Throughout the entire FMP project, I chose to collaborate with Ruijia from the very beginning. I believe this was a fantastic decision because teamwork is inevitably crucial in future endeavors, and adapting to this collaborative approach early on is essential. Our collaboration has been excellent, with effective communication being a key factor, as communication is paramount within a team.
One area where we faced challenges in this project was in our workflow. In the early stages, our lack of experience in film production and insufficient shooting skills led to some issues. The camera stabilizer we borrowed consistently encountered various problems during shooting, resulting in severe shaking in the footage, which, to some extent, affected our post-production work. We conducted a total of three shoots: the first was a trial, the second was paused midway due to actor issues, and the third was the official shoot. Armed with the experiences from the first two attempts, we prepared our equipment and brought in new actors for the third shoot. However, unexpected equipment issues persisted during the shoot. I also acknowledge my part in this, as I failed to update instructions promptly with the equipment upgrades, leading to pronounced shaking in the footage. Due to time constraints, we decided not to proceed with a fourth shoot and opted to salvage our film in post-production.
In the post-production phase, Ruijia took charge of the majority of the special effects, while I contributed within my capabilities by handling some assets. My primary responsibility was the synthesis of content, with Ruijia assisting in parts of the process. During synthesis, I discovered many issues stemming from early mistakes, such as the inability to achieve precise tracking due to camera shake, necessitating manual adjustments frame by frame in many areas. Additionally, combining 3D content with live-action proved to be a challenging task. Errors in lighting, tracking, and color grading resulted in some of my assets appearing disjointed from the live-action scenes. However, through continual experimentation, innovation, and efforts to rectify shortcomings, I acquired a wealth of new skills. For instance, I am now proficient in various methods of camera stabilization and have a solid understanding of 3D tracking in NUKE. The diverse experiences throughout this process have undoubtedly been valuable.
Looking ahead to future work and learning experiences, I aspire to maintain a positive mindset and enhance my communication skills. I am also deeply grateful to Ruijia, with whom I collaborated on this project, and to all the teachers who provided assistance.