Evaluation Task 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Editing Reflection

Video editing is the process through which an editor clips together film segments, special effects, and sound recordings in the postproduction process. By mixing clips, special effects, and sounds the editor or editor’s is/are able to portray a certain mood, emotion, time, and/or place. Our group decided to use adobe premiere to edit our thriller due to the simplicity and ease of the program. By clipping together segments, inserting colour correction and other special effects, as well as inputting improved diegetic and non-diegetic sound we were able to create thriller that was successful in our groups opinion.

The most important step of the editing process is clipping together the different segments of a film/video. Our group collaborated together to create a coherent and interesting sequence. We did this through cutting lengthy scenes and removing clips that caused continuity errors. For instance during one of the shots the assassin closes his front door, at which point the reflection of the crew can be been. We tackled this problem by cutting the shot into two and zooming in on the bodies of the actors in the second shot so that when the door closes a close up of the actors is seen instead of the film crews reflections. Another example of n issue we our team was able to get rid of was, was shortening the opening scene from nearly a minute to about 20 seconds, whilst keeping it as a coherent continuity. Through the following we ensured that the thriller introduction that builds tension as well as engages the viewer/s.

Another crucial part of video editing is the process of colour grading the already clipped footage, as well as inserting any necessary special effects. After clipping together the material my group members took it upon themselves to work on the sounds and titles of the sequence, at the same time as I colour graded it. By doing so I established a dark and suspenseful atmosphere within the thriller. For example, when the assassin opens his front door, the huge amount of contrast present hides from the audience who the person outside may be, as well as the reactions on the faces of both characters, which contributes towards the suspense in the shot. Furthermore I have input a gun shot visual effects into the sequence through the use of adobe after effects. This made the sequence more realistic as well as more intense. By combing the gunshot effect with the colour grading I reestablished the mood, suspense and tension within our thriller.

The last significant part of video editing is non-diegetic and diegetic sound.  Through sound an editor/s is/are able to further build tension, suspense, and lots more through the use of the correct music and sounds. In our team Victoria took care of editing the soundtracks for the thriller. Our team helped her complete this task by exporting the main audio files form the footage, and importing them into a professional sound-editing program named Logic Pro X, after which Victoria took over. Through the use of sounds our group was able to establish a build up of tension and suspense within our thriller, as well as a jump scare. The jump scare consisted of a shot where the assassins wife is cutting bananas and suddenly the shot goes black but the sound of the cutting continues until a point where the steady pattern of the cutting is interrupted by a loud noise accompanied by a shot of the wife stabbing the table. As for the build-ups, we used a background tone that we steadily increased while accompanying it with the diegetic sounds in the scene, which audio wise, grabs the attention of the audience listening. So, as explained, the non-diegetic and diegetic sounds present within the thriller make a huge difference to the thriller.

In conclusion the process of clipping together segments, inserting special effects and colour grading the sequence, followed by an input of edited diegetic and non-diegetic sounds is what composes the method of editing a video in post production. Additionally it is one of the most important steps of creating a media piece, as editing a sequence sets its mood, pace and more. Finally, in my opinion our group would not of have been able to edit our thriller as well as we did if we did not have member interested in music tech, and film production.

Mise-en-scene Choices Explained

During our shoot day we used mise-en-scene to enhance our thriller sequence. Throughout the first scene in the bedroom we placed a wrinkled up vest on the floor, an iPhone on the nightstand and we used to the nightstand lamp to add powerful yellow tones to the frame. Placing the phone on the nightstand allowed us to begin of our thriller with a pleasant panning shot. Subsequently the yellow tones from the lamp created fantastic contrasts during our second shot, and finally placing the vest on the floor allowed us to capture a beautiful shot of our main character picking up the vest and putting it on. All together the following placement of props allowed our group to coordinate a successful scene with denotations to be made by the audience about the husband character. Throughout our next scene we made sure that the kitchen was clean and provided a cutting board and knife for our female actress.

Additionally we told our female actor that we’d like her to act fragile, whilst we told our male actor we wanted him to act dominating. The purpose of all of the following aspects of mise-en-scene was to create a certain portrayal of the character in our sequence. Creating this portrayal allowed for us to film a successful twist ending later on during the shooting day. Continuing we gave our female actress a knife and cutting board to use throughout the sequence that served as tension builders at one point in our thriller introduction. Lastly we also had the door blinds closed during our zooming shot towards the door to create a sense of suspense. Overall we were able to utilize most of the mise-en-scene to create a gradually changing portrayal of character whilst also supplying tension and suspense, as well as one jump scare.

Shoot Day Reflection

We shot our thriller a number of days ago. Even through the experience overall was positive our group had to overcome a number of obstacles throughout the day. At the beginning of the day we gathered in front of our educational facility and together with one of producers and our actors travelled to our shooting location after packing the appropriate equipment for the shoot. After a short amount of time we realized that we do not have a lot of time to shoot our scenes, so we picked up the pace when preparing different types of shots. At first our group was able to capture a number of fantastic shots through the use of a slider and a tripod. Eventually our third actor, which was unable to come in the morning, came to our shoot. The first issue that appeared during that time was our third actor could spare us only 30 minutes. We tackled this problem in a way by capturing only two noteworthy shots and than taking a wide and mid shot of the whole scene outside. Later on we continued to film inside the house and from that point on everything went well until lunchtime. At this point in our shoot we realized we will need more time to capture the entire footage necessary but our location owner allowed us to stay at his house only until lunchtime. Thankfully after speaking with the owner of the house we were allowed to come back after lunch and finish our shoot, which is exactly what we did.  Overall the shoot was a success with a minor amount of incidences throughout the day that our group was able to tackle anyways.

Behind The Scenes

On the day of our shoot our group collaborated accordingly to capture the best possible footage. We took turns directing, setting up the equipment, holding the microphone, and speaking to our actors so that all of us could gain more experience in each field. By doing so each of our shots was captured quickly and easily. We were able to correctly position our actors and tell them how to act throughout the day. Subsequently we set up the equipment, such as the slider faster every time we used it thanks to the experience we gained through the course of the day. Furthermore while our group members set up the equipment and positioned the actors another one us was able to calmly set up the camera with the correct white balance, focus and ISO. In general although maybe you cannot see it by watching the footage our group did our best to create the best possible shot whilst working behind the scenes.

Using The Shot List

During our shoot we were able to incorporate the shot list into our shooting routine quit easily. We a scene at a time and did so according to the shot list. We would progressively shoot a shot listed on the shot list, make sure that we are satisfied with that shot and would than move on to shooting the next shot on the shot list. Overall I think that we would have not been able to film our production as quickly as we did and as efficiently as our group did without the shot list. In other words the shot list was a fundamental part of our shoot. In some cases we still altered some of the shots slightly and captured a couple extra shots outside of the shot list thanks to the excess of time we had to shoot. Mainly through we were able to do all of the following thanks to the knowledge that we captured the continuity we planned on capturing in accordance to our shot list and storyboard. In general using the shot list was stress-free and resourceful.

Shot List

Our group collaborated in order to create a comprehensible shot list that all our group members would be satisfied with.  We took turns saying what we think are types of shots that would be appropriate for situations within our thriller and then we would all together decide whether to use the suggested shot or not to. Moreover each of us developed upon almost all of the shots after finishing the shot list to further improve upon it. Continuing for every shot we chose to either use the tripod, slider or to hold the camera. For instance for the shot representing the husband opening the door to reveal the mysterious figure we chose to use the slider as we thought it would fittingly build suspense.  In order for us to remember from what angles we took the shots listed and from what position in the location we shot we wrote small detailed notes on the right hand side of the shot list. While creating the shot list we also looked on our storyboard to get a better idea of what we want to capture during our shoot day. I can positively say that after our group finished writing up the shot list I was able to easily visualize the way in which our sequence would be shot using the shots written in the shot list. In general I think that writing a shot list together with my group was a big step for us towards being prepared to shoot on our shooting date.

What Is A Shot List

A shot list is a full log of all the shots you want in your media product. Essentially speaking a shot list is a checklist filled with miniscule details that give a media product a sense of direction and efficiency during and before the media product’s shoot. Except for stating the type of shot, a shot list can also list the equipment that accompanies every shot and what shot will be filmed inside and outside. Additionally small details can be listed next to every shot so that the director and the filming crew know what types of preparations/special notices need to be fulfilled for every shot. Lastly a shot list can also state what shots belong to what scenes. Shot Lists are essential for directors and film crews to know what they are filming and in what order they are filming a media product.