Editing to get the final piece

After long hours of editing and getting closer and closer to the end piece we finally got there. The final process included adding in more sound affects and having to record new screams to go over the top of the end part of the sequence as the screams that we got at the end of the day did not sound realistic enough. 
Once we got these screams all we had to do was place them into the sequence and HD the sequence. 

With editing, like any other peace of creative work there is always something you can add, take away or manipulate and you have to be very careful you do not over do it and you know where to stop. There is always going to be something that you felt you wanted to change but the key with the process is knowing where to leave it.

Here is our final sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqgEQIU_fMc&feature=share&list=UUwxVEfHzBUtutL-OGAFRwGg

More Editing...

After taking some time looking at the footage we had when we came to edit the last part of the sequence at the end we ran into some problems. On the day of the shoot when shooting the last part of the sequence we began to run out of time as we were shooting in the conservatory and the light began to go. This was a mistake that we made by shooting the most light dependent and complicated scenes at the end of the day. It meant that we did not collect all the shots that we could/should have got. This became apparent when trying to edit this last part and the footage is clearly rushed and just does not look realistic enough for what we were going for. I feel that it is because we rushed it and this has caused it to be really difficult to edit and making it very difficult to make the piece flow. 

Although this is not the end of the world and we will be able to work around it. We will work with what we have got and will make this part of the sequence very choppy like we did in the first part. Not only with this benefit with the footage we have got but also help add to the tension and anxiety we want to create through out peace. 

We then went back to it another day and created a new 'rough cut' going back through the video and experimenting with more editing. Matt went through it with us and pointed out some possible on how to make it better. Then we went through it ourselves changing mainly the second part of the sequence. The part were the main character is preparing for the interview and taking the IQ test all runs quite nicely. Yet, the part which we are having most difficulty with is the second part where she is in the interview and when she lashes out. We came up with the idea that we need to make the cuts fast and furious in order to make it look realistic and cause the viewer to be on edge. By making the cuts really fast it makes it hard to see what is going on, this will cause the audience to feel at unease. 

Editing Session Two & Three

Session two was on the 6th of February. Having organised our clips into log and rush bins and re-naming them we started talking about how we wanted to tackle this. We started off by editing the bathroom scene for the beginning part of the sequence. We were a bit anxious to start with as we had forgot some aspects of the editing so we had some help from the teachers and then we were off. After we were feeling more confident it started to come together more. We got through the first part of our sequence in the bathroom, incorporating a range of shots; close ups, mid shots and wide angle shots. 

Our third session began by looking at what we had achieved in the previous lesson. We noticed that the long stretched out shots it all looked a bit calm. So we started experimenting with editing it to make it look more jumpy with shorter cuts. This then calmed down after she took the pills and the cuts went back to being long and stretched out. 
We then moved onto the IT scene, we had some problems with the continuity but we had to work around it with the shot we had. Using a range of different shots; close ups, wide shots and zooming in shots. We still need to go back and work with this part of the sequence to make the continuity work and allow the scene to flow. 

First Editing Lession

Today was the first time we sat down to edit our sequence. It was also the first time we had looked back at any of our footage. I was excited to watch it back as I thought that our footage might look actually quite different. I was quite shocked by the footage but was really pleased. I was particularly pleased with the scenes in the bathroom, I thought the lighting gave an eerie and cold atmosphere; which is what we wanted to portray through the lighting anyway. 

First we opened 'Final Cut Pro' which is the software we do our editing in and checked out our files. After watching back our footage we created two files; the 'Rush Bin' and the 'Log Bin'. The 'Rush Bin' is where every single file is kept and the 'Log Bin' is where we copied all the good clips to. This was to make it easier so we knew which were the good clips and the ones we wanted to use. We then went through and re-names all these clips to make them easier to identify when trying to edit. 

This all took quite a long time because we had to organise all the individual files and watch them back. Although this took a long time it will be worth it because when we go back to edit it will be a lot easier to find the files. I am looking forward starting edit the clips together. 

Shooting Our Thriller!

Friday 25th our group set out to shoot our thriller. We had everything ready, all the props and costumes sorted and the day planned out. On the day of the shoot we went up to the studio and had a chat before we started. Sitting round the table with Matt and Adam we spoke about every aspect of the shoot so we knew exactly what we were going to do and how we were going to do it.

Our location for this shoot all took place at Peaslake House. The toilet scene was shot in the main toilet. This consisted of a number of toilet cubicles and a row of sinks with a long mirror. The lighting was quite dull however, we turned off the over head lights and used a hand-held light for the lighting. This was to make it appear more cold as the over head lighting gave more of a warmer atmosphere which is not what we wanted. We then shot the rest of the piece in the conservatory in Peaslake. This consisted of a big round table which chairs round it and off to the left of the room a row of computers. This was perfect because it had an office-type finish and we were able to use the natural lighting. Although this meant that we had to finish quickly because towards the end of the day the lighting started to disappear. This room was perfect and we were able to communicate our concept. 

We all took turns throughout the day being the camera man, continuity, calling 'stand by, rolling and action' and sound. This meant that we all were able to try each role and all participate equally. 

Personally i think as a whole the shoot went well. Although we took time to get started and we changed allot of our idea I feel it was for the better and we improved on our original idea. I think the first part of the sequence went really well and I hope it comes out just as affective once we have edited it. I am looking forwarding to the edit process and it will be interesting to see what has worked and what did not work. I am hoping that all the efforts and processes we went through on the day were worth it. I think the part where the main character bits the interviews arm will be very interesting the edit and i hope that it has come out effectively and worked well so it does not look fake. 


As a group I feel we worked well together, no one is left doing all the work and everyone was happy to help and do there part. There was no big disagrems and everyone seemed very happy with the new adapted version on the day. 

Confirming by Email

As a group we sent out an email to confirm with all the cast that we need in our thriller to make sure that everything was ok and so they know when they are needed and what for. 

As you can see we put the times and places that we will be needing the characters between so they know when exactly they are needed. This email was purely so everyone could see exactly what they are doing in writing so there was no confusion on the day 

Pre Shoot Talk

A few days before the shoot we sat round the table and went through our shooting schedule and we realised that we were trying to fit too much into the day.

We then decided to work on the idea further and experiment with different concept as we felt that our story board so far was a bit too much like a day to day process; as in the main character goes to work and what happens as she goes to work. It also came up that if it were a trial drug it would be very unlikely that she would pass three people on her way to work on the same trial drug. So we then started to think of ways in which we could adapt our idea. We changed it to a lady going to an interview. She is in the toilet kind of pep talking herself, we can see that she is feeling anxious, she splashes her face with water and then takes some pills. She then runs in late to the first part of the interview, this is a computer test and she is finding it hard to focus, she keeps looking up and down the row of people in the test. She puts her head into her hands and it cuts to her being in the interview room; as if she has blacked out. The interviewer is getting more and more aggravated with her as it seems as though she is not taking this seriously. It is clear that she does not feel well but the interviewer does not want to hear any of this. She leans forward and she has a major nose bleed, all hell is then let loose and she goes crazy attacks the girl sitting to the left of her and bites the interviewers arm.