Intro: Progress of weapons -from stone to bombs

[UltraDelum]

For a poem for a school project, I decided to integrate a video in my presentation. Since my poem is an anti war poem condemning war since mankind first existed, I decided that for a intro, I'll do a progress of weapons.

The scene will start off with a dead body falling in front of the camera. To the side, with a nice camera angle, I want to show the hunching caveman walking away. Suddenly, you see a flash, from a side perspective, of a javelin being thrown. It is suppose to hit the cavemen and kill him.

The javelin thrower is then killed by the swordsman, who appears from behind a tree. The swordsman is then killed by a gun with a musket, who is later killed by a cannon. The cannon then is taken out by a tank, etc...

This is my rough idea. My final product will probably be different. Because I still have a few questions I hope you guys can help me on.

1. What would be the best selection for the progress of weapons: stone, javelin, this, that or stone, slingshot, javelin, gun, this, that. I just want to get in like 7 different types of weapons throughout the history of mankind.

2. I need good angle shots! I was thinking of panning the camera to the next "killer", then the next, then the next. But that doesn''t really seem professional. Is there another way I can do it?

3. Any other suggestions would also be helpful as to how I can do it.

My timeframe is 1 month, so I thought I'd ask the kinds folks here for help, since I don't think I could do it alone and still pump out a good production. Thanks!

[Epsilon]

Sure is a lot of graphic death for an anti war poem, plus for school. Try to make the topic of against death and destruction the point, rather than just showing bodies dying and falling around. You may end up with the exactly oppoosite of what you want! lol Tie in emotional relation.

[Bugalicious]

If you only have a month, id try and add in some stock footage from wars and explosions etc. not only would it add to the length of your presentation, but it would also be easier than filming all the scenes in a month. plus historical value

[UFProductions]

Right away this idea made me think of the montage from "The Abyss" near the end, might try something along those lines, sort of ties in with both Epsilon's and Bugalicious' ideas, both of whick were good points.

[UltraDelum]

Hi. Thank you for the replies. I actually went though all those ideas, but I didn't know how to integrate it into my Powerpoint presentation. (Mine is Powerpoint with a movie).

For class, my group has to read the poem, give a brief history of the author, and then explain the meaning of the poem. Here's a link to my poem.

http://www.solarwinds.com/users/chrish/bombardment.html

This is what I have for the outline.

1. Start with introduction ("Produced by, Starring, Based on a Poem by" that type of stuff)
*fades with black on the screen for 3 seconds*

2. White text appears on the black screen saying "Since the beginning of mankind, man has engaged in the senseless killing of each other." The text then blows away like sand.

3. *flashes appear of two actors in linen clothes strugging while it's raining*

4. Black screen reappears with text "The rock served as man's first weapon. With it, the first human blood was spilled when Cain killed his brother Abel. " This text also blows away like sand.

5. Guy with blood over his face falls in front of his camera and a man covered in blood is seen walking away with a stone in his hand, that is also dripping in blood. (That's what I was talking about in my first post).

6. Black screen reappears with text "Since then, man repeats Cain's sin, amplifying death with new weapons."

7. Progress of weapons movie plays which shows the death. Javeliner killed by swordsman, swordsman killed by musketer, musketer killed by cannon man, cannon man killed by Ak-47er, Ak-47ers killed by bomber plan. (This part of my presentation is suppose to be comical and to show special effects).

8. Read the poem.

9. Show a anti war clip.

10. Talk about the author.

11. Show montage of victims (Pearl Harbor, Iraq, Afghanistan, WWII, etc.)

12. Explain the meaning of the poem with montage or pictures in the background.

13. Credits

This is what i have in idea. But I might change it. Actually, I'm listening to what you guys are saying. So I'm going to hold off recording for a few more days. You guys might actually provide a better way I can do this.

Thanks for the help!

[BrownCowStudios]

"Since the beginning of mankind, man has engaged in the senseless killing of each other."

You've got some grammar errors within that sentence.

[asapfilms]

I think that if you really take a while on this one, never settle for a crappy shot, make it perfect, DO NOT film one thing with out a tripod (unless thats the effect) and cut that comical relief you have in the middle you could really have something great! I like the content, dont make it to graphic and dont try something you cant do (digital special effects) it will make it chessy and dumb. I want to see it when your dumb

[UltraDelum]

"Since the beginning of mankind, man has engaged in the senseless killing of each other."

You've got some grammar errors within that sentence.[/quote]

I'm not seeing it, but a hint would be nice. Thank you.

I think that if you really take a while on this one, never settle for a crappy shot, make it perfect, DO NOT film one thing with out a tripod (unless thats the effect)

All the shots will be shot with a tripod, but the final movie will be in widescreen format. That way, I can give the effect of camera movement by adjusting the position of the clip in the Composition window of After Effects.

and cut that comical relief you have in the middle you could really have something great!

I been really hestitating on that part actually. It could interrupt the flow of the antiwar theme. I think I'll still shoot the footage, but if it doesn't fit, I won't show it, except for bloopers. (I don't want my actors to feel like they wasted their time). But it's a good practice for messing with camera shots.

dont make it to graphic

The only gore will be someone's head falling off when he gets sliced by the sword and the bullet hits. For explosions, I'm using stock footage.

and dont try something you cant do (digital special effects)

I'm been on AE and Premiere Pro a lot the past few months. For cannons, I'll rotoscope it and for blood, I'm going to use Grant's recipe. I saw his I-team video. Great blood effects.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[BrownCowStudios]

"Since the beginning of mankind, man has engaged in the senseless killing of each other."

Well, you see... "man" is singular, and "each other" in context is plural. So, fix one, and they'll both agree. Here is one possibility:

"Since the beginning of mankind, men have engaged in the senseless killing of one another."

Though, I don't like the way "mankind" is used. Something about it doesn't sit right. Work with it. Maybe try using the word "civilization" in its place.

[UltraDelum]

That sounds much better! But would the cavemen classify as civilization?

Also, does anyone know an good song I can use for an antiwar montage? I searched and searched and I can't seem to find anything good.

[Themovieman44]

Civilization is a much more vast word, and pertains to a civilized race. Mankind in the earliest ages weren't civilized. The overall topic of the poem is civilization and how it has turned to an "uncivilization" so to speak.