FINAL PROJECT

on

16.6.2025 - 27.7.2025  Week 9- Week 14 

Chika Clarissa Widjaja / 0378636

Video & Sound Production / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

FINAL PROJECT






TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • INSTRUCTIONS
  • LECTURES
  • TASK
  • REFLECTION



INSTRUCTIONS


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LECTURES

Week 9 (18/6/2025):
Mr. Martin taught us how to do visual effects in Adobe Effects using basic tools. 


Week 10 (25/6/2025):

Mr.Martin instructed us to shoot our visual effects with our partner and  to edit them in Adobe Effect following the tutorial we found in youtube.


Week 11 (2/7/2025):
Mr. Martin gave feedback  on our proposal. 


TASK


INSTRUCTIONS:

Description:
- Produce Visual Effects video by a given theme.
- Voice over, sound effects and music can be used, to tell a compelling story.
- Confine to NO more than 2 character/ locations.
- Only 1 event in less than 15 shots.

Requirements:
- Storyboard must be presented and get approval before the principle shoot.
- Final video is to be submitted in digital format:

  • Screen Resolution: 1080p (Full HD), 16:9 (Wide Screen)
  • Frame Rate: 24/25fps
  • Field Option: Progressive Scan
  • Audio Quality: 48kHZ, 16-bits stereo
  • Compression: H.264

Submission:
- Upload the final video to YouTube/ Google Drive, share the link in e-portfolio with reflection.


Process

In Week 10, After getting  the Hangman Card,  Me and Jayson worked on the proposal together. We decide the plot, shot sizes, and I drew the storyboard. We decided that I would be the cameraman, and Jay would be the actor and editor. After receiving feedback from Mr.Martin, he told us that a newspaper for the first scene is too old school and not modern so we decided to change that afterwards. 


Proposal


                                                        Fig 3.1 Proposal Slides, Week 10


Storyboard 

This is our first draft of the storyboard. In the final version, some scenes don’t look exactly like the storyboard because during filming, we realized that some alternative shots looked better.



Fig 3.2 Storyboard 1, Week 10

Fig 3.3 Storyboard 2, Week 10

                                                        Fig 3.4 Storyboard 1, Week 10



Shooting Process

In week 11, before the shooting, we ordered some props for our short film in Shopee, and some in the supermarket where we had to buy three instant noodles and ate them:

  • 3 Instant noodle cup
  • Wig
  • Item Frame
  • Tissue

In Week 12, we started filming in my apartment. The video below is from our first filming session. As you can see from the draft, since we filmed in a dark room, there was a lot of noise. A few days later, we had to re-film some of the shots that were too noisy. Just a note— for the scene where we filmed the visual effect, we couldn’t use dark lighting because the green screen wouldn’t be detected properly. As a result, the color grading looks a bit off during editing. We tried our best, followed multiple tutorials on YouTube, and re edited it countless times, but it still didn’t look the same because the lighting was already different from the start.


Fig 3.5 Behind The Scene, Week 12



There were three places where we shot our scenes:
1. Bedroom Scene
2. Kitchen scene (VFX)
3. Bathroom Scene


During the shooting:
  • We used a tripod that was recomended from Mr.Martin for stable framing.
  • Filmed and re took multiple shots.
  • Made sure the composition was good.
  • Used cinematic and HD  mode on our phone to make it more clean.
  • Set up all the props in the table, and made sure there were no continuity errors during filming.
  • Both of us have different opinions on which composition looks better, so some shots we took differently and decide which looks better.

Behind The Scenes Notes
When filming as the cameraman, it was quite easy at first because we had already planned out the shots. However, once I saw some of them through the camera, they didn’t look as good as expected, so I suggested alternative angles. I also gave directions to my partner, who was the actor, asking them to move closer, or shift left or right to better fit the frame. The most challenging part for me was setting up the tripod—some scenes needed higher or lower angles, and because my room is small, it was difficult to position the tripod properly in certain spots, which made adjusting it more complicated.



Editing

For the editing part, my partner Jayson will be explaining, since he was the main editor. However, I also contributed by helping with color grading, finding the sound effects and ambience, and giving feedback throughout the process. We worked together and supported each other, but Jayson handled most of the editing while I offered suggestions to improve the final result.


Arranging the clips

Arranging the clips was fairly simple because there was nothing out of the ordinary. All of the clips were trimmed down and then arranged in order. The only thing that is missing is the floating pan scene.


Fig 3.6 Arranging the clips, Week 13



VFX Process

For the VFX process, we did it in Adobe After Effect. The VFX that we used is quite odd because we didn't fully follow a tutorial, instead, we use the tutorial as a base technique and we tried to elevate it further. It started with us planning the shot to be a single take, using a body sized green paper because we wanted to make the pan float and then fall. The idea is that the main character will look to the left, and the camera will look to the left also as well as the camera panning back to the main character.


Fig 3.7 BTS of the floating pan shot, Week 13



Next, after we shoot the scene, we moved on to Adobe After Effects. First I trimmed the video down, added a keylight effect to remove the greenscreen, and then rotoscope it.

Fig 3.8 keylight and rotoscoping the clip , Week 13

I also made it where the pan is already there even before the camera fully panned to the left so that it is realistic. I did it by making dragging the clip earlier so that the pan is already there and played with the positioning keyframe. I ensured that the pan stays in the same position throughout.



Fig 3.9 Positioning the pan, Week 13

To further enhance this, i added in a directional blur where the blur is horizontal. The reason for this is because, the pan object needs to be blurred as well so that it follows the background video.



Fig 3.10 Adding blur to the pan, Week 13

as a finishing touch, i made sure to match the color correct the pan so that it matches the background and added in some noise, as well as a gaussian blur. After this I placed the clip in Adobe Premiere.


Fig 3.11 Further enhancement to the effect, Week 13
Sound Production

We really tried to do the best we can in the sound production because we wanted the film to be effective and so there was a lot of time put into the sound production as well as the variety of sound effects. 

Starting with the bedroom scene, I used a variety of sound effects for the dream sequence starting from an ambulance siren, a police radio, house burning sound effect and me screaming. After that i added in a studio reverb to the sound effects to make them sound echoey. I also added in a ringtone sound effect and made it distant during the dream and normal when the main character wakes up. I also removed most of the original audio, the only one that i kept was the panicked breathing sound and i also modify the audio as well. Another thing that i added was a beeping sound and set a preset to the effect so that it sounds like it is coming from outside


Fig 3.12 Bedroom sound/effects, Week 13


After the bedroom scene, i edited the part where the main character walks out from the bedroom to the kitchen. To start things off, i removed all of the original audio and added in a barefoot sound effect for every time the character takes a step. I made sure to play with the audio gain and parametric equalizer to make the sound as realistic as possible. I also added in an ambient sound in the background and a waterphone sound effect when the pan was revealed. 


Fig 3.13 Walking to the kitchen sound/effects, Week 13



Next during the part where the protagonist turns off the pan I added in the same beeping noise that was present during the bedroom scene and then I added a voice of Chika whispering "Jayson", and modify the audio.


Fig 3.14 Electric stove beep and whisper sound/effects, Week 13


For the scene of the pan falling down, I added in a variety of sound effect starting from a metal falling, a "jumpscare" sound effect, a riser, a high pitch constant noise and then an original audio of me running and then hitting the door. All of these audios are modified accordingly to further enhance it but I didn't add anything that is too intense.



Fig 3.15 Floating pan scene sound/effects, Week 13


In the bathroom scene, the sound effects used are fairly limited. There is only a footstep sound effect, a background music and an original audio of the water running. However, for the flashback part, i decided to add in a studio reverb to the monologue audio so that it has an echoey effect.



Fig 3.15 Bathroom scene sound/effects, Week 13


For the final scene there wasn't much in terms of audio editing. I used the original audio for the wardrobe sound effect and to blend everything together, I placed in a slow background music.




Fig 3.16 Final scene sound/effects, Week 13

Sounds we used:


Fig 3.17 Sound/effects used, Week 13


Color Correction & Grading

For the main colors, we used 2 colors which are blue and orange. The process for the color correction and grading is fairly simple because we only used a bunch of lumetri colors. Some of the clips are very tricky though, specifically the videos that are shot in a bright lighting such as the floating pan part. That is the only clip that we really struggled in because of how different the original lighting is compared to the other videos and because of that the outcome is quite disappointing compared to the other ones.



Fig 3.17 Clip comparison, Week 13




Fig 3.18 Stacked lumetri color, Week 13


We played around with the exposure, brightness, highlights and contrast mainly because it affects the look massively where the outcome is more gloomy and dark. The temperature slider also played a big part in creating the gloomy effect.

Fig 3.19 Before and after color grading/correcting (cold scene), Week 13


We also used a lot of vignette on the clips that has bight lighting to create a shadowy/dark effect. It is quite effective to some extend but it feels quite artificial sometimes. 

Fig 3.20 Usage of vignette, Week 13




For the scene where we used the warm color, there wasn't much color correcting as the natural lighting is already decent. I did a bit of color correcting by adjusting the exposure and contrast, and adding a bit of yellow/orange to add warmth.

Fig 3.21 Before and after color grading/correcting (warm scene), Week 13



FINAL SUBMISSION
Reflection

Looking back at this whole project, I’ve realized how much actually goes into making even a short video, which makes me appreciate other short films more. At first, I thought it would be simple since we had a plan, a storyboard, and a clear idea. But once we started filming, I quickly learned that things don’t always go the way you expect. Being the cameraman was fun, especially experimenting with angles and seeing how things look through the lens, but it was also frustrating at times—especially with the space limitations in my apartment. The tripod didn’t always fit where I wanted it, and some shots were way harder to frame than I thought. Still, I enjoyed that challenge and learned to adapt quickly on set. I also had fun because I had an excuse to eat 3 instant noodles for the prop ahahaha.

One part that really tested our patience was the green screen scene. Because we couldn’t use dark lighting for it, the colors ended up looking off in the final edit. We tried fixing it so many times, watched tons of tutorials, and re-edited it more times than I can count, but it just wasn’t matching the rest of the footage. Even though Jayson was the main editor, I helped out with color grading and gave input throughout the process. I think we balanced each other well—he would edit and ask for my thoughts, and I’d suggest changes or help pick out sound effects.

I’ve also learned how important it is to be flexible during production. We stuck to our storyboard for the most part, but some scenes just didn’t look right, so we changed them on the spot. That kind of decision-making under pressure was something new to me, but I liked it—it felt creative and collaborative. Overall, this project taught me a lot about problem-solving, communication, and how much effort goes into even the tiniest details.

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