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.