Editing Day 3

On this day, Megan and I both knew that this would be our final editing day. In order to be able to complete our editing, we devised a plan and decided to add in our remaining footage from Filming Day 4. Because we did not have too much footage in Filming Day 4, we would be able to have a while to watch through our film and consider areas that needed improving and improve them before the deadline. We clipped the footage into the lengths necessary and chose transitions and effects suitable.
The shot with Emma (Kathleen's mother) was given simple effects and editing including a few transitions which allowed it to flow along with the Kathleen shots in the shot-reverse-shot we decided on. We did this to ensure it was fluid and continuous.
However, we came across some difficulty when editing the audio for this footage as we struggled to edit the audio so the dialogue could be heard clearly but we decided we would allow it for the deadline's sake but would ensure to change this for our draft 2.
In order to complete the split-screen of Chloe (Mirabell) and Ben (Larreh), we had to place both shots in the correct area beside each other to ensure it looks professional and organized. However, we decided due to the audio of Larreh interrupting the continuity of our film, we would have to reshoot this for our second draft seeing as it looked rather clumsy and had no fluidity.
Megan and I knew that our first draft would not be perfect and realised that we would not realistically be able to change everything before the deadline. Due to this, we decided to improve some elements that we could whilst rewatching our draft numerous times to pick out areas that needed improving.
We made minimal improvements to footage and audio before we decided to upload our first draft. Megan and I then discussed properly what needed to be reshot and improved for our second draft and any new ideas we had in order to make it much better.








 

Editing Day 2

In our second editing lesson, we had some time to begin including some more footage from our Filming Day 2 and 3. Due to making our list last lesson, we had ideas on how to edit these shots and therefore we were able to get a lot done.
We used the clipping tools firstly to begin editing each footage due to understanding we did not need the full filming. We then began to add in desired transitions to ensure a flowing effect in our film. Once we had added in the footage in the correct gaps with transitions and effects we wanted, Megan and I played around with audio to ensure continuity.
Megan and I began to play around with stills from our filming so we included these in for our title sequence. We filmed the props that were included in our film which were significant so it emphasises the importance of them in our opening. Although both of us were proud of what we completed, we are in understanding that we need to reshoot each still to ensure the perfect quality needed for our film in order for it to look professional and well edited.
We had not finished our editing at all but we decided to ask our audience of their opinion regarding our film so far and Megan and I both took notes. These included:

• "You have interesting audios and titles overall but a little confusing with some shot layouts."
• "Good use of various shot types but some shots seem rather clumsy and not great quality. You should probably consider this when filming reshoots."
• "The titles look mint and the audio's proper nice but I don't think some of the transitions flow too well. Pretty decent overall just some refining needed."
• "I'm kind of confused, but I like the titles at the end.

Megan and I discussed amongst ourselves regarding the comments which were said about our filming so far and decided that we needed to reconsider some of the transitions used and to begin planning reshoots for possible shots.









 

Editing Day 1

Megan and I first began editing in a two hour lesson on the software Adobe Premiere Pro. This was the ideal software due to it being very clear and easy to understand as well as there being many different aspects that come with it. On this day, we began editing the filming which we had done on the first day of filming. We ensured to use some transitions in the editing to make sure our film looked smooth and professional instead of it cutting multiple times and not being continuous. We also then began to edit our studio logo and production logo into our film that we had completed before filming and added the audio needed. 
Once we had completed that, both of us included the footage with multiple transitions which suited our film and were relevant. However, we knew it would not run smoothly just yet as we had not included the rest of our footage and therefore there were numerous gaps in between shots. 
Megan and I then began to discuss editing techniques for the second filming day and how to make sure it looks right for our film.
Megan and I began to realise that we would need to think about reshooting some scenes in our film as they did not look up to the correct quality we desired. However, we knew we also had a deadline and therefore we wanted to get as much done as possible to be able to meet the deadline, understanding that once we had that sorted we could come back to it and reshoot parts needed. We decided to gather some feedback from other people in our class for improvement ideas and took these critics onboard so we could develop our film. We made a few changes in our film including other transitions and ensuring they flowed correctly.
Megan and I decided it was a good idea to plan what we were going to do regarding editing next lesson. We decided to play around with the duration of our logos and shots so we wouldn't have unwanted jumps in our film. We also decided we needed to include titles over some of the shots we wanted, and to add in our second filming days' footage into the gaps necessary. 










  

Filming Day 4

30th November 2016

This filming day consisted of shots including our minor characters Emma and Ben. This day was very productive as it allowed our film to flow and therefore complete this process so we could begin editing. The shot of Emma was important due to it being a part of a shot-reverse-shot sequence with her daughter, played by Megan. The shot of Emma was in the location of a kitchen which allowed the film to be casual and her character to be stereotypically motherly. However, in the shot of Ben, the location is purposefully unknown to the audience as we wanted him to be even more mysterious and close-up.
Despite this, we had some difficulties with lighting and audio within both of these shots. For example, in the shot of Emma, the lighting was far too bright and did not match in with the shot-reverse-shot due to Megan's lighting being fairly dull and natural. In Ben's shot, it was clear that the audio did not work well and this resulted in the audio being very unclear and ambient sound to be heard far too loudly over his speech. Megan and I discussed both of these issues and decided that a re-shoot will be necessary for both of these shots due to this.
 



 

Filming Day 3

28th November 2016

On this day, Megan and I filmed the scenes with Megan coming inside (the first scene on the opening first draft), Megan speaking to her mum and putting on a jacket and slippers, Megan then coming down the stairs after her mum called her down, and then me walking down the road with a suitcase. This day was very productive for our thriller opening as we got a lot done in this time and ensured high quality shots. We ensured we stuck to our storyboard and planning as we used the shots we wanted to. We made little adjustments. I believe that when I followed Megan to her door it was rather windy so the audio was not great quality so we do need to reshoot this. However, when I followed her down the stairs once her mum called her, I think this shot went well as it was not too shaky and the shot where it goes through the door was a strong element in our filming.
However, we realised that not all of the shots were good quality as they seemed to be fairly blurry and therefore not up to standard. To try and resolve this, we took several shots of each and chose the ones which we decided were much more crisp and welcoming. We also tested multiple different set-ups in our camera so we had a varied option in order to pick the correct shot to use before we began editing them.

 

Filming Day 2

25th November 2016

On this day, Megan and I did the filming of me (Mirrorbell) in the bedroom and me on the phone in the garden area. We set up the camera on a stabliser so it would not be shaky and so Megan could film my parts well. The bedroom scene with me recording the tape (which is a flashback whilst Megan is listening to it on her previous scene) was rather short and took a few shots as I needed to stay in character and act well. However, Megan and I were both happy with the end result of this scene. In my next scene right after the bedroom scene, I am stood outside leaning up against the wall. I answer a call and then Megan, with the camera, walks up to me slightly so the camera is moving closer. This scene also is not long but as seen in our first draft, we add another scene with Ben Ward on top of it as it is a split screen.

 

 

Filming Day 1

21st November 2016

Our first filming day consisted of us filming 4 scenes for our opening. The locations were stairs, a corridor and a bedroom. We ensured to take some test shots beforehand so we were able to use these to understand what needed improving and what worked well for our film. We ensured we stuck to our storyboard and planning as we knew we wanted to continue with the storyline and plots we invented so these test shots were used to see whether it worked well and was relevant for our opening.

However, despite this, we came across a small amount of complications we needed to overcome. For example, we realised we needed to slightly change some of our shots as we understood, due to the location, if we had not altered some of these it would have looked messy and unsuited for our film. We also struggled at first to put the GoPro inside the walkman and finally decided to alter it slightly to a simple close-up which we decided worked really well.