Different types of video editing

Different types of video editing

Introduction

Audio and video technology is more abundant than ever in our daily lives through computers, movie theaters  and home televisions. Although, possibly one of the most common video editor jobs is associated with the film industry, editing motion pictures is not the only way a person with video editing skills can find work. More and more industries are using video and audio editors to produce promotional items, business presentations, and company websites.

There are several different ways to edit video and each method has its pros and cons. Although most editors choose to go for for digital non-linear editing for most projects, it makes sense to have an understanding of how each method works, which I will be going over in the next few slides.

Cut (transition)

The most common transition — this is where an image is suddenly replaced by another without it being visually changed. The raw footage from the camera would contains cuts between shots where you stop and start recording. In film and television production, the vast majority of transitions are cuts. The word talks about the physical action of cutting film or videotape, but also talks about a similar edit performed in software; it has also become associated with the film/programme going on break. In video editing and live switching, cuts are fast and efficient. Once a scene has been set up, cuts are the best way to keep the action rolling at a good pace. Other types of transition such as fade can slow the pace or even be distracting.

Mix/dissolve/crossfade

These are all words to describe the same transition — a gradual fade from one shot to the next.

Crossfades have a more relaxed feel than a cut and can be used in situations such as - Slowing the pace of a video, creating a mood, e.g. relaxation, thoughtfulness, etc, showing a sequence of scenic shots, photo montages, conveying a sense of passing time or changing location. The speed of the crossfade transition can vary between a few frames, and slow or incomplete crossfades can also be used to create layered video effects.

Fade

A video fade is when a shot gradually fades to or from a single colour, usually black or white. A fade is different to a crossfade, which is a transition directly between two shots rather than one shot to a colour. The "fade from black" and "fade to black" seem to be everywhere in film and television. They usually mean the beginning or end of a scene. The timing of the fades indicates the importance of the change in time or location between scenes — a slower fade with more time on black indicates a more significant end/beginning. A fairly quick fade to and from black could indicate a time lapse of a few minutes or hours, however a long drawn-out fade indicates a much bigger change.

Wipe

Wipe is where one image is replaced by another without dissolving and it eliminates the first shot then replaces it with another shot. Wipes often have a coloured border to help distinguish the two shots during the transition. Split-screens often use a wipe. A horizontal line wipes from left or right into the middle of frame, revealing the new shot in that half. Wipes are a good way to show changing location or viewpoint.

Digital effects

Most editing apps give you a large selection of digital transitions with many different effects. There are too many to list here, but these effects include things such as colour replacement, animated effects, pixelisation, focus drops, lighting effects, etc. Many cameras also include digital effects, but if possible it is better to add these in post-production.

Main Task

Research on chosen genre (action thrillers)

Textual analysis

For textual analysis, this would include looking at the film genre, and the type of films in this genre, and what it features. The action film genre is generally characterized by the physical action that tells much of the story, as opposed to drama's for example where the story is told via the dialogue. In addition, there is a "hero" character whose individual efforts make up a lot of the action. One very strong example is the "Die Hard" movie series, where Bruce Willis' character was the hero. Action films are known for having a few characteristics that run throughout the genre. They are always fast-paced, have a (usually male) hero-centred narrative, a beautiful love interest who will require saving (or an interest who ends up falling in love after being saved), and a multitude of guns, explosions, chases, and dangerous stunts. Character development usually takes a while to understand, but with so much excitement on-screen, viewers most likely won’t care as much.

Alternatively however (as talked about earlier) there can be a role reversal, and it is up to the woman to save the men and children, in movies such as ‘Tomb Raider’. The main theme that occurs in action films still exists - fast-paced, explosions, guns, and a lot of the story is told through action. However, what is different is that there is also a lot of the story told through dialogue, which may be reminiscent of the fact she is a woman, and as well as strong, powerful, dominant she is also caring and deep-down still  has woman-like traits.

Guns, shootout

               

                                                                             High speed chases, explosions

Love interest

                                                                                     Backstabbery

Filming techniques

Filming techniques used would include aspects such as camera angles, editing, lighting and sound.

Camera angles – a good example would be a Bird’s eye view. This is used to make some kind of dramatic comment on a character or scene. This kind of shot can seem disorienting because it is rarely the way audiences themselves see the world. In Gilles MacKinnon’s Regeneration (1997)for example, a bird’s-eye shot of a World War I battlefield is used to open the movie. The effect of this shot is to suggest the madness of war and the brutality it inflicts on soldiers, but as an opening scene also sets the scene for the content of the movie, and how it reflected war’s true ugly nature.

Editing – the most common types of editing used in action movies would be ‘cut’ because in video editing and live switching, cuts are fast and efficient. Once a scene has been set up, cuts are the best way to keep the action rolling at a good pace. And (in science fiction movies), digital effects such as colour replacement, animated effects, pixelization, focus drops, lighting effects, etc. To provide a wide range of enhancements to movies of every genre. It's a part of entertainment that began even before movies: magicians used many early movie techniques to enhance their performances , and this is a similar idea.

Lighting - Lighting is very effective in the use of film and media; it helps to express mood and atmosphere in a scene. It can be used for various effects such as weather, casting shadows and building tension as well as suspense within a scene, however its main use is usually to draw attention to a particular area or person’s gesture. There is much use of low level lighting to create shadows and an eerie atmosphere. The use of dim lights can hide parts of either the characters or the environment, which makes the audience wonder whether there is more to the characters than they originally thought. Usually if a villain is seen in low lights then it is mystery, fear and anxiety within the victim and the audience when confronted by him. This is one of the most important pieces of editing, along with music and sound.

Music/Sound – Sound is a very important generic convention when making a film - the use or non use of sound is able to enhance how the audience interpret certain ideas and distribute emotions. Sound can give a different meaning to a scene or explain what action can not. For example, a slow piano can add suspicion and mystery to the scene, whereas, fast music can represent a chase scene, or action scene. The music keeps in tone with the theme of the movie (or the scene). Diegetic and non diegetic sounds play an important role in the thriller movie too. Diegetic sounds for example influence dialogue so the way characters speak can influence what type of person they are and what their personality is like. In the James Bond movies, when the motif (repeating characteristic music) is played, the audience automatically know that something is going to happen, there’s going to be some action.

Inspirational shots

Rocky films are based around the simple methodology of never giving up. Each film tells the story of the underdog and how with belief, grit and determination you can overcome any hurdle. Complimented with potentially one of the best movie soundtracks in movie history (Rocky IV), these films are perfect in motivating and inspiring us to get moving. This scene in particular from the Rocky Balboa is iconic as it’s Rocky passing on his wealth of wisdom to his lazy and unmotivated son who is in need of much motivational talk if he is to accomplish any of his goals.

The message in the next speech from 'Coach Carter' is a simple one, living life with a positive attitude and that being an example to others motivates others to do the same. It’s a more everyday message that’s reminiscent of the old saying ‘Smile and the world smiles with you’.  Rather than doing something good, which is probably impossible on a larger scale, It makes you want to do good on a smaller scale; smile at passers by and not screwing them, pick someone up when they fall or, help an elderly person with their bags. Coach Carter and this scene in particular inspires us to act with humility and joy, to throw off the unhappy, and hostile nature of our modern society and strive to make the world a better place, one day at a time.

This scene, from 'The Pursuit Of Happyness' is inspirational in that it shows us that if you work hard enough good things can and will happen, that while this world can put you down there is always a way out, if you have the drive to get there. The fact that this is based on a true story adds to its inspirational message, Pursuit of happyness perfectly reflects the hardship so many face in modern society.


















                     Shots list for main task

Shot type	Purpose/function
MLS of gang standing in street corner, talking	Sets the scene for location, characters
MS of someone in main gang running up group leader, dialogue telling them where rival gang is	Shows setting for character, as well as facial expressions
CU, gang leader creates dialogue to hype everyone up, create violence	Used in dialogue, and to communicate dialogue to audience. Shows emotion in face
MS, gang running through street, with weapons in hand	Shows facial expressions as anger, but also shows   settings to help understanding
OTS, confrontation between 2 gangs on main road	Also use reverses OTS. Used for dialogue on main gang between main gang leaders
LS, leader of protagonist gang tells someone to shoot them	Used for showing scale, context, location. Shows large amount of gang members in both gangs
LS, OTS cuts to scene of everyone in both gang fist fighting, and using weapons	Shows scale of large gang fight
2S, 360 degrees, in the end it is just both gang leaders alive, dialogue between both	Both characters look each other straight in the face, ends with fade out (cliffhanger)

                              Filming schedule

Day 1 – Kane

Date/time – Sunday 02/12/12

Setting/location – Brixton (Kane) healthy eating

Scenes to be filmed – Kane’s story about rich people

Props – smart clothes, change of clothes

Equipment – camera, microphone, spare batteries, money

Responsibilities – who will be cameraman

Day 2 – KJ

Date/time – 02/12/12, 08/12/12, 29/11/12

Setting/ location – Brixton (few scenes), school, Heygate Estate, Elephant and Castle, backshop, Tesco (KJ)

Scenes to be filmed – KJ’s story about south London youths

Props – hoodies, hats, black leather gloves, bomber jacket

Equipment – camera, microphone, spare batteries, money

Responsibilities – who will be cameraman

Day 3 – Brian

Date/time – 29/11/12, 02/12/12, 08/12/12

Setting/location – side/back roads near my house, Brixton, Elephant and Castle, Heygate Estate, backshop, Tesco

Scenes to be filmed – story about fight between rival gangs in streets of South London

Props – toy guns, plastic knives, bomber jackets, bandanas, hoodies, metal objects potentially useful as a weapon

Equipment – camera, microphone, spare batteries, money

Responsibilities – who will be the actors? Who will be the cameraman


Directional responsibilities

Location - elephant and castle, Aylesbury estate/side roads, main roads, Brixton main roads/side roads

Filming - everyone in the group; Brian, Kane, KJ

Equipment - video camera, props e.g. dark jackets, clothes, knives, baseball bats, sunglasses

Directing - Brian, Kane, KJ

Sound - pretend shooting sound, e.g. "pow" , sound of wind blowing

               List of, props, setting, costumes, images

Props

·         Pretend (plastic) toy guns

·         Bandanas                                                                                                 

·         Sunglasses

·         Knife

·         Baseball bat/ broken door handle

Settings

·         Backshop

·         In and around school

·         Side streets behind backshop

·         Side streets in and around Kennington

Costumes

·         Bomber jackets/dark jackets

·         Hoodies

                           Audience feedback

Positive feedback

§  Action was consistent

§  Ending was good- leaving a cliff-hanger

§  Ideas were very good, but not well executed

§  Good sound effects - punch

§  Good midshot composition – shows emotion of characters

§  Locations are appropriate/suitable

Negative feedback

§  Music – distracts from the images and action, much louder than actor voices

§  No establishing shot – panning of the camera too quick

§  Glare is distracting – cameraman could have been much better

§  Actors too aware of the camera

§  Too much action – no focus makes it confusing for audience

§  Limited use of camera shots/angles

§  Filming would have been better at night/darker time

§  Credits in opening scene

§  Transitions are too long – fades to black

§  Looks more like a trailer than an opening scene

In personal evaluation, it is clear my scene for my main task does need a bit of improving, as indicated by the larger amount of negative feedback than positive feedback. I will read the negative feedback, and learn what i must include, the ways in which it should be filmed, time of day, and editing techniques should i need to have to do a task similar to this in the future. I will also look at my positive feedback, and make sure the good things i have done is also incorporated into future work.

                     Evaluation questions

In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

My media product mainly represents the struggles, and every day life of a gang living in South London, and the problems faced with other gangs in the area. My product was mainly intended to have some sort of build up, leading to an ending with a cliff-hanger, and leaving the audience sitting on the edge of their seats with anticipation. As a movie based on gangs, there was appropriate clothing (black jackets, hoodies, leather gloves) and in the appropriate setting (a street corner/alleyway) where those sort of gang activity normally takes place. There was also a fight scene with potentially lethal weapons (violence) which again, is a real life representation of what can happen in this sort of environment.


How does your media product represent particular social groups?
It represents the social groups of the South london youths, involved in gangs, their lifestyle, speech, regular areas, and the way they are portrayed to act when surrounded by others in this environment. This was to produce a real life representation of what actually goes on within these gangs, and to make the movie based on this.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A media institution that might distribute my media product could be channels such as Channel4, because it is a channel known for it's young movie makers, and being extra co-operative on matters involving the youths of London, particularly South London. This has been represented in programmes such as Topboy, which looked at poverty in South London, and the ways people in this environment can escape, such as selling drugs, robbing people etc. Also, another institution may be those such as BBC 3, as BBC 3 is  a channel known for exploring  life from a number of different angles, such as comedy, documentaries, action, adventure, cartoons, sci-fi, and more recently life real in London. This was again shown when they covered the story of Shakilus Townend, the youth brutally murdered due to a set-up girl in south London in 2008. In London, this was the topic of story for many months after.


Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience I intended for were teenagers, moslty for those living in London. This was to provide a real picture of what takes place, and that most watching will be able to relate to at least abit of the story, or having experienced it sometime in their life.

How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience by appealing to something all/most of them will be able to relate to - the idea of gangs in London is of course nothing new, and something most young people will experience at least once in their lives - either through being in a gang themselves, a victim of gang robbery, or knowing (of) someone in a gang. These are common among South London youths nowadays.


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

As we used a software called Final Cut Pro on Mac, over a period of 2 days for our editing, it taught me how to use the software, and others like it to my full advantage, with full use of editing effects such as - cut, fade in, fade out, slow motion forward, backward, add music over the video, etc.

I have taught myself over the period i was given to use the software, how to add various techniques, such as dim lighting, brighter video and many others like it. This is a major leap in knowledge, from what i knew before using the software. Also, i have learned about using a handheld camcorder effectively. I learned so much, as i was asked to film the work for people in my group, in the class, and filmed for myself. I spent about half an hour playing with the camcorder, and figured out how to use all the effects on the camera.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task i can say i have improved on every aspect i have needed to work on to complete my main task. These include - editing (the use of cameras and editing software helped my develop this), camera use (frequent use of the camcorder helped me to understand how to use it properly and effectively), and in improving my acting skills (being in the films of everyone in my group helped me to develop and improve the way i acted)

Case study on action thriller films

(Movies used)

·         Tomb Raider

·         Die Hard

·         Regeneration/ Behind the lines

·         Taken 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SXsCkKuvOU  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nduCioITrzA

Camera angles

Depending on the main plot of the film, and the intention of the way the character is meant to be portrayed, many different camera angles can be employed to give a certain status, or role to one character, but a completely different role and status to another.

For example, on the cover of the film ‘Tomb Raider’ a low camera angle was used, to show Lara Croft as a strong character, looking powerful and determined. They have made her look bigger than she is, and look like the most powerful, strong characters in the movie. If you have watched this movie franchise, you will know this is the main theme – Lara Croft is a strong powerful woman, capable of taking out small armies by herself, and rescuing fully grown men from burning buildings, and using a low camera angle in the movie cover  was one way of conveying this theme before watching the movie. In this context, the camera angle can also show ‘attitude’ and ‘dominance’.

Another example would be a Bird’s eye view, used to make some kind of dramatic comment on a

character or scene.  This kind of shot can seem disorienting because it is rarely the way audiences themselves see the world.  In Gilles MacKinnon’s Regeneration (1997), a bird’s-eye shot of a World War I battlefield is used to open the movie. The effect of this shot is to suggest the madness of war and the brutality it inflicts on soldiers.

Conventions

The action film genre is generally characterized by the physical action that tells much of the story, as opposed to drama's for example where the story is told via the dialogue. In addition, there is a "hero" character whose individual efforts make up a lot of the action. One very strong example is the "Die Hard" movie series, where Bruce Willis' character was the hero. Action films are known for having a few characteristics that run throughout the genre. They are always fast-paced, have a (usually male) hero-centred narrative, a beautiful love interest who will require saving, and a multitude of guns, explosions, chases, and dangerous stunts. Character development usually takes a while to understand, but with so much excitement on-screen, viewers most likely won’t care.

Alternatively however (as talked about earlier) there can be a role reversal, and it is up to the woman to save the men and children. The main theme that occurs in action films still exists - fast-paced, explosions, guns, and a lot of the story is told through action. However, what is different is that there is also a lot of the story told through dialogue, which may be reminiscent of the fact she is a woman, and as well as strong, powerful, dominant she is also caring and deep-down still  has woman-like traits.

Music

Usually to go with these action shots, and scenes, there is some sort of music that is common to the scene or event taking place. For example, if someone had 10 seconds to cut a bomb wire, that could potentially kill hundreds or thousands but they didn’t know which wire to cut, first we get a sense of pressure on this character, and there would usually be music playing that encouraged tension. A good soundtrack is essential to getting the attention of your target audience. A film can reveal so much within its music.  Beyond the creepy background music of thrillers that tells you the killer is around the corner, music has the ability to expose characters’ feelings, actions, and a film’s tensions.

One of these examples could include chase scenes. Climatic, epic chase music will usually be a fore-warning to the audience that some chase, or battle, or shootout, etc. is about to take place; for example, in the movie ‘Taken 2’ the use of music is almost as important as the use of the characters themselves!

Music is very powerful in the sense that it has the power to change emotions, and change feelings towards a particular character. The use of music is a basic and effective way to heighten the drama of a given scene in a film. Regardless of the genre, a good piece of music can add to nearly any scene. In an action set-piece, the music will match the action in terms of power and intensity.

Director

The film director is much like the conductor of an orchestra. First, like a conductor has to create a mental ideal of how the music should sound, the director must create an ideal vision for how the film will look. Secondly, like a conductor, the film director must communicate that vision to the various players so everyone is working together toward the single vision.

Other than acting and script writing, the director is involved in every aspect of a film in some way or another, so it could be argued that he has the most important job, however some roles in creating movies can be equally important.

For example, all parties have an effect on the film. If the producer doesn't produce enough money, then depending on the film it may look cheap. If the script writer is bad at his job, then the actor’s lines will be awful. If the actors are poor, then the lines developed by the script writers won't be translated well. And if the director is, bad, then the film comes out even worse. So to summarise the director has an equally important job as the rest of the other personnel involved in the movie making process.

Features and conventions of an action thriller

General features and conventions

While action heroes have existed in films since the 1920s (such as Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn), the genre itself didn’t become popular until directors such as John Carpenter and George Miller began making action-centred films.

The action film genre is generally characterized by the physical action that tells much of the story, as opposed to drama's for example where the story is told via the dialogue. In addition, there is a "hero" character whose individual efforts make up a lot of the action. One very strong example is the "Die Hard" movie series, where Bruce Willis' character was the hero. Action films are known for having a few characteristics that run throughout the genre. They are always fast-paced, have a (usually male) hero-centred narrative, a beautiful love interest who will require saving, and a multitude of guns, explosions, chases, and dangerous stunts. Character development usually takes a while to understand, but with so much excitement on-screen, viewers most likely won’t care.

The general idea of a good action movie, including a good hero have changed over the course of history. For example, In the 1920s and 30s, good action movies were frequently characterized by the swashbuckling adventure stories starring actors such as Douglas Fairbanks who fought many a sword fight in period dramas. The cowboy or western film as well as war movies became the commonly talked about action film topics of the 40s and 50s; and the 1960s were dominated by the James Bond spy series with the one-man army that single handily took down many a villainous mastermind and used technologically advanced spy tools, gadgets and hot cars to get the job done. The action movie genre didn't really begin to develop as an independent movie type until the 1970s with the "Dirty Harry" franchise which starred Clint Eastwood, who was seen as the cowboy of the time, for the previous roles he had played.

The 1980s are known as the action era, with a large number of good action movies. In fact the summer time became known as the time for action movies to be released to audiences nationwide. The action era featured stars who even today star as action movie stars including: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford. The genre flourished with films such as Die Hard, Rambo, The Terminator, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. The success of these films led to a massive amount of like-themed movies, including several successful franchises. Also some of the main themes for action movies back in the 80’s included themes like - man versus a corrupt system, stories about the end of the world, and comic book heroes brought to life, which I’m sure will be familiar to all of us.

There are many sub-genres within the larger action genre which include: Spy films, Cop films, Crime films, Buddy films, Superhero films, Revenge films, and Apocalypse films.

 In all of these it’s up to the hero to save the day. He (or on rare occasion, she) is good, the villains are bad, and there’s nothing in between.