Final Preliminary Clip

We made a prelim storyboard using jelly babies. The purpose of this planning is that it allowed us to film the actual clip with a plan and idea. We filmed our prelim clip and the objective of this task was to understand the 180 degree rule and how to use the editing programmes effectively in the sense that we applied sound and credits to the final clip.

Filming the Clip

We used prelim storyboard to full effect by filming according our pan. In fairness as the cameraman I think I understood the 180 degree rule well and it was definitely good practice. I enjoyed filming as I developed my camera skills and I now have a better understanding of how to use the camera. Our plan was to get a range of different shots in the clip so we could have an idea of what shots worked well, and therefore we could use it in our opening thriller sequence. We were able to do this and include the following shots: Close up, Medium shot, High and Low angle shot, Long shot, over the shoulder shot and shot reverse shot.  During the filming process as the cameraman I felt that the plan was highly useful as it outlined what shots I needed to include and the filming process was much quicker.

Editing

We used Final Cut Pro to edit our clip. The editing process allowed us to understand how to manipulate the software better. When editing we made several cuts to make the clip short and to ensure it flowed smoothly. I would say the most challenging part of the editing was trying to make the shot reverse shots run smoothly, but I feel they were edited well. We speeded up parts of the clip and faded the ending of the clip, but whilst we edited the footage we still needed to edit the credits and add a sound track.

Adding Credits

We used program software Live Type to add a title sequence to the clip. The important part to consider when adding text was the order in which the credits would appear and what we would include. From our previous experience of viewing title sequences we came up with the following: Distribution Company, Cast, Producer, and then Director. We made the Director last as in many films the director is seen as the most important person and also in Avatar James Cameron is the last part of the title sequence although this may be in place as his a successful director and may be used to attract the title audience.

Using Live Type we used sans serif font as it looks more relaxed. We opted for a steamy fog background within the font as it was relaxed and stood out against the black background. We made the font slide in by choosing ‘effects’ then ‘Screech’ the effect of this is that it gets the audience’s attention and is more creative. We also made some parts of the credits side into the bottom of the screen as they aren’t as important as the director’s name and the distributor’s names which appear in the middle of the screen. We then added moved the text to final cut pro and placed it on the time line at the start because we wanted it to quickly pass through and get straight into the clip.

Applying Sound

We used Sound Track Pro to add a soundtrack to the clip. Sound Track Pro allowed us to create and add existing sound to our project. We chose to create a sound using the program and we used an ‘atmospheric beat’. We didn’t include dialogue as we mainly wanted to develop our skills using the program and the dialogue within the clip wasn’t necessary. During my time I learned how to make the music fit the moving image. We used tools such as ‘fade’ to this. An example of ‘fade’ in the clip would be at the end of the prelim where we faded music so it ended in time with the moving image.

As the editing, sound track and credits took place on separate programs, in order to get them all into one clip we used Final Cut Pro. The moving image (footage) was already on the program as we edited it using the same software. However we imported the sound track and Title Sequence into the Final Cut. Then we positioned the Credits at the beginning of the clip, and the Soundtrack was positioned at a length that would let it sound for the whole clip.