I have completed 2 tasks using Prezi, the online presentation maker. The links are as follows:
Task 3
Part 1 - George Lucas Prezi: http://prezi.com/tlnmahbe9djf/george-lucas-presentation/
Part 3 - Portfolio: http://prezi.com/p5zm5yekngmq/jonty-truin-portfolio/
Friday, 24 June 2011
Editing - Factual
My second film that I edited was the Factual. I carried over many techniques from the Social film. More importantly this time was editing to music, mainly syncing audio to visual. I had a sepearate audio recording of the live music to give us freedom of camera movement. This was difficult to edit as the images had to atleast slightly resemble the music. I did this by finding the similar sounds in the video, and spotted the movement the musicians were making at the start of the sound. Then on seprate visual files from a different verse or chrous I find this movement, silence the sound from that clip and then play the one long mp3, and the short clip. This makes it appear as if the audio is synced to the footage.
I also used crops and zooms to turn footage from the same shot into a range of others . This gave me the opportunity to have a wider range of footage to be used as filler and actuality footage. This can be obtained from the effects bin.
On both films i used the Audio Mixer to change the voule of levels. Where the key frame option allows you to be very precise, the level changes the volume for the entire clip. This was used on the song clip so that i wouldn't over power the voice over. With the voiceover, while these were in long strings of sound, using the "In/Out" system I could cut it up to further lengthen the amount of talking time or make the voiceover specific to the image.
I have exported both films and they are ready to be put onto DVD
I also used crops and zooms to turn footage from the same shot into a range of others . This gave me the opportunity to have a wider range of footage to be used as filler and actuality footage. This can be obtained from the effects bin.
On both films i used the Audio Mixer to change the voule of levels. Where the key frame option allows you to be very precise, the level changes the volume for the entire clip. This was used on the song clip so that i wouldn't over power the voice over. With the voiceover, while these were in long strings of sound, using the "In/Out" system I could cut it up to further lengthen the amount of talking time or make the voiceover specific to the image.
I have exported both films and they are ready to be put onto DVD
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Editing - Social
I am nearing completion of the Social Action editing. After Converting the files on AVS4You and passing around the files I could start the process.
The first thing to remember is setting up the project. Firstly by creating Audio, Rush, Sample and premiere folders, and then placing the existing files (films rushes and audio clips) into the right places, the Project file is saved to the Premiere folder when you start the new project. After selecting DV - Pal 48Khz the project is ready to start.
Firstly I imported all of my media files and then grouped them together. This gives me my materials for premiere and keeps me organised. The next step is reviewing story boards and scripts and then creating a seperate plan more corresponding to the shots.
I still tend to improvise in a way when editing. While I have a development plan, I tend to not follow scripts or storyboards as closely as I could as, as I said in a previous post, things change when you get on location, as in different ideas or changing action plans etc.
I kept to quite a conventional style of editing, using simple cuts and jump cuts, avoiding fancy transitions or visual effects. The first technique I used was multitracking audio. I knew there would be scenes with no audio which would be voicedover. For these I made a track of audiop and then silenced the whole line. This means any audio in this track will be silent. Other tracks were for the main audio which would remain at the default level and any extra tracks for audio where this clip would have an effect or a different volume. This is used for background noise (which I will add to some scenes to keep things flowing). Another track will be for music.
In terms of visual effects I have used 3 so far. Firstly masking cuts by adding a cut away to a seperate location. If I wanted to use one long shot but get rid of the stuff I didnt want. However if I cut the shot it would be jumpy but wouldn't fit with the rest of the cuts. Instead, would cut away to another relevant shot and keep the audio running to make it "seamless".
Next I used "Roll" to fix the camera angle. "Roll" is a "Camera Positioning" effect where you can rotate the video the same way you would a Photoshop image. I corrected the anlgle of the shot, which then left a white rim around the iamge. To correct this, a single unit of zoom zooms in enough to get rid of the white backrground rim, making the image appear level.
I used split screen for the first time in a project to show a range of Subway Products. To do this, overlay a video over another and then click the image in the final editor (on the right, this plays the timeline). It then becomes transformable like a Photoshop image, I pulled it to the side and the other image to other side, using the framing option to make sure I had things equally lined up.
Using keyframes, images and audio can be faded in and out. By selecting the clip, aligning the selector with frame you want to add the keyframe to (whether it be audio or visual) and clicking the add key frame button. This makes this point editable by either bringining it up or pulling it down (quiter or louder for audio, more visible/less visible for video). To give you more options, adding fades etc, you need to add a second keyframe then you can manipulate the line to create a fade.
This was great for fading audio in and out. I had a music track running through the whole video. For moments of dialogue or voice over, the music is either silenced all together or is lowered so that the dialogue is the most prominent audio feature.
We have recorded voice overs to help further the film experience. This was recorded on an MP3 recorder in a silent envrionment then imported into Premiere to be matched up to the visuals.
These are the various techniques and plans I used during editing for my social film. Many of these will be repeated or used differently in the factual programme.
The first thing to remember is setting up the project. Firstly by creating Audio, Rush, Sample and premiere folders, and then placing the existing files (films rushes and audio clips) into the right places, the Project file is saved to the Premiere folder when you start the new project. After selecting DV - Pal 48Khz the project is ready to start.
Firstly I imported all of my media files and then grouped them together. This gives me my materials for premiere and keeps me organised. The next step is reviewing story boards and scripts and then creating a seperate plan more corresponding to the shots.
I still tend to improvise in a way when editing. While I have a development plan, I tend to not follow scripts or storyboards as closely as I could as, as I said in a previous post, things change when you get on location, as in different ideas or changing action plans etc.
I kept to quite a conventional style of editing, using simple cuts and jump cuts, avoiding fancy transitions or visual effects. The first technique I used was multitracking audio. I knew there would be scenes with no audio which would be voicedover. For these I made a track of audiop and then silenced the whole line. This means any audio in this track will be silent. Other tracks were for the main audio which would remain at the default level and any extra tracks for audio where this clip would have an effect or a different volume. This is used for background noise (which I will add to some scenes to keep things flowing). Another track will be for music.
In terms of visual effects I have used 3 so far. Firstly masking cuts by adding a cut away to a seperate location. If I wanted to use one long shot but get rid of the stuff I didnt want. However if I cut the shot it would be jumpy but wouldn't fit with the rest of the cuts. Instead, would cut away to another relevant shot and keep the audio running to make it "seamless".
Next I used "Roll" to fix the camera angle. "Roll" is a "Camera Positioning" effect where you can rotate the video the same way you would a Photoshop image. I corrected the anlgle of the shot, which then left a white rim around the iamge. To correct this, a single unit of zoom zooms in enough to get rid of the white backrground rim, making the image appear level.
I used split screen for the first time in a project to show a range of Subway Products. To do this, overlay a video over another and then click the image in the final editor (on the right, this plays the timeline). It then becomes transformable like a Photoshop image, I pulled it to the side and the other image to other side, using the framing option to make sure I had things equally lined up.
Using keyframes, images and audio can be faded in and out. By selecting the clip, aligning the selector with frame you want to add the keyframe to (whether it be audio or visual) and clicking the add key frame button. This makes this point editable by either bringining it up or pulling it down (quiter or louder for audio, more visible/less visible for video). To give you more options, adding fades etc, you need to add a second keyframe then you can manipulate the line to create a fade.
This was great for fading audio in and out. I had a music track running through the whole video. For moments of dialogue or voice over, the music is either silenced all together or is lowered so that the dialogue is the most prominent audio feature.
We have recorded voice overs to help further the film experience. This was recorded on an MP3 recorder in a silent envrionment then imported into Premiere to be matched up to the visuals.
These are the various techniques and plans I used during editing for my social film. Many of these will be repeated or used differently in the factual programme.
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Filming Day 2
After chasing down a Music Lecturer willing to talk to us and offer some students for interview with us as well we were set for atleast a few interviews. The first issue was that Tantra didn't show and it was illogical to wait for her risking losing the interview. Me and Callum set about seeting up camera with one lecturer and about 6 students. This went well getting lots of longer answer,s group discussions and strong opinions. Callum was on Camera duties for the whole day so now all of us have used it. Next, 2 drummers agreed to play for us for actuality footage. This was great here too we got moments of natural group discussion. We stuck completely too the tripod as there was more of a formal feel about this piece, more like a news report.
Luckily on the same day the students had a concert in the recital hall which gave us the opportunity to film our first and last "bookend" scenes. We rented an mp3 recorder to record a seperate audio track giving us freedom when it came to editing as we could move the camera. This made sure we covered pretty much the majority of the piece in one day.
I was happy with what we got done, both the footage and the audio seems to have come out well. Also there is an opportunity to get more (if needed, the piece could be competed with current footage). As said before we kept the shooting quite simple as it seemed appropriate tro the piece.
I think that the work we got done today showed that we were prepared to chase people down for information and put ourselves in a proifessional working environment, treating our contributors with respect and getting respect (and footage) back.
Luckily on the same day the students had a concert in the recital hall which gave us the opportunity to film our first and last "bookend" scenes. We rented an mp3 recorder to record a seperate audio track giving us freedom when it came to editing as we could move the camera. This made sure we covered pretty much the majority of the piece in one day.
I was happy with what we got done, both the footage and the audio seems to have come out well. Also there is an opportunity to get more (if needed, the piece could be competed with current footage). As said before we kept the shooting quite simple as it seemed appropriate tro the piece.
I think that the work we got done today showed that we were prepared to chase people down for information and put ourselves in a proifessional working environment, treating our contributors with respect and getting respect (and footage) back.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Filming
Today was spent filming our Social Action Film on College Food providers. After weeks of Pre-Production and spending the fast few days obtaining filming permits and securing locations today we took to the coolege with a camera (again Callum was absent so it was me and Tantra). We very quickly hit issues when on shot number 1 it started pouring with rain. Thankfully, the rest of the schedule was based indoors so we got to work with that.
While we had developed story boards and shooting schedules, when working in a constantly moving environment it is often difficult to achieve your initial aims. While on shoot we were often forced into different positions than planned and then each new environment would give each of us different ideas and different approaches. In the end, as I have always believed, it can be very good to avoid the constraints of the plans.
We quickly developed a style for how to capture each enivronment. With each different area (Coasters, Subway and The Shop) our first priority was actuality footage. This was the filler, with establishing shots, capturing normal buisness as it happened (despite the slightly more quiet atmosphere of shooting on a Friday). Shooting the actuality footage first gave us an idea of each place which was usefull. Step 2 was obtaining interviews. We had a large amount of Public Release forms primed and ready before shooting and this was where they came into play. For about an hour we observed students in Coasters, one by one asking people for interivews that would make up our Vox Pops sections. While initially we got the cold shoulder, once the first few had agreed to be filmed, more people felt comofrtable being on camera and answering questions. While there were a few difficulties working with the public (camera invasions etc) I found the process intresting and enjoyable. Each Contributor signed off our release form before filming. We ended up with around 12 interviews for Vox Pops, as we added a couple of extra scenes with other students from our class as, when they talked about the documentary with us, they ended up having some strong opinions which we asked them to then express in the film. We also asked James Searle, our student tutor, to provide an answer from the colleges point of view and will be in contact with a manager from Aramak (the caterer for college) as the official statement for their side of the story.
As I said earlier we tried to create a visual style. This envolved both tripod shots as well as "shaky handheld" style. These will be coupled together to create visual impact when it comes to editing.
Our biggest issue of the day was with Subway. While the day before we had got a Waiver form for the location signed off, the workers were upset with being filmed and we were asked not to film. This was annoying as we had taken the time to get the Waiver signed buit in the end not vital for the documentary.
In the end I was very pleased with the work we produced. It took a long time and it was difficult to get everything we wanted but in the end we have atleast enough to make a fairly decent documentary taster.
I am anxious about next weeks plans for filming. As it stands, none of the teachers we emailed inquiring about interviews have returned our mail so Tuesday will be spent more agressively chasing the interviews in first person. Time will also be a factor but at the moment we have just about enough time to hopefully tackle the issue.
While we had developed story boards and shooting schedules, when working in a constantly moving environment it is often difficult to achieve your initial aims. While on shoot we were often forced into different positions than planned and then each new environment would give each of us different ideas and different approaches. In the end, as I have always believed, it can be very good to avoid the constraints of the plans.
We quickly developed a style for how to capture each enivronment. With each different area (Coasters, Subway and The Shop) our first priority was actuality footage. This was the filler, with establishing shots, capturing normal buisness as it happened (despite the slightly more quiet atmosphere of shooting on a Friday). Shooting the actuality footage first gave us an idea of each place which was usefull. Step 2 was obtaining interviews. We had a large amount of Public Release forms primed and ready before shooting and this was where they came into play. For about an hour we observed students in Coasters, one by one asking people for interivews that would make up our Vox Pops sections. While initially we got the cold shoulder, once the first few had agreed to be filmed, more people felt comofrtable being on camera and answering questions. While there were a few difficulties working with the public (camera invasions etc) I found the process intresting and enjoyable. Each Contributor signed off our release form before filming. We ended up with around 12 interviews for Vox Pops, as we added a couple of extra scenes with other students from our class as, when they talked about the documentary with us, they ended up having some strong opinions which we asked them to then express in the film. We also asked James Searle, our student tutor, to provide an answer from the colleges point of view and will be in contact with a manager from Aramak (the caterer for college) as the official statement for their side of the story.
As I said earlier we tried to create a visual style. This envolved both tripod shots as well as "shaky handheld" style. These will be coupled together to create visual impact when it comes to editing.
Our biggest issue of the day was with Subway. While the day before we had got a Waiver form for the location signed off, the workers were upset with being filmed and we were asked not to film. This was annoying as we had taken the time to get the Waiver signed buit in the end not vital for the documentary.
In the end I was very pleased with the work we produced. It took a long time and it was difficult to get everything we wanted but in the end we have atleast enough to make a fairly decent documentary taster.
I am anxious about next weeks plans for filming. As it stands, none of the teachers we emailed inquiring about interviews have returned our mail so Tuesday will be spent more agressively chasing the interviews in first person. Time will also be a factor but at the moment we have just about enough time to hopefully tackle the issue.
Pre-Production
We have spent the last few weeks completing production paperwork for our 2 documentaries. This has envolved listing and eveloping our ideas, developing scripts and logistical sections and research and planning tasks.
The pre-production work helps track you're performance throughout the project and your all round progression. We assign the tasks for each project, making sure noone does the same thing twice. This is important as it means people can cover a wider range of information. Sadly, as Callum wasn't here, as we needed to book the camera we had to either coomplete or do his work from scratch. This envovled either re working versions of our own work or workin with Tantra to quickly get things done at a reasonably high level. While for me this will hopefully help show a wider range of skills and the ability to adapt to a situation, Callum will probably have to work to replace some of our stand in work.
We will next move onto the filming stage, firstly shooting the Social Film before focusing on the factual next week.
The pre-production work helps track you're performance throughout the project and your all round progression. We assign the tasks for each project, making sure noone does the same thing twice. This is important as it means people can cover a wider range of information. Sadly, as Callum wasn't here, as we needed to book the camera we had to either coomplete or do his work from scratch. This envovled either re working versions of our own work or workin with Tantra to quickly get things done at a reasonably high level. While for me this will hopefully help show a wider range of skills and the ability to adapt to a situation, Callum will probably have to work to replace some of our stand in work.
We will next move onto the filming stage, firstly shooting the Social Film before focusing on the factual next week.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Editing Skills Profile
Skills I Have Learnt
Film editing is one of the primary skills for these modules. We have brief experience with Premier Pro from the advertising project so I have bought a small handful of skills with me.
Firstly, setting up the project, you must create master folders, and set to PAL with the right settings. It is important to start the project right otherwise you will run into issues further down the line.
Before clips can be edited they must be converted from the MPEG2 to AVI using AVS4You. They can then be bought into Premier.
I learnt that there were many multiple tracks for both audio and visual tracks. This means you can sync the two together, run sepearate music soundtracks, put effects layers in etc. You can take a clip, and using the "In/Out" commands pull the clip onto one of the various tracks. Extra, non-accurate editing can then be done by dragging clips on either side to lengthen or shorten.
To add effects these can be applied to a seperate layer. Effects include split screens, crop's colour grading etc all accessed from the effects bin.
A very useful tool was the razor tool. This alowed you to make a precise selection to split the clip in half. This is useful for when you want to perhaps cut out a specific selection of a whole clip, or apply an effect to a certain section. In both these cases, you make two seperate selections which the razor and this spearates them into seoarte, editable clips.
I also used subtle effects, such as the facial blur. For blurring out peoples faces who didn't wish to appear in the film, I pasted a identical video ontop of the source video, cropped it's dimenions to cover the area of the face to be blurred, then added the casmra blur effect. This makes the people unidentifiable.
Skills I Need To LearnMy biggest issues last time round were on audio. While I used thr Mixer, I still couldn't get the exact results. This time I will be recommending to my grouo we use an MP3 recorder to do seperate adio track and then sync the audio to the lip. Syncing could be difficult, especially with a wide, varied amount of cuts and tehcniques. While I think this will be simple I won't know until I get back on Premiere with Rushes.I will for the first time be cutting to dialogue. Where as on previous film projects there has been no dialogue I will need to learn about keeping the audience on track with my cuts.
Film editing is one of the primary skills for these modules. We have brief experience with Premier Pro from the advertising project so I have bought a small handful of skills with me.
Firstly, setting up the project, you must create master folders, and set to PAL with the right settings. It is important to start the project right otherwise you will run into issues further down the line.
Before clips can be edited they must be converted from the MPEG2 to AVI using AVS4You. They can then be bought into Premier.
I learnt that there were many multiple tracks for both audio and visual tracks. This means you can sync the two together, run sepearate music soundtracks, put effects layers in etc. You can take a clip, and using the "In/Out" commands pull the clip onto one of the various tracks. Extra, non-accurate editing can then be done by dragging clips on either side to lengthen or shorten.
To add effects these can be applied to a seperate layer. Effects include split screens, crop's colour grading etc all accessed from the effects bin.
A very useful tool was the razor tool. This alowed you to make a precise selection to split the clip in half. This is useful for when you want to perhaps cut out a specific selection of a whole clip, or apply an effect to a certain section. In both these cases, you make two seperate selections which the razor and this spearates them into seoarte, editable clips.
I also used subtle effects, such as the facial blur. For blurring out peoples faces who didn't wish to appear in the film, I pasted a identical video ontop of the source video, cropped it's dimenions to cover the area of the face to be blurred, then added the casmra blur effect. This makes the people unidentifiable.
Skills I Need To LearnMy biggest issues last time round were on audio. While I used thr Mixer, I still couldn't get the exact results. This time I will be recommending to my grouo we use an MP3 recorder to do seperate adio track and then sync the audio to the lip. Syncing could be difficult, especially with a wide, varied amount of cuts and tehcniques. While I think this will be simple I won't know until I get back on Premiere with Rushes.I will for the first time be cutting to dialogue. Where as on previous film projects there has been no dialogue I will need to learn about keeping the audience on track with my cuts.
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