Today I met with Simone Lau (a 2nd Year Media Student) to film the required components for my signal presentation. My basic idea consists of using silhouettes that interact with the screens, making them look like windows (because at signal, they actually are windows).

I filmed the silhouettes on a green screen with a front facing monitor so that we could position ourselves in relation to our imaginary blinds. I was then able to edit the footage in after effects and construct the whole scene. For example here is the original hug sequence on green screen:

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Here it is with the characters in position on the template:

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after talking to Simone and being in the space myself I decided that the sequence of events would go as follows:

1. Man drawing blinds

2. Woman drawing blinds

3. Both drawing blinds

4. They embrace

Simone suggested that for a hug it is important that one person be comforted and one be comforting. This is something which up until this point I had not considered. However made sense and I ended up deciding the man would be comforted, meaning he would remain in focus at his window in the final scene.

To enhance the illusion of depth I also added a blurred silhouette of the characters profile to the window perpendicular to them, as they progress to the corner of the building this shadow becomes more and more clear.

Because the footage was shot without time cues, I had to match a lot of the timing in post, using after effects i slowed down and sped up different parts of the footage so that the side profiles and characters all moved in sync. This is a process called ‘time remapping’