Prelim First Editing Session

Today was our first editing session on our preliminary video sequence. We used Final Cut Pro to do this and were taught multiple skills and techniques in order to learn basic film language and how to work with the programme.

Once the programme was opened we created a folder named 'rush bin' which means the unedited version of our footage, we then watched our and decided as a group what looked good and what didn't work so well. Once watched, we created another folder named 'log bin', this is where we put the footage that we want in our final piece. Using the editing tools we used 'i' for in and 'o' for out, this is how we cut our footage in order to get a precise and accurate timed sequence. Once decided where to cut to and from we used the basic technique of 'drag and drop' to place in the timeline.

This editing session was a good beginning to starting to edit our footage to create a full sequence.

Opening Sequence Analysis

                             

 

Sexy Beast was a very humorous opening sequence to analyse as we have this man who we suspect is the 'sexy beast'.

 

You get an immediate sense of this man's personality as we see him talking to himself about how hot it is, lounging in skimpy yellow speedos, icing his package and looking more and more like a lobster by the second. His working class, cockney accent suggest he's a 'geeza' who possibly is an ex-mobster/gang member and that maybe he's on early retirement, isolating himself from the world.

The music suggests that this man is totally and utterly relaxed and doesn't care- this is proven when an unrealistic boulder misses him by just a few inches. All the sexy beast does is cares about is the fact he got wet and then jumps into the pool.

 

We also see short shots of a women driving in a sports car in the same location as the sexy beast, is she driving to him? It gives a sense of mystery.

 



I personally thought The Shining had quite a boring introduction and I thought the writing/credits looked tacky in the electric blue and starting from the bottom and elevating upwards did not look good.

 

I thought it was very well shot and it gave good context to the location of the film. It was very clever how the camera would tease the audience as a few times the camera would come very close to the car and then sweep pass it in order for the audience to keep guessing who was in the car. The wide shots gave a sense of isolation and when the shot of the mansion is shown we understand that that is where the horror is going to happen.

The music defiantly told the genre of the film- thriller/horror as it's very creepy and mysterious. 

Dead Man's Shoes

We looked at the opening scene of 'Dead Man's Shoes' and analysed the film's first few minutes and how the editing created a very interesting beginning for the audience.

Dissolution was used as a technique to show that the two brothers were the same young adults, it also gave a sense of time passing. This was done by the fuzzy-like home recordings contrasting to the more modern, clear shots of the men. I also think the adult at the front could be the older brother leading the younger sibling-looking after him which is a continuous theme as he does so when they're children as well.

Throughout the scene I felt that the two characters had been very close when younger and growing up, but had possibly become more distance over time and the relationship was not as strong, this is done by using wide shots to suggest isolation. As an audience, we can't see the two older characters faces- which means we can't read their emotions, contrasting to this we see a lot of emotions and feelings when they are younger.

The music for this scene links to the sequence very well and it runs through both eras. As I listened to the lyrics I heard things such as 'my ideals have got me on the run' and 'connection with everyone'. This implies that the two men are going back home possibly for a family reason as the music suggests that and the home-recordings are very family orientated. Another clue to this is the fact that they both know exactly were to go travelling on the roads, through forests and fields.

Preliminary Task (Filming)

Today we had to prepare and film a short sequence with dialogue and props. In groups of four we received a basic plan of what shots to capture and what to say.

We went to the studio and set up our equipment, we worked out what, where and when we were going to do.

Throughout filming we talked about what shots were going to do and what would be effective. We used multiple shots in our task including wide shot, over the shoulder, close up and POV.

I was one of the actors but did participate in deciding where to place the camera to shoot the other actor in order for a close up of them. We shot many didn't angles in order to create suspense and so that when we go to edit we can use many different shots to create the short film.

Layer Cake Opening Sequence Presentation

Adam asked us to choose a favourite part of a film between 1-2 minutes. I explored the different techniques used which include: Mise en Scene, Camera, Editing and Sound.

Layer Cake Presentation from hurtwoodhousemedia5

Standbye, Turn Over, Rolling, Action, Cut. Strike Equipment.

I was taught how to produce and film a short motion sequence. After setting up the tripod and camera and devising a simple repetitive sequence, my group and I had to plan how we were going to film it and how many different frames and shots we were going to do.

We decided that Claudia was going to walk up to a sofa, pick up her glasses whilst sitting down, read a book for a few seconds and then end the shot.

As we did this we made sure that every shot was focused and had the right exposure and white balance. We did a number of different shots which included long shot, mid shot, close up and medium close up.

We also learned the basic language to filming which were: standby, turnover, rolling, action and then finally cut.

Once the filming was complete we had to strike the equipment which means put away all the cameras and tripods used etc to be able to use for another time.


*Rush or Dailies are the first print made of a day's filming.*

 

Shot Sizes

Today we learned all about the different shot sizes. We were given the example sheet of  'My Summer of Love' were we looked at many different shot sizes which included close-ups, mid/medium/long shots, wide shots, over the shoulder, two/three shot, high/low angle and POV.

It was very helpful as it gave me a greater understanding of the different shot sizes can affect how an audience thinks and perceives the piece of media they are watching.

 

To help explore that idea we watched a very short piece of Pleasantville's beginning in which the main characters, location and story were being introduced to the audience.

Within the first few seconds I noticed the director had used many shots including long shots, wide shots, POV and big close up. It was done very cleverly in the scene as is created this atmosphere and sense of what was going to happen just by using techniques such as sound and editing.

Then as the scene went on I was drawn more and more into the fact that the two characters were speaking together. But then with the use of the sound changing and the use of a WS I realised that this character was actually isolated and there was distance between the two characters.

It was a good task as it helped me recognize that as a director you can control/ change how an audience interpret a film if directed well.

 

First Camera Lesson

In this lesson I was taught how to set up and use a Sony NX5 camera. I learned about filters, exposure, white balance, zoom, how to accurately balance the camera and focusing within an image.

I learned how different lighting can make a huge difference to the final photo and how the eye may miss conceive how focused and accurate a picture actually is.

To make the camera sit straight you need to make sure that the yellow circle's bubble is directly in the middle otherwise you may get a wonky shot which would look unprofessional. The camera has three circles at the end of the lens; one is used for focussing, another is for zooming in and out, and the other one is for creating the right exposure for the picture. For filtering, in this particular case we chose level 2. Also, to get the right white balance I was taught that to do that you quite simply need something white and immediately press the WB button in order to make sure the colourings are all correct.

Overall it was a great lesson which enriched my knowledge of setting up and using a camera.

First Blog

Hi! My name is Katie Gass and this is my first blog. I am currently studying Media Studies at Hurtwood House and from now on I will be posting regularly and updating people on my journey.

So here's some facts about me:

I like genres such as dramas, comedy's, action, thriller, epic and romantics films. My favourite directors are Gary Ross, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Zemeckis and Christopher Nolan.

My favourite bands/artists are the Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Killers and Lana Del Rey.

Currently I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine. I enjoy using all these types of social media as I love exploring and finding new videos and photos.

So that's a part of me you now know! See you around....