Cloud tank tests

DCM Cinema cloud tank tests

After searching vigorously for a cheap fish tank, my free cycle advertisement was answered with a 3 gallon fish tank. It was time to prepare for the test, gathering the necessary equipment in-order to bring these visuals to life. Ordering Pipettes online, condensed milk, food colouring acrylic paints as well as dishes, paintbrushes, straws and other household items.
Now that all my equipment has been gathered it was time to prepare the tank.   

Preparing the fish tank

Step 1 - Salt water

The first step that needed to be taken was boiling the salt water, that filled 2/5 of the tank. I used 350ml of salt, mixing into the fish tank before dividing the salt water into a variety of different pots, pants and wok's in-order to boil the high volume of water.
Once the boiling process was complete I decanted the water into another bucket, to allow the salt solution to cool down, before pouring it back into the fish tank. Avoiding any issues concerning the tanks glass and the probability of cracks emerging, due to the extreme change in temperatures.
We then moved the fish tank down into the basement, where together we pored the salt solution into the tank until it was 2/5's full. Now there was nothing else to do apart from waiting 3 hours for the solution to settle; until the water was clear.

Step 2 - Bin Liner
Now that the salt water had settled it was time to apply the bin liner. A bin linter was stretched and clipped around the edge of the fish tank, leaving the middle of the bag limp resting on the water. Together we began to pour fresh water onto the bin bag, until the tank was near full. It was now time to remove the bag, slowly and carefully slipping the liner under the water smoothly. The object of applying the bin liner around the fish tank created separate layers of salt and fresh water. As you can see from the pictures below, the bottom half of the tank appears to be clear of any colour, this is due to the density of the salt water which forces the colours to drift on the fresh water layer; creating the floating cloud affect.

Step 3 - Cloud painting
It was now time to begin the experiment, I gathered an assortment of colours for the test, including similar colours to the DCM Cinema logo - Violet, Scarlett Red.
We began by shooting the colours though pipettes into the water, the initial shoots confirmed that the preparation had gone exactly to plan, with stunning results.
It is now time for me to storyboard the different genres that I intend on emulating through different colours. A few more tests need to be undertaken before I am ready to shoot. However, I am feeling rather confident with the results that were produced in these tests.

'I Forgot My Phone'

'I Forgot My Phone'

'I Forgot My Phone' is a short film about the social shift in smart phone users. The film demonstrates people in prime social experiences, indulged in their phone, rather than living in the present circumstances. The strong message of this production is similar to how I would like my production to come across.
Cinematographically the shots amplify the beauty of the present, yet the actors are engrossed into their mobile phones. Commenting on 21st century social trends in materialism.
This video inspired me greatly in making my own production, in the narrative and cinematographically.

VFX shots

VFX Shots 

In my practical VFX white noise shots were needed in order to convey the feeling that the reality show is not real. I was able to make these shots through an effect pre-set in After effects called 'white noise', I simply had to drag the effect onto a black solid in the background, scaling the pre-set to match my composition.

Another VFX shot that was needed was the 'Freshers' title sequence. I began by laying the text over a chosen shot, I then added added a ramp effect on to the text. I then duplicated the text 4 times, customising each layer individually with different layer styles. Such as Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow and Colour Overlay. With each layer I set different angles and distances, creating an almost 3D effect.

My last VFX shot was the end credits, which visualised the underline message of the production. I simply key framed the opacity and scale to make a more interesting end sequence.