Special Effect Film - "Gap Year"

Creative short film about ethical arguments regarding Artificial Intelligence.

Won 2018 Canadian Short Film Festival Adward of Merit
2017 Fall Simon Fraser University Best Film Award
2017 Fall Simon Fraser University Best Visual Effects Award

Role:
Producer
Visual Effects Designer
Video Editor
Content Strategy

Pitch

Intro

This is a 6 min long special effects short film about Artificial Intelligence. I am the producer, visual effect artist, editor and also in charge of the production setup and screenplay. As a team of three, we created and revised the screenplay several times based on the expert's feedback.

Preparation

Moodboard

Setting up a film production involves a lot of preparation.

As a producer, I have first set up the art direction and the moodboard of the film. In this way, I can narrow down the aesthetic style of the film quicker. In order to produce a high-quality film video, I managed to book and set up the best film camera and lighting set from the school library. My previous photography experience also helps me with choosing the right light kit for the filming.

Storyboard

Storyboard 1

Green room.

Location

Location 1

Location 2

Finding the location for the artificial intelligence film was quite challenging.

It was almost impossible to find an modernized film studio with reasonable price, especially for students.
While as a team, we still keep a high standard for the film set. After multiple attempts, I was able to find an modern designed loft in gas town Vancouver. Considering the cost of hiring professional actors and space renting, the filming can only last for two days, there is no chance to redo any shot.

Filming the whole film under limited time is stressful, but I managed to order the position of various lighting kits to create consistent overall lighting. The whole filming was done in a medium sized loft. It was hard to avoid the shadows of lighting kits and multiple cameras, most of the time I have to hold the diffuser and move around according to the shot to avoid the shadow.

I also managed to find a few other locations for insert shots and was responsible for transport equipment to different location on time.

Special Effects

Special Effect Screenshot 1

Special Effect Screenshot 2

Special Effects is the top draw of this AI film.

For a better performance, I have rented the green room in school's studio. Later I used After Effects to eliminate the green screen background into the desired effect background.

The capture one is one of the most time-consuming effect that I made in AE. In order to create Particle Earth HUD effect, I have installed the Stardust addon. From watching online tutorials and combine my previous skills in AE, I have created the moving earth effects.

In limited time, I have used After Effect, Premiere, and final cut created special effects that demonstrate the highlight the ability of futurism world. The difficulty occurred when the actor accidentally held an empty plate of food during dinner, I managed to use Photoshop to replace the food in the plate to avoid the goof. It was also tricky to match the sound effect when the actor was using the touch screen on a frequent basis.

Reflection

Filming involves a significant amount of teamwork, I learnt how to organize a film set under pressure. I also become more aware of the importance of great team collaboration and comprehension. From this film project, I have also achieved great progress at my technique skills of AE, Premiere and final cuts.

Final Video length 6 mins