READINGS & WRITINGS:
While you are recording your videos and collecting tons of footage, there are many aspects to remember and to be cautious of during the process. This could be anything from the set up, to the colors in the shot, the composition of the shot, type of lens, lighting, what is going to happen in the shot, and even how the camera will move in each shot.
There are multiple types of camera movements that can make the final product interesting and captivating. Zooming in and out, panning, and even tilting can reveal information and lead the audience to feel something as they are watching the video. However, there are things to be careful of. Whenever a view or something moving is being captured the person filming it shouldn’t pan or even tilt it to quickly or too slowing as it could leave ghost images (by going to fast) and the audience will loose interest if it’s too slow or too fast that they can’t see and understand everything happening in each shot. Also, having the camera on a tripod allows for a clean finished look and not having all the shots be shaky. By having it on a tripod, you can pan and tilt the camera smoothly and everything will be level and flows smoothly depending on how you capture the shot. In fact, in The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video it states to “…always move from an uncomfortable position to a comfortable position in order to capture something that’s worth watching.
Sifting through hours upon hours of footage can be time consuming and tiring since a lot of it can be of the same thing but with different camera movements in order to figure out the better look of it in the editing phase. In fact, as we edit and put the footage into something that’s interesting to watch, we do eye “edits”, which is when we automatically focus on what interests it (our eyes). No matter what, there is always at least one thing that captures our attention in a scene/shot and depending on how long it’s one the screen for that’s what we focus on. As the footage is being edited, narration and descriptions can be added whether it’s by someone saying it or written in the shot somewhere. This can help the audience to understand what’s going on if they had trouble following along. Also, everyone has their own editing style of whether it’s a fast or slow pace or how each shot cuts to the next one. Music can also add the final product that can impact what the audience should be feeling at any given moment. Overall, there’s a lot to remember and focus on as the video or film is being edited as one shot can cause the audience to get confused, loose interest, feel a certain way, or even become more interested in it. So filming and editing is just as important as planning it all out in the beginning.
RESEARCH TO INFORM:
West Side Story – Opening Prologue
(Start at 0:11)
West Side Story is very well-known movie with many dance numbers and songs to add to the story of the film. The dance number in the opening prologue of the film was edited in a unique way that caught my attention. Many of the shots were long and when it was cut they connected it to the action at the end of the previous shot. For example, there was a shot where it showed all of the Jets huddled in a group on the sidewalk and jumped up with their hands up in the air with the camera in the middle angled up to the sky and then it cut to a basketball coming down and all of a sudden they are on the basketball court. The majority of the shots were edited in a similar way in that the action dictated the cut and how the next scene was shot. Also, the music helped to understand the story and what was happening because for the most part it was just dancing and acting without using many words. So when they are running or dancing it’s upbeat and suspenseful when it needs to be and then when the Sharks and Jets meet face to face staring at each other the music is now not up beat and energetic like before but still suspenseful and quieter. They do use on wipe in the whole sequence in order to give a different view of the Jets. Lastly, in order to break up some of the scenes they panned the camera very fast and you don’t know what you are seeing exactly because it’s going by so fast all you really know is that it’s outside in the city. They use this editing style to show the fast past of the fighting between the Sharks and Jets and to show that they are spread out in different areas fighting each other while it’s all happening very fast.
Ferris Buller’s Day Off – Running Home
(Start at 1:00)
Ferris Buller’s Day Off as we all know is a comedy and what many of would rather do instead of going to school. This montage style sequence using cuts and even a slo-mo to add to the humor of what’s happening and so that we, as an audience, can relate to it in some way. It also adds to characters, Ferris and his sister, Jeanie. Whenever the shot shows Jeanie it’s always fast pace, and the cuts are quick to the next one and also relating to the character and the obsessive need to bust her brother. While whenever the scene shows Ferris while it is fast, it’s not like Jeanie’s, where the shots are longer and the cuts are more spread out as Ferris goes from one yard and house to the next. It also shows Ferris taking his time without a care in the world at times that he has to make it home before his family does. The editor, in my opinion, did this to show that he believes he’s going to make it in time and to show his personality and who he thinks he is as a teenager. Lastly, the slo-mo off the trampoline and into his backyard was very interesting in that as he gets over the fence that’s when Jeanie pulled in and as he lands is when his father pulls into the driveway and cut in a way to show suspense and to make the audience nervous for Ferris, like will he make it to his room without getting caught.
The Godfather – Baptism Scene
The Godfather is one of the most well-known movies out there. This sequence in particular was edited and put together in a way we think of using cuts as the only type of editing. The film had the baptism scenes edited between with the scenes showing the heads of the other families being killed. Throughout all of the scenes you can hear everything going on the church and what the priest is saying. This is interesting because usually you don’t edit scenes that show violence with church/religion scenes, it just isn’t right for many people. However, it works for this film. Also, for the most part all the scenes not in the church are roughly the same length. In addition, whenever it shows the church and baptism it seems like time is moving slower but as soon as it cuts to the killings and the preparations for them, the pace picks up and time seems to move faster. The editor did it this way in order to show that the killings had to be done around the same time, quickly and efficiently, so another family isn’t tipped off about it and go into hiding and so those doing the killings can quickly escape before they can get caught. While, on the other hand, the church is supposed to feel safe and relaxing, which is why time moves slower in a way in those scenes.
CREATE:
After all the planning and recording tons of footage I was able to really capture Hubbard Park and the nature that surrounds it. Along with the videos I added in ambient audio and sound effects to really capture the location and emphasize the sounds that are normally heard there to make it feel like you were there.
I used my DSLR camera with two different tripods where one gets closer to the ground when I needed to. Once I recorded everything I used the Adobe program Premiere Pro 2020. I decided not to do any narration and stick to music, ambient audio, and sound effects in order to have the audience really feel like they are there. I did have some challenges while shooting at Hubbard Park like with the crowds that were there I wasn’t able to have a lot of my own audio recorded of the wildlife and other nature sounds, and some of the things I wanted to record I wasn’t able to like a waterfall they had there but there wasn’t enough water to have one. Overall, I was able to overcome the obstacles and create a captivating video of Hubbard Park. Enjoy!
Michaela Ganezer 