The idea of completing the Stranger Things project was to improve my After Effects skills, and to learn more specific effects e.g. 3D lighting.
I found a YouTube tutorial which I followed to the word.
The effect âUpside Downâ is used in Stranger Things, I have watched clips and read about the making of Stranger things to influence my creation, this meant I knew exactly how well replicated my project is, in comparison to the original.
It was entirely done in After Effects using footage and images from the tutorial. Specifically in After Effects, I had to create a lot of sub sequences; I also learnt how 3D effects work and how they interact with the environment. On top of this I learnt a whole lot more about masking and tracking this is how the walls look different and the lights are more perpetuated, this was done with a 3D effect light aligned with the natural light.
This has greatly improved my skills within After Effects. I think my edit conveys and eerie, uneasy atmosphere which has the desired effect in unsettling the audience. Putting the audience on edge will leave them fearful of what could be at the end of the corridor.
Iâm pleased with how the project turned out as it looks realistic within the Stranger Things canon; in particular I like the lighting I achieved with colour correction which really steeps the nervy environment as something could be lurking in the dark.
Another project where I learnt how to use colour correction was the Wes Anderson edit where I played around with the aforementioned colour correction and aspect ratio, to give a clip a new feeling. This was done by darkening the light in a clip and giving it a more blue hue. This gives a calming feeling.
In order to do this I studied Wes Andersonâs films and how he has a colour scheme throughout a film. Also, I read an interview with the DOP Robert Yeoman which was really useful in understanding how Anderson creates his films, where there is a lot of work in creating sets and costumes, then Yeoman give the shot a warm fuzzy feeling using dark lighting.
This project was extremely useful in giving me grounding in how to colour correct which helped me in achieving the dark Stranger Things âupside downâ effect.
My final project was a Terrence Malick style shot. This was done by pairing some footage shot in the golden hour; the golden hour is a certain time at night shortly after sunrise or before sunset. Terrence Malick himself takes a lot of shots during this time. He also utilizes voiceover a great deal which is why I found an uplifting philosophical speech, on creating and consciousness, given by David Lynch to lay over the top. This gave the shot a dreamy mystique atmosphere.
 I have done a lot of research to find the best speech for the project. On top of this, I did a lot of research about Malick and his filming style. This gave me an insight of how auteurs work, as I found an interview with Christian Plummer, where he says why he wonât work with him again, even though he enjoys his work. This gave me understanding on how divisive an auteur can be.
theartofmadeline