with different shades to give a the effects of different shadows affecting the mountain as well as add a texture to the mountain for a more real looking setting that could fit in with this image.

 

Post 7) Video Ideas Part 1 - 28/03/2014

For this project I will need to make a trailer to accompany the rest of the work and need to be 1 minute long as that is the criteria that I have been given.
At the moment I have some ideas of what I need to do such as:
I'm going to need to find clips with other dragons in it, as that is the main theme of my idea and to not have a dragon in it would make it a terrible trailer in my opinion.

I'm wanting to edit some clip that I have made/recorded, to keep some consistency with everything in the project as well as to have the main character in the trailer.

I'm going to need some sounds and music to use in the video, to give the trailer the right mood and setting for what I am making.

It will also need images and titles in it, I will most likely use title for the credits at the end of the trailer appearing like other trailers so that it doesn't roll in so that it saves time for the trailer, title might also be used a transition from one scene to the next to add more of an effect and change the impact it has. An idea I have is to use an image to show the title of the movie change the zoom of the image to have an a faster paced feel to create an effect of the title of the movie not being able to stay still.

I would also like it to end with a fade to black, to roll in the details that trailer show at the end such as copyrights, studio logos, ratings and release details.

Part 2 - 13/05/2014

With the trailer not every idea has been able to make it in. This is due to time constrictions or with me forgetting because I was more focused and completing the trailer before a deadline.

The main focus with the trailer is using clip of different dragons and dragon like creatures including the Dragasus doing such actions as flying and breathing fire. In order to obtain these clip I have used a video converter in order to make the videos in a format that I can use with the software I am using to make the trailer. After cutting the video so that I have the clip that I require for the trailer I used a selection of transitions to make one clip flow into the next clip.

I used colour mattes and titles for pauses in the trailer so that the next clip would flow in better as to show what the title just showed or to fit in with the music better. I also used a combination of titles and clips to make the trailer look like a real made trailer with the green screen with information at the start and a black screen with information at the end, unfortunately I was unable to add all the logos at the end screen due to time constraints.

In order to get the Dragasus into the trailer I needed film the pet Bearded Dragon on a green screen that was placed out on the floor and filmed from above, the green screen was then edited out using the Chroma key set of effects so that only that Bearded Dragon remained and to help with that I used a 16 point Garbage layer so that I would be able to precisely map out only the dragon. Image of the wings used where then inserted in a PNG format so that the background of the image would be transparent. Colour changing effects and movement effect where then used on everything so that it would be seen as a blue dragon that was flying in the sky.

Post 6) DVD Cover Part 1 - 28/03/2014

For the DVD cover I have started with creating more images of the Dragasus as they will be needed for preview images as well as the main box art to show views what they are about to view.

 

For the back cover I have used blank boxes to mark where various detail are going to go such as image and text (at the time of this post some of the details have been filled in) these place holders have been used so that I don't over-design and use the space up before I add the images and text to the back cover.

 

The text at the moment is a description of the film at the moment it is not complete and missing important information is not there yet, as far as the story goes it will most likely use various clichés and ideas that already exist. This is because in our day and age we have already created so much content between game, films and other form of entertainment that it is difficult to find or make an original story, as such I'm not going to worry about creating an original story as that would take up time I could be using on other parts of the project.

 

I have added the Logo from the DVD design and added it to the front cover for consistency with the whole project as well as to brighten up the front cover as it will stand out from the background. I have also added DVD related logos such as the rating as they would be add on to the DVD cover at some point as it goes through check in order to be published.

 

Post 5) DVD Disc Part 1 - 12/03/2014

For the start of the DVD Disk I have needed to create various Vector based images such as my mountains and logo using the Tools in illustrator.

To create the mountains used in the disk I started by creating the outline with the Pen tool for a mountainous look with the shape then I used an image as a texture to give a stone effect to fit in with the mountain effect (see right). I used the Gradient tool along with blending options to give it a white snow effect at the top to make it look and feel like a real mountain, it also adds more variety to the world that I am creating. I also used a Clipping mask to stop the image from going over the rest of the disk.

I used the Paintbrush tool to create the shape of the clouds as each cloud in real life is unique and does not contain straight line, to Paintbrush tool acts as a free forming tool to create this sense of realism that is used on the disk cover and then used the Gradient tool to get the colouring of the clouds in a similar way to real life clouds.

The Pencil tool was used to create the feathers by tracing over real life feather for a realistic look these feather where also coloured with the Gradient tool to match to colour of the Dragasus' wings as it had a gradient like effect in other images.

To help create the DVD Disk I have needed to use Guides and Layers, Guides to mark the areas of the disk and Layers to help keep everything more organised.

To create the Logo I have needed to use the Type tools to create a base for my design then I have used the Pen tool to create one of the wings as I needed a larger feather design then copied and pasted it while changing the angle of the wings to create a pattern which was then completed by reflecting half of the wing to create the logo bellow.

Part 2 - 13/05/2014

There have some changes from the first version on the Disc design. These changes range from minor with the change of colour with the clouds to more detailed addition such as logos.

The change with the clouds is to match the cloud of the DVD cover in order to keep constancy with my work.

The additions include DVD logos, studio logo and copyright text. The DVD logo are required on DVDs and are placed in locations where they will not overlap other part of the disc. The studio logo is similar to the one in the DVD cover and has the same position, text font and colour scheme. The copyright text at the bottom and running alone the edge of the disc is something that I found to be a standard on most DVD discs, so I have added it to make the disc look more professional.      

The last update is the flying image on the disc, it is coloured to be similar to the Dragasus' blue colour and is scaled to look like it is in the distance flying over the mountains. 

Post 4) DVD Cover ideas - 26/02/2014

I have been creating a new image of the Dragasus for ideas of the DVD cover, ideas that are seen in the image may be used in the final cover design.

I used the same lizard and background images as I felt that these where the best images to start with as they were the easiest to edit and the most familiar images. I used a different image for the wings to obtain a different effect.

As I wanted to make my Dragasus in a different colour from last time I knew that I would need to mess around with adjustments, because of this I needed to copy the lizard image so that I could cut out the log and place it over the original log in the lizard image. This has made it so that I could give the Dragasus and wings a new colour while the log remains unchanged.

With the Dragasus I needed to make the following adjustments: Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast, Colour Balance. Hue/Saturation was also used on the wings to match the body colour, all of this would make the Dragasus a more colourful character and stand out more.

In order to keep track of everything and for easier editing, I separate each image into their own layers as this would make sure that if any editing went wrong only a small part of image would be effected and easier to fix. The use of folders to group various layers together such as the wings and shadows made it easier for me to know where everything is.

In order to keep lighting detail to a minimum I decided to cut out part of the background and add a sky background which was rotated and recoloured to have clouds in the background but also to not hint at a proper time of day to effect the shadows with the recolour there to give a more fantasy feel to the image as well as to make other parts of the image stand out, for this I chose a shade of orange as it is opposite to blue in the colour wheel so they would stand out against each other.

I used the Quick selection and Magnetic lasso tool for selecting parts of the images to edit quickly and the Lasso tool for more detailed selection because of the level of detail the Lasso tool can give me.

The Brush tool was used to create the shadow effects while using Blending modes and different opacity percentages where used to give the different shadows different effects that they needed and finally the Smudge tool to make the wings blend into the body more to give this creature a more realistic feel.

(The images in this blog post are my property and unauthorised use is not allowed)