DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGING - Project

07/05/19 – 29/05/19 (Week 5 – Week 8)
Arletta Leviani (0337751)
Digital Photography and Imaging
Project

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Lecture 6 and 7: Photo Manipulation

07/05/19 - 14/05/19 (week 6 - week 7)

After all our exercises, we are told to do photo manipulation. We are allowed to get photo from the internet but with no copyright images. at the end I use this 2 pictures, both pictures are taken by me. On the 6th week, we are showing Mr Jeffrey our ideas and ask for his approval first. After he agreed, we are allowed to go home and try to do this on our own.

Fig 6.1 First picture, high heels

Fig 6.2 Second picture, playground

Fig 6.3 Progression of Photo Manipulation

This is the final photo manipulation photo. There are contrast between heels and playground resemble a child that force to grow up faster than they should. The idea of a high heel become a slide show that they have no choose to go down the path because of the parents decisions.

Fig 6.4 Final Image

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Lecture 8: Animated 'Still' Image

29/05/19 (week 8)

From our photo manipulation, we are instructed to animating it. We are learning new program, Adobe After Effect. We learn basic layering in After effect and key framing for position, scale and rotate. Key framing is a way to make animated image move in certain way, the key framing is a way to 'key' the item to where to go or what to do. The key in a diamond shape is the original key, the key with a sand clock shape is the edited key frame to smooth the motions.

Fig 7.1 Adobe After Effect tools

Fig 7.2 Key Framing on Rotation

Fig 7.3 Key framing edited by auto bezier

After learning basic Adobe After Effect, we are told to start animating our manipulated images. I start to erasing the sky at Adobe Photoshop because I want to animating them. I can't use quick selection tool to do it because the tree will get selected easily, so I use color selection. It can be found at 'Select - Color Range'. It work well for small selection of an image with the same colors to begin with.

Fig 7.4 First color editing the sky with Color Range Selection

After my first try, I notice there still part that didn't get selected because the different color from the sky. I went again with the color range selection tool to erase them. The color is white, so I have to be careful erasing some part I don't want to be erased, for example, the shoes reflection.

Fig 7.5 Second color editing with Color Range Selection

After I am done with editing the sky, I want to make the trees move like it is a breeze come to move them. I cut the trees on Adobe Photoshop with how much I want them to move. I tried using puppet pin tool to make the breeze but it didn't work. I just knew that puppet tool only works on simple object. Since my image have a complex outlines, puppet tool didn't work on this. So I use 'CC Slant' and 'Displacement Map'.

Fig 7.6 Cutting the tree to animating a breeze motion on Adobe After Effect

Then I start animating them. I start with the sky, I search for a long enough image so I can move their position later, I also try to find a background with similar lighting with my original background too so the lighting will not look too weird. I also add some clouds to animate as well, when I'm animating the sky, I make the clouds move in different speed to add dimension to the final outcome.

Fig 7.6 Part of images put for animating

The last part I added is the falling leaves. The problem with the leaves is that it doesn't blend well with the rest because of the color. I put an effect at Adobe After Effect name 'brightness' to play with their brightness while animating them.

REFLECTION

Experience 

I don't really use much Adobe After Effect. I only used it once or twice before so I'm pretty scared. Looking at my work now, I rather use puppet tool to move the trees instead of the rotation tool. But then I had a problem because my image shape is not a simple shape and can't use puppet tool. I need to use effect to do this animation.

Observation

I see that my animation look unreal because of the speed movement so I edit them using graph editor.

Finding

I find that using the graph editor helps a lot at making the animation smooth. It's really helpful for overall animation that I tried to achieved.