Epiphanies (Week 3)

#1: Sitting in the editing suites, putting a scene together that was shot in 6 perspectives. You have to work out the best possible way to edit these shots to make the most effective scene. This can  be difficult, as you don’t know whether to put the shots in chronological order, or edit them more creatively and have then within other shots, which could have a greater impact on the audience. Some of the shots were more difficult to cut, due to talking in the background, the boom pole in the corner of the shot, or someone having their shoulder in the shot also. Looking back at this, we should have noticed these things, and took more time to acknowledge these, so that the sound, camera position and lighting is right before it goes into the editing stage. This goes unnoticed until the shots are played back. I learnt multiple ways to make the shots more effective and fix the problems that we had on the footage. I was with a 3rd year who had the time to sit down with me and teach me what they know about editing, such as brightness and contrast, three colour wheel, shot positioning, and sound. I found this all to be helpful, because in the end, it made my edited scene more effective and appealing. After we had finished, Paul (tutor) came in and brought up the idea of having 2 or 3 shots instead of the six that we had. The idea of making the scene simpler and focusing more on the coverage and all of the technical elements. I can now see what he means when he says this, and next time I would like to try this approach and see how different it is to the overall scene.

#2: My main epiphany for this week would have to learning what J and L cuts are. I didn’t know anything about them, but then Paul explained to us that a J and L cut is a way of editing. A J cut is when the visual is seen before the sound is heard, so the sound from the next shot is overlapping the end of the visuals from the previous shot. An L cut is the opposite. The sound comes first, and then the visuals of the next shot overlap the sound from the previous shot. When I was in the editing suites, I was with a 3rd year student again and they showed me how they used an L cut in there edited scene. To me it looked more effective and appealing. It brings two shots together smoothly without having a sharp cut.

#3: What makes a good director? How do I tell everyone what I want them to do in order to get my perfect scene? Will they agree with me? What if I do it wrong? These were all of the questions I was asking myself when Paul told us what the next class exercise will be. He gave everyone random scripts, and individually within groups of six, we had to direct one shot each. This could be a small or as big as we wanted. This is preparing us in finding what our own methodology is. I have never been in a position of a director, and one of the hardest hurdles is having enough confidence in my ideas. This exercise helps with this, as everyone had to have a go. Some of the members of the group spoke up and gave me some ideas, but I had the final decision. This exercise show me what it takes to be in control of a shot individually. Having the final say on the coverage, camera position, lighting, sound, location, and the talent. Getting out of your comfort zone allows your creativity to shine, and allows you to step up to the plate and really have a go, and see what you are capable of creating.

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