Post Production: Editing Part 2

The biggest problem we faced after we finished edited the whole sequence footages is the total time is nearly 4 minutes which is too long. So we need to cut off some parts to make it shorter, we decided to cut off the car parts part as it is the less important part in our storyline. In addition to cut it all out, we have to make the front and back connect. Due to the limited shots we got here, I decided to change some orders of the plot. So I edited the girl finds out her bag is broken first, and then she feels the pain from the wound, so she rips off her sleeve to wrap the wound. Moreover, we cut some gap time between the footages. Finally, it is only 2 and half minutes. 

Then we need to add the sound and the titles in. For the title of the film, we listed a list of the names and finally choose – ‘The Revving’. We named it ‘The chop shop’ first, but then we realised there are films called this name so we changed it. And our production name is J.M.G which is the capital letters of our names. I am the editor, Max is the director of photographer and Gi is the director. For the other titles, we made up some names. We edited them through the opening sequence. Next is the soundtrack, we used the original soundtrack and also add more ambient sounds and sound effects. In our original soundtrack, the wind is really loud as we filmed outside in most of the time. So we reduce the volume of it and add a more regular wind sound. We add many sound effects such as the door close and open sound, the footsteps of the biker and the dragging sound of the axe. These can create a thriller atmosphere as these sound have been exaggerated in a quite environment. The most important part of the soundtrack is the motorcycle chasing sound. We searched many different soundtracks and find one suitable. Because it is really short, and we need it for nearly 50 seconds, so we copied some of the parts and paste it to make it longer. We edited it to match with our scenes. To reflect that the motorcycle is getting closer and farther, we adjusted the volume from low to high. Furthermore, we add reverb effect on the soundtrack which can makes it more real. The tension has been created through the motorcycle revving sound with the shaky camera shots and the footsteps with the girl’s facial expressions. 

Overall, I am really pleased with the final edited opening title sequence, it is nearly the same with what I expected. The new plot line works well, and the locations are really good. It can present the action horror atmosphere by the fast shaky action sequences, the axe with sound effects, the close up on the bloody wound, the motorcycle revving soundtrack and also the jumpscare at the end. These can all attract our target audience which is 16 to 17 teenage boys. For improvements, I think that next time we can be more careful on the continuity while filming so it will be much easier and more fluent for editing.

Post Production: Editing Part 1

We looked through all the footages we got at the start of editing. We were really exciting for reviewing them all as we took a large variety of shots on shooting day.

So first, we picked the best shots and drag them to the timeline and rename them such as ‘running through junkyard WIDE’. While we were picking the shots, we found that there are some continuity mistakes we didn’t realised on the day. In the first part, the sequence of shots should be that she feels pain, lifts her leg, and pulls up her trousers to reveal the wound. But in reality, while we shot she lifts her leg, the trousers is already up and the wound is already there. For this mistake and also the continuity of the bag which we found out before, we cut the footages and used the black edge lines to cover up the footages a little bit. Luckily, the bag and the wound both appear at the bottom so we fixed the problem. Based on the new plot which we changed on the shooting day base on the locations, we split the whole opening sequence into 3 parts for editing: the girl collecting the car parts and treat the wound in the junkyard, the girl running through the junkyard and the girl hiding in the old garage. We shot many different mid shots and close up shots, so we used them and cut during the character’s actions. 

The most important shots are the two long shots. We decided to use two complete shots at first. However, when choosing which footages to use, we found that each footage has its advantages and disadvantages. And we all liked a close up shot of a facial expression that was temporarily shot at the end. So we decided to try using different footages in the second part and cut them together. We tried several methods but at last we all agreed that keep it as one fluent long shot has the best effect. Furthermore, for the last scene we decided to make a jumpscare when the biker appears with the axe. And the scene turns to black instantly after the axe just pass through the camera which can shows it will kill the girl immediately. 

Mise-en-scenes video

 Here is a script for the video

Shooting day Reflection

 Our production team was shooting on March 10^th. In order to make the day go smoothly, we did lots of preparations before the day. So firstly, we brought all of our props and costumes to school, and let our actors – Meadow and Mike, to try on their costumes which can make sure these all look good and suit for them.

Then, we redecorated the T-shirts and the battle axe with the blood makeups. Because we borrowed this prop from Tulleys Farm, so it looked old in some places. To make it look more realistic, we used bright and dull fake bloods to cover up it. And we cut slits with scissors on the T-shirt and add some fake bloods which make it looks more survivor vibe. From the perspective of the costume, there is already the conventions of a typical action thriller atmosphere. In addition, I bought four same T-shits as we have a plot that the main character rip off the sleeve of her T-shirt. So we used one of the T-shirt as a tester to make sure we can rip off the cloth.

Before the shooting day, we checked all the props and costumes, and take the copy of the shot list and storyboard in case we need to use it on the shooting day. Furthermore, we discussed the processes roughly together which I think is really important to help the day goes smoothly. On the shooting day, all of us arrived at 8:30 to get ready. Gi brought the costumes to Meadow for changing, Max and I collected all the props and equipments and brought them to the bus. We used the Black magic 4K mini URSA Camera, the radio microphone, the tripod and the light tube. We left the school around 9 which means there will be plenty of time for the shooting.

 

When we arrived Tulleys farm, we went to the first location – the junkyard immediately. We used the skills we learned in our camera workshops to set up all the equipments and also use the radio microphone. All three of us did our roles, Max was mainly be the camera operator; Gi guided the actor and showed her the actions and facial expressions; I took care of the actor’s makeup and all the props. In addition, Gi and I alternate between recording the behind the scenes videos and the boom operator. During our shooting process, we remembered the 180 degree rule we learned in the workshop, we make sure to set up the camera in the correct angles. We shotted in the correct orders, the wide shot, the mid shot and then the close up shot. We changed some of our original plot according to the conditions and settings in the location. We took some extra shots which can help with editing. After checking we’ve got all the footage we need in the first location, we went to the second location – the shed. We tried many new techniques there. We planned the actions of the two characters and designed two long shots. Rather than using the wide, mid and close up shots, we shot the whole action in one go which is around 30 seconds in the first one and around 50 seconds in the second one. This is a big challenge for us, all of us tried and practiced twice. So we can make sure there is a perfect footage at last. Because of the environment, the best scene is on the right side, so we need to go backwards while film it. When one person is shooting, the other two need to take care of the pathway as there were many rocks and props. It's very difficult and easy to fall while walk backwards quickly and shot at the same time, but with our cooperation everyone did it very smoothly. In the second long shot, we used the car inside the shed. So we shouted a long shot by surround the car. And through the the windows, we can see the girl’s facial expressions and also the biker while he comes in. This is my favourite shot. 

 

But in fact, not everything went perfect on the shooting day, we have also experienced some unexpected accidents and problems. On our way to Tulleys Farm our bus was broken, our plan had to be changed as we need to wait for a new bus to drive us to the location. But luckily, everyone’s mood was not affected by the accident, we decided to do the makeup and also have a very early lunch while we were waiting. So we can save the time, and start shooting when we got there. We did all the makeups and preparation works on the way, so we finished early on that day. During shooting, the part we spent the most time is when the girl rip off the sleeve. It is really hard to rip off the sleeve very quick. So we used scissor to cut the sleeve from behind and make the camera down to make sure the scissor cuts can’t be seen in the frame. We tried several times, finally we did a close up on her hand and then move to her facial expression. I think it works really well at last. Furthermore, the lighting in our opening title sequence are mostly comes from the natural sunlight. But for the second location, we need to shot inside. So we put the light bulb in the car which can make the setting lighter. But while the main character moves around the shed, the lighting is dark which make the facial expression really unclear. Then we thought that we could opening another door to make more sunlight comes in. So when the camera turns to the direction that can’t see the doors, another person will help to open the door. The cooperation is really important as it might cause the wrong continuity if the door opens too early. Our group cooperate very well, and all of us did the roles and each of us experienced how to do a handheld shot and a long shot.

 

The only thing I would definitely improve and be more careful is the continuity. In the first part of our shooting, the girl is searching for tools and put them in her bag. However, the bag we brought had a very bad quality, so it broke in the middle of shooting. Then we decided to add this to the plot line, so the girl found out the bag is broken and she left the bag while she runs away. So it can show why she doesn’t have her bag in the rest of the film. But we didn’t make it very clear to the actor, so she accidentally grab her bad with her when she runs away. It might be a problem for the continuity. And we found it out too late, so we don’t have the chance the fixed it. I think we can might crop the screen a bit or move the the close up shots while editing this part, so it might be possible to ignore her taking the bag by editing. This is the point I worried the most for the editing process. Furthermore, I am very exciting to see all the footages in the editing suite especially the long shots as we all like twice.

 

Overall, I am very happy with our progress on the shooting day. We worked really well and we finished all the footages around 2 and half hours. Also we all took part in and tried many skills like long shot, tilt, pan, handheld and establishing shot. Moreover, we had two very talented actors which express the facial expressions and actions perfectly. I learned a lot and have more experience through this practical, so I will be more confident for the next project.

 

 

 

Behind the scenes

Props and Costumes 14

 The Make-up Plan

I make a rough plan to help with the makeup on the shooting day.

Props and Costumes 13

 The preparation on the props and costumes before the shooting day.

Props and Costumes 12

 Let Meadow try on her costumes.

Saul Bass Research

Saul Bass was a very famous American graphic designer, title designer and film director. He is best known for his special style of his opening title sequence and film posters. Saul Bass worked with many famous filmmakers in Hollywood, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Billy Wilder. He became famous for ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’’s title sequence in 1955. Then he meet Elaine Bass who is his wife in 1955. She was also a very talented title designer and filmmaker. They got married in 1961. Since then, they have worked closely together. She helped to present the opening tittle sequence in an art form, rather than jousting showing the names in the film. They both are very influential and famous film designer because of the memorable and creative title sequences and film posters. Their title sequence always have hidden hints to the content of the movie so the audience can feel the  genre and guess some storyline without giving it all away. 

Here are some examples of their title sequences:

I choose two of their title sequence to research and analysis - ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959) and ‘The facts of life’ (1960).

 

This is a opening title sequence of Anatomy of a Murder. It is a American film that released in 1959. The director is Otto Preminger, and the top casts are James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara. It has a budget of $2 million.

 

The opening sequence is in black and grey tone, the form is very concise and clear. The elements are the black paper cuts of a body on the grey background. The paper cuts a of the body parts are together when showing the name of the film, but they become separate and fragmented when presenting the production crew and cast. These suggest that the film might be a crime theme, and from the information in the name, it can be speculated that it is probably about killing a person and dismembering the body. Furthermore, the non-diegetic sound track is really attractive too. The jazz music beats appear with titles, and turn to more rapid pacing. The music build up the tension and give a nervous impact. I think this title sequence is very effective. Because even thought there wasn’t any dialogue and any characters, it can still tell the audience some hints from the film. It is not only presenting the names and credits. Saul Bass made a vivid and memorable opening in the simplest way. 

This is the film poster

This is the newspaper adverting poster

 

This is the opening sequence from ‘The facts of life’. It is also one of Saul Bass’s work, but this one has a different style. It is a romantic comedy film that released in 1960. It is directed by Melvin Frank, and the top casts are Bob Hope, Lucille Ball and Ruth Hussey. 

The whole title sequence is presenting in animation. It is in black and white tone, which gives people a sense of age. The production crew titles appear in different object. Their various forms of appearance increase the sense of playfulness and makes the opening more interesting. For example, the title sequence appears as the necklace, or the ice cubes in the drink, or on the cigarette, or in the music symbols from the telephone. The way they have been presented are in many different ways, and it is really clever that the audience will pay attention to the opening sequence.

From the animation, we can tell that the film is about the love story between a male and female. The flower, the candy box and all the elements are showing they are dating. The non-diegetic soundtrack is the 80^th jazz music which is facile and quite relax. The ‘boy-girl’ relationship has been presented, the male and female voice in the soundtrack also emphasise that. So base on these, the film’s genre might be romance and comedy. I think this title sequence is really attractive, it hints the different stages of two person’s relationship and the way it presents the sequences is very novel and won’t make people bored.

This is the film poster

Here are two examples that are influenced or similar from these style:

They are in a mainly black and white tone, and also they use the animation to present it. Their transitions and expressions are very vivid and memorable. There are hints and the main elements from the movie in the opening sequence which can tell the audience the genre and the informations in an art and visual way.

Props and costumes 11

 

Gi’s makeup props all arrived!

Max got the helmet for the biker’s costume

Max find many suitable weapon props

Film and Editing Workshop - A dialogue sequence

Shooting the dialogue sequence 

Our team collaborated to shoot a short dialogue scene in the shooting workshop. We divided the labour firsts, and then quickly wrote some dialogue lines. Freya and I were acting in the sequence, and Gi was shooting us.

During the shooting time, we use the skills we learned in the previous workshops, such as setting up the equipments and to adjust the white balancing. We were shooting beside a workbench in the corner in the studio. From what we learned before, we should put the camera at the same height as the object to shoot. I think everything went relatively smoothly, we shot lots of different angles in wide shot, mid shot and close up.

However, we didn’t put the 180 degree right while shooting. We thought the rule carefully before we started shooting, but because the position of the two characters were at a table facing the wall, it was difficult for the camera to squeeze into the gap between the table and the wall for shooting. So we set the 180-degree line to the sides of the two person. We should move the table and shoot from the front. From this mistake, I remembered a simple way to check if the 180 degree line is correct: the person on the right is always on the right, and the person on the left is always on the left. For the final shooting day, I will be more careful on this. Next time, we can shot more close up shots on the person’s face in a dialogue sequence. This time, we shot lots of close up on the hand and other movements, but we didn’t shot any close up shots on the face as the time ran out. The close up on face during a conversation can show the reactions which can tell many information to the audience. Moreover, we could try over-the-shoulder shots next time. We’ve learned lots about shooting in the camera workshops, but through this practice, I am more aware of the shooting rules and skills.

Editing the dialogue sequence 

In our editing workshop, we reviewed all the footage we shoot and select a few good ones. Gi and I did the editing together. As we shoot some shots in the wrong 180 degree rules, so we can’t use them. Among the limited shots, we chose a mid shot, a low angle shot, a wide shot and some close ups.

First, we choose one main footage, and use ‘I’ to select the part we need. Then we grab the footage to the timeline, and press+ to make them longer. Next, when the dialogue start, we cut to the speaking person. We press ‘C’ on the keyboard for cutting. After this footage, we cut to the close up shots. We should have put a low angle shot in the back, but we didn't have time to select the footage in the last part. These are things we learned before, and we become more proficient with practice. Because we are editing the dialogue sequence, so the soundtrack is important while editing. We learned how to edit the video and the soundtrack separately. We can right click in the timeline section, and click ‘unlink’. This can let the soundtrack and video from one footage be separate so we can delete the empty soundtrack first and move the useful soundtrack around. Furthermore, when we connect two soundtracks together, there will be a small noice between them which will make the audience notice the cuts. To avoid this, we can find the crossfade tool and put it between the connection bit, then the soundtrack will become smoother.

From editing the footage, we found out the lighting is a bit dark cause we were shooting in the corner. Next time, we should not only change the white balancing but also consider the lighting. Also, I think if we have got the close up shots on the character‘s facial expression will be better in a dialogue sequence. When the person speaks, the shot can cut to the person’s close up on face so audience can see their expression. This cuts can show different informations. For example, when there is a couple having arguments, the camera cuts to single person close up can show they are apart from each other. But when the camera cuts to the mid shot with both people, it conveys that they are back together. Moreover, during the conversation, if instead of having the camera cut to the person speaking, we stayed on one of them and observed her facial reaction as the other person spoke. Then her shots will be longer than the other person, which can reflect her more important in the scene. Overall, according all the things I learned in the workshops, I will definitely be more confident for my actual sequence. I will try different editing methods and be really careful for the 180 degree rule.

Here is our edited dialogue sequence 

The BBFC & Film Certificates

The BBFC is The British Board Of Film Classification, it is the body that regulates the British Film industry. They would supervise the release of films in the UK, some things are prohibited. They also in charge of checking the age certificates for each movie.

Here is the British Age Certificates:

They will consider all the things above to decide the suitable age certificate for the film:

• The violence scene in the film
• The scene that include sex and nudity
• The scene that using obscene language or discriminatory language
• The scene include self harm 
• Scenes of criminal activity
• The scene has drug, alcohol and cigarettes
• The scene has child actors
• The scene with dangerous behaviours that might effect the audience
• Strobe lighting

BBFC will give the age certificates base on these, but sometimes they will make a wrong decisions which will make many audiences complain.

For the film that suitable for all, it should be comfortable for audience that 4 years old or over. It can’ have any dangerous behaviour which young children might copy in real life. The language used should be polite and soft, there shouldn’t be any intentional discriminatory language. The sex and nudity should only be very basic behaviour like kissing. In addition, horror element and violence should be very less, and shouldn’t be very detailed.

For the film that is parental guidance, it should be suitable for children age around 8 or above. The language and the dangerous behaviours restriction is similar for films that are suitable for all. Nudity and sex should only be basic.

For the film that are suitable for 12 or above,. There can be a little bit of bad language. There may be nudity but sexual behaviours should only be briefly mentioned in the movie. Moderate violence is allowed, but there shouldn’t be any detailed blood shots. Threat and horror couldn’t be frequently in the movie.

For the film that are suitable for children 15 or above. Nudity and sex are allowed if it is presented in a portrayed way, but not in detailed. Horror and violence scene might be strong, but a sustained focus on sadistic violence is unlikely to be acceptable.  

For the film that are for only adult, only 18 or above can see these films in the cinema. There are very less restrictions but a very detailed violence or the illegal drugs will still be banned because these scene might harm the public health. 

For our opening title sequence, I think the best age certificate should be suitable for 15 or above. There is violence scene in the film as we are making a action horror film. There will be blood, wounds and weapons in our sequence, so it won’t be suitable for children under 15. Also, there will be a jumpscare at the end, it will include a killing scene. Furthermore, we are using children actors. So I think the age certificate should be over 15.

Target Audience

    Most film production will choose their target audience, the target audience for film refers to the specific group of consumers that want to see their films. The target audience will be divided according to different types of the film genre. It can be based on age, gender or location. For the large company films and big cinematic experience films, they are always hybrid-genre. So they can have a larger range of the target audience, which can bring more profits.

    Target audience is important for film company, it has many advantages. Firstly, it generate profit to the company as it can make people with the same interest to go see the film. And it can definitely help on marketing. Market the film with target audience can reach  more audience with the least amount of money. Like YouTube pushes different movie notifications based on people's interests. So in this way, it can help the company to save the marketing money, they don’t need to market the film to everyone. And it deliver the information in the film to people which tells them what to expect, so people who want that will come to see the film. Furthermore, the conventions and roles in the films will effect the audience. So they need to considering the most suitable target audience base on these elements too.

    For our group, the genre of our opening title sequence is action-horror. The age group divides as 15, 16-17, 18, 21-25, 30-40. Base on the research of the similar films’ target audience, the target audience for ours will be age of 15-17 and mostly males.

Love and Monsters (2020)

The Terminator (1984)

Sweet Tooth (2021)

Props and Costumes 11

 The last order arrived.