Fish Tank

Fish Tank is a social realist film, a film in which represents the minority and often uses specific cinematography techniques to create empathy toward the characters involved.
Social realist films try to emulate real life, so the producer and cinematographer try to make the film come across as realistic as possible. One way in which this is achieved in multiple scenes is by the use of hand held cameras.

In this clip of Fisk Tank, whilst Mia is walking around her estate, no cuts are used, there is just one hand held shot following her around as she walks, in modern, mainstream cinema, there would be a multitude of different shots and camera angles used, but as this doesn't really portray real life, the cinematographer decided it would be best to use one hand held camera, so it's almost as if we are walking alongside Mia. 

At the beginning of the clip Mia is in a room just finishing off her dancing, the lighting in the room is completely natural, you will notice as the shot cuts to an over the shoulder of mia, we can see the outside is perfectly exposed, but mia is slightly under exposed. No artificial lighting was used to keep that element of reality within the scene, something the producers and cinematographers would've thought about when shooting the scene. 

As we all know, real life does not include a soundtrack, there is no non-diegetic music that plays to reflect what mood we are in or when a certain situation gets better or worse, so this means within Fish Tank there are no non-diegetic sounds used at all, as it would ruin the realistic feel to the film.

However there is some music used throughout the film, like in this scene, 4 of the characters are in a car, the camera man is inside the car with them with a hand held camera, to capture the bumps and turns of the car to make it more realistic. The male character, Connor, then puts a CD in the radio and the music begins to play. In mainstream cinema, you would hear the diegetic music for a moment and then it would eventually be played over the top as a non-diegetic soundtrack, however, because Fish Tank is a social realist film, we just hear the music in which we can see playing on screen.  

Scene 38

Scene 38 is another scene that I was given the script and footage for and told to create the scene is accurately as possible.

https://vimeo.com/113853786

After reading the script, I realised that the main female character, Katherine, isn't at all interested in the conversation in which she is having with the elder character, she is more interested in what is going on around and behind her, so I had to try and emphasise this as much as possible within the editing.

The opening shot consists of a close up of a sudoku book that Katherine is completing, the camera then pans up to revealing two people, a man and a woman, talking to one and other. The man walks off camera. I chose to start with this shot as it straight away shows what Katherine is really focussing on, and is only pretending to be interested in the sudoku book. I then cut to a close up of Katherine's eyes, which are locked onto the woman. I then cut to the woman again as she notices Katherine staring at her, I feel as though this technique of cutting from one to the other slowly works really well, as it creates tension between the characters, and really grasps the audience and reels them in. I then cut to a mid shot of Katherine as she begins to stand up. Mid-way through standing up, I cut to the previous close up shot of her face as she moves towards a man across the room. This worked really well, as I cut perfectly to motion making the cut seem seamless. I then cut to motion again shortly after as she walks toward the man, the shot changes midway through her walk toward him, from her walking away from the camera, to her walking toward it.
Shot reverse shot editing than begins as they engage in conversation, from an over the shoulder shot of the male, to an over the shoulder shot of Katherine. As the conversation goes on, the over the shoulder shot of the male changes as Katherine turns her head to look behind her and the camera then focusses on her face. As she turns her head, I cut back to the other the shoulder shot of Katherine to make a seamless edit and reveal what she is looking at behind her, I feel this worked well, however, when I then cut back to the other shot, it doesn't quite feel right, it almost feels rushed, and unnatural, and in future edits that would be maybe something I would need to work on.
The shot reverse shot editing than continues, and in my opinion this all looks really nice and very professional, cuts are timed perfectly and the reactions of characters are shown after one character has finished speaking. I made a poor selection of shot choice at one point in the scene when the two characters are behind Katherine leaving the room, Katherine is completely out of focus, I cut straight into this shot and it seemed very strange cutting into a shot in which the foreground was blurred. The shot then cuts back to the man talking to her, as he waits for a response from Katherine, I decided to cut back to her, to show the lack of understanding and confusion upon her face, as she quite obviously isn't listening to what he is saying, she is more interested in what is going on around her. Shot reverse shot editing is then used for the remainder of the conversation and video, however I feel I should've included one more cut. During one of the shots, the focus changes from the man, to Katherine. The camera also moves and shakes, and it looks very unprofessional, adding a cut at this point, would've made all the difference.

Surf Edit

I was given footage of a surfer doing a front flip in the ocean, 6 different camera angles were used for the same take. I was given all this footage, along side some music and title text, and was asked to create a small 45 second edit.

https://vimeo.com/108130316

After watching all the footage and listening to the music, I had a vague idea as to what I wanted the edit to look like. I decided to start the edit by making the music the thing that drove the edit, as the music starts with a repetitive piano sound. I started with the surfer surfing in, preparing himself to do his front flip, but as each beat plays in the music, I would change the camera angle, so it fit really well. The music is driving the edit forward, it gives it a really nice fast pace which I was really quite pleased with.
The music then slows down, at which point I brought in the title provided. As the harmony comes into the song, I cut to a still shot of the sea, the soft harmonising calm music and the gentle movement of the waves both work really well together, and is also quite a contrast from the start of the edit, which was very quick. The camera then pans up and we see the surfer approaching on his surf board, as a cymbal is played, the surfer flips, once again editing to the music and creating a nice effect. The shot then fades out and is slowed down slightly to go with the music.
I then cut to the beat again, and the surfer once again comes into the shot and flips, but then I repeat this flip with a different angle, not cutting to motion, but actually repeating what had already happened, I'm not sure why I decided to do this, as most would cut to motion to create a seamless edit, but I thought it might give off a different effect and make it interesting.
The rest of the edit continues to cut in time with the music and the beat, however, I wasn't totally impressed with what I did on two occasions. I showed the surfer just leaving the water at the beginning of his flip from 4 different angles, but once again these weren't cutting to motion, they were repeating, at first I thought this looked as nice as the first time, but I realised that cutting to motion and making a seamless edit probably would have been the better choice, as it would've made it look a lot nicer. I then did this once again using 4 slightly different clips but as the surfer lands back into the water, each cut going in time with the music. I felt this was a little repetitive and should've maybe gone with something different or even just cut to motion.
I do however like the last shot, the last shot is the final clip of the 4 when he lands back into the water, I decided to go with the camera that is attached to the board, the GoPro. As he lands in the water, the water splashes up the camera and gives a really nice effect, especially since I added slow motion. The shot then fades out, and this made the ending of the edit seem really tidy.

Scene 34

Scene 34 is a scene from a film that I edited. I was given the script of the scene, and then given the footage and told to create the scene in the best way possible.

https://vimeo.com/113532249

After reading the script, I got an idea in my head as to what I wanted the scene to look like. I really wanted to create chemistry between the characters, to do this I used shot reverse shot editing. I started with an establishing shot, to set the scene, both characters are sitting close to one and other on the sea front wall. After this I cut to a close up of the male characters face, 2 seconds into the shot, he begins to speak. I gave the edit that 2 second gap to enable the edit to flow better, and not make it seem so rushed, so that the audience can focus on the characters facial expressions to get an idea as to how they're feeling. It then cuts to a close up of the female characters face, with once again that same 2 second gap before she begins speaking, to give it the same effect as done with the other character, and give an overall nice flowing edit.
The conversation continues for around 35 seconds, until they are no longer speaking, just sat there looking at the sea and the people around them, so I cut back to the establishing shot, to show the audience once again their surroundings and what the characters are looking at, as the characters facial expressions at that moment in time weren't telling us anything, so there was no need to use those shots.
The male character then stands up so that the female can take a picture of him on the beach. I found this part of the scene quite difficult to edit, as I couldn't decide when to cut from one shot to the next to make sure the scene flowed in terms of continuity. I feel I did an okay job, but looking back on it I should've used the opening establishing shot at least once to give the audience a clearer understanding as to what was going on.
The scene then goes back into that shot reverse shot editing as the two characters engage in conversation. I feel as though I edited this very well, the cuts seem perfectly timed, with the correct shots selected at the appropriate times, creating a nice smooth flowing edit. There is however a particular shot I'm not too happy with, whilst the male character is talking, the focus changes from the male character in the foreground, to two other characters speaking in the background. This needed to be included, however I feel I held onto that shot for too long and it makes the edit look very messy and unprofessional at that moment in time.
The male character then sits back down. Once again looking back on it I probably should have used the establishing shot to show the audience clearly what was going on, but instead I used the two shots that focussed on the individual characters, so during one of the shots we end up seeing only the male characters jacket, so it doesn't look very good visually.
For the rest of the scene shot reverse shot editing is used as the two characters carry on the conversation on the sea front wall. I feel as though this was once again a complete success on screen, as I have selected the best shots at the best times, allowing the audience to see the characters facial expressions and reactions to what eachother are saying, the edit stays at the same pace, and it flows very nicely and really creates chemistry between the characters. 

TV vs Film

There has been debate over the years that Film is dying, TV is taking over the world and TV is well truly wiping the floor with film.

Breaking Bad showed a character transforming over two years of his life in a way that could never be achieved in film.

Hollywood is reliant on brand recognition, churning out endless sequels and spin offs and reboots because it's easier than marketing an original idea. TV, meanwhile, is far more eager to take a punt on something new. 

At its best, a TV show can veer from comedy to thriller to horror and back again. Films, with their desperate need to be marketed properly, tend to simplify to sell. A show such as Breaking Bad didn't have those constraints. Even though one episode made you laugh, the next could have you hyperventilating with abject fear and have you on the edge of your seat.

The state of British TV is leagues ahead of British film. Downton Abbey, Top Gear and Doctor Who are fast becoming truly global sensations.

The intimacy of television, combined with the amount of time that actors spend in specific roles, means that viewers can become far more invested in television characters than film characters. Viewers become attached to characters within TV, so when certain things happen to them within the text, it impacts their life and the way they react in a very different way to which they would within film.

Juxtaposition

What is juxtaposition?:-

"The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development."

Hitchcock discusses how film works, and how certain images next to one and other create meaning, and slight alteration in any image can completely change how an audience reacts to certain events, actions or characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Kic2KTGjU

Juxtaposition also works via sound, the clip above has a huge contrasting juxtaposition between the images shown on screen, and soundtrack in which accompanies the images. The song played in the background is 'what a wonderful world', however the images shown are all negative, like the US invading certain places, and the effects of war, and showing innocent civilians dead, this is all accompanied by 'what a wonderful world', it almost makes a happy wonderful song seem sarcastic. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BrDlrytgm8

This is a great example of how well music and images can work well together. This is an epic one minute video of a man walking towards the camera in numerous different locations, but the continuity works so well because the editor has cut with motion, and each time he cuts, the man is slightly further ahead from the last clip. Each cut goes in time with the music, each note hit on the piano means a change of clip, when a note lasts a little bit longer, the clip lasts a little bit longer, the music controls the whole video and dominates, and it works fantastically well.

Pace, Rhythm and Timing

"Pacing refers to the rate at which cuts occur, as in how often per second or minute or hour. This is not just another way of saying 'duration of shots'"
Everything has a rhythm, pace and timing. Speech, music and film all have a natural flow.
Music is made up of beats, editing to music is one of the easiest ways to edit, and makes it look smooth and really professional by cutting to the beats, a scene with only dialogue requires much more thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzfSLgWkTlY

The Bourne Supremacy car chase scene is a perfect example of how fast paced editing can work really well within films. During this scene the viewer is supposed to be really engrossed into the film, and barely be able to take their eyes off of it, the usage of fast paced cuts between the cars on the road, the close ups of the characters faces and other pieces of action make sure the viewer isn't able to take his/her eyes off the screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bB3jFOgFTE

This walk in the desert scene is very different, there is no pace and no cuts whatsoever, just one shot following two characters walking along the desert. They are both tired, lack energy and are struggling to survive, the lack of paced editing within the scene emphasises this, where as if this scene consisted of multiple shots with quite quick editing, the audience wouldn't get the same feel from the scene.

Both very different styles of editing, both very effective.

Storage Workflow

As soon as you press the record the button, you need a way of safely and reliably storing, backing up and working on your data.
In the past we had 35MM film, which were used and then sent to be processed, once processed it comes back with near perfect copies to work with. There were one or two issues with this though, many copies were made, and each one came back slightly less quality than the previous one.

We don't have this problem anymore however, as we now have digital:-

Tapes - DV stores 60 minutes/14gb
          - HDV stores up to 60 minutes on one tape

Workflow with MiniDV means you have to capture/log your work into a computer before you can work with it.
For example Canon DSLR and Panasonic 151 cameras are all solid state file storage - SD card (550d, 600d, 60d)
DSLR footage is better quality and smaller than MiniDV but the workflow of DSLR or MiniDV is exactly the same. 

Workflow Advice:-

- Backup onsite – using a laptop or computer if you have one.
- Make it one persons job to backup cards while you're filming.
- This gives you 2 copies as backup (one on card and one on computer)
- Once you wrap, the first job is to get back to base and backup the footage, whether it be off the laptop, or re-ingest into your main computer system edit suite.
- You should copy to the computer and if you have an external drive, to that afterwards.

What is editing?

As editor of a film it is your job to take all the footage, and choose the best and appropriate parts, and put it all together, but most importantly, make sure it all flows in terms of continuity.

"When it works, film editing – which could just as easily be called ‘film construction’ – identifies and exploits underlying patterns of sound and image that are not obvious on the surface. Putting a film together is, in an ideal sense, the orchestrating of all those patterns, just like different musical themes are orchestrated in a symphony. It is all pretty mysterious" - Walter Murch

There are two types of editing, offline, and online.

Offline editing is the basics, there tends to be a pretty simple structure:-

1. Start off with loads of footage

2. Watch all the footage

3. Watch all the footage again but make notes on what the best footage is or what footage you're going to use

4. Create your 1st edit

5. Create your 2nd edit

6. Consult the director/expert

7. Make alterations

8. Walk away

9. Create your final edit 1

10. Create your final edit 2

11. Consult the director/expert

12. Online editing

Online editing is the editing after you have got your specific footage all on a timeline running smoothly, online editing is the effects and mastering, in a nutshell.

One of the most basic rules of editing is always cut to motion/action. When cutting always look for motion, this will distract the eye making the edit seem more seamless and more realistic, resulting in good continuity.

Surf:-

https://ds4d3zl5uvpbf.cloudfront.net/videos/JVHG3tLb2_640.mp4

37 seconds into this video we are shown a male walking down the street, jump cuts are used to speed up time, but they are cut to motion, so they work very well together and the continuity is good. One excellent use of cinematography and editing within this video is 48/49 seconds in when we are shown a close of up of the mans hand softly scraping a metal gate, this then cuts to the same man in a totally different environment but the same shot, a close up of his hand but this time softly touching the grass, this works really well as there is once again a cut to motion and because of the similarities of camera angle and positioning, the cut almost seems seamless, even though they're two completely different images. The music works really well with the images, during soft, slow parts of the music, the images consist of him walking, but when the music becomes really dominant and loud the images we see are of him surfing, which work really well together.

180 Degree Rule:-

The 180 degree rule is another basic rule that needs to be applied when making a film. It teaches us to think like the viewer, say if we were filming a scene in which two characters were sat at opposite ends of a table and were engaging in conversation, the 180 degree rule reminds us to make sure the camera does not cross the 'axis of action' otherwise the conversation does not look realistic and doesn't look like they are talking to one and other as each cut takes place as the angles are all wrong.

Film Production

Development and planning is crucial in film production and all things creative.

The Production Triangle:-

The production triangle is widely understood to be the way in which anything is produced. 

If you had little money but lots of time, you would add tonnes of quality into your ideas and film making, lots of successful films have been created with a low budget, such as Winters Bone. Some films have a huge budget but have flopped and become very unsuccessful, such as John Carter.

Planning is critical within the film industry, if you don't plan then you are unlikely to reach your full potential and create a film to it's highest standard, many plan their ideas and time in the form of a Gantt Chart:-

A gantt chart helps a film producer really plan his work, it is a bar chart that states when certain people within the production are doing certain things, to enable everything flows properly, and everything is completed within a set time.