In our lesson this week we had to edit a piece of work which was a final piece a few years ago. Our task was to make the clip identical to the old one using our editing skills. I was put with Connor who done creative media for GSCE so already knew how to edit films. As I have never done anything like this before Connor showed me how to do it once and then guided me through it until I got the hang of it. Connor then left the rest to me as he wanted me to gain a good understanding to help with our own work.
Strengths: I found that editing itself was pretty easy once I understood what to do and our piece was smooth with no jumps. Adding the titles were very easy however we didn’t have enough time to finish it but if we would have had longer it would have looked great.
Weaknesses: the start of the editing went a bit wrong and for some reason cut out the first bit and I didnt know how to change it back. Also the editing of the clip was a few seconds over and not in time to the original.
Overall though I found that for my first time editing I done a good job thanks to the help of Connor. I have gained new skills that I will be able to use when editing my own intro and I will have more of an understanding of what Connor means when we disgust how we are editing and why we are doing in it in that certain way.
From the print screens you can see what type of Male actors we are looking for. I think this is a very good blog as the whole group can see he views on the two actors we have to choose from. This bit of research is great as we can compared there acting back grounds and have a group discussion on who we think as a group would be the best person for the male role.
Once again the blog on the female actors is so much help. Connor has mentioned that we want an actress who looks innocent as we want the female to be the attacker and the male to be the victim. Just the same as the Male actors we will have to discuss who we think will play the best part and pick as a group who will suit the female role the best.
This is very good, easy to understand work for my group. Harriet did a good job of making it simple yet has enough information to help us when making our intro as we will know some of the key thing to add. Good work!
As a group we have decided to have intercuts of the two protagonists getting ready and between intercuts of the two, have the title sequence flashing between it on a dark background.
These images are a rough idea of what we want to use within our intro. As you can see we need to make it a lot more detailed as its just first ideas that we are beginning with.
When analysing sound there are many key terms. Theses terms are: Ambience, Foley, Natural, Diegetic, NonDiegetic, ParallelSoundandContrapuntalSound. They all have specific meanings which are used throughout media without noticing yet have a meaning. For example in the Merlin extract we watch you could hear donkeys’ hoofs which is a Foley sound. These terms mean:
Ambience Sound: Sound within a scene in the background e.g. birds
Foley:Artificial sound that is added in after filming
Natural:Real sound that the camera picks up when filming
Diegetic: Sound that is in the scene/screen
NonDiegetic: Sound that is off scene
ParallelSound: Sound that fits what is happening in the scene, for example if someone is shown looking sad then sad music as non diegetic sound would be parallel sound.
ContrapuntalSound: Sound that contrasts the action and doesn't fit in with the scene, for example a fight scene being shown with soft, peaceful music played in the background.
This is a draft of our ending shot. Personally I find this very interesting as its a close up so it will show their emotion creating suspense for the audience and it has the convention of a western.
We have decided to focus our thriller on the sub genre ‘Film Noir’. To gain more of an understanding of the sub genre I have decided to do some independent learning which will help when planning our intro. I suggest my group reads this as i believe it will help them out a lot!
Here are some screen shots off the information I have found:
Hannah has structured her post in short sentences, more like points. This is a great way as it makes her research a quick easy way to find out about the History of a thriller. I have found out that when thriller genre was first introduce there was a fine line that film makers had to restrict themselves when making a thriller. I also found interesting that the genre thriller first developed from novels. This first novel made was Little Red Riding Hood in 1697. Overall a good easy post to get facts and information from quickly.
Connors research on ‘Goodfellas’ is really helpful. From reading his post I have found that when making a mafia film you need to be accurate on your clothing and lighting. Also Connor mentioned that there weren’t many cuts, mostly long shots which is something we need to research on to see if all mafia films are like this.Furthermore Connor mentioned how there were many low angel shots which would have made the character be portrayed as more dominating. Something we could use.
Connors notes on ‘Goodfellas’ has helped me to understand some of the specific techniques we will have to use when making our own opening. However this is just 1 analysis of a mafia film so in order to create our own mafia film we will need to research more films to make sure we get it right. Connors evaluation on ‘Goodfellas’ is really effected and can help anyone who is thinking about their thriller being a mafia thriller.
The extract begins with the camera panning around the inside of the castle, straight away implying the high status of the setting. Merlin is immediately revealed to be the protagonist by being centralised with a mid shot. We see that Merlin is wearing old, ratty clothes that symbolises his lower statues making it clear that he shouldn’t be there. Merlin then starts to look around. This is made intense through the use of non-diegetic sound of whispering. This creates an ominous tone. Merlin then looks at the door emphasising that he shouldn’t be there reinforcing his low statue. There is then an intercut of the protagonist point of view of a book. This then intercuts to a long shot to a women wearing purple. The camera zooms in to the women, to a mid shot. The women’s clothing highlights her status, purple denoting royalty and wealth. The diegetic sound of footsteps creates suspense to the audience as Merlin rushes around reinforcing the fact he shouldn’t be there. The camera then pans around the room catching the women. The over shoulder shot supports her class as we see the contrast of their clothes and there dialogue how even though they are still eye level implying that they are equal she dominates him through dialogue using a patronising tone towards him. This reminds the audience that Merlin shouldn’t be there making them feel suspense.
Further more in the extract as Merlin leaves the castle; the non-diegetic music comes to an end and the bright light of the sun insinuates that the castle was bad and that Merlin is safe now. As Merlin gets into the street, the diegetic sound of people talking and the clothes they are wearing presents to the audience that Merlin is with his peers. They all display low status through their clothes and the panning around the setting demonstrating the dirty conditions they live in. The camera then watches Merlin walk away from Arthur using a long shot. Even though Merlin is further in front of Arthur they are still at eye level contact connoting that they are equal. Arthur is then shown to be in centre screen portraying him as the Antagonist. Arthur’s class is presented through his silver armour juxtaposing with Merlin’s clothing which reflects the contrast in status. Arthur’s status is then reinforced as Arthur and his knights are wearing red which symbolises his status and his importance. The red also indicates that something bad is going to happen, creating an ambiguous tone. Also preparing the audience for something bad to happen making the audience feel sympathy for Merlin as because of the difference in status implying Merlin is going to get hurt. The antagonist has the high status however the camera focuses more on the protagonist reinforcing Merlin importance. Merlin uses of dialogue illustrates that although Arthur has the better status, Merlin isn’t scared. This is shown through the dialogue ‘You can’t talk to be like that’ connoting that Arthur is shocked at what Merlin said. However Arthur and his guards are still mocking Merlin even though he has made it clear that he doesn’t care about the social status differences.
As the fight begins Arthur throws Merlin a weapon. Merlin falls to the ground and for the first time we see Merlin’s true status is shown as he falls to the ground through the use of the high angel camera emphasises his low status. The non-diegetic music then commences making the scene more intense as it’s upbeat. There is then a shot reverse shot from the fight, to an old man looking out for the window back to the fight. The man’s face looks disappointed which makes the audience curious of the man as they don’t know who he is. Arthur then goes to hit Merlin and hits a cabbage. We get an extreme close up of the weapon hitting the cabbage stressing the strength of the weapon denoting the strength of the weapon. This stresses to the audience how serious this fight is. However as Merlin falls to the fall, the high angel camera appears Merlin to be weak yet we get an extreme close up of Merlin’s eye change colour. The colour change is symbolic for magic and for danger. The non-diegetic sound is indexical for magic too. The close up of the protagonist face show him to be proud. The panning across the room from Merlin’s point of view creates an exciting tone as Merlin is secretly dominating this fight through the use of his powers.The Protagonist moves a box and we see a close up of the antagonist stepping on it. In addition to this we the facial expression of the antagonist facelooking annoyed and in pain which is then contrasted with the smug look on the protagonist face. Merlin proves his dominance here indicating that status means nothing. Once again the camera pans across the room and Merlin moves a piece of rope causing Arthur to fall over. For the first time the audience sees Merlin from a low angel and Arthur for a high angel Making Merlin’s status look better then Arthurs. Merlin looks into the crown pleased with winning and catches eye contact with the old man who appears to be low status as he is wearing ratty clothes with dull colours such as Brown. This disappointment in his faces makes Merlin distracted. Arthur then gets up and hits Merlin with a broom. For every hit there is an non-diegetic Foley sound emphasising how hard Merlin is being hit. The antagonist puts the protagonist back in his place which is lower than him.
In addition to this after the fight Arthur sweeps the floor that Merlin is lay on which is symbolic for brushing him off. It also portrays Arthur to be arrogant. Once again Foley sound is added to reinforce how symbolic it is. Arthur’s guards grab Merlin yet Arthur tells them to ‘let him go’. The dialogue implies that Arthur has respect for Merlin as he is confident. The guards reinforce Arthurs highness is society and the difference in status between the two of them.However they are still at eye line level showing that they are equal to one another. The shot cuts to Merlin and the old man, assumed to be his teacher, having an argument. There is a shot reverse shot showing that they are both equal to each other in society. There facial expressions imply that this fight is more meaningful.Merlin’s dialogue ‘I’m just a nobody and I always will be’ connote that Merlin is actually affected by being so low in society and that ‘magic’ is what makes Merlin status higher. Merlin’s facial expression connotes to the audience that he is feeling guilty for unsatisfying his teacher. This is emphasised by shouting at each other and having no non-diegetic sound which makes it more serious. The ending shot is off the teacher establishing that the teacher is dominate even though that they are equal class and are both low status.
As I didn’t take media as a GSCE I didn’t really know what to expect.I have found I’ve had an OK start to the course however I didn’t realise how hard it would be.I’m confident with the effect of camera angles, and lighting and how editing can change the genre of a piece. I can understand why the POV (Point Of View) is how it is and support my point. I have the basic understanding of structuring an essay and I’m good at answering the question yet when it comes to analysing Camera, editing and Mise-en-scene even though I understand why it’s done i struggle with analysing it in a technical way. I find i answer the questions like an English essay using the wrong terminology. I need to learn the difference between the two and work on the definitions of the terminology. By doing research i have learnt the difference in age rating 15 and 18. This will help not only me, but my group as a whole when it comes to making our intro as it will help us decide how restricted we want it too be. I feel like my strength in the group is organisation. I often write down what needs doing on a whiteboard and as a group we decide who does what. However i often forget to blog what we have done which i need to work on.
My targets: To understand the technical terminology when essay writing. This will include revising over key words and learning the full definition. Also i need to Blog more and in more detail.
