One Last Talk!

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How is Your Software?

I'm not sure about all of you but this is going to be my favorite post. What do you edit in? Could it be Avid Media Composer, Apples Final Cut Pro,  or even Adobe Premiere Pro? Well I have used all three. They are all very similar, but very different. Most high schools in the United States are going to be running either Final Cut or Adobe. I know that I first started on Adobe, and have since developed my tastes to Media Composer. Avid Media Composer is like the Lamborghini of editing software. Most of you have all seen Marvels Avengers, well that movie was cut on Media Composer. It has more features than most amateur filmmakers would ever dream of. Final Cut will have a similar feel to Media Composer with slight differences. With big fancy programs there are unfortunately big fancy prices. Final Cut can be bought on any Mac's app store for $299. Adobe Premiere pro can be purchased for $799 on Adobe's website. And Last but certainly not least Media Composer is available online and through special retailers at the friendly cost of $2499. Now on the brighter side, if you are a student the price can drastically drop. I recommend doing a lot of research before choosing one. I will end by saying that most professors will tell you to choose Final Cut or Media Composer because they are the to leading the industry.    

Basic Editing!

There are lots techniques when it comes to editing. I am not going to cover them all but I am going to describe some of the more basic ones just as a little jump start. Keep in mind that there are lots of different ways to cut and manipulate film.

1. Cut - an instantaneous change form one image to another
2. Wipe - an obvious removal of one image by another by one rolling the other off the screen in one direction or another
3. Defocus effect - one shot ends out of focus; another beings there
4. Dissolve - a slow change from shot to shot, involving a moment when the two images blend
5. Freeze frame - movement in the sequence is stopped, creating the effect of a photograph 
6. Fade - the picture vanishes gradually to black (fade-out)or appears gradually on the screen from black (fade-in).
7. Zoom in and out- a character photographed in a long shot suddenly is zoomed into a close up or vice versa 
8. Metric montage - images change with the music beat
9. Slow motion - characters seem to move at an abnormally slow pace
10. Montage - many images are put together to create a single impact; often used with music for poetic or advertising effect
11. Fast motion - characters move very fast in jerky sequences reminiscent of silent movies 

Walter Murch!

So this semester at school I read In the Blink of an Eye. The book is written by Walter Murch and explains his philosophy on film editing. I want to be an editor which I finally grow up!  I love the ability to take a whole lot of chaos and mold it in to one beautiful entity. So I find it very interesting when Murch talks about how “editing is [like] a kind of surgery...like cooking...like dance…” (44-45).He explains editing more of a lifestyle, rather than just a task. I think I can relate to him because of how passionate he is. His rule of six, if you have to cut something to make the film work better, cut from the bottom up in this order: emotions, story, rhythm, eye trace, two dimensional plane of screen, and three dimensional space of action. If the three dimensional space of action is not working with the emotions, story, rhythm, eye trace and two dimensional plane of screen, then but the three dimensional space all together. If you have not read In the Blink of  an Eye I strongly suggest that you do, as I have an interest in film and editing this has change my thinking every since I read it. 

Can I Rewrite Your Movie?

People say film is written three times, which is true, but do you know how? The first time is when the screenwriter commits the story to paper, and the second time is when the director and actors commit the story to film. The third time film is written is when the editor constructs the story in time, this is the final telling of the story and most often  dismissed in conversation because it is behind the scenes. For example, for Hollywood writing, first a screen play is written (first time), then actors and directors put their own essence into the film which can change the story (second time), and finally the editor will then use the screenplay as a guideline and take the footage to create something new entirely. In my own experience I realize that the script is ever changing, and that it is rewritten time and time again. When I edit my films I especially play with this concept. 

Photo Break!

Camera Tips!

There are several camera techniques that can change the message and response in films; field of view, camera angle, camera lens, camera focus, and camera movement. Field of view can change the message coming across in films in two ways. If the camera is close to the subject and in focus then this creates the audience to feel closer to the subject, when the camera is further away from the subject that creates the audience to feel further away or separated from the subject. Camera angle can have three roles, powerful/ threatening, sympathetic/ superior, and trust. When the camera is looking up at a subject that makes the message come across as that person or thing is threatening or has more power than the subject doing the looking up. When the camera angle is looking down it does the opposite it creates the feeling of sympathy or being superior, and when the camera angle is level (eye to eye) that creates the feeling of trust between both subjects. Camera focus is another key technique, it helps direct the attention and control of the subject and plot. A soft focus can imply unclear thoughts, softness, a memory, whereas a sharp focus is reality.