Week 1

 

Task:

- Create a self-reflective blog

- Confirm assigned frame interval

- Review performance capture of the assigned frame interval

- Finish performance breakdown study

Reviewing performance capture:

I was tasked with the character Miri from frame 711 to 933. I began by importing the performance footage into Premiere and isolating the designated frames. My next step was to study Miri's performance. Despite being relatively stationary within her environment, Miri’s movements, though subtle, were rich in detail. Here’s a quick breakdown of her body movement across the assigned frames: 

Frames 711-740: Miri turns her body to the right, away from Fred. Her right foot steps to the right, with her index finger pointing in the same direction and her head slightly tilted downward. 

Frames 741-760: Her left foot follows, turning to align with her right. She raises her hands to chest height, palms facing outward, while her head remains slightly lowered. 

Frames 761-777: Her hips move backward, countering her upper body, which leans forward about 20 degrees. Her arms bend downwards to approximately 80 degrees, her fingers closed, and her wrists rotated inward. 

Frames 778-796: Miri steps slightly forward with her right foot and rotates back towards Fred. Her hips and upper body follow, turning to face Fred, while her hands stay in front of her chest and her head 

tilts slightly upward. 

Frames 797-810: As her body continues to turn left, her arm bends fully upwards with a clenched fist. 

Frames 811-846: Her arm swings to the left, maintaining a 90-degree angle. Her knees bend slightly, hips push forward, countering her backward-leaning body. Her head tilts down and then turns slightly left before looking back at Fred. 

Frames 847-868: Her arms swing inward, and her hands come together in front of her chest. Her chest turns right and leans back. Her left ankle turns outward, almost parallel with her right foot, and her head looks up and right. 

Frames 869-896: Her arms bend slightly upwards, and her body pushes upward. She performs a small squat, then bounces back up, straightening her knees. 

Frames 897-904: Her arms swing outward, and her elbows twist inward. Her hands raise to jaw height, palms facing upwards, while her hips lean right. 

Frames 905-933: Her arms swing down and inward, with her palms turning inward and facing downward. Her hips push backward, countering her forward-leaning upper body, and her head tilts back to the left, facing Fred. 

Facial performance breakdown:

From what I understand of the story, Miri was the last person the victim spoke with, Officer Fred is asking her about it, yet Miri seems nervous and uncomfortable in the conversation. 

Analyzing facial performance is significantly more time-consuming than analyzing body movements. The multitude of minor facial movements requires close attention to detail, and the frequency of these movements within each frame far exceeds that of full-body actions. In the assigned frames, although there is minimal eyebrow and eye movement, most of my focus was dedicated to tracking the key poses of the lips and cheeks. I spent a good six hours carefully analyzing each frame to capture the subtle nuances of Miri's facial expressions.