Before editing we must open the fotage from the final cut server(basically a big external hard drive where we keep all the fotage) to the final cut pro (the etiting software)
first we open final cut server and find our footage that we shot, on the left hand side there is a side bar that has a little cog that when you press it brings down a list of options. you drop down to find the item that says check out, press it and a new box poppes up asking you where to put the files. You press the browse button and select the desktop option, this will put it on the desktop, then select to change the media into a type that you can edit using the drop down box on the left and press ok. the files will load onto your desktop.
Once they have moved across to the desktop you can then click on them to open the footage in an editing software. The editing software will open with all your footage in a box to the left. creat a new folder calling it edit bin and then go thru all your shots selecting which ones you want and which ones you dont, place the ones you want into the editing bin and rename them appropriatly (to do this you press the modify button on the top of the screen, this gives you the option to rename it.) and leave the ones you dont in the original folder.
Logging our shots: when selecting the shots go thru them carefully watching them to make sure that they are not out of focus, or not bubbled (leveled correctly), or that they are to fast, or the light is not ballanced, basically any shot you do not like as a group you get rid of leaving in the rushes bin, moving all those that you do like into your editing bin.
Organising your shots: when it comes to organising your shots you have to think about how much screen time to give to the characters, and making sure you keep to the story board. We shot with two actors that we grabbed out of PS (private study) they acted out the story very well and did remember the lines very well however they did cut into each others lines to fast making it extreamly hard to edit and cut so we attempted to keep to the story board but it made the scene seem more like some sort of machine gun action sequence, which does not work so well so we have tried to cut in some calmer shots to make it a lot more calm but we need to stick to the story board and this is not really working out.
Editing in final cut: when editing in final cut I found it really easy to cut to the exact place that we needed to cut to in the shots and the audio, the only thing that does not work out is that the actors cut into one anothers audio to fast making the editing really fast and seem like an action scene. We told the actors not to play around while acting and to not play with their hair so that the shots made sence. Wells the male actor in our Prelim is quite fidgety and we had several problems with the cutting as his hands where always doing something different. so the continuity was slightly off but we have sort of managed to cut it correctly. The final cut program works like any editing software, two screens to view, one to view the shots in the editing bin and the other to view the shots that you bring down into the time line.
The time line: the time line is the basic cutting floor you can add shots, take away shots, cut the shots to exact frames, add frames to the begining of shots or the end of them and do the same with the audio. while using the time line you can get the parts of shots that you need to the areas that you need them in. you can also make sound bridges linking the audio to another visual shot.
Location: Hurtwood house editing suit. we used the door to the private study room as the entrance and exit where wells our male actor and had joe already standing in the room leaning slightly against the wall. the lighting was good.
During the filming we all gave input in the group, I was manning the camera and giving ideas for shots, I asked everyone to confirm that my shot was in focus.
Lighting we used natural lighting from the room so the overhead lights. this was not a huge importance to the scene as the item in question passed on was a rubix cube, taking a slightly comical twist on our preliminary task. the light was not specifically effective and did not change anything within our shots, because all the lights used in the shots where just to light up the whole shot as a wash.
During our filming
we set up the camera properly, we bubbled the camera (meaning we made sure the camera was still and flat on the horizon) everytime we filmed and we made sure we white balaced the room.
after each shot we would move into another shot, checking that we bubbled the camera and the tripod.
we checked that the shot was correctly framed each time. remembering the rule of thirds.
during the filming we made sure to not cross the 180 degree line and to remember the rule of thirds while setting the shot up, we also put the height of the tripod higher to get the over the shoulder shot. To keep in the slight commedy of our preliminary task we got a shot of Wells feel and he was wearing nike shoes, whose ad line is just do it, the line used thru out the script also foreshadowing the whole script.
we shot the whole script from all the different angles starting with a long shot of the two, then a over the shoulder shot of Joe doing the whole script (while setting up for this shot we got wells to stand in the exact spot he was standing in for his lines. then we closed up on to Joes face to do the close up once again doing the script over, then switched over to Joes side to film Wells going over the whole scrip and sequence again.
we stayed on the same side of the 180 degree line the whole time we fimed, remembering not to cross it. We may have crossed it in the final shot as Wells exits the room and walkes to the right of the camera but hopefully it worked.
before filming we went thru the whole process correctly and before we filmed we made sure everyone was quiet, then our director called stand by at wich point we all got ready, turning over which ment i had to press the button to record and say turning over, then the director would call action at which point the actors would leave a few moments and then come on and get filmed doing the whole dualogue.
What have I learnt in terms of practical film making? I have learnt that there are many shot that i did not know about in fiming sequences and I learnt that when you film a sequence you must always go over the whole script.
TIME CODE: time code tells you how much of the memory you have used up, it is located in the top right hand corner of the screen and is set up to tell us the minutes seconds and then frames which go up to 24 but there are 25 frames ( 00:00:00)
FOCUSING: its very simple to focus the camera, all you have to do is zoom into a point that is stationary using one of the wheels then you have to use the second wheel to focus the immage on your screen and then zoom out again to have a clear immage of what you want to shoot.
WHITE BALLANCE: hold a sheet of blank white paper or card in front of the camera to have the white ballance of the shot then you press the white ballance button and the shot colour will be set.
TRIPOD SETUP: to set up the tripod it only takes a few easy steps, first you open the tripod and unlock the legs, locking them into place when your done. after this you lock into place the pan handle and unlock the bottom then looking at the green circle and ajust the air bubble into place in the center of the circle then you lock the top into place by locking the bottom. this ensures that the camera once on will be streit and not wonky.
PLACING THE CAMERA: to place the camera on the tripod all you have to do is loosen the right knob and then slide the camera into place pressing down the little button on the left.
BASIC CAMERA SHOTS: Extreme wide shot, this shot is normally used as an establishing shot Very wide shot, this is mainly used to place the character in the suroundings normally not a lot of enphasis on subject. Wide shot, subject takes up the majority of the shot. mid shot, shows some of the subject still gives the imnpression of the whole subject. Close up, subject takes up the frame Extreme close up, shows extreme detail. Cut away, shot of something else. Cut in, shows close up of part of the subject in detail. Two shot, a shot of two subjects framed in a mid shot. Over the sholder shot, looking from behind one subject at another subject. Noddy shot, a shot of one subject nodding as if an interviewer nodding at his subject. Point of view shot (POV), shows the view from the perspective of the subject. Weather shot, the subject is usually the sky, can be used for other purpouses.
180 DEGREE RULE: a line that the actors stand on and the camera cant cross unless in the shot the camera spins around the actors.
THE TERMINOLOGY BEHIND SHOOTING: STAND BY / STANDING BY: to tell the camera men to get ready to shoot. TURN OVER / TURNING OVER: the camera is rooling/ turning over. ACTION: actors start acting and the set goes quiet. CUT: stop filming.
changing from still cameras to film cameras has not effected me that much as I have been filming for a while now and we are constantly surrounded by the media,but changing from filming ski videos and skate edits, it changes a lot to know the proper techniques.
