Author: Hannah Lewnes

We also did our filming for our 360 projects this week. My partner and I filmed in the cafeteria, a classroom, the library, the stairs, and even a short scene outside. The scene outside seems contradictory as we are attempting to create a spaceship-like world within the LCC campus, however we thought a scene outside could be used as a dream for the main character – a dream of trees and the “outside world”, something they’ve never had a chance to experience.

The filming was actually completed quite quickly, as we found that moving shots were incredibly difficult to make. We did 6 static scenes of about 15-second long clips for each location. What was most difficult was perhaps finding the right angles so as to avoid things such as windows, but we had no issues using the 360 camera, and I frankly quite enjoyed getting to explore the campus with a different set of eyes; looking for scenes and interesting locations rather than just walking to class.

Here is a screenshot from one of the clips below:

My partner and I for the 360 film project also discussed how we would approach filming. We decided that certain areas of the LCC campus would be more appropriate for the futuristic, spaceship-like world that we wanted to fabricate. As such, we thought it would be best to avoid areas with large windows, as this would mean we’d have to edit every single window to make it seem as though the campus was in outer space. Though possible, it’s an unnecessary hassle and we therefore decided to stick to areas where windows were not visible. We talked about filming in the library, perhaps a scene where the character is reading books from the “old world”, the cafeteria, and some classrooms. We discussed how we could edit in various neon lighting to make the campus seem more futuristic, as well as possibly attempting to edit in holograms. This may be overachieving but there’s no harm in trying! I’m excited to begin filming and see how we can bring our vision of a futuristic spaceship world to life through the LCC campus.

This week we were introduced to Aftereffects, the software in which we are to edit our 360 film. My partner for the project and I are both new to Aftereffects, however she has more experience with various tech softwares than I do, and so was able to grasp the concept more easily. We decided that because of this, I would take the lead on narrative design and lore, and she would take the lead on editing the footage. Of course, we both will take part in both learning and developing new skills, but dividing the work in this way allows us to complete the project most efficiently and bring our ideas to fruition.

I found Aftereffects much easier to use than Maya – simpler and less tedious. I was able to complete all the tasks we had to do in class with minimal help, which I felt quite proud of. Being completely new to any sort of tech software, I knew I would struggle more than those who have prior experience using them, but everyone is so helpful and inclusive, and it’s wonderful to have classmates who are happy to guide those who are struggling.

In our second week of lectures, we talked a little more about our assessments for this year. For the 360 film project, the brief is to create a 360 interactive film where the viewer can make choices throughout, affecting how the narrative unfolds. It’s also to be filmed entirely on the London College of Communication (LCC) Campus but edited in Adobe Aftereffects to make it seem futuristic. The narrative and editing are entirely up to us, which I love as it allows so much creative freedom.

My partner for the project and I made a document and discussed some initial ideas for what would be an effective, immersive narrative. We decided to set the film on a spaceship, where the remaining humans have escaped as the earth has become inhabitable. We thought it would be interesting to let the lore and the history of this fictional society be revealed as the player makes choices, affecting when they will uncover what information about the world. However, it would be a shame if the viewer was left with questions if they made certain choices and didn’t uncover certain information, so we decided it was best to reveal all, just at different points in the narrative based on certain choices. This way, the narrative plays out the same whatever the viewer decides to do, all information discovered, but provides the illusion of their choices making an impact (unless they were to replay it and make different choices, in which case, they would understand that whatever choice they make doesn’t really affect the story). We felt, though perhaps a slightly sly way of going about it, that this would make the narrative fully immersive for the viewer through a false sense of control over their playthrough.

The document with our initial ideas and planning, as well as our planning of the lore of this world, is linked below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sKEQQkJ74BWwcevTaApRf953JwpeQNRYJPuodhetQaQ/edit