artifact 1 I first created my own environment for this artifact but in my focus group a lot of comments were about how I could improve on the modeling aspects rather than the cinematic elements I was testing. So I decided to use a model from 3D Total that was part of a lighting competition. The model I received was of a bedroom created by David Vacek it was a very basic model with no textures or lighting elements. I added textures to the scene I wanted to keep them basic, as this wasn’t what I was testing.
For this artifact I wanted a simple basic version of the scene with just textures added. This way I would have something to compare the final product to and see how much effect each element has had on the scene.
artifact 2 - lighting For this artifact I wanted to test the effect if lighting on the scene I wanted to create a intimidating environment so I researched scary/ dark films such as Paranormal Activity and Up to see what lighting was used by the cinematographer to help set the scene for the story.
I started with just basic lighting from the main light source points such as windows and door ways. I liked the effect of the shadows of the blinds on the bed and walls. I kept the lighting low as darkness and shadows are an obvious element when trying to make the scene intimidating. I also tried light coming from the computer in the room but this didn’t work very well as it lit the room too much. I showed my results to my focus group where a suggestion was made that I was trying too hard to be realistic. I found this comment interesting because in my research document I touched upon how the surreal can sometimes be scarier than reality. I reviewed my scene again and revalorized there weren’t many shadows with in the scene, so I added a light close to the floor to cast long shadows on the back wall this worked really well. This was very contrasting as earlier I found that a lot of light coming from one source didn’t look intimidating but when placed in this particular spot it seemed to work well, but as well as this some people found it distracting and confusing so I decided to keep it simple with just light coming through the window.
artifact 3 - colour This artifact I was focused on colour. In my research document I looked at the effect colour can have on an audience over a long period. I was wondering what effect colour would have in the short term. So I was really interested in this artifact.
I found that warm colours such as oranges and yellows didn’t give the desired effect as these colours make you feel warm and safe. In my research document the colours that seemed the most intimidating were reds and blues. So I tested these using blue as I thought this would simulate moonlight. I followed a online tutorial and was able to gain the look of the moonlight coming through the window but it wasn’t really intimidating but gave a mysterious element to the scene. So I added a low floor light as in the last artifact and played with the colour and it was interesting to find that warm colours seemed to work best for this particular light. This made me think that maybe what worked well for one scene may not necessarily work well for another. When presented to my focus group they also liked the blue as it felt cold and uninviting.
artifact 4 - camera angle This artifact was about camera angle. There were lots of possibilities for this artifact so I began looking at films for reference such as Fight Club and The Strangers. I thought the most effective where when you can’t see the whole scene such as view through a doorway, window or wardrobe. I thought the view through the door way was nice but would probably work better in a moving image like panning thought the door but not very effective for this still image. I lowered the camera to the floor pointing up to the bed with a tilt this was very effective then someone mentioned trying to alter the lens to exaggerate the scene. Because it is a small room I had to use a 7mm lens. I really liked this effect it also distorted the scene a bit but it did make it intimidating and makes you feel inferior to the environment.
I showed my experiments to my focus group and the ones that where most liked where the tilted bugs eye view but some said they would prefer it without the tilt so I it untilled.
artifact5 - depth of field The fifth and final artifact was about depth of field. This wasn’t something I looked at in my research document but a few books have touched upon how much depth of field has an effect on the final image. I failed to see how much difference it could make so I wanted to test it for my self.
First I used the standard depth of field setting with in 3ds Max but this did nothing to the image so I lowered the F-stop from 0.2 to 0.1 this began to blur parts of the image that where further away such as the back wall and amp while leaving the bed in focus. This only made a subtle change and I felt it made the image look worse. I was curious to see what would happen if I lowered the F-stop further to 0.05 and changed the focus point slightly to just in front of the bed. But this blurred the whole image.
I think this element would work better if there was something for the camera to focus on in the foreground that told more of a story for example in this case a weapon or a someone’s hand. Overall depth of field didn’t work for this image but as I have found in the other artifacts what has not worked for this environment may work for another.
artifact 2 - lighting For this artifact I wanted to test the effect if lighting on the scene I wanted to create a intimidating environment so I researched scary/ dark films such as Paranormal Activity and Up to see what lighting was used by the cinematographer to help set the scene for the story.
I started with just basic lighting from the main light source points such as windows and door ways. I liked the effect of the shadows of the blinds on the bed and walls. I kept the lighting low as darkness and shadows are an obvious element when trying to make the scene intimidating. I also tried light coming from the computer in the room but this didn’t work very well as it lit the room too much. I showed my results to my focus group where a suggestion was made that I was trying too hard to be realistic. I found this comment interesting because in my research document I touched upon how the surreal can sometimes be scarier than reality. I reviewed my scene again and revalorized there weren’t many shadows with in the scene, so I added a light close to the floor to cast long shadows on the back wall this worked really well. This was very contrasting as earlier I found that a lot of light coming from one source didn’t look intimidating but when placed in this particular spot it seemed to work well, but as well as this some people found it distracting and confusing so I decided to keep it simple with just light coming through the window.
artifact 3 - colour This artifact I was focused on colour. In my research document I looked at the effect colour can have on an audience over a long period. I was wondering what effect colour would have in the short term. So I was really interested in this artifact.
I found that warm colours such as oranges and yellows didn’t give the desired effect as these colours make you feel warm and safe. In my research document the colours that seemed the most intimidating were reds and blues. So I tested these using blue as I thought this would simulate moonlight. I followed a online tutorial and was able to gain the look of the moonlight coming through the window but it wasn’t really intimidating but gave a mysterious element to the scene. So I added a low floor light as in the last artifact and played with the colour and it was interesting to find that warm colours seemed to work best for this particular light. This made me think that maybe what worked well for one scene may not necessarily work well for another. When presented to my focus group they also liked the blue as it felt cold and uninviting.
artifact 4 - camera angle This artifact was about camera angle. There were lots of possibilities for this artifact so I began looking at films for reference such as Fight Club and The Strangers. I thought the most effective where when you can’t see the whole scene such as view through a doorway, window or wardrobe. I thought the view through the door way was nice but would probably work better in a moving image like panning thought the door but not very effective for this still image. I lowered the camera to the floor pointing up to the bed with a tilt this was very effective then someone mentioned trying to alter the lens to exaggerate the scene. Because it is a small room I had to use a 7mm lens. I really liked this effect it also distorted the scene a bit but it did make it intimidating and makes you feel inferior to the environment.
I showed my experiments to my focus group and the ones that where most liked where the tilted bugs eye view but some said they would prefer it without the tilt so I it untilled.
artifact5 - depth of field The fifth and final artifact was about depth of field. This wasn’t something I looked at in my research document but a few books have touched upon how much depth of field has an effect on the final image. I failed to see how much difference it could make so I wanted to test it for my self.
First I used the standard depth of field setting with in 3ds Max but this did nothing to the image so I lowered the F-stop from 0.2 to 0.1 this began to blur parts of the image that where further away such as the back wall and amp while leaving the bed in focus. This only made a subtle change and I felt it made the image look worse. I was curious to see what would happen if I lowered the F-stop further to 0.05 and changed the focus point slightly to just in front of the bed. But this blurred the whole image.
I think this element would work better if there was something for the camera to focus on in the foreground that told more of a story for example in this case a weapon or a someone’s hand. Overall depth of field didn’t work for this image but as I have found in the other artifacts what has not worked for this environment may work for another. 
