VFX! and Ghostship.
It takes great skill to master the art of special effects.
Ghostship is a fantasy/horror flick about a haunted ship. Most of the movie was based upon special effects. The ship wasn't real and it was a set and the sea etc were made real through special effects! The ghosts were also done with special effects and it was a pretty good film I must say.
I think most of the filming were done in front of a blue screen so that the editing and special effects processes were made easy.
In a nutshell, even though I don't intend to major in digital video, the knowledge that I have gathered from this course will be useful for me in time to come. I'm not sure how yet but I know it will help me somehow in the future.
I recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn more about movie-making!.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Lecture 11.
Editing Guidelines.
1,
Motivation- To create an interesting scene, there has to be motivation behind each shot, which will lead to a reaction that the viewer has expected to see.. This could be anything from a slight eye movement or glance or anything that keeps the audience's attention.
2,
Cut on to when the subject moves, from this, the attention will not be distracted by the cut and steady transition will be achieved. By cutting between action and continuing the flow in the next scene, you wont even realise the jump cut.
3,
As soon as the visual statement has been made, cut away to the next scene. The problem with most amateur films is that they concentrate on a scene for too long and the interest is gone. If good editing is done, the editors should know when to cut a scene to hold the interest.
4,
Emphasize the B-roll, or supplementary footage. This is very useful in terms of cut away’s which may add information such as, close up reactions and support material to the original footage.
5,
If in doubt, leave it out.
1,
Motivation- To create an interesting scene, there has to be motivation behind each shot, which will lead to a reaction that the viewer has expected to see.. This could be anything from a slight eye movement or glance or anything that keeps the audience's attention.
2,
Cut on to when the subject moves, from this, the attention will not be distracted by the cut and steady transition will be achieved. By cutting between action and continuing the flow in the next scene, you wont even realise the jump cut.
3,
As soon as the visual statement has been made, cut away to the next scene. The problem with most amateur films is that they concentrate on a scene for too long and the interest is gone. If good editing is done, the editors should know when to cut a scene to hold the interest.
4,
Emphasize the B-roll, or supplementary footage. This is very useful in terms of cut away’s which may add information such as, close up reactions and support material to the original footage.
5,
If in doubt, leave it out.
Lecture 10.
Editing Theory Part 1.
Editing is very important.
VERY.VERY.
It makes or break a movie.
So what is Editing?
"Editing is the act of completing the pacing and narrative structure of a film and its soundtrack by cutting and splicing the shots together to make a final, comprehensible story.Editing is important because it allows the director to film out of order, to make multiple takes of each shot, and it allows for aesthetic decisions to be made after filming is complete. The editor has tremendous control over the basic continuity and message of the production"
There are 3 types of editing: Continuity, Acceleration and Cause and Effect editing.
Continuity -
To preserve the fluidity of an event without showing the entire scene .Continuity cutting shortens time showing only the necessary events in a scene. An event can be contracted or expanded attention can be focused and meanings made, depending on the number of shots- the shot not the scene is the basic unit of film construction. Each new scene usually starts with an establishing shot to show that we have moved logically from the previous scene.
Acceleration -
Showing the audience something that naturally we want to figure out, a wedding, a funeral…etc at the start, then working the series of events from the start which ultimately lead to the beginning scene. This is relevant in shows such as CSI and almost any crime related piece.
Cause and Effect -
Sometimes we can assume the cause of the effect because a scenario is obvious, for example, someone crying, or being happy etc. However, this is again another example of the cause and effect method being implored on a different wavelength; editors have the power to change perceptions of their audience. They may be crying with happiness, instead of being sad.
I just saw the movie Dreamgirls a few days ago and I realised the movie used every editing element.
Editing is very important.
VERY.VERY.
It makes or break a movie.
So what is Editing?
"Editing is the act of completing the pacing and narrative structure of a film and its soundtrack by cutting and splicing the shots together to make a final, comprehensible story.Editing is important because it allows the director to film out of order, to make multiple takes of each shot, and it allows for aesthetic decisions to be made after filming is complete. The editor has tremendous control over the basic continuity and message of the production"
There are 3 types of editing: Continuity, Acceleration and Cause and Effect editing.
Continuity -
To preserve the fluidity of an event without showing the entire scene .Continuity cutting shortens time showing only the necessary events in a scene. An event can be contracted or expanded attention can be focused and meanings made, depending on the number of shots- the shot not the scene is the basic unit of film construction. Each new scene usually starts with an establishing shot to show that we have moved logically from the previous scene.
Acceleration -
Showing the audience something that naturally we want to figure out, a wedding, a funeral…etc at the start, then working the series of events from the start which ultimately lead to the beginning scene. This is relevant in shows such as CSI and almost any crime related piece.
Cause and Effect -
Sometimes we can assume the cause of the effect because a scenario is obvious, for example, someone crying, or being happy etc. However, this is again another example of the cause and effect method being implored on a different wavelength; editors have the power to change perceptions of their audience. They may be crying with happiness, instead of being sad.
I just saw the movie Dreamgirls a few days ago and I realised the movie used every editing element.
Lecture 8.
Sound and Soundtrack!
These are important elements in a movie as without them, a movie will not be as good because music is used to convey emotions and buil tension and climax.
First of all we need microphones to record sound. The boom, plant, lavaliere and radio microphones are some of the types of microphones used during a move shoot. Recording might seem very easy but it's one of the 4 elements that has to be taken into consideration when making a movie with good audio.
Narration –
Is responsible for holding together visuals and can be approached 2 ways. Character based or voice of god. Narration is often used to fill in events, or give the viewer an insight into characters from a 3rd person POV.
Music-
Is a tool used to enhance emotion, time, character profiles and climaxes. Music helps add emotions to make the film more relatable.
Using other people's music is expensive and when using it you have to ask the recording company's permission first! Another method is probably to compose your own music.
Sound effects -
This is used to make scenes more real. Animation movies mostly make use of sound effects to make the movie more realistic. Since it is a cartoon, every single sound has to be made from scratch, from walking to coughing to hitting to fallingt down to the sounds of traffic, the wind and more! Kudos has to be given to sound effects pros because of their clever ideas.
Dialogue -
This is also part of the 4 elements. Everything has to be in synch. In some movies, if the dialogue could not be captured by the microphones, dubbing will take place in the studio. In animated movies, actors are hired to be voices for the characters.
I did a presentation with my group this week on Music and Soundtrack. We chose Monsters Inc. Without music and sounds this movie would be nothing. But thanks to the pros, the movie was a success!
These are important elements in a movie as without them, a movie will not be as good because music is used to convey emotions and buil tension and climax.
First of all we need microphones to record sound. The boom, plant, lavaliere and radio microphones are some of the types of microphones used during a move shoot. Recording might seem very easy but it's one of the 4 elements that has to be taken into consideration when making a movie with good audio.
Narration –
Is responsible for holding together visuals and can be approached 2 ways. Character based or voice of god. Narration is often used to fill in events, or give the viewer an insight into characters from a 3rd person POV.
Music-
Is a tool used to enhance emotion, time, character profiles and climaxes. Music helps add emotions to make the film more relatable.
Using other people's music is expensive and when using it you have to ask the recording company's permission first! Another method is probably to compose your own music.
Sound effects -
This is used to make scenes more real. Animation movies mostly make use of sound effects to make the movie more realistic. Since it is a cartoon, every single sound has to be made from scratch, from walking to coughing to hitting to fallingt down to the sounds of traffic, the wind and more! Kudos has to be given to sound effects pros because of their clever ideas.
Dialogue -
This is also part of the 4 elements. Everything has to be in synch. In some movies, if the dialogue could not be captured by the microphones, dubbing will take place in the studio. In animated movies, actors are hired to be voices for the characters.
I did a presentation with my group this week on Music and Soundtrack. We chose Monsters Inc. Without music and sounds this movie would be nothing. But thanks to the pros, the movie was a success!
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