Promotional Video - Evaluation

Overall I feel that each task for this unit was conducted well and achieved successfully as a result of careful planning and active engagement. I feel that initial research into my clients brand was vital, as it allowed me to develop some ideas in terms of what I wanted to create visually and conceptually. I looked into her work by visiting her official website and social media pages; this helped by giving me some grounds to go by in terms of her aesthetic and visual style, so that I could incorporate it into my own work.

Doing this also allowed me to develop an idea of what type of background music I wanted to use. I contacted a producer and sent a few existing compositions along with a visual mood board as inspiration for them to work from. By doing this, I was able to find a corresponding piece of music for my work, whilst avoiding the risk of using any copyright audio material.

By conducting research prior to starting the project, I was able to have a rough idea of how long I wanted the video to be. This made the editing process easier; by focusing on what to include within a particular length of time, I was able to cut down the interview section and various other shots, to create a concise yet succinct final piece, just enough to present all the relevant information about my client's work.

I made sure to get as involved as possible in my clients work. I attended fashion shows/photo shoots and arranged to film my client in her workspace, so that I could capture the craftsmanship as well as the glamour that surrounds her final pieces. By filming a variety of footage in various locations, I was able to create a diverse montage, which showcased the best of my clients work.

Ideally, I would have liked to capture more of the craftsmanship involve in my clients work, however due to a lack of time, I was unable to do so. In essence, I feel that more of shots of Jayne in her working environment would have added to the authenticity of the overall piece and added a sense of balance between the hands on work and the final pieces displayed in the fashion shows and photo shoots.

The main obstacle that I faced, was in trying to arrange time to record interviews with my client. Her work schedule was relatively full, therefore it became a problem finding a day where she was able to let me film her in her workspace. However, this was overcome and the interview with Jayne, provided a deeper insight to her work, tying together the video overall.

In terms of editing, I found that it was easier to edit once I had the audio to work with. In this instance, the rhythmic style editing complimented the content of the video, whilst also keeping an upbeat flow to engage the viewers attention. Other elements that I had to consider during the editing process were the levels of both the music and interview; it is vital that my clients interview was clearly audible over the backing track, so that I could attain the ultimate purpose of the video, which was to promote her work. In response to the final draft that I had sent to my client, she had directed me to alter the levels of the audio tracks so that her interview was more audible.

I found that organising my videos into folders made the editing process much easier, as I was able to select the footage that I needed in order to correspond with what my client was discussing during the interview.

Promotional Video - Initial Draft

For the initial draft, I have edited together all the footage captured from two fashion shows and collated it into a montage sequence. From this, I feel that an interview is necessary in order to give the viewer a clearer idea of what the video is promoting. Hence, I intend to have shots of my client talking about their business and their products, this will be complimented with shots of them working on headpieces in their office as well as the catwalks. The spoken dialogue will help to provide an explanation and insight, into the work of my client. In addition, it will create a dynamic variation in a visual sense, bringing the viewers awareness back to the client, engaging them in the essence of the video, which is her work.

As there was a lot of footage to edit into the sequence, I was sure to arrange everything into relevant folders, making the overall process much easier and more convenient. This also allowed me to combine various videos into one coherent sequence, in which I was able to show a vast variety of my clients work.

Promotional Video - Planning

Shot List/Edit Decision List - Initial Draft

Psychoanalytical Fim - Evaluation

I intended to have a sense of disorientation lead the flow of the final sequence, as this would reflect the internal struggles of the featured subject.

The mind is constantly wandering between past experiences or the unknown depths of the future. Therefore, my intent was to portray the ambiguity of chronology and structure, by showing the subject aimlessly traversing back and forth through various situations, whilst attempting to console the ongoing conflict between his id, ego and superego. To enhance this concept visually, I decided not to include any conspicuous establishing shots, in order to maintain a constant state of unfamiliarity and disorientation.

I shot each section of the sequence multiple times, from various angles, in order to give visual versatility, this also gave me the opportunity to make use of editing techniques, such as the 30 degree rule.

I chose to film long takes, when there was a particular focus upon the subject. This enabled me to utilise jump cuts during post production, once again, enhancing the mental opposition and confusion. To compliment this, I overlaid clips and altered the opacity, in an attempt to produce a visual representation of the perplexing psyche.

I also made the decision to edit the footage to monochrome. I felt that these colours present certain connotations which are relevant in expressing the subjects emotions. The colour white is associated with purity and wholeness. Black represents secrecy and mystery, just as the subject is attempting to suppress a dimension of himself from the world. What black covers, white uncovers. Therefore, each colour perfectly represents an element of his psyche.

As there were multiple shots which formed various scenes, I was sure to organise my footage into folders, so that the process of editing could be conducted in a manageable and orderly manner. This proved beneficial in terms of adhering to deadlines; with an organised layout, I was able to sift through my footage, pick out the shots that were required an speed up the overall editing process.

Promotional Video - Preperation

In preparation for the promotional video unit, I was given a brief from which I was directed to document the work of an art student.

Before I even began conducting any planning, I attempted to develop my understanding of the art piece itself, by engaging in regular meetings with the student and asking them to explain their planning process and any meaning behind the work. This not only enabled me to further my understanding of the artwork, but also provided me with enough insight to capture and portray it authentically.

I then began to plan what I wanted to shoot; I decided to capture the entire work process, from start to finish, as well as incorporating an interview set up to intersect the action shots with.

I had produced a series of questions that I would ask the student, in order to form a good structure to the interview section of the shoot. I wanted the questions to evoke in-depth answers so that I could enhance the speech with various shots of the student working and the final piece itself.

I used a single camera set up for the interview, however when documenting the student working, I had two camera's set up, with an additional one focusing on the intricacies of the work. With the third, handheld camera I was sure to utilise the entire work space and shoot from various angles and perspectives. This not only creates visual interest, these shots also compliment what is being said during the interview. 

Overall, I feel that this project has allowed me to explore and develop my practical and planning skills. Which has served as experience and practice towards the 'promotional video' unit of work. 

Development of Editing Technology

The purpose of editing, is to allow viewers to experience a smooth sequence of scenes, which collectively become a compilation of shots that make sense and develop emotional impact.

Primary forms of editing were very basic and entailed the editor physically cutting and glueing parts of the film. They would do this, by holding the film up to a light source and identifying the correct/desired frame to cut or join. This was a tedious and time consuming method of working, however formed the foundation of editing techniques.

The Moviola was introduced in 1924, as a pioneering piece of editing technology. It became a much easier and more precise method of editing film. It also brought about 'edge numbering', allowing audio and visual to be edited in synchronisation.

Flatbed Edit Suites -
Steenbeck is renowned for a rich history of manufacturing film editing, viewing and controlling tables since the early 50's. During 1953 the first Steenbeck flatbed 16mm 4 plate the ST200 was born. This editor included optical sound and playback of 16mm perforated magnetic tape and was seen as new media at that time. The predominant editing methods were still very practical and require the use of trim bins, guillotine splicers and the use of a light table.

Soon the ST100 followed, a 4 plate 35mm editor in 1954. Following this, the first editor with back projection on a ground glass was the 35mm ST400 followed by the ST500 switchable for standard and Cinemascope.

Live television editing became the pioneering form of editing, which began in the early-mid 40's. This led to kinescope recordings, which consisted of a camera recording a video screen of a live broadcast. This was not a very successful method and led to such issues as ghosting and banding, nonetheless tv studios were using more raw film stock in their kinescopes, than most Hollywood film studios combined.

In the early 50's, engineers working for Bing Crosby's production company, pioneered in recording video images onto magnetic tape. In 1956, Ampex released the first 2" quadruplex video tape. Editing this, was a similar process to that of editing film. Initially the tape had to be developed, using extremely fine iron filings suspended in a toxic, carcinogenic carbon tetrachloride solution. This was done so that the magnetic bands on the video tape visible when viewed through a microscope, so that it could be aligned in a specialised splicer and cut precisely. Video and audio read heads were several inches apart in the machine, therefore it was not possible to make a physical cut that would function correctly for both video and audio. As a result, a cut was made for the video and a portion of the audio was then re-copied into the correct part. 

To get from one place to another on a tape you have to shuttle past everything in-between. One could argue that you spend more time waiting for tapes to cue with a linear system than you do making edits. In addition, Linear editors are not particularly flexible and it is difficult to build up separate sequences, especially if you need to go back and alter them. The only way to change a previously made edit is to perform a new edit "on top of" the old one. If the scene you want to add happens to run longer than the scene you're replacing, you'll cover up a bit of the next scene on the tape. If it's shorter, you'll have a bit of the old shot still in the program.

Non-linear and Digital Editing - 

Non-linear editing is a non-destructive process and a much more natural way of editing. It requires two predominant functions; computer power and data storage. 

There is no question that nonlinear editing and digital technology will have positive effects on the editing process and on the outcome of that process, the screen story. In technical terms, time is money, and the speed of nonlinear systems should have a positive impact on postproduction budgets. So too will the capacity for the editor to build up his own tracks and mix them down on his nonlinear systems. 

The capacity to work in a more complex way with sound and picture can only help the postproduction process and budget. Digital technology also helps in the creation of special effects. The famous shots of Gary Sinise legless in the second half of Forrest Gump (1994) were produced in a digitized set of images reconstituted frame by frame to eliminate his legs from each frame. Equally possible today is the removal of any portion, small or large, of the image. This same technology can be used in film or sound restoration as well. (Dancyger, 2011)

The CMX 600, introduced in 1971 and only 6 were ever produced. They paved the way for non-linear editing. The EMC 2 and the Avid 1 followed, which was a macintosh based non-linear editor (1989), it became the gold standard of editing in Hollywood. Although technology had progressively advanced, storage was still an issue. In 1993, Avid increased the amount of storage available, debuting a 7 terabyte system. Editor Walter Murch won an oscar for best editing in 1997, for The English Patient, which he edited using an Avid. 

Digital Editing - 

Digital has many pros over analogue, for example; it is easy to copy, is resistant to noise, not subject to generation loss and is much easier to sync.

In 1990, New Tek released the first 'Video Toaster' on the Omega system. Although it had limited linear editing capabilities, it brought video production to small television studios, production shops and schools. It was loaded with various effects and even a 3D package, called light weight 3D and proved that there was a market for small scale media production.
1995, saw the introduction of dvd optical disks, using a new type of compression referred to as MPEG-2. 

The first US public HD broadcast occurred in 1996, which was around the same time in which Hollywood studios began using digital intermediary to create special effects. The process entails sending 35mill film through a telecine, which scans the film and creates a digital file, that can then be manipulated in a computer using special effects and compositing. Once this is complete, the optical printer would ten place the video images back onto film.

1992, visual fx superviser Chris Woods, overcame many technological difficulties with telecine and created the visual effects of 1993's Super Mario Bros. 

Chris Watts then revolutionised the DI process with Pleasantville (1998). The film holds the record for most visual effects shots in a single film.

The very first motion picture to be shot purely on digital, was Star Wars: Ep II, in 2002. In the late 2000's, it became possible to shoot purely on digital and edit online, using the original full quality files.

Reference List:
Brown, B. (2012) Cinematography - Theory and Practice. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Focal Press.

Dancyger, K. (2011) The Technique of Film and Video Editing. Oxford: Focal Press.

CHRISTOPHER, B. THOMPSON, R. (2009) Grammar of the Edit. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Focal Press.

Herman, J. (2012) A Brief History of Film Editing Technology. Editors Guild Magazine. [Online] Volume 1 (Part 3) Available From: https://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=1104 [Accessed: 24th September 2015].

Loehr, M. (1995) Edit Points: Linear vs Non-Linear Editing. Article [Online]. November issue. Available from: http://www.videomaker.com/article/c3/1214-edit-points-linear-vs-nonlinear-editing

http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-evolution-modern-non-linear-editing-part-1-from-tape-to-digital/

http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/01/the-history-of-cutting-the-birth-of-cinema-and-continuity-editing/

New Wave - Film Evaluation

Evaluation and Health & Safety

My new wave sequence was constructed of an array of shots that I had captured in various locations, structured in the form of a montage. By doing this, I have given the viewer the ability to derive meaning from the film based on their own interpretation. I felt that this was a key theme surrounding a majority of the New Wave texts that I had looked at for my contextual study. In terms of concept, this style provides a loose narrative which makes the film easy to follow, but not too conventionally organised.  

When conducting on location shoots, I was sure to consider the practical elements of health and safety. I ensured that all of my equipment was correctly put away when not in use and whilst shooting, I had to be sure that both myself and my apparatus were not obstructions which could lead to potential physical harm for pedestrians or those around me.

When assembling the footage together, I wanted to make sure that the rough trademark of new wave editing was made apparent, therefore I was not too careful in selecting where to cut the shots. With long takes, I transformed them into a series of jump cuts, adding a sense of discontinuity.

Similarly, I was sure to keep a consistent flow throughout the sequence, by maintaining the choppy editing style. I also incorporated elements that were featured in the New Wave, such as having the subject look directly at the camera, ultimately breaking the fourth wall and acting as a reminder to the audience that they are simply watching a film. This was commonly demonstrated in French new wave films, shedding new light onto the world of cinema and transforming film making from the conventions of classic, large scale productions.

I also experimented with the use of colour, taking inspiration from Daisies (1966) and the creative use of filters used within the iconic nightclub scene. Shifting between exotic hues adds a sense of the unconventional as well as enhancing the surreal essence of the film. In addition to this, colour has the potential to influence the audiences feelings towards what they view on screen, as each shade holds personal connotations, hence every viewer may develop varying interpretations.

'Daisies' (1966)

However, I did not want to make the effect so drastic within my own film, so I altered the colour levels slightly, just enough to add a slight tint to each shot. I did so with purpose, although the effect was predominantly done for aesthetic purposes, I ensured that the colour complimented the tone of the shot, in order to enhance the focus of it. For example, for a location shot of a secluded area of Digbeth, I added a cold filter, to represent the solitude felt when present there.

 Overall, I found that I was able to manage my time effectively; by documenting my planning for each shoot, I was able to express the developments in my ideas and then elicit them in a practical sense. Such as altering the fundamental concept so that it was not too heavily based around a narrative, as this would not have been true to the nature of new wave. Most new wave productions emitted a sense of spontaneity in terms of their content and I wanted to be as authentic as possible when making my film, hence created a montage of scenes which were loosely connected, so that the viewer is able to derive their own interpretation of events.

 As a result, I was able to produce a new wave montage sequence that combined various elements displayed by the movement. I felt that this project particularly allowed me to explore and strengthen my editing skills, as there was a vast amount of footage to sift through and implement into a sequence. In addition, the fact that I edited to audio and a poem also stretched my ability to edit in time.  

Rules of Editing - Daisies (1966) Scene Analysis

Art Foundation Shoot - Reflection and Health and Safety

In order to authentically portray the range of artwork, I ensured that I'd captured a range of shots, involving various camera techniques and styles, in order to show the individuality and striking diversity that each piece offers. This way, I would be able to present the visual aspect of the work, as well as conveying a sense of the conceptual essence.

I used a zoom lens, to get a larger aperture and compensate for the low light available indoors. this also provided me with an opportunity to explore with focus techniques and the use of a shallow depth of field, to really focus upon a single focal point. I also combined a range of pans, tilts, close ups and wide shots, in order to get a feel of the overall art space and the separate creations.

When filming in the Art Studio, there were many things that I had to consider in regards to health and safety.

Potential risk hazards include the floor conditions, any spillages or materials that may pose a risk of slipping or damaging equipment must be dealt with correctly. Hence, I ensured that nothing was in the way of myself and the camera set-up before conducting my shoot.

Similarly, when using the tripod I had to check that it was positioned in such a way that it would not become an obstruction to anybody within their personal or work space. In addition, I ensured that the tripod I was using was not going to fall and potentially cause any breakages.

Editing To Audio

Creating a visual sequence to a piece of audio offers much room for experimentation and interpretation, however it is vital to reflect the mood and atmosphere of the track correctly. This can be done in many ways; the lyrical content may be presented in an obvious manner, or the ambience of the composition can be illustrated symbolically.

In this instance, I chose a selection of vividly graphic clips which express the tone of the music and correspond to the tempo and rhythm, such as paint drips, ink in water and flashing lights. I edited these in such a way that they were responsible for representing the various elements of the beat, such as the kick and snare. This worked effectively, by authentically creating a visual manifestation of the audio. The most challenging aspect that I faced whilst doing this, was cutting the clips precisely in time to the track, however this allowed me to strengthen my editing skills through trial and error.

I also decided to incorporate a variety of dance sequences, in order to add a contemporary feel and portray the music from an alternative perspective. A majority of the shots involved quite a classic form of dance, whereas the audio has an opposing tone. This, however, resulted in a contrasting balance between the audio and visual, which worked particularly well because the shots fir the pace of the song.

As well as placing various clips side by side in the form of a montage, I also made use of layering videos on top of each other. Whilst doing this, I wanted to ensure that it wouldn't get too visually complex and hard to digest for the viewer, therefore when layering I chose to have at least one clip which was relatively simple.

Overall, this task gave me an opportunity to explore my editing skills, as well as allowing me to experiment way of representing meaning from audio through a sequence of visuals. I particularly enjoyed the rhythmic element, which was a prominent aspect as as result of editing to audio. I look forward to using the skills I developed in doing this and applying them to other projects.

4 Hour Film Challenge - Reflection

This task was one which allowed me to identify, explore and improve my practical and organisational skills. The most challenging aspect, was completing the project within the allocated amount of time. Initially, the group struggled to devise a narrative of some form, hence a lot of time was spent developing concepts and possible plots. Once a vague storyline had been agreed upon we began shooting immediately to avoid wasting any more time and conducted the shoots in a relatively organised manner.

During the shooting process, the first thing we did was ensure that the correct exposure had been achieved, however in a selection of shots we noticed that the footage was slightly grainy as a result of the low light available to us indoors.

In the future, the use of an additional light source, such as an LED light, would eliminate noise and produce a smooth and correctly exposed video.

An aspect of the shooting process that I felt was particularly successful was the way we conducted some experimentation in capturing a range of camera shots and collectively incorporating the skills that we had learnt over the weeks. This reflected our understanding and showed our practical abilities, as well as giving us an opportunity to all share our thoughts and concepts with one another.

By using different lenses, we were able to explore different aperture settings, to create interesting and dynamic shots.

I volunteered to do the editing for the group and particularly enjoyed this process, as I was able to further my own skills, by working on precisely merging shots together in a relatively seamless manner, ensuring that the overall production flowed and was easy to follow for the audience.

One thing that lacked and could have been drastically improved, was the narrative. Towards the end of the sequence, the storyline became vague and it was difficult to decipher any meaning from it. Therefore, we learned that the conceptual element is just as vital as the visual and we should have planned each detail before shooting, in order to overcome this issue.

4 Hour Film Challenge - Video

Continuity Editing - Reflection

Video Reflection 

For the layout of the video, I decided to follow a set sequence, in which an explanation of the editing technique is given, followed by a cinematic exemplar and then my own visual example. I felt that this is a simple and coherent way to present the varying editing techniques. 

However, upon analysing the final product, I found that it would be improved if further elaboration was given during the demonstration of each technique. This would be particularly useful within the Cross Cutting sequence, to explain that the two different shots are in fact occurring at the same time and not sequentially. 

Whilst capturing Shot Reverse Shot, the 180 degree rule was unintentionally broken, as the camera was placed on the opposite side to where it should have been placed, in order to capture the technique precisely. This would result in the viewers perception of where the characters are on the screen, to become disorientated.  As a result, when re-shooting this, I must ensure that the camera is placed on the correct side of the subject, in order to keep the feeling of continuity. 

The technique Match on Action was the most difficult to synchronise correctly, as timing is paramount in order to portray it technically right. The action, or movement of the subject must be matched within each shot, in order to create a seamless transition. 

Overall, the most challenging aspect of capturing and editing my own video examples, was creating a seamless flow of sequences that was authentic enough to represent the techniques correctly. By trying to achieve a variety of these techniques, I was able to develop and further my editing skills, in addition to my camera skills. 

Continuity Editing - Video

Unit 30 - Camera Shots

Camera Shots and Movement - Evaluation

There are varying elements that compose the visual aspects of film's language, including camera shots and movements.

From experimenting with capturing a range of these, I found that there was a diverse element of trial and error. Overall, I wanted to achieve a consistent level of quality in terms of composition, therefore I chose to shoot within a location that offered visual appeal and aesthetic, whilst not distracting from the predominant point of focus, therefore I chose a setting that displayed a range of neutral hues. In addition, I worked to incorporate such composition like rule of thirds  and Leading Lines, as well as making full use of the foreground, mid-ground and background.

For the Establishing Shot, I wanted to express the significance of the surroundings, however still keep the focus upon the subject; as a result, I decided to have them within the centre of the frame. The location itself formed a sense of natural balance and symmetry, complimenting the use of leading lines, allowing the viewer to follow the movement of the subject. Overall, I felt that this was a successful capture, as it combined good composition, with the depth and dimension of the shot type.

Correspondingly, the range of portrait style shots, from Long Shot to the Extreme Close Up, worked particularly well, as a result of composition and the fact that I chose to shoot them using a relatively shallow depth of field, to allow the predominant focus to fall upon the subject. However, as a result of the chosen location, I was faced with the issue of camera shake, due to the wind. To overcome this problem in the future, I would be sure to have a more steady camera set-up; using a fluid head tripod would be an appropriate option, as they provide more stability and are specifically designed to cater for moving image production.

For the Tracking Shot the most challenging aspect, was trying to get as little camera shake as possible. However, without the use of suitable equipment - such as a dolly - this wasn't easily achieved. Conversely, the hand-held element did provided a more authentic ambience, by really accentuating the organic setting and placement of the subject within the frame.

For the final video, I chose to have title slides that explain each camera shot or movement, as opposed to a voiceover, as I felt that this would provide more detailed, yet succinct explanations. Following this, cinematic examples are presented, to allow the viewer to recognise the shot in a more familiar format, then once they are able to identify and recognise it, my own example is presented.

I kept this order consistent throughout video and - with the use of bins - kept each of the files within their own folder to keep things organised and clearly laid out.

Overall, I feel that this project allowed me to explore, challenge and strengthen my own camera and editing skills, both technically and compositionally, which I can now implement into future tasks.