WIDESCREEN & CROPPING

To make our film Home Away From Here more cinematic, I put the widescreen effect over every shot. To do this I did the following-

I then selected - Filters - Widescreen - Type - 2.35:1

The widescreen effect didn't work on the shots that had been  rotated, as the widescreen effect applied itself to the raw shot rather than the FCP7 window. This is displayed below-

The shot displayed above was rotated because of the 'Dutch' angle it was filmed at. The director decided he wanted this climactic shot to be levelled as to not distract the audience from the experience. The shot itself is the key point in the film in which Jack takes his own life by slitting his throat.

To combat the issue and create a working widescreen effect, I created two rectangle shapes and positioned them perfectly in-line with the rest of the 2.35:1 bars. I used the left and right arrows to switch between shots to ensure the bars were of the same size. They appeared like this in the timeline-

Other certain shots required cropping because a member of crew was in the shot. The show

Unfortunately the level of gain appeared to increase as I cropped the image. The more you crop in on an image, the quality of the shot reduces. This shot was paramount for continuity purposes and the second take was just as bad. The widescreen bars also helped cut out the sound designer from the shot.

This part of the scene was difficult to cut due to the extremely poor levels of acting.

2:50 - 3:00 minutes in our film (displayed below) Jack rushes to the door to stop the woman from locking him in. In the original RAW footage (also shown below), Jack makes almost no attempt in grabbing the door before she closes it, resulting in a comical, pathetic attempt at saving himself. I therefore decided to incorporate a series of jump-cuts in the sequence- by quick-cutting shots of Jack banging on the door in despair, I attempted to create a sense of urgency and tension.



Home Away From Here - RAW Bad Take from Lewis Hague on Vimeo.

NOTE - The RAW footage (above) features sound issues, however it is for visual purposes only.

Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.


The process of editing this film has indeed been difficult, but I feel confident that I have discovered ways in which to get around/over certain issues such as the ones discussed above. If an editor is faced with an issue, one must think of an inventive way to get over the issue.

'PSYCHO'

The infamous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho (1960) features an abundance of clever editing and cinematography.

The shower/bedroom scene begins with a fixed, stationary, MCU which allows the audience to analyse Marion's body language/expressions, whilst still allowing the audience to be acquainted with her surroundings. These fixed shots slowly begin create a sense of tension and anxiety for the audience.

We then cut to another fixed CU which is used to draw attention to what Marion is writing on the piece of paper. The camera soon cuts back to the original shot of Marion sitting on the chair, which in-turn allows the audience to once again see her mannerisms. This show also builds up a sense of context and perspective.

The camera then slowly tracks her movement around the room whilst remaining in the fixed position. This appears to be come across as a subtle reassurance to the audience that everything is at ease for now. More tracking shots are used to follow Marion's actions/movements in the bathroom. CU shots of Marion are maintained throughout the scene to highlight her body language/feelings. The audience feels connection between themselves and the main protagonist as we're alone with her in the scene.

The pace of the cuts subtly increase to emphasise that something is about to happen. The lack of non-diagetic sound in the scene also creates an un-settled mood. As Marion turns on the shower, the camera cuts back and forth between Marion's movement and the source of the water. Her actions potentially symbolise the idea of 'cleansing' herself, both spiritually and psychically. CU shots are maintained to display her emotions. Brief, OTS shots also make the audience feel present in the bathroom, as if we are voyeuring into Marion's life.

As Marion continues to clean herself, the camera switches in the opposite direction that allows the audience to see the shower curtain and the obscurity behind it. A shady, dark figure appears and opens the shower curtain, the lighting in the scene creates confusion/enigma as we cannot clearly see the killer's face. Sharp, frantic, snappy cuts are used throughout the fatal killing of Marion Crane. They create a sense of urgency, panic, terror and fear. ECUs, CUs and fixed shots are used to display her reactions to the terror unfolding on-screen.

As Marion falls to the floor whilst tearing off the shower curtain from its rail, the edit jump-cuts for a split-second to the shower, then cuts to the bloody water draining away down the plug-hole; it's as if to say the shower brought her new life, whereas the plughole ironically drains her life away.

The final few shots focus on Marion's eye, 'the key to the soul'. The camera gently moves around, creating an un-settled atmosphere. The final shot focuses on the $40,000 that she stole, this also creates a sense of irony; Marion stole the money for the search of a better life, whereas she consequently and surprisingly loses her life shortly after. The camera tracks away from Marion's face, and tracks in towards the stash of money.

Overall, the use of an editing pace that is slow, combined with frantic, fast cuts later on the scene create an effective scene that really allows the audience to interact and respond with what happens on-screen.

The scene is shown below-


 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4 (Last accessed 02/06/14)

DREAM SEQUENCE ANALYSED

I will now analyse the dream sequences from our production Home Away From Here.



Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.


TIME(s)-

01:16 - 01:30
03:48 - 04:02
06:37 - 07:04

For the dream sequences the director requested a strong blue tint to help distinguish the flashbacks from present time. To achieve this effect I used the '3-way Colour Corrector'.

Dream Sequence 1-
The key framework of this short sequence evolved around the hand-held track towards the window. This effect raised questions of what lurks beyond the window, it's something the audience cannot see. The other shots used featured Jack as a child, these link to the final dream sequence in which it is revealed that the young boy is Jack himself.

Dream Sequence 2-
The second sequence followed the same format as the first, instead this time a hand-held track into an open entrance was used. This again created a sense of enigma (the unknown) and raised questions. Scenes of torture then featured to show the audience of Jack's ordeal. The quality of the track in was unfortunately not very good as no steadicam was used. Therefore I scaled the shot in and stabilised it to make the shot less-shaky than it originally was.

Dream Sequence 3-
The third dream sequence features the father reading a passage from the bible to the rest of his family. I followed a simple format of tracking across the family to reveal young Jack at the foot of the sofa. We then cut back to (present Jack) and back to young Jack once again however this time, the young boy has transformed to his present self. (Shot-reverse-shot). This sequence was very difficult to colour as the original shot was incredibly rich in yellow due to the lighting.

Overall I am fairly satisfied with the result of these three dream sequences.

ADR

Yesterday I spent a brief amount of time watching the director and sound designer working on ADR'ing our film Home Away From Here. It was interesting to see the director fulfilling his role, directing the actor and helping him achieve the results we wanted for the film. The sound designer professionally utilised the equipment to record the audio he needed and ensured he had enough takes.

I believe it's more important to understand the amount of work each person puts in towards the production of a film. As an editor I understand the amount of work required to reach our goals, and at times throughout the stages of post-production one cannot help but think they are drowning under piles of work compared to other members of the crew, however after sitting back and watching the director/sound designer from a distance I fully understand the sheer amount of work they too undertake.

'THE SHINING'

Stanley Kubrick, the director of The Shining (1982) subverts classic horror conventions by turning a somewhat 'trashy' genre into an artistic masterpiece. The Shining is extremely rich in symbolism. kubrick used new techniques that were rarely used in other movies and utilised them with great effect.

The Shining is a psychological horror film that was made in 1982. Kubrick was influenced by Grand Guignol - A french theatre theme that evolved around exaggeration, violence and gothic themes. Other themes such as madness and melodrama also influenced Kubrick. He was an auteur director, one with an artistic vision and flare, and he believed in creating enigmas and seemingly above all loved challenging audience's expectations. His aim was to create an artistically worthy production that provoked the audiences to think.

The Shining features motifs of haunted castles and claustrophobic passages, such as the overwhelmingly big solitary hotel situated in the middle of nowhere. Whilst picturing locations for our film Home Away From Here I thought strongly back to The Shining and its contrast in open spaces/claustrophobic corridors. The vast openness connotes an eerie sense of fear despite the obvious sense of 'freedom'. I believe the word to describe this is agoraphobia, a fear of open/public places. In one way or another you could relate our cottage location to The Shining's hotel, in the sense that both are situated in a place where civilisation appears scarce.

The Shining hotel (left), Home Away From Here cottage (right)

Kubrick believed in subverting the stereotypical 'physical' monsters seen in most horror films such as Frankenstein, and in turn created monsters from the inside, for example Jack's (the main protagonist) mind falling into madness and spiralling out of control. The destruction of the family in The Shining is very poignant. Jack's son Danny is threatened or 'controlled' by dark forces. For example he has an imaginary friend who'm he talks too with the use of his finger. Perhaps Jack isn't the only one who falls into madness? Danny has the ability to see the past and future, such as the scene in which he witnesses the twins in the corridor, slaughtered, coated in a sea of blood. (Shown below)

At the time in which our film starts the family is already in a fragmented, broken state in terms of the relationship with the main protagonist and the rest of the family. However, the family themselves in the film appear to think their lives are normal... the torture, the violence and the beatings all appear traditional to them. It's not until we realise that James (the main protagonist) is in danger with a psychotic family when he is tied up on the bed.

Certain major themes run throughout The Shining that also relate to our production Home Away From Here-

• Loneliness & isolation

Home Away From Here - James's isolation from the family and the outside world, lonely from the torment and physical abuse.

The Shining - Isolated location, themes of solitude in the hotel, Dany and his mother are alone.

• Illusion vs reality

Home Away From Here - The main character's flashbacks/fragmented dream sequences of when he was younger, juxtaposed with present day.

The Shining - The corridor scene in which Danny comes across the non-identical twins axed to death on the floor. This is an illusion; the audience is seeing what Danny is seeing in his head (the same applies to Home Away From Here).

The music in The Shining plays a key role in the pacing and impact of the edit. Certain subtle scenes in The Shining make the audience jump, for example when Jack makes a feeble attempt to write his novel and sudden, short bursts of sound enter the scene. (Shown below)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIqq9GusbSQ (Last accessed 27/05/14)

This technique keeps the audience on edge for a sustained amount of time. As an audience we can sense something is building up, something deep and disturbing within Jack. The editing overall in The Shining is slow-paced and is sometimes synced with jarring sounds such as symbols and 'bangs'. I believe this approach helps build up the tension of the piece.

For our production I created certain cuts that would unsettle the audience. Joel overlaid eerie, sharp sound effects to complete the effect. This technique we used for our film is best displayed below-



Home Away From Here Jump-Cut from Lewis Hague on Vimeo.


Recurring motifs are used throughout The Shining, for example the use of mazes. They are used to symbolise the complexity of Jack's mind; puzzles, a fragmented state of mind and the concept of him sinking into madness. The corridors in the hotel themselves also resemble mazes, as Danny on more than one occasion appears to lose his sense of direction.

In conclusion, I believe The Shining has been a strong influence in terms of the post-production techniques I have used.

References:

The Shining. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Warner Home Video, (2001) DVD.

http://www.kamera.co.uk/reviews_extra/barrylyndon.php

COLOURING - INTERIOR

The film is near completion after I have spent the last couple of days polishing off the colour of interior footage. The process was more complex than the exterior scenes were, as the lighting and (footage) grain was more intense. Examples of this are displayed below:

The two pictures above are the best examples that display the poor levels of lighting in our film. It came to my understanding that only deco lights were used, lights that I believe create a 'spotlight' effect (seen above) unless handled professionally. The lighting cast harsh shadows of the characters on the walls, shadows which I may have been able to get rid of however I didn't have time to research into getting rid of/reducing shadows within post-production. In hindsight this is highly unfortunate as these shots had to be included in the edit, due to the problems associated with other shots in the piece. To try and combat the extremeness of the lighting in these shots, I darkened the whites and mids in '3 Point Colour Corrector' and used the colour wheels to tint the shots brown- a look myself and Jordan found effective as it related to the family's traditional values and way of life.

If you look closely, there is a large amount of film grain on these two shots. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to reduce the amount of grain on-screen as it came off the raw camera footage. I experimented with the levels of saturation, brightness levels, blacks/whites etc however by attempting to reduce how much the grain stood out, meant it only hindered something else. For example by reducing the blacks on the shot shown above (right), meant the blacks were not as sharp and the features were not as visible (his strands of hair), however the levels of grain were slightly less impactful. I concluded that it was best to ignore the grainy footage and carry on colouring as I would, but to make sure I didn't alter the saturation levels too much as this only increased the grain on some occasions.

Grain is only an issue on the interior shots, as the exterior shots appear to be fine.  

TITLING THE FILM

The video below displays the titles I have created for our production Home Away From Here.

Home Away From Here Titles from Lewis Hague on Vimeo.

The process of achieving this is displayed and explained below -

Before & After

Colour Grading

I imported the original raw footage of the 'cloudy moon' into my timeline and overlaid the same shot, I then applied the '3-way colour correct' effect to both clips. Secondly I reduced the blacks on both clips to create a visually pleasing contrast between the whites and blacks. Thirdly, I decreased the whites (on both clips) as the moon was over-exposed. I then applied the 'Eight-point Garbage Matte' to the top clip and used the 8 key points to crop the moon. I thusly reduced the brightness of the moon and increased the 'smoothness/feather' to blend the edited moon and the remainder of the shot together.

I am happy with the result as the shot of the moon itself creates an eery atmosphere for the piece. However after showing it to the director he said he didn't like it. Instead he wishes to have a plain black background with the title 'Home Away From Here'. Therefore as it stands this work will be scrapped and we will revert back to a plain, black background. Personally I think the concept of having a plain background is very bland and boring, however Jordan wishes to stick to his minimalistic vision- which I will do my best to fulfil.

I have learnt that in film productions one must compromise, especially as an editor. It's okay to have your own visions and ideas however in some cases they not be fulfilled. 

SCENE 1 - ANALYSED

When editing any film I always aim to begin with a striking, eye-opening shot to capture the audience's attention. I therefore decided that the opening shot (shown below) best captured my vision of a strong opening. By cutting from black to reveal Jack laying by the lake, the audience are faced with many questions that need answering.

Shot 1 / Shot 2

I then wanted to explore the surrounding environment the main protagonist was in, so I cut to a static shot of the lake. Subtle movements in the image (an insect flying off the water) add to the overall atmosphere of the film. 

Shot 3 / Shot 4

Thirdly, I cut to a CU of Jack's hand in the water. Whilst colour grading the image I wanted to bring out the grit and dirt on Jack's fingers. I specifically ensured not to show the main character's face throughout the first half of this scene, as I wanted to maintain the levels of enigma this creates. 

The fourth shot (displayed above) wasn't initially meant to be in the edit, but due to the obvious dirt on the image shown below, I decided to replace it with the one above instead. 

Scene 5 / Scene 6

The pacing of this scene remains slow and subtle throughout to parallel the vast, calmness of nature. I also believe the pacing creates a sense of eeriness and terror due to Jack's circumstances, walking through the woods alone.

Cutting from a CU (shot 4) to a LS (shot 5) best portrays the secluded environment Jack is in. I then cut to a LS of the tops of trees, to act as a bridge for the next sequence of shots.

Shot 7 / Shot 8

Shot 9 / Shot 10

Shot 11 / Shot 12

Shot 13 / Shot 14

The woodland sequence was intentionally broken up to parallel Jack's fragmented state of mind. The jump-cuts and eerie atmos/sound effects work together to convey an unsettled world. The final shot originally featured the unknown man dragging Jack's body off-screen, however I felt it was more subtle and effective to cut to black as he bends down to grab his boots, this tells us that he is more than likely going to drag his body off anyway, and that we needn't see it happen. In my opinion it's more effective to make the audience think in some circumstances.

The video of the scene is shown below-

00:00 - 01:10



Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.

SCENE 10 - ANALYSED

The final scene I believe is one of the pinnacle points in the film in which Jack is freed - emotionally and psychically. He escapes from the torturous terror of the basement and enters the light. I purposely attempted to create a harsh lighting effect when he emerges from the basement, transitioning from black to white.

Myself and Joel collaborated on creating a poignant atmosphere, to connote freedom and highlight Jack's emotions. The atmosphere would in-turn relax the audience until the striking/pivotal moment at which Jack takes his own life by slitting his throat. There were many takes of Jack walking through the fields however I believed in being strict with the edit, to not drag out the sequence longer than it needed to be.

The throat slit itself was difficult to cut, as the original takes were all very, very poor. The prosthetics on Jack's neck were clearly visible and the throat slit/blood pouring effect Amy created did not work as intended. I believe she should have tested this out before the crew ventured out to the week-long shoot on location, however perhaps due to the limited time available this was not possible. Because of this, I was forced to create a slit-second cut of Jack's slitting his throat and the blood spurting out.

I downloaded an 'Action Essentials' package that featured blood bursts with a black, blank background. This allowed me to easily overlay the footage and crop it to the correct size and place I wanted it to be. I then experimented with the contrast and saturation to create the rich, deep red effect that blood actually is. Afterwards, the director brought in an animation student to see if he could create a proper, more professional looking blood effect animation. However the results were not as good as we thought they'd be, the effect appeared 'cartoonish' and was clearly after-effects than real-time. The shot is displayed below and the decided effect used in the final film is at 11:47 (also shown below).

https://vimeo.com/97598894 (Last accessed 25/05/2014)

 We reverted back to the original cut/effect that the director and I created.



Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.



The final crane shot I believe was a satisfying shot to end on. Unfortunately the quality of the shot wasn't strong enough as the camera didn't pan out as heigh as I wanted it too, however faults aside I still believe ending on a shot of Jack was an effective way to bring the film to a close- a connection between the audience and the main protagonist is created.

DaVinci Resolve Lite

 Whilst undertaking research on various software available for colour-correcting, I came across DaVinci Resolve 10 Lite (DRL) which is a free version of the popular Davinci Resolve software. I watched various tutorials on the basics of colour-correcting in DRL and weighed up the pros on cons of using the software. I was informed that the software features a relatively high learning curve, and by the point in which I received this information I had already coloured approximately one third of our film within Final Cut Pro 7. Therefore I decided the best option would to carry on colouring Home Away From Here within FCP7.

The director and myself are both happy with the results FCP7 has produced so far, however I have concluded that any future projects will be colour-graded using a different piece of software (DaVinci Resolve Lite or Magic Bullet). This semester I have discovered the power and importance of colour-grading films. A professional production requires this process and if I am serious about furthering my experiences in the field, then I will take it upon myself to learn and experiment with the different software available.

THE DARK KNIGHT - BANK ROBBERY ANALYSIS

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/

A wide variety of cinematography techniques and clever editing are used in the opening scene of The Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan. The whole scene evolves around suspense. This is cleverly brought to life through the use of non-diegetic sound, different camera shots and the slowly increased pacing of editing.

Immediately, an extreme long-shot is used to convey the scene's location. The camera zooms into a building with many windows, creating the idea that each window contains a different story and that anything could happen. A sharp cut is then used, followed by an OTS shot of two masked criminals, this shot is effective because it allows the audience to see what's happening from the characters' perspective, it also makes it seems as if we're there. These shots tie-in with the genre of the film (action/adventure); the use of dramatic/big camera shots are expected in movies such as The Dark Knight.

An aerial shot is used to broaden out the size of the operation that is about to take place. It also emphasises the height at which the criminals are at and makes the audience feel unsettled and potentially fearful. I believe this is the response the director was hoping for- to create a compelling and successful scene within the film.

More zooming in, OTS shots are used on the villain's masks/gestures, creating a great sense of enigma and making the audience wonder who'm they are. Jump cuts are used to great effect, they are used to show the parallel action taking place. CU shots/MCL shots are used to show the character's body language/blocking, whilst still allowing the audience to be acquainted with their surroundings.

Tracking shots track the character's movement across the area and whip-pans are used to increase the sense of urgency, action and unsettled atmosphere.

Finally, low-shots are used to make the criminals look big and menacing, subsequently making the audience feel small and insecure.

The pacing of editing in a scene can help determine what genre of film it is. For example, in an action/adventure film such as The Dark Knight, it is expected that the pace of the edit will be frantic, fractured and urgent. The pacing of the edit in this scene builds gradually, beginning with slow-cuts that slowly build up suspense and anxiety. The 4-minute long sequence features many jump-cuts to help create a continuous, un-interrupted scene that allows the audience to immerse themselves in.

Overall, the variety of camera and editing techniques used create an effective sense of enigma, suspense and urgency. I am taking this (and other) research on-board as it will hopefully aid me in my future productions.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3-ClsRE9Yk (Last accessed 22/05/14)

CUTTING TO BLACK

Home Away From Here from SHU Film & Media Production on Vimeo.

VIDEO (shown above)-

TIME - 6:20 - 6:35

This short sequence features Jack fleeing the house and running away from his family. Initially, I created a cut that showed Jack running through the yard and into the field by cutting together various different angles. Upon watching it back, the sequence didn't appear to gel together effectively. His acting/running style appeared odd therefore I decided to cut to black two or three times and use jump-cuts. This fragmented effect broke up the style of the edit and added an extra layer of suspense to the scene. Joel cleverly cut out the sound of Jack breathing when the screen went to black, similar to the effect used on Saving Private Ryan during the opening beach assault when the camera dips into the water and above it.

HOME AWAY FROM HERE - TRAILER

Below is the trailer Luke Harrison (director of photography) has created for our film Home Away From Here.



https://vimeo.com/91461100 (Last accessed 15/05/14)


Due to my hectic post-production schedule I was unable to create a trailer myself (as much as i wanted too). Overall I am impressed with the trailer, it appears to follow the traditional conventions of a horror/thriller trailer with the quick fade-outs, eerie atoms/sound effects and use of shots that create enigma. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is another matter, as the director does all he can to shy away from the stereotypical conventions seen in most horror films today.

FINE CUTTING

Below is the feedback I received from my director after discussing the edit for Home Away From Here.

• Longer pause when family exit after soap torture

• Edit "I don't know what you're talking about!" scene as his response is too confronting.

• Trim the shot in which Jack exits the basement (shot number 2)

I will now take these requests on-board and alter the edit. I agree with the points Jordan has made, as the scene in which Jack shouts "I don't know what you're talking about!" is too confronting and doesn't fit within the piece. He has suffered ruthless torture and the crew decided it was unnatural that someone would act in this confronting way. The soap torture scene/shot also needs extending because the family must exit, and the mother must head downstairs to begin reading her book. This continuity is required, as shortly after this shot Jack escapes from the house and the audience see the mother moving up from her chair after reading a book.

EXPERIMENTING WITH COLOUR CORRECTING

Whilst finalising the picture cut to our film 'Home Away From Here' I have been thinking about the colour-correcting process that will take place afterwards. I have researched a wide range of colour-correcting software and am still contemplating on which one to use. I have looked into the following-

• Magic Bullet

• DaVinci Resolve (Lite)

• Color

• FCP7 

I have watched tutorials on all of the software listed above (bar from Colour) on ho to best create the 'film-look'. As it stands, the quality of our footage for the film is very dull, grey and 'flat'. There is no real element of depth to the shots and I am making it my task to create a visually striking, deep cinematic piece. The reasons to why our film looks this way may range from the camera(s) used, to the lenses used (and lenses not used). Myself and the director wish we had used a handful of prime lenses (for example the 50mm) to achieve a shallow depth of field, especially in the interior scenes where characters' body language, facial expressions, mannerisms etc are on a high. However saying this, it would change the whole feel and style of our film. From the start, Jordan wanted a minimalistic, dull mise-en-scene that reflects the main protagonist's life. 

The pictures below display the before and after results of colour-correcting in FCP7. The results are surprisingly effective as they are in their early stages of development. 

Scene 1, shot 1

Scene 1, shot 2

Scene 1, shot 3

Below are screenshots displaying how I achieved the results shown above -

To add the widescreen effect that gives the piece a cinematic and more professional look that is seen in many films today, I highlighted the videoclip in the timeline and selected 'Effects - Video Filters - Matte - Widescreen'

I then began the process of colour-correcting. Firstly, I duplicated the clip by selecting the original, holding down 'Shift & alt' and dragged the clip upwards to create a duplicate.

Secondly, I highlighted the two clips and applied the 'Colour Corrector 3-way' to each one.

(Effects - Colour Correction - Color Corrector 3-way)

Thirdly, I highlighted the top videoclip and reduced the saturation level bar to its lowest point. Afterwards, I right-clicked the clip and selected 'Composite Mode - Overlay' which left me with the two images and their current effects overlaid into one.

Lastly, I adjusted the levels according to the final effect I wanted to achieve. By reducing the saturation on the top clip, it meant the contrast levels were enhanced, giving me a richer, deeper picture with more detail.

Reducing the whites got rid of any over-exposed areas on the picture, apart from the sky which will need cleaning up in the future. I will research the most effective way to tone down the levels on an over-exposed white sky, as well as experimenting the '8-point garbage matte' option in FCP7 that allows me to crop a section of the frame and edit it.

By slightly increasing the black levels it gave me the contrast I wanted between the white and blacks. 

Currently, I am very pleased with what I have achieved in a short amount of time. Jordan and Joel are both very happy with the results and we    
all agree that the piece is beginning to look more of a professional standard.

Up until now I have never spent a considerable amount of time researching and performing colour-grading. Reflecting on what I have experienced over the last couple of weeks, I believe this is something that I will continue to enjoy and experiment with. I am also beginning to understand the amount of time and work that goes into colouring films, from both an amateur standard to a professional one.

The shots below display other colour-grading work I have undertook on our film so far.

SYNCING SOUND

The task of syncing sound to the relevant takes has been highly frustrating. There are a list of problems that has made the job near impossible -

• Many of the takes Joel has recorded are labelled incorrectly, or differently to mine, meaning the task of syncing up a specific video clip to a specific sound take has been highly time-consuming. I thusly concluded that I would achieve a rough picture cut before considering the sound. Another reason for this is that a lot of the sound in the film may be re-done in ADR. Jordan and Paul (the director and producer) have yet to decide which scenes needs ADR'ing, but it has been confirmed that at least some of the major scenes will be redone.

• Some of the better picture takes that have been put into the edit don't feature a supporting, external sound recording. Because the actors aren't professional by any means, their performances differ from take to take. This has meant that in some cases, I have had to implement a cut when a character speaks primarily because you can psychically see their mouth moving.

I have been told these will be re-done in ADR.

• The incorrectly labelled sound clips were due to the takes not being marked/slated by the director/cinematographer, so Joel was unsure on what take was being filmed. I am aware this is not entirely Joel's fault, as I told the group to ensure they marked every take.

Whilst piecing together a rough-cut, I have merged together the better video/audio takes. To do this I did the following -

• Selected the correct sound take under the correct BIN that goes along with the video take
• Scrolled along to the sound of when the clapperboard was marked and create an 'in-point' using the letter 'I' on the keyboard

• Thirdly, I selected the corresponding videoclip and marked an 'in-point'

• I then highlighted the two clips (sound and video), right clicked and selected 'Merge clips', lastly selecting 'in points'

After doing this process, a separate (merged) clip was created and I dragged the clip onto the timeline. This left me with the video and 3 sound clips, two being the original sound clips captured from the camera, and the third being the external sound clip I had just attached to the clip. Therefore I deleted the camera sound which left me with a workable, professional quality merged clip.

I will repeat this process with the other clips that I feel need doing. Joel and Jordan have both told me to not merge many clips as (stated earlier) we will be ADR'ing a majority of the film, and the incorrect labelling (due to the lack of marking before takes) throughout has made the process painstakingly time-consuming.

TUTORIAL - ROUGH-CUT

After presenting the rough-cut at the screening on April 3rd, I spent the following week cutting together the film to achieve a full, (rough) picture cut.

I then met with Chris and had a tutorial to discuss the current state of the film.

The following notes were taken -

• Myra to suddenly appear behind James after he looks out of the window

Chris explained there is no need to show Myra opening the door and entering as James makes eye-contact with Gideon who is outside, skinning a rabbit. After discussing with him, I agreed and thought it is more unnerving to both James (the main protagonist) and the audience that Myra suddenly appears in the bedroom with James, as he stumbles back, startled and turns to see Myra.

This is displayed to the left, the sequence running from top to bottom.

                                                       

• Build-up to the actual torture is fine

• Myra/Caine appearing in front of James is fine

Jordan (the director) and Luke (the cinematographer) both seemed unsure about the build-up to the torture in the basement scene. Luke especially thought that Myra and Caine suddenly appearing in front of Jack seemed too jarring and thought it didn't work. I, however thought this was a great way of introducing them into the scene. The angle of the shot is set-up in a way that portrays the two as dominant figures, and the technique of suddenly cutting to two menacing characters standing powerfully over Jack is an effective way of displaying their presence.
The two pictures to the right display the pair appearing after a disorientated Jack has been shown.

• Cut down the soap torture sequence -
  -1 less cutaway
  - Don’t need family’s reactions

The original (rough) state of the soap sequence was indeed longer than it had to be, so I cut the sequence down by taking out one of the cutaways, the family's reactions and trimming/shaving the clips showing the soap torture taking place. The result is a snappier, frantic and more satisfying cut.

I will continue with the edit in the hope of achieving a final picture-lock in the upcoming weeks. 

FLASHBACKS IN POST-PRODUCTION

Film grain, un-natural glows of light, vignette and shifted focus are all common features in many flashbacks that are seen in TV programmes, film, shorts etc. Their unnatural style and essence subconsciously tell the audience they're watching a flashback; this is best shown in the Dexter flashback I analysed earlier in my portfolio.

I have watched the video below that demonstrates one of the quickest, easiest and most-effective ways to make a flashback scene look like a flashback, and will most-likely be using this technique on our flashbacks in 'Home Away From Here'. As to date, I have never put together a flashback/dream sequence, so I am looking forward to experimenting with the different visual techniques available on FCP7.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdveOL3AZ5o (Last accessed 30/04/2014)


After watching the (above) video, I quickly experimented with the different levels of vignette and focus on a dream sequence for our film. The results were pleasantly effective -

 This picture displays a shot that has the 'soft-focus' effect applied, giving it a 'dreamier' feel to the clip.

This picture shows the process of applying the vignette effect to the clip.

(BEFORE)










This is the resulting effect. I was happy with the way the character appeared in-focus, with the surrounding interior the opposite. I believe the audience will be drawn to Jack's younger self (in the picture)  as intended by applying the effects.

(AFTER)

I will continue to experiment with the techniques shown in the video by applying them to the dream sequences in our film. Thusly becoming more confident in achieving such effects for any future projects.