This was our final edit and in this video we used 3 editing techniques, pleasantville effect, speed ramping in which we used slow motion along with cloning.
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Organisation in FCP
There are several ways to organise files.
One of those ways is to rename the file to something of your choosing.
Another way is create bins, by doing this you can create specific bins to place specific files in.
Another option is to do log notes.
By doing log notes you can describe which files are best, this is helpful when you have multiple takes of the same scene.
Another option is to add labels that are colour coded.
With the column tabs you can rearrange them to your preferences.
Step by Step Guide to creating a Scratch Disk on Final Cut Pro
Begin by opening up Final Cut Pro and System Settings
A window will then open when you click the system settings.
Then go to HD-2 and create a new folder with your name.
Once you select choose you files will go to into your name.
For the ones above repeat the same steps in which you save them in your folder.
As you can see it is all saved in my named folder.
Next create a new folder with the name footage.
You can now place your footage into the Footage Folder
Next import the footage folder into FCP
Once you have done this save your project first.
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Pleasantville Effect Test
Pleasantville Effect is when only one colour is visible in the clip. The reason Pleasantville Effect is used is to highlight a subject or an object and this stands out from everything else within the scene.
An example of this being used in movies is in Schindler's list which it highlights only one colour and the rest is all unsaturated.
To achieve the Pleasantville Effect on Final Cut Pro, drag a clip onto the timeline. Select the clip to highlight it, then go to the effects, videos filters, colour correction and then colour corrector 3- way. Go to the paint tool on the right hand side, select a colour you want to highlight and then un-tick the Luma Box and Saturation box, and slide the Saturation bar to the very left.
An example of this being used in movies is in Schindler's list which it highlights only one colour and the rest is all unsaturated.
To achieve the Pleasantville Effect on Final Cut Pro, drag a clip onto the timeline. Select the clip to highlight it, then go to the effects, videos filters, colour correction and then colour corrector 3- way. Go to the paint tool on the right hand side, select a colour you want to highlight and then un-tick the Luma Box and Saturation box, and slide the Saturation bar to the very left.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Slow Motion
Speed Ramping
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Editing Essay
The History and Development of Editing along with Cinematography Skills and Technology
All films today follow the ‘Principals of Editing ‘and this is common practice for every film,
however, this was not the case in the early periods of cinema and filmmaking, editors did not
exist and cuts did not happen, filmmakers filmed whatever interested them and they kept
filming until they got bored or the actual film reel had run out.
Auguste (1862–1954) and Louis (1864–1948) Lumière, also known as ‘The Lumière
Brothers’ introduced the first portable motion- picture camera in 1895 and the invention
began the motion picture era. The Brothers ‘were the first to present projected, moving,
photographic, pictures to a paying audience of more than one person’. However, the
Brothers were pessimistic about the film being an art form itself. Louis Lumière had said,
“The cinema is an invention without a future”
Edwin S. Porter (1870 –1941) had proven the Brothers wrong and discovered that by cutting
separate shots together, you were able to tell a story. A prime example is ‘The Life of an
American Fireman’ (1903) in which Porter uses cross cutting between two different scenes
e.g. Firefighters leaving the station and then cutting to the fire itself. Another of Porter’s
works, ‘The Great Train Robbery’ (1903) ‘is widely acknowledged to be the first narrative
film to have achieved such continuity of action’. Porter had showcased the possibility of what
editing can do and this is what allowed film to develop and it also introduced ‘a number of
techniques that helped establish the dominance of realist cinema’
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948) had begun to start using basic montage structures in his early
Biograph shorts such as ‘The Sealed Room’ (1909), in which he uses parallel action to relate
with the narrative and psychological terms. Several months later ‘A Corner in Wheat’ (1909)
would ‘demonstrate a quantum leap in Griffith’s use of parallel editing’. In this short film,
Griffith cuts back and forth between three spaces, and within these cuts it not only represents
different physical locations but it also showcases different social classes, from underpaid
working farmers, to merchants overcharging harvested food to manipulative wall street
tycoons. Griffith not only creates a meaning through the montage but he also creates a
contrast between the social classes and shows how they differ from each other.
When ‘Birth of a Nation’ (1915) and ‘Intolerance’ (1916) had been released, ‘Griffith had
brought everything together’. Griffith was the first modern editor who understood the
psychological importance in editing. Griffith invented and popularized techniques that
established the basic grammar of film. Griffith was also the first person to use the close up
shot. This can be seen in one of his works, ‘Orphan of the Storm’ (1921). ‘Birth of a Nation’
showed editing knowledge put into a movie, not only were there close ups, but there were
also flashbacks and parallel action which gained the audiences’ attention to certain parts of
the frame. His use of seamless editing made the audience forget that they were watching a
movie. Griffith’s establishment of the basic grammar in film is still used today in
contemporary films; a prime example is seamless editing which is when cuts between the
shots were matched to the action.
However Griffith was not the only filmmaker to use montages in films, Sergei Eisenstein
(1898–1948) was a Russian filmmaker and unlike Griffith, who used continuity editing in his
films, Eisenstein did the complete opposite and combined shots that did not go smoothly
together and this gave his films a rough, jagged quality and this rough jagged quality suited
well with his montages as they had depicted violence, such as ‘Strike’ and ‘Potemkin’ (both
1925).
What Eisenstein wanted was to guide the viewer’s emotion along with getting them to think
about what they are seeing. Therefore, Eisenstein and ‘his metric and rhythmic montages
were supplemented with what he called "tonal" and "intellectual" montage, in which he
aimed for subtle emotional effects and to convey more abstract ideas’. Eisenstein had shown that it was capable to capture the viewers’ emotions with what they
saw, ‘Eisenstein's films represent the supreme expression of the capabilities and power of
montage in the cinema’.
Griffith, Porter and Eisenstein were all pioneers in filmmaking and all had contributed a
significant amount towards the development of film. Porter established continuity editing and
introduced cross cutting and had begun to show the possibilities in what you can achieve in
film. Griffith continued the development by establishing parallel editing along with the use of
close-ups, flashbacks and seamless editing. Eisenstein showed that expression in films can
also have an effect on the audiences’ emotions, and this can be used to guide the audiences’
emotion depending on what they were watching. All contemporary films today use at least
one of what Griffith, Porter or Eisenstein had developed, whether that be continuity editing,
cross cutting or montages, these are all fundamentals in filmmaking.
Contemporary films today have also continued to develop with what Griffith, Porter and
Eisenstein had established, and this was thanks to the introduction to the Digital era in
filmmaking. New technology had made editing films much easier and this then allowed for
more footage to be filmed. Films today took on board with what Griffith, Porter and
Eisenstein established and applied it to the Digital Era. With new technology, new types of
cinematic shots were established, such as overhead shots and long shots, these type of shots
then took cinematography to a whole new level as there was so much more you can now do
with the technology available, compared to the days of filmmaking in the classic era where it
was much more limited, filmmakers in the digital era are not restricted to what they can film
and the technology showed the potential of what it was capable of in terms of filming and
editing.
Film has come a long way, from the classic era to cotemporary films today, you can see how
filmmaking has changed and developed from a basic concept to an art form we see it as today.
All films today follow the ‘Principals of Editing ‘and this is common practice for every film,
however, this was not the case in the early periods of cinema and filmmaking, editors did not
exist and cuts did not happen, filmmakers filmed whatever interested them and they kept
filming until they got bored or the actual film reel had run out.
Auguste (1862–1954) and Louis (1864–1948) Lumière, also known as ‘The Lumière
Brothers’ introduced the first portable motion- picture camera in 1895 and the invention
began the motion picture era. The Brothers ‘were the first to present projected, moving,
photographic, pictures to a paying audience of more than one person’. However, the
Brothers were pessimistic about the film being an art form itself. Louis Lumière had said,
“The cinema is an invention without a future”
Edwin S. Porter (1870 –1941) had proven the Brothers wrong and discovered that by cutting
separate shots together, you were able to tell a story. A prime example is ‘The Life of an
American Fireman’ (1903) in which Porter uses cross cutting between two different scenes
e.g. Firefighters leaving the station and then cutting to the fire itself. Another of Porter’s
works, ‘The Great Train Robbery’ (1903) ‘is widely acknowledged to be the first narrative
film to have achieved such continuity of action’. Porter had showcased the possibility of what
editing can do and this is what allowed film to develop and it also introduced ‘a number of
techniques that helped establish the dominance of realist cinema’
D.W. Griffith (1875–1948) had begun to start using basic montage structures in his early
Biograph shorts such as ‘The Sealed Room’ (1909), in which he uses parallel action to relate
with the narrative and psychological terms. Several months later ‘A Corner in Wheat’ (1909)
would ‘demonstrate a quantum leap in Griffith’s use of parallel editing’. In this short film,
Griffith cuts back and forth between three spaces, and within these cuts it not only represents
different physical locations but it also showcases different social classes, from underpaid
working farmers, to merchants overcharging harvested food to manipulative wall street
tycoons. Griffith not only creates a meaning through the montage but he also creates a
contrast between the social classes and shows how they differ from each other.
When ‘Birth of a Nation’ (1915) and ‘Intolerance’ (1916) had been released, ‘Griffith had
brought everything together’. Griffith was the first modern editor who understood the
psychological importance in editing. Griffith invented and popularized techniques that
established the basic grammar of film. Griffith was also the first person to use the close up
shot. This can be seen in one of his works, ‘Orphan of the Storm’ (1921). ‘Birth of a Nation’
showed editing knowledge put into a movie, not only were there close ups, but there were
also flashbacks and parallel action which gained the audiences’ attention to certain parts of
the frame. His use of seamless editing made the audience forget that they were watching a
movie. Griffith’s establishment of the basic grammar in film is still used today in
contemporary films; a prime example is seamless editing which is when cuts between the
shots were matched to the action.
However Griffith was not the only filmmaker to use montages in films, Sergei Eisenstein
(1898–1948) was a Russian filmmaker and unlike Griffith, who used continuity editing in his
films, Eisenstein did the complete opposite and combined shots that did not go smoothly
together and this gave his films a rough, jagged quality and this rough jagged quality suited
well with his montages as they had depicted violence, such as ‘Strike’ and ‘Potemkin’ (both
1925).
What Eisenstein wanted was to guide the viewer’s emotion along with getting them to think
about what they are seeing. Therefore, Eisenstein and ‘his metric and rhythmic montages
were supplemented with what he called "tonal" and "intellectual" montage, in which he
aimed for subtle emotional effects and to convey more abstract ideas’. Eisenstein had shown that it was capable to capture the viewers’ emotions with what they
saw, ‘Eisenstein's films represent the supreme expression of the capabilities and power of
montage in the cinema’.
Griffith, Porter and Eisenstein were all pioneers in filmmaking and all had contributed a
significant amount towards the development of film. Porter established continuity editing and
introduced cross cutting and had begun to show the possibilities in what you can achieve in
film. Griffith continued the development by establishing parallel editing along with the use of
close-ups, flashbacks and seamless editing. Eisenstein showed that expression in films can
also have an effect on the audiences’ emotions, and this can be used to guide the audiences’
emotion depending on what they were watching. All contemporary films today use at least
one of what Griffith, Porter or Eisenstein had developed, whether that be continuity editing,
cross cutting or montages, these are all fundamentals in filmmaking.
Contemporary films today have also continued to develop with what Griffith, Porter and
Eisenstein had established, and this was thanks to the introduction to the Digital era in
filmmaking. New technology had made editing films much easier and this then allowed for
more footage to be filmed. Films today took on board with what Griffith, Porter and
Eisenstein established and applied it to the Digital Era. With new technology, new types of
cinematic shots were established, such as overhead shots and long shots, these type of shots
then took cinematography to a whole new level as there was so much more you can now do
with the technology available, compared to the days of filmmaking in the classic era where it
was much more limited, filmmakers in the digital era are not restricted to what they can film
and the technology showed the potential of what it was capable of in terms of filming and
editing.
Film has come a long way, from the classic era to cotemporary films today, you can see how
filmmaking has changed and developed from a basic concept to an art form we see it as today.
Chroma Keying
To do chroma keying you need a green screen in which you record yourself doing something, afterwards find a picture of a video as you would use this as your background.
To chromakey you go to the effects tab, select key and then chromakey. You will then get a chromakey tab and from there you select the paintbrush tool and select all of the green, you will then be able to see your background, if you have any leftover green you can hold shift along with the paint tool and select on the remaining green parts.
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
The Importance of the Five Shot Rule
Sequential shooting is the fundamental building blocks of story telling. The five shots you need in sequential shooting are :
- Close up of the hands
- Close up on the face
- A wide shot
- Over the shoulder shot
- Another shot from a different angle
You shoot in a sequentially because these shots always cut together. if you film in sequences you will get useable material all every-time. It is important to shoot the five shots in order given as the first three shots will always cut together and cut cleanly.
Further Reading
McAdams, M. (2008). Five Shots, 10 Seconds. Available: http://www.jou.ufl.edu/faculty/mmcadams/video/five_shot.html. Last accessed 7th Oct 2014.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Intro to Editing
Editing- the process of selecting from different shots and joining them to tell a story
Elliptical editing- shots that allow the audience to fill the gaps, such as beginning a scene with a person waking up as the audience can tell the character has been asleep, this enables the story to move forward quickly and takes less time on the screen
Long shot- shows the audience where the character is along with their situation
Non-diagetic sound- when music plays in the background however the only the audience can hear this, the music can create an atmosphere whether that be tension or a calm mood
Shot-reverse-shot- when the camera switches between characters or objects, an example can be a conversation between two people
Wipe transition- when the scene changes to a different location
Overhead establishing shot- shows that everyone is present within the scene, it also sets out the space and positions
Eye-line matching- the angle in which the characters look which creates the effect that the characters are looking at each other
Quick cuts- moves the story forward quicker and shows shows the excitement with the fast rhythm it uses
Editing- the process of selecting from different shots and joining them to tell a story
Elliptical editing- shots that allow the audience to fill the gaps, such as beginning a scene with a person waking up as the audience can tell the character has been asleep, this enables the story to move forward quickly and takes less time on the screen
Long shot- shows the audience where the character is along with their situation
Non-diagetic sound- when music plays in the background however the only the audience can hear this, the music can create an atmosphere whether that be tension or a calm mood
Shot-reverse-shot- when the camera switches between characters or objects, an example can be a conversation between two people
Wipe transition- when the scene changes to a different location
Overhead establishing shot- shows that everyone is present within the scene, it also sets out the space and positions
Eye-line matching- the angle in which the characters look which creates the effect that the characters are looking at each other
Quick cuts- moves the story forward quicker and shows shows the excitement with the fast rhythm it uses
Editing definitions
Editing
Jump cut- a moment of discontinuity in the edit
Shot reverse shot- shots between characters or objects
Flashback- a scene that takes the narrative back in time
Cut- a transition which is abrupt from one sequence to another
Close up- a type of shot which tightly frames a person or an object
Cut away- using a shot over the main action
Dissolve- a slow transition between two scenes
Eye line match- angle to show that the characters are looking at each other
Montage- a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence
Continuity-when the film is smooth and does not use jump cuts
Jump cut- a moment of discontinuity in the edit
Shot reverse shot- shots between characters or objects
Flashback- a scene that takes the narrative back in time
Cut- a transition which is abrupt from one sequence to another
Close up- a type of shot which tightly frames a person or an object
Cut away- using a shot over the main action
Dissolve- a slow transition between two scenes
Eye line match- angle to show that the characters are looking at each other
Montage- a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence
Continuity-when the film is smooth and does not use jump cuts
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