Editing Blog: Sound and Changes

The plan for this editing day was very similar to the previous editing day. The plan was to work on sound and make any changes needed to the film opening. I wanted to use the entire class time to finish the film; however, I ran into a laptop issue. The laptop I usually use for editing was almost dead. This doesn't seem like a huge problem because the simple solution would be to get a different laptop. It wasn't that simple though, when I started up Pinnacle Studio on a different laptop I realized that I had to re-import all the footage and music in order to edit anything. Importing the footage takes an extremely long time which means I wouldn't be able to get a lot of work done and would waste a lot of valuable time. To not waste time Leila and I sat on the floor next to the laptop cart, which is where the laptop chargers are and did our work on the original laptop. About halfway through the class, the laptop had charged to about halfway so I suggested we go back to our desk and do our work from there.

Before I started editing I watched the opening from the beginning to see what was finished. If I noticed any issues I pointed out to Leila who was writing down everything that needed to be fixed. The main issue I noticed throughout the opening was that it was extremely difficult to understand what the actresses were saying because either the actresses were too quiet or the music was too loud. To fix this issue I suggested to Leila the volume we should have the dialogue at because she had control over the laptop at the time. I also suggested that we should lower the volume of the music a little bit, but not too much so it wouldn't ruin the intensity of the scenes. When editing the music towards the end of the opening, I proposed to make the fade-in longer to have a better transition. Also, to have the music end abruptly to increase the seriousness and intensity of the Monitor being attacked. I helped to line up the 'bang' sound made when the Monitor gets hit to her dialogue. The dialogue that was used wasn't a complete sentence to make it sound like the 'bang' sound interrupted her and prevented her from finishing her sentence. This was extremely hard to do and it took me and Leila many attempts to get it right.

After all the sound was finished we asked a classmate to review it for us and if they could tell us if they could understand what was happening. The classmate gave us very helpful criticism on our opening. They informed us that the conversation in scene 3 was choppy and look displaced. Also, they recommended having the Monitor appear in more scenes for the audience to understand that the Monitor is friends with the spies. I fully agreed with this because I believed the story didn't make sense with the Monitor only appearing in two scenes, one at the beginning and one at the end. To fix these issues Leila and I planned to create new dialogue for scene 3 and re-shoot it and to add in more scenes where the monitor is present.

Closer to the end of the day, Leila and I realized that we needed to make a big change to our film opening. This change involved getting rid of the sub-genre, comedy. The original plan of this film opening was to be a comedy but before we started filming we changed the genre to action with the sub-genre of comedy. Now, we realized the comedy aspect of the opening doesn't work.

This is a picture of me editing the final task.

Editing Blog: Minor Details and Sound

On this editing day, almost all of the footage had been added so I just needed to make some minor detail changes. These changes included trimming and speeding up or down footage. Before I could add in any changes I watched my film all the way through. While I was watching the opening I told Leila where I think there needs to be a change so she could write it down. After the list of changes was completed I retrieved the storyboard it case I need a reference when I'm making the changes.

The main changes I needed to make was to cut the footage more and add transitions. Some of the scenes went on for too long so I had to cut them to make them shorter. In some of the scenes, the audience could hear my voice or Leila's, so I had to trim out our voices. While watching the opening I noticed some of the transitions were choppy, so I added in fades to make it look smoother.

I also got to work on sound this day. Before Leila and I could add in any sound we had to re-import the music because the old import wasn't loading. After all the music was re-imported, Leila and I listened to all of the music to remind ourselves what we have to choose from. While listening to the music I was also making sure if we had enough music to choose from or if we needed more. After we listened to all of the music once, we went back and listen to it a second time and wrote down notes. These notes consisted of the parts of the songs we wanted to include. Whenever I came across a part I found would work with the opening I would tell Leila, so she could write it down. After I listened to the music a second time, I started adding in the sound. I would help to adjust the length of the music and where it should be located. I also added in the fade-ins and outs in the music to help transition between the different music more smoothly. After a lot of the sound was added, I watch the film and realized that some of the original music planned for a scene didn't sound right for the situation. For example, the original music for the montage scene didn't transition well from the previous song. I tried fixing it with different lengths of fade, but it still wasn't working. In the end, I recommended extended the previous song over the montage and getting rid of the original montage music. I really liked the outcome of doing this, so instead of finding new montage music, we decided to just you the song from the earlier scene.

Another part of the sound I was able to work on briefly was adjusting the loudness of the dialogue scenes. Due to the background music, come of the dialogue was to quiet which would make it very hard for the audience to understand. I went through the different dialogue scenes and made them louder until the class ended.

This is a picture of myself editing.

Editing Blog: Drafting the Final Task

This blog consist of everything I did during three editing days. Leila and I discussed that we should put these three days in one blog because one of the days we got out early, another day was the second half of the peer review day, and the last day was a full editing day. My roles were the same for each of the three days.

On each of these days I started off by taking out the storyboard like I have done every previous editing day. Having the storyboard keeps me organized when I'm editing and helps me to not waste time. I definitely didn't want to waste any time on these days because I didn't have a lot to begin with.

My main role on these days was to add the footage to their respective tracks. On day four, I worked on creating scene 3. This was one of the longer scenes, so a lot of work needed to be done. I started off by having Leila read me off which take would be added from the checklist. This checklist was made by myself and Leila a few days earlier, so we wouldn't waste time picking out takes the day we planned to edit the scene. After all the footage was placed in the correct order I started trimming. Some of the footage consisted of an actress saying her line multiple times. This was done so all takes of the line could be found in one place. This meant when I was editing I had to cut out the takes we weren't going to use and save the one we were. When Leila had control over the laptop and was trimming I provided input on where the footage should be cut. On this day I also added in a split screen of the actresses getting ready.

On day five, I worked on create scenes 4-6. These scenes were relatively short, which is why I was able to edit them all in one day. On this day, I did mainly the same thing from the fourth day. I added the footage to the tracks where they belonged and cut them to the right length.

On day six, I worked on editing multiple scenes. There was a slight issue with viewing the footage on this day. I had to try to open the footage using different ways until I found one that worked. This delayed the amount of time I had to edit. After the issue was fixed I started editing. I added in the footage to the tracks and trimmed them. After adding in a lot of the footage I realized that there was still a lot in and we were almost at our max minutes. This meant that we were going to go over the 2 minute limit. In order to fix this, I discussed with Leila on what need to do and we decided to cut out some of the scenes. On this day I also helped Leila de-attach the audio from the footage to create a voice over. Furthermore, I slowed down some of the footage because it was to fast and hard to understand due to its original speed.

This is a picture of me ( ) viewing the footage.

Filming Blog: George English Park Part 2

On the fourth day of filming, Leila and I went back to George English park to film. The plan for this filming day was to film from scene 7 to 9. Originally, scene 9 was supposed to be filmed at a middle school; however, I discussed with Leila that we should film that seen at George English instead. I thought that would be a better idea because time would be wasted driving to another location. We didn't have a lot of time to film on this day. There was also a perfect spot to film scene 9. I didn't have a long time to film due to one of the actresses needing to be picked up at a certain time. One of the issues we had that wasted time was one of the actresses forgot their leather jacket. I had to go with the actresses to her house to get the leather jacket. I didn't want to use a different leather jacket because it wouldn't look the same as the one originally utilized.

Before I started filming, I reviewed the storyboard and checklist, so I could remind myself of what I needed to film. Similar to the other filming days, my main role was to be the camerawomen. I performed the same task I did every filming day, like videoing the scenes from multiple angles and shots. After I finished filming a scene, I would view some of the footage to make sure I had something to work with when editing. I learned by doing this I wouldn't have to re-shoot the scene later if I discovered there was nothing to use when editing.

Another role I had was to direct. I would direct the actresses on how they should act in the scenes and what emotions they should portray. I mainly remained them that they needed to act serious. I would also inform the actresses that they needed to speak their lines louder, so when sound is put over it, during editing, the audience can still hear them. During scene 9, I told the actress, Cori, when she was saying her line, "Hello, hello, hello, are you there?" to sound more worried after each "hello." I also gave her some examples of how to say it by saying the lines myself.

My last role was to act. This was the second day that I got to practice my acting. I didn't have any lines to say, but I did have different emotions to portray. In most of my scenes, I acted seriously, but when my character found out she was being followed she acts surprised.

This is a picture of me (middle) filming Kat.

Editing Blog: Piecing Footage

On this editing day, the goal was to finish scenes 1 and 2. On the previous editing day, I started to edit these two scenes; however, I ran out of time and couldn't finish them. Fortunately, I was able to grab the same laptop I used last class, so I didn't have to re-download the footage. Which also means there was more time to edit. The program, Pinnacle Studio, also didn't have too many issues. It loaded up fine but was a bit slow. However, I prefer having a slow working laptop then three that don't work. While the program was loading, I took out the storyboard to have a reference of the film opening. Furthermore, I asked Leila to get the checklist to have another reference. Having these two sources of references made editing easier and quicker on the second day of editing, so I felt that it would be important and logical to use them during this day too.

After Pinnacle Studio finished loading I opened up our film and got to work. I started by watching all the editing completed previously, in order to have a recap of the work done earlier. After reviewing scene 1 and 2's editing draft I discussed with Leila changes we needed to make. While I was tripping the footage Leila was providing me with input and I did the same when she was cutting. I felt that when one person was using the laptop it was important for the other to always suggest input and ideas. This way, if the scene wasn't looking right, the other person may know how to fix it or know how to make a scene look better. When I was cutting, I made sure to cut anything we don't need, like footage with long seconds of no sound or movement, or if Leila and I were talking in it.

After the cutting process for scene 1 and 2 was finally complete we moved on to sound. Leila had more experience with sound, so she was mainly in charge of fixing it; however, I tried my best to help by sharing my opinions, like if the music was to load or to quiet. I also helped to create the fades in the music to have a better transition between the songs.

A new skill I learned on this editing day was how to insert titles. While the plan was to add titles closer to the end of the editing process, we felt that it would be a good time to practice since scene 1 and 2 were mainly finished. The plan on how the titles should look were previously established before the editing process. This meant that I just had to create them. While Leila created the first title, I watched her, so I could learn how to do it for when I made the next one. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to do it, but after a few trials and errors, I was able to figure it out. I adjusted the size, font, and color of the titles. I was also able to find how to edit the titles, so they would fade in and out of the scenes.

This is a picture of me (grey jacket) working with Leila (black shirt) on the film opening.

Editing Blog: Cutting and Sound

On my second day of editing, the issues with Pinnacle Studio, the editing software, continued. The program was not opening up. Leila and I attempted to restart the laptops multiple times, but the program still refused to work. After attempting to open the system on three different laptops, I was finally able to find one that worked. I was glad to be able to edit on Pinnacle Studio; however, I already wasted a lot of time because it wouldn't open earlier. To make the situation worst, I had to re-dump all the footage onto the laptop, because we were using a different one from before. This took an extremely long time because there was a lot to download. I then had to import all the footage I had previously collected onto the program. While the footage was downloading, I took out the storyboard, so Leila and I would have something to reference when we were going to edit.

After the importing process was finished, I had Leila read of the checklist we had made on our first editing day, while I added the footage to the tracks. Having this checklist made earlier saved a lot of time because I didn't have to look for the footage to include in the film due to it already being written down. I added the footage according to the order it comes in the opening in order to stay organized.

After I was able to add scene 1 and part of scene 2's footage to a track I started to cut the footage to the length I wanted. When cutting the footage, I took Leila's input on where to cut and my own to figure out what was best. During this time I also added in some fades to make the scenes have a smoother transition. While Leila was adding in the sound, I provided input on where the sound should be placed and where it should start. After we finished editing and adding sound to scene 1 and 2 we watched it all the way through and made any changes necessary. Changes included: making scenes slower or faster and making scenes longer or shorter. Due to all the issues, we didn't have a lot of time to edit, so we did our best to use the time we did have wisely.

This is a picture of me adding footage to a track on Pinnacle Studio.

Peer Review Blog

On my peer review day, my group was assigned to review a film opening created by group 13. Before I got to watch group 13's film, I had to finish exporting my own to give it to the group who would be reviewing mine. After the exporting process was finished, I gave my flash drive to the group who would be reviewing it and received the flash drive of the film I would be reviewing. I made sure I looked over the peer review worksheet that my teacher had provided before watching the opening, so I would know what to look for. The first time I viewed the film I wrote notes on the worksheet. After it had finished, I went through and answered the yes or no questions and left the ones I wasn't sure of blank. The second time I watched it, I specifically looked out for anything I had missed the first time, so I could finish answering the questions I couldn't earlier.

While watching the film opening, I noticed many interesting aspects the members of group 13 had used. One of the additions the members made that I was interested in and impressed by was the graphic match. The graphic match started with the father closing a bag and then transitioned to the daughter opening a bag. I really liked how smooth the transition was and how creative the idea was. Furthermore, I liked the sound quality the creators were able to establish. I could hear most of the dialogue clearly, but there were a few lines I had difficulty understanding. If the background music was lowered during the scenes with dialogue, that would fix the problem because it would allow the audience to better hear what is being said. 

One of the things I found that group 13 could work on was fixing the lighting. The lighting throughout the film was very dark which made the scenes very difficult to see. Some of the scenes that took place outside were so dark that I couldn't see anything at all. If the group makes the scenes brighter then that would make it so the viewer can better see and understand what is happening in the film.

Overall, I liked the direction group 13 is going in to create their film opening. The opening is very interesting and is attention-grabbing. I believe that their finished film opening is going to be very good.

The two pictures below are of the peer review worksheet.

Filming Blog: Hannah's House

On the third day of editing, I filmed with Leila at my house. The filming took place in one of the bedrooms. The plan was to film all the scenes that included the Monitor, which is played by Leila. These scenes mainly consisted of the Monitor communicating with the spies through a headset, on her computers, and getting kidnapped. Before Leila arrived at my house, I wanted to create the set design. I cleared off a desk and then placed a few pencil cups and folders on it. I wanted to make the set design simple. I also removed any unwanted objects that may have ended up in frame if I didn't move them. After the set was mostly finished I took out the camera and practiced what shots and angles I wanted to film at. Once Leila arrived at my house I was able to finish the set; I placed my laptop and Leila's laptop on the desk. I then pulled out the storyboard, so I could look over it while I was filming. Doing this allowed me to make sure I wouldn't skip any scenes I needed to film.

Once again, my main role was to be the camerawoman. I have done most of the filming since the first filming day, which means I have gotten a lot of practice and I now know how to dodge mistakes I made previously. For example, some of the scenes I recorded were shaky, but I learned as long as I steady my arm on something, like a table, the camera will not shake as much. As the camerawoman, I filmed from many different shots and angles, so I would have a lot to edit with later. I would also let Leila know if she was in the frame, or if she was talking loud enough for the dialogue. A small issue I ran into was with the lighting. I wanted the lighting to be dark, but the problem was it was too dark, making it almost impossible to see Leila through the lens. I helped Leila figure out the lighting by turning off and on numerous lamps to see which worked best. In the end, we were able to find lighting that worked. Also, to make the lighting look better, I set the camera to night mode, so it would be easier to see everything in the shot.

Another role I had was to help direct Leila on what she should be doing in each scene. I told her to type on the computers for some scenes and for others I directed her to hold the phone. I world remind her what her lines were if she forgot them. Also, I would let her know if she was portraying the right emotion for the scene.

This is a picture of me figuring out the cameras setting for the scene.