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