Editing Evaluation (children's drama)

Editing my children s drama was a fun and challenging new experience, using premier pro was a very useful and effective way of editing my children's drama. firstly I had to import my clips after changing them to a .MOV file (simply by changing the name). to import them I simply right click the page and press import and choose which file I want, this also works for audio files. I then had to arrange my clips into order which I had already named and place on the timeline. to cut the shots down I could simply press C which automatically puts the curser onto the cutting tool and I can turn back to the normal timeline tool (which allows me to move shots around the timeline) by pressing V. I then cut off bits of shots that we didn't need specifically and slowly reduced the film down to five minutes. after the show was watchable I then had to add in necessary effects like writing on the screen or freeze frames and the title sequence. to freeze frame a shot I had to cut off a small section of a shot (with the pose that I want for the still frame) and then I right clicked the shot and chose hold frame. This makes a freeze frame in which we used to introduce a character 'kingpin' in the story and once the freeze frame was finished the original footage resumes without jumping due to precise cutting.

 I went onto youtube and used 'youtube to mp3' and downloaded the sound tracks I needed for the different scenes (all copyright free). For example I used several sound effects like slapping,banging slaming to add into the film in order to give it a more cartoon like feel and more friendly for children. This also makes the film more vibrant and helps make certain scenes and shots seem more interesting with the introduction of a thumping sound when someone falls over e.t.c. After all the shots,freeze frames,sound effects and music files were put into order and cut so they sync appropriately with the footage, the film was only in need of a opening sequence and credits, these were both simple animations. I made a blank frame and added pictures and writing to make the title appealing. this is a very simple and useful option which I used effectively, I choose the 'Title' option on the tool bar and choose which font and size I want for my writing and then add it to the timeline where I want. The same was done with the credits, I chose the title option once again but instead of a still frame I chose a slide roll up so it looked like genuine credits. this payed off very well and gave the film a proffesional and satisfiying conclusion.

After several projects made on Premier Pro such as my thriller, children s drama and animation I had got the hang of using it to a much more full advantage, for when I made my children s drama I had not used the software before. When it came to editing my Final Major Project I already had enough experience to step up my game a little bit more. I has determined to make sure this film was not just shot put together with music slapped over it but a more professional looking piece of work. I did however follow the same basic format of adding clips into premier pro,cutting them down, adding music and then rendering it as a whole, however once I had the shots in place I wanted to make the film more visually appealing. to do this I thought about how the lighting was in each scene and chose the 'Brightness and contrast' option from the Visual effects bar and applied it to the shots, inside scenes I generally made darker to give it a more succumbed feeling and the outside shots I made sure weren't too bright. This gave the shots a different look and made it look a lot less like just ordinary camera footage, it also gave the film a different feel which seemed to work really well.

the other difference with my FMP was that it was shot with  Digital SLR which meant the quality of the pictures was much better than anything else ive done, this helped with making it look more 'Cinematic', it also made it clearer to see what parts were too over contrasted and what was too bright e.t.c.

thriller analysis

MISERY


the thriller i analised was misery which is a psychological thriller, it was realeased in 1990. it is a  film based on Stephen king's 1987 novel of the same name. it was directed by Rob Reiner and stars James Caan and Kathy Bates it is considered to be one of the best thrillers in the past 20 years.


the reason this thriller works so well and because it won so many awards was because of the realism and twisted characterisation that was portrayed during the film. the antagonist in the film Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) is one of most complex and iconic villains know to the genre, she keeps a calm and sweet attitude even when doing evil things. for example in one scene where Annie discovers that her handicapped captive Paul Sheldon (James Caan) has been out of his room when he is not allowed, she violently breaks his legs however whist calmly explaining to him why she is doing so. this strange combination which creates this character is extreamly effective and keeps the audience guessing what on earth she will do next, her unpredictability helps keep the suspense at a high throughout the films suspense filled scenes. the protagonist of the film Paul Sheldon is also quite a less typical character because he is a 'handicapped hero' and is almost compleatly at the mercy to the antagonist Annie.


camera work on misery is very typical of a thriller film. for example there is one scene where a huge amount of dramatic irony is used when Paul breaks out of his room to explore the house he is being held in only to be unaware that Annie is approaching the house on her way back from going to town. this is shown by cutting from person to person, first of Paul who is wondering about the house looking for an escape and of Annie driving back getting ever nearer. the closer Annie gets to the house the quicker the cutting is, until she is outside and Paul is finally aware she is approaching the cutting speeds up with shots getting shorter and shorts creating more and more tension. this really gets the audience anxious and makes you feel like you are in the situation yourself because it is so perfectly timed.

Codes and Connventions thriller

thrillers follow lots of specific codes and conventions but there is debate over what generally is a thriller. thrillers are known for keeping the viewer concentrating closely on the story and keep them guessing and wanting to though how the story unfolds. all of the most succesful thrillers are known for having strong narrative driven stories which require close attention from the audience, most directors take advantage of audiences who watch closely by throwing in plot twists which really is the bread and butter to a good thriller film. thrillers rely on a complex storyline that will force the viewers to stay engaged in the film, some thrillers for example 'Inception' are so complex you need to watch it twice in order to fully understand whats going on. allot of thrillers have aspects of other genres in them and expand further on the market. some examples of sub genre thrillers are:

. psychological thriller
. action thriller
. supernatural thriller
. spy thriller
. conspiracy thriller
these types of thrillers use aspects of other genres to make them relevant to the plot but usually follow the same camera angles,lighting that are in traditional thrillers. thrillers are know for making an audience think about what is going on, they can engage the audience mentally in order to scare them. for example if a killer is attacking people whilst they are asleep in bed, then the audience can relate to that and feel more involved emotionally. in order to scare people thrillers play on emotions, a lot of the time they use the fear of the unknown element and play it through the entire film with hints and twists to who or what is causing the disturbance.

camera work is used very effectively in successful thrillers which use pan and tracking shots most commonly. an example of this is the famous bank robbery scene in the dark knight where the camera follows the group at certain points. another frequently used shot which is most commonly used in thrillers is the close up which can work on a number of levels to show all kinds of emotions on a persons face. mainly to show mystery in the beginning of a film, the film Kill Bill uses this. in some action thrillers a long shot will be used to set the scene where the action will take place. high angles are used also to show a character having power, by the fact they are towering above the audience and example is on terminator when a high angle shot is used to show the terminator looking down on the camera. the colour in thrillers is usually a dark grey sort of colour but lighting can be used to add additional colours to sub genres and hybrids. for example if you have a sci-fi thriller there might be a hint of green in some places, as well as in thriller horror films there might be red in places.

thrillers editing styles are a key aspect to building suspense during the film. jump cuts are used during a fight scene for example to show small snippets of what is going on without giving away to much. a famous example of the use of small shots and quick cutting is the shower stab scene in psycho when it is obvious what is going on bit it is happening so fast it adds to the rush and terror of it all.

music is also a key aspect to emotions the audience feel when watching a thriller, for it helps with dred and suspense. in some cases the in a particularly scary scene that might be building up to an encounter with the antagonist of the movie, the sound will be silent. this is extremely effective in thrillers, especially if the encounter of the antagonist is going to make the audience jump because they where expecting it but they didn't know when it was coming. silence is most defiantly a strong convention for the thriller genre.

characterisation is a very important aspect in thriller films because we have to be emotionally attached to the protagonist so that when something bad happens we will feel engaged and worried. there are a large variety of antagonists and protagonists in thriller films, perhaps they vary most in thriller films for the story can involve an anonymous antagonist who of which the director has deliberatly made unclear to the audience who it is.this again realtes back to the structure of the complex plot points which thrillers use. characters in thriller films usually are realistic and believable as normal people, however they may not be what you expect and usually are unsuperior to the antagonist. a classic example of this is in the film 'misery' where out protagonist Paul is in wheelchair and is unable to walk due to him suffering from a car crash. the antagonist is possibly one of the most complex and unexpected in any thriller film to date, she helps Paul but at the same time keeps him prisoner in her own home due to the fact she is obssed with him. here is a list of heros (antagonists) found in thriller films:
. false hero (example Natalie on memento)
. handicapped hero (paul on misery)
. picaresque hero (james bond)
. unaware hero: someone who becomes involed by accident
. unreliable narrator (lenny on memento)
here is a list of the different types of antagonists found in thriller films:
. anti hero (catwoman)
. government (conspiercy thrillers)
.companies (conglomerates)
. handicapped villian.

quantitive & qualitative reasearch.

quantitative

advantages
supersize me (2004)
the doucumentry was uselful and was full of quantitaive reaserch, all of which are presented in very relatable and interesting ways to keep me watching. the advantages in gereall for quantitative reaserach is the accurasy of the data, facts that is presented in quantitative reasearch. supersize me uses many forms of quatitative reasearch and presents alot of them with short animations to keep it interesting. an example is when the presenter is talking about how may mcdonalds there are across the worls, there is a cartoon of a world map and mcdonalds sighns posted where they are across the world. also when thare is a survey about two girls aged 14 and 19 who where crinically obease, an animation was shown to show the two girls.

qualitative reasearch appears more towards the end and middle of the film when the results of his health is being revealed. they are mainly spoken by morgon spurlock the main character. he mentions about his headaches and depression whilst undergoing his 30 day mcdonalds trial. there is a mix of quantitative and qualitative reaserch in a short animation about the results once the challenge is over. its appears as writing explaing things such as
. his headaches
. his cholesteral level after the challenge
. his sex drive
. his depression
all are a mix of both quantitative and qualitative reaserach and are prented in an entertaing and engading fashion through cartoon annimation.


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