Peliminary Post production evaluation.

This week we have learnt how to access our footage, by using final cut server. The Rushes / dailies are uploaded to the Final Cut Server, from which you can access an Edit Proxy (digital copy) of the raw footage which you can then open in Final Cut Pro to begin the editing / post production process. Then once in final cut server, we could find our footage there, and then drag all the clips into the rushers bin. After when you want to start editing you drag your preferred and chosen clips into the log bin. The log bin is a separate area where only the shots you want appear.  Here we dragged in various clips we wanted to use, and managed to put them into a sequence, then started editing them by cutting there lengths and rearranging them to form a film. We also worked a bit on editing the sounds, by decreasing or increasing various sounds.

We also had to take into consideration once again, continuity editing. This here is the predominant style of editing in narrative cinema and television. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots. This is very important to the audience, as the audience need to be able to follow and understand the shots so they have to be in a logical order. Whilst we were filming, we followed the 180 degree rule, which meant we couldn’t cross the 180 degree line; we could prove that we didn’t cross this line by viewing our shots on final cut server, we were able to delete shots that did cross the line, and include the shots that didn’t. This therefore meant that our shots made sense and won’t confuse the audience when they watch it.

Film language also comes into consideration as we need to ensure that only the relevant story points are shown, but also to manipulate time and space in the narrative, and to force the audience to identify with the right characters. Also to make sure the story makes sense to the audience. One example is match on action, this here for example was used in my preliminary task when we had a medium shot of the actor putting the gun forward, then a close up shot of the actual gun. This enables the audience to realize that the actor was placing the gun down and also the close up of the gun was to emphasize the fact it’s a gun, and guns are associated with crime and danger.

Another example was eye line match; this for example in our preliminary task was for when we took a shot from one of the actors positions then another shot of the other actors face. This tells the audience that we are looking at the actor, but without needing to show two shots of the actors. As long as the directions of the eyes match then it will work and the audience will be able to understand that one actor is looking at the other without showing two separate shots.

Various terminologies

Logging my shots-

By having dragged all our footage into the rushers bin, this enabled us to have access of all shots. Once we had this, we could then choose the shots that worked best and we preferred, and then drag these shots into the log bin. Its important to select and reject particular shots as some shots may need to be rejected, for example if we crossed the 180 degree rule line, or if we didn’t adjust the focus or got the headspace wrong. This is also why we took each shot at least a couple of times. The clip viewer which is on the right hand shot, is split into two, one screen enables us to watch a clip we’ve clicked on, and the other is of what our storyline consists of at this moment of time. Due to some shots having a good start, then halfway through having an error, we were able to watch the shots in the clip viewer and find shots with the best fit. We did this as it saves time and effort rather than chopping up each one for the overall best example.

Organizing my shots

We could either use the storyboard we were given, with the choices of shots already in order. Or from our knowledge and choice we could put together our own storyboard by rearranging shots, or repeating various shots. We did this, so we could tell the best story. Whilst filming we had to decide which character we felt sorry for and which characters side we were on. In my task, we were on the actor’s side for the character that walked into the room, this was shown due the actor having more shot time, and the camera being focused more on its face. This tells us that we are on that persons side, as firstly she is standing by the desk and the other actor is already seated looking up at the actor. These shots can emphasize who the good characters but also the bad character. The actor, who walked into the scene, seemed to be more dominant and have more power and asked the other character to ‘just do it’. We feel sorry for the character already seated, as the actor is being interrogated and questioned and the actor is looking down on it like he’s some kind of victim. The fact that we followed our storyboard, enabled the shots to appear in order and make sense, this then tells the audience that we have understood continuity but also sequential editing.

Editing in final cut

Using final cut was an easy process, it was easily laid out and this is shown by the diagram below. On the time line, we had dragged in various shots, but we were also able to decrease the time of a shot, but cutting it. This in some circumstances changed the whole shot completely. For example we cut the shot of a close up of a gun as we wanted it to be a quick shot, and emphasize how it’s being thrown down. Another shot we lengthened was a close up of our actors face, this was lengthened to emphasize the expression on his face and to let the audience react to it.

Here is a print screen of final cut-

Preliminary task evaluation

Location- the location we used to film in was the Hurtwood house film studio.
Did this location work?- this location worked incredibly well, as we had access to large amounts of space, props and lighting. We were able to shoot our clips from different angles and we could make as much sound as possible as it was secluded from other people and sound proofed.
My role- in this preliminary task, I had the chance to take on all the roles including directing the film, this was an easy, simple task which consisted of me speaking out loudly the words ‘stand by’, ‘roll on’, ‘action’ and ‘cut’. This terminology was used as it appropriate to filming and everyone understand it so therefore would be able to follow it. These words are very important to the camera operator, as I’m directing them on when to start and stop filming. Another role I took on was the role of the camera operator, the job of this was to operate the camera and film the actions going on. Another job which wasn’t very big but vital was the job of pressing the light switch on the side of the wall, when this switch was pressed it enabled a red light outside the door to light on, this warns people that filming is going on in this room and they may not enter. The role I enjoyed the most was directing the film, as I felt I had more control and everyone could listen to you, but also you can watch the filming going on at the same time.


Lighting- lighting in film is a very important aspect, we had to have a slight thought of what kind of lighting we wanted to use, appropriate to the scene of action going on. Lighting is used to create an effect and ambiance, which is given off when watched by the audience. We wanted to base the lighting around a dark room, with only a small amount of lighting, white lighting on the characters, this lighting then reflected and made shadows of different points and section of the room itself, creating a dark, tense and scary atmosphere. The lighting that we used were two studio lights, these were easy to move and switch off and on.
Important to this scene?- lighting was very important to this scene as it changes the effect completely, the fact that it was situated in an office and a gun was used, we thought a dark, eerie atmosphere would be more appropriate than a lit up room. It changes the feeling and atmosphere of the scene and gives a much better visual appearance.
Effective- the lighting in our scene was used for a purpose, and that purpose was to give off an effect to the audience. And that effect was created, due to the appropriate lighting we used and the shadowing created due to the actors blocking some of the light or particular props which also created shadows and blocked sections of lights.


Filming
Setting up camera- we were given the camera itself in the case with a tripod, we were given the task to set it up by ourselves, we had no trouble in this and were able to adjust the knobs on the side to adjust the height of the tripod, also we bubbled the tripod to enable it to be levelled out properly and adjusting the camera on the actual tripod just needed steady and careful hands, making sure we did this properly and fitted the camera on correctly.
Checking level- we had to check the tripod level at every shot, as we sometimes moved the tripod around the room, to get the different shots, and this may have adjusted the height of the tripod, un-levelling the tripod. It was important to level the tripod as we needed to make sure the camera shot wasn’t of at an angle or wonky.
Shot framed correctly- once again at each shot, we had to double check that the shot was framed correctly. This consisted of us checking headspace of the characters and making sure the actors were inside the screen, we had to follow the storyboard and make sure that the two actors had an eye line match in each frame. Also another important aspect was making sure we didn’t cross the 180 degree rule. This is a faulty that can be easily made, so checking it in every shot was vital.
Lighting equipment not in the shot- the lighting equipment was portable, so had various wires and plugs streaming from it, we had to make sure these things were not in the shot, as it would give of an unprofessional and messy impression. Also due to us moving them around so much due to the different shots we had to make sure the lights weren’t obstructing the camera itself creating light shadows as this would interfere with continuity of filming and the other shots.
Angles for shots- the storyboard consisted of five shots, we shot these five shots but due to having extra time we shot another few shots, for example a close up on the telephone and the gun that we used, this was taken for extra detail and also to contribute to the ambiance of the shots. Another shot we used was a shot from up high, we adjusted the tripod to make it taller and shot from a greater height, so it gave off the impression we were looking down on the actor, making the actor look like a victim. By variating these shots, it makes the overall film more exciting and interesting.
180 degree rule- we applied this rule to all our shots, making sure we never crossed it, but one of the extra shots we took we were just on the line of crossing it, you have to be extremely careful as it is a rule and if this rule is broke it confuses the audience as the actors would be in different positions.




What I have learnt so far- so far in terms of practical film making I have learnt how to set up a camera and tripod, use them to film. Edit my shots which I have used, I learnt how to white balance, exposure, focus and adjust the camera appropriately to the shot, I was able to follow the storyboard which gave me an idea on how to film in order, I had to take into consideration continuity and the 180 degree rule in all the shots.


These pictures of of my storyboards that we followed, they include the actors lines aswell.

Camera shots & Camera Movement OCR videos

Camera shots & Camera Movement OCR videos




This week we have been learning about using a video camera unlike last week we focused on just a camera. We also learnt about the different ways to create a effect on a video camera such as the different angles and methods whilst using a video camera.


Camera operation and functions


Recording Speed- when recording, always uses record videos at ‘standby play’.


Date/Time Imprint- here the time and date is displayed on the camera screen and also when plugged into a screen to watch, once this information has been imprinted into your tape, it cannot be removed.


Fade and Dissolve Control- are special effects built into your camera, if you decide to use this effect you cannot get your original images back or remove this special effect.


The zoom- on most cameras, there is a zoom lense, this enables you to go from a wide angle view to a close up of an image or object. Throughout filming you can change the zoom depending on what your trying to film.


Focus and White Balance- To determine what is "white," the electronics in
your camera must be shown a white object under the light that you will be video taping in. to enable this we used a placed a piece of white paper in front of the camera which then set the white balance. For continuous shooting in changing lighting conditions simply set your camera's switch to "automatic”.


Focus - the adjustment of the lens so that the image you are video taping is sharp and clear in your view finder or on your monitor.


Viewfinder- on a modern camera, the viewfinder is the cameras eye, which you look through, you can view the image through this.


Tripod- is a three-legged rack used to support the camera. You slide the camera onto the tripod show and adjust the nuts on the sides of the tripod to secure the camera. The tripod also has a pan handle, which enables you to move direction and height of the camera when placed on the tripod.


Bubbling- Adjusting the tripods level.






Using the camera and shots
Here are some of the shots we have been using to create a film. Clip, the order of the shots is vital, as we need to establish a story of the clips.


1. Extreme wide shot- this shot is often used as an establishing shot; it is so far away that we can’t see much detail or the subject of the photo.


2. Very wide shot- the subject here is now more visible but still rather distant.


3. Wide shot- the subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as possible. This is the same as a long shot..


4. Mid shot- Shows some part of the subject in more detail whilst still giving an impression of the whole subject.


5. MCU (Medium Close Up)- this shot is Half way between a Mid Shot and a close up.


6. Close up- A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.


7. Extreme close up- gets right in and shows extreme detail.


8. Cutaway- A shot of something other than the current action.


9. Cut in- Shows some part of the subject in detail.


10. Two shot- A comfortable shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.


11. Over- the-shoulder- shot- Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Introuduction to video camera

This video explains the common mistakes people make in camerawork, it shows clearly and explain the mistakes. WATCH IT.
watch out for the commmon mistakes of the 180 degrees rule, this is a vital rule used to keep the audience inside of the film and enable us to realize were watching the same scene jsut from a different direction or angle. when the 180 rule is not applied this is when the actors crossed the line and this ruins the effect and ambiance of the whole film youre trying to achieve.


There are mamy Uses of Industry terminology whilst filming-:


1) STAND BY / STANDING BY - readys everyone into position for the take. The AD calls STAND BY and the response tells them that everyone is prepped


2) TURN OVER / TURNING OVER (Roll film/Rolling etc) The director tells the camera operator to start filming - a few seconds of film is then run as the camera gets up to speed - this is often referred to as LEAD IN. Once done the Camera operator will respond TURNING OVER or ROLLING (etc) to indicate being up to speed


3) ACTION! - Cue for the actors to perform the take, and the crew to do their jobs. It is good practice for the Director to let the film run on a further few seconds after the take is completed before cutting - this is referred to as LEAD OUT


4) CUT! - Cue for the camera to stop running film. Industry practice expects that the camera operator does not CUT before being told


The move from a standard camera to a video camera is compeltely different, i really enjoyed using a video camera moer than a standard camera as i was able to capture so much more rather than one image, a moving image can have more of a meaning and give of more of an impression, it gives the audience more to watch and think about aswell.