Tag: behind the scenes

FILM LOCATIONS VS SETS

Posted on by Presil Roshan

Film locations and sets are two distinct aspects of film production that are used to create the settings and environments seen in films and television shows. They serve different functions and are frequently used in tandem to achieve the desired visual and storytelling elements.

Film Locations: Film locations are actual locations where scenes are shot. These can include city streets, buildings, parks, natural landscapes, historical sites, and other outdoor or indoor locations. Using real locations can give the film more authenticity and realism. Filmmakers frequently select locations that complement the story and setting they want to depict.

The advantages of using film locations:

Authenticity: Using genuine locales creates a feeling of realism that is difficult to imitate with sets.
Unique Atmosphere: Some sites have a particular vibe or appearance that cannot be simply replicated on a set.
Cost-Effective: In certain circumstances, filming on location is less expensive than building complex sets.
Saving Time: Using existing locations might help you save time while developing and designing sets.

The difficulties of using film locations:

Limited control: Filmmakers have less control over external circumstances like as weather, noise, and other uncontrollable components.
Permissions and Logistics: Obtaining permissions and coordinating logistics may be difficult, especially in congested or sensitive areas.
Inconsistent Look: Different sequences shot in different places may have varying lighting and other aesthetic flaws.

Example of Location. A news reporter is reporting news from a live location with filming crew.

 

Sets: Film sets are physical settings that are particularly built and planned for filmmaking purposes. These can be constructed within sound stages or on studio backlots. Sets provide filmmakers entire control over the setting, including lighting, props, and set dressing. They are frequently employed when a certain place is impossible to reach, does not exist in real life, or when filmmakers want complete creative control over the scene.

Sets provide the following advantages:

Control: Filmmakers have complete control over the set, allowing them to achieve the desired appearance and feel.
Consistency: Sets ensure a constant aesthetic throughout production, reducing differences that may occur while shooting in multiple locations.
Special Effects: Sets allow the employment of special effects and stunts in films controlled and safe.

Cons of using sets:

Cost: Creating and creating sets may be costly, particularly for intricate and large-scale environments.
Realism: While sets might be stunning, it may be impossible to replicate some scenes with the same level of realism as genuine locales.
Space and Time: Building sets need enough room and time, both of which are not always accessible.

 

Example of Film Set. Image of the behind the scene of a live interview.

 

To produce the finest effects, many films employ a blend of film locations and sets. Filmmakers frequently pick what is most practical and cost-effective while keeping the project’s creative goal in mind.

 

Esports: From Hobby to Future Career

Posted on by Big City

 

You may or may not have heard the term Esports being used online a lot. It has been seen all over the world, from live talk shows to billboards all over Los Angeles. Esports has been a growing trend over the past decade. To simply define Esports, it is competitive video games. The term can be used in almost any video game, from doing the fastest play through of Super Mario to being the best shot in a first person shooter – Esports covers a lot.

A career where you play video games on stage

Esports has been discussed on ESPN, CNN, Business Insider and many other large media outlets. The main topic is the expected 2 billion dollar revenue produced by people playing video games. Many investors are rushing to this growing and prosperous industry. Investors such as Rick Fox, Mark Cuban, Rick Holdings, Disney, Stephen Curry, Madison Square Garden group to even music superstars such as Drake have all been getting into Esports. Over hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in this industry within the past 7 years. It’s no doubt as many Esports tournaments and events are costly.

Former NBA Star and Investor Rick Fox with his Esports team and brand Echo Fox

Esports is widely popular amongst Asian countries and has been noticed world wide as well. Some Koreans believe Esports is the country’s national sport as Esports players are considered celebrities.  Governments world wide have also been taking action to cater the growing industry. Many countries offer the same visa and passport permissions as regular athletes since professional players have to travel to some live tournaments or events. The Danish government recently congratulated the Danish Counter-Strike team Astralis on their championship win. The Danish government invited the team to the Parliament in Copenhagen which is considered a great honour to have.

Astralis meeting in the Copenhagen city hall

League of Legends is one of the most popular online game in the market with the largest Esports market. They recently went through franchising opportunities similar to most pro league sports. The buy in for a spot within the 10 teams is a starting price of 13 million dollars USD.  Many teams went through serious amounts of funding to ensure the spot as Disney and other large cooperations began building their own teams in the league. The franchising deal has been massively successful for the League of Legends Esports scene. Recently they went through their World Championship which had a total viewership of over 80 million people. It is estimated that Esports will overtake Superbowl viewership as Esports has already surpassed the NBA finals and many other large sporting events.

The North American League of Legends Finals from The Scotiabank Arena

Esports requires a lot of dedicated players who are willing to make playing video games their career. Most teams treat themselves as most other professional athletes do. They can have dedicated meal plans, workout routines and non stop practice time with other teams etc. A lot of Esports leagues are structured and franchised just like the ones we see on tv. The players involved have been playing their games for years and have been perfecting every aspect of it. Their dedication to the game pays off, some of that 2 billion dollar revenue comes back to them. A high ranking Esports player can make an average of 300 thousand dollars yearly and can add onto that based on tournament winnings, sponsorships etc. Saahil “Universe” Arora is a Dota 2 player who has won almost 5 million dollars based on tournament winnings alone. Esports is just not about the players, to fuel the player’s success there are coaches, psychologists and support staff with them. Some believe this is the era where the new athletes are people who just play video games.

Analysts and coaches observe the way their players play and how they can change their gameplay for the better
Pax East in 2014, over 50,000 attended the event

Esports events can take large stadiums and venues ranging from the Scotiabank Arena to the Korean Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Korea. These viewing areas can have thousands of people watching live while millions can be watching online as well. Other than viewing areas, events and conventions are a growing trend in the gaming sector. Enthusiast Gaming held their annual EGLX (Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo) event that had a record breaking 30,000 people attend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Other events can almost triple EGLX’s number as events suchas the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) and Dreamhack have both reported attendee numbers almost reaching 100,000 people. These numbers will keep on rising along with Esports’ popularity.

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A League of Legends broadcast team checking all the shots to see which is most needed
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The Overwatch League records the perspective of 12 different players in game and the player’s reaction through webcam.

Many of these events require a lot of production work to go into their broadcasts. Since they are equivalent to many pro league sports – they have to excel past them in all aspects of production. Esports broadcasts can talk a lot of work especially during live games etc. An average NBA game can have over 10 cameras from a overhead view, to on court shots. An average Esports broadcasts will usually require over 20+ camera shots being recorded live. For example, each player will have to have their perspective of the game recorded on air and their webcam displaying reactions etc. There can be over 10 players on stage playing which means the broadcast team has to watch each one to have the best results. On top of that, many shots include crowd reactions, the caster area and analyst desk.

Large amounts of people playing live at Dreamhack Winter to try to be the next big Esports player

Esports is a non stop growing trend. There will always be new ways to play games and people will always strive to be the best in that field. With the estimated 2 billion dollar revenue, you will hear about this for sometime. Esports doesn’t just feature the skill and dedication the players have. It also shows the behind the scenes work that many production workers have to adapt to.

– Benson Lam

Stop Motion Animation

Posted on by Carlos Jochico

First of all, what is stop motion?

Stop motion is another way of creating film, but instead you’re using a bunch of photos of and playing them at a high speed to give the illusion that it’s moving.

For example: the movie ‘Wallace and Gromit The Curse of The Were Rabbit’, the characters were made out of clay. Which is called claymation (clay animation) How it works, is they use clay to sculpt their subject like Wallace, then place him into a set. Then they take a picture of him, and depending on what they want him to do, they slightly move a part of him then proceed to take another picture. After multiple pictures later, it’ll look like that the character is moving on it’s own. Clay isn’t the only way to create stop motion films, other people use Legos as well. The main idea of stop motion is just to create the effect that an inanimate object can move on it’s own.

stop motion, behind the scenes stop motion, behind the scenes

When creating your own stop motion, you’ll need a few things. First a camera, it doesn’t matter what kind of camera, as long as you can import it’s images into your computer. Which is for post production (editing). You’ll also need lighting, preferably indoor lighting. If you use outdoor lighting (the sun) then the stop motion will look funny. Why? well because stop motion takes time, and as you may be shooting outside, the sun might be blocked by clouds and affect your scene. Another thing that is very crucial for stop motion animation, is a tripod. Having a tripod is the most important thing in creating stop motion. You can still do it without a tripod, but your creation will look very shaky. Once you have these, all you need now is your subject.

Stop motion isn’t always necessarily about making inanimate objects come to life, you can also achieve cool effects with just a person. For example: have a friend jump in place, and while mid-air take a photo, have him/her repeat this and after every jump, have them move up one step. If done correctly, it will look like your friend is flying in the air.