Transition: Test Shoot

Transition: Test Shoot

After scouting our location a few days prior, today we collected our equipment and went to set it up on location. This would save us time setting up on our shoot day and gave us the opportunity to do a few test shots and block out scenes to see how the would look on camera. Helping us plan and block our actual shoot.

Testing Shots 

Using the track and dolly we were able to see how much freedom of movement we had with the camera, and how quickly we could react to changes in movement. 

We were able to see what the rooms looked like on camera, especially in terms of lighting and white balance. Even though there was low light we found that with the help of LED's we could cut in very close without losing quality. 

We used this as an opportunity to see how we needed to dress the set to avoid a distracting background, removing posters childish items, and opening the blinds slightly for more eery lighting. All of this puts us in the right frame of mind for our shoot and will save us time later down the line.

Blocking
Using me as a stand in George and Drey were able to block out the scene. They figured out how they could work with the space in the room and the low ceiling. They could also block the scene using the dolly to ensure that our actress didn't walk out of frame and that they could track her standing up at a steady pace.

We worked out how fast/slow the pacing needed to be, setting us up for tomorrow. We also could see how well the subject stayed in focus as they moved towards the camera.

Drone
In the back garden of our shooting location, I took the opportunity to test out the drone. I wanted to see how steady the shots would look even in poor conditions. This also gave me a chance to practice flying it within the space I had available and whether or not the active tracking software would work.

The results of our test shoot can be seen above/bellow.

Transition: Location Scouting (New)

Transition: Location Scouting

In preparation for our new idea for our transition production, my group and I sat down today to plan out what kind of location we wanted for our film. We wanted to put our own creative spin in the adaptation, as such we thought it would be a good idea to generate new meaning/mystery by having the shoot take place in a slightly higher class of location. This gave us more to work with visually and new challenges for the cinematography. So that afternoon we headed out today to scout our planned shooting locations.

The location we are using is the house belonging to George's relative, who has given us her permission to film there. 

We started in the top room. This has a lot of dark corners and has one big pair of blinds, allowing for eery lighting and a contained atmosphere. But at the same time it is big enough to allow for a track and dolly.

The stairs are one of the most challenging locations due to the lack of space for cameras to be placed. However, it could make for some nice low angle shots. And it would help the story telling if we could film our actress coming down the stairs.

The hallway allows for some great tracking shots on different levels and we can get some really smooth pans. The only issue here is the changing light levels. We would need to make sure the shot didn't become overexposed and that the camera isproperly white balanced. 

There is some room for additional lighting but not a lot.
Moving in to the kitchen this is near perfect. The open plan makes for good tracking shots and reverse shots. We can play around with the pacing in this room and the large windows mean we have to rely less on artificial light. There is also a big TV we can use as a focal point.

The outside area has more space than I was expecting and will mean we can get a mixture of close up and wide angles. As well as switching between shots and reverse shots. I do wonder if we will be slightly restricted by window reflections and the small ally, but we won't know until we shoot.

The steps can make a fantastic transition for use with both static and drone shots. The lane its self is spacious apart from a few low hanging branches that we will have to work around. Overall this is a great location that offers a lot of opportunities for camera angles and set design.

Transition: Graphics

Transition: Graphics

For our upcoming shoot re-creating Black Mirror I wanted to make sure we have the most effective atmosphere possible. As such, I took inspiration from the original episode and prepared my own glitching graphic effect that can be displayed on a TV on the day of shooting. This graphic will also feature in my edit. It is in the same style as the original but features my own interpretation/adaptation. I created it using after effects and will write a post about the creation process at a future date. 

Transition: Colour Research

Transition: Colour Research

For my role as editor in this unit I want to do some colour grading for my sequence. In order to make the grade as effective as it can be I have researched in to the various colours and their meanings so that I can make the best decision possible about which colours to use in my grade. 

Red

Red can symbolise power, energy and passion. But also anger and danger. It is good for scenes which have a lot of on-screen action and can be used to symbolise a breakthrough or change in a characters mental state. None of this really applies to my scene so i dont think i'll be using it.

Blue

Blue can have a bit of a double meaning. Sometimes it can symbolise trust and stability. Whilst at other times it can be used to express a break down in a characters mental state. Showing how they have fallen in do a station of te of sadness or desperation. Being a darker colour it is also great for creating a sense of mystery. As such it could be a useful colour to use for grading.

Yellow

Yellow is a very stimulating colour it can be used to bring up the energy in a sequence as well as increase the attention of the audience. Being a traditionally happy colour it can lighten the mood of a scene. I will consider its use in my edit. 

Green

Green symbolises nature, as such it brings a sense of harmony to a piece. It creates a feel of calm, and has mostly positive connotations, but can also be associated with greed. 

Purple

Purple connotes wealth, extravagance and power. Purple is associated with wisdom and royalty but can also be used to create a sense of mystery. 

Orange

Orange can represent curiosity and can raise the intensity of an otherwise flat scene, without overpowering it like red. A such it could be a great colour to use in my edit.

Transition: Contextual Role Research How To Edit Sci-fi/Thriller

Transition: Contextual Role Research How To Edit Sci-fi/Thriller

For the transition unit my group has elected to re-create an episode of Black Mirror. Now since this show crosses in to both the Sci-fi and the Thriller genres it is imperative that I know how to edit for both.

I will be going over my research findings about the rules of editing these two genres, using the show Orphan Black as my source material for this blog post. 

Orphan Black is a show that ran for five seasons and crossed into both the sci-fi and thriller genres during its run. It utilised tension, as well as action sequences to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Its character-focused narrative made for intense shooting and editing. 

Pacing
When editing any genre it is important to make sure the pacing is appropriate for the film. Film academy online says that the pacing for a thriller needs to be fast at times and slow at others to make sure that tension is built properly.

Looking at Orphan Black we can see that in scenes of mystery or on a lead up to an action sequence, many shots are long and drawn out, however, once the tension is cut you could switch between a series of quick cuts, or stick to one wide master shot (which I plan to use in my project). This ensures the audience are able to to take in as much scene and background detail as possible while still following the action.


Visuals
Orphan Black is a big fan of close up's and low angle shots, and if your editing a thriller or a sci-fi you need a lot of close up shots. Not just of characters either, it is key to make sure your scene puts emphasis on the objects characters interact with (especially within the scifi genre) so that the story flows nicely. Orphan Black does this often when a character uses a gun, we would get a close up from the front of the gun making us as the audience feel victimised and powerless (with the use of low angle shots). That kind of reaction is what I want to get from the use of a gun in our project and I have planned a series of close ups to try and replicate this. 

Sci-fi in particular always has a certain look to it. The editor working in this genre would apply filters that make certain colour tones stronger than others. In the case of Orphan Black, they bring out the white's in their sequences to generate a subtle atmosphere and symbolic meaning. 

Sci-Fi is also well known for its light blue tones and high exposures that tend to generate a false sense of calm, this is why I want to bring out the blue's in my project when I colour grade in the edit. 

Music And Sound
The thriller genre is one that heavily relies upon its sound design. Music, atmos, foley and dialogue all come together to create this wholesome and immersive atmosphere that generate an emotional response from an audience. Thriller is well known for its high-intensity music at moments of panic, usually with a long build-up that drops in to a fast-paced track that the visuals can match with a series of quick cuts.

When watching Orphan Black it combines atmos and foley along with the music which commands and steers the reaction of the audience. There is a scene in Orphan Black where one of the heroins of teh story is in a life or death situation. The scene starts off very slow mainly using its dialouge to control the pacing, then as she starts to panic, atmos sound is brought in before we reach the climax at which background music is faded up and acompanied by the loud firing foley sounds of the guns. This gradual build in tension is somehting I hope to try in this project.

Transition: Role Research Ben Yeates

Transition: Role Research Ben Yeats

In order to learn more about my role as an editor and how I can push myself to get the best results for this project, I am going to be looking at the work of a well-established industry editor; Namely Ben Yeates. 

Ben Yeates is a TV editor who has been working in the industry for a number of years. During this time she has worked on a variety of different TV shows and genres, including 3 episodes of Black Mirror. 

I will be analysing some of her work to find patterns, styles and creative methodologies that I can pick up on.

Story Telling
Yeates follows relatively traditional methods of story telling in her work. Sequencing shots in order and ensures that the speaking character is always in frame. However, they certainly have their own unique style. For a start when multiple characters are on screen but only one is talking Yeates tends to prefer two shots over close up's so that more of the scenes visuals can be taken in.

Secondly, they tend to change and switch up their angles on a regular basis. Even during the same line of dialogue, they will switch to a different two shot or a reverse shot. This is used to keep the energy high even during dialogue-heavy scenes, and is something I can incorporate in to my editing. 

Yeates also utilizes a lot of reaction shots. Whereas most editors would follow the characters eye line to bring whatever they are looking at in to view, Yeates likes to linger on the characters face to bring out their emotional response, establishing e deeper link between the character and the audience. With the pacing of our scene, I hope to be able to draw on the same effect to draw out the tension faced by our central character. 

Interestingly as well Yates likes to include shots where the characters are not in the centre of the frame, despite this she sticks to the rule of thirds and this tendency helps to keep the audience on edge during moments of tension.

Visual FX
Something that is evident in a lot of Yeates work, especially across the episodes of Black Mirror she has worked on, is that she likes to keep the look of the film relatively plain and simple. Rather than go overboard with corrections or enhancements she tends to make simple changes. For example in the Black Mirror episodes she has edited, she keeps careful control over the exposure and light. Dimly lit scenes still allow for skin tones to stand out, and even in well-lit scenes, Yeates will bring down the exposure and contrast just a little to create a kind of dreamy look across the sequence.

Her use of colour grading is simple yet effective. It is clear that she likes to give her films a realistic feel without the being too gritty. The filters she utilises tend to bring out the skin tones of characters nicely but then washes out a lot of the background colour to ensure our attention is focussed in the right place. This is something i'd love to be able to achieve with my film. 

Genre Work
Yeates has an extensive background in the drama genre. Which means her edits do tend to follow a certain pace. She likes to keep a scene flowing at a pace that matches the dialogue, this can be clearly seen in her work on the show "Humans", where even though she may stick to "two shots" she will change the camera angle on a regular basis to keep up a pace. Our scene is quite long and drawn out with little dialogue as such, I will need to make sure my edit is appropriate for that pace.

Analysing her work on drama's like casualty or even black mirror, she likes to have a certain level of sound design without necessarily including music.
In fact if you look at her Black Mirror episodes there is very little in the way of music at all. Since she doesn't have to rely on rhythmic editing she is able to play around more with the visuals to show off unique angles. Referring to casualty we can see that background music plays a very minor role, if it has one at all. Instead we rely on the other elements of sound design that generate realistic sounding background noise that enhances our immersion.

I hope to be able to take this on board to find sounds that enhance the viewing experience, but still fit and don't detract from the visuals. This way I can follow Yeates example and edit the audio round the visuals, rather than the other way around. 

This can still be done to create tension, make changes to the pacing or like I have noticed with some of Yeates work (especially on shows like "Humans") create a story that feels like it is always moving fowards even if it is not. 


Compare this to her work on a few of the documentaries shes helped create and you can see that a completely different discipline in relation to what shots or cut aways should be put on screen. Her documentary work feature colour grading with more realistic contrasts and there is a distinct use of background music, which is still something I can incorporate since Black Mirror is technically a thriller, and features a chase scene.

Transition: Role Research

Transition: Role Research

As part of my ongoing research for this unit, I want to look in to the role of an editor to learn as much as I can about the role to benefit me in this unit.

An editors main responsibility is to convert out of sequence clips and rushes in to a complete and ordered story.  
Editors work from a screenplay as well as their own notes to ensure the sequence they piece together coherently follows the story laid out by the director. 

Team Working
Contrary to popular belief the editor's job is not a solo one. On big budget productions, they would work with at least one assistant editor (sometimes two), delegating tasks and sequences among the team to improve the efficiency of the edit. 

Since our production is very small I will not have an assistant editor, however I will be working very closely with my director.
Creative skillset says that it is important that the editor sits and talks to the director, even in the early stages of a production so that they can understand the director's creative vision for the project. 

In our production, I will have the director sat in the same room as me so that they can offer their advice and opinion on the edit as it progresses. 

Multiple Cuts
As an editor, it is important that you produce multiple cuts of a film before the final version. This way you can review the edit at different stages to establish early on what works and doesn't work. This also allows the director to get a proper view of the project as before now they may have not seen it in full or in order. This is their opportunity to discuss with the editor the changes they would like to see. 

A rough cut and a fine cut are the minimum you should produce and BBC academy suggests that you may even want to produce multiple rough cuts, giving you a chance to test out different shots/sequences, grades, effects etc. 

For my project I aim to get a rough cut done quite early on so my director can help steer the edit, then towards the end I will produce a fine cut that is closer to the finished project. This means that both the editor and the director have more time to focus on tidying up smaller key details and adding finishing touches, rather than spending all their time on the major storytelling aspects.

Bins
The Art Career Project talks a lot about the key skills you need as an editor. One of the biggest it talks about is organisation. Often TV has a quick turn around and the edit needs to get done fast. To make things as smooth as possible sites like The Arts Career Project recommend the use of "Bins" to help keep your dock tidy and allow you to access the clips you need fast. This process involves organising your footage/clips in to different folders within your editing software so that they are kept in categories such as their content, usage etc. 

For my work as editor in this unit I plan to take this one step further. I will be attending the shoot days and be making regular concise notes about which takes, shots etc. are most effective. This will save me from spending loads of time file hunting later. Once I have all the footage I will also be able to review each clip and put it in to a sub folder relating to how good it is, which I can then drag in to a bin in premier that arranges the clips by scene.

Colour Grading
Creative Skillset also talks about the more finite parts of the edit process, such as colour correcting/grading. 

Towards the end of a film the editor should be looking closely at continuity, this is not simply limited to blocking and positioning of props, cast, lighting etc. But also to the overall look and colour tones of a sequence. 

Which is why it is important to familiarise yourself as an editor with the colour grading process. Making sure all the shots look the same and share similar tones even if shooting conditions have changed is important for giving an immersive film with a good flow of continuity. 

While colour correcting can be done solo, the editor may be able to enhance the look of a film through grading and filters. In which case they should sit with the DOP and director to create a well tinted sequence that enhances the overall look of the film.

This is something I will be doing towards the end of my edit.