Post Production - My journey in the first year
Ghostbusters
We had been set the task of re creating the Opening sequence from ghostbusters.
Before we began filming we looked through the original scene, noting down all the different shot types, which we used when it came to filming. We kept the shots as close to the actual shots as possible only changing one or two due to location or lack of props etc.
when we edited the video, i had the original ghostbusters film playing so that it could be edited as close as possible to look the same. this helped in creating the pace of my edit.
Before we began filming we looked through the original scene, noting down all the different shot types, which we used when it came to filming. We kept the shots as close to the actual shots as possible only changing one or two due to location or lack of props etc.
when we edited the video, i had the original ghostbusters film playing so that it could be edited as close as possible to look the same. this helped in creating the pace of my edit.
There where some issues though during the film shoot which reflected back on the edit, making the process longer to perform. These issues where sound and head room in a number of the shots
the issue with the sound was that we forgot to use a clapper or anything to make it easy to sync the sound in post, this prolonged the process as the sound had to be listened to a number of times to get it synced to the image. this would be easily sorted by using a clapper in the future.
The next issue of the edit was head room. although this was a problem it was easily correctible as we could just easily resize the image to get rid of the head room.
scene 34 and37
We were given rushes for two scenes 34 and 37 to edit. The first scene i worked on editing was scene 34 then proceeded to work on 37.
As well as the rushes, we where given the script for the scenes. i started by reading threw the script so i knew what the scenes where about. i then looked at the rushes so i could get an idea of what it was i had to work with in terms of the look and sound of the scenes.
i then made a rough cut of the scenes using the best takes. this was to ensure that i got the right pace and that the scenes flowed right.
when editing the scenes i was contuse about keeping in the emotion and pace of the scenes. while also keeping the story linear and understandable for the viewer.
to keep the pace i used edits in the dialogue. i made some responces slower and others faster. this allowed me to dictate what the audience felt in terms of content.
the biggest problem i faced with both edits was the audio. some of the quality of the audio was low and some was unusable. this inevitably lengthened the time of the edit as i had to go threw and find the best audio for the scenes.
if i had the opotunity and the time etc i would have like to re recored the audio or use softwhere such as soundtrack pro as this program would have allowed me to polish the audio a little. now the unfortunat thing of using a program such as soundtrack pro is that if the audio that i origonally have is bad, the likelihood is that the end product would have some compensation on voice quality etc as i could really only get rid of some of the levels of sound.
when editing the scenes i was contuse about keeping in the emotion and pace of the scenes. while also keeping the story linear and understandable for the viewer.
to keep the pace i used edits in the dialogue. i made some responces slower and others faster. this allowed me to dictate what the audience felt in terms of content.
the biggest problem i faced with both edits was the audio. some of the quality of the audio was low and some was unusable. this inevitably lengthened the time of the edit as i had to go threw and find the best audio for the scenes.
if i had the opotunity and the time etc i would have like to re recored the audio or use softwhere such as soundtrack pro as this program would have allowed me to polish the audio a little. now the unfortunat thing of using a program such as soundtrack pro is that if the audio that i origonally have is bad, the likelihood is that the end product would have some compensation on voice quality etc as i could really only get rid of some of the levels of sound.
after this i then had to colour grade the scenes. this was to create visual continuity threw out the whole of the two scenes.
i did this in final cut X as it has a very basic but good colure grading system. with final cut i can play with the contrast, the hue, and colure depth. there are other colure grading programs that i usually use. this is Magic bullet.
after i finished the grading i then looked threw both scenes to make sure that they match for audio and visual shot for shot. i then watched again for pace of story to check that it flowed well. after that i exported the scenes and then had to compress them so that i could upload them to Vimeo and youtube
Final cut tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFhk-aM9sM8 - this tutorial gives a good overview of how to use final cut X.I found this very helpful when i first got final cut X. there are some drawbacks though in that the upload section isn't explained. As in - what the auto balance colour section dose to your clips or audio etc.
There is also no talk about the shortcuts on the keyboard and only on the screen with the mouse, although he dose know them as he uses them once or twice.
Again this is good for a true beginner but not for someone who has used final cut before. he even covers a small bit of colour correction on screen which is also useful.
Film Riot Page
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot - film riot page which shows methods of pre production, production and post production.
It covers importing, exporting, colure grading, and using programs such as after effects, photoshop and other programs that help in post production.
I found this site to be really helpful when i started using aftereffects.
It covers importing, exporting, colure grading, and using programs such as after effects, photoshop and other programs that help in post production.
I found this site to be really helpful when i started using aftereffects.
Editing Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJcQgQHR78Q - cutting edge, magic of movie editing. looks at history of editing and also gives facts and tips from industry professionals.
I found this film to be very informative on editing and how all the aspects of editing are important, from the image to the music.
More importantly though its shown me how important it is to edit just where i need to and not where i want to as a signal frame over or under can make or brake the scene.
I found this film to be very informative on editing and how all the aspects of editing are important, from the image to the music.
More importantly though its shown me how important it is to edit just where i need to and not where i want to as a signal frame over or under can make or brake the scene.
Post Production Quiz
http://www.creativeskillset.org/facilities/post/ - post production quiz and getting to know what post production is and what it involves.
I found this website a few days ago and i have found it informative ever since.
Not only dose it provide you with the jobs that are in post production but it brakes the jobs down and gives detailed info on each and every aspect.
From the editing of the image and the music and sound all the way threw to dvd authoring.
1. The saturation of the image of me matches the dreamscape well.
2. The photograph of me is composited in an interesting position and makes the overall image a bit more compelling to view.
3. Placing the photo a layer behind the columns makes it seem as though I’m more involved and integrated into the image and not just placed on top.
4. The resolution of the photo of me and the columns are quite similar therefore adding realism to the composite.
5. The scaling of the photo and rest of the dreamscape is accurate. The photo of me looks about the right size to walk down the stairs at the bottom of the columns.
Weaknesses
1. I should’ve pressed shift when using the transforming tool when altering the size of the photo of me because it looks as though it’s been slightly squashed down.
2. I could’ve used more filters to add more textural interest to the image.
3. Despite the fact I assured that the light source was at the correct side of me when taking the picture I still could’ve done with using the burn tool to create more shadow on the left hand side of me to add depth.
4. I could’ve used a layer style to darken the image slightly.
5. I could’ve added a physical shadow to the side of me.
I found this website a few days ago and i have found it informative ever since.
Not only dose it provide you with the jobs that are in post production but it brakes the jobs down and gives detailed info on each and every aspect.
From the editing of the image and the music and sound all the way threw to dvd authoring.
Conspiracy edit
For me this conspiracy edit was really good
fun. I’m a HUGE conspiracy nut and love reading and watching conspiracies. I
chose to make a short on the BIG pharma conspiracy, which tackles the idea that
drug company are only in a business of making you feel better and not curing
you of illnesses as this would be a big loss on money for them. There was
around two to three days of watching only big pharma conspiracy’s on numerous
sites like YouTube and vimeo, and downloading the ones I thought where
appropriate. I then added them into a timeline on final cut 7. I then proceeded
to cut out the parts I didn’t want or thought where inappropriate to the message
I was trying to convey this tuck a while to do as I had downloaded almost 25
videos and had to watch them all.
After I had done this I then had to then
take the images that I had and form a coherent edit that told the story. After this
I then re-watched the film and looked at shortening it to three minuets. This again was a hard task as there where a
lot I wanted to say but did not have the time to do so.
Then I went online to fine a peace of music
to go as an undertone to the video, this was don’t by going onto a number of
royalty free music sites and also YouTube and typing in conspiracy music. I found
what I felt was the right peace of music for the video I had.
Edit of the five-minuet film
I finished filming all the five-minuet end
of the world short the other day. I then started to edit the film by importing
the footage and naming the shots in final cut 7. I hooked the mac up to the TV so that I could
not only see how the edit looked on a mac but also on a big screen TV. I also
had the sound in the surround sound speakers so that I could play round and
make sure that the sound was good a crisp.
Having spent a number of hours on the edit
I finally finished the rough edit in the one night. This was made possible by
using the script, the story boards and using the rough edit I had put together
in my head as I shot it on the day.
I then went back and I was looking to titan
the shots and make the film flow more and keep a nice momentum and also
ensuring the film is exactly five minuets long including titles.
Then the sound was taken into consideration
during filming, I had used a boom and a zoom mic on the day. So not only did I
have the boom sound on the footage but also I had the zoom mic sound so that I
could play round with levels a lot more easily.
I then had a number of Foley sounds that I
had got on the day and during the passing days after the shoot. Like a car door
slamming closed, water running into a bucket, car radio. This was then added to the edit and really
helped tell the story.
Music video
I was asked to make a music video for a friends
band as they where reelecting the EP. I went and shot on a DSLR and the footage
was good when I looked back at it. Although when I opened it up in final cut
and found that the footage was to dark. I went about editing the video though
as I didn’t want to mess around with the colure of whole clips as I would possibly
not be using them all. The main edit tuck me a little over a week and once I sent
the edit to the band for the final say so I then colure graded it in magic
bullet.
The colure grad tuck me around two days to
get to a level I was happy with and I also had a few slight adjustments to make
that the band asked for. Once it was finished I had to export it and upload it
to various sites like YouTube and vimeo for the band. This was done easily as I
used compressor and made the video YouTube and vimeo friendly.
Photoshop work
I really enjoyed compositing the photograph however I did come across
some problems during the process. These problems were mostly to do with
composition, fine-tuning and positioning of the subject.
The main issue was where to place the image of me. The more obvious
choice was to position it on the beach to the right of the image, however I
wanted to do something a little different to make the image a more interesting
experience to view. I tried various
places around the image, there are various structures around the dreamscape, I
tried each one of those in turn and found that the front columns were the best
choice compositionally.
In terms of fine-tuning, I had some trouble deciding on altering
saturation and hues. I needed the image to look as realistic as possible and as
close to its surroundings as possible. When I first attempted it, I started
using colourisation to change the colour of the image of me completely. I liked
the look of this but it just wasn’t realistic enough. I un-ticked
‘colourisation’ and then continued to alter the saturation and darkness. I
reduced the saturation and darkness slightly and was happy with the result.
Strengths1. The saturation of the image of me matches the dreamscape well.
2. The photograph of me is composited in an interesting position and makes the overall image a bit more compelling to view.
3. Placing the photo a layer behind the columns makes it seem as though I’m more involved and integrated into the image and not just placed on top.
4. The resolution of the photo of me and the columns are quite similar therefore adding realism to the composite.
5. The scaling of the photo and rest of the dreamscape is accurate. The photo of me looks about the right size to walk down the stairs at the bottom of the columns.
Weaknesses
1. I should’ve pressed shift when using the transforming tool when altering the size of the photo of me because it looks as though it’s been slightly squashed down.
2. I could’ve used more filters to add more textural interest to the image.
3. Despite the fact I assured that the light source was at the correct side of me when taking the picture I still could’ve done with using the burn tool to create more shadow on the left hand side of me to add depth.
4. I could’ve used a layer style to darken the image slightly.
5. I could’ve added a physical shadow to the side of me.
How NOT to make a short film by Robert Marie Munroe
This book takes a light hearted but effective approach to film making. it covers the idea and all the way threw to getting your film into film festivals. this means that there is a whole section on post production, and how to approach editing from a beginners point of view. it talks about the problems you are likely to encounter. it has parts that talk about how important the music is to a film and how easy it is to get it wrong. and at the end it even reminds you how important hard drives are to any film.
Get started in film making by Teach yourself
i have found this book really invaluable as not only dose it tell you what the role of an editor should be it even covers a short history of editing, why its good to log, bin and media management of your clips,basics of editing,editing styles, types of cuts and why you should or shouldn't use them, using music and basic effects. this is a book that looks very used and worn on my book shelf as its always in use for me. it has shown me so much that with every read it cements the reasons i want to be a film maker. it breaks down so much from beginning to end and it covers all the processes of film. from the first idea to getting it shown.
