Fifth hour of editing

 

Today we fixed all the rough edits and made them all as smooth as possible. We then watched our sequence through multiple times to make sure everything was as smooth as possible. After making sure the whole sequence ran smoothly we began to add in the titles. We used a dramatic thin font in block capitals with a fade out from every title to correlate to our thriller and suspenseful genre. We usually added in the titles in the empty dark spaces. For example, the first few edits come around the television in the blank space so the viewers can clearly read them without getting distracted. When we finished all of our titles we watched the sequence through again and again to make sure everything was the best it could be. After changes some minor edits as we had some spare time we all agreed that we were finished and that our sequence was the best it could be. I am extremely happy with how the editing process went as we all worked extremely well with managing our time and we all had an equal amount of time editing. 

Fourth hour of editing

 We discussed after our last session that in this hour we would begin to fix and match up all of the audio to all of the clips. We began by changing the volume of some clips and the volume differed throughout the sequence. When the volume was constant throughout the sequence we began searching for some audio clips to use for the gun mechanical noises. We also found a sample sound of a van engine starting up which we used at the end of the sequence to match the clip of the van driving away. We swapped roles sorting the volume at the beginning of the session however when it came to the sample sounds Fin felt he was the best at finding them as he has had experience editing prior to this. 

Third hour of editing

 

During the third hour of editing we managed to put in all of the clips we wanted with rough edits. We decided as a group that this would be the best idea to manage our time as efficiently as possible. I put in all the clips and roughly edited the shots with the hostages being lined up on their knees with their hands zip tied. Every group member had a go at slotting and editing in this session as we wanted everyone to have an input in the sequence. 

Second hour of editing

Today we began putting our footage together and editing. So far we have been working extremely well and have been swapping roles throughout our time. 

We have had a few moments of disagreement however we always give each other time to speak and try out any ideas anyone has to offer. 

I am very happy with what my group has achieved so far, however there are a few cuts and details that still need to be refined. Instead of spending our time refining those details now, we are going to move on and try and complete the sequence as quick as possible and then re-visit the details at the end of the process. 

First hour editing our opening title sequence footage

For our first session of editing our footage we began by looking through all of the raw footage and putting all of our favourite shots into a log bin a labelling them. 

This is a picture of our favourite shots that we saved into a new folder, the 'Log Bin'.

We never got onto editing as we have lots of raw footage that we had to sort through. 

We will begin editing in tomorrows lesson.

Researching opening title sequences

The history of opening title sequences: 

The very first examples of opening title sequences come from silent movies. It was done using non-animated title cards that included main information such as, crew credits, the title, and production credits; the cards were usually shown at the beginning of the film. 

These early title cards were often created by lettering artists employed by major studios and were typically presented with white lettering over a black background. However, they soon developed into including some minor decorations such as lines, outlines, or small drawings. Examples of early title cards can be seen by director D. W. Griffith. These title cards are one of the first examples of the early opening title sequence. 

David Wark Griffith included his signature in the two top corners of all his title cards. 

The title cards were photographed and then edited into the movie. As well as for the credits, they were also used for essential dialog if needed and setting the time and place for a new scene. 

As seen at the beginning of 'Intolerance' Directed by D. W. Griffith, the cards are up on the screen for around 10 seconds each, giving the audience enough time to read through the credits.

Production company logos and animations:

Production companies have hugely developed their logos and animations over many years to have more detail, to add colour and sound/music.

This is the 20th Century Fox movie animation from 1935. This very simple animation only includes moving lights with the rest of the background stationary. There is also no colour, however the original 20th Century Fox tune plays. 

This 20th Century Fox animation from 2011 has hugely developed as the 'camera' moves up and over the logo. There is now colour and much more detail. The music has also been refined but is still the original 20th Century Fox music. 

If our opening sequence was a real film what type of media company would distribute it?

 If our movie idea for our opening sequence was made into a real film, we would need some form of suitable media company to distribute it. Firstly, some films similar to our concept include ‘Tower Heist’ (a production budget of $75,000,000 and distributed by Relativity Media), ‘Baby Driver’ (a production budget of $34,000,000 and distributed by Media Rights Capital) and, finally, ‘Oceans 8’ (a production budget of $70,000,000 and distributed by 20^th Century Fox). Clearly, these are all high-concept, big-budget movies that come from a Hollywood background. This correlates to our action/thriller heist opening sequence as a movie such as ours would most likely be of a Hollywood level production due to the presence of action/thriller movie aspects. These include guns, fast paced editing and getaway scenes.  

  

The target audience of all the previously mentioned movies would be that of young teenagers and even young adults. This would also correlate to our movie idea as the aspects of the action/thriller genre are present in both the Hollywood movies and our own movie idea.  

  

The way in which our movie would be marketed through would be by utilising techniques such as social media campaigns and YouTube adverts. This is because the desired target audience are more likely to be using these platforms than any other possible audience, meaning we will successfully reach the age groups that we wish to target. Therefore, our marketing campaign will successfully generate audiences that are suitable for this genre of movie. 

 

To pin down one specific media distribution company for our movie, we would choose 20^th Century Fox as they have previously specialised in the distribution of many action/thriller movies that were successful within the filmmaking market. These include movies such as 'Ready Player One', 'Justice League' and 'Deadpool 2'. These movies all had successful marketing and distribution campaigns as shown by the success of the movies themselves, grossing over 1.13 billion dollars collectively. Therefore, it is clear that 20^th Century Fox would be beneficial to choose for the distribution and marketing of our own movie idea. 

 

Target audience for our opening title sequence

I believe that it is impossible to exactly predict and determine what type of people would watch and enjoy 'Clover', our opening title sequence if it were a real movie. However, this doesn't mean I can't determine what kind of person or audience my movie would most likely engage due to the plot and the different aspects of the movie. 

Firstly, the audience demographic for 'Clover' is British, working class men and women, aged 15 - 25. Our movie would target men due to the action content as men usually enjoy action more than women. However, our movie would also target women due to the use of having our four main characters as women. This differentiates our movie from a generic heist or action film as usually the majority of the main characters are male. 

Secondly, the target audience for 'Clover' are people who enjoy action packed and fast paced movies. They may also have interests that correlate to our movie as well as being action fans. This could include interests in shooting, law enforcement or driving. Our movie may also appeal strongly to rebellious people. 

Finally, the socio-economic status of the target audience for 'Clover' is most likely C1, C2, D and E. However, as our movie would be a Hollywood budget movie, we feel that the socio-economic status of our target audience is A, B and C1.

Shoot day evaluation

To prepare for the shoot, we collected the props for the sequence, including masks, jumpsuits and guns. We also made a storyboard to help us with the close ups the day before.

When I woke up on the morning I was confident the shoot would go well as I knew the group would all take it very seriously. My confidence was also aided by the groups discussion the night before. We spent around 30 minutes refining details over social media.  

My group was very prepared for the shoot as we had the set and all of the props set up for the shoot. This helped us manage our time more efficiently. 

The studio was dark, only being lit by two fluorescent lights with black curtains to create a pitch black background. This helped us to isolate and highlight the TV screen. The only thing we had to do on arrival was set up the camera for the start of the shoot. 

As described previously, I feel as if we made the location look suitable to what our group desired. 

Our roles were equally divided amongst the group. We swapped roles such as, holding the lights, getting the props ready for the next shot, the camera work, the audio and checking for inconsistencies all throughout the day. I felt as if I specialised in the camerawork role and was very confident when I began working with the camera as I feel I knew everything about the camera required to get the best possible outcome for our shoot. 

The problems we faced were indecisiveness of the lighting which was solved quickly by using fluorescent lights. Furthermore, our group was very good when encountering problems as we quickly spoke about them and came to a mutual agreement. 

The part of the shoot that went most successfully was the concluding scenes of the sequence because of the ability to show what was in the background of the shots. I also feel like the use of the van really added to the authenticity of our sequence. 

I wish that the close ups had gone better because I feel like they could have been more detailed in terms of the background and not just used a black background. However, the use of the black background added to the mystery of the sequence. 

The part of the shoot I enjoyed the most was the concluding section because it was nice to see the actors having fun whilst running into the back of the van as well as performing extremely well. 

I am looking forward to see how the close ups turn out in the edit as we have a lot of shots to choose from. I think that this section will look the because of the many options we have. 

 I felt that the production group worked very well as a team as we quickly came to an agreement every time we encountered a problem. 

The lessons that we learned were to plan more specifically. I think that instead of having many different close-up shots to choose from it would have been better to have more specific shot ideas as now we have more editing to do. 

Here are some photos from the shoot day:

Allocating production jobs within our opening title sequence group

- Director (responsible for organising and instructing the actors) - Fin

As a director, Fin will need to contribute to all of the creative elements and form them into a cohesive film. I believe Fin is capable of this production job as he has a very creative mindset and is extremely good at clearly explaining the ideas he has to other people. I also think Fin would fit this role best in the group as he's very good at working under pressure and managing his time well. From working with Fin throughout the course of the academic year I have seen a true sense of leadership that he brings to the group for every time we meet. For all these reasons as a group we have decided to allocate the Director role to Fin. 

- Camera person - Luke

Camera men have to be very confident when setting up and using a camera. I believe I have all the knowledge needed in order to use the camera to the fullest extent for our opening title sequence. From the practice of our short sequence with and without dialog last week, I am confident I can determine the best possible camera shots needed for each take. For all these reasons we have decided as a group to allocate the camera person role to me. 

- Editor - Poppy

Editors have to thoroughly enjoy their job because of the amount of hours that are needed in order to get the perfect cuts and edits. This requires a lot of patience. As a film editor, you'll manage material such as camera footage, dialogue, sound effects, graphics and special effects to produce a final film or video product. This is a key role in the post-production process. During the editing stage of our course work, we will all be working together to reach the best possible outcome however we have allocated Poppy as the 'Main Editor' as she is the most confident and after reviewing our practise sequences after editing, we felt that Poppy's skills stood out the most.

- Art Director- Matilda

We allocated Matilda with the role of the Art Director as she was very helpful when deciding the costumes and props that were needed for out shoot. Matilda also decided that it was necessary to paint our masks black in order to make them look more authentic. One of the main reasons why Matilda has been allocated with the role of the Art Director is because her creative mindset and her art skills. 

Props and costume for opening title sequence, 'Clover'.

We now have all the props and costume needed for our opening title sequence, 'Clover'. 

We worked together to find the most suitable and realistic props we could.

These are the guns we will be using. We wanted small guns that would be easy 

to carry around with the bags. We chose these guns because of how realistic they 

look from afar and when shooting extreme close-up shots. 

Here are some examples of shots we plan to use with our guns. We 

wanted POV shots from the guns of the heist member putting them in 

the bags and taking them out. 

We have also acquired the fake money needed to fill the black duffle bags. We bought the stacks off of Amazon from the company 'Big Screen Stacks'. We didn't need many stacks as we will fill the majority of the bag with crumple paper or clothes and layer the fake money on top as that's all the audience will see in the shot. 

We felt these masks had a believable and realistic design and achieved the task of concealing the heist members identity. Although the design of the mask is realistic, as a group we felt that the shine on the surface of the mask made it look 'fake' and 'cheap'. We tackled this problem by sanding and spray painting the masks black. 

*Pic of Black spray painted masks*