Editing research

For the group 2 minute film exercise, i have been asked by the Director to research a few editing techniques which he wishes me to use during the editing of our 'boxer' production. the first is 'Drive' directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.

the specific effect i have been asked to look at is during the scene in which the main character is sat in a cafe and he is approached by a man, after a heated discussion, there is a long, slow fade to the next scene (a technique which is used throughout the film). the shots in the entire film are long, drawn out. which adds an awkward intense feel to the piece.
this is something that i will use in our 2 minute piece. the long, dragged out shots will add that frustration and intense feeling we are trying to portray to the audience.
The film starts off with slow cuts, and towards the end of the piece the pace speeds up and the cuts become quicker. this again is another technique i will use during the editing of our piece. this will show the main characters need and desperation to box as the piece moves on and he gets more frustrated.

Narrative - Roles recap

In this weeks lesson we spent a good portion of the lesson going over the roles and responsibilities for different people in a short film crew:

Director:

• Clear vision of the film
• creative overview
• works with actors
• keeps control on set - also the job of assistant director
• artist

Producer:

• make sure everyone is happy - set runs smoothly
• paperwork
• scout locations
• get actors
• foster a creative environment
• create schedules
• funding / budget
• collaborate creatively with the director 
• risk assessments
• make sure film gets made

Camera operator 

• Story boards - with director and prodcuer
• film
• set up shots
• collaborate with actors
• lighting
• white balancing
• technical equipemtn - checking and testing

Sound

• recording sound on set
• Foley
• collaborate with director for design
• music - with producer

Art director 

• Set design
• Props
• Costumes
• Mood boards
• work with editor and camera for lighting and colour
• budget to buy or borrow
• mise-en-scene
• character continuity

editor 

• brings footage together
• helps with a fresh eye
• sound matches dialogue
• colourist
• logs footage

after this we looked at a few scenes from the shining - Stanley Kubrik. we were looking at alot of the above to see how things had been used to create certain effects and to trigger emotions within the audience. 

film idea and script notes for editing

For drama i am in a group with Alice Athaway, Ben Brown and another Ben, and Johnny. I am the editor in the group.

we have decided to develop the idea of a Boxer who has lost his focus and has been losing his fights. all he wants to do is box but he can't seem to find his focus. i have secured a boxing gym in which we can film and we plan to do a recce this week.

The script has been sent (i can't print it at the moment, so it will go on this blog at a later date)

and i had some editing ideas.

1. at the start you see the character fall down in the ring then a bell counts him out. i think the bell should count him out during the fall which should be seen in slow motion, the bell, crowd and count should be heard as a distant echo. this could show that boxing is slipping away.

2. in the script the boxer is seen smoking in the gym... this won't be possible

3. As we are not allowed to show sync dialogue, i think all convorsations should be done as an echo as though he is remembering them rather than the person speaking simply being off screen.

4. At the line "i'll let you box" quick cut back to reality, door slams in his face.

5. during the ballroom scene montage between the gym. i think that all the sound from the ballroom should overlap the gym sounds. this will make it seem more furious and frustrating.

6. i also think that instead of just cutting back and forth between the gym, it should cut back and forth to a close up of his face in the ballroom.

7. i also think heavy breathing should be added that gets gradually louder during the montage, so that when it cuts to him in the gym covered in sweat the source of the heavy breathing goes from frustration to exhaustion....

First lesson notes

We were asked to talk about a film that we've seen recently that stood out for us and why:

for me it's 'When the Lights went out', this film really hit home for m. for a few reasons: firstly i'm a big believer in the paranormal world, and this film is based a ffew miles away from where i live and it is based on true events so it almost confirms what happens to me at my home that everyone else would put down to wind and pipes.

narrative

characters must have some element of truth, they have tp be believable within the story world.
this is shown through dialougue and interations.

fictional films are different to experimental because they follow rules and usually they are the rules of reality.

Without context things don't make sense.

causality - reasons why one thing leads to another
time - how long does it take?
space - where does it happen?

for me this lesson taught us that characters can only be believable and be related to if they have a want or goal and there is something stopping them getting it. they must have a little bit of back story or there is no way we can empathise or relate to the protaganist.