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For the subtitles in the video of the first scene, I used touch designer to make dynamic art fonts. Compared with ordinary traditional subtitles display, such a production method makes the subtitles more flexible, interesting and artistic. I will explain a little about my production process and engineering.
Key steps
Font making: First create the text, adjust the font and position. Effect production:
Use the “creep” tool to connect to a grid or sphere to achieve dynamic font effects.
Use “noise” to add noise, modify its parameters, and confirm the effect through “reset”. Materials and colors: Add materials and colors (such as pink) and adjust the background materials. Set the font and box background to black, adjust the resolution and camera position. Dynamic adjustment: Use “attribute create” to add surface textures.
Add dynamic visuals with effects such as “feedback” and “blur”.
Adjust parameters and transparency for increased visual comfort. Post-processing:
Combine “composite” for image synthesis.
Enhance image brightness and adjust overall transparency and effect through “bloom”.
Adjust the edges and background frames, as well as the overall size and visual effects.
Effect adjustment: such as modifying color saturation, transparency adjustment, image composition Settings, etc.
This part is the first part of the official show that begins after the performance in the corridor. Because there are no lines in this section, the design of the music should include not only the depiction of the background, but also the content related to the protagonist’s moving line, so I chose to use an instrument to represent the protagonist – bamboo flute.
The soft and soothing piano playing column chords and breakdown chords serve as background depictions, easing the audience’s thoughts into the overall storytelling environment, while a bamboo flute solo appears as the main character’s moving line. At the same time, the bamboo flute solo has been given some acoustic treatment to match the movement of the actors and the live performance of the bamboo flute.
The possibility of including a live bamboo flute in the formal performance is also being considered, with two main influencing factors being taken into account: the integration of the live instrument into the overall acoustics of the ambient sound and the possibility of borrowing and setting up a microphone for instruments.
We have tried the possibility of using the microphones in the classroom for live performance amplification, which seems feasible initially, but we need to take into account the setup of the live sound system, and will need to make further attempts in the subsequent official rehearsals.
On the afternoon of this Monday, the team members conducted their first rehearsal in Alison House, which did not include an actual scene. During the rehearsal, our primary focus was on refining the length information and presentation format of each scene, to set a rough timeline for sound production. Below is the preliminary stage equipment layout diagram discussed.
Participants will first pass through a meticulously arranged corridor, which will feature an interactive system that blends with the scene. This includes one to two passively triggered devices and one actively triggered device, with the specific triggering methods still under experimentation. One of the triggering devices implemented so far is a contact microphone. By affixing it to side walls, floors, or surfaces like whiteboards, we can effectively prevent the device from being triggered by people talking. For instance, it could be placed beside the floor, which is arranged to resemble a stream that the audience needs to cross. When the audience steps on it, the device will trigger, causing changes in the Max video. The reference for the Max project is as follows.
The basic principle involves using Video Blender to merge two videos in different ways, while utilizing the volume levels of the audio input in Max to trigger operations in Blender. When the audio input reaches a certain level, it outputs a “bang,” which triggers a switch. This allows for the automatic switching of the videos used in the blending process.
After passing through the corridor, the audience will enter the main stage. Firstly, there will be a pseudo-dynamic moving image on the TV behind the main screen, narrated in reverse along with a voiceover. The provisional script is as follows: “I remember crossing the Dragon Gate. I remember seeing the light. I remember hearing their voices. I remember, I’m almost unable to recall those times.”
Then, the audience will turn their attention to the performance on the main stage. The main stage is equipped with a 5.1 surround sound system and two screens. The front transparent screen is used to display some foreground elements, extending the stage’s visual field. After the performance, a pre-made closing video will be played on TV3 to guide the audience to leave.
Music Demo for Scene 1 & 5
We will prepare 7 parts of music for thie digital media project, six of them correspond to our story lines and scripts, as well as there will be a independent song after the sixth act.The use of Musical Instruments and the arrangement of harmonies will be associated with this Chinese mythological story and traditional Chinese culture.
It will illustrate the theme of our whole story——There are reflections on the busy, stressful lives of the modern day，as well as the thinking about the general blind competition.The song will be performed live after the storyline.
So far I’ve finished the music for the first act and the sicth act. The first part consists of piano, bamboo flute and chimes,something worth mentioning is，we have a special performance-related design for the dramatic expression of the main character——We want to use bamboo flutes to express the actions of the protagonist，and play bamboo flute live.
At the sixth part, emotions will be pushed to a climax, in this section we have prepared a live performance of the drum.
The first video serves as a trailer for our entire performance, succinctly showcasing the content of the show within two minutes to heighten the audience’s anticipation. This video will be displayed on a TV screen at the front end of the corridor passage and will also be projected on the left side of the passage using a shower curtain as the screen. The shower curtain is thin, lightweight, and translucent, making it ideal for depicting underwater scenes.
I created the first scene of the video using AI. The overall process involved initially generating images through ChatGPT and then using these images to create videos in Runway. When generating images with ChatGPT, it is crucial to precisely describe the needed content and style to produce effective images. Based on our theme, I needed several images related to fish and dragon gates in different styles. For instance, describing the color and texture of carp, such as golden scales shimmering in the sunlight; depicting their vigorous leaping motion with splashing water; key environmental descriptions like turbulent rivers and distant dragon gates; and capturing an atmosphere filled with challenge and hope. These detailed descriptions help AI more accurately understand and achieve the visual style I want.
After confirming the images, I imported them into Runway and used the Gen-2 model to generate videos. A single image can develop into a video clip of about four seconds, which can then be extended. Tests show that to maintain the original content and style, a video generated from one image can be extended up to 16 seconds at most. Subsequently, I used Runway’s animation tools in the video editing interface, such as panning, zooming, and rotating, along with camera-related settings, to manually adjust the video montage based on the generated video.
This piece is an original theme music composition for our project, it is related to the background, the development of the storyline, and the overall thematic significance of the story. It is suggested that, the Chinese have long used images to convey auspicious wishes, such as plants, flowers, animals, birds and objects. (Laing, 2017). In this situation, fish express hopes for wealth because the pronunciation of the character for “fish” is identical to “abundance.”This is based on the tonal nature of the Chinese spoken language, one sound could have different meanings. In this context, carp were especially favored, because of their jumping ability, they were always associated with the idea of leaping through the Dragon Gate (an ancient Chinese myth) which symbolizes the attainment of success.
To furthermore, this original demo maintains plenty of Chinese traditional elements, for example Chinese pentatonic scales, as well as a part of Chinese traditional music instruments. The entire composition is structured into three distinct parts:
To begin with, the first section delineates the environment, spotlighting the protagonist (the carp) navigating its existence within the polluted waters, some Chinese traditional instruments like Instruments‘XUN’, evoked a somber and murky ambiance.
Additionally, the second segment delves into the character’s actions, emphasizing its leap over the dragon gate and the ensuing series of endeavors.
Next, the third part crescendos into the climax of the piece.Instruments such as the Suona, Pipa, and Bamboo Flute build upon the atmosphere layer by layer, culminating in a climactic finale. The unique technique of the Suona unveils the resolution of the story.
Reference list:
Laing, Ellen Johnston. “Carp and Goldfish as Auspicious Symbols and Their Representation in Chinese Popular Prints.” Arts Asiatiques 72 (2017): 97–109. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44656691.
