LO3: Be able to use evaluation in support of creative media production
Comparative EVALUATION
I think the shots and cuts I used in my all my productions were to the professional standard of films today. I believe I framed my characters well in contrast with the subjects around them; these shots in particular show our character as the main focal point thanks the short depth of field. Each shot clearly states he has his eye on something and the sequences that follow establish the genre and imply that he has his eyes on the goal.
Keeping the audiences focused on the action is a very important subject that should be considered in filmmkaing. As we can see in the film Inception, the area of which the audience focuses on is the same in both shots. A match cut has been made into the following shot which keeps the point of focus in the same area as the previous shot creating a matched object in the frame. This is completely common in film production as it means the viewer does not have to move their eyes to a subject on the other side of the scene which will create an invisible edit effect, with the help of other continuity editing techniques such as cutting on action and similar motion in two clips. I made sure most of my cuts in all my productions featured match cuts as it is important the viewer doesn't lose focus especially in a fast paced scene.
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If we look at these two shots from my horror, the football sits in just about the same area the keeper's head is in the shot that follows. This is an industry standard technique that almost persuades the viewers eye to process the action the filmmaker has chosen. The colours of the football in Character 1's hands creates a sense of madness while the Keeper in the second shot wears blue and white over a washed misty sky to transcend his vulnerability. The match cut of the spherical ball with the keepers head contrast the two characters resulting in an unbalance in power which can influence the crowd to sympathise for the Keeper and/or fear Character 1. In my action, I used match cuts in a fast paced sequence to keep the audience focus on the ball as if they were following it into the goal before cutting back to Character 1 in the same field of vision. My action production in particular shows some continuity editing techniques to achieve a fast paced action scene.
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Drama
In terms of professionalism, I think the editing conventions used in my Drama fit the criteria in the Dramatic films of the industry. My research into the genre shows how multiple exposures can be used to get the audience inside the established character's head which is what I aimed to show in this piece of work. I am happy with my shot selection and the editing techniques used in the production.
My establishing shot was the ordinary football pitch as it contrasts with the images shown inside Character 1's head while giving the audience an idea of where he truly stands. I chose to use a short depth of field in the second shot to draw the viewers attention to the characters focus on the goal. As we can see in the two shots above, I kept Character 1's eye line level with the centre of the goal to establish the direction of his stare and create a smoother cut in the audiences perspective. I chose to pan backward as it created an open field that could contrast with character 1's imagination.
The editors in Apocalypse now use the image of Captain Benjamin combined with the forest background, helicopters and ceiling fan to emphasise the feelings and state of mind Captain Benjamin and the other characters are going through during the Vietnam War. Similarly, in my production I used multiple exposures to show Character 1's aspirations to be a professional footballer. The football pitch that sits over his eye line shows he thinks big and urges for the thrill of playing on a pitch inside a stadium while the crowd that surrounds Character 1 puts him in the pressured mindset of a real footballer.
As Character 1 has put in himself in the mindset of a footballer, the images that are laid over contrast with the dull field he is stood in. This reminds the audience that character 1 is at the beginning of his road to success and that he has a tough long journey to achieve his goals. The flags that wave behind character 1 transcend his hope for a following or backing of supporters which he would find in a football team. I chose to track across the image of the changing room because extends the idea that character 1 desires to be part of something so big; having his name on a club's shirt, playing with the pros.
I think this production would suit the target audience of Dramatic films because it uses a collective of images that transcend Character 1's emotions, aspirations and talents to create story. Drama films will use realistic stories, settings and will often portray a journey of character development. I think my production has potential for character development of which could move the audience emotionally. The established character in this production could go on to reach his goal, or encounter problems that prevent him from reaching it. Characters that may slow his journey to his goal may enter the story or characters may come in to help his success. Because of this I think my production is appropriate to the intended audience and has potential to be developed further.
The footballs that are shot across the image did not come out as well as I had hoped; the green screen meant there was a slight green glow around each football as it flew past, and looking back at the production, I wish the footballs were travelling slower across the screen to capture character 1 in his trance. The message I aimed to send with tis part was no matter how many footballs Character 1 kicks, he can never stop training to reach his goal. I drew this idea from the opening sequence of Apocalypse Now where the fan continues to spin round to create the concept that the war is never ending. In the same way I wanted to use imagery to accentuate how hard Character 1 will have to work and he will never run out of footballs to kick in his career. Although this had not come out as well as I had hoped, I believe my intentions within the drama were well thought and used techniques found in Apocalypse Now to I transcend character 1's dreams of one day being a professional footballer.
Action
In terms of professionalism, I think my action was successful. I am pleased with the shots I gathered because I took the time to go through my cameras settings to get the best image I could. When researching action and using the Kingsman example, I found that if you paused the video, there was rarely a blur of image in the action because the it had been shot at a high shutter speed. I decided to shoot at a higher shutter speed to create a choppy fast paced sequence that matched the energy in the Kingsman pub fight scene. The first editing technique I had to use was cutting on action. In the Kingsman clip, the editor has cut in certain places on the action to change the camera angle; by using juxtaposition the audience is lead to believe that the action continues through each shot. This brings the edit up to speed with the movement made by the characters which immerses the viewer into the action . I cut on action in my production to give the feel that we a following Chracter 1 as he plays the ball across the pitch. To create seamless cuts I got my actor to come up with a dribbling sequence and practice it so that he got it the same every time. This meant I could record Character 1 doing the sequence from multiple angles which could be assembled in editing to create a seamless, fast paced edit.
Another element I found in the Kingsman clip used slow motion and repetition to emphasise the impact of the opening punch to kick off the brawl. We see one of the goons swing a punch at Galahad which is blocked and redirected at another goon. The a slow motion clip shows the fist hitting the face and a tooth fly out his mouth. The following shot replays the punch in real time to switch up the pace of the bar scene; it is slowed right down just as the action begins so that the transition from calmness to violent brawling is effective. In my production, I used the slow mo/repeat technique to divide Character 1's dribbling sequence from the goal scoring itself. The footage of the ball being kicked in slow motion was shot at a high shutter speed, similar to the slow mo images in Kingsman, to ensure the frames of the subject were no blurred and the kick was clear. Repeating the action (not the shot!) added more time between when Character 1 first the ball boots for goal and when it reaches the net. For a few seconds, the audience is left wondering whether he scores creating suspense in the fast paced sequence.
As we can see in the images above, the punch hits the guy on the left in the first shot, then again in the last shot in realtime. Below, we can see the slow motion shot of the ball being kicked followed by the kick again being repeated in real time.
I used the shots that followed to regain the pace of the production because we had taken a step down in the slow motion part and I wanted to keep the action packed format. I could have had all the shots that followed to goal scoring in slow motion but I don't think the impact of the kick would have been as effective. Instead, we see the ball shoot through the sky and straight into the goal which cuts back to character 1 celebrating. I think this is appropriate for the scenario because football is a fast paced game. On television, we see football is such definition, the companies that produce the edit do not need to assemble it in a way to may the setting immersive. In my production, I aimed to take that space between the audience and the action away and create an experience as if we were on the pitch with Character 1.
I think this production would be suitable for the genres audience because the pace is appropriate for the action taking place and it includes editing conventions you would find in films such as Kingsman and The Matrix. It is hard to measure a 'good' edit today because a 'good' edit means the audience has not noticed the format in which the film is assembled. To keep the editing unnoticeable, the editor must keep a consistent pace that works with the drama on screen otherwise the viewer may gather an unnatural feel to the film. I am happy with the pace of this production which worked very well with the music I used. However, the plot itself is not extremely thrilling compared with the action films of today but I wanted to refine the editing techniques used in and apply them to a much simpler storyline as editing is my focus here. I think by using a simpler storyline I have shown I can identify the codes and conventions from these genres and use them in my own work.
I think this production falls short in length. In comparison to the Kingsman clip, my production features much less action. If I were to make the production again I would have spent more time with my actor to create a longer dribbling sequence. With a longer sequence more shots would have been gathered and I think the build up to the goal would have been greater than it is now. Action audiences drive on the quick succession of shot to create an exciting sequence; I feel from 00:14 to 00:21 is what that audience look for in a production and I just wish I had made the sequence longer. Apart from that, I am really happy with how my action came out; my favourite part being the slow motion boot before the repeated shot. I think it works really well and shows my understanding of pace and it's importance in my specialism.
horror
My horror rendition of the goal scoring is my favourite of the 3 productions because of the challenges it brought with it. Professionally, I think the production meets the standards of horror films today; thanks to my research into the genre, the colours and music I chose to use played a big part creating a quite chilling sequence. I must have watched the 'Heres' Johnny!' clip from The Shining over 30 times in my research because I couldn't identify what exactly it was about the edit that worked so well to create such a disturbing sequence. The first thing I took into consideration was the shot lengths. In the 'Here's Johnny' sequence, the longest shot is the first, where Jack approaches the bathroom. No other shot is the sequence lasts as long as this which tells us the editor is building on the action by making the lengths of shots shorter as we get to the scary part to thrill the audience. I used the same technique in my horror; I made the establishing shot of Character 1 approaching the penalty spot the longest so that the tension between him and the Keeper could be built upon as the scene progresses.
Similar to the Shining clip, I wanted to use an audio track that created a sound that made the audience feel uncomfortable. The track from the Shining is very inconsistent and sounds more like noises rather than music. I think the absurdity of those sounds is extremely fitting because it represents Jack's unhinged mind and the terror he intends to let loose. In my production I wanted sounds that were split up amongst silence that will set the audience on edge when watching. My favourite part of the 1st track I chose is at 00:24, where we hear this groggy grinding sound before character 1 goes to hit the ball. The almost twisting like sound rolls as Character 1 steps back. I like to think of it as winding up a jack in the box, at some point it is going burst and that where we can establish tension between the characters. The second track I used featured a distorted guitar riff which worked really will the kicking of the football. Because the winding up noise has raised the tension, the moment character 1 kicks the ball we are hit with this explosive sound; similar to when Jack swings the axe through the bathroom door.
I was alt so inspired by the Shining clip to add a sharp camera movement in my horror piece when Character 1 kicks the ball. As we can see when both items are compared, the camera shifts at the same speed as the movement made by the characters, before shifting back to it's original position.I think this movement is especially effective in my production because the camera jolts with the heavy distorted guitar which, when combined, creates a really effective break on the tension.
My horror production would be appropriate for the intended audience because I took into consideration how sound, colour and pace can influence the viewer to feel the tension that is being created. Similar to the 'Here's Johnny" scene from The Shining, the production uses varied shot lengths to build on tension as well as sounds to create a disturbing atmosphere. I love that the film is telling the story of a character shooting a ball at a keeper and a goal yet the audience is forced to feel somewhat strange as the narration is taking the form of a horror. Again, if I had applied the editing techniques I used to a realistic horror plot, I think the product would be something horror fans can identify as a successful film. As I said before my aim for this project was to show these techniques applied to a simple idea and editing as a specialism isn't always noticed by the ordinary viewer when watching a film. Using a simple plot would encourage the viewer to identify the editing technique I have used in each production and how they fit the genre chosen.
One problem I did run into when filming was trying to work out how I would try to save a shot when I was the only person on set. I quickly decided to just hit record, film myself jumping for saves before walking away and taking the shot myself. In post production I masked the top half of the shot of me diving in the goal and replaced it with the same shot of the goal but when I kicked the ball myself. This created the impression that Character 1 had taken a shot and the Keeper, played by myself, had tried to save it.
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When reviewing the final product, I noticed that I had made some errors filming regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between the two characters. The 180 degree rule states that that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another. This means the camera should stay one side of the conversation and should not film from past that line. As we can see in the first and second the line is not crossed and the camera sits on Character 1's right side. Then in the fourth shot the camera sits on Character 1's left side which doesn't seem very natural as the audience needs to establish which direction the characters are facing. However some could argue that the distance between the two characters could be too large for the 180 degree rule to be applied. When storyboarding, I wanted to switch the camera angle so I could pull the viewer around Character 1 as he takes the shot (shown in 6,7,8) I think this works well with sounds I chose to create a realistic horror.
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Overall I am happy with the final product as I took shots from an ordinary playing field, colour graded and assembled them using techniques found often in horror film which created a groggy, dark scene that puts the viewer on edge. I think the pace of the production works well in creating tension between Character 1 and the Keeper while the sounds used create an unpleasantness to the plot and tells the audience something is about to happen by winding up the their expectations. Colour was really important to me in these productions as I wanted there to be a real distinction between the 3 and I am really pleased with outcome of the colours used in my horror. The green shadows add a sense of darkness while the blue mid-tones create a sense of fear (especially when the keeper is in frame). On the right are two shots I think represent the balance of these two characters and their feelings at the current moment. I chose to go for an analogue colour harmony as it gives the playing field character that is appropriate to the genre which I think immerses the character into the Horror.
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EVALUATION against feedback
During the research stage I was given feedback which suggested I go over the codes and conventions of my chosen specialism in more detail as well as reference my findings. This helped me because I went on to watch videos talking about cuts and transitions and how editors use them to achieve different reactions from the audience. I learned about the different types of cuts and transitions I ca integrated into my work such as match cuts and smash cuts (my two favourites) as well as how a good edit is one the audience does not notice. My teacher also suggested I discuss the novel that inspired Apocalypse Now to show my interest in context. Before doing my analysis of Apocalypse Now, The Shining and Kingsman, I watched videos explaining the plot of each film so I could get an idea of the context, so I already knew that Apocalypse Now was based on the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In planning stage, my teacher said my production schedule was too basic so I went back and added location and what scenes I would be filming. Apart from this, my production schedule was fine. One teacher suggested that my Drama could have used a few cutaways to the goal would have been nice to refocus the audience on what Character 1 is focused on. When looking back at the production, I agree with him as the initial sequence with the overlays is clever, but it does go on for quite a while. He also said it may have been better to have shown the actual kick as well as the goal as that is the important part of Character 1 and what he is trying to achieve. Again, I agree with him as although I tried to get the audience inside Character 1's head, I should have used setting to remind the viewer that he is still a boy kicking a football in some playing fields with big dreams. The feedback of my horror stated that I have filmed and edited using the codes and conventions we would expect to see in horror which is exactly what I was aiming for. My action feedback said it worked very well, especially the slow mo shot of the kick with it then being repeated. The feedback I received shows the teacher can see I have identified editing techniques appropriate for genre and applied them to my work. In my next productions I want to apply these techniques to my own work in the correct way. I want each cut to be there for a reason and the pace of my work to flow. If my work doesn't flow, the viewer can easily become distracted or bored by the poor narration. I want to tell stories in a conventional way and keep on developing my style of work.
Development
This unit, I have learned a lot surrounding editing techniques and how they are applied to genre in films. One thing I learned that I will always be taken into consideration when story boarding my productions from now on is where the audience focus between shots. If shot 1 is a close up of your character stood on the right hand side of the screen on a beach and the second shot is a wide angle of the same character on the beach stood on the left hand side of the screen, the audience has to readjust for a second to the establish the characters position. This can ruin the flow of your production and potentially make the edits visible causing the audience to question whether those two shots are within the same time frame which really is not what an editor wants. I really enjoyed learning about smash cuts; this is where we cut from a really intense moment to one that is really calm or in reverse, calm to intense. The are often used in comedies by director such as Edgar Wright to create a kind of 'calm before the storm' moment or in reverse and can be extremely effective. Smash cuts can especially be effective in dramas to contrast emotions in moment of time and often leave the viewer in shock. I also discovered the match cut, which improve the flow of the edit which smooths over the existing discontinuity of shot changes to establish a logical coherence between shots. Match cuts cut from one shot to a similar shot by matching the action or composition. They can be used to change scene and can match visually or verbally. I think if I were to use match cuts in my work I would try and keep them subtle, as I do not want to constantly remind the viewer what they are seeing has been edited. I think a subtle match cut is most effective as I would be leaving it to the viewer to notice it. Both of these cuts I would like to include in my final major project in the correct context as I think they would both contribute to making a well devised, edit driven piece of work.