Unit 16 : LO1. Task 2

In this task i have been asked to illustrate how to label clips correctly and create bins in my browser using Final Cut Pro. I have shown this by using screen grabs;

Firstly i opened up my project on Final Cut Pro. Once all my files had been imported to Final Cut Pro i was ready to sort the files out into an arrangement of categories. 

For me to be able to sort my folders out, i needed to create a new bin i did this by right clicking the area where my imported videos are. and renamed it Audio so i could put my audio files in this folder. You can create as many bins as you need.

As you can see the folder has been created and ready for files to be put in there. 

I created another bin for my still images and video, as those are the files that need to be sorted out.

As you can see in this picture i have put my chosen files in to the correct categories, i did this by clicking on the file and dragging it to the correct folder. 

As you can see in this picture, you can label what ever you like to the files. For example the label 'good' has been ticked for a number of files, you can create labels of your own choice. There is also a description label, this allows you to write a short description on the file, so you chose the correct one, for example in my audio file, i have 'black jesus' It was my first take so i described it as my first take.

Pioneer of editing Scorsese

Scorsese formally known as Martin Charles Scorsese born November 17, 1942 (Aged 69) is a well known American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. Scorsese is hailed as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers of all time, directing landmark films such as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bul (1980), and Goodfellas (1990) – all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed (2006), having been nominated a previous five times.

 

Some of the editing techniques Scorsese consist off;

Scorsese uses Freeze frames to cause tension and to build the scene up. For example in the film Goodfellas, he used a freeze frame whilst there is a fight going on, whilst the freeze frame is happening he uses a voice over to give a bit of a back story so you have more understanding of the film.

By using Flash bulb cuts, Scorsese makes you feel the atmosphere for example in 'The Aviator' The scene where a couple get papped by lots of cameras. You can see the male is feeling incredibly uncomfortable as the lights are flashing in almost a awkward way. He also uses this technique to cut to different scenes with a bolt of light 

A lot of film directors like to use the slowed down technique as it is good for many things. Scorsese partially used this technique in the film Taxi Driver where a guy gets killed, this gives a very effective feel. with seeing it you can feel the hate and pain the pain is in before dying. He used this to create a build up to when the man dies.

Speed can be used in many different ways, to cause a frantic atmosphere or simply a very happy. Scorsese used this in the film 'Casino' during a number of fight scenes, this created the frantic behavior which is a fight and tries

 to make you feel the atmosphere from your own home!  

When directors use the 'sped-up' technique many people think its the same as speed, in which its not. They can both create different effects when used correctly. The Sped up technique is used in the film 'The Taxi' just before the slowed down technique is used, this created a fast action thriller as the fight scene but by using the sped up approach it gave Scorsese the ability to jump cut to a different scene.

Its a known fact that photo montages and voice overs go well together, and thats a technique Scorsese has learnt to perfection. In the film 'Goodfellas' a photo montage is used to give a bit of a back story, of the family and giving you a clear understanding of the family. Photo montages are usually used to give you part of the story line in a short amount of time, or to explain something that may be happening. 

Scorsese is still working  on new projects and is respected world wide for his work, earlier this year on Sunday 12 February, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award was presented to Martin Scorsese with the Academy Fellowship at the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony, at London’s Royal Opera House. 

Cloning Video

Vintage super 8 colour exercise Nicki Minaj

The non-edited version on Nicki Minaj's music video for Super Base.

This is now the video i have personally made changed to the effect. i have made the video feel old by giving it a washed out colour effect, and taken down the brightness of the video.

Chroma Key

Setting up Scratch

I started a new project on Final Cut Pro (fcp) , then i went to the fcp tab, system settings. In the system settings i created a file called REBECCA WHITE, in the macintosh HD2 drive. I then set the waveform cache to my folder i just made, i did the same for Thumbnail cache and autosave vault. I then saved my project by going to file project save as then saved in to to the folder i had just created.

Pleasentville

Evaluation on ‘Playing with Time’

The opening scene of this film is started with a non- diagetic sound, being a song, but throughout the whole scene this technique is used a lot to build tension. At the begging of the scene the actress is on a road with what seems to be her newly wed husband. But then the director has used a wipe.

This film relies heavily on flashbacks as through out the whole scene there was more than 5 flashback occasions used.   .. DO MORE 

Editing: The Invisible Art

Editing can build tension and pace by making the shots shorter and more frequent, this give a very fast pace approach.

Crosscutting is when the camera cuts between two different scenes, for example; In ‘The Edge of the World’ the shots keep crossing over to the  two men climbing the mountain to build a atmosphere.

Reaction Shots are where you see other characters besides the main characters in the shot reacting to what is going on around them. This could be anything from long shots to close-ups.

Seamless editing is hard to see, you wouldn’t notice it if you was engrossed in the film. Seamless editing doesn’t consist of lots of different graphics just the basics to build tension and the atmosphere, as its more to the story line, for example in the film ‘The Edge of the World’ will the men fall of the cliff or wont they.

A jump cut is a cut when two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly as you can see in ‘Food for a Blush’ this is used for humor, and so the audience in on the film making process.

Flashbacks are used to take the audience from one point in time to another. They are commonly used for forming a back-story - a key moment in the characters life which normally shows how they got to where they are now. A Flashback achieve the audience knowing more about the story going n not just what is happening in the present.





Film Editing is used poetically in the film ‘ distant voices steal lives’ there’s a scene where you see a rainfall on some umbrellas then the scene cuts to two women crying, but as the viewer you can work out they are watching a film. 

Editor Job Profile

The Gloaming


Editing a film consists of selecting from different shots and then joining them together to tell a story.

Elliptical editing is a shortcut, for example; in ‘The Gloaming’ There is a shot of the actress going to sleep in the woods, but save having to watch her sleep for the whole night, the director chase to cut straight to the morning, so you see the actress waking up. It lets the story form more quickly and effectively.

Long shots are used for many reasons, it can remind the viewer of the
 surroundings that the character is in or where the scene is happening. Long shots are even used to get the atmosphere of the scene.

A non-diagetic sound is a sound that isn’t being played on set whilst filming. The sound has been edited in after all the filming is done to give more of an effect on the scene that is being played out.

In ‘The Gloaming’ There is a shot of someone picking up a ring, we know this is the actress as she is in the same place as the ring but before you see the ring there is 2 extremely close close-ups of the actress, she is looking distressed then looks to the floor. The next scene you see is someone picking up your ring. The director did this to save time, Us as the viewers put two and two together and understand she is picking up the ring. 


Hustle 

The scene started with a overhead establishing shot this sets out the space where the action will take place and you see the characters positions within the room.

Shot-Reverse-Shot is when the film cuts from two people or however many people. In ‘Hustle’ the camera begins cutting back and forth between two characters, who are talking, you don’t see them both in the same shot talking but we as viewers understand that they are in full conversation.

When using ‘shot-reverse-shot’ its really important to get ‘eye-line matching’ perfect otherwise the whole scene could be ruined.  For example in the Show, the large man standing up is talking and looks off screen and down, whilst the man sitting down looks off-screen and up. We as viewers get the impression they are looking at each other.

Whilst Sean is setting the plan in this scene, the camera cuts to other members in the group sometimes individually sometimes in two shots, this is done so we can see their faces react to both the plan and each other

A wipe is used to change the scene by moving the action to a different location and time.

Using quick cuts creates a fast rhythm which in turn keeps the story moving along and keeps the audience on their toes. It’s a great idea to use quick cuts in a show like ‘Hustle’ as it’s a action drama which needs to be faced paced.

Photograms

I created these photograms by placing my chosen objects on to sun-print paper and exposing them to natural sunlight for approximately 2 minuets. After placing them in direct sunlight i placed the sun-print paper in to warm water and the result of this is the effect on the photos, my chosen objects had left a print of the shape on the paper giving a x-ray effect. The paper that didn't have objects on it turned dark whilst the places where the objects were put turned light. The areas where the objects created shadows gave an interesting mid tone appearance. 

Man Ray also discovered a similar technique in 1921, he named this technique 'rayographs' after himself.

Pitch for 1950's Photo-Shoot

Untitled from becca on Vimeo.

Framing

For these pictures I used a Cannon DSLR camera and used a framing technique. To achieve this I stood my model in-front of a window frame so the photo looks like a frame inside a frame. How you frame an image is important as it controls where the viewer looks. 

Large Depth of Field

For these pictures I again used a Cannon DSLR camera and changed the camera to aperture priority mode. I then dialled in a small aperture a high f number (f11 - 18). As you can tell the view at the front o the picture is still as clear as the view at the back of the picture. I enjoyed taking these pictures I could have just improved them a little by using more of a tripod or a higher ISO.  

Shallow Depth Of Field

For these pictures i used a Cannon DSLR camera, i put it in  aperture priority and set it to F 5, these pictures were exciting to take and I would like to experiment in them more! To improve these pictures i could have used a tripod to be more focused. 

Evaluation For my 1950’s Photo-Shoot

On this project I was asked to come up with an idea for a photo-shoot for a chosen magazine. I knew straight away that I wanted to base my photo-shoot on a 1950’s feminist theme. I had a lot of preparation for this project as i had to sort out what props I was going to use such as; Cakes, cake stand, tea set and dress. I also had to book a model for the shoot, I personally dressed and put make up on her her to the best standard i could, there was a lot of difficulty with the dress I used as it didn't fit and that led to me having to pin the back of the dress but the models back was not showing in any of the pictures so was not seeable.

The magazine I shot this shoot for was Vintage Life magazine aimed at ages 15 to 35. It features articles about fashion, history and interior design.  I think I stuck to the theme of the magazine as I used a young model with the 'back to basis' feel. The pictures are subtle but not boring, with a hint of the original cheekiness of a classic pin up girl.

I use some photo editing software called picnic, which gave the images a vintage effect by adding filters and enhancing the colours to create a cross processing vintage feel.

I stuck to my plan for the shoot. But unfortunately the weather was bad so I couldn't do the outside pictures. Personally I think the shoot could have gone a lot better, as the pictures could have been improved by changing a couple of things for example; the lighting could have been brighter so I didn’t have to rely on using editing software. Also some people commented on the back lighting as i took the shots in-front of a large window with natural bright sunlight, so the camera exposed for the window rather than the model. I could have avoided this if I had used selective focus or manual focus.

I think the background could also be less cluttered. I only shot on two different backgrounds but I would have liked to have used more. Also the outfits my model used were a bit limited as I only had one outfit throughout the whole shoot. I enjoyed adding the music to the video of pictures as it gave a more of  rockabilly feel to it and almost set the atmosphere to the whole video. I personally think by adding the music to the video the viewer gets a clear understanding to what theme I was going for.

I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment as it was fun and I could have been as creative as I wanted, but overall could have been strongly improved.

My 1950's Photo-Shoot

Mind Map For Vintage Life Magazine

Places where to take photos;

• My house - Front room (big floral patterns on walls, retro themed)
• Outdoors - Garden themed tea party with flowers and cakes 
• Kitchen - Baking in my kitchen
• Street - Walking down the road with the sunset forming
• Bedroom - Rollers in ready for bed look

Props i will need;

• Vintage clothes 
• Hair rollers and accessories/make up
• Baking ingredients 
• for the garden party - tea set cakes model has baked, flowers table cloth
• bed for night time sleeping

Model;

• Model has a great overspilling cheeky personality that shows in photos
• lots of character 
• 1950's stay at home wife - cook - clean - look pretty
• Dressed in big 1950s dresses with apron 
• Feminist persoana 
• Dita von tease look

Overall my photo shoot will consist of a 1950s stay at home look pretty house wife, she will be taking out her days tasks consisting of baking drinking tea and making herself look sweet. I want to get as much character out of her face as possible, with a hint of being cheeky but not sexy. The garden themed tea party is a good idea as it was a daily thing that 1950s housewives used to hold every day, its not knwon so much now for a daily chore but more of a form of art. I want to see my model on the street too just to get different angles of the fashion femine on the road. 

Moodboard For Vintage Life Magazine

 Have a picture of a 1950s themes lady walking down  the street.

 Pictures  based on a floral feminine background 

 Different types of vintage ware and pin up hair styles 

 and again Floral Background 

Vivian Holloway's famous 1950s dresses 

Classic Pin up hair styles

 Photoshoot in a old theme car around London

 Tea and biscuits in a 1950s housewife theme

Cooking whilst having rollers in hair

All in all im going for a typical 1950s housewife theme for a vintage copy of the well known fashion magazine Vintage life magazine i will do this by putting my model in a series of vintage dresses plus some special Vivian Holloway dresses ( popular 1950s dress) and taking shoots in the kitchen, with tea and biscuits and on a floral background. Also i would like to do a out and about around the streets of London! 

Fast Shutter Speed

For these pictures i used a DSLR Cannon Camera but set the shutter speed to 1/225 seconds and whilst capturing the pictures you need to move fast to catch the water drop. the shutter speed plays a big role in these pictures as it needs to be shot at the correct time to catch the drop in mid air. I perhaps could have used shutter burst to give myself more opportunity to capture motion.  You also need a steady hand whilst taking these pictures to avoid blurring. 

I found this exercise really difficult as you had to keep your eyes peeled i could improve my photos by catching the drop a bit sooner or having a more steadier stream of drips.then i did as i caught the water drop hitting the water not in mid air, but overall for a first attempt i think i did ok, i would like to try to improve my images. 

Light Graffiti

For these photos I used a basic torch and a DSLR Cannon and set the shutter speed to 15 seconds. I attached the camera to a tripod to keep the camera steady over such a long exposure. 


I adjusted the ISO as well (image sensitivity) to 100. In those 15 seconds I waved my torch around to give the graffiti effect. In the top image I was trying to create a ball of light. In the bottom image I was trying to write a graffitti style tag. 


There are many problems that can occur with this technique some being; the lighting – too much background light means it won’t work correctly as the torch will not shine through. So we had to try and eliminate as much light as possible. 


This is a very fun technique to play around with and I like the fact you can be as creative as you wish.

Shutter Zoom

These pictures I again used a DSLR Cannon Camera but set the shutter speed to 1/25 seconds and whilst capturing the picture I manually moved the zoom lens rapidly to produce the blurry effect. 


The ISO (image sensitivity) was set to 400 (as the the weather was overcast)  which created the sharp effect on the image, this prevented the picture from becoming distorted. It would be impossible for the eye to catch this image therefore is a great technique to use. To improve these pictures I could have had a more steady hand and not been so scared of the fast zoom effect.  

Panning Technique

Again on these pictures I used a DSLR Cannon camera. In these pictures you can see the moving object’s are sharp and the background is blurred, the opposite to Slow shutter speed.  I got this technique by changing the setting to shutter speed being 1/25 seconds and ISO (image sensitivity) on a 100. This technique is called Panning. I could highly improve these pictures but as it was my first time I was just experimenting.  

Slow Shutter Speed

In these pictures you can see how the background is sharp but the moving objects are blurred this technique is called slow shutter speed, I was using a DSLR CANNON camera and achieved this by setting the shutter speed to 1/25 and the ISO (image sensitivity) was set to 100. To get this effect on the pictures I placed my camera on a tripod or a steady fence and as the cars were coming closer I would take them just before they were in front of me. The greatest thing about this technique is that the camera catches what the eye doesn’t. 

Music Photography & Fashion Photography Presentations

Music photography rebecca

Fashion Photography Presentation

Newton Faulkner Video