P5- Editing Techniques

Edit 1

In final cut pro, I began by making a copy of my animatic, so that I could use the same timings of the clips. I made sure that all of the settings stayed the same, so that the video would stay in HD and at the correct fps for a professional video. I then Imported all of the useable footage from my shoots into the clip library, ready to be edited into the place of the animatic slides. For this, I replaced the animatic clips with similar clips in the exact same place. For green screen shots, I didn't do any green screen effects but did put the clip in front of the green screen and the background together, ready for more advanced editing later. I also had to alter the aspect ratio of all of the clips, as they were exported at a different size to the screen and was squashed. Many scenes also required some slow or fast motion, both because of the effect it created, but also if some clips were filmed too fast or slow. All of the clips had to be muted, so that the majority of the audio focus was placed on the music.

From my first edit, I learned that it takes a longer time then anticipated to edit in shots, meaning that I may have to schedule more sessions for editing if I am to finish the video in time. I also will need to learn how to use more advanced editing techniques, such as green screen or the smoke effects, so that I can fully integrate the supernatural effects that I have planned.

After my first edit I had my video watched and assessed by two of my classmates. I was told that the ideas and narrative of the video were good, as well as my use of details, and that now is should focus on finishing editing in all of my clips and filling gaps, Add green screen effects to my shots, and edit sections of the video to focus more on the rhythm to the backing track. My teachers also repeated these sentiments, meaning that for my next edits, I made sure that I put all of my effort and time into addressing these basic issues, instead of focusing on finer details.

Second Edit

After adding the rest of my clips to their proper places in the video, remembering to include the foreground and background shots for green screen videos, the first thing that I did when editing this video was to improve the clips rhythm and synchronisation with the background audio. I did this by cutting certain clips down into smaller clips and slightly editing their speed, so that they could better match the beat and rhythm of the song. I did this for the hallway lyrics section, as well as the foot tapping in time to the song. I then focused on the green screen sections of the video, using the keying effect in my editing software to remove the shots background and beginning to arrange the shots to match up with the video playing behind it. I also began to add some of my visual effects to the clips, using free effects, software effects and transformations to add to the supernatural elements of the video. for example I changed the opacity of some of the clips to make SC appear and disappear, added smoke and mist to some shots, added a camcorder effect to the intro to make it seem more real, and changed the colours of some shots to be more vibrant and interesting.

Final edit:

In the final edit I first and foremost focused on perfecting the green screen shots, to do this I applied a mask effect to each one which I then used to cut out every part of the background and edges which were still visible. I then used this to arrange the clips in a way that both makes sense, but also doesn't reveal the seams of the clips. I then added a few more visual effects, such as scan lines and a radio sound quality in the intro and more movement transformations for the clips, until the video had reached a point that I was happy with. Finally I added black bats to the top and bottom of the video, which both makes the video seem more professional and high quality, whilst also making sure that nothing bleeds over the borders of the video. When I was finished with the video, I exported it as two files, a lower quality version which could be uploaded to YouTube and the internet, as well as a higher quality master version which can be used professionally.

 

P4- Logging rushes

 Logging rushes (usable and unusable):

How I Organised:

Before I downloaded my shots, I created files for my usable shots(titled final clips), and my unusable shots (titled final takes/ bloopers.)

I then looked through all of my shots and began to organise them, sorting them into the correct file based on their quality and if there was any errors in them. I could then use only the final clips folder when creating my final video.

Clip 1: This clip will not be used because I looked into the camera during it, breaking the fourth wall of the scene and drawing focus away from the scenes main focal point, the background action.

Clip 2: This clip will be used, as I enjoy the sense of movement and chaotic action that comes through without being convoluted and with it all remaining clear and unblocked

Clip 3: This clip will be Unused since the shot was improperly staged, meaning that I was not fully visible in the shot, and that it needed to be re-filmed.

Clip 4: This clip can be used as I am proud of how I staged it, and was able to do the choreographed fall and get up quickly enough for it to fit in the few seconds of footage it will have in the video. 

Clip 5: This clip is usable and will be used in the final product, since I enjoy how we were able to use light and shadow to create a pseudo silhouette appearance and highlight the supernatural character (SC)s appearance and introduce a form of creepiness to it.

P4-Production Diary

 Day 1 (preparation of props, costumes and set for filming.):

During filming there were two separate crew members. I was the director, one of the actors, and occasional cameraman, where my brother was another cameraman and actor. On the first day me and Amy brother went to the filming location and began to prepare it to be more useable and safe for filming. This involved fully clearing the area of any clutter, in order to keep the location safe, setting up a green screen where it won't be seen in any of the other shots and creating the sets that had to be prepared for a few shots. Even without these preparations, the location of filming was still appropriate, as it provided a large blank space which could change and adapt throughout the video, as well as giving enough space to give the entire video a sense of movement throughout. We also used the end of this day to create and assemble the costumes and wardrobes which would be used during filming, creating both the scientific and colourless outfit of the normal character (NC), and the contrastingly colourful, outlandish and dramatic costume of the supernatural character (SC).

Day 2 (Technical preparation and the beginning of filming):

On this day we continued our preparation for filming, now also focusing on setting up the technical equipment and making sure it was ready for filming. First we adjusted the cameras settings for filming, setting the frame rate to 25fps ( the standard for movies), the iso to 800, the shutter speed to 1/50 and the resolution to 1920x1080. This involved formatting the SD card to work with the camera, making sure that all of the equipment was fully charged and filming test footage to make sure that the camera would work for the video. We then began filming, although a few of the shots had to be filmed later since we needed to switch to a different camera and create a new SD card database partway through this session of filming. Despite this hover, we were able to film a sizeable amount of the video, ready for the full day of filming the next day.

Day 3 (The majority of filming):

On the last day we focused entirely on filming the video, to make sure that the entire thing was fully filmed before the deadline the next day. For green screen shots we filmed both the actor performing in front of the green screen, and a separate shot of the background we wanted them to be in front of. To make sure that all shots required were filmed, I brought a copy of the storyboard to set, and was ticking off all of the different shots as they were completed.  After filming was complete, we took care to remove any changes that we made to the building, and take back all of the props and costumes that we left there.