Video & Sound Production / final project

22/4/2026 - 26/7/2026/ Week 1 - Week 14

GUAN YAXIN / 0370687

Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

LECTURES

week 9 

I. Pre-planning

Core principle: Visual effects shots need accurate pre-planning. Any problems found in Shoot stage (color, composition, action matching, etc.) should be solved at this stage, which is exactly the purpose of Shoot.

Key note: similar colors and tones in the scene will bring troubles to AE's Rotobrush tool and increase the difficulty of keying. Therefore, VFX lens should pay special attention to the color contrast between the background and the main body.

Second, the material preparation

Download footage and AE project files from Google Drive link.

Watch the reference video to see the final effect.

Follow the tutorial video step by step.

Third, the lens synthesis workflow

Overall steps:

Import all shots into After Effects.

Arrange the shots in the Composition according to the order of the tutorial videos.

Key points of lens processing:

Lens processing method

JUMPING only takes a few frames of the character floating in the air (or even only one frame) → making pre-composition → applying Rotobrush keying → adjusting the time duration → adjusting the shape/size with Puppet tool to match the BUMPING lens → adding position/size keyframes.

FLICK (flick/fly out) making pre-synthesis → cutting and repositioning the picture → applying Keylight keying (for green screen material).

Color unification Add an Adjustment Layer to unify the colors of all layers.

IV. Description of key tools

Tool use

Rotobrush keys the dynamic material frame by frame or semi-automatically to separate the subject from the background.

Keylight performs one-click keying on the green/blue screen material.

Puppet (Puppet Tool) adds grid control points to the layer. By dragging the control points to deform the image, the pose or shape of the character can be adjusted.

Time Stretching adjusts the playback speed of the material and controls the action duration.

Adjustment Layer (adjustment layer) is superimposed on all layers, and the color/tone is adjusted uniformly, so that the visual style of each material is consistent.

V. Matters needing attention

Color consistency: there may be differences in colors of different materials, so it is necessary to adjust the layer to unify the color matching.

Size and position matching: When multiple shots are synthesized, the size ratio and spatial position of the character/object need to be matched, which can be adjusted by Puppet tools and key frames.

Keying accuracy: When the background is similar to the main color, it will increase the difficulty of keying, which should be paid attention to in the early stage of landscape survey.

Pre-synthesis management: different lenses are pre-synthesized separately, which is convenient for individual adjustment and reuse.

INTRODUCTION

According to the requirements of the teacher's homework, the last project is to shoot and edit the whole film in a team of two people, so I have to find the team members first. Finally, Ouyang Chenxi and I formed a group together.

 At first, we didn't decide on the theme. Later, Ouyang and I decided on the outline of the story after consultation. This is the story of a student and various deadlines. The reason for choosing this theme is that with the development of online learning platform and digital media, students receive a lot of information from various platforms every day, such as Google Classroom, e-mail, course announcements, PDF reading materials, reference materials, chat group notifications and various deadlines. Although all this information is an indispensable part of the learning process, it is easy to cause anxiety and stress if it continues to appear. Therefore, we hope to create a story that can reflect the real life of college students and express this common problem faced by modern students through movies.

Our idea was to show students' learning pressure through the continuous emergence of notices, emails and course tasks with a lot of homework and deadlines in the final exam week as the main line. I think this idea is very good, so we perfected the story together. And found some special effects tutorials and examples for reference.

The next step is to make a split mirror. According to the outline of the story, I was responsible for the creation of the mirror in this process. 

After drawing in photoshop, I import them into canvas for sorting to make a relatively coherent mirror, which can be better displayed.

According to the teacher's request, we should update the progress in the template PPT sent by the teacher. However, my team member Ouyang was ill and couldn't come to class, so the progress fell behind, so the teacher couldn't give feedback to our story board for the time being.

So after going back this time, we quickly made our completed part as required and put it in the PPT template given by the teacher. 

According to the split mirror I drew before, we took some clips and selected some suitable parts for editing.

I imported the selected clips into Pr one by one, sorted them according to the drawn mirror and story version, and finally edited them.

After showing it to Mr. Kannan, he affirmed our story version and the content of the shooting, but the overall light of the picture was not enough and it was a little dim. Of course, we could adjust the color of the picture, but the teacher still suggested re-shooting if we had time.

After accepting the teacher's suggestion, Ouyang and I discussed and decided to change our story version and shoot it again. Because our previous story was a little limited in doing special effects, we wanted to do more interesting special effects. In order to make the film more interesting and visually impactful, we decided to redesign some plots and remake most of the fighting scenes. Although the remake increases a lot of time cost, it also makes us deeply understand the importance of "pre-planning determines post-quality" in film and television production. We refer to classic fighting games such as king of fighters.

Personify deadline as the Boss in the game, so that the protagonist can fight all kinds of ddl after entering the computer world. This way of expression not only conforms to the rhythm of the film, but also uses rich visual effects to enhance the expressive force of the story.

After determining the direction of the story, we began to improve the split script, write the story decomposition and shot list, and plan each shot, including role action, shot movement, post-special effects, subtitle animation and sound effect design. 

At the same time, we also collected some reference materials, including movie trailers, game UI, action movies and special effects teaching videos on YouTube, to make full preparations for post-production.

In the second shooting, we adjusted the actors' actions according to the requirements of visual special effects, such as increasing the pause time of the attack action, clarifying the attack direction, and reserving more space in the lens for adding flame, explosion and laser special effects later. At the same time, we also redesigned the presentation of the computer world to make the whole story more suitable for the game style. 

In the process of shooting, we will constantly check the quality of the material, including picture stability, exposure, composition and motion consistency, to avoid irreparable problems in the later stage.

After the shooting, we entered the most time-consuming stage of the whole project-post-production.

First of all, we use Adobe Premiere Pro to complete the preliminary editing, adjust the focal length of the lens according to the rhythm of the story, and try different editing techniques to make the whole film closer to the style of the action movie trailer. In the process of editing, we use the effects of fast editing, speed gradient, zoom, camera shake and motion blur to enhance the sense of rhythm.

Subsequently, we imported some shots into Adobe After Effects to make visual effects. According to the story setting, we are going to add special effects such as fault effects, digital transmission, floating UI, flame attack, laser attack, energy wave, explosive particles and screen breakage, hoping to create a sci-fi atmosphere after the protagonist enters the computer world.

In order to highlight the theme of information overload, we also designed a large number of floating digital information in the picture, which consists of a deadline message prompt. 

These elements constantly appear in the picture, gradually covering the whole screen, and the symbol information keeps accumulating, eventually evolving into information overload. In order to express information overload, we also added a lot of digital environmental sound effects. According to the teacher's suggestion, we adjusted the rhythm of sound effects. With more and more information appearing, these sounds are constantly superimposed, so that the audience can feel the psychological state of the protagonist gradually losing control through hearing. We determined the most suitable position of the information pop-up effect in the picture. After repeated adjustments, we finished the video special effect, which will not block the face of the characters, and the overall layout is reasonable and the effect is better.

Because of the shooting, the screen on the computer should also make special effects of information pop-up, and we added the deadline notification graphic on the notebook screen. In order to make it look like a part of the screen itself, we have carefully adjusted the size, position and perspective, so that its angle is completely consistent with the original screen, increasing the sense of reality. Of course, this special effect should be consistent with the previous special effects.

In Adobe After Effects, we mainly simulate flames through some systems. In terms of color, we refer to the color law of flame-from bright yellow in the center to orange-red at the outer edge. In order to blend the flame with the scene, we add the Glow effect to enhance the brightness of the flame, and make the flame illuminate the surrounding environment like a real light source by adjusting the blending mode and opacity of the layer.

At the same time, with the action rhythm of the role, it creates a visual effect that magic erupts around the role. In the end, the flame looks both energetic and naturally blends into the visual atmosphere of the scene.

Next is the production of laser special effects. In After Effects, a blue laser is created from scratch, and the shape, brightness, light and color are adjusted. After the completion, put the laser into the original material, adjust the position, angle and length, make it move between the two roles, and synchronize the timing with the role action.

The effect of the first edition of laser is not ideal-it is too stiff and does not blend well with the role movements. So we started all over again, focusing on adjusting the halo, color, texture, brightness and motion path. 

The new version of the laser has softer edges and stronger halo, and its position and timing have been readjusted, which seems to be naturally released from the character gesture.

For the lightning effect, we plan to make two different lightning positions: one above the character and one in front of the character. This arrangement is to create an atmosphere in which the character is surrounded by lightning energy, accumulating strength or releasing powerful power.

Create lightning in After Effects, adjust the shape, color, light and brightness and put it into the scene. The lightning above adjusts the scale, direction, position and timing to make it appear to cross the scene and interact with the character. 

The lightning in front increases the number of branches, diffusion range and brightness, which is aligned with the action of the character's hand and looks like it shoots forward and hits the opponent.

The next effect is the disintegration of roles. This effect is used to show the scene where a player leaves the game-when the commentary mentions the player's exit, the character begins to disintegrate and pixilate gradually, and slowly disappears from the scene, creating the visual illusion that the player exits the virtual world. We adjusted the speed of disintegration and the trajectory of dissipated particles to make the process look smooth and have a gradual sense of withdrawal, which is in perfect harmony with the narrative rhythm.

For the final digital interface suspension effect, we intend to place it around the characters. Because the protagonist is brushing his mobile phone at last, we designed and searched for different materials to show different interfaces, showing that the contents browsed by the protagonist are numerous and complicated, and at the same time confirming the theme of this work-information overload.

First, we use the motion tracking function of After Effects to analyze the material and generate stable tracking points in the scene to ensure that all virtual panels can follow the slight shaking of the character. Then import screenshots of social media and mobile interface, place them in 3D space, and adjust the position, proportion, perspective and appearance timing of each panel respectively, so that they seem to naturally float in side of the character. 

The final effect gives the impression that the character is browsing multiple virtual mobile phone screens.

Looking back on the whole production process, we not only improved the technical abilities of Premiere Pro, After Effects, sound design and color adjustment, but also learned how to constantly modify and improve the works according to the feedback, and understood the importance of creativity, planning and teamwork in completing an excellent film.

Finally, we submitted all the documents.

youtobe link:

FEEDBACK

WEEK 11

General Feedback : no.

Specific Feedback : Sir told us to speed up and show him the story version as soon as possible.

WEEK 12

General Feedback : no.

Specific Feedback : The teacher reminded us that we need to follow the template given by him, otherwise it is not convenient for him to check.

WEEK 13

General Feedback : Mr.kannan affirmed our scenes and clips, and he suggested that the overall brightness of the picture was low, so we'd better take a new shot if possible.

Specific Feedback : no

WEEK 14

General Feedback : no

Specific Feedback : Mr.kannan said that we have done a good job in special effects, speed up the progress and complete it, and then submit it.

REFLECTION

Experience

This final project was both challenging and enjoyable. Our original idea focused on students rushing to meet deadlines, but after receiving feedback from our lecturer, we changed the theme to Information Overload. We planned the storyboard, filmed the scenes, and later re-shot some footage to make it more suitable for visual effects.

During post-production, we used Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects to create glitch effects, fire, lasers, motion graphics, and other VFX. We also added sound effects, background music, color correction, and color grading to improve the overall quality of the trailer.

Observation

This project showed me that good visual effects require careful planning during filming. Camera angles, actor movements, and timing all affect the final result. I also learned that visual effects should support the story instead of only making the video look exciting.

Working with my teammates and receiving feedback from our lecturer also helped us improve the project and produce a better final outcome.

Findings

Through this project, I improved my skills in video editing, visual effects, sound design, and color grading. I also gained a better understanding of the complete filmmaking process, from planning to post-production.

Most importantly, I learned that a strong concept and clear storytelling are more important than using many visual effects. Creative ideas combined with good planning can make a project more meaningful and engaging.