Feedback from final cut
Before we presented we were editing as quickly as possible right up until we had to present. We knew that other groups film openings were at a very high standard and were worried that ours wasn't up to their level. When we did present to the rest of our class our final cut of our film opening 'Before I die' we received positive feedback. We were proud of what we achieved as our initial idea went wrong and we had to come up with a new idea quickly and we had many set backs whilst filming and editing. We learnt a lot from filming and editing our film opening and are proud of it.
The opening of a films standard features
The opening of a film is really about differentiating between the actual film. Many directors and producers aim to use extravagant and uncanny camera angles which they might not necessarily use in the rest of the film. This enables the director and producers to be creative. But however, the fundamental purpose of a film opening is, as cliché as it sounds, is to keep the viewer interested and watch the remaining hour or so of the film. So, here are the standard features of a typical film opening;
Exaggerated/unusual camera angles- Many directors use exaggerated angles in order to be creative and intrigue the viewer. Colours- Hues of colours are used to reflect on the mood of the film i.e. Reds to signify blood, therefore leading to an overall theme of horror.
Special transitions- Transitions such as fade to black/white to create either a tense feeling, or a dream like quality.
Lighting techniques- Lighting techniques are used in order to reflect on the genre and theme of the film. Say for example a horror/thriller film, lighing techniques could be used. Lighting techniques such as chiaroscuro, low key lighting and silhouettes could be used in order to give the film an eerie feeling.
Special effects- Three-dimensional, animated features are sometimes used in order to create something abnormal, yet interesting.
Dialogue- They might use dialogue in order to give the viewer a sense of what exactly is going on. The accents also set the scene, i.e. French accent, linking to the idea that the French language/accent is romantic, therefore linking to the theme of the film.Music- Music would be used which could either reflect on the mood, or reflect on the theme later on in the film.
Objects that link to the theme- Almost premonition objects are used. These however are normally subliminal, and make the viewer think what exactly is happening. This should however link to the overall storyline.
The title of the film- This is crucial, because an opening really does set the scene, as well as the title.
Credits- The names of the important people who played crucial roles in the creation of this film.
Time and place- This is sometimes used in order to set the scene, giving the viewer a clear understanding where and when the action is taking place.
Juxtaposition- Music, camera angles etc can all be juxtaposed with the overall theme, giving the viewer an interesting perspective on what’s happening i.e. towards the end of 'This is England', where the black character is being brutally attacked, choir music is being played, combining with slow camera movement. This is juxtaposed to the situation of the theme.
Cliff-hangers- The opening two minutes could end with a cliff-hanger, or more well known as a 'hook', hooking the viewer to watch the rest of the film.
Genre- A combination of camera angles, transitions, objects, scenery, colours, possibly dialogue, all reflect on the genre of the film. This is crucial, giving the viewer an understanding on what he/she is going to be watching later on in the film.
Exaggerated/unusual camera angles- Many directors use exaggerated angles in order to be creative and intrigue the viewer. Colours- Hues of colours are used to reflect on the mood of the film i.e. Reds to signify blood, therefore leading to an overall theme of horror.
Special transitions- Transitions such as fade to black/white to create either a tense feeling, or a dream like quality.
Lighting techniques- Lighting techniques are used in order to reflect on the genre and theme of the film. Say for example a horror/thriller film, lighing techniques could be used. Lighting techniques such as chiaroscuro, low key lighting and silhouettes could be used in order to give the film an eerie feeling.
Special effects- Three-dimensional, animated features are sometimes used in order to create something abnormal, yet interesting.
Dialogue- They might use dialogue in order to give the viewer a sense of what exactly is going on. The accents also set the scene, i.e. French accent, linking to the idea that the French language/accent is romantic, therefore linking to the theme of the film.Music- Music would be used which could either reflect on the mood, or reflect on the theme later on in the film.
Objects that link to the theme- Almost premonition objects are used. These however are normally subliminal, and make the viewer think what exactly is happening. This should however link to the overall storyline.
The title of the film- This is crucial, because an opening really does set the scene, as well as the title.
Credits- The names of the important people who played crucial roles in the creation of this film.
Time and place- This is sometimes used in order to set the scene, giving the viewer a clear understanding where and when the action is taking place.
Juxtaposition- Music, camera angles etc can all be juxtaposed with the overall theme, giving the viewer an interesting perspective on what’s happening i.e. towards the end of 'This is England', where the black character is being brutally attacked, choir music is being played, combining with slow camera movement. This is juxtaposed to the situation of the theme.
Cliff-hangers- The opening two minutes could end with a cliff-hanger, or more well known as a 'hook', hooking the viewer to watch the rest of the film.
Genre- A combination of camera angles, transitions, objects, scenery, colours, possibly dialogue, all reflect on the genre of the film. This is crucial, giving the viewer an understanding on what he/she is going to be watching later on in the film.
Here are two screenshots from the film 'A Clockwork Orange'. These images have been taken from the opening, and really reflects on how the opening minutes use lighting techniques, unusual camera angles etc. The first image shows the silhouette of five figures in a tunnel, one on the floor. This intruges the viewer into thinking whats happening. And the second image uses lighting in a very clever way. The man is looking down, and the blue hues combined with the very subtle hint of light around the face gives the figure a sense of superiority.
Sound
Using the website http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/, a copy right free music website we decided on 4 pieces of music to try on top of the film so we could decide which one suited it best. We were only really looking for one sound genre as we wanted the same piece of music to be played through-out the opening. We went for a piece that sounded sad yet dramatic to give the audience a clue of what to expect from the rest of the film. We were very happy with our music choice and thought it really made the footage more emotion and dramatic.
Complications we had with our music on top of our footage was that it was very loud and made it hard to hear the voice-overs, but there was no way of changing the volume. We also wanted the music to very slowly fade to silence, we found trying to make this happen very hard as we had to use a sound transition which was not easy to do. I think that is we could have toned down the music a little and made it fade how was wanted it to - it could have been more effective.
We found getting the music in the correct timing with the rest of the sound (voice-overs) and footage challenging. We accomplished this by using editing techniques on the shots, voice overs and music so each one after the other would fade correctly into each other.
Complications we had with our music on top of our footage was that it was very loud and made it hard to hear the voice-overs, but there was no way of changing the volume. We also wanted the music to very slowly fade to silence, we found trying to make this happen very hard as we had to use a sound transition which was not easy to do. I think that is we could have toned down the music a little and made it fade how was wanted it to - it could have been more effective.
We found getting the music in the correct timing with the rest of the sound (voice-overs) and footage challenging. We accomplished this by using editing techniques on the shots, voice overs and music so each one after the other would fade correctly into each other.
Editing
Our editing took a long time as our computer kept crashing every so often - sometimes before we had saved it which meant we would have to start over again. Once we got the hang of the editing programme and practised using it, it became easier. When we first began editing we didn't think we were going to have enough footage to make a 2 minute opening. So we filmed some more and added that so we had enough to make it last 2 minutes. One of the problems our group faced with editing was that because none of us attend the school where we are studying media studies, we didn't have as much time as any of the other groups and ran out of lesson time to really make the best use of the editing software as possible because we didn't have access to the software. Charlotte was able to stay a couple of extra hours to focus on getting the editing done which proved very useful.
We used a lot of transitions in our opening as we helped us avoid jump cuts. We often used fade to white/black many times because it best helped show the passing of time and looked suited the storyline and genre. Other edits that were used were cuts, fading in, slowing down the timings, music fading and music demanding.
The editing was more complicated than my group and I expected it to be but eventually got the hang of it and proved we could edit a piece of footage to make it look continuous. I am proud of our editing but I feel that with more time we would have improved it more and really made the best use of the software available.
We used a lot of transitions in our opening as we helped us avoid jump cuts. We often used fade to white/black many times because it best helped show the passing of time and looked suited the storyline and genre. Other edits that were used were cuts, fading in, slowing down the timings, music fading and music demanding.
The editing was more complicated than my group and I expected it to be but eventually got the hang of it and proved we could edit a piece of footage to make it look continuous. I am proud of our editing but I feel that with more time we would have improved it more and really made the best use of the software available.
Voice Over
We decided to put a voice over on top of the shots of Charlotte because we thought it would be quite effective and emotional. We researched poems, quotes and wrote a script which would also contain the reason why 'Rose was ticking off things to do on her list and a few examples.Myself and Charlotte tried to record the voice over at a friends house but found it to be too noisy therefore Charlotte who played Rose took the camera and microphone home and recorded it herself. She had a few attempts at the voice over to give up options to choose from.
Second day of production
The second day of production took place on the 27th November at 7:30pm. The main aim of this production was to get 
some inside shots of 'Rose' writing her before I die list. Only myself and Charlotte were filming these shots as Faye could not be there. They were shot in a friends bedroom that we felt was a nice, tidy and large space we could use. It was nighttime so the room is artificially lit with electric light. We thought about what Charlotte should wear and what she should look like before we filmed, we decided she should wear black as she is unhappy and black clothes are normally associated with death and sadness, we also decided she should not wear very much make-up as she needed to look natural and not fake. We filmed the same scene from every possible angle we could think of to give us lots of possibilities to choose from when editing. We tried to film a birds eye view shot of Charlotte crying on the bed which took several attempts. We had the camera attached to the tripod whilst i stood on a chair and held the tripod by the legs and leaned over Charlotte. To get the shot we made several attempts because we could not see the viewfinder when it was up in the air. After a few hours of filming we decided we had enough shots and different angles to put together. We were glad we filmed from different angles as it meant we could make it more emotional if we used the close up, or create a different feel by using a different angle.
some inside shots of 'Rose' writing her before I die list. Only myself and Charlotte were filming these shots as Faye could not be there. They were shot in a friends bedroom that we felt was a nice, tidy and large space we could use. It was nighttime so the room is artificially lit with electric light. We thought about what Charlotte should wear and what she should look like before we filmed, we decided she should wear black as she is unhappy and black clothes are normally associated with death and sadness, we also decided she should not wear very much make-up as she needed to look natural and not fake. We filmed the same scene from every possible angle we could think of to give us lots of possibilities to choose from when editing. We tried to film a birds eye view shot of Charlotte crying on the bed which took several attempts. We had the camera attached to the tripod whilst i stood on a chair and held the tripod by the legs and leaned over Charlotte. To get the shot we made several attempts because we could not see the viewfinder when it was up in the air. After a few hours of filming we decided we had enough shots and different angles to put together. We were glad we filmed from different angles as it meant we could make it more emotional if we used the close up, or create a different feel by using a different angle.
Complications from first day of production
After editing the filming we already had we decided it was good enough and would benefit from another location. As a group we found it hard to meet up as we had other commitments, we had to consider when each other were free. We couldn't come up with a time when all of us were free which meant our next bit of filming Faye was not present so myself and Charlotte filmed the bedroom shots on our own, which was a sucssess. We also also tried to record the voice overs but as we were not in a quiet place we would have to do another time, so Charlotte took the camera home and did it in her own time.
First day of production
Our first day of production was well planned and we believed it would be a success, we found a practical location for filming all outside shots in a field near Charlotte's house. The field we filmed in was more like a cabbage patch field with only a tiny amount of grass which we
could use to film so that made it quite restricting. During filming we tried to use as many different angles and heights as we could that would look right in our genre of film. During this shooting, we decided to use medium shots, long shots which would show the location and shot reverse shot which we later did not include in our final editing of 'Before I die'. We also Captured a few running shots which proved to be unsuccessful because of uneven ground. We tried to use a skateboard to pull along the camera and tripod hoping this would prove a success when filming the running sections, we were going to include the running sections because the character 'Rose' was flying a kite which happened to be one of the things to do on her list. After a short time of filming, it started to get dark which we became oblivious to. Although it was not actually too dark outside the camera seemed to show more darkness than light and we realised it looked silly because the shots went from light to dark. We later looked over these shots we realised they were just to dark to use and didn't look right. We decided to edit the filming we had then if needed we would go back and do some more filming. During filming we considered many techniques such as pan and zooming in, hoping that this would create a more dramatic effect to the audience.
could use to film so that made it quite restricting. During filming we tried to use as many different angles and heights as we could that would look right in our genre of film. During this shooting, we decided to use medium shots, long shots which would show the location and shot reverse shot which we later did not include in our final editing of 'Before I die'. We also Captured a few running shots which proved to be unsuccessful because of uneven ground. We tried to use a skateboard to pull along the camera and tripod hoping this would prove a success when filming the running sections, we were going to include the running sections because the character 'Rose' was flying a kite which happened to be one of the things to do on her list. After a short time of filming, it started to get dark which we became oblivious to. Although it was not actually too dark outside the camera seemed to show more darkness than light and we realised it looked silly because the shots went from light to dark. We later looked over these shots we realised they were just to dark to use and didn't look right. We decided to edit the filming we had then if needed we would go back and do some more filming. During filming we considered many techniques such as pan and zooming in, hoping that this would create a more dramatic effect to the audience.Film Production Planning
First day of filming:
Date and time: 20th November: 2:00pm
Where we filmed: All outside
Location: Fields in Stansted Abbots near Charlotte's house
Who would be present: Faye Gibbs (Camera operator), Jodie Butcher (myself) (actress and director) and Charlotte Andreas as the main actor.
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod, Kite, books
Second day of filming:
Date and time: 27th November: 7:00pm
Where we filmed: Inside a bedroom
Location: A friends house who has the perfect bedroom
Who would be present: Jodie Butcher (myself) (camera operator and directing) and Charlotte Andreas (acting and directing)
Equipment: Video camera, tripod, notebooks and a pen
Date and time: 20th November: 2:00pm
Where we filmed: All outside
Location: Fields in Stansted Abbots near Charlotte's house
Who would be present: Faye Gibbs (Camera operator), Jodie Butcher (myself) (actress and director) and Charlotte Andreas as the main actor.
Equipment: Video Camera, Tripod, Kite, books
Second day of filming:
Date and time: 27th November: 7:00pm
Where we filmed: Inside a bedroom
Location: A friends house who has the perfect bedroom
Who would be present: Jodie Butcher (myself) (camera operator and directing) and Charlotte Andreas (acting and directing)
Equipment: Video camera, tripod, notebooks and a pen
Animatic of Before I Die
IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE ANIMATIC OF BEFORE I DIE ON MY BLOG THEN YOU CAN SEE IT ON CHARLOTTE ANDREAS'S BLOG OR TRY THIS LINK http://andreaschauncy.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-01-03T13:06:00-08:00&max-results=7
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