Long at last, here is the final cut of our OTS.
And here is an early cut of the footage for comparison.
Click here for my article explaining the early cuts.
Click here for James' explanation of the editing process.
The most noticeable change between theses two cuts has to be that of the Femme Fatale's voice. As described in a previous post, we quickly discovered that this character did not appear authorative enough, which was largely down to the intonation of the voice. To solve the problem, Tom and I sampled several voices, chose an actress who could create the right tone, and then recorded her speaking the lines so that we could replace the original audio with the new.
The sound has also undergone considerable changes, with the sound of the rain featuring less due to a drop in volume, and the dramatic, non-diegetic background music made more prominent to increase tension. On top of this, sections of the Victim speaking were reomved, largely due to time constraints, and, of course, the acting credits were added at appropriate moments in a font that seemed both classic and bold.
All of the videos we have uploaded can be found here, on James' Vimeo account.
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Friday, 29 January 2010
OTS Review & Revision
After filming as complete group on Sunday evening, James transferred the footage to his computer and set to work editing in Sony Vegas. The result was a basic workprint which we could review and criticise in order to revise; to make improvements.
Although a workprint version is simply intended as a rough 'test-copy' to convey a film's basic structure, theme and chronology, the first edit surpassed expectations, and I was incredibly happy with the way our footage had been composed into a high-quality piece of film. Although there were still problems we needed to address, I am sure that the initial high-quality of the piece will save us time when we come to perfecting it, as the changes we make will only need to be very small.
In order to clarify our next steps for the production, we all gathered for a group reviewing session, in which we discussed our respective views and opinions of the film, and how we thought it could be improved. The first problem we noticed was that of the film's duration. It lasted around 3:00 minutes, whereas ideally it should be 2:00, but could go up to 2:30 maximum. To get feedback from the perspective of newcomers to the film, we asked various people from our media class to watch our film and tell us what they thought. One problem that arose was that of a white van that crossed the shot about half-way through the piece. Some people said that it detracted from the tense atmosphere; one moment you are watching a man fearing for his life, yet trying to remain inconspicuous by walking at normal pace, and the next you are watching an everyday van rattle along the street. The tone was not maintained. During the reviewing session, we took note of these and other, less noticeable problems so that James could go and implement the changes.
The video above is the first revised version of our OTS, with the main changes being the exclusion of the white van and other pieces of redundant footage to reduce the length of the peice. We will recently held another small review session, and the main criticism was that the Femme Fatale's voice didn't fit the character; it was not stern enough, and so her role as leader of a crime syndicate did not seem legible.
To solve this problem, Tom and I have been sampling different female voices by recording them saying some of the Femme Fatale's lines. I have produced some mock-ups of the OTS with the new Femme Fatale voice overlayed using Sony Vegas, and we have determined a suitable actress. Now, all we need to do is to record the new actress saying the lines, extract the audio, and James will overlay this as best as he can with the existing footage of the original Femme Fatale. Syncing the speech shouldn't be such a problem, because most of the time you cannot actually see the Femme Fatale's mouth moving prominently. Aside from helping with recording, Tom is in the process of writing a questionnaire which we can use to get feedback from a wider range of age-groups and audience types.
Although a workprint version is simply intended as a rough 'test-copy' to convey a film's basic structure, theme and chronology, the first edit surpassed expectations, and I was incredibly happy with the way our footage had been composed into a high-quality piece of film. Although there were still problems we needed to address, I am sure that the initial high-quality of the piece will save us time when we come to perfecting it, as the changes we make will only need to be very small.
In order to clarify our next steps for the production, we all gathered for a group reviewing session, in which we discussed our respective views and opinions of the film, and how we thought it could be improved. The first problem we noticed was that of the film's duration. It lasted around 3:00 minutes, whereas ideally it should be 2:00, but could go up to 2:30 maximum. To get feedback from the perspective of newcomers to the film, we asked various people from our media class to watch our film and tell us what they thought. One problem that arose was that of a white van that crossed the shot about half-way through the piece. Some people said that it detracted from the tense atmosphere; one moment you are watching a man fearing for his life, yet trying to remain inconspicuous by walking at normal pace, and the next you are watching an everyday van rattle along the street. The tone was not maintained. During the reviewing session, we took note of these and other, less noticeable problems so that James could go and implement the changes.
The video above is the first revised version of our OTS, with the main changes being the exclusion of the white van and other pieces of redundant footage to reduce the length of the peice. We will recently held another small review session, and the main criticism was that the Femme Fatale's voice didn't fit the character; it was not stern enough, and so her role as leader of a crime syndicate did not seem legible.
To solve this problem, Tom and I have been sampling different female voices by recording them saying some of the Femme Fatale's lines. I have produced some mock-ups of the OTS with the new Femme Fatale voice overlayed using Sony Vegas, and we have determined a suitable actress. Now, all we need to do is to record the new actress saying the lines, extract the audio, and James will overlay this as best as he can with the existing footage of the original Femme Fatale. Syncing the speech shouldn't be such a problem, because most of the time you cannot actually see the Femme Fatale's mouth moving prominently. Aside from helping with recording, Tom is in the process of writing a questionnaire which we can use to get feedback from a wider range of age-groups and audience types.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Pre-Production Test Footage
A few nights ago, Tom, James and I took a school camera and filmed some test footage at the locations planned for our OTS. We organised to film at sunset so that we could check the quality of recording at different light levels, but we also simultaneously attempted some of our different shot ideas. Below is the footage we shot, edited and compiled by James, along with some notes about the clips.
1 & 2: I wanted to attempt this shot, because I have seen it used previously on TV and in film, and it is extremely effective in coveying a sense of speed. The motion of the camera mimics the head-movement of someone watching a person run past, and so the shot adds towards a more immersive experience. Unfortunately, I found it tricky to track the subject with a smooth pan, so they are slightly out of shot for a moment. Also, the fast movement resulted in a glitch with the autofocus, causing the shot to blur out of focus, which looks incredibly unprofessional. This could be prevented by fixing fixing the focus at a suitable distance. This may even add to the effect of the shot, as the focal blur in some areas would give a sense of distance. On the second attempt, the pan was smoother, but still not perfect. The down-hill run would work better in the context of our OTS, as it would show the Victim being forced into a position of lower status.
3: After spotting the bars at the side of Elm Hill, we decided to try filming the subject through them. We have used bars to a similar effect in our continuity task; they work particularly well to enhance the theme of crime, because tall certical bars are commonly associated with prisons or areas of security, as a mechanism of containment or exclusion. The bars would also help to justify the Victim's furtive behaviour: with the camera on the other side of the bars, the shot feels similar to a POV of someone watching the Victim from an unseen place.
4 & 5: The idea for this shot arose in our first group planning session, when we were suggesting ways in which the Goon character could appear unexpectedly in order to shock the audience. In our actual OTS, the Victim (sat on the bench) will be reading a newspaper as opposed to a blank notepad, but the rudimentary mechanics of the shot will remain the same. Both shots worked well, but we decided that the Goon should be closer to the camera in order to ensure that viewers do not miss the unexpected appearance of the character.
6: This is another shot that we used in our continuity task. It did not work as well here, because the cobbled ground was less even, and it was difficult to keep the camera steady and low. That said, such footage would work well in short bursts to focus the audience's attention on the fact that the Victim is moving hurridely away from something; maintaining a sense of urgency.
7: I proposed this shot as part of the flashback sequence under the name of 'Ambiguous Closeup'. Just as the name implies, the purpose of the shot is to capture a character, who will be the Femme Fatale, without revealing their full identity. Although the framing could be improved, I feel this shot works well.
8 & 9: Work on the same principle as clip 6, but from different angles. 8 may work well along with 6 in short bursts, but 9 is more of an establishing shot, and would interrupt the flow of the scene if it was used to show the Victim running.
10 & 11: The low angle works incredibly well with the towering clock-tower, creating a sense of foreboding. The lighting conditions at this time of day also work really well to provide contrast and accentuate the bold, crisp outline of the tower.
12: This works well as an establishing shot, because the street sign gives the viewer an idea of location, not necessarily because they can read it, but because of its style. That is not to say that it would have to go at the very beginning of the OTS, but it would work best in the early parts. As in clip 3, the bars give the idea that someone is looking through them, and that the footage is from their point-of-view. For our OTS, this character could be the Goon, looking through the bars to see the Victim walking or running away.
13: A highly effective way of conveying the speed of the Victim as he runs from the Goon. Again, would work well with clips 6, 8 & 9 in short bursts. Fast cuts between the different peices of footage would also give a sense of speed.
14: Probably the creepiest shot we have, because it is full of signifiers that combine for a dark theme. The flitting sillhouette invokes a sense of fear and ambiguity, whilst the church windows juxtapose nicely with pessimistic themes of crime and danger.
15, 16 & 18: Perhaps our most professional and effective shot. The framing, the canted angle, and even the shadow on the cobbles all work incredibly well to convey the warped circumstances that the Victim finds himself in. In 15, there was a pole in the middle of the frame, and in 16, I felt the angle was too low, but in 18, I think the framing is perfect; from the moment the subject walks into the frame, they are completely captured, and the audiences eyes can follow them into the distance.
19: Same as 4 & 5, but in lower light. Still works well, but framing is a bit off. Will have to re-think newspaper, because a man reading a newspaper in the dark is way too suspicious, even for film-noir.
20: This shot works nicely as a way of capturing the environment at the same time as chartering the Victim's progress. The framing of the old architecture is good, and captures the subject's shadow perfectly. It would work well in between sets of close-up shots to show the audience more of the location, and also to show the distance between the Goon and the Victim.
21: Hand-held tracking shot. The quick, jerky movements would confuse and irritate an audience if shown for too long. As with shots 6, 8, 9 & 13, this would work well in quick bursts to convey the running motion of both the Victim and the Goon. Such a shot could be interpretted as the Goon's point-of-view.
1 & 2: I wanted to attempt this shot, because I have seen it used previously on TV and in film, and it is extremely effective in coveying a sense of speed. The motion of the camera mimics the head-movement of someone watching a person run past, and so the shot adds towards a more immersive experience. Unfortunately, I found it tricky to track the subject with a smooth pan, so they are slightly out of shot for a moment. Also, the fast movement resulted in a glitch with the autofocus, causing the shot to blur out of focus, which looks incredibly unprofessional. This could be prevented by fixing fixing the focus at a suitable distance. This may even add to the effect of the shot, as the focal blur in some areas would give a sense of distance. On the second attempt, the pan was smoother, but still not perfect. The down-hill run would work better in the context of our OTS, as it would show the Victim being forced into a position of lower status.
3: After spotting the bars at the side of Elm Hill, we decided to try filming the subject through them. We have used bars to a similar effect in our continuity task; they work particularly well to enhance the theme of crime, because tall certical bars are commonly associated with prisons or areas of security, as a mechanism of containment or exclusion. The bars would also help to justify the Victim's furtive behaviour: with the camera on the other side of the bars, the shot feels similar to a POV of someone watching the Victim from an unseen place.
4 & 5: The idea for this shot arose in our first group planning session, when we were suggesting ways in which the Goon character could appear unexpectedly in order to shock the audience. In our actual OTS, the Victim (sat on the bench) will be reading a newspaper as opposed to a blank notepad, but the rudimentary mechanics of the shot will remain the same. Both shots worked well, but we decided that the Goon should be closer to the camera in order to ensure that viewers do not miss the unexpected appearance of the character.
6: This is another shot that we used in our continuity task. It did not work as well here, because the cobbled ground was less even, and it was difficult to keep the camera steady and low. That said, such footage would work well in short bursts to focus the audience's attention on the fact that the Victim is moving hurridely away from something; maintaining a sense of urgency.
7: I proposed this shot as part of the flashback sequence under the name of 'Ambiguous Closeup'. Just as the name implies, the purpose of the shot is to capture a character, who will be the Femme Fatale, without revealing their full identity. Although the framing could be improved, I feel this shot works well.
8 & 9: Work on the same principle as clip 6, but from different angles. 8 may work well along with 6 in short bursts, but 9 is more of an establishing shot, and would interrupt the flow of the scene if it was used to show the Victim running.
10 & 11: The low angle works incredibly well with the towering clock-tower, creating a sense of foreboding. The lighting conditions at this time of day also work really well to provide contrast and accentuate the bold, crisp outline of the tower.
12: This works well as an establishing shot, because the street sign gives the viewer an idea of location, not necessarily because they can read it, but because of its style. That is not to say that it would have to go at the very beginning of the OTS, but it would work best in the early parts. As in clip 3, the bars give the idea that someone is looking through them, and that the footage is from their point-of-view. For our OTS, this character could be the Goon, looking through the bars to see the Victim walking or running away.
13: A highly effective way of conveying the speed of the Victim as he runs from the Goon. Again, would work well with clips 6, 8 & 9 in short bursts. Fast cuts between the different peices of footage would also give a sense of speed.
14: Probably the creepiest shot we have, because it is full of signifiers that combine for a dark theme. The flitting sillhouette invokes a sense of fear and ambiguity, whilst the church windows juxtapose nicely with pessimistic themes of crime and danger.
15, 16 & 18: Perhaps our most professional and effective shot. The framing, the canted angle, and even the shadow on the cobbles all work incredibly well to convey the warped circumstances that the Victim finds himself in. In 15, there was a pole in the middle of the frame, and in 16, I felt the angle was too low, but in 18, I think the framing is perfect; from the moment the subject walks into the frame, they are completely captured, and the audiences eyes can follow them into the distance.
19: Same as 4 & 5, but in lower light. Still works well, but framing is a bit off. Will have to re-think newspaper, because a man reading a newspaper in the dark is way too suspicious, even for film-noir.
20: This shot works nicely as a way of capturing the environment at the same time as chartering the Victim's progress. The framing of the old architecture is good, and captures the subject's shadow perfectly. It would work well in between sets of close-up shots to show the audience more of the location, and also to show the distance between the Goon and the Victim.
21: Hand-held tracking shot. The quick, jerky movements would confuse and irritate an audience if shown for too long. As with shots 6, 8, 9 & 13, this would work well in quick bursts to convey the running motion of both the Victim and the Goon. Such a shot could be interpretted as the Goon's point-of-view.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Continuity Task
Today we were set the task of a first attempt at producing a video that displayed our understanding of continuity. To show this, we had to include certain conventions, which involved filming a match on action, abiding by the 180 degree rule, and utilising a reverse shot.
In terms of basic content, the instructions read as follows: Person A walks to a door, opens it, passes through, crosses room, sits down, talks to someone.
There was also the option to work to extension criteria, which suggested other peices of content: Person walks alone, footsteps, door bangs, mutterings, enigma, scream, implied fear, more than 3 locations, more than 2 people. The extension criteria for production techniques was also provided: Ambient lighting, extreme angles, reverse tracking, use of tilt.
For this peice, I worked in a group with Daniel Knights, James Wigger and Tom Palmer. Seeing as this was the first production task we had been given, we didn't strictly delegate specific roles, and instead discussed all aspects of the production with one another to get an idea of our individual strengths and weaknesses.
We decided to film in a specific outside area within the school grounds, because we wanted to utilise certain features within our video. The features we wanted to include were: a chain-link gate, a fence with vertical metal bars, a small area of trees, and a large metal container. Although our main aim was in showing our understanding of continuity, we also wanted to create a dark, serious tone with a concise narrative based on dry humor. We did this in order to get an idea for what we may want to achieve in our final film-noir production.
During filming, James operated the camera, Daniel acted as the main character, and I acted as the secondary character, whilst Tom helped implement continuity rules. I also had a list of the criteria we had been given and ensured that we fulfilled the basic requirements of the task and also included many of the extension items. There were certain factors we could not include because of our chosen environment, namely the sitting down section, but I believe we made up for this by using a similar technique to show our main character stopping to have a conversation with our secondary character.
Another problem caused by our chosen environment was that of pupils and teachers walking through our filming area. We combatted this by using our time wisely and politely asking large groups to use another route. On top of this, there is a small section of video in which a rain-drop on the lens distorts part of the frame. Luckily, it is hardly noticeable, but we will remember to keep the lens clean in future to maintain professionalism.
We edited our footage using Sony Vegas 8, as can be seen in the screenshots above. We did the majority of editing as a group; taking it in turns to deal with certain sections, but communicating consistently to ensure shots flowed. This allowed each of us to get a feel for the process of editing, and an understanding of what it entailed. Further editing was later done by James, who produced a revised version of the video (below) after we had all given feedback on the orginal.Friday, 9 October 2009
Lights, Camera Angles, Action!
To show our understanding of techniques and our practical ability to film, we were asked to produce examples of a variety of camera-angles along with filming and editing techniques. After joining a group, we were provided with video cameras and let loose around the school with creative freedom. I worked with Daniel Knights, James Wigger, Megan Forster and Conor Murray to produce this video exhibiting our work.
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