Justice League MX4D Experience Blog

My Reflection of Justice League in MX4D

MX4D is a total immersive environment where you actually “feel” the action on the screen from the built-in motion and effects in seats around you. Before I watched Justice League in MX4D, I was very excited to get to experience 4D which I have never experienced before, and to a movie I actually wanted to see. The experience didn't meet my expectations, because I thought there was going to be 3D glasses included, but there wasn't, which kind of eliminated the 3D aspect that is supposed to be in the fourth dimension. 

My favorite part of the experience was the strobe light that sunk to the gun shots and flash of lights in the movie. I liked it because it made me kind of flinch and feel like I was really looking at a gun being shot. My least favorite part of the experience was the squirt of water that would hit your face during a water scene. I didn't like it because it distracted me from the movie. 

I would say that MX4D didn't exactly enhance my overall opinion of Justice League. It didn't make me hate it more or love it more. To me it was just a new way to watch a movie.

I think that in the Feature Film we are currently working on could be a similar experience to Justice League because we are also making a super hero like movie. I would want the scents and chairs to move more in sync with the movie than Justice League though.

MX4D to me is a great first experience to watch in your life. I would recommend MX4D to anyone who has never experienced it, but I do not prefer it over 3D and regular movies. I would prefer classic viewing from films over 3D or 4D because I believe movies are made and intended for the audience to view it normally instead of these special effects. 

I would add 3D glasses to the experience, because I feel that with the glasses, the audience would actually get to fully experience 4D at its full potential. This effect may be potent enough to bring people all around and from their houses back into movie theaters.

I loved my first experience and I'm very thankful that I was lucky enough to live in the area near a 4D theater to be able to experience it. Although I enjoyed it, I don't think I would go back and pay more money to watch a 4D movie when I get the same or better experience from simply watching a movie on a Dolby Sound system that they have at movie theaters.

Can Gamers Survive A Parkour Simulation?

Thoughts, Opinions, and Observations

I watched a 22 min video on how a YouTuber who plays games got a group of other YouTubers to try and act out the game in real life. For this episode, they looked at the game 'Mirror's Edge' which is all  about parkour. These YouTubers get a professional parkour instructor to teach them easy parkour techniques. During the making of this video I noticed they used a tripod during the stable talking shots, but when it came to doing parkour, they took the camera off the tripod to give the video that handheld feel. Towards the end of the episode, they used go-pro cameras on the YouTubers as they attempted the course themselves. Overall, I liked the episode do to the entertaining topics and film techniques and transitions to captivate my attention. 

Raising Dion Short Film

My Review

This short film was a very entertaining one to watch. In my opinion this short film had all the elements for a good superhero movie. Its about  a kid with multiple superpowers including telekinesis. Filming with a kid as the main actor, can be very difficult, but all the actors seem to come together very well in this short film. The animation and special effects of the powers is phenomenal. Drones, pans, zooms, are all included in this short film. The editing, directing, and cinematography is all done very well. After watching the short film, it left me wishing that there was a full feature film.

Camera - Tips and Tricks for Film Production (cinematography)

Tips and Tricks to keep in mind while filming

As with any film production, you need a cinematographer. Whether you use a good one or a bad one, the tips in this video will help develop your filming skills even further. If you are filming a character walking from right to left, the next scene should keep that same direction to not confuse the audience.  That same rule applies to the 180 degree rule when doing interviews, so that you don't switch sides and confuse the audience. If you don't have a camera, you can always use your surroundings to steady your shot. Another very important tip I learned was that if you are filming someone at a window and they fall black into the background while the natural light outside overpowers the frame, put new/extra light on the person to reverse this camera effect. I was very interested in becoming a better cinematographer, and this video gave me tips to do so. 

Short Film "The Elevator"

Review

This short film is designed to be a comedy. It uses a boring scenario such as riding an elevator, and makes it entertaining and funny. The short begins with a man on the first floor who needs a ride to the top floor. As he goes floor by floor, each floor contains more people until the elevator is full. The man notices the weight limit of the elevator and uses his phone as a calculator to guess each persons weight to see if it is safe to still take the elevator. Eventually a very big man is walking towards the elevator and he freaks out and gets off. He gets on a different elevator which he later discovers everyone on it is sick with the swine flu. There is no actual talking in this sort, but a story is well told and it achieved its comedic goal.

Things to Know About Making Short Films

What people don't know:

The interesting thing about the video I watched was how these following tips are not rules and are not cliché like be prepared and storyboard your shots before you shoot them. This video goes in depth with specifically short films and how to make them cinematic. A good short film should be max 15 min and have an optimal 10 min length. When telling a story inside the short film, try to keep it short and simple. Don't drag out the story for so long, tell it quick. Short films are actually a great way to jump start a feature. If you make a good short film that has a long enough storyline, it would be a good idea to try and transform it into a good feature. For example the movie Napoleon Dynamite was primarily a short before it was a feature. All of these tips are incredible useful and you should keep these in mind next time you make a short film.

How to get Smooth Camera Shots

What I learned from this video

I watched a YouTube video that was 8:41 long that taught me a lot about how to take smooth, cinematic shots.
I enjoyed this video as it compares a hand held shot to a warp stabilizer, which is a very important tool in order to take careful and stable shots. I also learned that if in your footage, the shots are blurred or have motion blur, you are going to have to use a higher shutter speed. By using slow motion, camera shots can be stable and look very clean! If your camera can't shoot in slow motion, try 4k and then using the post production technique during the editing stage to pan and zoom the shot in the editing to make it seem as if the camera was zooming and panning. Finally, by using just a simple stabilizer, you can film a very long, fast, and smooth shot. All of these techniques are almost essential in the making of a film to have smooth shots.

Becoming a Video Editor

Before Research

I would consider myself an experienced video editor at the moment. I've been editing for about 2 years now. During and before the summer I ran a successful YouTube channel that gained over 250 subscribers. Today I edit videos for the 3rd best violinist in Europe that came to the US for college and is a part time vlogger. I also edit for school projects, and what a video editor means to me is someone that creates the vision of the director by piecing together video clips, adding color correction, and music. Despite my knowledge, I could always learn more.

After Research

Video editing is the process of manipulation and rearranging video shots to create a new work. When editing there are certain goals that video editors are expected to achieve. These goals include removing unwanted footage, choosing the best footage, create a purpose from the clips, add effects, alter the style, pace or mood of the video. All of this takes place in the post-production phase. There are many reasons to edit a video and your editing approach will depend on the desired outcome. This is what it means to become a video editor.

Source: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/editing/tutorial/definition.html