Editing Techniques

Editing Techniques

Editing in film is a process of cutting and assembling film footage to produce a finished product. The role of the film editor includes organising transitions between shots making decisions about shot duration and maintaining continuity. 

Shot Duration - The length of each shot. The length of the shots displaying actors can show if they are main characters or not.

Transitions - When effects are used to cut between shots. E.g Cross Dissolve

Camera Shots

Camera Shots

There are 5 main features we will apply when using the cameras on shoot day:
1. Angle
2. Movement
3. Position
4. Depth of Field
5. Composition

Close Up Shot - Tightly frames a person or object to show detail or emotion.

Medium Shot - Shot which shows small part of characters body. Shows more body language.

High Angle Shot - The camera is located above the actor and films facing downwards. This gives the actor less power/authority.

Low Angle Shot - The camera is located low down and films facing upwards. This gives the actor more authority and power.

Zoom Shot - Either zooms in to the actor or zooms out. Zooming in shows isolation whereas zooming out shows the scenery and context. 

Tracking Shot - Follows the actions of the actor, keeping them on screen the entire time.

Establishing Shot - Sets up or establishes the setting of a scene. It is typically at the beginning of a scene.

Handheld Shot - Filmed from the camera mans pov. It is a little shaky in order to show it is from the actors perspective.

Swish Pan - Moves Swiftly from one actor to another.

Setting up of camera

Introduction and setting up of camera

 We were first shown the 3 main components that are used to set up the camera and how to assemble them. These were the dolly, tripod and camera itself. When setting up the camera you must ensure to set up the tripod and the spider track dolly before even getting to the camera, you take the the folded track dolly and open it up until it clicks, you do this by pressing down the metal buttons on the tracks and pulling them out. This creates an even platform for the tripod and camera to rest on so you cam move the camera around quickly. After this you put the brakes on and the tripod is ready to go, finally you attach the camera and make sure it is working properly by testing the White balance. You do this by putting a white piece of paper in front of the lens to check the focus and contrast is of the right colour. On the camera there are lots of different features for you to film, in the best way possible. On the camera there is a spirit level so you can see if the camera is balanced while filming. On the lens there are three wheels.  the one nearest the end of the camera is the stabilizer, the middle one is zoom and the one nearest you is lighting. On top of the camera is a good size microphone which is good for picking up all sound. When filming, one of the most common camera techniques is the 180 degrees rule. This is when you film from a specific angle for the whole scene. Afterwards you do the scene again but from a different view. Also it allows the viewer to see the different expressions of the different characters. While setting up the camera for we had  to get a white balance. This is when we placed a piece of white paper in-front of the camera so it could make sure all the colours were not distorted. When filming there are lots of different shots. These include big close ups, close ups. These two shots show detailed facial expressions and often in horror movies show fear. Medium shot, medium long shot and long to wide shot often show more body language. Establishing shots are normally at the beginning of a film to tell us the basic information of what we need to know about the movie. A tracking shot follows a specific main character of a scene. The other shots are more straight forward; two shot, three shot, over the shoulder shot and high angle shot which shows that someone is weak with less authority, and low angle shots show the a certain character has more authority and it highlights that they are stronger and have a bigger status.
               
180 DEGREE RULE                                                      This is the tripod which keeps camera steady
                                                       

Children of Men Opening Scene analysis

Children of Men Opening Scene Analysis

The opening of 'Children of Men' begins in a futuristic London during the year 2027, as seen by the high tech adverts used on the buses and the large television screens on the office buildings. From the beginning, the audience is immediately introduced to the collapse of the world through the news report aired in a coffee shop in central London. The audience is introduced to the issue of worldwide infertility with the youngest person on earth murdered at the age of 18. The world is represented as having a collapsed state and government and undergoing a turmoil of destruction; portrayed through the bombing of the coffee shop. This representation of the future world is wholly negative; with no hope of curing the infertility of the current generation there is no hope of future generations to continue human life - a dystopia world. As well as this, the future of London is represented in a bad light by showing rickshaws drive past conveying the idea that London will be over populated (shown by the overcrowded cafe) and highly polluted (rickshaws).

We are introduced to the main character, male, we know he is the main character by the tracking camera shots of him and the various close-ups of his actions and facial expressions. Also because he gets the most camera time. He is also shown to have little interest in the death, unlike the rest of the people at the coffee house whom all seem startled and saddened upon the death of Baby Diego. This could represent this character as being different to the rest of the people. He also escapes from the explosion of the coffee house, of which we see a disfigured women after, showing the audience the character's difference to the rest. We see the main character pour what looks like whisky into his coffee. This helps the audience to further understand his frame of mind. How he stays disconnected from the goings on and/or is just an alcoholic.

Mise en scene in Children of Men

How does mise en scene help understand the character and genre in Children Of Men

Mise en scene is defined as everything the audience sees in a film. In Mise en scene there are different elements that are used in order for the audience to understand the characters and the genre of the film more clearly. In Children of Men, the costume is a key aspect of the film that helps the audience distinguish a character and the role that they play in the film. The main character is a man dressed from head to toe in black, which might suggest depression or possibly be a reflection of their mood, which ultimately allows the audience to know how to feel at this point of the film. Not only this but he is dirty and ungroomed which might suggest a sense of giving up which again allows the audience to make judgments on what they think of a character and how they should be feeling. Lighting plays an important facet. The lighting is imbecilic and dark which might represent failure and misery with a hint of blue, which is stereotypically used to enable the audience to know that the genre is sci- fi or dystopian future. The actor uses facial expressions which confesses to the audience how the actor wants you to perceive him, in this case the actor is emotionless which is a contrast to the rest of the cast who are seen to be uncontrolable with their emotions which might indicate to the audience that this character is possibly confident or possibly that this is the norm for where he lives and is therefore used to lack of positive news. In this film, the only piece of makeup that the audience has come across is the prosthetic arm, which is seen during the explosion, which generates an uncertain atmosphere. The props include a coffee with whiskey which could indicate dispiritedness and dejection, due to the circumstances of living and the setting of the film also emphasizes the genre of the film to be the future by the way some of the things had change such as becoming motorbikes and adverts on buildings as oppose to on billboards which creates a contrast from now and then.

Kill Bill Analysis

Kill Bill Vol.2 Analysis
The first scene begins with a low-angle shot from the Bride's perspective which shows the status and power of the adversary. Non-diegetic western music plays in the background and works in combination with the fear in her eyes, to create a tense and slightly solemn mood. The close up coffin shot shows how restricted her movement is by the coffin by showing her trying to struggle but unable to. As the stakes are hammered into the coffin, we are reminded of how helpless the Bride is by her diegetic screams and gasps. The diagetic sound of the nails represents her heartbeat beating and boosting the sound creates a distressing mood. The non-diegetic western funeral music stops with the last diegetic stake, which is an effect known as synchronous. With regards to the location, you see from a crane shot that they are in the middle of the forest together with the soud of crickets connoting that her death is impending. The black and white colours inside of the box show her discomfort and hostility to being in a coffin. This is followed by a crane shot to re-establish her buried location. When all sounds stop you hear a van driving away, this shows to the bride that all hope is lost and her death is impending.

The 'mise en scène' of the resurgence scene is different. The box seems bigger, there is more colour and it seems brighter. This change of atmosphere signifies hope. It also gives her more power as the use of a high angle shot from the bottom of her feet displays.

The non-diegetic also changes to a more triumphant, justice like music which is synchronous with the punching of the coffin. The Bride's facial expression and  bloody knuckles shows how determined she is to get out of the coffin. With the non-diegetic sounds and the expressions of encouragement make the viewer want to spur the bride on. Her heartbeat is also slow as shown by the non-diegetic heartbeat sound that is synchronous with the music.

After punching through the wood, the Bride pushes her fist through the solid ground which is very effective in showing her feeling of success. However, this isn’t one of Tarantino’s finer moments of directing, as it seems he almost creates a superhero atmosphere with the sound and the clenched fist of the bride. This turns the rawness and emotion from when the bride is punching the box, to the viewers ending the scene in laughter at how unrealistic the escape of the coffin is.

Shutter Island Poster Analysis

The majority of the poster is in darkness or shadowy colours with the title - 'Shutter Island' in red with bold capital font text. The dark background colours connotes a sense of mystery and fear of the unknown demonstrating that this movie is a thriller, as a thriller is based on mysterious and fearful events to create suspension and uncertainty to the audience. However, the title of the film is in red font, which connotes blood and violence alerting there audience that this movie will include events of death, danger and struggle creating terror to the audience. this demonstrates that this movie is a thriller action as thrillers typically produce a emotions of terror and unnerving feelings. Although the red font could also connotes for love possibly implying to the audience that this movie involves us in the main characters love life or partners life, whom he has to save or get back.

Moreover, the lit match the protagonist is holding could either connote that time for him in the film is running out and so something must be done. This connects to a thriller movie as thrillers tend to create emotions of excitement, suspense and a high level of anticipation. However, the lit match could also represent that the character is the 'torch bearer' to hope and goodness in the film.The main protagonist , the character in the posters face is much brighter than the rest of the background emphasising his existence in the film as a main character. This conveys to the audience that the character can be both good and bad within this film, as he his apart of both darkness and light. Although this could also imply to the audience that this character will bring good and hope to the film and will therefore prevent or limit evil in this film. 

Lastly the caption, which is 'Someone is missing' leaves the audience with suspense and wonder of what is missing and will it or they be found and saved. This conveys a thriller movie as it to stimulates elements of tension, excitement and anxiety to the audience

What does the poster of Pulp Fiction connote?

Denotations and Connotations of film poster

This poster contains a lot for the eye to see generating interest in seeing what this movie is going to be about as it . In keeping with the title, it is designed with the look of an old pulp magazine.When you first look at the poster you are immediately drawn to the red banner and the colour red always connotes danger and can also convey and idea of love. Also the bold yellow writing of the title and main characters connotes that the film is going to be quite loud and heavy, because almost immediately, from the poster, the film is already bold and "in your face". The torn corners of the poster also with the ‘wild-west’ font indicate that the film is set in that era. As well as the red banner you are also drawn Uma Thurman’s character lying slightly off centre. She is lying on her front showing a bit of cleavage with her legs up in the air. This is connoting that in Pulp Fiction, Thurman’s character has a lot of power and is very confident about her. Moreover, the red lipstick on Thurman’s character’s lips further indicates an idea of danger or love. Lastly, there are many denotations that can be connoted to relate to violence. Thurmam’s character is lying with a cigarette in her hand with a gun resting in front of her. This instantly signifies that the film will include ferocity and maybe suspense. This poster instantly contrasts to the stereotypical idea of men having all the power with guns and drugs. This poster how Thurman is lying seductively connotes that in Pulp Fiction it is actually Thurman who holds all the cards. As you can see, after looking at the poster you can see the poster shows a very well established film.

Scream Analysis

How horror and suspense is created in the opening sequence of Scream

In the is scene of scream,the audience is introduced to a young,blonde girl who is alone. I know that she was alone because the director used a wide screen shot to illustrate that there was no one else was in the house with her. Her costume shows innocence which highlights the audiences knowledge that this is a horror movie. Blonde girls are also traditionally and stereotypically known for their vulnerability an are usually killed in a film due to this.Th lighting plays an important role as this hightens the suspense. The lighting began bright to simplify that everything was normal in the characters life and she was unharmed. However,gradually the lighting began to dim as the tension increased.  The spot light was used to draw the attention of the audience and create suspension. Not only this but the way the halls were dark to show fear and ambiguous fate. Sound commonly works alongside the lighting. In order to create a mood for the film. At the beginning of the film, the use of a heartbeat indicated that this film would get the heart racing which represents fear. Throughout the film,the tempo of the heartbeat matched the sound of the music, for example the faster the heartbeat the louder the music. The use of the popcorn cracking and how it gradually got louder as the suspense rose. The setting of the house indicated isolation and derelict which informs the audience that something bad would happen. The camera shots such as the crane shot show the perspective and allows the audience to see how vulnerable she is which ultimately high tension. 

Children of Men Poster Analysis

Children of Men Poster Analysis

One of the first noticeable things when looking at the poster is the large amount of grey that dominates the picture with a significant lack of color variety. The dark grey of the poster carries connotations of ambiguity, however there is a contrast in color, with a light that could be interpreted as a spotlight circled around the main characters face, which immediately symbolizes that he is the most important hero of the story. The bold red writing stands out to the audience and because red is associated with blood and danger, the audience immediately know there will be death in this story. 

The character is embedded in glass, which can imply many different things. Firstly the cracks in the glass signify a broken society, which hints the storyline of the movie. The jagged glass near his neck can mean a threat of death again which gives the audience an impression of the movie genre. Clive Owen is standing behind the only part of the broken glass, which shows that he is constantly overcoming obstacles, which gives the impression that he is the hero in the story. The use of the time setting ‘2027’ is used to give the viewer a sense of reality. The title itself could be symbolized as innocence, hope and new life.

Use of Mise-en-scene in the two scenes of Kill Bill

The first scene begins with a low-angle shot from the Bride's perspective which shows the status and power of the adversary. Non-diegetic western music plays in the background and works in combination with the fear in her eyes, to create a tense and slightly solemn vibe.

The close up coffin shot shows how restricted her movement is by the coffin by showing her trying to struggle but unable to. As the stakes are hammered into the coffin, we are reminded of how helpless the Bride is by her diegetic screams and gasps. The diagetic sound of the nails represents her heartbeat beating and boosting the sound creates a distressing mood. The non-diegetic western funeral music stops with the last diegetic stake, which is an effect known as synchronous.

The black and white colours inside of the box show her discomfort and hostility to being in a coffin.

This is followed by a crane shot to re-establish her buried location. When all sounds stop you hear a van driving away, this shows to the bride that all hope is lost and her death is impending.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 'mise en scène' of the resurgence scene is different. The box seems bigger, there is more colour and it seems brighter. This change of atmosphere signifies hope. It also gives her more power as the use of a high angle shot from the bottom of her feet displays.

The non-diegetic also changes to a more triumphant, justice like music which is synchronous with the punching of the coffin. The Bride's facial expression and  bloody knuckles shows how determined she is to get out of the coffin. With the non-diegetic sounds and the expressions of encouragement make the viewer want to spur the bride on. Her heartbeat is also slow as shown by the non-diegetic heartbeat sound that is synchronous with the music.

After punching through the wood, the Bride pushes her fist through the solid ground which is very effective in showing her feeling of success. However, this isn’t one of Tarantino’s finer moments of directing, as it seems he almost creates a superhero atmosphere with the sound and the clenched fist of the bride. This turns the rawness and emotion from when the bride is punching the box, to the viewers ending the scene in laughter at how unrealistic the escape of the coffin is.

About Me

Hi guys, My name is Alex Harris, welcome to my Media Studies blog page. I'm studying Media AS because I have a particular interest in tv and music. Some of the favourite things I like to watch are Inbetweeners and my favourite film is Taken. The suspense and action of it make it a really great film. I also like horror films. Other than this I'm curious about film editing and camera work to learn how to different angles and cuts create different effects. Apart from Media, I'm also studying Computer Science, Geography and Maths.