Post Production: Editing (2)

Once I had ordered the clips, I put them in sequence in a timeline. I found this task arduous because I wanted to be precise in placing and fixing the duration of the clips.I found this process difficult because I was not familiar with the programme. This led me to use iMovie.

In iMovie, I created a draft trailer so that I had a better idea of what I wanted to recreate in Premiere. This gave me confidence because it felt less overwhelming; it was more structured. Obviously it could have been more accurate (for example, iMovie uses stock titles) but it allowed me to achieve my objective.

Editing the iMovie version

The above screenshot exemplifies the stock titles which iMovie offer.  

Editing the sound

The video above shows the sound before and after editing. I used GarageBand to edit the sound. I decided to use sound similar to that of Pan's Labyrinth (2006) in my trailer as a piece of non diegetic sound. This was achieved through converting a YouTube video to an MP4 file.

I think this is the sound that I used. It was either used in or inspired by Pan's Labyrinth - I haven't seen the film!

Post Production: Editing (1)

Once I finished the production stages (filming) of my coursework, I began editing the trailer. I started off by importing all of the clips into Adobe Premiere Pro which allowed me to see clearly how to order the clips. Some of this was similar to my story board, however at times I improvised because the trailer did not look the same in practice.For example,the opening shot in my story board is a close up of the antagonist lying down. However I was filming outside and due to weather conditions it wasn't suitable to do so.
Ordering the footage was time consuming because I had to look through and find the best clips. There is a lot of surplus footage that I have not used because  of quality issues such as the clip being out of focus,experimental camera work and uneven lighting. I also had issues with perimeters of filming; it was a public place and this meant that members of the public kept coming into shot.

Here is a screenshot of some unused footage on account of blurriness

Here is a screenshot of some unused footage on account of overexposure 

Production: Sound

Recording the voice over
I recorded an initial voice over with an app that I downloaded on to my personal laptop called "recorder". This was effective when I began to edit initial footage as it gave me an idea as to whether the footage onscreen was parallel to the sound. However, I soon decided that it was too quiet as it was hard to understand what the person was saying, and there wasn't much conviction. This was perhaps because the instructions I had given were quite vague; I just wanted something to work with for the draft.

Recording the song
I used the same application to record the voice over, but this was more easily editable with other software. Though it could have been better, it didn't matter too much because some distortion of sound was a feature of fantasy films and contributed to the scary element of the film.

Re-recording the voice over
After reflecting on what I had produced, I decided to re record the voice over so it made more of a contribution to the overall piece. I did this by selecting someone who studied drama to record the voice over; they had more of an understanding as to how the voice and intonation can be used for dramatic effect. The method I used to record the voice over was also better as it was more professional; I used a microphone. As a result, it resulted in improved sound.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Production: Equipment used

Here is an overview of the equipment I used for filming:

Panasonic SDC700 Recorder
This was a good choice of equipment because it was one of the high quality video cameras at my school, resulting in a more professional and sophisticated appearance of the footage.They are also quite simple to use and so this did not detract time away from the filming process. I was confident in how to keep the  camera safe and away from breakages, which helped greatly when I was filming away from school.

Panasonic SDC700 

Velbon CX-888
This tripod helped to stabilise the camera, preventing the footage captured from being shaky. It was  sturdy so I wasn't concerned about the camera falling off. The fact that you could manoeuvre the tripod to a range of heights and positions helped me to capture a variety of shots. 

Tripod

Lighting Rig
I used a lighting rig to make my product look more sophisticated and also to make it easier to see. It was initially difficult to set up but eventually it was alright. 
I rejected a flip cam because of the low quality. 

Production: Lighting

Internal location
The internal location I used was the Drama Studio at my school. As this is quite a dark room (there is not much natural light), I wanted to use additional lighting to make my coursework production look more sophistication. Therefore I booked a lighting rig. This encompassed a 300 Watt Broadbeam Halogen light, 800 Watt Broadbeam Halogen light and a 300 Watt Halogen spot light (dimmable). 

An example of a shot with additional lighting

After a while I experimented "with purple lighting" and found this to be a success also. This involved placing a purple filter/material in front of the light. 

An example of "purple lighting"

External locationAt the external location (Stowe Landscape Gardens), I decided to film with and adapt to natural lighting to be in keeping with the theme of nature often exhibited in fantasy films. This would also show a contrast. 

The above two pictures are examples of footage taken with natural lighting.

Evaluation of Filming Day 2

Overview of progress
The progress I made was good, I was able to get extreme close ups of the Evil Queen with proper lighting equipment. Additionally I got footage of marchers/people which will add greater depth to the narrative. The internal location allowed me to convey a contrast between industrial and natural settings. As I had the shots that I wanted planned out beforehand, it sped up the process significantly.

Problems faced
One of the problems I faced was that I was unsure how to the set the lighting, so we had to try lots of different shots before settling on the right place. The first few shots especially were futile due to overexposure. Another problem was that was time consuming to get the marchers to march in time with another!

Overcoming these problems
Initial problems with lighting were largely resolved by putting a purple filter/material in front of the light as I liked the effect this had. Marching in time with one another was achieved as the cast got used to the rhythm.

Managing Health and Safety Risks
A responsible adult (one of my teachers, Mr Osborne) was present when filming to accompany us. I was aware of how to operate the camera equipment as so to avoid any damages/breakages and made sure those helping me were aware of my intentions. (Under approval from OCR, I can have someone operate/assist with the operation of the camera.) We were all careful around lighting and electricity.

Filming (and Improvising) the Footage 
Most of the shots were filmed successfully. I attempted to film from a range of different angles, using a variety of shot types. Lara's nails looked different to what they did in the previous shoot though this was in many ways good because I wanted to communicate contrasts and the progression of time. From my research, I know that trailers rarely follow a linear structure. When I went to film the marchers' feet I was unable to get the tripod in the desired position so I had to film handheld footage. At first, I was worried about the stability of this but it turned out alright. 

Overall Evaluation
Overall the day was successful as I tried my best to get all the shots I needed at this location, and was able to adapt to the situation, improvising when necessary. The day may have been better if the lighting was sorted sooner, but some degree of experiment was inevitably required. 

Raw footage: filming day 2

Here is a compilation of raw footage from the second filming day.