Introduction to editing: skills

We was taught about editing and learnt what program we have to use when wanting to edit which is "Final Cut Pro", this software is used enabling us to edit our movies. When editing you get a variety of tool bars which allow you to cut, adding effects such as fade out/ fade in. We was given a short tutorial about the software and then was given a chance to play about with the tools and familiarise ourselves with the different types f tools and its functions.

We learnt other things such as the viewer and the canvas windows and what the difference is. We also learnt short cuts of how to cut scenes to make them smaller. For example if we didnt want the whole scene we shot we could shorten it and take out the parts that we only want by using the "I" and "O" buttons.

Below is an image form google of final cut pro.

Introduction to the Camera/ SKILLS

Above is an image of our camera we used to film our ractise thriller, and is the camera we are going to use to film our final thriller scene. we learnt the basic information e.g to urn it off when we are not using it to keep it in a safe secure place. we also had rules to follow such as to ask for an unberella  when filming if it is raining, ask permision to film on private properties e.g shops.


During our lesson we were given cameras and learnt what functions they have. we were shown what to do and what not to do, what effects would be good for our Thriller clip and how we could make it look close to perfection. we were taught not to use the auto but instead use the manual focus this is because it allows the camera to capture tiny details. we were taught not to use the zoom as past students have tried this and have ended up with bad results so instead we were advised to do close ups and pan.


These are the shots we learnt:

• ECU - extreme close up
• POV - point of view shot
• OSS - over the shoulder shot
• MCU - mid close up
• WS - wide shot
• MS - mid shot
• CU - close up

Angels we were taught:

• High angle shot
• Low angle shot
• Birds eye view

Bag Swap

what happens in this scene is that two men are walking towards each other and bump into each other and swap bags, and then walk off into different directions. The uses of diegetic sounds such as footsteps, normal airport sounds build tension. the slow pace of editing suggests that from the beginning of the film they want the audience to know who the main character is in the film. the use of the blurring editing effect is a good way of getting the audience engaged with the film because it is as if they are the characters and shows what the main focus is.

the close up of the bags suggests that they are the main subject of the scene and gets the audience thinking. however the audience may not think negative about the character as its not unusual for a man to have a brief case if his appearance is clean, in a suit. However the sun glasses are a prop that may draw the audience to his attention. the tension starts to decrease as both start to talk to each other when they bump into each other, however when they pick up the bags and walk off brings back the tension and suspense because the audience are now wanting to know whats going on, leaving them asking many questions as they know somethings not right.

Analyse of collateral

As a class we had to watch a the film Collateral and analyse the suspense.

In this clip Jamie Fox is speeding in the car with tom cruise and eventually crashes. I feel that this clip of  is a perfect example of suspense, because it gets the audience anxious to know what might happen next. I feel that the use of electro rock music and the sound of the car skidding builds up tension, as i believe that it links in nicely with the fast pace of the scene and the sight loudness of the music every time the speed of the car increases. The dark gloomy surroundings creates suspense because it in the night time and whereas ark areas are usually accompanied by danger and death.

 Also i feel that the constant camera shot of the speedometer builds suspense because its letting the audience know that they are going above speed limit, it also keeps them interested as they would want to know more of whats happening. The constant long shot of the road helps the audience feel more engaged as it makes them feel as if they are really there. I feel that Jamie fox's tense body language as he goes across the red light also builds suspense because it makes the audience feel uncomfortable, as they know that they are in for the worst.

Title Sequence Of "The Taking Of Pelham"

I am inspired by the title sequence of The Taking of Pelham. This is because i feel that the use of editing is done to the best of the ability and flows nicely with the theme of the film. The pace of the title sequence is fast pace and is in a rush; it is as if the words were chasing the characters in the film and was as if the characters were the prey. Also the use of bold white words that appeared on the screen was a good way of grabbing the audiences attention, because they needed to know who the main characters were such as Denzel Washington. I felt that the fuzzing of the words reflected the chaotic enviourment of New York City. The reason why i feel the editing of the title sequence was very effective is because from the moment that the words appeared on the screen it informed the audience that they were in for an action film, because of the pace. The use of music also helped the audience know it was a fast pace film because the music was very retro, loud and rough. From the moment the beginning of the film started we knew we there was crime involved in this film, because of the way the characters looked. For example the first character that appeared at the beginning of the film had a tattoo's and was blacked out; shades and jacket. also a significant prop that was used which was gun that was held in his hand suggested that it was going to be an crime action film, this also links with the title sequence the way it appears suspiciously on the screen accompanied by the shaking words.We know all this because of the use of editing that continuously grabs the readers attention.

Below is the title sequence that me and my group put together of the title sequence of The Taking Of Pelham.

Inspirational Thriller Tieles

Vertigo

I find the visual aspects of Vertigo's title sequence very dated and quite boring.. looking at the age of the film this is not surprising! However considering it pre-dates computers what it managed to do at the time is pretty extraordinary.

Starting with an extreme close up of a quivering lip and panning up the face to nervous looking eye shows us the emotions on the actresses face and transfers them emotions to our own. The panning look quite wobbly, makeing us feel nauseous, a common effect of vertigo.

It then zooms in further into one of the eye, as it opens wide in shock and the screen turns red, bringing connotations of fear and danger.

The music reminds me of a dreamy  sound, but where other bit of music have been added its turned into a dramatic, nightmare sort of sound.

The font is very bold, in harsh big white blocks. By having a gap in the font the words look like they have been dubbled, almost like were seeing double vision, something you could experience with vertigo.

The sequence then take the shape of the pupil and turns it into spinning motions in a sort of hypnotising, blur. Yet again hinting to the name of the film vertigo! 

Fonts

In our lesson we looked at different fonts, and why they are chosen on different films. There are basically two types of font:

Serif font - such as Times and Courier

and

Sans Serif fonts - such as Arial and Verdana

Serif fonts tend to be more traditional and often slightly more formal then Sans Serif fonts, which, are more modern and 'friendly'

FONT ANALYSIS

"Fonts convey an emotion without actually having to say the words." 

- Neville Brody

PEARL HARBOR

By using Palatino, a Serif font, Pearl Harbor suggests that it's an old fashioned/ historical film. As they are tackling a serious past event, they want the whole presentation to represent that. Therefore, they choose a Serif font as it is known for being formal... also many newspapers use Serif fonts, so the title brings connotations of a newspaper headline from the past.

ROCKY

Rocky on the other hand went for a more informal font, Franklin Gothic Heavy, as this suited the style of film much better then a Serif font. The title makes a really statement, big, bold and in capitals, reflecting the character of Rocky himself. The bold letters are squeezed together, and look as though their pushing out almost like a cleansed fist punching towards us, emphasising on the boxing theme of the film.

Analysis Of Title Sequence Which Inspires Me

SE7EN

I definitely want to incorporate this font and type of title sequence into my thriller movie because it completely steps out of the mould of conventional title sequences. the rough edge just goes perfectly with our plan of psychological thriller and i think it will fit in well.

 

This is the title sequence of the psychological thriller movie Se7en and I find this openeing very inspiring because of its distinction from other thriller title sequence. 

First of all the hand writing style font of the title sequence already sets its difference apart from other thriller title sequences, as it is unique; A strong Gothic atmosphere is portrayed. This completely diverts from the norms of usual thriller title sequences. 

The black background behind the white writing makes it stand out and shows the audience the information they need to know. 

As the character is reading a book in the opening the handwriting style of font is very well fitted within this genre of thriller. 

The font is also a sans sarif font which is a much more modern font and less traditional. The film can straight away appeal to a universal audience and signifies the type of film and time sense the film is in.

While the title sequence is rolling the film is playing this is the type of title sequence i would like to convey in my psychological thriller. this way i can the audience's mind working right from the beginning, and i am able to grab their attention from the very first image and text. 

 I think it is important to grab the audiences attention right from the beginning and this title sequence does just that. 

I would like to incorporate some of these aspects into my original psychological film.

What Interests Me About Intertextuality In Film

Intertextuality IN FILM

Intertextuality is a term to describe the visual referencing between films. simply films 'borrow' from each other, and you may recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or other methods of editing of some films you have seen before

What Interests Me About Intertextuality
Intertextuality is great as it broadens my imagination. The skill of using certain aspects of other films to create your own unique one is very interesting and inspiring.   




Example 1

Alred Hitchcock's thriller Psycho;
This famous scene of Hitchcocks film has been an ispiration for many films today.

Example 1

The Famous shower scene is incorporated in this student film. This is a very good interpretation of the famous shower scene and so i have decided to include a video of this. The similarities include the diegetic sound of the water running, the shadow of the knife in the 'killer's' hand and the head hanging with the eyes open at the end. The camera also diverts from the victim's face to it's feet and this is another aspect taken from the famous Psycho shower scene.

Example 2
 What Lies Beneath

This is a screenshot taken from the movie 'What Lies beneath' (200) by Robert Zemeckis

This shower scene includes the most iconic prop which is the bath tub. The bath tub filled with water alone introduces the scene very well. A sense of shock and panic is felt while watching this.

 Example 3
  Fatal Attraction

 

This is a screen shot of the film 'Fatal Attraction' (1987) by Adrian Lyne. 

This shower scene incorporates the iconic prop used which is the knife and includes the blood running down from the victim. 

The white wall of the shower scene also highlights the intensity and boldness of the blood for the audience to recognise the impact of the attack.

Thriller sub Genre research
 
 SCI - FI Thriller
 Alien (1979)

CRIME thriller

Another good example of a thriller sub genre that inspired me.

- Romantic thriller

Definition of Film/sub genres
 Film genres are the most common and identifiable film sub-genre categories, with descriptions of each type or category. These are identifiable sub-classes of the larger category of main film genres, with their own distinctive subject matter, style, formulas, and iconography. Some are them are prominent sub-genres, such as: biopics, 'chick' flicks, detective/mystery films, disaster films, fantasy films, film noir, 'guy' films, melodramas (or 'weepers'), road films, romances, sports films, supernatural films, and thriller/suspense films. There are also minor film sub-genres.
http://www.filmsite.org/subgenres.html

 Seven is a good example of a psychological Thriller , which is a sub genre.
A Thriller sub genre is a film that is portrayed as a thriller n=but also manages to keep the audience in suspense at the same time. Thriller sub genres can also feature political aspects or they can be full of action  ,crime etc. All films created in this day and age would usually have a specific genre of some sort for example horror, thriller etc. The reason sub genres are becoming more and more popular now is because the audiences get more and more demanding as time passes . The film industry need to keep up with the public and what they enjoy in order for there films to do well and succeed in entertaining and keeping the audience interested and content.The genre we are studying is thriller, and a film that stood out to me and inspired me was Seven. It Includes the main and most important aspects needed for a thriller which are good use of techniques that made the opening keep us in suspense and it also has a good plot behind it.

Analyisis of Collateral

Collateral
Micheal Mann 2004

The plot of Collateral is simply based on the protagonist versus the hero. Jamie Foxx who plays the hero in Collateral is forced to drive around 'The Badie" played by Tom Cruise in a his taxi as he goes on some sort of murder spree.

Collateral is a typical thriller/action because it involves the 'good' person and the 'bad' person. Most action thriller films include these to highlight the main storyline.

Action films have to be full of suspense right from the beginning including fast paced camera action.

Many close ups as well as wide shots are used to show in detail the characters facial expression in order for the viewer to recognise their emotion.

It also builds tension between the characters. the wide shots are used to establish the scene to show the viewer exactly where they are in in this case the film Collateral is shot in Los Angeles which is known to the viewers to be one of the busiest cities in the US.

The film begins with Vincent bumping into a man in the station where the bags are swapped and he picks up the one containing vital information in order to begin his duties. Straight away the audience is aware that Vincent is going to play one of the main characters. The unusual 'accidental' bump mirrors the unusual scenes that take place throughout the film.

Vincent then steps outside of the airport to wave a cab but in the beginning Max (Foxx) doesn't pay any attention to him until he waves for another cab, so he decides to call him back. Now the two main characters  meet as the audience we know that the action is going to take place from their first account. Random chance maybe?

Collateral is filled with bloody scenes and Vincent makes those scene of killing seem very robotic and effortless. As the audience I adore Vincent's cunning attitude throughout and when he is killed of at the end by Max, I feel a sympathetic emotion to his character. action thrillers make you question whether the 'badies' deserve a second chance.

Fast paced movements and sounds of gunshots through out make this film an interesting film to watch that keeps you of the edge of yourself the entire time.

Analyisis of Collateral

Collateral
Micheal Mann 2004

The plot of Collateral is simply based on the protagonist versus the hero. Jamie Foxx who plays the hero in Collateral is forced to drive around 'The Badie" played by Tom Cruise in a his taxi as he goes on some sort of murder spree.

Collateral is a typical thriller/action because it involves the 'good' person and the 'bad' person. Most action thriller films include these to highlight the main storyline.

Action films have to be full of suspense right from the beginning including fast paced camera action.

Many close ups as well as wide shots are used to show in detail the characters facial expression in order for the viewer to recognise their emotion.

It also builds tension between the characters. the wide shots are used to establish the scene to show the viewer exactly where they are in in this case the film Collateral is shot in Los Angeles which is known to the viewers to be one of the busiest cities in the US.

The film begins with Vincent bumping into a man in the station where the bags are swapped and he picks up the one containing vital information in order to begin his duties. Straight away the audience is aware that Vincent is going to play one of the main characters. The unusual 'accidental' bump mirrors the unusual scenes that take place throughout the film.

Vincent then steps outside of the airport to wave a cab but in the beginning Max (Foxx) doesn't pay any attention to him until he waves for another cab, so he decides to call him back. Now the two main characters  meet as the audience we know that the action is going to take place from their first account. Random chance maybe?

Collateral is filled with bloody scenes and Vincent makes those scene of killing seem very robotic and effortless. As the audience I adore Vincent's cunning attitude throughout and when he is killed of at the end by Max, I feel a sympathetic emotion to his character. action thrillers make you question whether the 'badies' deserve a second chance.

Fast paced movements and sounds of gunshots through out make this film an interesting film to watch that keeps you of the edge of yourself the entire time.

The Bag Swap

Scene 3

This is another scene taken from the film watched in class, Collateral. This particular scene is full of suspense, and this is created through the dialogue first of all, followed by the non diegetic sound of the string based music. Suspense is created as Vincents dialogue speeds up and his voice becomes higher and louder. he is trying to stop Foxx from crashing his car as he is beginning to speed out of anger. As a viewer I was holding onto my seat because I knew the car was going to crash; whether they survived or not I had no clue.

The close up used in this scene signifies the intensity of the characters emotions. The earry music builds up along with the dialogue and this highlights the impact of the accident after. The audience is aware that something is going to go wrong any moment from now, and that is part of the suspense created.

the close up of the bag is again a key prop and this establishes to the audience the symbolic meaning of that prop. The briefcase is what holds the information Vincent needs in order to continue on his killing spree. The audience are aware that if somethings happens to the briefcase then something terrible will go wrong

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is where other films borrow ideas and convert it into their own creation. It is usually seen in thriller films as most films are inspired by other film ideas and therefore interpret the original ideas and make it their own. We know when intertextuality is used because most films have common mice en scene that are used in most thrillers. For example a prop that often is used in a thriller film is a knife that is repeated in other films. Other borrowed ideas such as the way in which the camera is being uses; the angel shots, and reasons for shooting it in that certain way. Another intertextuality that's commonly used are long distant shots of a person to emphasise on the fact that they are in danger. And i feel that psycho is a great example of all these features. This is because the way it builds up tension makes the audience feel engaged with the film and therefore want to watch more.

The Bag Swap

Scene 2


This is the bag swap. this is the opening scene of Collateral and suspense is first created here.
The edited slow motion creates suspense as Tom Cruise is walking through the station.
Straight away the audience is aware that he is going to be the protagonist.
the close up of the bag illustrates that the bag is the key prop as the suited and booted appearance of the character symbolises he is high in his profession whether that is good or bad the viewers don't know.

Analysis of collateral

Scene 1

This is the 'Fever Club Scene' in Collateral and i have used this example as there a lot of different shots used to create tension and suspense.

There is use of panning throughout the scene from where Jamie Foxx enters.  the panning creates the sense of eyes being used to watch around the venue.
The panning makes the viewer feel involved as it is almost put into a point of view shot.

There are a lot of wide shots used in this scene to establish the atmosphere of the club and the people around.
The atmosphere is 'sweaty' and the use of the colour blue could be used to signify the contrast of the club name 'fever'.

The diegetic sound of club music within this scene is very loud with a rocky element to it. this sound also sets the atmosphere of the club and shows the reader the dangerous environment the charcter
has ended up in. as the audience we are made to feel uneasy as to what may happen.
However it also makes me, as the viewer feel intrigued as to what may happen next.

Even though the music is playing and they are having a good time, something about the music is also illustrating to us that something terribly wrong is going to happen.

Our Bag Swap

This is our final Bag Swap

Lets be honest it's not that great!! The editing is really poor. But I guess as this was our first time using the equipment and applications it's to be expected. I did however find this very useful. Now we have seen what we've done wrong, we can make sure we do it better the next time round. For example, we need to make sure we film a lot more mixture of shots. Repeat the shots. Improve our editing skills, and thick more about the continuity. Next time round I would like to try filming... as you can see for this short scene, I'm not much of an actress (even tho all I had to do was walk up some stairs) so I think I would be better at filming.

Introduction to Livetype

So we learnt about Finale Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro. The last main application we were introduced to was Livetype :)

To get started we had to write something in the text box, which is on the right-hand side of the screen. We could then choose from loads of different effects, font, live-fonts etc.  

Their is a small screen above the list were you can preview the effects. To apply them to your text just double click. It will then appear on your time line and the main viewer screen, so you can play it back and get a better look of how it looks with your text.

Introduction to Soundtrack Pro

After lerning about Final Cut Pro, we were then introduced to Soundtrack Pro. Here's what I learnt :) 

The screen in the bottom right, has a list of loads of different clips of sounds that can be used and mixed together to create soundtracks or added sound in films. You can minimise the list of sounds by selecting a category of what genre your looking for e.g. Jazz or Orchestral. You can also search in the type of feeling / mood your looking for e.g. Cheerful or Dark.

You can then select the clip you want. Once selected it will pop up on another tab where you will be able to hear it. If you are happy with that clip, you can then go back to the original tab and drag the sound to your time line. Where you are able to change the length, add more sounds, and loads more.

Beside the time line, there is a control panel. Here you can change different thing of each of the sounds e.g. the volume. 

Introduction To Editing Skills

We were introduced to editing using Final Cut Pro. heres some of the stuff we lernt :)

first we lernt what the different screen are used for

Browser:

The Browser is where all the clips, sound, pictures etc. are imported, you can then select from here what you want to view.

Viewer and Canvas:

The viewer is where you can view the clip selected and the Canvas is where you can preview the whole film, showing everything that on the Timeline

Timeline:

The Timeline is where you drag the clips & sound to create a sequence

We started by viewing out clip on the Viewer screen and editing it to the right part. This is done by pushing i on the keyboard where you want the clip to start and o where you want it to end. You then just click on the viewer screen and drag the clip to the timeline.  Once all your clip are on the Timeline they can be moved around and edited by dragging them. 

You can also add on effects such as transitions to the clip. To do this we just went to effects, video transitions and then select the type we wanted e.g. Fade In Fade Out. 

Thtiller clip (detailed analyse)

The triller clip that i watched was  the shinning. I feel that this clip is a great example of showing how suspense bilds up through the variou techniques such as camera angel, such as the low angel shots of the boy looking towards the door. this suggests isa the main subject of the scen as the over the shot camera sghot emphasises on his vunerability.

Thriller clip (detailed analyse)

The triller clip that i watched was  the shinning. I feel that this clip is a great example of showing how suspense bilds up through the variou techniques such as camera angel, such as the low angel shots of the boy looking towards the door. this suggests isa the main subject of the scen as the over the shot camera sghot emphasises on his vunerability.

Thriller Sub Genre Research

Sub genres are basically a genre within a genre. a Sub genre film is a film which includes the themes of more than one genre. As part of my coursework I am studying Thriller sub genres. types of sub genre includes: 

• Romance
• Psychological
• Horror
• Mystery
• Paranoid

i feel that the thriller sub genre that inspires me the most is Psychological because i feel that its a way of getting the audience to think for themselves, as they are unaware of what might happened next and allows the audience to prepare themselves for the worst. 

This image is from psycho.

The picture bellow is an image taken from "what lies beneath" which was inspired by the film psycho.

This specific sub genre inspired me as i felt that it builds up suspense in a smooth constant way. throughout the clip i watch, high angel shots were taken continuously to on empathize her vulnerability and unawareness. another reason why i favour this sub genre is because it is clear throughout the music what the mood is in the scene.

Introduction To Camera Skills

Once we learnt all the basics, we got learn some camera skills and different shots. 

Here are some of the shot we learnt:

WS (Wide Shot)

MS (Mid Shot)

MCU (Midium Close Up)

CU (Close Up)

ECU (Extreme Close Up)

Two-Shot

OSS (Over-the-Shoulder-Shot)

POV (Point of View Shot)

Here are some different camera angles we learnt:

High Angle

Low Angle

Bird's-Eye View

After we lent the different skill, it was time for the fun bit! :)

We were asked to film a shot scene based on the famous bag swap scene of Collateral

I really enjoyed this part! I realised just how many different shots are needed, even for just a short scene. We had to think of the continuity, and always left 5 seconds of filming before each shot so that it would edit together easily. 

Introduction To The Camera

Last week we where introduced to the camera we'll be using while filming our thriller. We learnt all the basics like turn it on and off, how to use a tripod, zooming, focusing while on manual focus, play back, etc.

We also learnt the rules we need to be aware of while using cameras:

• Keep the camera out of the rain unless covered by a large umbrella
• Ask permission to film, if the location is private property e.g shops, stations
• Always closes the lens while not filming, to prevent any damage  
• Be aware of where your filming e.g don't film on a railway or in the middle of a busy road!
• Never film any illegal activities e.g graffiti or vandalism. This could result in the whole group getting disqualified. 

Analysis of Title Sequence: The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123, Title Sequence



I am very inspired by this title sequence! The editing is amazing, it feels as though it's made as a music video rather then a title sequence, with the shots and pace fitting in with the music rather then the other way round. This fast pace reflects the busy, chaotic, fast paced New York, the setting of the film. The film is also set in the underground, we see this when we are introduced to Denzel Wahington's character who works on the underground, the titles them self come on and off the screen like trains stopping and leaving a station. John Travolta's character is also introduced and although he has no dialogue, we can get an idea about him e.g dress in black with black shades and a close up of the tattoo on his neck it suggest he's a criminal. We learn all this and much more in just the title sequence, keeping us gripped to the screen with this original exciting style of editing.

Below is an analysis of The Taking of Pelham 123 title sequence I did with my group in one of our lessons:

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is the referencing between films, they quite literally, borrow from each other. It's seen many times in thrillers, and often includes aspects of mise en scene e.g using a kitchen as a setting were commonly used props like knifes can be found. It could also include sound, editing techniques and camera angles that have been influenced by other films like the shot of a long corridor seen in many thrillers. This interests me as I feel intertextuality is a great way in which thrillers can build suspense. We recongnise the reference, as we have seen them used so many times. Therefore we know something is going to happen and have a feeling of apprehension of what it going to be, and when it will happen.

This famous shower scene from Psycho, has been borrow for several films:

What lies beneath

Fatal Attraction


The Godfather part 2 (1946)

Detailed Analysis : The Shinning (1980)

This clip from The Shinning, 1980, is a great example of how Stanley Kubrick builds suspense. firstly introducing us to the scene with a wide shot of an isolated building and a wolf howl in the background. we then see a young boy on a peddle bike, commonly used in Thrillers, making the Innocent creepy and unnerving. This is scene again with the flash up of the young twins. In fact everything in this clip is quite common techniques used in Thrillers, from the long empty corridors and the high pitched music, to the close up of the boys quivering lip, and the uses of tracking as the boy slowly moves towards the door. Making The Shinning one of the most well known psychological thriller.