Editing- Lesson 2!

After the last lesson were we cut the unneeded scenes, saved them individually and placed them in the correct order, this lesson we started on more complex editing, focusing more on the appearance. Our first discussion was about the colour of the film as a whole and we tried a few different colour choices that the software provided such as sepia and enhanced 'natural' colour but our final decision was to make the film Black and White and we decided this because of the 'eery' effect it gave. We think this effect looked eery because of the lighting we used; the Black and White colour made everything within the scenes more defined such as the shadows that we purposely created. The picture below is an example of how the shadow that we created is enhanced due to the black and white effect we used.

We also experimented with the 'transition effects' for the film. We didn't want transitions that made the pace slow down but for it to build tension throughout the film, so we mainly chose quick black straight cuts which adds to the eeriness and the increasing pace and tension but also as a group thought that added a few 'fades' into the film as transitions would add to the suspense and mystery we were trying to portray. Also at the end of the film, we added a 'fade to blackout' which we thought implied that the story was 'to be continued' and sort of makes the audience watching wondering what could or will happen next.

We decided to not do voice recordings to put over the film for the dialogue as this would take more time and be more complex but as we decided against the voice recording, we are left with a small buzzing throughout the filming but it cannot be helped during the scenes that include dialogue. However we reduced the buzzing noise by muting the scenes that didn't have dialogue within them. This gives us a bit of a problem with audio editing because adding sound effects such as foot steps or door opening over muted parts could be difficult, but to make it as realistic as possible, those sound effect may be needed. Another discussion we had was about if we should have a track over the top of the action. We had mixed opinions as we wasn't too sure if sound over the top would work but we have a 'eery' sounding track that would fit into the film but it's just about making a final decision together.

Our preliminary task is very nearly finished as we have finished the appearance and part of the audio editing but before or during next lesson we aim to decide if we are on adding a track on top and using sound effects or not; once we have decided on these components together, we can apply our decisions and then our task will be finished.

Editing- Lesson 1!

After we finished filming in the last lesson, we planned to finish most of the editing and also the voice recording for dialogue in the next lesson. We thought that recording the dialogue and then putting it on top of the filming would make the whole film look and sound better as we were told that if we kept the sound/dialogue we recorded naturally, it may leave a 'buzzing noise' throughout the film. We were ready to find a quiet room and use a 'recording mp3 microphone' to record the dialogue but a technician advised us that putting sound on top of the filming could make editing a lot more difficult than necessary; therefore we decided against the voice recordings and kept the audio already on the filming because none of us were well experienced in editing so it would make the editing process easier for us to handle and also none of us had ever used the editing software we had to use.

The editing software that we used was Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, none of us were familiar with the software or even how to edit a short film. Once a technician taught us the basics e.g. how to cut scenes out using the 'razor tool' etc, we were able to cut unneeded shots such as the close up shot of the door handle as we realised it didn't fit with the next scene as the tracking shot of Kit going into the room shows her pushing the door as the room we filmed in didn't have a door handle but was a push door; therefore we figured that the close up wasn't needed as it didn't fit with the next shot.

These are screen shots of the editing process. The first picture is where we had cut out all the scenes that were not needed and then put the scenes that we had saved into order which was rather easy as we just had to drag and drop into the timeline and then picture 2 and 3 is where was had assembled them into order and then we played it a few times to find any unnecessary parts that we could cut.

In that lesson we couldn't find the film file that we had saved in the previous lesson, so we had to reload it with the back up tape. After we had uploaded the filming onto the software again, we started and finished cutting the scenes that we didn't need which became easier and easier once we got the hang of it. We also saved each section of film that we had edited and then put them in order of scenes, so in the next lesson we have to think about and work on the after effects and edits between shots to make the film flow better e.g. using black and white or using 'fade' as an edit between 2 shots. Our original idea for edits between the shots were to make them quick, straight shots that represented tension and anxiety building up as we are basing the filming on the genre of Thriller. Also in the next lesson we plan to finish the editing completely and get feedback for it so we can improved anything needed and touch up on any cutting' that we missed out

Filming!

After sorting out our props and storyboard, we could then start filming in the next double Media lesson. This 2 hours would give us enough time to shoot all the parts for our preliminary Thriller without having to rush. As we had quite a lot of time for the filming, we thought more about the characters and also made some adjustments to our original plan/storyboard e.g. As well as deciding on creating a 'mid shot' of the boss (Myself) when telling the hit man to 'take the money and get out', someone from another group suggested using a 'low angle shot'. As a group we thought this was a good idea too because this shot would represent the 'boss' as being more powerful than the 'hit man' and this would fit in to our idea perfectly.

We used a free classroom to film and used the tables and chairs in that room. We also used some minor props that we borrowed e.g. the case we used to give to the hit man was borrowed from the Drama department. All these features would help add to the 'gangster' setting/atmosphere we hopefully portrayed.

We achieved what we hoped and more in the 2 hours that were provided by finishing the filming in 1 1/2 hours which meant we could upload our filming onto a computer, ready for us to edit the shots in the next double lesson.

Continuing development and planning of Preliminary Task

Props

Photographs: Before Thursdays double lesson (when we start filming) our group needed to prepare some of the props we need for certain shots within the film, one of these props being a few photographs that we planned to use for the very beginning shot of our preliminary task. On Wednesday morning, Me, Rachel and Jay planned to work on taking some photographs for the film. Rachel bought minor props to make the photos more realistic as I had to take photos of them two 'being captured and tortured/killed' and these photos had to look believable and effective. These photos were taken on Rachel's digital camera and because we didn't have much time to create perfect photos so Rachel edited the photographs using an online photo shopper called 'Picnik'.

We took the pictures in a lightly lit classroom where natural sunlight was coming through, this was done purposefully as it looks more effective and as if they are hurt and trapped somewhere. Instead of using fake blood etc Rachel used effects on 'Picnik' to look as though they had been hurt/tortured. Rachel showed me the picture after it was first edited (second picture) and I thought that the blood and bruise effect looked great and very realistic whereas I thought that the lighting/colour of the picture could be more effective so we decided the change the colour to black and white (third picture) to make it look less professional and realistic.

Planning Preliminary Task

As a group our first ideas for the Preliminary task were to base it on the genre of Thriller, so that we had a bit of practice of using camera angles and sound effects that are effective within the genre before we started on the 2 minute 'Thriller task'. We had many other ideas following the 'Rom-com' genre such as using lots of establishing shots, two shots and reverse shot but the whole group decided against that as we didn't have many developed ideas that based on that genre compared to the many ideas we had for a Thriller based preliminary task.

Storyboards

In these storyboards, we noted down the camera angles, sound effects, edits between the shots and also the estimated time of each shot. All of this information will be important when it comes to filming as we have a 30 second limited to uphold. We included a few short shots that are about 3-4 seconds long because we thought this would allow us to have more shots and also quick shots is a known convention of Thriller programmes/films as it add to the tension of the whole genre.