Edit Workshop

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Editing- The art of joining separate shots together to create longer sequences to make up the complete story. 


What we did:

On the 20th January we looked at directing the edit and how to make the complete story. We were taught that the most important thing is to keep editing as an invisible art as the viewer should not notice the edit. Something that I had not previously considered was the power and impact that editing can have; it can create:
-Emotion
-Drama
-Rhythm
-Action.

We also studied the power of Cinematic Language and how jumping forward to a close up from a medium shot is not real life yet to the viewer it feels normal. I had never thought about this before yet found it interesting as it adds another power to the edit. We then were given some footage directed by Simon Welsford of a man approaching a lady to give her some folders and then leave. It was a really good task as we were all given exactly the same footage yet we all ended up with completely different products so it really taught me what the power of editing can do. I tried to experiment and add a darker and mysterious tone to my version. I decided to avoid using footage of the mans face so that his identity was not revealed as this added a sense of mystery. 

On the 7th February we looked at Film Music and how it can set:
-Tone
-Pace
-Atmosphere.

We also looked at ways to play around with it to create different effects such as having a counterpoint; this is when music plays against what is happening in the scene. Fore example having happy upbeat music during a murder scene; this would create a powerful effect on the audience. We also looked at how to choose music, it is not just based on what sounds good, but the genre, the setting, the time period, the audience and the cost. These are all important to consider when choosing music as they can change how successful the effects of the music will be. The phrase that had the most impact on me during this workshop was that 'sound is more important than the image'. I had always believed that it was 50/50 however when thinking about it the sound is the element that keeps the audience engaged. If there was no sound the audience would loose their interest. We had another look at our edits of the video and then considered sound design. 


What Went Wrong?

I  struggled when trying to not feature the mans face in the video as it was in most of the medium shots, this meant that I had to crop some frames slightly and also cut earlier than I would have wished to at some points. Once I had edited all the footage together I was quite happy with it however there were some moments that did not feel very mysterious such as when we see the lady typing so I knew I needed to add something. I looked at some music and sound effects which helped to resolve the problem however I also struggled to choose which effects to use and when and when to 'trigger' the effects as such as I wanted them to create suspense so needed them to play at the perfect moments. I also struggled with selecting which footage to use as some parts were a little too shaky or out of focus but this could not be helped and I cut around. 

What Was Successful?

As I mention above I was a little unhappy with the fact that the elements of mystery did not come through at certain moments. Now that I understood a lot more about sound design I had a look online and found some 'mysterious sound effects' I played them through and tried to see if they would fit with my edit. I then decided on two pieces of sound design and tried to fit them so that the action queued them, for example the wide shot of the lady with a slight move in features at the same time one of the sound effects plays. I was really happy with the sound that I added to create the final video below as it added the extra tension and mysterious elements that I was looking for. 



Conclusion:

I really enjoyed this workshop as it allowed me to explore with editing a bit more and also explore with sound design now that I knew a little more about it and the effects it can help to create. However I would now like to try different tones and see if I can do the same thing, for example using the same clips and editing them with a different tone in mind and then trying to found sound effects to match as this will strengthen my sound design skills.


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