Parent Trapped!

This is my entry for the 2010 Halloween Competition put on by Little Rich(rich4w). You can watch the video about it here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3fO3X... . The theme for this year is "Trapped." I recently had twin boys, well my wife did that is. And I found it's quite easy to feel trapped with all the constant care, feeding and chours that are involved with babies, especially twins. Mind you all the work is quite rewarding. Even more so if I win this contest, lol. Anyways, I used that feeling to inspire this video. I hope you enjoy, its my first video with an actual story.

It took me three weeks to make this. I had to use every opportunity I could find to fit in a bit of filming. It was only a two and a half minute movie but each cut might take ten minutes or more just to set up. Putting up the camera, getting the focus and exposure just right, setting up the lights or even just running the needed extenstion cords for power sure can eat up time.

I'm thinking of doing a making of film to offer up some tips on movie making and tutorials on the effects I used. We'll see if I can find the time.

Props to the Judges:
http://www.youtube.com/richw4 (host and sponser, he paid for the prizes)
http://www.youtube.com/audionautix
http://www.youtube.com/ratuse
http://www.youtube.com/iggy35
http://www.youtube.com/kie77

Happy Halloween!

Foxxy VOXXY!

Alright, I'm still working on my videos. While working with a script I ran into a small problem; no teleprompter. Sure, I can open up my word processor and just scroll down on it. But that requires having my comp close enough to reach and that's rarely the case. There are some free, cheap and or online teleprompters BUT they all just scroll the text at a set rate. Also you still have to reach the comp to reset the text, pause it and what not. SO, I decided to write my own program. I call it Voxxy. Vox is the abriviation for a voice operated switch or Voice Operated eXchange. (You gotta love Wikipedia!)

That's right, my telepromter is voice activated. You talk, it scrolls. You stop talking, it stops. It's operational but not 100% complete. I want to add the option to pause it and restart it by using a series of claps. You can get the beta version here: http://www.mediafire.com/?l0vsedc76fhwtdg 

(The above version is no longer available heres the new version. http://www.mediafire.com/?11a54ethy5zot9b )

If you use it please give me feed back. And check back here from time to time for updates.

Green Screen Labratory

Well, I implimented the 3-point lighting system and I still has some trouble getting a clean key. I found that camcorder records in 720i. The software I use to edit needs the video to be in 720p RAW. Raw just means that the file isn't compressed. I was using Format Factory and Virtual Dub to convert the files as needed. But format factory did a poor job deinterlacing the video and then compressed it cause a blur green halo around me on the video reguardless of the lighting. Also, WAX, my video editor, has a very weak and basic chroma-keyer.


SO, I figured out how to use ffmpeg from the command prompt to convert the video to the right format without compression and deinterlaced all in one go.


ffmpeg_path -i input_file -deinterlace -r 29.97 -s 720x480 -aspect 16:9 -vcodec rawvideo -pix_fmt bgr24 output_path


I have also started to use t@b zs4 to do the chroma keying. The interface is the worst I have ever used. But the chroma key is great, clean and flexable. The results are as good or better than those I have achieved with the trial versions of Sony Vegas or Adobe Premier.

Common Chroma Key Mistakes

Well, I promised you all a movie review. I shot the footage. I started the editing... and.. well... the chroma keying sucked. It suffered from what is called COLOR SPILL. That happens when the light on the green screen is too bright and it reflects off the subject. This results in a green halo appearing around the talent. The steps to fixing this are as follows:

1. Decrease the amount of light on the green screen. Dimmers are not the best solution as they tend to alter the color tempeture of the light. The best solution is switching out the bulb for a weaker one OR you can use some metal screen material to act as a scrim. You can layer this material to get the desired effect.
2. Make sure the subject is five to eight feet from the green screen. This also helps to eliminate shadows.
3. Increase the amount of light on the subject. Using the three point lighting system you would have your strongest light on the subject at about a forty-five degree angle from center; this is called the KEY LIGHT. You then place a second light on the opposite side of the subject to fill in the remaining shadows. This light can be about 75% of the strength of the key light. This is called the FILL LIGHT. Then you can place a third light, just behind and above the subject. This light can be 50% of the strength of the key light and is called the BACK LIGHT or HAIR LIGHT. 

I also attempted to film video of my own hand, splattering blood and scratching at a green board to use in the logo video. This did not turn out well either. The shadows were unavoidable as I made contact with the board. Also the transparent areas of the blood made keying it impossible. 

So, next weekend I will try recording the hand and the blood splatter separately. I will record the hand on a black surface the chroma key of the black. Any color spill or shadows will better blend in with the logo image. Then I will paint my hand white and do the blood splatter on a white board. With that I should be able to use a blend method(multiply, max, min) and the opacity setting to add it to the video.

Resources and Video Logo

I'm working on a logo video for my... well videos. I like how it's coming out but I still need to add sound and I want to capture actual video of a hand to add insted of the still image that I used. Perhaps I can make that a tutorial. The sounds I will add will be splattering, rolling thunder, a scream and children laughing off in the distance. (I list my resources below)  



 What is it about kids laughing that makes chills run down your spine? I mean in general kids in movies aren't scary. They usually come off as funny. The best example of this is the little kid from pet cemitary. Maybe its knowing that I could just drop kick the little bastard that diminishes the fear factor. Then again my favorite scary movie is The Exorcist. Regan is a bit old and when she tosses her mother across the room I can believe it. Oh well. Enjoy the vid and look for the finished product on Tuesday. And remember, feel free to post any questions, comments or request.
 
RESOURCES

• Free Video Editor, Wax 2.0
• Free Sounds, FreeSound
• Free Textures, TurboSquid

Yuk, Green Beans

Alright, the content of this video isn't quite in the vain of what Screwtape Studios is about; B movies in the genera of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. It's more of an experiment in viral videos. No, I'm not talking about squaids or that puss filled sore on your lip. I mean a video that quickly gets 100k views or more. See its viral in the sense that it spreads fast, like a virus or your mom's legs. Can you tell I've been catching up on my missed episodes of =3. (That's Equals Three, a show by Ray William Johnson on  Youtube check it out.)







WORK LOG

• I'm working on a tutorial on simple animation in WAX 2.0e
• A test video of the prop gun I made, where I will accidentally shoot off my foot. Yup, I'm making a squib. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EichSrtwsE4
• I'm also coming up with ideas for collaborations.

If you have any comments, questions or requests hit up my Youtube page.