February 11, 2009

This lesson was dedicated to learning linear continuity. Ms. Wong explained that it basically meant the ability to make consecutive shots flow in smooth and coherent manner. This particular aspect of editing is important because the film it helps the film to flow, while still keeping the shots entertaining by taking them from different angles. In class, we saw a few clips on how some movies did their cuts; and although some where not as neat as others, they all expressed a different sensation which contributed to the atmosphere of that particular scene. (see appendix)

This incorporated, quick and choppy cuts, to express a sensation of hurriedness. Shifting between a third person view and a point of view shot to emphasize on what the character in the film is looking at. Contrasting long and shot cuts when filming two people, to hi-light their personalities and the set of circumstances that their in. Abstract editing, in which the scene cuts to between shots that are complete different. This particular editing technique was very interesting to me because what we were learning about was continuity, however, this form of editing was somewhat the opposite of that. Cutting between two contrasting shots, didn't sound like successful editing at all. However, after watching it more closely, I realized that this was a very fascinating way to convey different views on the scene in which the abstract editing took place. In the scene that we watched, it cut between a girl looking a painting and a person drowning in the water. What was not initially apparent to me, was that the cuts demonstrated what was going through the girls mind or else suggesting that she had something to do with drowning. I think that abstract editing is a very daring editing technique, because the intention may not be understood at the time, however, if it is done well, it would be very effective.

To practice our continuity editing, we filmed a scene with the 2 person dialog:
"what are you looking at?"
"you"
"who was that?"
"my mother."

Because the dialog chosen was so broad we devised our own storyline. Working with Xiang Yi, Joyce, Jing Ting and Justin, we came up with the scenario of Justin meeting his girlfriend Jing Ting (who he has a bad relationship with), the hostility between them is demonstrated in the first two lines of our dialog. Then Justin's phone rings and as he hangs up, we hi-light the fact that he says "I love you", on asking who he talked to, Justin hastily says his mother which suggests that he was talking to his other girlfriends. The scene ends with Justin rushing off and Jing Ting feeling angry, stomping out of the scene.

For such a short scene, we managed to utilize many shots. We used four shots to document Justin's process from the door to the stairs where Jing TIng was sitting. Although this may seem like an unnecessary amount of shots for such a simple action, our shot were so diverse that I think that this particular sequence of shots were very effective. First we had Justin walk towards the camera while it was shooting him from a low angle (to demonstrate that he was the more dominant figure of the two), then had him step over the camera. The third shot was of him walking towards Jing Ting which illustrated his reaction on seeing her. Then lastly took an "over the shoulder" shot to show Jing Ting's reaction on seeing him. All this time, Justin is constantly moving. Exercising what we learning in class about continuity editing, we had to make sure that the cuts and the duration of the scenes flowed in an appropriate manner. Firstly we had to shorten the shots because they were too long to convey a simple task of walking such a short distance. Then we placed the shots in a systematic sequence. After this, the shots seemed to flow quite well however, on a minor scale we also edited so that the right and left foot were synchronized between shots. That if he exited a shot with his left foot, that the next shot will be of him starting off with his left foot, because he would have already walked a step between the shots. This demonstrated the depth of our understanding and exercised our "knowledge" aspect in the IB Leaner Profile.

I also realized through editing that details matter. After watching the walking sequence a few times I still didn't think that it flowed as well as it could have and wanted to cut and extend a few choice shots. Although I ended up cut and extending a few mili-seconds worth of film, it made all the difference. I think I am also very comfortable with Final Cut Pro and can use it effectively and can also incorporate a few frequently used techniques such as lighting, speed and RGB balance. Although we didn't manage to complete our task in class, we know exactly what to do and will continue after school ready for submission on the 16th. This was a very beneficial lesson on continuity editing in which I learned lots; both from in class and also from applying my knowledge in making our short film.

Types of cuts:
- Eye-line match - switching between 3rd person view and a POV shot
- Point of view cutting - switching between two POV shots
- The match on action cut - a cut following a persons movement, usually to emphasize the character's speed or distance traveled
- Directional continuity - cuts that maintain the characters movement between shots
- Establishing shots - an extreme long and wide angle (usually) to indicate the surrounds of the scene
- Parallel/ cross cutting or abstract cutting - when the shots alternate between two seemingly unconnected shots
- Transitions - cuts, e.g.: fade, dissolve or saturate
- Rhythm - the pace of the film or cuts