The Tomb

Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBd5MsaxK6s&feature=youtu.be

Pleasantville Effect

To achieve this effect, you must apply the following steps...

1. Shoot your short film with full colour.
You must have colour first in order to key out a certain one when editing; therefore, do not shoot black and white.

2. Upload your shots.
This is a straight-forward step in which you upload all shots onto your PC, open Final Cut Pro and import all shots. 

3. Replicate the shots.
Press the 'SHIFT' button along with 'ALT' and drag your shot up. You will then have two of your shot.

4. Desaturate the below version.
Double click on the shot below and go to 'EFFECTS' > 'VIDEO FILTERS' > 'IMAGE CONTROL' > 'DESATURATE'. 

5. Key Out A Colour of Your Choice.
Now double click on the top version and go to 'EFFECTS' > 'VIDEO FILTERS' > 'KEY' > 'CHROMA KEYER'. 

Go to the 'CHROMA KEYER' tab and press the 'SELECT COLOUR' button. Press the colour on the video that you wish to key out. 

Now untick the boxes for 'SAT' and 'LUMA'.

6. Now Render ALL Footage.
Press 'CMD' and 'R' to render both audio and video. 

7. Export Your Masterpiece!
This step is self-explanatory, just export your work of art.

For more information on how to achieve this effect, watch the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJ0RT_0Q6Y

Speed Ramp Effect

The process in which one achieves this effect is simple and easy. There are minimal steps to follow. First you must film an action that will look dramatic when slow-moed. Second, import it onto Final Cut Pro (FCP). You then select a specific part of the clip that you wish to slow-motion. Long press 'Speed Tool' and then select 'Speed Tool' once again. Once you've done that, play around with how slow you want it to be and voila. 

For detailed information how to achieve this effect, click below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhpsXaBFQYE

Five Ways to Organise Clips in Your Browsers

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 

1. Rename Clips

To do this, you must press on the chosen clip. Simply rename it appropriately; in this way, it'll make it easier to find the clip you need. 

2. Colour Code

Right-click a clip and press 'Label' and a list of colour options will appear. Pick any according to a rating of yours. Like this, you can identify which clips you want and which are back-up.

3. Organise Columns 

You can drag the 'Good' column all the way to the left to organise your clips. Pressing on the good column will produce a tick next to the clip. In this way, you can see what clips are good to use. 

4. Create Folders (Bins)

Right-click anywhere on the browser and press 'New Bin' and voila. You now have a folder in which you can place your clips in. Different bins can be made to hold different clips in order to differentiate between them.

5. Create Folders in Folder

This is simple; all you have to do is open a bin and press right-click then 'New Bin' once again. A great tip is to colour code the bins within the bin. 

And there you have it, five ways to organise clips in your browsers!

Setting Up a Project

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 

Below is an illustrated example of how to successfully, and most importantly, rightfully set up a project in Final Cut Pro. Let's get cracking...!

{ STEP No. 1 }

Ensure to create a folder that will be used to import your files. Organising your files is imperative in order to guarantee a location for your files. Also, to set a path on Final Cut Pro (FCP) to automatically save all work in your newly created folder - which will be explained further below. 

In my case, I created a folder in HD2 (City of Westminster College saving area) under the name of 'Serene'. Inside is a folder called 'Films' and inside of that are three folders: 'Footage', 'Film Edit File' and 'Film Products'. 

{ STEP No. 2 }

Open FCP and press the top left tab labelled 'Final Cut Pro', then press 'System Settings'. This is to create that pathway we mentioned earlier in this post. 

Once you click 'System Settings' a window will pop up. In the first tab 'Scratch Disk', below you'll find three options that have a grey button that says 'Set...' next to them. The three options are called 'Waveform Cache' + 'Thumbnail Cache' + 'Autosave Vault'.

Press 'Set...' next to each and click the folder that you created.

{ STEP No. 3 }

To start a fresh project, press 'File' (at the top left corner) and then 'New Project'.

{ STEP No. 4 }

Once you've done that, you can safely import your files that are saved in your new folder. 

{ STEP No. 5 }

Finally, DO NOT FORGET TO SAVE! Immediately after you've imported the files you need, follow these steps... File > Save Project As > Serene > Films > Film Edit File. The underlined ones aren't necessarily accurate, it will depend on what you decide to name your files.

And that sums up the steps on how to correctly set up a project on Final Cut Pro.

Enjoy your editing and be sure to produce a wicked product! 

Key Framing

Key framing is one of the simplest effects to achieve. These are the following steps:

- Open a new project.
- Import an image.
- Select image.
- Press the 'Add Motion Keyframe' button.
- Speed a few seconds later.
- Move your image.
- And so on...

This effect can be used for so many reasons such as introducing a clip or glamorising the title of your film. 

For more information on how to achieve this effect on Final Cut Pro, press below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PONUg4G1SXo#t=123

Editing Essay

Editing was once scarce. There was no need for it as it consisted of limited knowledge. In fact, it didn’t exist. To come this far is pure evolution compiled by the sense of experimental need. Where would have filmmaking lead to instead? Who knows; but judging from the result today, I’d say somewhere equally as fascinating.

A condensed purpose of editing is that ‘it protects the director from suicide’ as comically stated by Sean Penn. However, the very main purpose of editing is the fact that it polishes and brings meaning to the film. It determines four main aspects:

1.    The order of the events within the film

Directors usually shoot the film then provide the editors with shots to edit. Directors don’t necessarily shoot the film chronologically therefore; it’s up to the editor to put them in order according to both the script and their interpretation of it.

2.     The amount of information received (narrative)

This is where the editor recruits their perspective on the narrative. They choose whether a small or large amount of information should be included. It usually affects the overall narrative. Editors have the first choice of withholding certain details until the end or revealing details throughout.

3.    Emotions generated at certain times

Editing can set a certain mood through specific cuts. For example, if you have a scene in which a woman is ducking down in avoidance of a gunshot, cutting it there would ruin the suspense. So, editors usually keep that shot as long as possible and abruptly add the next one in which the bullet is shot. In that way, the audience would feel fear caused by the sudden shot of the bullet. Therefore, editing can be used to further exaggerate the mood.

4.    The pace of the narrative

The editor can determine the pace as they can either speed up or slow down the narrative according to the script. For example, if the genre were romance, the editor would decrease the amount of cuts made in order to lengthen the narrative. In this way the scenes would flow smoothly thus gradually building up the narrative. Another thing editors can do in terms of pace is base it on the target audience. For example, if the target audience were younger people then the editor would speed up the pace as it keeps them enticed. However, with an older audience, the pace is slower as they’re less accustomed to registering information on a high speed.

In addition to the purpose above, editing also:

·      Emotionally engages the audience

·      Manipulates information or reality

·      Uses sound which can create suspense

“Once upon a time there were no editors and no cuts.” Filmmakers used to photograph things that amused them. A shot was held until they got bored or it ran out. There was no narrative, plan or edit. The worldwide interest in seeing a moving image wasn’t enough to pay for. People would eventually realise the shots made are of things you see everyday, so why pay for it? This is why Auguste Lumière predicted that cinema is an invention without a future. Little did he know it would become as big as it is today. However, Edwin S. Porter was able to prove him wrong by discovering cuts. He was able to identify that cuts created a story. Life of an American Fireman (1903) is a short film made by Porter himself. It was able to emotionally impact the audience as there were intercuts of two completely different scenes. One of a woman stuck in a burning building, and the other a fire-truck speeding somewhere. Immediately this showed the woman was in danger and the firemen rushing to her rescue; which built an emotional connection towards the woman’s life. The Great Train Robbery (1903) was Porter’s next film. This was when the possibilities of editing were vividly seen. The discovery of editing “gave birth to a new language”; as seen today.

D.W. Griffith was ‘The First Modern Editor’. He was the first filmmaker to realise the ‘psychological importance of editing.’ Griffith was the first to use close up (CU) in such a big way. The Birth of a Nation (1915) was the film that actually brought it together; a collection of ten years’ worth of editing knowledge put together. It included close ups, flashbacks and parallel action. He established the classical film editing which mainly relied on the ‘Invisible Cut’ also known as ‘The Invisible Art’. It was used in Orphans of the Storm (1921) which masked the cut in order for the audience not to notice. The purpose of it was to keep the scene continuously moving and fluid. It was also the first to use continuity editing. For decades, Griffith’s seamless editing became the ‘most dominant editing style’ in Hollywood movies. An example of a Hollywood film that used it is The Matrix (1999).

Originally, editing was considered an easy task. Therefore, women were assigned the responsibility. It was considered similar to knitting. However, when sound editing was introduced, it was recognised as difficult for women to manage. Therefore, it gradually became a man’s job.

Pulp Fiction (1994) At the very beginning, wide shot was used as an establishing shot, which showed the viewer where the action will be taking place. It allowed the viewer to have an insight of the environment and lighting, which set the mood for later. Towards the end of the clip, the camera angle changed to mostly extreme close ups and zoom ins. The very act of starting with wide angle then coming in with close up creates suspense. In this way, the viewer will feel the sudden seriousness of the situation as it foreshadows something big. The pace in which the shots were cut was fairly fast towards the end, which allowed the viewer to stay aware of the suspense.

There was then a wide shot of Vincent, Lance, Fabienne, Jody and Mia in one room which allowed the viewer to see the room (setting). At the same time, it showed the characters’ facial expressions, which helped set the mood- for most of the part. Jody wasn’t serious, but the rest were. The combination of the two ideas created an overview of the situation. When it came to the big moment in which Vincent was going to stab Mia with a needle, everything sort of paused. Suddenly there were brief shots (ECU) of Vincent, Lance, Mia and the dripping needle. In that moment, it allowed the viewer to focus on the moment and worry whether Vincent is able to stab her in the right area without hurting her. The shots were cut frequently, which caused the narrative to flow quickly with suspense.

I Am Sam (2001) Eye-Level (EL) was used throughout the clip. This is a neutral shot in which it may seem to not generate any sort of engagement with the audience. However, because it’s shot in a way that we are used to in real life, it makes the audience feel comfortable with the characters. Sam, Lucy and his retarded friends seemed harmless in that scene. This is because the specific camera angle used aided the character’s level of danger.

Also, I have noticed that throughout the scene, the camera was simply handheld rather than static. The simplicity of the scene set the mood in the sense that it reflected innocence; a retarded father taking his daughter shoe-shopping and resorting to the help of his retarded friends. It allowed the audience to connect to Sam on a personal level despite what the court think of him (a bad father not fit for parenthood).

Another thing is the constant use of Medium Close-Up (MCU). It not only communicated the dialogue, but also the meaning behind it. Just the fact that it showed Sam holding different shoes contemplating which one best fits his daughter Lucy made the entire scene simple and straightforward. It showed the audience that he didn’t have an ulterior motive in which he sets out to kidnap his own daughter. This was done by the use of two simple shots within the montage: EL and MCU.

The role of a film and TV editor is ‘tough’ as stated by Christian Bell. Their role is to polish the shots taken by the director. If the editor is unlucky, they will have to endure working with a new director. This means having to work around the shots given to them in an attempt of polishing them. At times, the shots are useless as it only consists of wide angle, which doesn’t provide much definition to the scene. Therefore, the director would have to re-shoot the scene. All this consumes time and so the editor is put to even more work.

Looking on the bright side for once, editors who possess the ability to edit any genre have more job offers, which guarantees their pay for at least a year. However, some editors are used to working on a specific genre due to many circumstances (i.e. being requested for one specific genre continually), which disadvantages them; as they wouldn’t be able to freely edit other genres. On the other hand, experienced directors would leave ‘gold dust’ along with the footage for the editor (as stated by Christian Bell). This means they’ll shoot a few seconds both before and after a shot. In this way, the editor possesses the luxury to determine which part needs a clean cut.

In conclusion, editing has developed immensely over the years. It has become a huge part of the TV industry. Seeing it come this far allowed me to envision a great future for it. However, the technology behind it seems to be as far as it gets. I too share Auguste Lumière’s theory- there seems to be no further future for editing.

__________________________________________________

4.5 Bibliography

Mark Winokur and Bruce Holsinger. (2001). Movies and Film The Purposes of Editing. Available: http://www.infoplease.com/cig/movies-flicks-film/purposes-editing.html . Last accessed 22/09/2014.

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. (2004) A.C.E, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), NHK Enterprises, TCEP Inc. London. Wendy Apple.

Clip No. 1: A Shot of Adrenaline – Pulp Fiction (6/12). (1994) Jersey Films, A Band Apart, Miramax Films. Quentin Tarantino. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoJoTAXDPk&list=PLA1EC9692E5B92C14

Clip No. 2: I Am Sam – Scene: Shoe Shopping. (2001) New Line Cinema, Avery Pix, Bedford Falls Productions, Red Fish Blue Fish Films. Jessie Nelson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92fueqZi48

Mindy Peterman. (2013). The art of TV editing: A conversation with Nancy Forner. Available: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/348455  Last accessed 22/09/2014.

Chroma Key

 

To achieve this technique you must abide by the following rules...

1. Ensure to have good lighting.

If you don't have good lighting, then it'll be difficult to get rid of the green background. However, you must also make sure to not over-expose the background as it'll also be hard to get rid of when editing.

2. Ensure your actor doesn't have blonde hair.

Green screen is hard to erase blond from; therefore, a blue screen is best used for blondes. The most two common screens are green and blue. 

3. When editing, you must resize the image.

The background chosen to replace the green screen must be adjusted in size to fit the screen. If not, it wouldn't look as convincing. 

Learn how to achieve this effect on Final Cut Pro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zt8EYaGIeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMIJHmLKMGc

Clone Effect

To achieve this technique you must abide by the following rules...

1. Ensure the lighting is the same when shooting both shots. 

This is done to avoid seeing a line between both shots. If the lighting differs, then merging the two wouldn't look smooth; you'd notice the line between. However, this can be fixed by colour correcting and placing a filter on one shot to match the other. But from experience it can only do so much. Therefore, it is better to ensure the lighting is consistent during the shooting. 

2. Do not allow the actor to exceed the middle line.

This is important as it would ruin the entire effect. This is because when merging both shots, the part of the actor that exceeded the middle line would have their part cut off; it wouldn't appear. Therefore, the actor must maintain a distance from the middle line.

3. Ensure the actor gives eye contact.

To achieve a smooth clone video, you must make the actor look at a certain place when addressing their clone. This is done to ensure that they're looking at each other as much as possible. Therefore, point to a place where the actor should look when shooting.

4. Do not move your camera when shooting!

This is self-explanatory. Moving the camera would result in extreme disorientation in the effect. It simply wouldn't work; this is because the lighting, eye-line matching and such wouldn't match no more. Moreover, the middle line would completely disappear. 

These are the most important steps into achieving a perfect clone effect.             

Learn how to achieve this effect on Final Cut Pro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfFc9GOTWQ

Introduction to Editing

{* Task A *}

The Gloaming

Editing is putting together a series of shots whilst cutting some bits and inserting sound and/or text when necessary. It's the process in which raw shots are polished for their final version. 

Elliptical editing is cutting out unnecessary parts in order to make the shot shorter which gets to the point quicker. For example, a shot of a women going to sleep will not include the process in which she sleeps, however, a shot of when she wakes up. In that way, the viewers will connect the dots and realise that she was asleep the entire time.

Long shots are used to show where the main character is- their location and whether they're alone. Usually, it shows their surroundings and current atmosphere.

Non-diagetic sounds are the sounds inserted during the editing process of the shots which weren't present when shooting. For example, when the woman was picking up her boyfriend's shirt, the only sounds present were the water dripping and sounds of nature. However, after the edit, a note of music was inserted for the viewers. This helps to build up the tension of the atmosphere. 

The use of elliptical editing and eye-line matching made the process of picking up the ring effectively faster. There was no need to show her bending down therefore, that part wasn't shot. There was also no need to show what she was looking at by panning. The use of eye-line matching made that easier by simply showing a close up of the ring (the object she was 'supposedly' looking at in the previous shot).

Hustle

Overhead establishing shot helps to achieve the context in which the sequence of shots have been edited. It shows the place where the action will be taking place. For example, the camera shot the scene in the beginning from behind the standing man giving us (the viewers) a clear shot of the place and the people included and where they're sitting. 

Shot-reverse-shot is where the director cuts back and forth between people conversing. This helps to avoid constant panning and gets to the point quickly. For example, the standing man looks off-screen and below whilst Sean looks off-screen and up. This makes it seem like they're addressing each other.

Eye-line matching is used to get to the point more quickly rather that shooting the entire scene. For example, the standing man is shown to be looking down whilst Sean up. This allows the viewers to assume that they're looking at each other. Usually, eye-line matching shows what the character is looking at.

Cutting to the other members of the group is used to show their facial reactions to what is being said. Also, to add more to the shot of the conversation. This is done in order to maintain the flow of the scene which makes it less boring to watch. 

For example, if the conversation was shot only at those who were speaking, the conversation would get boring. However, if you shoot the other characters it will develop a more realistic atmosphere in which everyone's reaction is included. In this case however, it's done to show the characters' reactions to both the plan and each other.

A wipe is part of the Mise en Scene in which it moves the "action into a different location and time". 

The effect of using quick cuts is to convey the speed in which the con-artists work at. This is because they're always on the lookout for new hustles therefore, they work quickly. So the quick cuts were used to show exactly that. 

{* Task B *}

Editing can be used to build tension and pace by making the shots shorter and frequent. In this way, both the events happening and the reaction of the character will look to be shot simultaneously. The shots will come one after the other in a quick pace which builds an atmosphere of tension. At the same time, the the pace will pick up in a continuity manner. 

Cross-cutting is an edit in which shots are broken up and re-arranged. Usually, it's used to show different actions supposedly happening at the same time. It can build tension. For example, a shot of a man struggling whilst climbing a hill will be cut throughout; a shot of another man climbing the hill on the other side will be inserted between the cuts. In this way, it will seem as though both are climbing at the same time. 

Reaction shots are shots of the characters' reaction or response. The characters on boats looking up whilst the two men climb the hill is an example of a reaction shot. It can be used to build tension as it depicts emotions such as worry. In this way, the viewer will understand that both men are at risk of falling. 

Seamless editing is editing in a way that makes the edits look invisible. For example, the reaction shots and cross-cutting seemed natural all throughout, this is because it was done in a way in which the edits fit in well. The tension built was enough of a decoy to draw away the viewer's attention from the edit. 

A jump cut is cutting a scene suddenly and resuming the shot with a different frame. For example, the man shown to strike at a huge copper bowl is cut abruptly and another shot of the same man in the same location and position is shown except with a smaller bowl. It's often used to deliberately reveal the edit rather than hide it.  

Flash back is an edit in which it takes you back in time; usually used to depict a character's back story. It explains how the character got to where they currently are. It adds tension, drama and interest to a story.

Editing can be used poetically by purposefully excluding explicit shots. In this way, it will make the viewers work harder to decipher the scene and the meaning behind it. 

Teacher: Sue Venables 

http://newmediateacher4.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/16.1.1

I Love Media

Don't we all?

Media is yet another subject that is raved about; known for its fun aspects and never acknowledged for its boring ones. The sad truth is that some units, if not most, consist of classic 'desk work'. That includes boring reports, essays, powerpoint presentations and storyboards- the latter was never my favourite. 

On the bright side however, some units consist of shooting and editing- in which case is 'fun'. Personally, I love shooting footage as it's refreshing having full control over what'll be included. I love it so much that I wouldn't mind storyboarding for it- okay, I may have exaggerated a little. Nothing can change my mind about storyboards, like ever!

The video above is just out of curiosity, really! I mean we use social media on a daily basis, wouldn't you want to know?? In any case, that's a little something for you to sit back and reflect on. Not that it'd change your habits anyway...

newmediateacher4.blogspot.co.uk