February 09, 2009

Today we viewed each others edited videos. Although we were all more or less at the same level, I was learned lots about both the filming and the editing process.

Despite that we were all given the same instructions and objectives, all the groups had a their own interpretation and each produced a unique version of the specific scene. In Exercise One, (where we had to take a shot of a person crumpling and throwing away a piece of paper) Adrian was able to generate the "gritty and documentary" atmosphere very well. In terms of camera work, they hand held the camera and used simple camera angles; always only focusing on the subject. By using such rudimentary filming techniques, Adrian's group was able to achieve the "on the spot" feel of a documentary very well. His group also edited their clip very well by reducing the quality slightly and making the shot more grainy; giving it the gritty feeling. After asking him how he did it, he told me that it was all done in the "effects" tool bar in Final Cut Pro. In addition, he also included a blinking "recording" sign, often seen on the screen of the camera. I thought that this was very effective and a very unique and interesting way to demonstrate the documentary feel. Although all his editing was simple, it was none the less very effective and all contributed immensely to the atmosphere of the scene. Aside from some editing and shooting techniques, I learned to be more of a "risk taker" and to "think" outside of the box sometimes to achieve our goals. As demonstrated in Adrian's film, the "recording" sign, though it was not required in the objectives, he added it and it turned out very effective. This teaches me to sometimes use unorthodoxed methods in order to attain the desired atmosphere, that even though there might be a chance that it will not turn out as good as hoped, that there is also a chance of it turning out even better than hoped. This teaches me to be a "risk takers" and try new things. After all, this is how we are supposed to learn.

From listening to each other's sound effects, I was also able to learn different methods of producing a sound that expresses the same feel. Louise's group's sound effect of work was very different from the others because it expressed a story. The other group's sound effect for work was simply, a jumble of sounds which was effective however so stereotypical that it was slightly boring; her group however, had a very unique way of approaching this task. Rather than a myriad of sounds, it was one single track which documented a person walking to a desk (footsteps), taking out their pen and writing (clicking of pen and scratching on paper) and then packing the paper and walking away (rustling of papers and footsteps). Although there were also background noises, these particular sound effects were dominant. These sound effects were used by the other groups however the way the sound effects were arranged into a story made Louise's group's "work" soundtrack stand out. I found this interesting because it demonstrated away to create a story out of just simple sounds. This technique may be useful when doing a scene in the future where vision is deprived and had to solely depend on sounds to help the film progress. This is also another instance where "thinking" differently and interpreting objectives differently can be advantage and produce a better outcome.


From viewing other people's film, it also hi-lighted the areas which I need to work on and suggested ways in which I can improve. Firstly, I think I need to work on camera movements and framing. Through feedback, I discovered that in both my scenes, the camera movements were too static and the framing was off. In terms of camera movements, I need to improve on making my movements smoother which can be achieved through loosening the rotational joint of the tripod or simply through more practice. In terms of framing, I would make sure that in every shot, I knew exactly what I am meant to be focusing on. This is because on doing the first exercise, I focused right up against Justin's ear rather than his entire head. This somewhat ruined the atmosphere that I was planning on creating. In the future I should plan ahead and have a few practice runs before actually starting to film or else film multiple shots. I could also improve on my editing. Because I am not too familiar with Final Cut Pro, it is unrealistic to think that I could use it to its full potential from the start, but I think that from looking at my peer's films, being "open minded" to suggestions and experimenting with different functions on Final Cut Pro, I will be able to get the gist of Final Cut Pro more efficiently. Overall, this was a very insightful lesson and not only did I learn from Ms. Wong's teachings but also from giving and receiving feedback from my peers.