Week 5 - Lighting Iteration & Shoot on Stage
2/4/2025
Feedback from Mentors
Shot Changes:
- Shot 2-3: pan up from shot 2 to shot 3 with the effects
- Shot 5: make sure the same person doesn't appear twice on screen
Lighting / Composition:
- Shot 5: too dark - add lens flares / light, need reflection, add defocus
- Differentiate the scene through the light; vertical light on the red carpet and horizontal light on the stage
Shot 5:
Shot 5, reference from Mentor Billy
Shot 5, crowds by Julian and Tianze, lighting by Yejin
After the feedback from the mentors, we added the lens flares on the stage and brightened up the sitting area. We also added one light in the back to give some depth in the background. In regards to the lens flares, we talked about whether we should comp them after the shoot or not, and with the advice from Professor Gaynor, we decided to shoot both with and without the lens flares on the scene to see which one would fit better on the LED stage.
Our team had a first shoot on Thursday, Feb 6th for about 2 hours, and the video below is the raw footage of Shot 5. We changed our shooting schedule with another Real Time team, and the actor wasn't available for the first shoot. Thankfully, Katherine became our actress on stage.
Raw footage of Shot 5 on LED Volume stage, actor by Katherine
On stage, we adjusted the overall intensity of the scenes, controlled the defocus on camera, and tried to match the light to the one on the scene. Our team had to do some troubleshooting for the media player, but we were able to resolve them on stage. It was such a good experience to be on stage before the final shoot, and we learned what we should improve before our final shoot.
For the lens flares, its reflection on the heels on stage was beautiful, so we decided to keep it for the final shoot. However, because the light looks too blown out, our team decided to decrease the intensity and later add the bloom on comp.
Our second / final shoot will be on Thursday, Feb 13th.
Below are some images from the LED Screen:
For our next shoot, we are planning to adjust the effects and add the tracking point where our compositor can comp in the floor effects for shot 2-3. We will also be getting the red carpet for the floor as well. For the crowds, we haven't got a chance to replace them before the shoot, so we are planning to replace them so the same person wouldn't appear twice in the scene.
Shot 5 Revisions:
Shot 5, crowds by Julian and Tianze, lighting by Yejin
Original Image
Edited using Photoshop
For the shot 5, I decreased the size and the emission from the lens flare textures. I also edited the image from Photoshop in order to create similar shades with different images of lens flares in the scene. There's only one type of lens flares in the scene for now, but I will be adding more variety in the lens flares.
Shot 4:
Shot 4, crowds by Julian and Tianze, curtain animation by Jingxing and Tianze, lighting by Yejin
Because we were focusing on the shots that will be on stage, we haven't touched too much on shot 4, but we added the light shaft in Unreal and added the curtain animation done by Jingxing and Tianze. We are planning to adjust the intensity and the light flickering on the light shaft for next week. Also, the curtain animation will be played when it's half way up in order to create the continuity from the shot 3.
Our greenscreen shoot will be on Friday, Feb 14th.