Today we had our second editing session, we got settled a lot quicker and proceeded to edit our opening sequence. We found that we started to imagine about what would be if we had shot a fighting scene for example. One of our advisor's told us that we need to start to look at the footage and make something out of it instead of regretting something that we didn't think of before our shoot day. It was obvious that our opening sequence would come together only as an editors movie. A lot of what we shot is completely dependent on how we edit it. We started by logging our work to make it easier for us to find the good shots that we would want to potentially use, then we started to edit short snippets of each scene to make everything look fast. Tiny frames that we got will potentially give weird and scary images, it could be something along the lines of feeling as if the audience is being grabbed and is being shaken. Although today we started to edit the scene with the guy who takes the case from the robbers. The idea is that we start by the doors of the van opening and then it cuts into the woman kneeling down to grab the gun whilst the others stop her. We used different logs for the different scenes, this is so that our editing panel is a lot clearer and organised. It also helps to separate the edits, so that we could separate the editing done by Ashen and Alen. Below is an example of what logs look like in Adobe Premiere Pro:
Title sequences are a method that films or television programs use to present their title, production name and cast members. They often try and set the tone of the movie and establish the setting in order to give the audience a flavor of the movie. The titles are usually incorporated into action scenes, still images, graphics and most likely will have music over the top. There are tons of different ways that a movie can incorporate this, here are a couple examples. Graphic Designs
Action
Snatch (2000)
My group and I wanted to have the beginning as a blackout with a voice over playing over, at different points of the voice over we would have the credits coming up and the actual film title would be at the end when the doors slam closed. A movie that has a similar technique/idea of what we were aiming to accomplish is 'Snatch', in their opening title sequence they introduce the characters and give small hints and details about the story. The way 'Snatch' presents it's characters and has it credits is by using graphic freeze frames. My group and I were thinking that we could potentially use this technique, but then we realized that if we were having the black screen with titles in the beginning then it wouldn't work as it could come across as a comedy instead of a thriller. But, it is still an option that we are considering as it is a funky freeze frame with a font and template. None of us have attempted this method yet, but I believe that it could potentially enhance our editing skills.
You can see from some of the images shown, the production company always comes up in big bold letters, this portrays the significance and the importance in the company name. They do this to bring attention to the company that produces it, this could be one of the explanations for why they were the first credit given in the film.
In my thriller we are going to have credits on screen for about four seconds and then there will be a 8-15 second gap between the credits, depending on the dialogue that will be taking place. We have decided to have our title at the end of the opening sequence, as I think that it would bring larger effect on the audience because of the silence and anticipation during the last scene and then there would be a sudden moment when the doors would shut dramatically. Trainspotting (1996) Trainspotting is a British black comedy that was directed by Danny Boyle. The movie is based on how a guy decides to quit taking heroin and buys opium from a dealer to ease the transition. Similarly to 'Snatch' they have introduced the characters in the opening title sequence, through freeze frames. The difference between these freeze frames to the 'Snatch' freeze frames is that these are randomly freezed, whereas, in 'Snatch' the actors look into the camera and have a graphic template.
'Trainspotting' was shot in 1996 by Channel 4 Films. This opening sequence shows a different way of using freeze frames, it also includes more action than the opening of 'Snatch'. We are able to assume this because the guy is running and it creates a more active and action vibe. On the image above, on the bottom right we see how they displayed their title of the movie, it is seen to be fairly simple. The title consists of a black background and white/beige font, we are able to see it clear and boldly as it stands out and uses a readable font.
There is a voice over happening in the opening, this is very similar to what we wanted to do in our thriller. The guy narrating in 'Trainspotting' is talking about his life and what is happening around him on an everyday life. My group and I wanted to have our assassin narrate in some breaks during the shouting scene, just so that they get a sense of what is happening in the scene.
Common credits order:
(NAME OF THE STUDIO) or (NAME OF THE STUDIO) PRESENTS
(NAME OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY)
POSSESSORY CREDIT/S
STARRING
(FILM'S TITLE)
FEATURING or WITH or ALSO STARRING
CASTING or CASTING BY
MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY
PRODUCTION DESIGN or PRODUCTION DESIGNER
EDITOR or EDITED BY
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
PRODUCER or PRODUCED BY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
BASED ON THE BOOK (PLAY, GRAPHIC NOVEL etc.) BY or FROM A
PLAY/BOOK BY (older
BASED ON THE CHARACTERS BY or BASED ON THE CHARACTERS
CREATED BY
(SCREEN) STORY or STORY BY
WRITER(S) or WRITTEN BY or SCREENPLAY or SCREENPLAY BY
We had our first editing session today and it was interesting to see how the filming actually turned out on a screen. Matt gave us a brief recap of how to use Adobe Premier Pro, as we didn't edit anything since our prelim task a while ago. We decided to start off by looking through the material that we actually got, so that we could get a glimpse at what we were going to work with for the next couple of weeks. After, we shared each of our ideas of how we would want the final product to look like and just our visions in general. Ashen had quite a specific way of creating the thriller by adding voice overs and black screens in the beginning of the opening title sequence. All of us were considerate of each others ideas and we decided on working around every idea and trying to include as much as we could. Soon after, we arranged all of the material that we were intended to use into bins. Here is an example of a bin layout in Adobe Premiere Pro :
Closer to the end of the lesson we started editing, copying and pasting products that we thought would work. We came across a continuity problem because Zell a member of our cast had taken her mask off with her left hand in one clip and then the next clip that it cuts into has her taking the mask off with her right hand. This meant that we had to substitute one of the clips.
The day before our shoot I was in charge of making sure that
we had all of our costumes ready for use the next day. I had to confirm with my
group that they were okay with all of the costumes and that we had everything
that we needed. Haydon was in charge of getting the props together; he checked
up with us that all the props that he got were the ones that we needed. A
couple of days before our shooting day we had a minor dilemma because Ashen
didn't like the masks that we got for the robbers. Therefore, during one of our
media lessons we had to go online shopping to find a solution, thankfully the
mask came in time for our shoot day. Ashen created character profiles and
scripts that would benefit the actors, as they would get into character more.
<---Part of the group making sure that we have our guns ready for the shoot day
On the morning of my media shoot I felt quite nervous because I didn't quite know what to expect from my fellow group members and what moods they were in. We were going to shoot outside so I made sure to wear som e warm clothes. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great as it was cloudy and raining.
My group and I were quite prepared when the cast arrived, I had set out all of the costumes and the masks by them ready for the cast to get into. Also, Haydon arranged Sasha the make up artist to come up and do a bullet wound on one of our cast members. Before we started to shoot we needed to make sure that the back of the van had the props needed for the scene. This involved Alen and me to bring some bits of paper and card board boxes to fill up the space. Whilst we were doing that Ashen was giving a pep talk to the characters and setting up the camera to film inside the van.
Throughout the whole thriller we had two locations that were fairly close to each other. The first one was behind the studio at our school, we set up a van and opened the doors wide so that we could recreate the setting in there. Alen and I added cardboard boxes, sheets and added lots of paper to make it look filled up and dirty. This didn't take a lot of time considering the amount of time we took to plan the whole thriller. The second location was about a 2 minute drive from our school and it was known as the Peaslake viewpoint. We didn't have to recreate any of the settings around there, since we checked the road and area weeks before our shoot day. Sadly it was raining and it was a bit more hassle to film the on the road but we managed to capture the true England weather.
On our shoot day I was in charge of making sure that we had all of our props and costumes set out and ready for the cast. Mostly my role was quite important in preproduction and Ashen and Alen were more focused on the actual filming of the thriller. At our first location we had Ashen and Alen in the van filming, whilst Haydon and I were shaking the van so that it would look like the van is moving, when it was actually still. At our second location I was in charge of holding the microphone for about an hour. We all took part in the filming process in order to divide the responsibilities and to make it fair.
I think that I was really organized when it came to actually getting all of our props, costumes and even cast members together. Even though our group was unorganized in the beginning, coming to our shoot day we had most of our equipment, costumes, props and cast sorted. I also think that I was helping to lead the group in a positive direction of trying to actually conclude on our decision making and actually get somewhere with our ideas.
On our shoot day our major problem was the weather conditions, but even so we managed to pull through. The first scene was fine as it was in a van, so the rain didn't effect the filming. Although, in the afternoon we had a proper outside scene where we were filming one of our characters walking up to the van and picking up a case. It wasn't that bad because the gloomy weather supplemented the darkness of the actual scene itself. Also, on our shoot day we were panicking about finding a bodyguard that would stand next to the guy who would take the case from the van, as he's such a high up figure the robbers would not even hesitate in trying to take the case back. Later on, we spoke as a group and decided that we wouldn't actually need a bodyguard in the scene and that by having him it would just complicate things.
The most successful part of our shoot day was probably the scenes that we took inside the van, at our first location. It seemed that our casts' experience or even acting skills were quite good and they got the hang of the scene really quickly. Hopefully the scene will look as good on camera as it did in real life. Although, I feel like the end scene that we were shooting could have gone a lot better as it took us a long time to make sure that the continuity would be right. This was a part of the last scene that we added on, it was the doors that were being slammed closed, where at that point in the editing process we would have the titles go up.
Out of our whole shoot day I think that I enjoyed filming the last bits as we were experimenting in different ways of either holding the camera or the different shots that we took. We only did this because we allocated a couple of minutes to try and shoot something that was not original that could potentially work it's way into our final product. I look forward to start editing because my group and I have already figured out the different possibilities that we would want our final product to look, other than the original plan that is already set out. I can't wait to see the final scene when the doors slam shut because I think that it will have such a forceful impact on the whole sequence.
I think that overall in my group we had very different people with completely different ideas of how to make this opening sequence successful. As good as it might be it was quite difficult as most of the times we had disagreements or misunderstandings. I think that our problem was that we couldn't just finalize ideas and that we just kept on debating about them, and by doing this we wasted a lot of precious time. But at the end we were given a talk by our teacher which got us back on our feet and we were really productive in the next couple of weeks. It is important that next time when I will be shooting that my group and I have everything most of the tasks complete before we start filming, as I feel at times my group was really disorganized. Also the fact that I was working with boys only made it difficult for them to understand my points. Some photos of our shoot day:
We had our first editing session today and it was interesting to see how the filming actually turned out on a screen. Matt gave us a brief recap of how to use Adobe Premier Pro, as we didn't edit anything since our prelim task a while ago. We decided to start off by looking through the material that we actually got, so that we could get a glimpse at what we were going to work with for the next couple of weeks. After, we shared each of our ideas of how we would want the final product to look like and just our visions in general. Ashen had quite a specific way of creating the thriller by adding voice overs and black screens in the beginning of the opening title sequence. All of us were considerate of each others ideas and we decided on working around every idea and trying to include as much as we could. Soon after, we arranged all of the material that we were intended to use into bins.
My group and I were quite prepared when the cast arrived, I had set out all of the costumes and the masks by them ready for the cast to get into. Also, Haydon arranged Sasha the make up artist to come up and do a bullet wound on one of our cast members. Before we started to shoot we needed to make sure that the back of the van had the props needed for the scene. This involved Alen and me to bring some bits of paper and card board boxes to fill up the space. Whilst we were doing that Ashen was giving a pep talk to the characters and setting up the camera to film inside the van. 
