This blog post contains the work I did in my lesson on how to successfully edit. My teacher filmed the footage but I edited it together. My teacher also provided the template for the blog post.
Why is continuity editing important?
Continuity editing includes making sure that items like props or costumes stay consistent from scene to scene. But the more important work lies in editing shots togegther in a way that leaves viewers thoroughly grounded in both time and space.
Different types of continuity edit
- Straight cut (cut)
- Eyeline match
- Shot / reverse shot
- Cutaway / Insert
*Match cut
Footage
Here is the footage that my teacher shot which utilises a variety of camera angles and movements. The scene is very simple, it involves a student standing up and leaving the classroom. A single shot here might be quite boring for the audience, by editing and combining the shots together we can make the scene feel more dynamic.
My Editing Process
I don't know any easy / simple editing applications but I know that CapCut is a very famous editing platform now days. Since it's also accessible on laptop, I decided to edit the clips with CapCut.
1. I started by cutting the first clip to my liking to help guide the cut for the second scene. If you noticed, I decided to cut while he has his right foot in front and standing in front of the white pillar.
2. While I was cutting, my team member (Maisie) noticed that he had one arm out in the second clip while he had both of his hands in his pocket. Luckily the actor himself decided to put his other hand inside his pocket. I decided to cut the second clip when both of his hands are inside his pocket.
3. Next I decided to cut scene 2 to the part where the actor is reaching for the door handle (not holding it yet). Which led to scene 3 of him reaching for the door handle.
4. I decided to cut scene 3 to the exact part where the door was slightly open to help start scene 4 of the door opening.
5. Lastly I ended my cut scene from scene 4 with apparently stepping with his left foot and on scene 5 the start of him walking with his left foot.
Heres my final result
Reflection: This was very fun to make since I do enjoy editing. These clips were really bad and hard to edit with since it wasn't really smooth (especially the opening door scene). Overall I'm satisfied with my results and this really helps improved my editing skills for future projects. Next time Im going to try and improve my sound editing so that it can align with the clips.
This post contains a mini project that helped us learn how to shoot a cinematic scene. We did this as a group.
Lesson Description
Our teacher told us to find a scene from a movie in our genre. Our task was to recreate it. Heres our scene side by side with the original scene we chose. Original Scene: Paranormal Activity 3.
Storyboard
Here is our Storyboard that we made from our original scene
Problems and Solutions
Camera
Problems:
1. We had problems with the steadiness of the camera since we used our hands to film.
2. When filming the scene, leaks regarding my team members "legs" were seen.
Solutions:
1. There was a feature on the camera app that cancels out shakiness to create a more smoother and clean finish.
2. We decided to crop the leaks out to save time from retaking the scene.
Next time:
1. We will get ourselves a tripod that could help make the panning shot look more smooth, and help avoid shakiness.
2. Before filming, we need to prevent these problems by checking the camera set up beforehand.
Mise-en-Scene
Problems:
1. Controlling the prop was challenging to face since we had to remove and throw props in one take.
2, The location we filmed in needed modifications to help replicate the set design form the original scene.
Solutions:
1. Since my team member wouldn't have enough time to handle both taking and throwing the props, we decided to ask for help from our teacher which made it faster to complete.
2. We asked for permission to move the furniture to our likings and decided to help move it back after using it.
Next time:
1. Since we only had 3 members in for today (we have 4 members) we'll try to get everyone involved next time since having more people will allow us to create better effect with the props.
2. We'll look for a more accurate environment since we were in school (school does not have a living room or a kitchen).
Edit
Problems:
1. Timing the scene so that the trash falls at the exact time with the original scene was difficult to edit.
2. The internet was really bad and took ages to export the video.
Solutions:
1. We decided to use cuts and slow-mos to help slower down the time and to cut out minutes to help accurately match the timing with the scene.
2. We decided to be more patient since we were the first ones to finish filming and to edit. We also decided to use our own personal hotspot to help provide better network.
Next time:
1. We will have to follow and time the scene properly to avoid doing small difficult editing.
2. We hope that our school wifi does not get slower and let us use our phones for internet.
Here's the screenshots of my team member's (Maisie) editing progress
Sound
Problems:
1. The sounds of the wind was very disturbing and was hard to get our sounds in.
2. During filming, there were other people in the same area filming their mini project.
Solutions:
1. We decided to just use the original scene's audio so we wouldn't have to record a voice over.
2. They didn't start recording until we finished so it wasn't really our problem, but it was taking them too long to wait and we decided to rush up the recording.
Next time:
1. We will have to film inside where it's quiet and actually try recording voice overs to get better at those skills.
2. We'll have to film somewhere private where theres no one except us.
Behind-the-Scenes images
Reflection: This task was very fun because we were basically making a short clip. Because it was the first lesson back from winter break, this boost up my motivation to work better for my media project. I think this will really help our project to understand how special effects work and how to get the illusion of supernatural activities. Overall this task was really entertaining and a great way to start after my long holiday.
