To Do This Week
Blog Post
Using ChatGPT, have a chat to explore a short “story” idea and its visual style that you can use to generate AI video clips (30-60 sec) for the AI Cinema project. Finalize a 200-300-word summary of a story or idea for your AI Cinema project and post it in the blog. This will be the framework for your prompts. Also, in a separate paragraph, describe the look or style you want to aim for. You can reference directors, genres, or specific films, but also use words to describe the quality of the image: film stocks, cameras, lighting, color/bw, production design, sets, costumes.
Loops (5%)
No more than 10 seconds per loop:
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- Shoot and edit 3 video loops (6-10 second mini-narratives) that depict or evoke different subjective experiences of time: cyclic, slow, timeless, frantic, rhythmic.
- In one loop, incorporate continuity editing (POV shot, match on action, etc.) to maintain unity.
- In another, use a more discontinuous/montage style by contrasting edited shots (e.g., dark/light, fast/slow, close-up/long-shot).
- For the third, create a perfect/infinite loop or a mini-narrative loop.
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To emphasize duration, vary shot lengths: a 4-second shot between 2-second shots will stretch time. Repeat each loop 3-5 times in the video track before uploading to YouTube or Vimeo.
Notes
Watch Loops…
Final Project (20%)
Length: Up to 5 minutes total, ideally 2-3 minutes.
Create a final project exploring at least two techniques of “digital cinema” discussed in class: continuity, montage, temporal manipulation, video loops, glitched video, composited video, networked video, hyperlinked video, database video, or video essay.
- Formats can include fiction, non-fiction, abstract, or experimental projects.
- The project must use video and incorporate thoughtful editing, engaging with class ideas in its conception.
Suggested ideas:
- A short documentary
- A short fiction
- A video essay
- A prototype YouTube web series (2-3 short episodes)
- Video loops in a hyperlinked HTML project
- A multilinear database narrative (HTML-based)
AI Cinema (10%)
In this assignment, you are to create a 1-2 minute video using Generative AI video and audio or blending these AI-generated visuals and sounds with footage you capture yourself. This project is an exploration into the vast possibilities of AI cinema, allowing you to experiment with new forms of video production. Whether you choose to tell a story or compile a thematic montage, the core of your project should revolve around a unifying theme or a central idea that resonates throughout the sequence. The challenge is to harness the power of AI to make a video that reflects your unique creative vision.
Project Requirements:
- Generative AI (and Original Footage): Your video should primarily feature content created using Generative AI tools like Runway ML, optionally supplemented with your own filmed footage to add a personal touch.
- Unified Theme or Story: Maintain a clear and consistent theme or narrative thread throughout your video, ensuring each clip contributes to the overall concept or story arc.
- Visual and Thematic Consistency: Keep a consistent visual quality, style, and thematic approach across all elements of your video to ensure a cohesive viewing experience.
- Sound and Music: Incorporate sound or music that complements the visual elements of your video, enhancing the atmosphere and emotional impact of your narrative or theme.
- Format and Quality: Adhere to a single video format (preferably 16:9, 720p) to maintain quality and consistency throughout your project.
- Presentation: Upload your completed video to YouTube or Vimeo, ensuring it’s accessible for viewing and evaluation. Include a direct link to your video in any submissions or presentations.
AI Tools
Generating Shot List/Storyboarding Ideas
Prompting for ChatGPT:
“You are an expert in movies, filmmaking, and visual storytelling. You are able to break down a written story or text into its visual parts, each part described in under 320 characters so that an AI image or video generator would be able to create visual images of the original written story.”
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“Here are my shot descriptions to use as prompts for generating AI images and videos to build my video story. Help me craft a visual style that can help me create a unique cinematic look.”
Example Story: “In a serene forest by a babbling stream is Clarence and his dog, Benny. Clarence enjoys his peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Benny watches. Clarence closes his eyes to savor nature’s beauty. The dog watches as the man wakes up. Where is his sandwich? Clarence and Benny embark on a playful quest to find the missing sandwich. Then Clarence collapses in mock tears as Benny licks his face. Eventually, Clarence reveals a second sandwich, and they both share a laugh and a bark.”
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Camera & Film Types
- “Camcorder” – film grain, noise, and saturation, reminiscent of VHS tape
- “DSLR” – superior resolution, sharpness, and clarity
- “GoPro” or “GoPro Video” – fish-eye effect, often in the form of a selfie
- “Disposable Camera” – a fixed-focus 35mm lens
- “Polaroid” – high black point and faded effects
- “Fujifilm Superia” – High-performance, high-speed color negative film with fine-grain
- “Instax” – Daylight color film with a high gloss finish
- “Kodak Ektar” – retro hues or poppy contrast
- “Kodak Gold 200” – crisp and clear results for bright, sunny days
- “Kodak Portra” – vivid colors, light, and textures in a crisp format
- “Velvia” – High-saturation film [
- “Lomo” – oversaturated, high-contrast look with a soft blur
- “CinemaScope” – old filming technique known for its 2.35:1 aspect ratio
- “Kodak 400TX” or “Tri-X 400TX” – fine-grain black and white images
- “VistaVision” – high-resolution widescreen format using 35mm film
- “Technirama” – double the resolution of anamorphic 35mm film
- “Tintype” – direct positive images on thin metal coated with dark lacquer or enamel
- “Calotype” or “Talbotype” – paper coated with silver iodide, vintage look.
- “Ambrotype” – underexposed glass negatives placed against a dark background
- “Daguerreotype” – highly detailed images on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without using a negative
Camera Angles:
- Eye-level: A neutral camera angle at the subject’s eye level, providing a natural perspective.
- Low-angle: Looks up at the subject from below, emphasizing dominance or power.
- High-angle: Looks down at the subject from above, making the subject appear smaller or less significant.
- Dutch angle (or canted angle or tilted angle): The camera is intentionally tilted to create disorientation or unease.
- Overhead: Looks directly down on the subject from above, offering a unique perspective.
- Bird’s-eye view: Captures scenes from a high vantage point, providing scale and context.
- Drone view: An aerial angle achieved using a drone.
- Worm’s-eye view: Looks up at the subject from ground level, creating a dramatic perspective.
- Ground-level view: Captures the subject from near the ground, often neutral in perspective.
- Side view: Captures the subject from the side, achieved through various camera angles.
- Off-center view: The subject is not centered, creating a dynamic composition.
Shot Types:
- Close-up (closeup or CU): Focuses on a subject’s face or detail to emphasize emotion or importance.
- Extreme close-up: Tightly frames a small detail or feature, highlighting its significance.
- Wide/Long shot: Shows the entire subject within its environment for context.
- Extreme wide/long shot: Captures a large area to establish a location or set the scene.
- Medium shot: Captures the subject from the waist up, commonly used for dialogue scenes.
- Medium-full shot (American shot): Frames the subject from knees or mid-thighs up.
- Over-the-shoulder shot: Looks over one subject’s shoulder toward another, enhancing depth in dialogue scenes.
Lighting Styles
- Natural Light: The use of available light sources, such as sunlight or ambient indoor lighting, to illuminate a scene. Often used for a realistic and unobtrusive look.
- Key Light: The primary and most intense source of light in a scene. It provides the main illumination on the subject and establishes the direction of the light.
- Fill Light: A secondary light source used to reduce shadows created by the key light. It fills in the shadows without creating additional strong highlights.
- Backlight: Placed behind the subject, the backlight separates the subject from the background and creates a rim of light around the subject, adding depth and dimension.
- Rim Light: Similar to backlighting, it’s positioned to create a thin line of light along the subject’s edges, emphasizing their outline and separating them from the background.
- Top Light: Light that comes from above the subject, casting shadows downward. It can create a dramatic or mysterious look.
- Side Light: Positioned to the side of the subject, it creates shadows that add depth and texture. Commonly used for film noir and dramatic scenes.
- High Key Lighting: A style that uses bright, even lighting to minimize shadows and create a cheerful or upbeat atmosphere.
- Low Key Lighting: Characterized by strong contrasts between light and dark areas, often used for dramatic or suspenseful scenes.
- Rembrandt Lighting: Named after the Dutch painter Rembrandt, it features a key light placed at a 45-degree angle to the subject, creating a triangle-shaped highlight on the cheek opposite the light.
- Three-Point Lighting: A standard lighting setup that includes a key light, fill light, and backlight, providing control over shadows and highlights.
- Chiaroscuro: An artistic lighting style that uses strong contrasts between light and dark to create a visually striking and dramatic effect.
- Practical Lighting: Incorporating actual light sources within the scene, such as lamps, candles, or practical fixtures, to create a natural and realistic look.
- Candlelight: Emulates the soft, warm glow of candlelight, often used for romantic or intimate scenes.
- Silhouette: Lighting the subject from behind, completely darkening their features and creating a distinct outline against a brighter background.
- Soft Lighting: Achieved by diffusing the light source, resulting in soft, gentle shadows and a flattering, even complexion.
- Hard Lighting: Uses direct and unfiltered light sources, creating sharp, well-defined shadows and a more intense look.
- Bounce Light: Reflecting light off surfaces, such as white boards or walls, to soften and redirect the illumination.
- Practical Effects: Using real-world light sources and techniques to achieve specific lighting effects, like flickering flames or dappled sunlight.
- Stylized Lighting: Employing unconventional or artistic lighting techniques to create a unique visual atmosphere, often seen in experimental or avant-garde filmmaking.
Generating Production Design: locations, sets, costume, cinematography style
At this stage, you are just trying to work at setting, costume, lighting and cinema styles in images that will be used for video generation. Edit the shot descriptions to better refine your vision of the story to prepare for your image or video prompts. Be as descriptive as you can. Then use an image generator – Dall-e, RunwayML’s image generator or Midjourney to iterate through images until you get what you want.