Friday 8th February
Today, I finished editing. I put the sequence together and all of the footage. However, before finishing, I had some midway feedback from my lecturer, who gave me some advice on what to change in the short film to make it more interesting for the audience.
I did end up changing these things, which has made my work look a lot more professional. I also added in the ADR sound to the necessary parts of the sequence which really made everything come together.
Thursday 7th February
Today I just picked up from where I left off yesterday. However, I edited less today due to fact that we had other coursework that we had to complete, but I managed to edit in the last hour of the college day.
During editing, I managed to get all of the footage in the sequence, as editing one video by one was taking too long. Once I had the sequence together, I started adding more glitches. While doing this, I downloaded some glitch sound effects from YouTube, to add over the glitches so that it would start piecing together.
I got to certain point that I was happy with before we ran out of time, however, currently I am content with the amount of editing that I have done.
Wednesday 6th February.
Today, we began filming our short film. We started filming in the first lesson of the day by filming the library scene in our classroom in which is the student reading the two different articles on mobile phones listening to you and another article on living in a simulation.
We managed to get all the shots that were listed in the shot-list and possibly some additional ones. The reason I wanted to get a variety of shots was mainly because I believe that this adds more to the short film, instead of sticking to the typical shots.
Shots such as the close up of her hands typing on the keyboard and her eyes reading the article, create more of impact as it is more secretive, a medium shot of her sitting by the computer would not draw the audience as much as this. I believe that this makes the audience more intrigued.
Therefore, throughout filming, I ensured on getting multiple different shots throughout the filming day. This also gave us more footage to edit, which would make the 3-minute mark.
We chose to use my script to follow when filming and we filmed in order of the script, except for filming some establishing shots at the end. It took us about 3-4 hours to get all of the scenes done.
Once finished with filming, we started editing in last period of the college day. I started off my edit by dragging in clips and adding glitches to them between cuts, to create the conspiracy effect. We did come up with this effect during pre-production as we thought this would make our short film look more interesting and have more relation to the theme, it would complete the short film, or else without it, the short film would not necessarily make sense the way we want it to. Additionally, I recorded some ADR voice over for certain parts of the sequence, which will be edited and added into the sequence.
Monday- 4th February
Today we were given the task to create another 3-minute short film. All the audio/ Foley has to be recorded ourselves and the whole story line had to be created with just our own ideas, we were not given one to follow like we did in our previous project.
We struggled initially to come up with an idea for this short film as we were struggling with factors such as what genre we should go through with. Therefore, to help us come up with an idea, we created a mind map of what we did and didn’t want in this short film.
After an hour or so of trying to decide where wanted our story line to go, we finally came up with one and created a basic timeline for it in order to help us know the order in which the scenes were going to go in and where they would take place.
After coming up with the story line, we completed some more pre-production such as an equipment list, sound list, location reconnaissance, storyboard, risk assessment and a script. We gave each member of the group a certain piece of pre-production to do, so that we could get it done quicker in order for us to start filming as soon as we could.
Our short film takes place in college and follows the story of a student who is consumed by reading different conspiracy theories during a library study session. While reading many theories such as living in a simulation or mobile phones listening to their users, she almost starts to believe this. This begins to scare the student and she proceeds to leave the library and after she leaves, strange things begin to happen around her, which makes her being to question reality.
Evaluation- Late For College
While filming our short film, ‘Late For College’, our group tried to be as precise and accurate in regards to the script as possible. However, there were a few problems that interfered.
Firstly, only in editing did I realize that microphone picked up a lot of wind, instead of masking it. This is when we realized that the Zoom microphone should be mainly used for recording speech, not outside ambience noises. Therefore, we had to turn down the volume to ensure that the wind could not be heard. Furthermore, another way in which we fixed this was by adding some background music, which actually helped bring the overall atmosphere and vibe of the film together, which made this a positive factor of our short film. However, I have noted this; next time using a microphone that is covered, such as the Rhode microphone would be more ideal to use in order for my projects to reach their full potential.
Another problem that we encountered while filming was lighting of the most of the scenes were quite dark. For example, when we actually filmed inside the college or my house, the lighting in different areas could change quite drastically, going from dark to bright quite often. We tried to fix this during the process of filming by turning on the lights in my house, however it unfortunately did not make much of a difference. Therefore, during editing, I tried to fix this during the colouring and grading process as best I could, however it ended up looking grainy and of poor quality. Therefore, in order to improve next time, I will ensure I know how to use the camera settings such as the aperture properly, in order to let more lighting in or use a portable a light/ 3 point lighting to light up the subject.
Throughout this specific project, my peers in my group stated that I had a very directorial role throughout as I often pointed out certain things we should film or giving the actor ways in which she could act that would make the short film more effective. Furthermore, my peers continued to state that during editing, certain scenes were quite dark and that I needed to brighten up the scenes a bit more, which I tried to do however like stated before, this was due to our groups lack of knowledge on how to adjust the camera aperture properly, but camera knowledge is something I will continue to work on. In regards to the short film, my peers stated that it could’ve been a lot better, for example, they stated that the actress failed to portray the “rushing” aspect behind the film which made the film appear to be longer than it should. Additionally, the audio appeared to be lazy due the wind we caught in microphone, however in my own personal edit, I cancelled this out with royality free music which also helped making the film more “rushed”.
However, this project has many strengths including the fact that we stuck to the pre-production work that we produced. There were a few minor changes, however it all came to together well. I believe that the sequence flows well and the colouring fixed most of the scenes that were too dark. Furthermore, the ambience and soundtrack fit well with the video, which means that in conclusion, I am content with the work that I produced.
Today I finalised the edit of the short film. I firstly focused on ensuring that all of the clips were in the correct order and that they where all cut to the right point so that the film flowed perfectly.
After this, I started ordering the sound bed together by adding sounds such as brushing teeth, walking up the stairs, keyboard typing sounds, etc. After doing this and ensuring that the sounds sounded natural, I attempted to add some L and J cuts. For example, I brought in some footsteps sounds before the actor left the kitchen to ensure that the sounds blended well together instead of the obvious sound of cuts.
After this, I colour graded and corrected the the scenes, I added warmer tones and boosted the saturation to imply the fact that it is supposed to be morning. I also added widescreen bars to finalise the edit.
On Wednesday 30th January, we started editing our clips that we had recorded on Monday or Premiere Cut Pro.
Each member in the group started in their own edits.
I assembled all of the footage together and put everything in order to create a sequence, however I am yet to add the finishing touches such as the colour correcting and grading and adding some of the Foley sounds. So far the sequence seems to flow well, however the colouring in some scenes are a bit too dark, which is a problem we encountered while filming because of the lighting in certain areas.
Another problem that I have picked up during editing is that the microphone we used to record (a Zoom microphone) still picked up a fair amount of wind sounds, this is because it is more evident now that this microphone should be used for recording things such as speech, not necessarily outside ambience.
However, I have noted this and now know that for future projects, a Rhode microphone would be more ideal to use.
Besides these problems though, I am feeling confident with the work I have produced so far.
I also received some midway feedback from my tutor, who told gave me some advice on what to do.
On Monday 28th January, our group starting filming our “Late For College Scenario”.
We decided to film all of the college-based scenes before the bedroom scenes as this made the most sense and was the easiest to do.
After finishing off some pre-production work, we left college and walked to an area in which we could film the actor running down a street, we chose a quiet street which was easy to film on as there were no cars passing and not a lot of background noise. We gathered multiple shots of this certain sequence, we had a scene of the actor running towards the camera, almost creating a contra-zoom effect, a shot of her running past the camera and panned so that we captured her side profile and we had a shot from behind her, running away of the camera. We believe that this would allow the sequence to flow smoother.
After this, we walked back to the college and started filming the scenes of the actor running towards the college gates. In the first set of these shots we had the actor run towards a locked gate, turn around and run towards an open gate. We got multiple angles of this as well.
Then we filmed her running into college and through to the media department. We had a shot of her go through the doors and a shot of her entering the building, going through to the stairs. We then filmed some shots of her going up the stairs. While doing this we decided that it would be best to record some Foley sounds such as her walking/ tripping up the stairs, as this reduced echo sounds.
After this, we decided to go back to my house as we couldn’t film the last scene due to no classrooms being empty to film in. Once we arrived at my house we filmed the scenes of the actor walking into the kitchen to heap breakfast, first. We also recorded Foley sounds of her biting into an apple during these scenes. After this we went up to my room to record the shots of her waking up and realising what time it was, getting out of bed and getting all of her things together, we then film some bathroom scenes of her brushing her teeth. During this we recorded Foley sounds of her brushing her teeth in addition to some water sounds.
We then recorded the last scenes of her getting all of her things together such as her coat, shoes and college lanyard and then leaving the house and walking towards the bus stop. During this, we once again recorded more Foley sounds such her walking on the pebbles of the driveway, and just some outside ambience sounds.
This is when we finished filming and recording Foley for the day.
In the lesson today, we came up with an idea for a 2 minute short film. We then decided on the title ‘Late For College’. In which a student wakes up late for college and starts rushing around trying to get ready. During this story, they many obstacles while trying to get to college, but once they arrive they realise that it is a Saturday.
After deciding on this idea, we started writing a script for the piece.
Narrative Theory
A story is a sequence of events in a specific order, whereas narrative is telling of these sequence of events.
Impact of Narratives- Stories and narratives give audiences diversion/escapism, to get away from their lives, personal identification so that they can relate to characters portrayed through the narrative, personal relationships and surveillance.
Story/ Narrative Theories-
Todorov- 5-point Narrative Structure- suggested every has a similar structural model:
Claude Levi-Strauss- Binary opposites- said that all myths work in a similar way. To disrupt order on to a chaotic world, a myth may set up a binary opposition (opposing ideals in a narrative that create conflict and tension) but then resolve the narrative in a way which favours one over another; for example, good triumphing over evil or altruism over selfishness.
Oppositions can be visual or conceptual
Vladimir Propp- Functions and Characters:
One character could perform a number of these functions, furthermore these functions can often be metaphorical instead of literal.
Joseph Campbell- Hero with 1000 Faces
For Vogler, the hero’s story is always a journey (whether it is internal or external). They leave the comfort of home to venture into a challenging, unfamiliar world.
Vogler-Campbell- Hero’s Journey
Narrative Forms:
Linear– is a chronological storyline, it is the most common, simple and organised. Linear avoids flashbacks and dreams, predictable/archetypal, genre: children, factual, children, classic. An example of a linear storyline would be ‘The Breakfast Club’ 1985. This movie follows a group of five teenagers who all end up in detention on a Saturday. Each one of these teenagers come from a different stereotypical high school group. For example, there is a princess, a basket case, a jock, a criminal and the brains. This movie becomes quite predictable as you can assume from the beginning that there will be some significant character development throughout the film.
Single strand– is one set storyline, it focuses on one person/ hero and their story. There are no groups/ teams, secondary characters allowed. ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ follows the story of a shy, high school student who is struggling with depression. Throughout this movie, it follows Charlie’s (the main character) story and how his character develops throughout it. This movie shows how he makes connections with new people and how he eventually comes out of his shell. This type of narrative is perfect for this movie as it is just focuses on Charlie’s story and what he has been through, instead of focusing on other characters. This movie never switches character point of view which portrays the single strand element.
Nonlinear– this is when there is no specific order to a storyline. It can be fractured, altered, intensified/ create a sense of instability. The whole truth is unknown and there is no chronological/less linear, back and forth in time and or characters POV. ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ 2018 is a good example of a nonlinear storyline. This storyline follows a family who, when they were younger, lived in a house that in the modern day became the most haunted house in America. Now that they are adults and have moved on, they are brought together in the face of a tragedy, they have to confront the ghosts of their past. Some of the ghosts still show in their present lives. The show often switches back and forth, showing the audience what happened in Hill House when they were children and then switches back to present day to show their adult lives.
Multi strand– this is when there are several storylines and different types of people. The story focuses on each character’s individuals propose to the moral, goof for sequels, series, documentaries the TV show, ‘Skins’ 2007-2009, focuses on the lives of a group of teenagers living in Bristol. It follows their two years of being in sixth form. Throughout this series it contains controversial themes such as substance abuse, sexuality, teenage pregnancy, personality and eating disorders, and mental illness. However, each episode is named after one of the character’s names, therefore meaning that that episode will be focusing on that one specific character and their story.
Narrative Types:
Narrative Devices:
Script Writing- The script is the backbone to any media product. Without a script, the media text would not be supported. Script writing relies on the writer’s ability to produce clear structure.
Structure:
Akira's Media Blog 