Update

 Some changes were made:

    This week I was not anticipating being this busy. I knew I had the SAT on Wednesday which I planned for when making my schedule. But unfortunately, during the week several things came up. One was a major research paper I had to write for my AICE Global Perspectives final. I did not expect the workload it would take to conceptualize the information I had. I had already done the research so I was expecting the writing portion to be a breeze. I came to a rude awakening when I realized how extensive the essay had to be to present my research. This put a hard rift into my scheduling for this project. Because of this, I knew I had to spend my Friday night catching up.

    

    Being behind like how I was on my schedule, I knew I had to start filming this weekend. I wanted to spend today really laying out the editing process. I already know what shots and scenes I want in the film. So I began researching several aspects of the post-production of this opening. The main things I wanted to look into were the frame rate, color grading, and text. I was also considering implementing some 3D rendering from Cinema 4D. I think it would be a really nice addition to the title text especially. 

Frame Rate:

    Frame rate is such an important element in making a film. I do have some knowledge of what frame rate is. I know that FPS is the frequency at which the images in a video are displayed. I also know that the three most common frame rates are 24, 30, and 60 FPS. I have always used 60 FPS footage without question. Recently though I came across the knowledge that most films are in 24 FPS. I wanted some more information so I searched and found the video below.

    This video was super insight full into my knowledge on frame rate. The main things I took away are listed below.

• 24 FPS is the slowest frame rate that achieves a smooth enough image for the human eye 
• 24 FPS is the cinematic standard because of the cinematic features it gives
• 30 FPS is slightly smoother making it the standard for TV
• 60 FPS are used in action shots generally because it allows more information to frame
• Film at the highest frame rate then go back and change it in post-production as it allows for the most control 

    After viewing the video, I came to the conclusion that I will be rendering the piece in 24 FPS. I will also take the advice to film at the highest frame rate then change it later. This way I can ensure control over the frame rate.

Color Grading:

    Next, I began researching the color grading aspect of post-production. This is super important research for me in order to establish the same visuals from my mood boards. I already know the general cinematic tone I wanted and started my search.

    I wanted to use After Effects for this project. I am coming from Sony Vegas Pro which I have used my whole life. There is a slight learning curve but I find it to be similar to another Adobe product, Photoshop which I am familiar with. 

    After some searching, I found out color grading presets in After Effects are called "lut's". I wanted to use a "lut" then go back and do some color correcting later on. This will make the color grading process so much smoother. I searched specifically for a "lut" that was meant to be used in forest shots. I went through many different "lut's", some free others not, and came across this video. It was exactly what I needed and was free so I immediately downloaded the "lut" pack. In the video, the "lut's" were similar to the color grading in the media on my mood board. I was ecstatic when I found this, it will make my life so much easier!

Text:

    I knew that I wanted the text credits to be an integral part of my opening. What I mean by this is that I don't want to use boring text. I want the text to be integrated creatively into my piece. I wanted some text that tracked with the film. For the title, I want it to stand out from the rest of the text. Some years ago, I used Cinema 4D for about a year creating 3D renders of random things. I want the title to be a 3D Octane render from Cinema 4D. There are so many factors I have to consider when doing this. It can look really cheesy so I have to make sure it is done correctly. What I have not done though is use After effects and Cinema 4D together. Today I wanted to learn how to properly track 3D objects rendered from Cinema 4D to After effects.

    

    The two videos above were exactly what I needed. The video on the left is teaching how to track 2D text properly within After effects. The video on the right is teaching how to track and composite objects from Cinema 4D into After Effects. Another cool thing the video on the right taught me was how to create a reflective object. I will have to see later on but this might work well with my title text.

Next Steps:

     Now that I figured out a majority of the editing elements, I have to catch up on the filming I couldn't get to during the weekday. This weekend I plan on starting my filming. I will have to squeeze it in with my SAT prep and job but I will make it happen!