Waiting...

As the holidays go by I am now itching to get back to school, I really want to work on the soundtrack for our film, I have the software but i don't have to MIDI keyboard, that is ever so helpful, or even the final draft of our film. I had intended to export the film and place it onto my laptop so i could work on the soundtrack without the keyboard but making do with what i had, however, a problem arose that i didn't have a working memory stick and so could not transfer the film over from the iMac's at school to my MacBook Pro at home. I do intend to have a little play with the music software we will be using, GarageBand, having a look at how I can use the sounds to create tension and set the pace for the scene.

Update Post

Christmas Update - final lesson 

Though I was not in most of our final lesson before the christmas holidays, many problems and issues have arrose since our last edit. A Certain clip within our edited movie had somehow over night been corrupted - this issue was simply resolved by gathering our raw footage and placing our selected clip back into final cut express and editing it all over again. Though most of our final editing has been completed and we seem happy with most of our opening sequence, some problems still seem to be facing us - with our final scene - a close up of our much beloved catalyst 'the pocket watch' on the ground - going missing. With the closing scene going missing and with no work done on titles we still are not able to surrender up our opening sequence just yet. All feedback given to us from our draft piece was followed, with slow motion effects being reduced by a substantial amount and the removal of a clip that broke the 180 degree rule. Many sound problems have also come up. Thanks to the windy weather that was taking place during filming - the diegetic sound of wind picked up by the camera is overwhelming. With these suden bursts of wind making it hard to get a flawless transition between cuts we are still left with a problem when it comes to the diegetic sound in our film. Solutions have been discussed, such as the removal of all diegetic sound from our final sequence. All though this may work, there is a distinct lack of diegetic sound within our film already - with it only being used within our chase scene which is only to be covered up with our "home made" incidental music. We as a group have been playing with the sound levels to try and dampen down the extreme amount of wind in the background of our final scene. This has not worked, preventing us from turning over the edited opening sequence to Ben for soundtrack incorporation. 

Problems with our soundtrack have also arrose. As of yet we have not been able to release our pilot films to gather audience feedback on our two soundtrack options. One soundtrack being orignal - made by group members - and one of which is pre-made and was used within out draft edit. As soon as our pilots have been made they will be made public and will be released for audience feedback so that we can choose which one suits best. Solutions to the pocket watch scene have also been discussed between the group with the options of re-filming the clip or leaving it out. Even though re-filming sounds like a good idea, as a group re-filming things has always been the case. With me making the suggestion that we leave the clip out - which brought group members to point out that their would be a rather big whole left within the narrative if we did so. All though I do take narrative into consideration when I made this statement I do believe for an opening sequence such as ours it's all about asking questions. With the appearance of the pocket watch typically answering audiences questions. When reviewing the clip in which we see the murderer looking at something within his hand I find it much more affective that we do not see what he is holding. It could be argued that the clip be left out for conventions sake. Rather than seeing the pocket watch we can just see the character looking at something that lies within his hand, making the audience raise questions such as "What is he holding", "Why is he holding it" and "What does it do?". For the convention of the unknown and mystery the clip is not longer a big part of the narrative, even though it is the catalyst for our film - it does not play a vital role within the opening sequence.

Problems with our narrative have been with us since the start, with our narrative being confusing and unclear to the audience. Due to this fact I have decided to write a full treatment behind our story in the hope it would make thing more clear to our audience where narrative is concerned. I do realise that this issue should of been resolved long ago to avoid problem during filming but things have been left this way due to certain group members not taking things very seriously at the beginning of the project.

Other problems will be delivered in later posts, by for now I wish everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year.  

Making the credit sequence

Credit sequence

Right now George and I are looking making a credit sequence. To be completely honest, George is doing the majority of it, I'm just watching!

We have decided to go slightly against the usual red block writing. We have gone with a blue outline, transparent text, which is quite tall and skinny. The text flickers as it comes into the sequence, and remains flickering until it leaves. This method is quite eerie and makes it seem as though something is wrong.

The background is black and dark. We can see a very faint image of a clock in the background. Throughout the credit sequence, the image is moving around this clock, and the titles are following this. 

The angles of which we see the clocks are very mysterious and fir the convention perfectly. Despite trying to be slightly original with our ideas, we have managed to keep the sequence quite conventional, whilst adding our own little twist.

We have chosen to do clocks in the sequence, as the are very fitting to our story. When we finally get the final scene into the film, we see a pocket watch on the ground. The screen then flicks to this sequence of clocks. This leaves the audience pondering on the relevance of the clocks and if these clocks mean anything to the film. "Does this mean there are more of these killings occurring elsewhere?"

Update 20-12-12

Update 20-12-12

Teacher - Draft Feedback

Draft Feedback

Highlighted Problems

One very noticeable problem within our draft edit was the breaking of the 180 degree line rule, with our camera crossing the line and confusing our audience as to what actions are being carried out. This issue has now been resolved with the removal of the certain piece of footage that broke the rule.

Other minor things were noted before the release, such as the wind in the background, making the natural sound very distorted and loud - causing some transitional  problems between certain scenes, making them seem very disjointed. This problem has also been resolved by placing a continuous background sound of the surrounding area we filmed in at the time.

Problems with scene cuts were mainly due to the fact this draft edit was done on imovie - which is a really limiting programe when I comes to certain cuts when slow motion effects and cross-devolves are being used. Some clips require trimming which has been done - the slow motion has also been sped up so panning seems more natural and stable. 

A distinct lack of close ups seem to lie within our sequence - this problem has still not been met with a salutation due to the fact we do not wish to do more filming, which as it stands seems to be the only possibility of getting more close ups within our sequence.

Considering we did not use all the footage available to us we managed to keep a narrative going throughout the scene - using simple codes and conventions of thriller to back up the notions of mystery and the unknown. As it is our first edit there still seems to be a lot of work to be done. Despite our problems we are happy with our frist edit and found the feed back we received from our teacher extremely helpful - allowing us to take our opening sequence to the next level and develop the conventions to get an even better affect.   

Soundtrack Update

Soundtrack Problems

At this moment in time, our group is discussing the use of soundtrack within our opening sequence and some complications have arrose. Within our draft edit a pre-made soundtrack was used. All though our group had earlier decided in the planning phrase of this project to create an original soundtrack, a change of mind-set has occurred. The group has become divided - some group members wanting to use a pre-made soundtrack and some for creating one to fit the opening sequence that is currently still in production. 

Our solution to this problem has been discussed. We shall be releasing two pilot opening sequences. Opening sequence One will be making use of a pre-made soundtrack, in contrast to opening sequence Two, making use of an orignal piece of music, designed and created by members of the group. We plan to present both films within a lesson, with the aim of gathering audience feed back - the question will be simple - what works best. When this feed back has been acquired we will then be able to make our final decision on the matter.

Draft Edit - Opening sequence for 'Clockwork'

Clockwork - First Draft

Please feel free to leave feed back. This is our first edit of the footage we have collected. Due to problems with filming at the early stages of our project we were unable to post a decent first draft. Many problems have already been pointed out and work has gone into correcting them problems. Please leave relevant and constructive criticism - this would be extremely helpful in aiding us to improve our final piece.

**Fair use Notice**

 -Music has been credited within the video description.

Credited music as follows;

Hans Zimmer - Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack - Available on the Itunes store

Tracks used:

On Thin Ice - Hans Zimmer - Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack

Born in Darkness - Hans Zimmer - Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack

Despair - Hans Zimmer - Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack

Soundtrack purchased via the Itunes Store

Music used for educational purposes

**Fair use Notice**

Music used for educational purposes - All music has been credited above.

Video edited on Macintosh - Imovie.

Editor - Ryan J G Curry

Directors - Ryan J G Curry and George Matthews

Actors - Ben Cusworth and Danny Hammond

Cinematographer - Ryan J G Curry

Writers - Ryan J G Curry, George Matthews, Ben Cusworth and Danny Hammond

(Original Screenplay) no adaptations used. 

Produced by: Clockwork Productions  

Update 14/12/12

Update 14/12/12

Right, normally I wouldn't do back to back updates, or a written one for that matter, but so much got done today, I deem it completely necessary! Plus, we didn't have any time to do a video update, as today was quite hectic.

Ryan and I took main control on editing, fixing some very important issues we stumbled across. For instance, massive gusts of wind coming in, have now either been dampened or edited out, as they really were quite loud! Also, timing had to be reduced, as we went over the limit by quite a lot, getting our film up to nearly four minutes, which is definitely too long. We fixed this through both speeding up slowed down shots, and removing unnecessary shots all together. A problem we discovered was when the film is put onto full screen (this was the 1st time we had done so) the images seemed extremely grainy and a little pix-elated. This isn't a massive problem, as it was shot in the dark, and can be justified. 

Ben and George went out to shoot some shots of clocks from all sorts of different angles. I suggested to attempt a dolly zoom shot, as this is very succesful in Jaws. Unfortunately, this shot was unsuccesful and didn't come out very well. Despite this, some great angles were discovered and used, and some of the shots of the clock looked great, and could be used in the credit sequence possibly.

Overall, a very successful day. The editing is now basically done, although I am certain some minor issues will a rise when the soundtrack is put in. I am sure we will overcome these issues, as we are now all getting pretty good at using the software, and are pretty comfortable using it.

Soundtrack dilemma

Soundtrack dilemma 

We have come across a small problem with making the soundtrack, within the group. Half of us want to use a pre-made soundtrack, whereas the other half want to create one. At first, I myself was quite content with creating the soundtrack, but after a while we realised that it wasn't as easy as it first sounded, and one particular piece found on the internet worked perfectly with our film (after a little editing). 

With this dilemma being a 50/50 split between the group, I think the best way to settle it would be to get a few people to watch the scene with each of the soundtracks, and get them to vote on which one they feel is the best. After all, its the audiences opinion that is most important. 

I made up a very basic survey which really captures my creativity! All jokes a side, it gets to the point and ultimately gets the question answered.

Hopefully this survey will work effectively as a very late piece of planning and research!

Below is the survey I made ... 

Credit sequence

Credits

We have decided to stick with the traditional ending credits at the end of our film, however, we still want this to work with the thriller conventions. Tension, suspense and 'eeriness' need to be factors of this section of the film. We do not want to have a really suspense filled film, and then ruin the whole tension by sticking in a rubbish ending that kills off any bit of tension gained.

Deep, heavy monotonous sounds are needed for a thriller ending. Strings are a very important part, as they are really eerie and add tension. A fast paced sound could be going on in the background, possibly a fair bit softer and quieter so it can only just be heard in the behind the loud heavy sounds. This could even add a little tension.

Our main dilemma with all the music really, but the credits also is whether or not to create our own soundtrack. We are in the current process of making a soundtrack now, as it is a very time consuming process, and its better to have one if we decide to do it. However, we have found a fair few soundtracks from the internet which may work nicely with our film. We could easily justify our reasons for choosing that particular soundtrack as well, to avoid losing any marks!

The words coming in need to also fit the conventions of a thriller. I feel that deep red words work really well, as they symbolize danger and even death (in the form of blood). The words would be bold in a rather common font to keep things simple yet affective. I think a cross dissolve or a fade in/out transition between credits would work perfectly for them as well, as this just seems very effective to me, and I think the audience may agree (This could possibly require a survey).

Finally, the backdrop is a key part to keeping the tension up. In conjunction with the red, I believe a simple black or very deep blue would work a treat, as this is a very simple, yet effective method. The black/blue is very deep and could have a further meaning. It also could represent mystery and confusion, as it is complete darkness. Besides, if it were a really light colour, it would look absolutely ridiculous, and shoot all of the thriller conventions right down!

I have made a VERY basic credit scene, with what I had in mind.

Please be aware, I have noticed several mistakes - including the fact that the suffolk metropolitan police isn't a real thing! Also, some typo's have been noticed. Please ignore these, and concentrate more on the formatting rather than the text.

The other guys...

The other guys...

Recently as our filming has been coming to an end, I have been attempting to keep a close eye on how the other groups are progressing. 

Something I am noticing from almost every other group is the fact that they are now doing the final tweaks to their editing, which worries me quite a lot. The fact that we are still doing the 'primary' editing when others are doing 'tertiary' editing makes me think we are quite a fair way behind. We are finding out that this software is quite a challenge for us, when none of us are real IT experts. Another worrying thing is the fact that everyone else seems to have mastered the software when we are still at what can only be described as amateur level. 

We have been asking for quite a bit of help from other groups and out teachers. I hope we don't get too dependent on help from others, rather than trying to learn for ourselves. I do feel we are beginning to get there with it all. The level of which we are using the program at has improved from before, and we are even beginning to whip in some keyboard shortcuts!

Gathering opinions from others has also proved to come in very handy, because after all, the film is for the audience, so their input is vital. Some things we didn't even consider when we done some filming has been brought to the audiences attention, which they have then brought to ours. We are very thankful for everyones help on this, as it really helps us nail the editing! The main thing that has been picked up on, was the lack of closeups we used. In all honesty, the reason we couldn't do some closeups, was we forgot the pocket-watch, which is a key to our film. But apart from that, we have decided to go and do some re-filming of some close up shots, for instance my feet and the killer. These will be great shots mainly due to the fact that this will add tension; the main point of a thriller. 

Everyone has been really helpful due to the fact we are struggling. They could just have left us, but their important input and constructive criticism has been very valuable to us to help us get to where we are now - much much further than we were a month ago when everything looked like it was going to be a massive flop!

Update 13-12-12

Update 13-12-12

Here is a video update of how things are going. 

Filming: The Final Sprint

We are pleased to announce that our filming is just two scenes from completion. Following our filming last Friday we now only have to film the scenes involving the pocket watch that is central to our plot. The filming i am pleased to report went brilliantly save for a few mishaps involving a stray piece of bird feces and someone calling the police on us. We weren't in any trouble and the rest of our filming went perfectly. Main editing may be done by the end of this week with small parts of editing and the soundtrack hopefully by the end of next week. While we may have taken the longest with our filming, we are satisfied with what we have accomplished and have hopes for our final product.

My editing contribution

I have edited the middle scene of our film, in this scene we see Danny our victim running away from a mysterious man. I used a radial blur for Danny's POV shots of him running and of him hiding under the bridge this effect makes him seem fatigued and lets us know the difference between his point of view and normal camera shots, but I would say the best reason to use this effect is so that when we see the killer for the first time he is blurry and hard to see and so this give the character an element of mystery. By not directly showing the character to the audience it makes the audience more interested in what is happening in the scene, this is a technique used commonly in thriller films they always obscure cover or never show the villains face to keep the audience of edge and to create an element of mystery. Then today i helped ben with his editing of the first scene as the scene was almost impossible to recognise as it was too dark and so we worked on that together.

Editing: First Attempt

I am pleased to report that i have done my first lump of editing using final cut. I helped edit the timings of a scene where Danny's character is running and the majority of a Pipe scene. I managed to crop this scene and add some video affects with minimal problems excluding not being able to find certain scenes in the video database. I am beginning to understand how to use and implement video filters and effects and am gaining more confidence with final cut.

Editing issues

When we began to edit our videos everything was running smoothly, however when the opened our next piece of film it was way more dark than we expected and so we have to now correct it by decreasing the contrast on the video. This does cause an impact on the style of the image but in the grand scheme of our editing the impact is not a burden. The change in contrast makes the image more lively and actually visible.

Update 6/12/12

Update 6/12/12 

This is an update by myself and Ben about all the ups and downs we have encountered since the last update!