“Antique film camera c.1930” by explainthatstuff is licensed under 
SUMMARY
Role
Editor
Intention (SMART Goal)
By March 2nd, as part of my session 4 production team, I will explore the visual story element of color by using Bruce Block’s The Visual Story book and will have created a film that demonstrates this element effectively while directing the audience’s eyes from affinity to contrast.
PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY
Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)
Kirk Baxter is an accomplished editor who has worked on notable films such as The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The technique that Baxter is best known for is his montage scenes; a technique which, when done well, can aid perfectly in telling a non-linear story (like The Social Network for example). Through his use of editing, Baxter condenses our sense of time, space, and motion and uses crosscutting techniques to develop two points of view simultaneously without detracting from either one of them. This kind of editing is especially useful in romcoms, which just so happens to be the style of film I will be working on this production cycle. I hope to utilize the techniques that Baxter employs to work with the 60 second time limit while still delivering a film that meets the requirements for session 4.
Training Source(s)
The Visual Story by Bruce Block
The visual story element I am focusing on as an editor this production cycle is the element of color, one of the most misunderstood yet frequently utilized visual elements in filmmaking. When discussing Contrast and Affinity of color from the perspective of the editor, things like hue, saturation, and brightness stand out as things that I have control over as an editor. The additive and subtractive color systems factor in as well when contributing to the representation of color in a film, but as an editor, I am instead going to focus on what I am able to do according to my position on the team.
The elements of hue, saturation, and brightness can be manipulated in different ways to give off different tones and set different moods for a specific scene. These elements, when taking into account Contrast vs Affinity, can dictate what kind of scene is being shown. In romcoms, scenes where the two protagonists meet or profess their love for each other are often edited to show a greater contrast of bright colors. Conversely, mundane everyday scenes are often less saturated and duller which is important when establishing narrative contrast.
Project Timeline
- Create Logline and decide roles
- Create Script and Shotlist
- Decide props needed
- Research for roles
- Film
- Upload shots and sounds
- Label in folder
- Create music
- Edit film
- Add audio and music
- Create presentation
- Submit film
- Submit presentation
Proposed Budget
0$
PRODUCTION – ACTION
The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yf5mDHRva4wb9UHfX1T57dJG1oL49pLO/view?usp=sharing
Skills Commentary
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1c5Y_vOyQPxgLF3EuPiz3SPwp5vj_P4VQ0tRYDUhbFSY/edit?usp=sharing
As the editor for this film, I was responsible for ensuring that all of the transitions and cuts were cohesive as well as editing to the internal rhythm of the dialogue. I was also in charge of utilizing a J-cut to demonstrate my ability to use industry-standard techniques. This production cycle I was also given the new task of controlling the visual story element of color.
POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION
21st Century Skills
Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)
Over the course of this production cycle, my team was pushed to problem solve at every turn, not in a bad way of course, but in a way that challenged us to find the best versions of each shot. Our biggest problem was how we were going to transition from the following shot to a static shot in the opening of the movie. What we ended up doing was freezing the actors in place and quickly re-setting our camera to match the previous camera angle. This did not work out as we ended up with two different reels needing a large and awkward cut in the middle. We tried to solve this issue by matching the scenes up as closely as possible but this was not enough to eliminate the jarringness of the cut. I believe that more time planning a more detailed shot list during pre-production and more communication on my part with the cinematographer will produce a better result in the future.
Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)
What became a challenge throughout this production cycle was the fact that we very rarely had our entire team all here at once to film, so being able to communicate with both the member who was absent and the rest of the team. Being able to talk and quickly adjust our goals for the day became necessary as sometimes shooting a specific scene was impossible that day so we had to re-adjust and adapt. Being able to communicate effectively like this allowed us to finish the film on time, with only a slight hiccup when it came to exporting.
Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)
With the added job of both learning and using color correction in my film, there was an added layer of complexity to the post-production portion of this cycle. This was no easy technique to learn and even after working with it for a while I feel like I know very little of how to most efficiently use this new skill. That being said, next production cycle I will take with me the experience from this one, and I feel like I will be able to use color correction in a more professional way.
Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)
The theme of this production cycle was “adaptation”, as being able to adapt quickly to a change in plans was the life skill that I felt was most exercised for this production cycle. In a broader context, being able to quickly adapt to a changing situation is an important skill no matter what career you find yourself in, as there are bound to be things you can’t control that you are forced to work around.
Reactions to the Final Version
“The chromatic control was an interesting concept” -Eric
“I appreciate you facing the audience while presenting” -Michelle
Self-Evaluation of Final Version
In terms of my goals NOT including the visual story element of color, I feel like I did well with organizing the clips, editing to a rhythm, and using an L-cut. There were also examples of other techniques, like a cross-dissolve and cutting on the action. When it comes to color in a professional film context I think I went a bit overboard with the color correction as it was my first time editing with this technique. I learned a lot from the professional feedback on what professional color correction should look like, and I am excited to implement it more effectively in my next film.
What I Learned and Problems I Solved
There were many things I enjoyed about this particular film, and from my role as the editor, I felt as though I did an adequate job given the overall shortcomings of our filming process. The large awkward cut in the very beginning could have been avoided with better collaboration between me and the cinematographer on my team, and some of the audio files should have been replaced with better available alternatives. Originally the problem I ran into was the audio clips not matching up with the video well enough, resulting in a very clunky awkward scene. How I fixed this was by very slightly speeding up the audio of the clip to match better, which worked out in the end. Overall, I learned how important it is to work with my team in pre-production to plan each and every shot.
Grammar and Spelling
Grammarly
Editor
Pablo