Changes from the draft to the final edit

Changes

After seeing our draft video, we decided that it would be better to start again with a completely new idea and footage.

 

We decided to do this as the draft didn't look as professional and clear as we would have liked and from feedback from others we found that the plot wasn't easy to follow or understand.

 

This time we will plan our filming more carefully working out particular camera angles and shots and where they will be taken from in the location. We will also take more shots to ensure that we get enough footage to edit together without having to continuously use transitions such as the cross dissolve. It will be more beneficial if we plan individual time on the editing program with particular roles as to how much each person must complete at a particular time as this will speed up the process and allow everybody to contribute any effects and ideas that they want to on the footage. The main thing which we need to improve is sound as this was unsuccessful in our draft opening sequence. We will improve this by planning the sounds which we need and recording them separatly, various times to make sure that we get at least one successful recording to then use. We have also decided to use a separate computer program to create the titles on as we felt that the titles were limited on the previous editing program and we were unable to create sufficient titles for our opening sequence.

 

Improvements which we will make:

 

• Plan ahead on the filming
• Create a schedule for each person's time to edit
• Record sounds separatly from videos
• Make more titles on a different program
• Make the plot easier to understand

First draft video and evaluation

First Draft

This is the youtube clip of our first draft of an opening sequence of a thriller which we have called 'Lost But Found'

Overall I am not entirley happy with the outcome of our draft as I believe a lot of improvements need to be made on it such as sound being recorded separetly and edited in so that any dialogue and background noises were heard more clearly and it was obvious to the audience what was being said so that they can understand the plot of the footage more easily. I also think that the camera shots could be improved by experimenting with different angles and effects and when trying to make a scene look continuous, I need to look at the previous shot and match the people in shot and the background exactly to the previous one so that it links together smoothly.

The things that I thought went well are the planning of our sequence as we all contributed various ideas and adapted them into one opening sequence. The filming went well as we got it all done in one day and were able to use actors etc and props in a location other than school. Next time we film I think we should spend longer before hand working out which shot to do and when different people need to be in the background etc.

Thriller titles for draft

Titles

 

For the draft, we didn't include many titles as we didn't have much experience with making them and didn't manage our time well enough to experiment with the different slides and transitions we could have created.

 

We used the same program for titles that we used for editing on the draft and found it was hard to understand. We inserted a simple title with a black background to represent the darkness of the final shots which add an eerie effect to the film. We then decided to use a white bold text so that it stood out and looked dramatic which then fitted with the previous action.

The title came at the end of the opening sequence and the first title was simple with the name of our company on it as from previous research, this is how many of the titles begin.

 

The last title we made was again a plain black background so that the titles linked together well and we changed the font and style of writing to block capitals in a misty grey so that the title of our film looked more mysterious. The name of the thriller was chosen by Nikki as she thought it was a good play on words of 'lost and found' and it gave the impression that the person that has possessed the girl found her for a reason. The rest of the group agreed to the title as it was catchy and suited the thriller we had created an opening for.

Thriller sound editing for draft

Sound

 

I believe that sound was our weakness in this draft as we didnt pay as much attention to it as we did on other aspects such as filming and editing.

 

We used the natural sound that was ambient in the background of the shots we filmed so that they were diegetic to the actors and therefore more realistic. This seemed like a good idea in the filming stages however at editing it proved to be an issue as not all dialogue was clear and there was often interference of the wind or other people.

 

Me and Laura-Jo spent time on the same editing program trying to edit the sound so that it was clearer in the sequence. We did this by going onto the sound options and altering the levels of volume at different points of the sequence. Although it still wasn't great, it made an improvement on the previous sound.

 

We decided that we needed eerie music to accompany the scene and Laura-Jo found a creepy version of 'Teddy Bears Picnic' nursery rhyme which fitted in with our sequence as it was age appropiate for the younger actress and it mentions going to the woods alone which is what the character has done in our opening sequence. She also found an eerie song which we used at the beginning to create an atmosphere as the child is going on an adventure on her own.

 

We added these to the sequence at the correct moments and added a fade in and out so that they seemed mysterious and more professional. The nursery rhyme fades in at the same time that the colour changes which looked good after editing. The music also worked well at this point as the girls eyes turn possessed on the last word 'alone' which is creepy and suits the genre of thriller well.

 

Thriller editing for draft

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Thriller filming for draft

Filming

 

The first thing we had to do was get the actors/ actresses for the filming and choose a location. Laura-Jo casted her two younger family friends to play the parts of the children who will be on the park and the main actress in it. We also asked a friend from sixth form to play the young mum of the girl as it made it easier for availability when filming. The location we chose was Toton park as it was local and we filmed at a time we knew wouldn't be as busy so we were able to film without regularly being interupted.

We used a video camera and a tripod to film the footage and took the story boards and mindmaps that we had made with us so we knew what we needed to film and in what order.

We took it in turns to film different shots of the footage we had planned, I went first, filming the shots of the Mum and daughter walking towards the camera and also took pan shots of the park and forest. I took mutiple shots to ensure that I could get a good quality and there was also a chance that one shot may have something wrong with it and this way I had back up for editing.

 

Print Screens of the shots from the opening sequence

I filmed an establishing shot of the park to ensure the audience knew the location of the film. I then used a pan to the left to show the positioning of the characters in comparison to the park and as I panned it showed the tree trunks in the woods suggesting to the audience the lack of safety as there may be somebody or something in the woods. The end of the pan introduced the characters into the footage with a long shot of them walking and sharing dialogue together.

 

 I then filmed the characters stopping infront of the camera so the shot was a mid shot showing their head and shoulders in frame. This allows the audience to see them talking and their facial expressions during the conversation.

We decided to add a double pan at this point in the filming as it would represent the point of view of the young girl looking at the park and then a reverse pan back to the girl stood on her own.

 

After this shot was filmed, we repositioned the camera and tripod on to the path which led to the park and the younger actress ran from the previous position in the shot before and ran towards the camera to make it look like a continuous action from different camera angles.

 

I then zoomed in on a puddle to create a close up shot of it and then the actress ran in and jumped in it which represented the childs innocence and usual behaviour for someone that age. This would then make the ending that we filmed seem more creepy as it gives the impression that it could happen to any normal child.

 

I then filmed a mid shot of the child from the back and she shouted 'Charlie' as she spotted her friend on the park, and the next shot was a long shot showing her running towards the park.

 

A long pan shot was then used to continue showing the girl running towards the park from a different angle and showed her opening the gate and entering the park.

 

We decided to add in a shot of her dropping her toy and then zoomed in on it to show her betrail of the toy and this would reappear near the end of the sequence. As the shot zooms in on the toy, it foreshadows that something bad will happen involving that as it is the main focus on the shot showing it's importance and children often have soft toys for the feeling of protection, which the child has disposed of.

 

 We used another long shot to show the children on the swings having a conversation, emphasising the reality of the scene so far.

 We then shot this same scene from a different location in the park to show a variety of camera angles and at the end of this shot, the boy is called by what we can make out is a Mum and told that he must leave the park, leaving the girl on her own.

 We then took many still shots of foot prints left in the bark on the ground which continued so when edited together it would appear as somebody or something walking towards the girl, and as there are no feet making the footprints it makes it more mysterious and thrilling suiting the genre.

The camera shot we then used, tilted upwards and zoomed in on the girl who looks possessed as the boy is stood with the toy and wearing a gas mask which creates an unusual and mysterious vibe and leaves the audience wandering why he has got the gas mask and toy and what he has done to the child. We took a still shot of the girls face which will then be edited to make her look possessed afterwards.

 

 

When filming, we made sure that we used different camera angles and shots such as using the zoom button to zoom in and out of shots and also created close ups and pans. This would make it easier to edit as there was a wider variety of shots to choose from and also looked more professional.

 

Problems when filming

The problem that I found whilst filming, was that the sound wasn't always clear and this would be an issue in the editing stage when dialogue would not be heard clearly. Also I found it hard to ensure that the positioning of the actors and actresses remained the same throughout shots so that it looked continuous, and this is something I need to practice and improve on for my next footage.

After looking through all of the footage we have filmed, I believe that we could of done a wider variety of shots throughout the filming and could have perhaps took more notice of the positioning of the characters and camera when trying to continue action through different angles as not all of the footage links together well and will need to be improved through editing.

Thriller Planning for draft

 

Planning

I used my research to plan a mind map of the different sections that we would have to cover when producing our opening thriller sequence. After sitting down and discussing the possible plots that we would use, we decided that the one that would work best would be that a young girl was going to the park and her Mum leaves her, creating an opportunity for something to happen to her. I liked the idea of her hearing footsteps and at the end a shot of her shows her eyes possessed, then it returns to normal suggesting that throughout the film nobody will know she's possessed. The camera shots I thought we should use were a close up for the possessive eye shot, and a shot of the girl holding a teddy bear whilst spinning around and through editing I would create the impression that she was spinning fast with the trees blury. For sound the only diegetic noise I suggested was general dialogue and footsteps to create a normal atmosphere. I would then add in a loud eerie sound of the wind for the shots where the footsteps ocured to add a sense of tension. The location of the majority of the shots would be in a park or forest to look realistic as a child would go there and to play on the idea of danger of leaving children alone. The costumes would be casual so that the scenes looked realistic at the start, however if possible, we could shot the same girl in a white dress with spooky make-up to look haunted, however this may be too over the top. The editing idea that I have is that at the end we will change the eyes of the girl to make her look possessed as it will add tension.

 

 

 

We all made our own mind maps with different ideas and then sat down and discussed them to make a story board of how we would then film. We decided to stick to the plot of a young girl going to the park with her Mum and suddenly being left alone where a mysterious person approaches her but we see footstep marks in the bark rather than the actual feet. We then sorted out what roles we would each do.

 

 

 

Roles

Filming- We will each take charge of the camera and take shots at different points of the footage

Editing- We will work together to edit by sharing ideas and altering the shots and music together

Casting Diretor- Laura-Jo

Prop Organiser- Laura-Jo

Director at the shoot- Me

Make-up and costume- Nikki

Title Arrangement- All of us

 

 

Story Board

 For the first shots of our footage, we decided that we would have a long shot of the Mum and daughter walking normally talking towards the camera. We then decided to do closer mid shots to show them talking and so we can hear their dialogue. The Mum will then leave and the girl will run to the park which will be shown through a pan and long shot. We have decided to show the girl jumping in puddles as a close up to exaggerate her innocence as a normal child.

Once she gets to the park we believe the swings are the best place to film with her possibly talking to a friend who will then leave her on her own. This is where we will take various shots in order showing foot print marks in the ground which will then link together to look like someone or something walking and leaving their mark.

 

At the end we are planning to do a close up of the girl on the swing and showing her with a serious face which we will then be able to edit in the editing stages as Nikki is able to use photoshop to create the correct image.