Learning how to use Final Cut Pro

After we shot all the footage we needed for our preliminary task, the next stage was to go to the editing suite and put the footage together to make a scene which flowed well. We were introduced to 'Final Cut Pro' the programme we will later be using to edit our thriller.

In our groups, we were assigned to a computer. Our group decided to first look over all of the footage we had shot and decide which our favourites were. Matt taught us about the importance of bins. We were shown the 'log bin' where we put our favourite bits of footage to be edited and also the 'rush bin' where all of the footage is stored - wanted and unwanted.

Our group decided that instead of making our scene fast-paced, we would slow down the speed of conversation to add a sense of suspense. We managed to create this effect through our editing and the final outcome was very successful.

For me, the hardest part of adjusting to Final Cut Pro, was keeping the continuity of the scene flowing. For example, when making a cut from a wide shot to an over the shoulder shot and keeping the footsteps looking as though there is no break in the cut.

Above is our final edited version of the preliminary task

Preliminary task

The preliminary task was the first time that I got to work with the group of people who I will eventually be working with for our coursework filming task. In my group there are four of us - Talisa, Bella, Laura and me. This task not only tested our ability at filming and directing a short scene, but also showed us how well we worked together as a team.

I felt much more confident behind the camera in this task than I did in our practice. Our group was focused and we were keen to get all of the necessary shots in the 1hr and 10mins that we had.


Above is the first page of the storyboard we followed which shows the simplicity of it

In order to ensure that we all had time behind the camera, we used two students from the year above as our actors. How we interpreted the script was basic and involved:

1) Character A entering a room.

2) Character B is sitting at a desk with a sheet of paper in front of her.

3) Character A and B have a conversation together.

4) Character A leaves room, leaving Character B at the desk.

We tried to include techniques that we have learnt in the year such as not breaking the 180 degree rule, filming using ECU's for emotion and a variety of different angled shots e.g. over the shoulder, wide shot etc. It was also important that we kept the continuity of the shoot constant, so keeping an eye on little things such as positioning of props was key.

Overall, the shoot was successful and we managed to get all the footage needed in the time we were given. Now that we had all the raw footage, all that we had to do was to learn how to use the editing programme on the computer and edit our shots together to make a flowing scene between two people.

Practising using the camera

As I missed the lesson in which we were taught to use the cameras, my first experience with our school's cameras was in our practice shoot for the preliminary task. We were put into groups of three or four. I was in a group of three and as the script we were given had only two characters, we constantly had two actors and one person behind the camera. Our group was lucky enough to be given the studio as our set; this meant that we could play around with various different lighting and use the props available to us as well. Our group made the mistake of not filming the whole scene as a wide shot first, so our footage at the end was incomplete. By making this mistake, I learnt a vital lesson which later on helped me when we filmed our preliminary task. Other than this mistake, I learnt how to use the cameras, including how to control the white balance before filming and also the setting up of the camera and the stand.

The white balance is controlled by focusing the camera on a white wall or area so that the camera is able to pick up all of the colours correctly from the spectrum. Once the white balance has been adjusted, the temperature of the picture changes completely.

Using photoshop to create thriller posters

In this lesson, we had the task of going around the school in groups and taking pictures of each other in scary situations. We then had to return to the computer room and use our photoshop skills to edit our favourite picture into a thriller poster advertising a new film. I chose to edit a photograph taken of me on a bench. In the foreground were leaves and twigs, as if someone was looking at the hooded figure (me) on the bench (as seen below). 

 [UPLOAD PHOTO]

I played around with the controls, editing the colour of the photo to make it seem more eerie. I then used the text tool on photoshop to add in a title for the film. I had to play around with various colours in order to choose one which was legible against the dark background, I also tried different fonts and sizes of the text to find the one most suited to the thriller genre.

The Shawshank Redemption: my presentation.

One of our homework tasks last week was to prepare a presentation on a scene from our favourite film. I chose to research into The Shawshank Redemption, focusing on the escape scene at the end. I used a clip taken from Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCtgM1hWcUY).
I first looked into the mise-en-scene; the surroundings are dimly lit except for the one small window in the cell. This tiny window has light flooding through it, representing his slim chance of freedom Andy has. Through looking at the characters' clothing, it is possible to see the different positions of authority - the inmates are wearing worn workclothes and the highly ranked characters are dressed in smart suits. As a member of the audience, we empathise with the inmates as the majority of them regret the mistakes they have made, in the case of Andy (the protagonist) not only do we empathise with him, but we hope that he will escape as he is actually innocent and was wrongly convicted.
The camerawork was the next aspect of the scene I chose to study. My favourite use of the camera from the scene is when the camera zooms out from a medium close-up shot of the characters after they find the hole in the wall; I think that this zoom adds a sense of awe and shows the respect felt towards Andy for finally managing to escape the jail.
Throughout the film, the character of Red narrates what is happening to the audience, this is an example of a non-diegetic sound and is used in this scene to emphasise the amount of time Andy had spent in jail.
A dissolve is used from a still picture going backwards in time to show the day Andy first started trying to escape, the audience at this point are taken back to a shot seen previously in the film which creates a sense of familiarity.
At the point at which Andy actually escapes, lighting is used to add drama to the scene, it creates excitement and a sense of panic and urgency. The lightning also adds to the sense of triumph as Andy takes up the position of a cross, adding a religious aspect as if he is thanking God for finally escaping Shawshank.

A few definitions...

As the media course is completely new to our class, it is important that we learn some definitions:

MISE-EN-SCENE: this is everything in the frame

SEMIOTICS: the study of signs

SIGNIFIER: the object in the picture

SIGNIFIED: the implications of that object in the picture

SIGN: the combination of the signifier and signified that make the picture

DIEGETIC SOUNDS: sounds which are part of the world of the film

NON-DIEGETIC SOUNDS: sounds which come from 'outside' that world

POV: this is when the audience sees through the eyes of the character, this is a technique often used in thrillers.

These definitions are useful to us as we will eventually be using them in our final exam.

My First Look into Media...

Our AS Media course was soon started with our introduction to Adobe Photoshop. I was familiar with the name of the programme, but not how to use it. We were first taught the basics needed in order to edit film posters. I started off with a poster advertising The A Team, and through using the stamp tool, I was able to copy certain parts of the poster and make a replicate of it elsewhere. For example, copying Mr T's head and placing it onto someone elses body.

Our teacher, Matt, then showed us some more tools and how to use them, the lasso tool is used to make a selection and to then copy your selection to another part of the page. There are different variations of the lasso tool, for example the magnetic lasso which 'clings' to the outline of the shape you are copying.

We were soon introduced to the world of layers within photoshop. Matt explained all the complications which can arise through misunderstanding layers; yet the majority of the class (including me) managed to make a 'layers mistake' at some point during the lesson. I suppose this is when learning from your mistakes is key.

We also learnt how to edit the tone, colour and direction of the posters as well as learning how to edit an aspect of one poster onto another. I chose to combine The A Team with Alice in Wonderland which proved to be quite entertaining.

I enjoyed the hands-on lesson into the world of photoshop, and look forward to progressing in the programme as the course continues.