Editing Techniques Video

This is the video that me and AJ created to express our understanding and ability to recreate different editing techniques.



Shot Reverse Shot - 

Shot reverse shot or also known as shot/countershot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (the other character is more than likely off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.

180 Degree Rule - 
The 180 degree rule is a cinematography guideline that states that two characters in one scene should maintain the same left/right coordination to one another. When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line and the shot becomes what is called a 'reverse angle'.


30 Degree Rule - 


The 30-degree rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees relative to the subject between successive shots of the same subject.

Cut In - 

In film a cut in shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when the cutaway avoids a jump cut. The shot is only on screen for no longer than 2-3 seconds. 

Cross Cutting / Parallel Editing - 

Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and usually in the same place. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the two actions are happening simultaneously. However it is not always the case. 

Establishing Shot - 

An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the scene is taking place. It is usually an extreme wide shot.

Match On Action - 

Or also known as 'Cutting on Action' is an editing technique or continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This creates the impression of a sense of continuity. The action carrying through creates a "visual bridge" which draws the viewers attention away from slight cutting continuity issues. 

Temporal Overlap - 

When an action is repeated from a different point of view and often within slow motion.

Kuleshov effect - 

A recognition that a shot’s meaning is not only dictated by what it contains, but by its relationship to other adjacent shots

Eisenstein Montage - 

An approach to editing developed by filmmakers in the Soviet Union in the 20s. It emphasises dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images. It’s primary focus was to engage with the viewer in an intellectual manner.

Evaluation for Music Video

To start of this evaluation I would just like to state that 2/3 of the way through filming I decided to leave the group because I didn't like the way we were managing ourselves and I felt like my input was not being taken seriously and I got frustrated with the members of my group so I made the decision to leave the group happy with the work that I had helped with.

We chose the song I Only Wear Black by The Wombats because it was a song we all liked and after picking several songs we all liked we created ideas for each one and then we decided that our idea for the Wombats song was the best idea we had to go with the music and we felt like we could do the most with this song. I was away on holiday the first week of the unit but while I was away Connie and Leah held a focus group and helped get ideas and feedback on our idea and the song and asked for advice on the way we could do this to the best of our ability. After a focus group we were solid on our idea and it helped us become creative with what we are capable of.

With regards to the production of the music video we decided to do a narrative of following the monster around in his day to day life, the problems that came with this are that a lot of the shots in the sun are over-exposed which added some issues but to counter-act this we used heavy editing to balance out the saturation and the exposure. With filming within Connie's house we had the issues of space and the camera and tri-pod setting was very space consuming, to counteract this we did a lot of walking shots and hand-held shots and then just have to stabilise them in the editing phase of the music video.

The main problem my group faced was time-management and the conflict of schedules as we all had part-time jobs and other commitments etc. The first time we filmed Connie's boyfriend came over due to something that was already pre-planned which cut our filming short for example or like the time I had plans later in the day and filming ran later than intended and when we had planned to film other times we would do film about 15 minutes of footage because we would get distracted with other things. This ended up being very frustrating for everyone in the group because we felt like we were just wasting precious time when we could have been filming. Another issue we had was that the mask was very claustrophobic and hard to see in due to it being paper-mache. This made it hard to film for long periods of time because I would begin to feel light-headed, it also made seeing where I was going hard so this impacted on how natural the filming looked because sometimes my walking would be awkward and timid. To try and counteract this we would do the shot several times with and without the mask so I could try and  gain some spacial awareness.

Another issue was that we broke continuity half way through the video because we filmed on a hot day where it reached 24 degrees and I did not feel comfortable or want to risk getting ill from the heat with wearing a mask I couldn't breathe in, fur and a jumper so we decided as a group to let me wear a t shirt with a similar design to the jumper on the front of it. This messed up our continuity but meant that I wouldn't be get ill or being uncomfortable.

This is the final video for what my group created up until 2:05 is where I took part and everything after that was filmed without me. Also at 0;47 the clip filmed isn't me either. I am proud of what I helped create with my group and it is a shame that things ended the way that they did but as far as i am concerned the 2 minutes of the video that I did help with are very good and we did do a good job as a group.

Health and Safety

In regards to health and safety the main concern was the mask and how little vision and breathing space it gave me to wear. It was very claustrophobic and that paired with the furry arms and the jumper meant that I overheated a lot and I couldn't see where I was going so I kept tripping over and walking into things, we tried to counteract this by me re-doing the scenes a couple of times with the mask off and then doing it with the mask on after I got to grips with it. Another issue we had was that one of the days when we were filming it was really warm and got to about 21 degrees, so the combination of the mask and the furry arms and the jumper meant that I would overheat quickly and it would have been unsafe for me to film and possibly make me ill to film. So we compromised and decided that instead I wear a t-shirt with a similar design to the jumper on it.

Apart from the monster mask we didn't really have any other health and safety issues apart from that. We had two cameras and both of them did not have any wires or anything like that. So in other regards we didn't really have any other worries apart from making sure our bags were out of the way of the public when filming. 

Editing the Music Video

Editing

With editing the music video we decided that the best way to go about it was to label the clips and sort them into bins first. This makes the editing process easier and help with the putting together of the music video and just creates efficiency. 

We then went through clips and decided what was the best way to go out about deciding what clips were useful and what weren't, to do this Me and Connie went through each clip and deleted what wasn't useful and what was. I sorted the clips out into folders that I figured were useful and then we imported them into premiere pro where Connie edited them. 

With Connie taking the lead in the editing she had a lot of the creative freedom to create the best image and idea that we all wanted with the music video. She said a couple of times that she wished that the song was longer because it would have given her the opportunity to create an even better video because there was a lot to fit in with the short amount of time the music video allows. 

Making the Monster

This is the making of the monster costume that Connie kindly offered to do seeing as she is more arty than me and Leah, this process took about a week to do and consisted of creating the monster mask and the arms and shoes that I would also be wearing in the video. To create the mask as you can see Connie had to paper maché  a plastic mask to create the texture and expression of the monsters face, afterwards she glued in eyes and teeth to create a monster look. The mask itself was very well made and was a good attempt based on our budget and the money we had to spend on it. Evaluating it though I would've liked if the mask itself had some breathing holes or something that I could see out of. The mask itself had no eye holes and nowhere to breathe out of so it was very claustrophobic and I couldn't see out of it at all. This meant that I couldn't see anything when I had the mask on so it made it difficult to act because I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, the lack of breathing holes meant that it was uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. Especially when we had to record in 20 degrees heat. Although it was not very practical it was a very realistic looking mask and portrayed what we wanted it too.




The rest of the materials were used to create the monster were found either in Connie's house or Leah and Connie went charity shopping and found them there. The cost ended up being about £8 each which was very cheap for what we got out of it and what Connie was able to do with it. The teeth Connie already had due to an old project of hers and everything was sourced from different shops and then it was used to create the monster.

Storyboard - Shot List

Storyboard

This is the storyboard that Connie created that details what is going to be happening within our video to help us with what shots and angles, a storyboard is also useful because it helps us set out our ideas and bring them to life with images before creating them in real life, it also brings out a set type of communication within the group because what we can't explain with words we can explain with images and drawing.

The second half of the storyboard as you can see is incomplete, after communicating with Connie we found out that she was struggling to create the second half of the storyboard because it was getting difficult to create the ending of our video because we had not decided on what was going to be the climax and the change. We then decided that the blank spaces within the storyboard are the things we can just improvise as we go along and decide what is best for the image we want to portray. This ended up being 'day in the life' activities of the monster and how they were going wrong to inspire him to want to change to inspire the narrative.

Shot List

Here are some examples of the shots we are going to do to create our music video and bring it to life. 

1. A birds-eye shot of the monster in his bed.
2. A montage style of the monster getting ready for his day - changing clothes etc.
3. Close-up of the monster brushing his teeth and his hair. 
4. A mid-close up of the monster getting ready in the mirror over his shoulder.
5. Low angle tracking shot of the monster and his feet as he leaves his bed.
6. An establishing shot of the park the monster is visiting.
7. A tracking shot of the monster as he walks through the park. 
8. The monster walking from frame to frame.
9. Mid shots of the monster sat on the bench.
10. A reverse dolly zoom of the monster sat on the bench through the bin.
11. An over the shoulder shot of a scratch card.
12. A close up of the scratch card.