To prepare for the screening, I was put into the technical team where we discussed the best possible running order for our film, taking into account the tone and genre of each.
As part of the technical team, I went to the showroom media lounge where we would be showing our films before the screening to do a practice screening with all the films. This involved us doing a number of different exports to see which ones had the best quality as well as making sure they played back fine on the laptop we were using. I decided to use a 'same as source' export in the end as it didn't alter the gamma of the shot which was important in our film as there was a lot of dark colours onto of each other.
The actual AV14 screening went very well and our film was well received, which was positive especially as it was the opening film. The whole thing had no technical problems and all the films played smoothly, making the whole event a success.
I have been applying things I have learnt through outside
reading (mainly Walter Murch’s In the Blink of an Eye) during the editing
process of ‘The Conductor’, so I can be more effective and create a better
final film.
My main concern for this film, and all short films I edit,
is how many cuts will be needed between different shots and whether or not
these will work with the pace of the film or if they will be to obvious and to
jarring for the audience. “What we do seem to have difficulty accepting are the
kind of displacements that are neither subtle nor total.” [1; Pg 6]
What Murch means here is that the audience’s attention will be drawn to the
physical nature of each cut if they aren’t too subtle to notice or are
completely different from one another. When the audience recognises these cuts, their
immersion and engagement with the story is broken and they become aware that
they’re watching a constructed image, instead of being told a story.
Leading on from this, ‘The Conductor’ relies on the audience
believing what they see is a visual construct of a daydream, so the audience
must be fully immersed is fantasy style world in order to engage with the
character and narrative. When I first assembled the film it began with the set
up of the character, his location, his reaction to the location, then finally
him doing his job (cleaning) before moving into the daydream world. After
watching it back and showing it in the rough cut screening I remembered Murch’s
rule regarding audience engagement: “Always
try to do the most with the least.” “…you want to do only what is necessary to
engage the audience—suggestion is always more effective that exposition.”[1;
Pg 15] This made me re-assess the cut and realise that almost none of the
start was needed and could be stripped down to get the audience into the
narrative straight away.
Finally, I’ve always tried to keep an objective view on each
film I edit so that the cut isn’t influenced by my involvement with a specific
shot or shoot day in any way. However, due to the group sizes of student films,
it is almost impossible to be completely objective and distant from
pre-production and filming on set so I always try to view it as an audience
member, instead of ‘seeing around the edge of the frame’. “The editor… should try to see only what’s on the screen, as the
audience will.”[1; Pg 24] I have tried my best to do this
throughout the majority of the edit, which I hope will be reflected with the
outcome of our final film.
452 Words
Bibliography
1. Murch, Walter (1988); In the Blink of an Eye; New York: Viking Press
The problematic scene is at 1:42 and shows the
janitor imagining he is hitting a floating apple with a bat.
I encountered a number of problems while
editing this scene, starting with the fact that it had been filmed on two different
cameras, a Canon 6D and a GoPro. This meant that the white balance, exposure
and picture quality were all different which made the two pieces of footage
visually contrasting.
The performance was the next noticeable issue
as, due to the short length of each take and camera positions, the actor kept
stopping and starting at certain points in the script, instead of continuing
with the direction for an entire sequence. E.g. when he hits the apple, he
stops and looks around instead of continuing the action in the script.
Finally, the framing of some of the shots,
especially when the apple actually gets hit, was questionable as they were
filmed differently to how we had planned due to geographical space and safety
concerns.
My ideal set of rushes:
1. Same framing but get the actor to move into
shot and block the view of the apple, then track right to reveal it. This would
be to immerse the audience more as it makes them want to know what the
character is looking at and see the events in the film through his eyes,
allowing them to empathise more with him.
2. Close up of the apple, same as shown. 3. Front Angle MS of him bringing his hands up and
then pausing. Then we would give him the bat and continue with the swinging
action. This is so I have options to cut in and out of the whole take at any
point in the scene during the edit, whilst keeping the camera position locked
to prevent jarring cuts. 4. Same XCU of his eyes but then I would also
have liked a XCU of the floating apple to build the tension between the two,
and so the audience is aware of his intentions. 5. Cutting to a back angle shot here would have
been good, so the audience can see the reveal of the bat in his hands,
confirming what he is about to do. 6. Idealistically, I would have wanted a front
and two side angle mid shots of him as he swung the bat, as well as a close up
on the exploding apple itself, all filmed on the same type of camera. The actor
would need to continue the motion and follow the script after smashing the
apple, to prevent more unnecessary cuts being made.
Finally, all of
this sequence should have been filmed with the soundtrack being played on set,
so the actor could have timed all his movements to the music, making his
performance seem less forced and rigid.
The main technique that replaces dialogue as a narrative device in Michel
Hazanavicius’ film ‘The Artist’ (2011) is the exaggerated performances.
This ‘overacting’ brings a very comedic element to the film and also easily
conveys the actors emotions and intentions to the audience without the use of
dialogue. It also reminds the audience that they’re watching a reflexive film
that is about filmmaking, by drawing their attention to the comedic overacting
of the performers themselves. Similarly, the performance sets up a lot of
visual gags to do with staging/choreography which ties into the comedic genre
of the film.
The shot style used in the film also eliminates the need for dialogue due to
the order of shots in a scene, especially when changing locations. It normally
use either a wide shot as an establisher, or a tracking shot following the
character, giving the audience enough clues in the mise en scène to establish
it themselves.
Each shot of a characters action is normally followed by at least one
reaction shot of a different character so the audience knows the emotions each
person is feeling individually. It also connotes a certain tone in each scene
which the audience can easily pick up on and understand. The music is a vital convention as well, as it consistently reflects the
tone of each scene and the emotions of the main characters, e.g. at the
beginning when the audience applauds the main character, George, after the film
ends, the music is very upbeat which connotes happiness and purity to the
audience. Finally, the way the film transitions between the creating of a film in the
context of the narrative and the film that we, as an audience, are watching, is
very smoothly accomplished and relevant to my own film for this semester. In
The Artist, the transition is normally done through the change in the style of
the soundtrack as it is changes according to the mood of the scene. In my film, The Conductor, we want to show a similar transition, from fiction
to reality, which I will attempt through the change in music, as well as some
changes to sync sound and the addition of sound effects. In terms of the
picture edit, I will use the technique of placing reaction shots after a
significant action has taken place so that the audience understands how the
character feels, as well as drawing them into the world the character is in.
Our film for this semester uses a soundtrack as a backbone for the visuals
to be cut around. A notable example of a
film that does this effectively is the opening credits in Martin Scorsese’s
Taxi Driver (1976).
It instantly introduces the audience to some of the themes that continue
throughout the film, as well as creating tension to engage the audience from
the beginning. It opens with suspense heavy music which then cuts to a romantic
jazz style tune which foreshadows the theme of schizophrenia and surrealism as
the two contrast in style and induce very different emotions into the audience.
The use of intercutting between these two pieces of music, when synced to the
reoccurring extreme close up of Di Nero’s eyes, gives the audience an insight
into the character’s emotional and internal psyche. The jazz music has a very
‘sleazy’ feel to it, a theme which is continued later in the film, so the
audience is already being given insight into the progression of the narrative.
The second piece of music I’ve chosen to look at is Pumpkin and Honey
Bunny/Misirlou from the opening of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994).
This piece of music's main purpose is to draw the audience into the world of
the narrative, instead of introducing them to a character. This is largely to
do with the structure and focus of the two stories, as Taxi Driver is focused
around one main character and Pulp Fiction is focused around a number of
stories all contained in the one world.
Our aim in 'The Conductor' is to use a piece of music to progress the
narrative whilst also enhancing the themes of daydreaming and surrealism.
Before the music comes in, we need to have already introduced these themes
through the tone and ‘atmosphere’ of the film using the sound design“… the
correct use of music, which is as a collector and channeler of previously
created emotion, rather than the device that creates the emotion.”[1;
Pg: 122] Due to our film not containing any dialogue, we need to use the soundtrack
as the driving factor in the narrative to immerse the audience within the world
of the film. To do this effectively, we will have to look at the metaphorical
use of sound, which is “… the idea of
emphasizing the visual by artificially focussing on a possibly disjointed or
unrealistic layer of sound.”[1; Pg: 119] As our films’ narrative
is centred on daydreaming and ‘the unreal’, we will be mainly using this
concept of metaphorical sound to not only enhance our themes, but also to allow
the audience to engage emotionally with the main character to create empathy
and make the story seem believable. 452 Words 1. Michael Ondaatje (2002); The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of
Edting Film; London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Series 10 Episode 5 of the television series; The Apprentice UK (2014).
The sequence opens with an aerial
extreme wide of London’s Canary Wharf which is shown at the beginning of every
episode in the series. The program opens on this shot because Canary Wharf is a
major business district in London which instantly informs the audience where
the show is set, as well as introducing the theme of business and professionalism
instantly.
A voice over of Lord Allan Sugar
begins underneath this shot which then cuts away to the sync shot of him
speaking all within the first 4 seconds of the show. This is to introduce the
audience to the focal point of the show, Allan Sugar. He says “I won’t be
working, you will be working,” which already lets the audience know who is in
charge and sets up the narrative of the program. In the first 10 seconds, there are 6
cuts between images which are synced with the iconic soundtrack, underneath the
dialogue. This gives the opening montage a strong but quick rhythm which enforces
the theme of business, implying it is a quick and ruthless industry, and also
foreshadows the stressful and relentless nature of the tasks that the
contestants will be put through. It allows a lot of information to be conveyed
to the audience in a very short space of time as it gives a brief introduction
about the content of the show, as well catching the audience up on the previous
episode’s action.
The voice over drives the sequence as
it makes an assertion which is then subsequently backed up by the visuals. E.g.:
0:06 the V.O says “on the hunt for a brand new business partner” and then shows
a clip of Lord Sugar getting into a car and it driving off. This is a way of
spoon feeding the audience information which makes it easier to watch and understand.
The music is also important in the
opening because it works in tandem with the voice over, driving the cuts, as
well as highlighting what the audience should be focusing on. E.g. when Lord
Sugar talks, the music is turned down, making him clearer. The nature of the
music as well is very important as it is quite a classical piece with the
repetition of violin strings, connoting suspense and running with the very
eccentric drama genre of the show.
Finally, when we are then introduced
to some of the contestants 50s in, it shows them in very competitive and
confrontational situations which acts as a hook to entice the audience.
Green screen is “used to separate
an image from a colored screen and composite it over a background image”(Sawicki,M;
2007; 157)within film and television. It involves a green material
being placed behind a person or object to act as a background which can be
changed in post-production using Chroma Key. Chroma Key is an effect that
layers two images onto one another, based on colour hues, by making the colour
range in the top layer transparent to reveal the image behind. A notable example of a film that
uses green screen is Zack Snyder’s ‘300’ (2006) which was shot almost entirely
using green screen as the background.
This illustrates the set up of green screen in 300.
The use of green screen in this film
is to give the audience an insight into the world of 480.B.C without having to
build a set or film on location which gives the filmmaker a huge advantage in
being able to control environmental factors that could affect a film such as
weather and lighting. This means the budget of the film will be significantly
lowered due to lack of travelling expenses, which could be relevant to our film
for next semester.
Green screen is used very
effectively here, as it is able to immerse the audience into the world of the
film without making it seem like it was all filmed in a studio. This is partly
due to the CGI effects used in the background, but also due to the staging of
the action in certain scenes and the space used in the studio. Another worthy example is the flying
car scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Seecrets (2002) by Chris Columbus.
This scene uses a green screen on a
constructed set composited with a landscape drone shot, which uses two
technical conventions we want to use next year. The reason it is effective is
due to the variation of camera angles in conjunction with the GCI shots which
make the whole fantasy style sequence seem believable.
As we will definitely be using green
screen at least once in Daniel’s Kite, I have researched the problems that we
may face when filming and editing this type of footage. The main problem
we will have to face is the lighting of the shots. “The screen is lit with
two large soft lights on either side that are adjusted for an even field.”(Sawicki,M;
2007; 162) This is most simple way of keeping the hue of the screen the same
which is extremely important as the mask in post-production could be uneven. The
same applies when thinking about shadows, and the camera's exposure.
446 Words References: Sawicki, M; Filming the
Fantastic: a guide to visual effect cinematography; Talylor & Francis
Ltd.
Firstly, I will analyse how
the film sets up significant plot points through a mixture of visual and auditory
techniques. The dialogue is the main driving factor as the character Mr.
Bentley discusses what the other character, Arthur Kipps, has to do, which is
to collect and read through documents to find a client’s final will. This is
backed up by asserting shots of the preliminary last will, as well as the mise
on scène which shows us a professional and academic office making us believe
that this is indeed a law firm. The scene also gives us exposition
into the company and the personalities of the characters through the
performances of the actors. Mr. Bentley is shown as driving the conversation
as he talks at Kipps in an instructive manner without even waiting for a
response. He also pauses intentionally to add emphasis to what he is saying,
whilst punctuating certain words such as “… this is not a charity…” All
of these portray Bentley as an authoritative figure compared to Kipps who
barely adds anything to the conversation. This contrasts with the
cinematography however, as we see a lot more of Kibbs on screen than Bentley,
which shows that the narrative values the reaction of Kibbs because he's the
main character. Another notable convention
of the cinematography is the use of forward tracking shot's into a character
when they are the only thing in the frame. This is a frequently used technique
in a lot of horror films and is conventionally used to build up tension or
dread. The framing in the scene is also interesting as there are only 3 close
ups used in a sea of mid shots. The first two, showing a cigar case followed by
Mr. Bentley chopping the top off of a cigar, are used, with the dialogue, as a
metaphor where the cigar case is the law firm, Kibbs is the cigar and the
cutter is showing what will happen to him if he doesn’t complete his duty. This
small sequence uses the dialogue as a framework for the picture to be cut
around. Finally, one of the more
interesting shots in the scene is a high angle shot that physically shows Mr.
Bentley getting up from his chair and walking to the window, also showing the
geographical distance between him and Kibbs. The connotations of this shot imply
Bentley as being in a commanding position, whereas Kibbs looks small and
trapped which continues with the theme of authority. Also the positioning of
the shot itself is unrealistic and fails to matches anyone's eye line, which
makes it voyeuristic whilst running with the paranormal theme of the film. 445 Words
Film Reference: James Watkins’ The Woman in
Black (2012)
