The document summarizes Samuel Schoettner's experiments with creating a movie poster in Photoshop and using video editing software like After Effects. Some key points: - Samuel created a movie poster for the film "IT" in Photoshop using various layers, images, and effects to composite elements together. He learned how adjusting colors and saturation drew attention to different areas. - He later practiced using a Steadicam rig to capture smooth footage and plans to incorporate steady shots into a film trailer. - Samuel also experimented with 3D tracking and placing textures/effects into video footage in After Effects. He found tracking and blending elements was easier than expected.

1. Experiments
Samuel Schoettner

2. Process
• Film Poster

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skYn5SS2B0M&feature=youtu.beLink to the video:
Break down of the Photoshop layers for the poster

4. When disabling the Hue/Saturation
Layer mask and keeping only the 50%
grey luminosity layer enabled, you
can see what aspects of the poster
are going to blend together and what
parts will stick out. We can see the
balloon, the title, the name, the
release date and the clown’s, eyes
stick out from the grey background.
Discovering this was very useful as it
allowed me to change the areas of
focus, by saturating certain parts of
the image more and others less.
I will definitely be using this in my
final project to look at what areas of
the image attract the most attention,
as it is a very easy and efficient way
of looking at the colours of the
image.
Process:

5. Process
The creation of this movie poster required a lot of Photoshop layers as well as plenty of images. As I started off
intending to only create an image of the young boy in the alley way, the first step was to gather all the images I needed
which I did using a website called Pixabay. Then I composited the images into one using by croping them using the
quick selection tool and the pen tool after which I used the selective colour tool to match the colours between all of
the photos. After some more minor adjustments such as making the image darker to make it appear as though it is
night time and adding the rain and the puddles, I added focus points within the image to give it more depth and draw
more attention to the boy. A class mate then told me the image reminded them of the movie ’IT’ so I added a red
balloon as a little bit of a joke, however, it had sort of avalanche effect and I decided to make a poster for the film IT.
This caused me to create a poster that (in my opinion) is far better than just the boy in the street. First I created a
background and got a clipart image of pennywise the clown that I could use as a base for a clipping mask. At first I was
planning on the poster to be simply the silhouette of the head with the image inside, but this looked very bleak and
boring, so I came up with the idea of just adding aspects of the face into the image I got a few separate images, one for
the eyes, one for the nose and a few for the hair, to blend them into the clipping mask. I used layer mask to erase parts
of images instead of erasing them so that I could always go back and edit it differently if I needed to. The main thing I
learned was to use layer FX tools on text such as ‘Bevel & Emboss’, ‘Satin’ and ’Contour’ I used these to change the text
from a standard flat/plain look, to look detailed and three dimensional. Overall during this little experiment I didn't
learn to many new skills but instead I learned how to apply existing skills in new ways. Therefore I would say it was still
quite beneficial and worth the time and energy I spent making it.

6. Reflection
While making this poster I learned quite a few new skills and improved on skills that were already existent. The main
thing I learned was however not related to mechanical skill. When I first started the poster I was only planning on
creating the image of a boy in alley way, which I think would have still been a good poster, however when my classmate
said it reminded them of the movie ‘IT’ and I added the balloon and then decided I would put the whole image into the
head of the pennywise the clown (the antagonist in the film ‘IT’). Which made a much better poster that suddenly had
a lot more information and there were more layers to the poster than a boy in an alley, this is the main aspect I will
include most in my final project. Trying to see in what way can the poster have more meaning, how can I give the
audience more context? Etc. Making this test poster I learned a lot more about contents of the poster than I did about
the making of the poster physically (meaning Photoshop itself). I am planning to include aspects such as compositing
images within one another. As my protagonist has a very recognisable mask which would be the perfect object to use
as a clipping mask. If it is necessary I will 100% apply the colour correction technique.
One thing I have learned from the experiment is that I need to plan my work very carefully, as it will save me heaps of
time and ultimately make a better product, I also realised how important it is to pay attention to little details, for
example on the poster at first I had writer ‘Stephen King’s IT’ with the IT underneath the name. I then decided to
change this for aesthetic purposes and place the title ‘IT’ above the name Stephen king, however I forgot to remove
the “ ‘s “ so it now reads ‘IT Stephen King’s ‘ which doesn’t make any sense. As it is little details such as a grammatical
error like that, that make the difference between a pass or a merit, or the difference between a merit and a distinction.

7. Process
YouTube Link to Steadicam Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrg6B44tNxY&feature=youtu.be
Using the Steadicam was a lot easier than I expected, however I still need more practise before I can use it
easily and get good shots. Once the camera is mounted on the Steadicam and it is balanced it is fairly
straight forward to use, you hold the weight of the camera and the rig at the handle, and use your other
hand to lightly grip the bottom of the Steadicam and guide the direction of the camera itself. I watched a
few tutorials on how to use a Steadicam/Glidecam and found that the key is use your arms and legs almost
as springs so that your arms and legs compensate for the movement of your body, of course the so called
‘comfort arm’ also greatly helps with this.

8. Reflection
I will most certainly be using the Steadicam within my film trailer I want to use it for simple tracking
shots as well as some more complicated and creative shots, such as the camera rotating from an upside
down position to right way up while slowly moving backwards. I do need to practice some more before
begin shooting for the film trailer. The Steadicam will most certainly add production value as well as
allow for ‘comfortable’ viewing as the camera will be nice and smooth, creating a visually pleasing and
further professional product.

9. Process
YouTube Link to first 3D tracking attempt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbW_BrX5CIc&feature=youtu.be
The first step was of course to find footage that I could use to motion track at first I wanted to use some of the
Steadicam footage, however when attempting to 3D track any of the footage it really didn’t work. So I ended
up using footage I found on my computer, as the test was about learning how to 3D track so whether or not it
looked good didn’t matter too much.
I used Adobe After Effects for the entire project (except to colour grade) the whole process was a lot easier
than I expected, tracking the footage was as simple as pressing track camera and then after a moment you
would have perfectly tracked footage. After this it is more or less the same process over and over, creating a
solid on a desired plane (e.g. a wall), dragging and dropping the desired texture onto the solid, colour
correcting it so that it matches the background, masking out any areas that need to be masked and then you
are done.
Something I didn’t get to experiment too much with purely because there was a lack of time, and because I had
no footage that had enough movement, was creating 3D concave textures, there is a little bit of visible parallax
within the hole in the wall however you can barely notice it. This is a little annoying as I am contemplating
placing wounds and possibly concave holes into the faces of my actors to add extra gore, but I am sure that I
can rework this technique to achieve my desired effect.

10. Process
YouTube Link to first 3D tracking attempt number 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6XnDakVWc&feature=youtu.be
The second test in this experiment worked a lot better, I wanted to gather some new footage as the first
test worked (meaning the tracking worked and I learned how to do so) but it didn’t look very good and I
wanted to have a test that I could look at and feel a little bit of pride in. When I was going through
college looking for something to film that I could use to 3D track I realised the staircase was perfect, the
lighting was relatively lowkey, there was no people, there was no sense of scale (e.g. windows or people).
This gave me a very plain canvas that would be perfect to add firstly the VFX and then colour grading. The
process was the exact same as before, camera track the footage; add a ground plane and origin; add the
first solid and camera (which is be used as camera data) and then simply select 3 tracking points on a
plane for example the rear wall, add a solid, then drag and drop a texture, blend the image into the
environment and feather/mask anything if necessary.
The most important thing I found was to always adjust and re-adjust the masks, as well as the rotation
and position of the textures/VFX. Another thing I found to be important as I was editing was focus. I
adjusted to focus of all the different textures and components within this experiment, even if it was
unnoticeable change.

11. Reflection
One of the reasons behind why I chose this as an experiment is that I am already extremely familiar with
adobe Premier Pro which is what I will be mainly using to edit my film trailer, but I wanted to familiarise
myself with adobe After Effects as in many ways it is a lot more powerful and is far better for creating
and editing very specific things (such as VFX) I will definitely use some of the skills I have acquired from
these two After Effects experiments even if it is something as simple as placing a text/title in a 3D
environment or something as complex as re-constructing the face of an actor.
After this test/experiment I think I will definitely use After Effects as a larger driving force within my
production. More likely than not I will create all the text cards using adobe After Effects rather than just
using a font in adobe premier pro. As I said this experiment has really opened my eyes to the vast
amount of tools and possibilities that come with adobe After Effects so I think I will be using it a lot
more than I can even predict as of yet.
Overall, I do not think I will be including much 3D tracking in terms of structures but I am more
interested in using VFX to create gory cuts and gashes in the faces of my actor(s). As in principle the
same method should apply, I will just have to place tracking point on their faces and digitally erase them
after.

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