In order for me to make my trailer, I had to use the five following software
- Animate – To make my character
- Garageband – To make my soundtrack
- Audition – To edit my soundtrack
- Photoshop – Photography I took in preproduction
- Premiere Pro – To compile my final trailer
Adobe Animate
Faces
Using the tools I know, I wanted to make everything symmetrical to give it the well-polished look that is similar to that of the Simpsons style yet slightly more realistic. I experienced little trouble making the simple outline to every face that I wanted to have in my trailer. When designing face, I used the shape (oval) tool and created an oval for the face shape. I adjusted the sides with the move tool until the curve option came up. Anything that I felt was not mirrored correctly, could be copied pasted then transformed horizontal or vertical. I did this in order to have it reflected on both sides, therefore, making it perfectly symmetrical and even. I did the same to the eyes, eyebrows and nose. Mainly using the pencil tool, occasionally the oval shape tool to give areas circular shape for the pupil in the eye and round end of the nose.
Short Animated clip
This animation is a short piece I wanted in the trailer. It is a person blowing a bubble then being killed. Now, although you do witness the death of someone’s head being sliced off by the hedge cutters, It is highly implied by the blood red screen in place.
Police
On the storyboard, my main character passes by the police officer. The combination of brush, pencil, pen and rectangle tools were used to make the face. I had some difficulty positioning the face to the body. I added darker colours to certain parts of the face to make them look more 3D by adding this shadow.
Police Stations Murder Board
First murder on the murder board that links in with the dialogue edited in by Premiere Pro. You can see that the person had been murdered, seeing as there is blood on the side of their head on the ground. I used the brush tool to make the small little details the face. Pencil tool was used to shape the side of the victim’s face. The reason the board and the drawn photograph is so straight is because I used the rectangle tool. I changed the Stroke colour and the Fill colour to make it look more like a board. Stroke colour is the outline of the shape, I wanted it to be brown so that it did not stand out too much. However, when making it, I realised that the stroke was too small to see. I dragged the stroke line across to a 4 so that it would be thicker, making it more noticeable. I had to add Text tool using the shortcut key (T) to add text.
Animation of the walking sequence I made in Adobe Animate. This GIF was saved by exporting the image as an SWF File, that I later converted into a windows media file that was only available on the PC. Each step was done frame by frame to make it look smooth.
Garageband
Music software to compile my beats for my trailer. I opened up the software on an iMac machine. The first screen that came up prompted me to select an empty project. Compared to the other options available it seemed the logical one to choose. Then I selected create. I had the option of using a musical piano on the software and I had an option of using loop beats. From there I went through the sound under the loops section. From the various styles on offer, I selected the Dark option and started to test a variety of different beats. The first track I made I used a combination of loop beats and piano
The first track I made I used a combination of loop beats and piano. As I panned down I listened to the variety of tracks. I then dragged the track onto the timeline. As I played it on the timeline I thought that it was a bit too long, I only wanted the beginning part of the loop. Just when I was going to go to the top of the screen to select a cutting tool, I moved the mouse over the loop and discovered that when the icon changed to an arrow I can shorten the track manually by dragging it. I got the sound I wanted and the proceeded to find another loop I could use. I selected seven more loops and placed them on a timeline until I got the sound I desired. From there I selected Export song to disk chose the name Project IMI selected to save it as an MP3 high quality. Once the file was saved I then imported it into AdobeAudition after getting consultation from my peers.
Photoshop
Background
Maintaining that realistic style as well as the smudged, scrapped appearance of the artist, I decided to use my photography skills to do the background. The background would be 
used for each scene in my trailer. I used Smart Object, which is used to keep intact the original image without ruining it when there are changes. This would mean that if I were to change anything it can be undone or removed without effecting other changes. The same reason to use Smart Filter is that it is a handy thing tool for filters. What gave it a sketch feel to it from using Smart Filters was different depending on the picture. Some had Charcoal and Glowing Edges as the bottom layer of the filter which outlined areas and shapes that were hard to see with the Charcoal filter. Others had Graphic Pen with the settings adjusted as it did not have the exact a similar effect when edited as Charcoal. These images all had the appearance that it had been sketched.
Editing the images
From the images I took from the day I went around London
I did this so I can use a similar style what the artist used as well as developing this style in order for it to fit in with the style I enjoy drawing in. I felt that If I could combine the two together It would blend in easier, look more realistic and still have linked into the artist style.I edited this image using smart filters, cropping and minor change erasing small lines to make it look cleaner.
As you can see in the original image had people in there, the people in my animation will be in colour, unlike the background which will stick to a black and white or solid colour, including black similar to the artist’s style. This edited image will be in the red band trailer. This short gory red band scene needs to include the dismembered body will be pierced through by the spikes there in the image.
Audition
Editing the sound in adobe audition first was to experiment with what I could do to improve both soundtracks. I cut the middle section of the Dark Flow soundtrack that I made in Garageband. From the questions that I asked my peers about the music, a few mentioned that they did not like that particular part. That is why, in order to make the track more appealing, I trimmed that section out. After opening adobe audition I selected open and chose my Dark Flow mp3. I then listened to the whole track when it got to the part I needed to cut I pressed the space bar, which stopped the track and it left a faded red line. I zoomed in by dragging the top row with the magnifying glass to get a closer look at the tracks sound waves. I pressed after I zoomed into the section I stopped. Once it hit the end point of what needed to be cut out, I highlighted the beginning point to the end (that would be cut out). I then pressed the delete button the got rid of the section I did not need. Once that was done I then went to file, export, upload to SoundCloud.
Premiere Pro
I was advised to open Premiere Pro on an iMac machine since it was faster and more reliable. This is an editing software to put all my pictures, animation, music and audio together. I selected new project and another box came up. I wrote down the name of my project gave the location of where I would store my project and then select ok. The premiere pro software opened up with five boxes. The first thing I wanted to do was import all my content into the project. I imported my music tracks, a sound effect of a man screaming, my mp4 animations, my edited and raw pictures and the audio voice over. The project folder on premiere pro was looking a bit messy, I wanted to organise everything first so that I knew where everything was. So I created in total seven folders otherwise known as bins to match my content. I was still a bit confused as to how to start so I was advised by one of the technicians to drag one of my animations into an empty box and this was called my sequence.
The next thing I did was drag my finished music track into the sequence. I wanted my trailer to be one minute long and the music was going to be constant throughout so I decided to edit/cut this first. I carefully listened to the music so I could get an idea of how I was adding to the sequence. Once that was done my next step was to select and add the flash animations to the timeline. I placed the animation every time there was a change in the music. Initially, I had to mark and in and out on the sequence. This would determine where my animation would be positioned. I then dragged the video from the source monitor to the sequence monitor and let go of the mouse. It was important how I placed the videos in sequence to match partially my poem.
I then selected the pictures I wanted to use and followed the same procedure to mark in and out on the timeline. As I played it, it was obvious the picture stayed on the timeline for too long between each animation. It was on for two seconds but to keep the pace of the music I decided to have it there for 0.14 seconds. there was no particular order for the pictures but I wanted each shot to be different from the last, example having a picture of a building then a telephone box followed by a water fountain.
The next step was to add the audio from my poem. I deliberately wanted each line to finish before the next animation. I got the pacing just right and I dragged the poem onto the second audio line instead of dragging it into the sequence monitor. It appeared to work fine and I proceeded to do the same with the remaining audio. My next job was to make sure I placed the screaming sound effect in the right position. I played the whole sequence back so far and there were still some gaps at the beginning and end. The main problem, however, the audio of the poem was being drowned out by the sound of my music soundtrack. I consulted with a tv and film student who showed me how to rectify my problem. I dragged the lines between the audio channels to expand the track. It also showed me the waveforms. In between the two waveforms, there is a thin white line which I had to move to make the music lower so you could hear the audio clearer. Pressing the P button it activates the pen tool which allows me to pinpoint where I would like the audio to dip in sound. It shows a small white circle which I can drag to modulate the audio. This worked and I could clearly hear not only my poem but also the screaming effect.
The last thing I needed to do was add the titles to the sequence. At the top of the screen, I selected the title command. Another dialogue box appeared and I used the default still option. I clicked ok and another dialogue box appeared which was similar to the adobe photoshop screen. Since I am familiar with photoshop it was easier for me to manage. I was able to select my font, my background colour, the size and position where I wanted my text to go. I was slightly concerned because it had no save option when I finished making the title. Thankfully when I closed it I saw it appear in the project monitor box. Again I dragged the title directly onto the sequence instead of the sequence monitor and placed it into the position I wanted it to be. I did the same for the credits at the end of the video, also adding a background colour separate from the titles.
I watched the video again and although I was happy with it I wanted the ending to be different and more dramatic. After consulting with the technician they advised me of keyframing the last image. I double clicked onto the last animation on the sequence. I then looked at I then found a tab called effects controls. I then clicked on the arrow next to position and scale. This generated a key frame. I then moved the numbers by hovering the cursor over the numbers. When the hand icon appeared with directional arrows on either side, it meant I could move and readjust the image. I moved the line of the sequence to the last frame and then went back to effects control box and rearranged the position and scale keyframes to give a zoom in effect. when I played it over again I was quite happy with the effect.
Once I was happy with the video I decided upon the advice of the technician to render the video so that I could export. At the top of the screen, I selected the sequence command and selected the render into out option. After it finished rendering I was ready to export. I went to the top of the screen again and selected file option then export and media. Another dialogue box came up. I consulted with a student as to what the best settings would be and they advised me to choose the H.264 format and the preset of Android tablet – 720p 25 I then pressed export and my video was complete.
Final Major Project 