Editing Journal

The Editing Process -

• Post production was something we felt would we would need to spend a lot of time on due to the amount of footage we needed to edit. Overall it took us roughly 4 weeks of lesson time to finally export our final cut, we managed to meet the deadline which meant we submitted our work on time so now we have time to focus our time of evaluation.
• Throughout this period we worked well as a pair sharing the editing evenly and learning a variety of new skills by experimenting with Adobe Premier and watching videos on how to achieve certain affects and developing our technique. We took it in turns and we would rotate who had control of the computer each lesson, this meant we spent an equal amount of time editing and even when we weren't the person using the editing software we contributed ideas so it was constantly a pair exercise.
• During this process as a pair we learnt our strengths and mine was editing, I seemed to pick it up quickly so when Abbie didn't fully understand something I was able to help her and teach her something.

Lesson 1 -

• Before the first lesson I had already transferred the media files onto a memory stick so I had two copies of the original footage incase anything got lost I knew we had a back up. During the first lesson we uploaded all the media files from our day of filming onto the computer we were going to be editing on and added them all to a folder called 'Dear Diary Footage'. The computer we used was rather slow so this process took longer that anticipated so while we waited we planned out the order of clips so when we went to put it together it didn't take as long. Towards the end of the lesson we uploaded all the files from the folder onto Adobe Premier and saved it as 'Dear Diary'.

Lesson 2 -

• We arrived to our second editing session and opened the file we saved as Dear Diary the previous time around, we then began to name the clips i.e. 'clip 1, clip 2' and cut them down to the size we needed and placed them together in order. This took the whole lesson of us trimming down clips and rendering them to ensure the quality stayed as good as possible for when we watched it back.

Lesson 3 -

• During our third lesson when spent the entire hour looking for an appropriate piece of music to use as background sound for the movie opening. We used websites such as YouTube, Orange Sounds and MP3 Converters to find and download sounds we felt tied in with our chosen genre. We wanted something that had an eerie tone and made the audience feel on edge. Unfortunately, due to the temperamental internet speed at the time is why it took us longer than expected to find a piece of audio.

Lesson 4 - 

• In the fourth lesson we went through each individual clip which had previously been put into chronological order and removed sound which we didn't need. Also, we increased/decreased the sound on certain clips depending on the quality of sound and how clear it was. Furthermore, we added the music we chose and downloaded the recent lesson. As well as this we looked for a twig snapping sound affect because the one we recorded on the camera wasn't picked up clear enough. And once we got to the clip where that sound was needed due to there being no dialogue we eventually decided to remove the sound from that section anyway. We finished the lesson by re-saving the document which we had been working on.

Lesson 5 - 

• Throughout the fifth editing lesson we spent on our movie opening we tried out different intensities of colour, and tried different filters to decrease the light intensity to make it look more like a thriller movie. Despite this we felt that due to many of the shots being filmed outside on a really sunny day it didn't look right when we decreased the light. This then lead us to the conclusion that we should have filmed at a darker time of day to achieve a more sinister affect. This process took the whole lesson due to the MacBook we used was rather slow and froze at certain points during the process.

Lesson 6 -

• During this lesson my partner was absent so I decided I didn't want to make any drastic changes encase she didn't like them and we would have to alter them due to this being a group effort. Instead, I went through and made sure the original clips were names and then I checked the length of each one and some I extended or trimmed slightly to make sure the entire end product wasn't going to be too long or too short. Then as usual I saved the work I have done on the MacBook to continue next lesson with my partner back.

Lesson 7 -

• During this lesson we uploaded the final segments footage onto the MacBook that we filmed the day before. We then saved them into the same file as all our additional individual clips and then uploaded them to adobe premier pro where we had open the project we were working on. Then we numbered each one and began to trip them down and slot them into place. This took the whole lesson due to the MacBook taking a while to upload and save the footage, we saved what we had done and logged off. 

Lesson 8 -

• In this lesson, we opened from were we left off and continued trimming down and placing in order the remaining clips from what we had filmed and uploaded most recently. We then went back and had to re number the other clips otherwise we would have duplicates of certain numbers which would have been confusing. After, we made sure that all the clips were joined together and there weren't any major gaps between them. We finished the lesson by saving the project under our file name and logging off.

Lesson 9 -

• Due to the added length of the piece, we had to add the music again and then trim it down in order to fit the segment of the movie opening which we added so it had some sinister background music. We then altered the colour and lightness on the clips we added to see the affect it gave however due to the natural lighting (or lack of it) and the dark walls in the clip we decided after experimenting that this step wasn't necessary for the new sections of footage. Also, our teacher watched our movie opening so far and gave us feedback and constructive criticism for us to use to help the rest of our editing process. As usual we finished the lesson by saving the file and logging off.

Lesson 10 -

• Throughout this lesson, we added more transitions to each clip, this was a lengthy process due to us having to render the entire video every time in order to watch it back without it buffering. We managed to do about half of the transitions that we were completely happy with this lesson. So when the bell went we saved what work we had done that day and logged of.

Lesson 11 -

• In this lesson, we opened our project file and finished adding the rest of the transitions, such as straight cuts, fade and dip to black. We also faded out the music at the end so it didn't just cut when the action ended. Furthermore, we decided on names for production and distribution companies to add throughout the movie opening to make it look more realistic. Finally, we saved up and logged off.

Lesson 12 -

• During this lesson, we spent the majority of the time trying to find a font and text style we felt we suite and compliment the genre and style of our movie opening. This meant going through our research blog posts and looking at all the available fonts adobe premier had to offer. We came to a final, conclusive decision at the end of the lesson however we didn't have enough time to apply it, so we saved our work and logged off.

Lesson 13 -

• This lesson we added in all titles throughout the movie opening, we decided on a font size and colour that we stuck to throughout. Also, we decided were we placed each tile on the screen when we came up. This lesson our teacher for the second time watched our movie opening and gave up some more tips and suggestions. Due to this we made sure that all the text was off center but still looked purposeful simply because we didn't want it to block the action happening on the screen. We finished this lesson by saving and logging off.

Lesson 14 -

• During this lesson we finished adding all the titles and text throughout and added the tile screen at the end that would show the tile of our movie opening. We placed it central and it large writing. Also, we added transitions to it in order to make it look smooth and more professional. We the re-watched it back to make sure there wasn't anything we need to add or change. We altered some of the transitions slightly and the positioning of the text. We then saved and logged off.

Lesson 15 -

• In our final lesson we prepared our video for uploading and submitting. We saved it under 'Final Dear Diary Piece'. Then we rendered it one last time to ensure it wasn't buffering or anything like that. Next we followed the steps taught to us by our teachers and choose the quality we wanted to put it in. We choose 720 because it was still good and didn't take as long because the deadline for handing it in was at the end of the day. Once it finished and saved, we transferred it to a memory stick and saved it again on the computer. We gave the memory stick to our teacher and finished by closing all the tabs on the computer and logging off.
  

Introduction to DSLR

This blog post will be an introduction to DSLR cameras and some of the ways they work and the settings and functions they have.

DSLR -

• It stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.
• This means when a camera with one lens and a mirror which reflects the light, pictures are recorded on a digital card instead of a film.
• Automatic settings are advised to be used at first while you are still learning about how to use the camera properly. To do this your must ensure that the lens is set to autofocus (AF) not manual focus (MF), push the shutter button down halfway and it will automatically focus on the subject.

Key terms -

• Exposure: This is the amount of light a digital camera's sensor captures when a photo is taken, too much light results in a washed out photo that is overexposed, and too little light will end up with an underexposed photo.

• Aperture: This controls the size of the lens opening that allows light into the camera, you can blur the foreground and background that bracket your subject by opening your aperture with a low f-stop number. Or you could keep your photo sharp from the foreground by closing the aperture down with a high f-stop number.

• Shutter speed: The speed setting controls how long the shutter opens to expose the image sensor to that light, open it for just a millisecond and you can freeze a fast moving subject. Alternatively, you can show movement of a fast moving subject by keeping it open longer with a slows shutter speed.

• ISO: This is how sensitive your image sensor is to light, a camera's image sensor can be adjusted to detect more or less light as needed for good exposure. If you are shooting in low light you will need to boost your ISO and if you are shooting in bright light you will have to lower your ISO.

Media Language 2

Media language refers to the ways in which meaning is created in media texts. Below are some more of the terms we have been learning about in our AS Media Studies lessons.

Camera -

• Extreme long shot: A wide view of the complete setting, a person would be barely visible in the scene. It gives a sense of scale and provides watchers with a location, this is very similar to an establishing shot.

• Long shot: Closer than extreme long shot but still shows the complete scene, a human figure is clearly visible and fits easily within the frame. However, the background will still dominate the human figure.

• Medium long shot: A great deal of information about the setting is still visible, human characters can be seen in detail and everything above the knees is in shot. A common purpose of this type of shot is to provide both dialogue and action.

• Medium shot: On the human body, a medium shot would start at around the waist and include little space above the head to allow gesture and expression to be clearly visible. This shot is ideal for dialogue and some very limited action.

• Medium close up: Frames the subject moderately closely, the head and shoulders fit comfortably in the frame with little room above the head.

• Close up: Shows the detail of the subject and may only show the face of the person, this is often used in narrative to show emotion.

• Extreme close up: Shows only a portion of detail and magnifies something that is very small. It can be used to create a sense of mystery and can be very effective in hiding what something is until a dramatic pullback.

• Crane: When the camera is attached to a crane and we are shown the scene from above it, this can act as a sense of scale or provide information.

• Dutch: When the camera is titled to one side so the horizon is on an angle, it creates an effect that is disorienting and unsettling for the audience.

• Rule of thirds: A photograph in some people's opinion should never be placed in the centre of the frame, instead the focus should be at the intersection of imaginary lines that divide the frame into thirds.

• Depth of field: A filmmaker can use focus to make the audience pay attention to certain details, the background and other details can be downplayed by keeping them out of focus. The area of the frame that is in sharp focus is called the depth of field and this is determined by the length of the lens.

Editing -

• Straight cut: Creates a natural movement between shots and in many ways emulates the audiences' own eye movements.
• Fade: Where the old image gently disappears, usually to a black screen before the new image appears in its place.
• Dissolve: Bringing a new shot into focus as the old one disappears from focus, at some point in dissolve both shots are on the screen at the same time.
• Wipe: Where the new image comes onto the screen with a distinct shaped edge and seemingly ‘pushes’ the old one off screen.

Lighting -

• Coloured lighting: These are often used to give a particular effect the scene, less natural lights again can be used to give a different effect.

• Diegetic lighting: Lighting that appears to emanate from a source within the scene.

Mise en scene -

• Set dressing: How the setting is presented to the audience via the use of décor or the landscape shown of an external location.
• Casting: The choice of actors is an important part of the creation of the text, an actor needs to have the right look for the character that the director wants to create.
• Body language: The style of acting and the way the actors respond to the action is part of the meaning of the text.
• Framing: The relative positioning if actors and objects within the frame.

Special effects -

• Green screen: This is used to superimpose images onto another and can be used to place an actor into a location.

• Computer generated technology: This is used to add to what can be created on film, some films are created using only CGI and it makes up the whole of the mise en scene.

Media Language

Media language refers to the ways in which meaning is created in media texts. Below are some of the terms we have been learning about in our AS Media Studies lessons.


Camera -

• Establishing shot: The opening shot in a dramatic scene that establishes the disposition of people and objects in the mise en scene. As such it is usually a wide shot, and is likely to be followed by a succession of closer shots.

• Two shot: A shot in which two figures appear in the frame.

• Point of view shot: A camera angle in which the viewer seems to see with the eyes of a character in the scene.

• Over the shoulder shot: A camera shot in which the subject of the shot is filmed from behind a person's head and shoulders, which are framed to one side in the foreground.

• High angle shot: A camera shot taken from a higher level than the subject and angled down towards them. This shot can have the effect of diminishing the authority, making them look weak.

• Low angle shot: A camera shot taken from lower than the level of the subject, and angled up at them. This shot can have the effect of enhancing the authority of the subject, making them look powerful.

                                                                     

• Canted angle: A cinematic device where the camera is physically placed at an angle so that vertical and horizontal surfaces appear diagonal.

• Pan: A horizontal camera movement left to right or right to left on a fixed axis. The word is short for panoramic movement. A pan following a moving object suggest that we are viewing it from the point of view of the observer.

• Tilt: A camera movement up or down on a horizontal axis.

• Tracking shot: A camera movement achieved by mounting the camera on a dolly and moving it along a track. Typically, tracking shots are used to follow characters or other objects.

Sound -

• Diegetic sounds: Sound that can be heard by the characters in the world of film.
• Non - diegetic sound: Sound that cannot be heard by the characters in the world of film.
• Synchronous sound: Sounds that is directly matched to what is being viewed.
• Sound bridge: An editing technique in which visual cuts are deliberately not matched with audio cuts. For example, the editor may cut to a completely new scene but allow sound from the preceding scene to run on for a short time. Alternatively, we may hear the sounds of the next scene before it was seen.
• Dialogue: The conversation that happens between characters in a work of fiction, or the lines spoken by the actors.
• Voiceover: A type of non-diegetic, asynchronous sound in which the audience hear a voice that doesn't have a source either within the frame or within hearing distance and which isn't heard by the people on the screen.
• Incidental music: Music used in a film or play as background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere.
• Stings: A short musical phrase primarily used as a form of punctuation.
• Ambient sound: Sound which is natural to the setting.

Mise en scene -

• Mise en scene: The look of a film, derived from its use of sets and settings, lighting, colour, costumes, hair and makeup, props, actor movement and the overall placement and visual composition of these elements by the director.

• Location: A real place, as opposed to a studio, in which something is filmed or otherwise recorded. A location might be New York City or the desert.

• Set: An interior that has been constructed to look like a real place when filmed; the set helps to identify the time and place in which the narrative will unfold.

• Costume: The clothes worn by characters in a fictional text. The costumes are part of the mise en scene and as such are an important part of signification, e.g. a period marker.

• Makeup: Cosmetics used to change the appearance of a performer.

• Prop: Short for property. A small item used in a film or TV production to add realism, assist with the narrative or act as a motif.

• High key lighting: Lighting which eliminates most of the shadows.

• Low key lighting: Lighting which emphasises shadows.

Editing -

• Cut: The commonest form of edit in moving image texts, this is the instantaneous change from one shot to another in an edit.
• Shot/reverse shot: A convention for showing a dialogue sequence. We cut between the two speakers, showing each person's point of view.
• Eye line match: A visual code used to make it clear what the subject is looking at.
• Graphic match: A compositional device onscreen, whereby objects of common characteristics of shape or colour are used in successive shot.
• Match on action: Two shots in which an action begun in the first completed second, thus disguising the fact that there has been a cut.
• Dissolve: In editing, a cross-fade between two shots, one fades out as another fades in.
• Wipe: A short transition in which the new image wipes over the previous one.
• Superimposition: To place one image over the top of another on the screen.
• Montage: The production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture, usually accompanied by music, to illustrate an association of ideas or a passing of time.
• Post-production: The various processes that take place after filming in order to create the final cut of the film.

AS G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media - Overview

My name is Chloe Hughes and I am studying Media Studies at Newlands' Girls School. This blog will be used to document and log my AS coursework.

For AS G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media, I have been given the following briefs:

Preliminary Exercise

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 

Main Task

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

This blog will serve as a record of my progress. It will include the documenting of research and planning, production, post-production, and evaluations.