Editing
I uploaded the footage from the camera onto the computer and renamed the clips so it was easy for our group to then put the correct shots in the sequence when necessary. We used the program Adobe Premier Pro CS4 to put the clips in order and crop them until they blended together. After doing the prelim task, I had experience on this software and felt more confident when using it for this footage.
The first thing we did for editing was to import the clips into the computer program in the correct order by looking at the story boards that we planned before filming, to make sure the story was similar.
Once all of the clips were imported in order, we were then able to crop each clip to ensure that we didn't have shots that weren't necessary and therefore had to be removed. This then gave us an idea of how the sequence would look in terms of camera shots and angles and how the different shots would link together.
When it was my turn to edit, I decided that the pan which would follow the mid shot of the older female walking off, should be reversed to show the young girls point of view pan to the park, and then using the same shot in reverse back to the girl which acted as an action match as we were able to see what she was seeing. I created this effect by importing the same clip twice, next to each other and on the one which I wanted to reverse, I changed the properties of the footage and made it reverse.
Another part of the sequence which I edited was the continuous still shots of the footprints leading up to the girl on the swing. I created this effect by selecting all of the photographs which I took during the filming stages and put them in the correct order so that the trail of footsteps linked together. I did this and although the images appeared in the correct order and it was clear that they were leading up to the girl, the speed of the shots were too slow to look convincing as actual footsteps. I fixed this by altering each of the pictured speeds to a much lower number so that the steps were on screen long enough for the audience to know what was happening, but not too long so that they linked together at normal walking speed.
After we had all edited the clips by cropping them and putting them at the correct speed and direction and in the right order, we then decided to add transitions between shots that didn't quite work well when linked together to distract from the jump in shots.
After experimenting with different transitions between the shots, as a group we found that the best option was the cross dissolve as it linked the shots together and gave the impression that time had passed since the previous shot, instead of being continous. I was able to insert the cross dissolve transition into the correct part of the sequence by dragging the transition onto the timeline where the desired clip was.
The first shot that required a cross dissolve was between the long shot of the females walking towards the camera, and the shot where they are stood still sharing dialogue. These shots did not link together well as there was no evidence of them stopping before having a conversation and therefore looked unrealistic without the transition.
The first thing we did for editing was to import the clips into the computer program in the correct order by looking at the story boards that we planned before filming, to make sure the story was similar.
Once all of the clips were imported in order, we were then able to crop each clip to ensure that we didn't have shots that weren't necessary and therefore had to be removed. This then gave us an idea of how the sequence would look in terms of camera shots and angles and how the different shots would link together.
When it was my turn to edit, I decided that the pan which would follow the mid shot of the older female walking off, should be reversed to show the young girls point of view pan to the park, and then using the same shot in reverse back to the girl which acted as an action match as we were able to see what she was seeing. I created this effect by importing the same clip twice, next to each other and on the one which I wanted to reverse, I changed the properties of the footage and made it reverse.
After we had all edited the clips by cropping them and putting them at the correct speed and direction and in the right order, we then decided to add transitions between shots that didn't quite work well when linked together to distract from the jump in shots.
After experimenting with different transitions between the shots, as a group we found that the best option was the cross dissolve as it linked the shots together and gave the impression that time had passed since the previous shot, instead of being continous. I was able to insert the cross dissolve transition into the correct part of the sequence by dragging the transition onto the timeline where the desired clip was.
Another cross dissolve was used when the girl approaches the puddle and the short close up of her jumping in it as once again there was no evidence of her stopping and approaching the puddle so it looked odd and with the transition it improved the flow of the sequence.
The same cross dissolve transition was used on the scene where the two children are talking shown by a long shot of them on the swings as the conversation appeared to be too long and was hard to shorten without it sounding and looking odd, therefore an editing transition was needed.
At this point the editing was finished for the linking together of the shots and the length of each clip and transitions. After watching it several times, I decided that the lighting was too bright nearer to the end of the clip for the genre we were creating the opening sequence for and therefore decided to experiment on the program with picture lighting from the still shot point in the footage.
I found that I was able to create a fade in the shot as the boy left and the girl was left alone where a downwards tilt took place which would then lead into the mysterious footprints. I created the fade so that the colour and lighting went from natural and light to black and white as this had an eerie effect and allowed the audience to know that something bad is about to happen.
I changed all of the shots and images after this to the same colours and lighting as this and it created a divide in the atmosphere of the opening sequence as the start represented a happy normality and towards the end it began to become twisted and dull as the thriller side to the sequence kicked in.
We then decided to use my idea from the planning stage of the edited image of the young girl looking possessed at the end. We used a still image of her close up which would enable her eyes to be edited in more detail. Nikki edited this image on photoshop and made her eyes huge and black to make it more mysterious.
Before Shot
After Shot
We added the before shot at the end of the sequence to present that she was possessed, however she returns back to normal suggesting that nobody will know she is possessed throughout the rest of the film, leaving a cliff hanger.
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