Post Production: Part 2

To continue from the previous editing post, we made no further alterations that drastically changed the overall concept of our sequence. No elements of narrative were hindered via this process, fortunately. To communicate tension / suspense, we used soundtrack which was crucial to illustrating this foreboding sense of distress. I went away and composed my own soundtrack, that was later adapted & used within the sequence. Based upon our editing choices, we feel our target audience would continue watching the film as the soundtrack and subversion of the traditional female victim stereotype adhere and suggests itself to the target audience profoundly. 

We made the titles by selecting the 'Graphics' mode, then to add text to the footage we selected the 'type' tool, then click on the programme monitor where we wanted the text to appear. This automatically adds a new layer to your timeline, where you can select the necessary fonts / colour to complete the titles fully. The names we chose incorporated some of our last names, hinting towards the creators being our production group. We also ensured the producer, title of the film and production company were stated correctly. To edit the sound, we found compositions via the 'sound effects' option within 'Adobe Premiere Pro'. This ensured we could collate a soundscape of leaves, sticks cracking (etc) to further accentuate the overall mood / atmosphere. We also used composed soundtracks / composition created by me, to further emphasise the tone of the sequence. 

We had some minor issues that occurred with soundtrack, particularly finding soundtracks we felt suited the themes of the sequence and accompanied the action the way we had intended prior to editing. We then resorted to composing our own soundtrack, which blended nicely into the sequence. We did not create any effects within our sequence, as our effects were all practical (aka the throat slit). Overall, I enjoyed the editing process and I feel our sequence achieves it's objectives thoroughly. The only thing I would've done differently when shooting is ensuring that we purchased a prop fake knife that didn't bend. Besides that, I feel our sequence is great and I'm enthusiastic to watch it onscreen. 

Post Production: Part 1

On Monday the 14th of March, we sat down in the editing suite and began deciphering the footage we had from the previous shoot day. We found the experience enjoyable, we noticed some issues such as our prop knife bending on an extremely important shot. However, we didn't recognise many other technical / physical issues from the footage so we were relieved. 

We began by making files, titling them via what shot we used / actresses within the scene. This ensured that we maintained organisation throughout the editing process. Early choices that we made were deciding on a title for the film, as well as taking some shots out to sustain the aesthetic of the overall product. None of these choices had any impact upon the conceptual aspect of our sequence, which we were thankful for. When considering the title of the film, a member of our production group Bea, had wanted to include a piece of music titled 'This is the Day' to underscore our sequence. However, due to copyright we couldn't access the soundtrack. Furthermore, we concluded the title of the film would be 'This is the Day' as we felt it could also link to themes of our sequence / act as a red-herring for audiences. 

Our Mise-en-scene Choices

In class, we were assigned the project of making a video that answered the questions required regarding our mise-en-scene choices, that we made pre-production. Here is the following video, exploring the necessary topics. 

Further Development - Initial Editing

In class, we headed up to the editing suit to finally view the work we produced a couple of weeks ago. Looking back at the footage, we were happy with all shots we captured and can't wait to begin this process. In light of this event, I made a short video for our first editing day! 

Research of Saul and Elaine Bass

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and filmmaker, born in the 1920's New York and died in 1996. His wife who worked closely alongside Saul is Elaine Bass, she is an American title designer and filmmaker, who married to Saul in 1961 where they developed many projects together. Furthermore, becoming a renowned duo within the film industry.  

Together, they worked on endless projects creating alluring and artistically inclined opening title sequences. Together they won awards, such as the 'Academy Award for Best Documentary' and the 'Lion of San Marco for Best Film about Adolescence'. These awards rapidly increased their status within the film industry, as the climbed the ladder of fame with their astonishingly crafted authentic opening title sequences. 

During Saul's time working within the film industry, he got to work with some of the best filmmakers of all time including; Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder and Martin Scorsese. 

I will be analysing the 1959 film North by Northwest, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by the director himself. This film won multiple awards such as; the 'David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor', the 'Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay' and the 'Satellite Award for Best Classic DVD'. 

Within the beginning of this opening title sequence, lines form to create the outline of a glass building later conveyed within the sequence. These straight and overlapping lines indicate themes of obstruction, linking to the genre of the film being partly action. 

This green colour fades, showing the reflection of a busy highway through the glass building previously mentioned. The titles continue showing, the font is large, bold and in all capitals to amplify the daring nature exhibited throughout action films. The transition between these titles is a fast swipe up and down, the hasty swiping motion can also link to the genre of action and the speed seen within it. The colour of the text is an 'eggshell white' colour.  

There's a chaotic and obscure nature embellished within the opening title sequence, possibly hinting at the narrative aspects of the film being turbulent creating an impression on audiences and setting the mood as early as possible. I think this works so well, as artistically the style is defined and profound and also helps communicate the overall themes of the film to audiences without giving too much away. 

Having conducted my research, I found similar products within the same genre as 'North by Northwest' that conveyed the sense of genre within the initial opening scene. The film I found was 'Spectre' the 2015 spectacle directed by Sam Mendes and produced by five separate production companies including 'Sony Pictures' and 'Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer'. 

The opening scene within this film exhibits large crowds of people walking, as James Bond played by Daniel Craig walks amongst them overhead. This theme of many people walking to convey the genre of action within film, has been established since the 1960's and continues to use this convention in modern-day society. 

Behind The Scenes

As a production group, we devised a short behind the scenes video of our shoot day. 

I also composed a series of stills I took with my camera on the shoot day, to create almost a photo album for recollection of what we did and the crew / actors that helped contribute to the project. 

Shoot Day Reflection

Our day began as scheduled. Prior to shooting, we unpackaged the jumpsuits that had been ordered. Unfortunately, we realised that our jumpsuits had words of profanity displayed on the back, and came with a pair of handcuffs. This wasn't quite the vibe we intended on portraying, therefore we chose to implicate our second plan. We messaged the head of costume design at Hurtwood, politely asking if we could borrow a pair of jumpsuits that would be washed & dried prior to giving them back. We also prepared by acquiring edible fake blood, that we made the morning of to ensure a sense of freshness, however 'fresh' edible fake blood can be. We also prepared regular fake blood, that would be splattered upon clothing. On the day, we stained the jumpsuits as well as the t-shirt exhibited underneath with mud / dirt to construct a tampered appeal to audiences. 

Overall, the entirety of the shooting process went exceedingly well. As camera techniques had been revised the week prior to shooting, we were able to sustain a flow / efficiency. The performances from the cast were outstanding, ensuring a naturalistic feel that we were intending on illustrating. All shots that we wanted acquired were acquired by the end of the day and on schedule. Our cast were very accommodating throughout the process and we can't thank them enough for their contribution. The roles that we assigned ourselves onset, remained the same throughout. This further enabled our capability with the equipment, ensuring the shooting process went swimmingly as we became more familiar with what our roles entailed. 

The only issues that were prevalent, were prior to shooting and to do with costuming which has been previously mentioned. Overall, no issues were apparent upon the shoot day itself as we mainly stuck to schedule with our 'shot list' in mind at all times. Regarding what we could have done differently, we could've familiarised ourselves with the terminology within context of camera equipment and it's utilisation. As when it came to shooting, it took a moment to recollect the correct way to utilise the equipment but overtime we became beyond familiarised with the correct usage. 

Regarding new technical skills / language learnt, we had revised our terminology beyond belief therefore we already knew everything. The skills that Matt taught us within the initial 'camera workshop' one / two helped profoundly when preparing for our shoot. As individuals within our production group, we went away and revised the correct terminology, composition rules, the correct utilisation of camera equipment (etc). Matt's techniques / methodologies were extremely beneficial to our success when shooting. The equipment that we used consisted of; portable light source, 4K black magic camera, microphone, camera battery, 50mm lens, 30mm lens and a tripod. My favourite part of the day was seeing the performances come alive, as an actor I understand the amount of effort that goes into portraying a character & the backstory you apply to constructing a realistic interpretation of the individual you're playing. It was fascinating seeing it from the perspective of a camera operator, as you witness the hard work / dedication performances acquire to be brilliant. The roles being reversed was an intriguing prospect for me throughout the shooting process. 

I am excessively happy with the footage we captured onset. I think it was easier shooting in chronological order, ensuring that cast / crew had an embellished understanding of the narrative. As a camera operator, I have learnt lots of things regarding camera equipment / terminology that I can use for projects within the future. I have learnt exactly how to alter white balance, how to place the camera on the tripod, how to bubble, composition rules & techniques consisting of head space, rule of thirds (etc). I genuinely wouldn't have done anything differently, if I had the opportunity to re-do the shooting process I wouldn't. Everything went exceptionally well and I wouldn't change a part of it. 

I am exceedingly excited to move onto the 'editing' portion of filming / producing our sequence as this is when the sequence truly comes to life. I'm excited to discover new editing techniques & explore the logistics of editing. When I was younger, I used to construct / produce stop-motion films using dolls that I would spend a considerable amount of time editing. Editing is something further down the line that I'd love to pursue, so I will ensure I can learn as much new information as possible throughout the process. I think the overall challenges within the editing suite, will be regarding learning new techniques / skills to better our sequence. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this experience has been beyond enlightening and I'm enthused to see our entire sequence fully completed / edited. Witnessing what all our work has truly gone into, will be a full-filling and rewarding feeling. 

 

Check List

To ensure that I had everything crucial to the shooting process, I made a personal check list that I could refer to morning of the shoot day to ensure all essential items had been attained. 

Further Development - Costuming

When the jumpsuits arrived, I suddenly realised upon unboxing them that they had words of 'profanity' labelled on the back. This is key as to why you should check your costuming fully before purchasing. Unfortunately, this meant we'd have to utilise our back-up plans. Our initial plan would be the cocktail dresses, the girls within our production group had dresses they didn't particularly mind being ruined by fake blood, dirt (etc). As a second back-up plan, we also emailed Hurtwood's costuming department to see if they had anything we could utilise, in which they did. 

The BBFC & Film Certificates

The BBFC's stands for 'The British Board of Film Classification'. It is a regulatory board, that covers law / rules within film. It is an organisation that establishes regulations that control a certain set of products within a specific industry. 

The BBFC are essentially in charge of controlling regulations / age restrictions within the UK film industry. Audiences can also criticise the BBFC if they feel they're despondent with the contents of the film. A film cannot be released within the UK in cinema or DVD until it has received an age classification from the BBFC.  

Subject matters that the BBFC consider when awarding film certificates includes; scenes of violence, sex and nudity, obscene language, discriminatory language, self harm, criminal activity, dangerous behaviours, drugs, alcohol / cigarettes, child actors / characters and strobe lighting. 

They also consider the context within film, wether the film is realistic, fantasy or animated. Violence within an animated / fantasy film will receive a lower age certificate as the BBFC believes audiences will be able to understand the film is not real as it isn't naturalistic. 

They also consider a way an issue is handled. For an example, the popular TV show 'Euphoria' follows a teenage girl struggling with addiction & the devastation she causes her family / friends. However, the BBFC may consider this as glamorizing drug usage but because director Sam Levinson includes scenes of the consequence (i.e an overdose) it would be considered a lower age certificate TV show. 

It also depends on the format of release, as the BBFC tend to be sterner when classifying DVD releases rather than cinema releases, as certain certificates do not exist for DVD releases. 

 

As a production group, we felt our sequence / film would receive a 15 film certificate as it contains scenes of violence and brutality. Therefore, would receive a higher certificate. 

Further Development

In light of recent development, we received the exciting news that 'Daisy Jelley' will be featured within our opening sequence. Known for her modeling and work with 'Charlotte Tilbury', we're enthusiastic in her capability to perform and work with us! 

However, this led to some profound changes within the casting component of our sequence. We had to let our former actress Meadow go, or within film terms 'cut her' from the sequence. She was very accommodating to the process and we're sad to have to let her go. We then informed Zaza politely that she'd been re-cast as Meadow's role, to which she took is moderately well. We're grateful that Daisy is able to make our shoot, as well as Zaza as they're ultimately doing us the biggest favour imaginable. We're thrilled to work / meet the cast in person tomorrow for the shoot day. 

Shooting a Dialogue Sequence

Matt informed us that we were to create a minimal dialogue sequence within small groups, we followed each step of the shooting process individually to gage an understanding of how to use the equipment correctly before shooting. 

When beginning the shooting process, Matt's previous camera workshops helped the development profoundly and helped enhance our personal techniques in context of utilising camera equipment. Before we started properly shooting, we revised Matt's terminology such as 'call outs' and the 'yours / mine rule' to amplify practicality. Then, when shooting we followed the process Matt taught us, involving the tripod, camera battery, microphone (etc). We then began looking at the artistic / compositional elements of filming, such as the 'rule of thirds' and the '180 degree rule'. 

We ran into a few problems, such as the sound / the utilisation of panning. Unfortunately, the sound captured little of the dialogue due to the microphone stick being placed too far away from the actors. To prevent this from happening again, we concluded that on the day of shooting, we'd ensure the microphone captured all dialogue / overall sound by placing the microphone closer to the actors speaking. When utilising camera methods / techniques such as panning, it's hard to make look perfect when your set is lacking in a visually alluring appearance. Due to the set design, the panning left a mediocre effect on audiences when reviewing the footage. We'll ensure that if utilising panning or tracking, we have an alluring set design / location that enthrals audiences rather than detouring them. 

It then came to the editing process, we used 'Adobe Premiere Pro' to edit / decipher our initial outcomes. Me and a member of my production group, Bea deciphered the footage we captured. Matt taught us the intricate process of editing and some useful terminology, this was all new / thrilling to me. As due to complications with COVID 19, I was unable to attend the last editing workshop. We entered the editing suite, and were told the absolute basics of how to edit using the 'ping pong' technique, where you cut every time someone speaks purely focusing on the dialogue. We then sat down with our footage from the shooting process & deciphered clips, coming to terms with what could / couldn't be utilised. We were then taught how to use 'constant power' in order to blend background noise from one clip to the other. 

We then edited the sequence, embellishing the basic standard of editing. 

The skills that we learnt consisted of 'ping pong' editing & the utilisation of 'constant power' and how to establish power / status or how Matt referred to it 'who's winning in the sequence'. The first skill we learnt was 'ping pong' editing, which consists of back & forth cuts that display the character every time they speak onscreen. This basic form of editing establishes character, as well as dialogue thoroughly. We then learnt how to utilise 'constant power', which is a form of editing that correlates to sound. If the background noise doesn't match from cut to cut, you can use 'constant power' to ensure that the audio flows smoothly into the next clip almost like a seamless transition. We then learnt how to establish who's winning within the scene. Matt pointed out that reaction to mega moments within the sequence, help embellish the status / power. The facial expression captured / the long shot duration can indicate who's most important within the sequence. 

We made quite a couple mistakes due to sound. Since the audio wasn't captured correctly within the shooting process, whilst editing due to the lack of audio volume, we couldn't quite hear the dialogue. So unfortunately, there are small repeats of dialogue due to lack of audio volume. To ensure we don't endure this problem within the future, we'll ensure that all audio is captured correctly by confirming the microphone is above / near the sound being captured. 

The '180 degree rule' was followed within the film. Due to the set design / the implement of the sofa, we were able to establish the '180 degree rule' successfully. We captured all angles required within the shooting process, to ensure the '180 degree rule' was implemented. 

When deciphering the footage, me and Bea realised that we could've ensured there wasn't too much head space. As within some clips, there's a large amount of head space. We also could've focused on the 'rule of thirds' more within the shooting process, to make sure all clips are composed beautifully. 

On the day of shooting, as camera operator I'll ensure that there's never too much head space & I'll ensure to compose the scene beautifully focusing on elements of composition such as the 'rule of thirds'. I will also confirm that the microphone is capturing sound correctly, by ensuring the microphone is above / near the sound being captured. Overall, I'll approach the editing process of my sequence with excitement. As editing is what truly makes the footage come alive and your production group finally sees the outcome of their hard work! 

Target Audience

A target audience is crucial to generate interest. A target audience expects conventions from their chosen genre to be followed correctly, therefore conventions play a substantial role to constructing a specific target audience. Target audiences also help you as a director / producer to make informed & educated decisions regarding to (narrative, mise-en-scene, characters, casting and male gaze). Target audiences also help the creative team establish distinct decisions within the context of marketing, which is typically what you're spending most of your films overall budget on. 

When concluding our own target audience, our production group established two specific factors that determine your target audience. Age and gender. We came to the unanimous decision that our target audience regarding age would be 15, and the gender would be equally distributed. We felt the gender would be equally distributed, as we feel our sequences genuinely appeals to either genders. Females enjoy seeing an empowering female figure onscreen playing the protagonist leaning further towards the thriller portion of our genre, and men enjoy the action / weaponry and violence that leans further towards the action portion of our genre. I say thriller / action, as our sequence is a hybrid genre acquring conventions of a slasher / horror.